Hosting your blog?

Ok, so what happens if you are currently have a blogger/blogspot blog, have checked out wordpress.com blogs but don't like the fact that the templates are very limited compared to blogger. I mean I'm far from a techie but I have worked out how to edit the (CSS???) template and add in a few bits all by my ownsome. I think Conor did comment (a very long time ago) about Blacknight Hosting being very good and I have popped by and their blog hosting is very reasonable but I don't know about domain names etc., exactly what the whole hosting thing entails. I don't understand all the stuff about plugins or many of the "thingys" such as Jaiku, Twitter...... etc. that all the more techy crowd use.

Am I right in thinking that Wordpress templates, separate from the templates on wordpress.com blogs are out there to be used and tweaked if one has a hosted blog?

Help, in plain easy english please!

Technorati Tags: Blogger / Blogspot Wordpress Hosting Blacknight Hosting

Baby steps!

Since about September last year I have been trying to get my life in order, quite a task for a very overweight, unhealthy, chronically disorganised, lazy beast like myself.

I joined Curves in October and apart from an extended 7 week break over Christmas and New Year I have been going fairly regularly, not as often as I would like some weeks but at least twice a week most weeks. (The extended xmas break was due to the usual xmas break and both myself and my exercise partner being plagued with the bugs that have been doing the rounds for the last while).

Also, I am trying to eat more healthily, I am no longer interested in trying to find a diet that is easy to stick to, rather I am trying to incrementally build better eating habits into my life incrementally and slowly and make lasting changes. So efforts have been made to gradually cut down the crap consumed, introduce more of the 5 a day portions of fruit and veg and to try to remember to take the multivitamins in the morning. Breakfast is a habit I am going to try and get into as I am all too aware of just how bad it is to go without breakfast each day. It is a bad habit I am finding terribly difficult to break.

I am finally trying to get better at housework, ok, being honest, the place still looks like a candidate for Kim & Aggie but I have been doing something, no matter how small every evening this week - big change for this couch potato.

Finally I have come to the conclusion that it took a long time for my weight to creep up, my house to get untidy etc and it will take time to get them back into order. Doing anything is better than doing nothing. I am trying to leave the all or nothing mentality behind. Beginning to think positively is something that takes practice when diets have failed, when eating crap is easier than the hassle of making a healthy meal for one, when energy is lacking due to an inflammatory arthritis, fibromyalgia and IBS all kicking one into touch sometimes, and of course when thinking about the changes as a whole is overwhelming.

Playing my favourite music (quite loudly) in my car puts me in good humour. Being well-padded and obese does not mean I am well nourished - quite the opposite and the simple addition of a liquid multivitamin daily is amazing! Also, it's nice to be nice, not to spend one's entire headspace time beating oneself up. Not an easy thing to do but essential I think.

Baby steps, baby steps!!!

Review of Mooncup - the re-useable menstrual cup

Mooncup - the re-useable menstrual cup


""

Mooncups are re-useable menstrual cups, about 2 inches long, made from medical-grade silicon.

Having first heard about Mooncups and Keepers (similiar except made from latex rubber) quite some time ago I decided that any alternative to traditional disposal tampons or sanitary towels was worth a try. So I put a Mooncup on my Christmas wish-list and it arrived in the post just in time for the festive season!

After using sanitary towels during the first 8 years of my menstrual cycle I eventually began to use tampons when I first got to college and no longer had to pay due regard to the mammy's well-intentioned warnings about Toxic-Shock-Syndrome. I have been using tampons for the last 17 years and so was fairly confident that I would be able to use a re-useable cup once I got used to it.

The cup comes in a little cotton bag with an instruction booklet and some stickers to promote the product should you wish (one of the things that surprised me when I learned about the product was that there is very little to no promotion of it in the mainstream of sanitary protection products but I suppose there are a lot of vested interests in keeping a re-useable product out of the market!!)

My initial reaction to the Mooncup was that it was more substantial than I expected and I was definitely a little less confident that it would be as easy to use as a tampon. The second thing about the Mooncup is that it comes with a tail attached for easier insertion and removal, which you are advised to cut to a comfortable length.

The first time I tried to use the cup it was slightly fiddly but then I found tampons the same initially. After a bit of jigging, poking and fiddling I got the cup where it was supposed to be and left it to do it's job. For the first use I hadn't cut the tail as I didn't want to cut too much of and wanted to get an idea of how much it needed to be trimmed. I would advise all trial-runs to be carried out in the privacy of your own home when you don't have anywhere to go, so that you can get a feel for it and take your time to trim the tail to the right length for you. You will of course, feel the tail until it is trimmed. Removal, the first time went very smoothly for me and I was pleasantly surprised but of course the tail hadn't been trimmed as yet.

