The New Forest

After a very good week back at work which went as smoothly as it could we finally got to the weekend.Saturday was spent doing the usual so I won't bore you with that!

However,Sunday was spent with Dom and the children. Now I am back at work I intend to make the most of every single weekend. We had planned a couple of days earlier to take a trip to The New Forest (weather permitting) So at about 11am we packed up the car with children and pushchair :) Went to the shop for sandwiches and drinks,quick pit stop at my parents to get Joshua his scooter. This actually turned into a very nice hour with them for a cup of tea...really enjoyed that!

After saying our goodbyes we set off!!Now I used to go to a pub with my parents called The High Corner Inn when i was little. I was adament we were going to find it today! And guess what,following my dads fantastic map and direction (complete with a little drawing of a bridge :) we found it!!So we parked up in their car park and went for a nice stroll. It had been raining heavily 2 nights before so alot of pretty bogey but this just added to the fun of finding a suitable path :)

We spent a little while taking in the views,getting a little visit from a baby pony and just strolling and chatting.

Joshua seemed to throughly enjoy it too as he ran for ages whilst collecting little bits and pieces.

We then started walking back to the Inn where we settled with a pint for Dom,lemonade for Joshua and a double Jamesons whisky for me. Now, I fully hold my mum responsible for this as 4 years ago,shortly after Joshua was born, we took a family trip to Polperro,Cornwall. I went there drinking...wait for it...malibu EUGH!! But 4 days later,I was on vodka and had found a new love of Whiskey. I am normally a JD girl but thought I would try something different so opted for Jamesons which she drinks as well. And WOW,it is actually lush!!And with Autumn and winter here now,it gives me an even better excuse to drink it :)

Back to the High Corner.like I said earlier in my post I used to come here as a child. When we pulled up outside, my first though was "It hasn't changed a bit!" and even when I went to the bar with the open log fire opposite it, I was still thinking this. The one thing I found very odd was watching Joshua playing on the same play equipment my sister and I had played on years before! Anyone who gets the chance to visit this pub really should!!Even sitting in the beer garden all wrapped up, the waft of smoke out of the chimney is so warming and the whole atmosphere is so typical of a little Inn,in the middle of nowhere! Well I think that is it for now.Until next time....

Busy busy few days...but very good!

Well this week so far has been pretty good really.
On Saturday we had our weekly visit to Doms mums for dinner where we enjoyed,most probably my favourite meal ever, a beef roast dinner. i am very typically English in this as anything stodgy is always a good thing to me. But then my German ancestory comes out when it comes to Salami, saurkraut ( I think this spelling is correct) and fresh pastries which just remind me of a little cake shop called Artingers in Mittenwald. But I don't think anything will ever come close to the taste of their cakes! So really, with English and German blood running through me, I have to constantly remind myself to eat well and healthy! Atleast I said no to pudding on this occasion....
Sunday saw us going to my parents for Brunch. We got there just before 10am to find pain au chocolats, various pastries,yoghurts,toast and lots of fresh fruit on the table. And my verdict...absolutely delicious!! I'm not usually a breakfast eater,whic is bad I know, but this sort of breakfast would do me any day :) After eating we went through to the lounge where Ella had some cuddles with her doting Grandparents and Joshua was on the patio blowing bubbles with my Nan and stealing some of his Grandads homegrown tomatoes. As my parents are gardeners, its always a treat to see what they are growing each season!! It was very strange seeing Joshua eating those tomatoes as it is exactly was I used to do with my Grandads when I was much younger. I would go into the garden with my Nan (Dads mum) and she would always say "Don't tell your Grandad"...not encouraging one point to keep a secret :) We left there at about 1.30pm and came home. we had intended to go for a stroll on the beach but as it was lush weather decided to do some work on the garden as some of the plants had gotten quite overgrown. After this, we got Joshua some dinner,bathtime then off to bed (well after his story and a very long cuddle with Mummy). Once both of the children were asleep, I enjoyed a glass of wine and Dom a bottle of beer...all in all a very good weekend!!
on Monday I met up with a very good friend of mine whom I met at work called Lucy. I have mentioned her before in a previous post. We met at The Moon in the Sqaure for a general chit chat about how university is treating her as she started doing a Performing arts degree this year and also about what has been going on in our lives since we last saw each other. 2/3 large glasses of wine later we decided to call it a day as she had rehearsals for her christmas sho sheis doing this year. I will be going to this so can't wait to post some piccies and tell you all what it was like!!
Tuesday was just a very chilled day at home becuase as you will find out in a minute, Wednesday was a very busy day! Joshua did have his first disco at school in the evening and he came out with glowsticks and sweets...sounds more like a rave to me!! :)
I had to get up at 5.30am to get a train to Southamton at 7am. It was for a meeting in Frimley,Camberley for all Travel Money Managers of all the Bureaus in the South west. Once I had got to Southampton Central station and found my way to the side where I was being picked up,I jumped in a collegues car and had an hours drive to the meeting. I must say that since attending this meeting it has really made me excited about this job I start on Monday as it is definatele more of a Managerial role than what I though it was. It seems alot of changes have happened since I ent on Maternity leave to make it like this. There is now a course that I and all the other Managers of the bureaus have to complete, of which the first stage of training happened yesterday and we now have a workbook to have complete by 2 weeks time and we have to get a certain % correct otherwise we have to retake it. It definately makes sure you are right for the company and i think it is completely right we have to do it. I can't wait for my team to start doing it too!! We finished the meeting at 5.30pm and I got back to Southampton at 6.30pm where Dom was waiting for me. It was his birthday on this day aswell so after getting the children from his Mum we got a takeaway and then I headed straight to bed!

What a good week!!

Well I must say that this week has been fab!!

I got the long-awaited phone call from my regional manager at work requesting me for an interview to become the manager of 2 Travel money bureaus,one of which I am normally based at. Prior to maternity leave that is. I had the interview on Friday and I couldnt have wished it to go any better. I got a call, literally a couple of hours later, telling me I had got the job!!I am still over the moon at this and can't wait to get my teeth into the role!! Getting this new role does mean I am having to go back to work earlier than anticipated. So instead of 6th December, I am now going back in 2 short weeks on 18th October. I work for a company called Travelex Worldwide Money.

On Saturday, Dom,myself and the children went to his Mums for our weekly dinner and then went home and actually had a chilled evening for the first time in a few days.

Today saw us taking Joshua off to school,pay a couple of bills then it was time to pick the little man up again...time goes so quickly when you have stuff to do!! We got home and thought as it was a really nice afternoon, we would do some work on the garden and hoover the car. Well, we managed the car :) We got a call from a friend of ours,Dave, inviting us for a drink somewhere. So we drove to a nice little pub 15 minutes away called the Bakers Arms.

I enjoyed a couple of glasses of Rose wine in the sunshine whilst chatting to Dom and Dave.Ella slept then played for abit and Joshua had fun running around the beer garden. After a couple of hours we decided to head back home where we then had a roast dinner of pork with crackling and all the trimmings. All in all a very good few days!!