2010 update...

OK hasn't time flown! Now in April and what can i say has happened? Not a lot really! Lets start with school, as per usual the same crazy day to day goings on are happening, though now people aren't happy. As well as dealing with post Ofsted stuff we now have the problem of too many staff to the number of children coming to the school in future years, solution...making people redundant, nice! So the process has been happening and it is not fun, except for the bit where the union reps went hell for leather at the head and governors, it was like watching Prime Minister's question time! So rather than being pushed, i jumped! Without meaning to i saw a job advertised, Daniel drove me down to check it out as it is in Derby and i ended up applying for it. Well turns out my luck has changed with interviews as i ended up getting the job! Yay. I have escaped finally to an outstanding school with excellent results and a completely different atmosphere to where i am at the moment. It will be a shock to the system when i start in September but i am looking forward to it!

Holiday's are also booked for this year, China in the summer and back to Vegas for mine and Sarah's 30th birthday! How exciting. Lots to sort for the summer, visa's, if we need jabs, currency and all the other normal holiday related tasks like making lists of things to take and do! Should be an amazing holiday though.

On the subject of holiday's Daniel took me out in the pimped up converted AA van during Easter camper vanning! We had an amazing time and the weather was so nice. We went to North Wales, Conwy and went to the Welsh Mountain Zoo. That was fun especially the big brown bears who were entertaining the crowd. We also saw a bird display as well as an array of other animals.

The next day we went into Conwy, took a walk round the city walls and i can tell you i was not best pleased with how high they were! We also went into the castle where even Daniel was not the most comfortable with the height of the towers! We also spent a large portion of the day walking around the town looking for a betting shop as it was the Grand National. After seeking out a Betfred, bets were made but unfortunately our horses did not come in, boooo. There was a statue that Daniel was calling Conwy's Nelson, however after seeking it out it turns out it was no bigger than two foot tall! Which was similar to the world's smallest house that they have in Conwy, it was tiny even by my standards!

We decided to spend out last day in Llandudno at the seaside. It turns out that Snowdonia was not open to the peak so rather than going half way up we thought we'd save it til another time you can get to the top so rather than up a mountain, we went up the Great Orme! We were not best pleased when we got all the way up the hill to the cable car station to find out that they only take cash! We were further displeased when the lady said there was a cash point at the top of the Orme! Helpful! So we trekked all the way back down into the town and then back up again! The cable car was not the easier journey to make, dangling in mid air over virtually nothing, again you could probably imagine i was not best pleased! But once at the top it was a geographers haven! I obviously went rock collecting! When we came down we took a walk on the pier only to see a giant evil seagull hover above a guy eating an ice cream, who when he turned away pecked it out of his hand, cone as well! He looked like he papped himself and everyone around him couldn't help but laugh! Needless to say when we got our fish and chips we sat with the lid on sneaking out a chip when no seagull was looking!

During out little camper vanning trip we became awesome camping chefs! Our food was amazing, aside from the running out of camping gas mid sausage cooking, it was smooth sailing on the one camping stove we had. Because of the foodies we are we took many a picture of our camping cuisines, next time we're going to try some recipes from the camping cook book! I'm looking forward to it. The van itself is amazing, not your normal camping experience i can tell you. A futon style bed, fridge, microwave, sink and DVD player all installed in the back and it is currently getting a heater put in too! Once you've experienced the van you won't want to go back to a tent!

























I will keep you posted on the next camper vanning adventure!

The Last Supper

So it's the last day of the holiday's today before going back to school, booooo. I really don't want to go back, but i think no one does! I did today though try to recreate my delicious dinner from Bahama Breeze in Vegas - chicken with Jamaican jerk seasoning and mango glaze, mango and pineapple salsa, cinnamon sweet potato mash and seasonal veg which was green beans. So i couldn't completely recreate it as have no mango but it was a twist on this meal. Cajun chicken on a bed of spinach with cinnamon sweet potato mash and seasonal veg, green beans. It was yummy, am very pleased with myself! Awesome!!!

Bye bye Vegas, Vegas bye byeeeeeeee

Booooo the day started leaving Vegas - we were not amused and at having only 5 hours sleep! And in our grand plan we did everything bar see hot Josh from Las Vegas Uncut and Uncensored - booooo. But back on the road we must go! First stop - Death Valley. We stopped at a number of points - all of which were mentally hot - over 121 degrees F at the height of the day. The scenery was magnificent though, each part was different, hilly, desert like, green, sand dunes etc. At one place Sarah commented that the rocks looked like marble cake - it really did!