The second time I used the Mooncup I had trimmed the tail to what I thought was about the right length. This time insertion was easy too, although was still far from anywhere near as automatic as insertion of a tampon but then I have had 17 years of practice on that one. Once the cup was in I couldn't feel anything and experienced no leaks whatsoever. However, when I went to remove the cup it was a very different story. I just couldn't get it. Deciding not to panic I left it for a wee while and went back to the task once I had relaxed again. I also tried it sitting down on the loo which did make it easier. I have to say once I got a handle on the best position it was relatively easy to remove.

Once the cup is removed it can simply emptied and then run under the tap before re-insertion. If you happen to be in public toilet with no basin near-hand a simple wipe with toilet tissue will suffice. The cup can then be cleaned by boiling as per instructions at the end of your cycle.

I am now converted to the Mooncup and am using it once again. It is fantastic not to have worry about having tampons on your person when you go out, there are no dryness issues which can be a side-effect of either tampons or sanitary towels, it is cheaper than the alternatives (£18.99stg./ €25approx incl. p&p) and best of all much, much kinder to the environment.

There are a few tips I would give anyone considering the Mooncup;

• take your time, perservere, it is a new product and takes some getting used to
• aim for the small of your back
• when cutting the tail, take it in increments till you reach your balance between being comfortable as no tail is left hanging out and leaving enough that you can reach the cup when trying to remove.
• I found a sitting position on a loo the best position for removal
• Don't panic if you can't easily remove the cup the first time, take your time, read the instruction booklet and relax.

As far as I am concerned it was worth €25 approx just to try the product out as an alternative to what is currently out there in the market, even if it hadn't worked out for me. It just so happens that it has worked for me and I am now a convert!

Photo (c) www.mooncup.co.uk

Rated 4/5 on Feb 12 2008

Vote on curly k's Reviews at LouderVoice

Review Tags: alternative to traditional sanitary protection, mooncup, re-usable menstrual cup

Bon Chance!

The short-lists for the Irish Blog Awards have been announced and I, whilst trying to get over the real and heart-felt shock at being shortlisted for the Best Personal Blog Category, would like to wish the other 13 nominees the best of luck (here-in That Friday Feeling's journey ends re the blog awards - shortlisting was a true bolt from the blue and will go no further - even a blind man can see that) I am honoured to have this blog listed alongside the following greats from the Irish blogosphere - please drop by their blogs and sample their wares:

Best Personal Blog Sponsored by Microsoft Ireland’s Developer and Platform Group

• Irish Flirty Something
• Grannymar
• The Biopsy report
• Conortje
• Lozenge
• Fatmammycat.com
• The Waiting Game
• Prototype of a Person
• The Swearing Lady
• Hangar Queen
• Lebanon an Irish Experience
• Head Rambles
• Avoiding Life

Sincere thank you to;

• Damien Mulley for his tireless work on the awards,
• The judges for the gruelling task of reading through numerous blogs
• The various sponsors for putting their money where their mouths are (in this category Microsoft Ireland’s Developer and Platform Group)

Technorati Tags: Irish Blog Awards Best Personal Blog

I a fussy bitch! But some things are non-negotiable

À la Golden Girls, "picture the scene.....

So, Curly K headed out on the town tonight, with a friend, who I have not seen in years but was at school with. We had a great night and had lots in common and it was really, really good to catch up and find someone in a very similiar position to myself; still single at 35, opinionated (but she is very quiet, whereas I would talk to the wall!), very similiar upbringing and understanding of how the world works (and yet very different, if that makes any sense!) and far from skinny.

After a lovely meal, where, unfortunately, they had managed to make only one mistake, in that, they mixed up our steaks, which was not a problem as I eat steak either medium-rare or very well done, depending on my mood, we headed to the pub and had some craic and then proceeded to the local late night bar. From there on in, do not know how it happened, but Curly K's mojo had returned a little and many men were saying hi and chatting - fantastic. Except, one I still don't know how he knew my name, other than I saw him chatting to my Resident-Fan-Club (older than my father, separated and so not of interested it isn't even funny!), nevertheless, good night was been had by all and then we bumped into a guy who works near me and who I know very well to see and also that he likes me, from previous nights out. I have been chatting to him before and he is a lovely guy. Fantastic, I hear you say - absolutely in so many ways, he is attractive, even though he ain't thin (never an issue for me anyway!), has a good job (I know where he works!) and I can talk to him (have already chatted to him lots on cigarette breaks) but then comes the rub. I bumped into him over Christmas out shopping - with his son!

