Merry Xmas

As usual I'm late posting but I hope that everyone that reads this had a great Xmas. This year was really good because Max has the hang of opening the presents and understands that Father Christmas brings them. Great day. The photo above is Max opening his "big" present.


Only 5 weeks to go before No.2 comes along.... blimey it's coming quick.
Faye has sorted most of the nursery out but we still need to buy a new stroller and cot bed. Best get buying...

At the car wash baby....

There are some great things you should do as a dad:
Go to the park, play in the castle, play hide and seek. You get the picture.

One thing you shouldn't do is take him to the car wash. When your son starts crying and saying I'm sorry daddy, I'm sorry, thats the moment your heart breaks and you think it was a bad time to get the car washed.

I Passed, I'm now fully PRINCE2

Hooray.. I chased up today and I have passed the exam so I am now Prince2 Practitioner. Got a strange email back saying that it is still not official but I had passed and I will know for def in a couple of days. Thats good enough for me.

Yes I am very happy but I knew I would pass :-)

As mentioned though it was hard, if you find me through a search then let me know and I will give you my foundation study guides from the web plus links and I might be able to sort out the latest mock exams for you.

Will be good for the CV if nothing else ;-0

Faye got me a nice red that was drunk in a rather fast manor but I had a project to drink and lets hope it's not the only project I finish early.........

Xmas is coming

Max helped decorate the tree yesterday. Looks just like Marc Bolan !



Last week was Max's birthday and a great day was had by all. Spinning round until you fall, running through bubbles and lots of dancing...... was done by me, the kids enjoyed pass the parcel.



Above is Max, me and the fat controller along with Thomas. If you look closely I am doing my best Thomas impression. Was a very wet day but Max loved it. Best bit was when Father Christmas came into our carriage and said to the little kid opposite "Whats your name?"
"Samuel" says said kid then adds "but why didnt you remember as I told you that last year."

Still no exam result so I am still keeping my fingers crossed.

Palace are doing really well at the moment and it's unbeaten in 8 for us now. We seem to be playing with a bit more hunger and not sitting back. Warnock is making a difference and it's good to see the players really trying. The difference in Morrison is just amazing, he really runs for the whole game and looks like he is going to score all the time. I laughed when my dad said he was going to put some money on us to go up but he went ahead and did it and got 250-1 so fingers crossed for him, me, Palace and Faye who is still pregnant !

Latest news

Kitchen

Hooray, done a bit more on the kitchen. Collected the splashback yesterday so fitted that and the extractor fan yesterday along with almost finishing the tile splashback behind the sink, still need to "finish" that off. Last week I connected up the new spotlight and clock. Slowly getting there.



I do like the red star knob, we got that to get over the problem of the handles catching on that side, plus it adds some colour.

Fish

We now have 4 baby catfish ! Not sure why but since we got the new fish tank, that Biube one, they have started mating.

Exams

I have been taking the PRINCE2 exams. Was on a course for 4 days last week that ended with the foundation exam, managed to pass that one. Today I had the 3 hour Practitioner exam, blimey it was hard. I have been studying to pass and the mocks that I had I thought were fine and not really a problem BUT todays was bloody hard. Not sure if it was because of the exam conditions but it was tricky. I hope that I managed to "read" the questions correctly and get the right answers. It was the new style objective testing rather then the "old" essay style one. The examiner also did the exam as it so new and she wants to get an understanding of them, and she said it was a lot harder then the ones she has done in the past ! Apparently since changing the exam the pass mark was around 85% compared to around 75% on the old style SO they was going to make it harder, well it looks like they did !

The old way you used be able to explain the reasons for your answers but now it is YES or NO and nothing in the middle. Personally I think it is harder ;-)

I will let you know if I pass, if it goes quiet then you know I failed :-)

Used to take at least 12 weeks for the marking but it is 2-4 weeks now that a computer sorts them out.

Max and Faye went to a birthday party today. Faye managed to get a some new maternity clothes. She looks fab. Will get some of us all on here soon.

Got Max's 2nd birthday in a couple of weeks time, man how time flies ! He is now in a "real" bed and touch wood he seems fine and is staying in there ! We did have to change his sleep wear though from a sleeping bag to a sleeping suit. Oh and a major that I should of said ages ago was he is now toilet trained, Faye got him trained up a couple of months ago!

Talk soon,
James

Oi Santa, Make some toys

Todays date is the 3rd of November so why oh why have I have been listening to bloody Mariah Carey singing that she wants me for christmas and get this I only saw a Santa out on the high street in Berkhamsted. We have not even had firework night yet !

