It's the most wonderful time of the year

Even though the world seems to be acting like Christmas is tomorrow, I am in fact talking about Halloween :-)
I love Halloween and having kids makes it even better. I've been making pumpkins with Anya again this year (pictures in the photo album) which is great fun. Last night I went gaming and we had a Halloween themed evening. A few people dressed up a bit and we played Halloween themed games all evening. Tonight I'll be taking Anya trick or treating :-D
It's a shame that older kids have ruined Halloween and I think it's a real shame that last year someone actually shouted at Anya to go away. I think Halloween is great fun and I appreciate that some people don't want to be bothered but I'm not sure shouting at a 2 year old is the best way to go about it. I've seen that this year you can buy a sign telling trick or treaters not to knock and I think they're a good idea, I just think it's a shame that it has got to that point :-(

The hardest part

Dieting has been going really well so far and for the last 5 months I've managed to stick to the weight watchers plan every day. In a couple of weeks I'm going on my first holiday since starting dieting and it's going to be really tough to stick to it. Apart from the fact that temptation will very much be a factor when I'm away, I wont actually be able to calculate or track anything I'm eating. Coupled with the alcohol factor and this could be the first week I actually put on weight since I started dieting.
I'm not going to let it affect my holiday since I want to be able to enjoy it as much as I can but here's hoping I don't put on too much...

Reflection

I had a really vivid dream last night where I was re-enrolling at Bradford Uni to do a Masters degree. It was really bizarre and I couldn't find my way around or seem to work out what I was supposed to be doing there.
It made me think back to my time at uni and how I never really made the most of it socially. Don't get me wrong, I made some great friends at uni but during my second year and especially my third year I spent a huge amount of time either at our house or in the computer room.
I once went to the FND (the Friday Night Disco at the student union) and stayed after it finished with Gubble who was working behind the bar. It showed me a complete other side to things with a group of people who worked together in the university and I very much wanted to be part of it. Unfortunately it was far too late to join the bars team as it was close to the end of my time in Bradford.
I don't know if there was some kind of hidden meaning in the dream but I can't help but feel that I'm still not really exploring a full and active social life and I suppose it worries me that one day I'll look back and regret not making more of my time.

Worky work work

Had to rush down to Basingstoke Tuesday evening and do some urgent work on Wednesday. The good news is that it all went pretty much to plan without any major hassle or hiccups.
I'm squashing tonight with Russ and possibly meeting up with Simon for a pint later which will be good as I havent seen him since before Cerys was born.
We're away to a hotel this weekend while mum looks after the kids which is smooooooooth with a capital smoo. Will very much enjoy getting away :-)
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New photos

I've uploaded a load of new photos that Anya has been randomly taking on my phone.
The link to my photo album is at the top of the links on the right :-)
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Weight Watchers

Most people probably know that I'm doing Weight Watchers at the moment. I've lost just over 2 stone so far and I'm still going strong. Here's a before and after photo of my progress so far.

Grandad's Corner

Is now all uploaded :-)
Please take a look and let me know what you think.
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New site layout

I'm testing out a new site layout in which my blog is on the main page. This saves time for anyone who comes to read it :-)
There are links on the right to my old blogs, my photo album, my family tree and a new section called "Grandad's Corner"
My Grandad has given me some material that up until recently was posted on his own blog and with his permission I will be posting this onto my site. If anyone else would like a corner of their own then please feel free to ask.
Over the coming weeks I hope to expand the site a bit with some new sections so watch this space! Who knows, I may even keep my blog fresh with new posts...
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First post

Testing 1, 2, 3!