Perhaps I expect too much but he already has two children by an ex-partner and then informed that he had bumped into a different ex of his tonight. I am still trying to work out which factor put me off most but his ex is rough (and I mean really, really rough) from my town and I most certainly ain't taking her leavings (completely politically incorrect thing to say but I ain't).

This lovely, lovely bloke who I get on very well with, asked me to meet him again, having spent a lot of time chatting to us and buying us a drink or two. He is a real gentleman but two factors really put me off - if I ever am lucky enough to have children, I want them to have what I had, in that they are their father's first children and not part of mixture of families, exes and all that entails. The second factor is I know his other ex and she is rough, nothing to do with where she comes from but she is really rough and so are her family and I found the fact that he had gone out with her for quite a long time (and been taken for a fool) really, really off-putting. I just couldn't ever, ever, be with someone who had been with that bitch. No matter how much I know that he is a really lovely guy and she, rough, conniving and the rest!

Perhaps incidents like this are why I am still single but in my defense I will chat to anyone and am really open to meeting people who have not been single all their life but I do feel strongly about the children thing and with regard to this guy's ex, I am so put off - she is, not to put too fine a point on it, scum! (She, and indeed her whole family were rough out when it was a rarity in this country!!)

*Edit* - I am not saying categorically that I would never consider going out with someone who has children, just that my first preference would be someone with no children, also some potential partners with children have considerably more baggage than others and obviously there was far from enough of an interest on my part to consider overlooking all the baggage in this instance.

BERTIE - COUNTY CAVAN IS IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND - YOU NUMB NUT!!!!!

Via Damien and Sandra Ryan at the Irish Medical Times, it would seem that our esteemed Taoiseach, leader of this democratic country, doesn't even know that County Cavan is in the Republic of Ireland and not Northern Ireland - it truly beggars belief but proves the blatant disgrard that Bertie Ahern has for some of his tax paying citizens in this country. What a fucking imbecile!

And I thought George Bush was bad!

Transcript from the Oireachtas Debate on the 5th February, 2008:

The Taoiseach: As for broadband, while I do not know who incorrectly informed Deputy Kenny, technology companies such as Google, Apple and Dell all continue to expand and invest-----

Deputy Enda Kenny: I will provide the Taoiseach with the figure. Ireland is placed 33rd of 35 countries.

The Taoiseach: -----and are moving to higher rate of advancement in Ireland with huge investment. Moreover, none is even thinking of pulling away from us because of broadband. They continue to develop their capacity within Ireland, of which we should be proud, as well as of our young qualified engineers who go through our excellent education system. In addition, they all use this country as their research and development base.

Deputy Seymour Crawford: Not in County Cavan.

The Taoiseach: I am talking about the Republic of Ireland.

Deputy James Bannon: It is patchy throughout Ireland.

Deputy Dermot Ahern: Fine Gael is patchy throughout Ireland

The Taoiseach: While the House can discuss County Cavan another day, I am discussing the Republic of Ireland and Members should keep to that.

A Member: County Cavan is not in the North.

The Taoiseach: These companies are increasing their investments and operate their European plants using the high quality people who work here. This is happening everywhere. Deputy Kenny may take a certain satisfaction from the international economic downturn.

Technorati Tags: Bertie Ahern Broadband County Cavan Damien Mulley

It's all good!

Don't you just love when you go back to your gym and find out that, despite not having gone in almost 8 weeks which included Christmas and New Year and the eating and drinking that they entail, that lo and behold, you have still lost weight and inches! LIFE IS GOOD & THERE IS A GOD!!!

I'm getting my hair done in the morning and heading out on the town with a friend I was at school with but haven't really seen in years.

Finally I have put in an expenses claim that I put off for way, way too long and there is a big cheque coming my way next week.

So, all things considered, it's all good here in Curly K world at the moment.

Oh, and did I forget to mention that I have just won that huge Euromillions jackpot??? LOL

Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice made easy

Insomnia has some advantages, last night I ended up watching a programme about The Merchant of Venice on BBC 2's Learning Zone.