It's wrong I tell you wrong.

Oh and why is there a Superman in the photo !

Bostock

All hail the new kid has arrived.

OK so the result was not want we wanted but it was great to see young John Bostock make his debut and become the youngest Palace player in history. Some touches and he looked very comfortable for a 15 year old, I'm 20 years older then him :-( Man I feel old.

Victor Moses should be due back soon and watch this space because if you thought Rooney was something special at a young age, wait for Victor.

The futures bright our chairman is orangeImages taken from the Palace site.

Im still here, Taylors not

Image from BBC and full story here

Well Palace have finally sacked Peter Taylor. I think it is the right time for a change, he lost the fans a while ago and from the reports he has also lost the players so as I say, it is time for a change.

Who next though? Neil Warnock seems to the red hot favorite so we will see.

What happening with us, well the kitchen is still a work in progress, we have a long list of things to do on the house. I have kind of been having a break from the kitchen so need to get my head back into it asap, Faye has been painting in there so I need to focus again. Prob go to Ikea one night this week, not looking forward to it but we have stuff to take back and also need to buy a couple of items.

Baby News

Faye and I are expecting another baby, No.2 or Chilli as I am calling him/her is due on the 2nd February. We had our 20 week scan today and everything is good. Max will be 2 Years and 2 months old, gawd help us !

We could of found out what we are are expecting but we never, Faye thinks girl and I think boy.

It's quite strange the second time round because I'm not "following" the pregnancy anywhere as close as I was with Max. It is going really fast this time and we are not preparing like we did last time. Guess we best start sorting it out soon.

Max does understand all ready that Faye has a baby in the tummy and today Baby Digger seemed like a good name to him. Have to admit I quite like that too.

James

Max does an advert...

For those in the UK, not sure if it was shown in other countries, who remembers the Guinness advert where the bloke stands around waiting for his pint to be poured?

Well I got the camera out to video Max doing his drum impression for a mate at work and imported it into iMovie. If you have used iMovie with iSight you will know that as soon as you remove your camera it defaults to the built in iSight. Max started staring at himself on the computer and went a little bit "strange" I managed to record most of it and the video I have uploaded to youtube has hardly any editing on it. It is also worth pointing out that there was no music or anything going on in the house. Just a Normal Sunday morning really ;-)

Movie is HERE, it is 14 meg and about 3 minutes long

James

Kitchen is getting there

Managed to get most of the handles on today BUT have not bought enough and also have a slight problem with 2 cupboards being too close and the handles will clash so I will have to buy a "knob" for a cupboard rather then a nice handle.

I have posted some photos on flickr, must get a pro account this week !, but this is before and now. I say now because it is still not finished so therefore is not an after.

Before


Now

Update

Catfish News..

The babies are starting to venture out a bit more and Faye managed to get the above photo of one of them.

Kitchen News.

Getting there, still needs a paint, the handles screwed on, under sink area sorted, plug socket set it wall, new window ledge installed plus of course the blue protection removed to show off the nice white under them plus a 101 other little jobs.

This is the cabs going in.


This is Bill (My father in law) working on the plumbing.


And this is the hob and sink plus oiled worktops. They have had about 4 coats of oil so far with a light sand in between. Hard work but have been told numerous times that it is so important to oil it at the start. I am going to try and oil it once a day for first week then every 3 days for a couple of weeks before going to once every other week. That should sort it.



I was thinking of having oak ends but once we started looking it would of been too much. So I now have 2.9m of solid oak going on ebay !

Catfish Parents

Faye cleaned out the fish tank and discovered that our catfish have mated and we have at least 2 baby catfish !!

I will try and get a photo when I can but they are quite quick !

Here is a picture of our worktops, all ready for cutting. The kitchen is still drying so we can not paint it just yet but I have started to put some units together and set them up on the wall that has not been plastered. My father in law is down tomorrow to give me some help with the kitchen for a couple of days and it is still on course to be finished in a few days time.





Went to the football on Saturday and well, sometimes you have to ask why.....

Warnock to replace Taylor is the latest rumour, not sure if that is what I want.

Plastered

Kitchen walls have been plastered, we used a company called ATM in Berkhamsted and they have been brilliant. They did what looks like a good job and kept everything clean and tidy.



Also took delivery of the worktops. Man they are heavy, I had to help bring them in, all part of the cheaper option ! they look really good. They are Oak and 40mm depth and currently 4 meters long ! i honestly thought I was going to pass out when I helped carry them. Gawd knows how the guy can do that all day long. Will take a picture on them in the morning.