It was so hot that we spent most of the day sitting with the air con whacked up!! What a difference when we reached Mammoth Lakes. We passed the Alabama Hills and the Sierra Nevada mountains on the way which were spectacular - highest peak being Mount Whitney.

This resort is well into the mountains - where we are staying at Mammoth Mountain Inn is 9000m above sea level. What a difference, we thought it was freezing when it was only 77 degrees F! This place is beautiful with pines all around and surrounded by ski lifts but no snow! It does look a bit odd but it would make a great place to ski. The only thing we are slightly concerned about is the threat of bears - everywhere you turn there are signs about being bear aware! Definitely not something I'd want to come across on a dark night in the mountains. Or even a big black dog like before when it is that quiet out there! At last we have had a taste of a ski resort ready for the next holiday!!

Viva Las Vegas!!!

Well since there is so much to do in Vegas and time is not to be wasted i am now reflecting back on what happened over the last two days. But...as they say...what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, so I'm obviously limited as to what i can say!

Prior to entering Vegas we stopped at Zion National Park, another stunning area of natural beauty. Massive mountains with lovely colours and amazing rock patterns like the checkerboard - I won't bore you with the geography of how it got like that!! We stopped for a lovely lunch in the park before moving onto Vegas. No word of a lie we honestly thought we saw a bear!! This big brown looking bear was on the side of the road looking at getting to a dead rabbit! It ended up being a huge dog but seriously it looked like a bear!











We reached Vegas mid afternoon where we checked into Circus Circus and then hit the strip!!! We thought we'd take a poodle along the strip but it was more like a sweaty limper!!! We looked like we were going to pass out! We had a grand plan for the two days in Vegas which consisted of:
- visiting Krispy Kreme
- Easting at the Bahama Breeze
- Abercrombie and Fitch
- Seeing a show on the strip
- Have a little flutter
- Have cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory
- Enjoy some frozen alcoholic beverages
- Seeing hot Josh from Las Vegas the programme
At this point when we actually returned to Circus Circus all we achieved was getting a Krispy Kreme!! But they are very nice doughnuts!! Sooo we then thought we'd get ready and go out for dinner. We had a very nice valet, who would fit in well in the programme Las Vegas, working with Mike, who got us our taxi to Bahama Breeze - food was lovely. We then bought our gift shop crap and our frozen alcoholic beverages so things in the grand plan were looking up! Time now for a flutter - well our style which means 1c slot machines - but still we were gambling in Vegas!!! I bet $1, didn't have a clue what i was doing other than pulling the lever and somehow managed to win 25+ free turns and ended up winning $4!!!! Needless to say i was very excited, before we knew it it was 1am! I decided to save collecting my winnings for the next day!!

























Vegas day 2 we were up and about early (well not as early as our normal wake up calls) to get to the half price theatre ticket booth. So we were there armed with our Krispy Kreme dying of heat at 9.30am under a giant yellow umbrella. About an hour later we were successfully holding our tickets to Jersey Boys. Yay - another item to tick off the grand plan list!! We were very excited as the people in the queue were raving about it - one lady had seen it 4 times! Now the shops were calling! Fashion Show Mall is bigger than you think but i did get some awesome clothes in Abercrombie and Fitch - that shop is definitely the best smelling shop i've been in! By the time we came out of there and then went down to NY NY for lunch it was time to make our way back to Circus Circus to get ready for the night. Things take longer than you think because it is so hot!











Glad rags on we were off to the theatre to see Jersey Boys. The show was at the Palazzo so it wasn't right at the other end of the strip, which was lucky as the deuce bus was sooo busy! We took our seats and had an amazing view - second row on the balcony and could see everything. The show was about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - how they got together through to the end and it was brilliant. We didn't realise they sang so many songs that we knew. The actors were amazing as was their singing, they proper draw you in and makes you forget where you are. The character of Tommy DeVito was very arrogant but extremely likeable - as was the actor playing him who was hot and sang brilliantly, especially one of the filler songs Earth Angel. I lone that song! Even in Back to the Future it was great! The guy who played Frankie Valli had an amazing voice - to get up that high - fantastic singing. You end up loving all the characters even though they had bad boy days and then you remember it's actually a true story! Can see why that lady saw it 4 times.

We left the Palazzo all giddy, singing and headed down the strip to Caesars Palace for cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory - best cheesecake ever, seriously. This evening was brilliant and topped off our two days in Vegas nicely. Will have to download the soundtrack when we get home - relive the magic. To quote the Four Seasons, Oh What a Night or Ces Soirees-La. I love Vegas and will be definitely coming back again!!!