"Shakespeare's play performed by members of the National Youth Theatre in a specially abridged version by Tom Stoppard. The innovative 45 minute stage production is accompanied by documentary footage of rehearsals in progress and interviews with the cast, crew, director and Tom Stoppard about the play's themes, plot, language and characters."

(c) BBC @ http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/schedule/2008/5/

Having studied The Merchant of Venice in secondary school for the Inter. Cert. (I took the last Intermediate Certificate before the Junior Certificate was introduced) I did like the play in essence, particularly some of the more famous, of the endless speeches which we learned off-by-heart. However, like many, many students forced to study Shakespeare, I never read every single word in the play and even though I understood the play and found the character of Shylock very interesting I never really "got" the play in a rounded and complete way - until last night!

After watching the documentary interviews with both Tom Stoppard (who abridged Shakespeare's original 2.5 hour play down to a 45 minutes) and the Director Paul Roseby I found myself deciding that their proposed productin could never work. How could the integrity of the play be retained in 45 minutes, especially when many of the famous speeches had been cut way down and all 13 characters retained, therefore "diluting" the much beloved Shylock's presence?

But as insomnia remained my bed companion I continued watching as the production by the UK's National Youth Theatre began. Despite the many intervening years I found myself remembering some of those speeches that I had spent endless hours learning. However, it was the brilliance of the whole production, from the fantastic performances by the young actors to the wonderment of watching this play for perhaps the fourth or fifth time and finally really getting touched by its' comedy and really getting a sense, not only of the play as a whole but of all the many, wonderful characters, that truly amazed me.

All I can say is that I all my initial doubts were truly washed away, I only wish I had been privilged enough to view this wonderful production whilst studying the play, all those years ago.

Technorati Tags: Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice Abridged Tom Stoppard Paul Roseby BBC 2 Learning Zone

Cardinal Desmond Connell prepared to go to jail

LET HIM!

Technorati Tags: Cardinal Desmond Connell Catholic Church

God bless the fucking lunatics!

Well, well, well, there is nothing like a little criticism of the good old Catholic Church to bring out the lunatics in full force. Via Twenty I happened upon That!s Ireland's excellent piece putting into perspective the sheer scale of documents that the "esteemed" Cardinal Connell is trying to block access to by the Dublin Archdiocese Investigation. That!s Ireland clearly demonstrates, very visually, the astounding and shocking number of documents that the Archdiocese accumulated during the long years in which the abuse, cover-up and complete disregard for the innocent was perpetuated.

But wouldn't you know That!s Irelands piece has drawn a truly vitriolic and quite simply nuts response from someone called frodo441. Frodo441's ramblings go from the sublime to the ridiculous, as follows;

…excuse me?…these simple icon’s of stacks of paper’s which you try to make people believe that they contain “one page one abuse” is absolutely absurd… what you don’t understand is complete investigations of allegations of child abuse “which you through out to the public in an effort to thwart one of the best organization’s that still help the needy let alone address the abuses in the world, diplomatically and otherwise…
Why is it “one must ask themselves, are people still wasting time with the old trendy abuse on The Catholic Church which was a popular trend during the early nineties.” I suggest that the first person who never committed any abuse of any sort on another turn themselves in for Saint hood… and we could erect a monument to them as well as instill them as diplomats to the rest of the world which because of the abuses and lack of effective diplomacy, because some people feel the need to air other people’s “dirty laundry” in front of everyone let alone the world.
I suggest you take this fellonious (reintroduction) assault maybe to another planet where you don’t have to deal with life and all the vagaries of existence…while you seek to “air dirty laundry” of others… for lack of denying your own seditious tendencies…and you could corrupt with your misinformation the aliens in a universe where you have to understand the odds of finding sentient people’s are 127,000,000,000 to one.
This is apparently making you feel good and looking for abhorant friends in which you can be provocative. I suggest that if you want to be provocative you do something provocative rather than always bringing up sex… I realize sex fascinates you and it is the quickest way to be provocative… but while you summarily cast out any semblance of order or diplomacy in your bid for provocative things… I suggest you find a nice Adult entertainment bar… it’s much more sophistacated and they like their people to tip well… it is good… I enjoy it… and you’ll meet interesting friends find out what’s going on and have a casual good time with friendly people.