Kitchen

Sorry for the lack of posts but the kitchen has been taking up most of my time !

It's been hard work but we are starting to see the end now.

Tiles have been taken off the wall. The tiles where put straight on the plaster boards rather then a skim so now we need new boards up.


The gas man has disconnect the hob so everything could be removed out, the Ikea bits have been delivered.


A new wood floor was installed last week.



New tiles laid on the floor over the weekend.



Needs a clean but gives you an idea.

Friday the plasterer is coming, as is the new worktops and in the mean time I need to sort the electrics out. Next week my father in law is coming down for a few days to help me and Mark the man to install worktops is out on Wednesday before the gas man connects the new hob on Thursday. Be glad when it is a week Friday and we can start to look at the finishing touches.

Looking forward to Friday.......

Beer, Beer, BEER

I have taken the above photo from flickr user Yyokota, I hope he does not mind and I have sent an email.

The reason for the use of the photo is because Max has started shouting beer at everything I drink ! I could be drinking water and he shouts beer , I could be drinking a coffee and he shouts beer. Ask him what i drink and he shouts beer !

I dont even drink that much beer, I prefer a nice red to be honest... although I did crack open some Foster twists and managed to have 4 in a hour because they were so refreshing. Not getting them again as they go too fast.

Now then....

Max drives us up North

We went to see our new niece yesterday up near Barnsley / Sheffield, we could not get Jasper in the kennel so we decided that we should buy a new tent and try camping with Max and the dog.

Had a great time although it got very cold and rained during the night. Only cost £5 for all of us and the dog ! Max thought it was great and really enjoyed being next to the chickens and sheep. He loved all the tractors !

My Niece is very cute and you just forget how small new borns are.

Max ready for bed?

On the way up we stopped just outside Loughborough at somewhere called Beacon Hill, Max found a chair made just for him !

King Max


I have also managed to rip all the tiles off the kitchen wall, had to call my plasterer up though to get him round to have another look because it looked a mess. I might also add that i did try and take the tiles off neatly.

Oh dear

He said it was not great and he will have to put new boards up before plastering over the top of those. He said that he could not believe that someone would put the boards up and tile straight over without any plaster. Must of been the original builders. I want nice straight clean walls with no tiles so need it sorted. The plasterer though has said he wont charge me more because I have given him time to sort it out :-) Will let you know what he is like. He is due 31st to do the job.

This week I have the units all coming from Ikea on Thursday and everything is still on track to be finished around the 7h September. Wish I could just crack on get it sorted but I cant get the plastering done prior.

New Niece

Say HELLO to my new niece. She is called Connie Isabel Crossfield. Not sure on the exact spellings !

She was born on Monday 6th at 07.50 and weighed in at 6lb12

Mike Reid

"G-g-g-g-go!"

"Runaround... now!"

Bit of a late post, I was sad to hear that the legend of a host on Runaround Mike Reid died.

He is better known though for this classic in Eastenders.



Nice to see though that a local band in Berkhamsted will still carry on... Bass player, Matt Tinsley, said "We will most definitely carry on under the name Frank Butcher and the slags. We feel as though Mike would of found it funny and would have recognised that we named it in good spirit. We are all fans of him." Catch him at their web page on myspace here Also read down the comments for a jpeg of the article.

It's Over

I have been picked to be a beta tester for the FM LIVE game from sigames, here is the
link and between that and watching the last couple of Prison Breaks see you all soon !!!!

I will post about the game and the other links soon........

Kitchen

CURRENT KITCHEN

Well we have finally started to order the bits for the kitchen. So far we have a sink and tap physically in our hands and have made an order for the units from Ikea. We ordered them over the web rather then actually making the painful trip to Ikea.

We have gone for the high gloss white Abstrakt ones and I will try and post some plans up. We are getting the worktops from somewhere else though and have gone for solid oak ones.

Update more later. I'm addicted to Prison Break at the moment so have to watch that now !!!

James

Harry Potter

Faye got the book and I read the back page......... It was all a dream :-0

Nothing in life is FREE !!!!

OK so we now have two 16 year old girls that say they have been duped in to carrying drugs.

Yasemin told Channel 4 News on Thursday night they were tricked into carrying drugs to London.

Speaking by telephone from prison in Accra, she said: "There were basically two boys over here who gave us two bags and told us... it was an empty bag.

"We never thought anything bad was inside... and they told us to go to the UK and drop it off to some boy... at the airport."

"It was basically like a set-up. They didn't tell us nothing, we didn't think nothing, because basically we are innocent.

"We don't know nothing about this drugs and stuff."

First of all you get asked to go on a "free" holiday and then to carry 2 empty bags back to the UK, what the fuck do you think are you going to be carrying? I'm sorry but I say lock them up for 10 years at least and lets hope they dont have kids !!!

I'm sure at 16 years old I will still be helping Max out and lets be honest if we ever let him go on a "free" holiday to bring back an "empty" bag then we also deserve to be sharing porridge with him.

Fuckwits and I do try really hard never to swear on this site !

"I'm carrying back an empty bag but it is weighed down a bit by 300K worth of Coke." Well it ain't empty then is it !

Bubble Boy

Today, thanks to a work health plan, I went to the Bupa hospital over in Harpenden for some test because I have not been able to breath through my nose and snore quite a bit. I also wake up with bruised ribs but then that is where Faye jabs me during the night to turn on to my side.

I had a thing shoved up my nose and ended up taking an allergy test, As it turns out I'm allergic to my house i.e. Dust and Dogs :-) ! The Dr though wants me to get floorboards rather then carpets etc. etc. well it wont happen because personally I'm not a fan of wood floors. We will get the carpet cleaners in and will also start to look another hoover. Ours is only a couple years old but it's suction is not as good as it was. I have tried cleaning it out etc. but it's just not that good. Was a £200 hoover like a Dyson but maybe not as good as it turns out.

I have been given a spray and some allergy tabs and go back in a month. If it solves the swelling in the nose and my sinus and breathing is better then I will probably be on the spray and tabs for ever and if not then I need to look at surgery to "bore" the nose passage a bit bigger.

I called Faye and she seemed almost disappointed that they never found any lumps or bits obstructing the nose and it was only swollen ! Think Faye wanted a quick answer by surgery to my snoring !

Kitchen

Above photo by Flickr user John Wilkie what a stunning shot.

Found it while looking for a shot of "Oak" because Faye and I are looking into replacing the kitchen and one option is Oak worktops. I would like to know if anyone has them and what their thoughts are on them.

We are also looking at Ikea so any thoughts of the quality etc. on their kitchens would be good as well. I have read about there not being enough of a void behind the cabinets but I am now looking at using a wooden baton to bring the base unit out if needed.

Should be fun trying to organise all of the bits to happen in the correct order and making sure I can get the correct people at the right time i.e. Plasterer as soon as the old units are removed. I am going to try and do most of it myself with some help from my Father in-law. I will keep you updated with plans and ideas.

James

Berkhamsted Bird of Prey

We had bit of a "shock" this morning, we was loading Max into the car at about 9 this morning. We heard some rustling in the trees and looked up to see a bird in a bit of distress. Couldn't quite work it out and then all of a sudden a Falcon lands on our front garden really close to us with a chick from the bird box (on the tree opposite our house) in it's talons. It then flew off when the chicks parents came down but it never let go of the chick. Was really quite cool to see and I wish that we had our camera ready.

Spice Girl Post

Well the wife wanted to know why on earth I posted about the Spice Girls getting back together because I'm not a fan, she never got the reason for the post so now I have a feeling that maybe people are going to label me as a Spice Girl fan :-0

The reason for the post was a joke on the flag they were holding and Gerri's mini skirt from all those years ago.

Just for the record I'm not a spice girl fan !

Biube

We are looking at sorting out or should I say ripping out our kitchen and replacing it. The Ikea high gloss with Oak tops seem to be our fave at the moment. I am going to try and I mean try to use Google Sketch to get an idea of the look because the online planner does not work with the mac (or Vista ! so I can not boot into that !)

In preparation of that though we have to do a few things and one is to move the fish from the kitchen to a new home so we went the whole hog and bought them a new tank, stand etc. It is called the Biube and if it does what it says then it should make looking after them a lot easier.

In over a week the tank still looks very clear and the LED light is really good. So it looks good and the fish (2 Fancy, 3 Cat fish and 1 fantail) are all happy. The white fancy fish is Coppell after Steve Coppell as he used to be a more Copper colour and the other fancy fish is Damien because Faye liked the name and I wont call a son of mine that. Those 2 are about 6 years old now. The others have no name.

Who will have my Fowler?

Now that they have all left Eastenders it turns out that Robbie Fowler is the latest Fowler to struggle getting work.

I would have down at the Palace, Get the cheque book out Mr Jordan although I bet it's a lot of money for him and we need a fast pacy forward.
Story here: Click Me

Spice Girls are back

Yes there are more important things happening in England at the moment BUT

the spice girls are back.

Here they are courtesy of the BBC


Cant believe Geri still has her dress....