At this point Frodo441 obviously exceeded the word count allowed in comments but God bless him, wouldn't you know he came back for more, as follows;

You would do better to ask the question why for instance does it take France so long to implement sanctions on Iran for threats of creating war and funding people who believe in Jihad… you would do also do well asking why the English can’t teach their children how to speak and why British Scientists found a deep dark void in outer space?
Let alone why Buddhist monks are protesting and being jailed in Malaysia and what could be done about that…being that in the world it’s coming down to the Pacific rim… you could go deeper and ask the ancient question why do people always run back to India looking for something new to eat that they couldn’t tell what it is…. while they put the key on their tongue?…
These are very good questions to ask oneself… another question you could ask yourself… who will ofter you some kind relief in the future when you are left without a nickel to your name because of the lack of protective measures for Americans… these are also lofty questions that need to be addressed… not only could offer some enlightening questions and answers about the War effort and what’s going on in the Capital…?
This is also a good venue for yourself to feel provocative…But I suggest that (with your apparent acumen) go somewhere in public and just take off your clothing , it’s the type of provocative heady weighty material and copy that you probably are very fond off…but can’t seem to get up the courage to do it in a good way so that people can see how provocative you really are.

Astounding that some lunatics can manage to extrapolate from an excellent post visually putting into perspective the sheer scale of the issue that the writer of such a post needs to find "an adult entertainment bar" and other such stupidities - wouldn’t like to live on his planet!

Way to go Frodo441 - that fairly told That!s Ireland (that you happen to be a complete crack-pot)!

No doubt poor old Frodo441 will surely add some of my posts to his "fellonious" list and may even imply, that I too, have "seditious tendencies" - I think I'll manage to get over it!

Technorati Tags: Catholic Church Cardinal Desmond Connell That!s Ireland Twenty Major

Couldn't agree more!

Paige expressing sentiments I agree whole-heartedly with and as ever, expressing them so much more eloquently than I ever could;

"Suffer Little Children
February 2, 2008 ·
“Wrong, regrettable and contrary to the common good” says the Catholic Church.

Alas, they aren’t referring to the shameful attempt by the former Archbishop of Dublin to gag his successor but rather the fact that Brian Cowen was cutting VAT (and hence the price) of condoms.

I’m not sure what bizzare parallel univese that I live in. But in my world, the abuse of children by people who claim a pastoral mission is a despicable and evil crime. Covering up such crimes by someone who claims to care is revolting. In m twisted world, there is nothing about making condoms more affordable that I can find wrong and objectionable. If it eliminates one unnecessary STI (mind you, I’m not sure if there is ever a credible case for using the phrase necessary STI!) or stops two drug-addled teenagers bring a young babe into the world, I’m all for it.

Clearly I need a significant re-adjustment of reality.

Paige"

And whilst I'm plagarising Paige (that has a ring to it actually!) may I add my delight to the fact that the great Omani has put his head over the parapet once more. Welcome back Omani, babysteps!

Technorati Tags: Catholic Church Condoms Paige Harrison Omani

How could I refuse???

I faced a dilemma and I chose; I chose to swap the 10-litre (yup 10 litre!) box of white table wine I had for, wait for it; ......... a full case of french Domaine de la Ferrandiere Grenache Gris plus 4 bottles of Ernest & Julio Gallo White Zinfandel plus a 5-litre box of Rose as well as a half full 5-litre box of Rose to add to my already relatively recently well-enhanced stock.

Whilst none of it could ever be considered fine wine, in the snobby sense, the stuff in the box is very drinkable, a lot of people love the Ernest & Julio Zinfandel and the unknown quantity, the case of Grenache Gris is apparently "A superb Rose. Paler & more delicate than most. This wine has a lovely soft delicate creamy - even toffee - flavour. Superbly dry & with delicate fruit & freshness. A lovely little wine to savour on its own on Summer Evenings........" according to York Wines.

Admittedly, it is a shit-load of Rose to be consumed by one household (when that household consists of one householder only!!!) but the summer approacheth fast, thank God and my beautiful new garden and table and chairs await the assured bon homie that so much wine can bring forth!

As I just put my new wine rack together I can now categorically confirm that the current wine count in Curly K's house stands as follows:

• 6 bottles of Champagne (including a special Brown Thomas edition Millienium bottle, with one earmarked as a present for my friend who got engaged recently)
• 1 bottle of sparkling white wine (cos even though this gal loves Champagne, the real thing is too good to be drunk alone but sparkly I can drink alone, guilt-free)
• 11 bottles of red wine (including 3 different bottle of Châteauneuf du Pape, some Saumur and a couple of Crozes Hermitage)
• 4 bottles of white wine (recently Curly K has been favouring white wine, hence the low numbers but I do have a little gem of Vinho Verde from Portugal - very difficult to get here in Ireland, a nice Samur and a nice Vouvray in there)
• 19 bottles of Rose
• 5 litre box of Rose (boxes are incredibly handy if you live alone and don't want to open a nice bottle only for some of it to be left to go off during the school week!)
• 3 litre box of Red

Houston, I think we might have a problem here, that's only the wine count of alcohol in Curly K's house and does not include the usual drinks press stuff like Gin, Vodka, whisky, or even the two bottles of Brittany Cider in the press!

Seriously, though, how does one best store wine in a standard 3 bed house with no garage, no basement etc.? Methinks the wine rack in the kitchen may not be the best place. Answers on a postcard please.

Technorati Tags: Wine

LMFAO!

Thanks Mammy, I didn't even know you could turn on a computer, let alone find my blog and the Irish Blog Awards site and log on to vote me into the longlist for 2 feckin catagories - respect!

Well, well, well, smack my arse and call me a fatty but someone actually logged onto the awards site and voted this blog (money is in the post - you know I'll eliminate poverty, hunger, war, global warming and all the skinny beautiful people if I win!) onto two longlists in the Irish Blog Awards. Don't worry, haven't lost the run of myself thinking I'm a great blogger or anything but cheers to whoever did it :). Nice to know at least one person is reading! I'm all warm and fuzzy inside now but to be fair that could be the bottle of wine I've consumed tonight!

Would someone tell that prick to butt out?

You'd think that the supposedly esteemed Cardinal Desmond Connell would still be hanging his head in shame for the fact that he presided over the Archdiocese of Dublin for 16 of the 29 dark years now being examined by the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation, which was set-up to examine the sexual abuse scandals from 1975 - 2004. You'd think that he would have some sense that the Church (the real Church i.e. the people of Catholic faith) now want the truth and an end to the systemic cover-up that has been endemic in the Catholic Church for far, far too long. You think he'd have a sense that not only were those childrens' lives destroyed, but that the systemic cover-up was soul-destroying for those honest, decent, hard-working priests that have had to work in exceedingly difficult situations not only when the abuse was going on but during the last few turbulent years which the Catholic Church has experienced.

But no, true to form for a certain old-school, ultra right-wing, arrogant and condescending element of the Church hierachy, he has now thrown a curve-ball at the investigation after his previous declarations of full disclosure and co-operation. His successor, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, had waived privilege on a substantial number of documents. Diarmuid Martin is a man doing a difficult job at a difficult time and has always seemed to me to be a man of enormous integrity, and Desmond Connell should have the good grace to leave well enough alone and give his successor the respect he is due and allow him to do his job, his way, which happens to be a lot more transparent and respectful to the members of the Catholic Church than the "esteemed" Cardinal's!

Like I say, someone should tell that prick to butt out - hasn't he already done enough damage?

Technorati Tags: Catholic Church Cardinal Desmond Connell Archbishop Diarmuid Martin

Play building blocks and win a car???

Ok, so regular readers will already be familiar with the fact that Curly K needs to get a life but fuck me watching the Late Late show car giveaway just gets sadder everytime. So, what amazing feat did the poor bastards have to complete this time, aside from the ludicrous questions (how many Jelly babies in this massive jar etc!). Well tonight Matthew, they had to build a tower out of baby building bricks - fucking ridiculous! Really I need to get out more, Friday night tv is pure shite.

Technorati Tags: Late Late Show Car Giveaway

Following the ongoing appalling treatment of some Irish women seeking diagnosis and treatment for Breast Cancer and indeed inspired by Avoiding Life's ongoing months of waiting to be seen and get a diagnosis as to what is causing her breast to bleed Sabrina Dent has launched a fantastic campaign called Two Tits and a Vote which is calling for better access to Breast Health Care for the women of this country. Please drop over to the site and sign the petition and add your voice to the protest against the second-rate service that women are receiving at the hands of the health service in this country.

Technorati Tags: Sabrina Dent Avoiding Life Two Tits and a vote Breast Care

I have a new best friend!

This evening when I got home I was going through my post - full of the usual bills etc. when I noticed one letter that wasn't a bill. It was my first letter from the little girl I sponsor in Burkino Faso, which is the poorest country in Africa. Although she didn't write herself, as sadly, she doesn't attend school, it was written by a local volunteer and translated into English for me. She is only 7 and her family are really poor subsistence farmers, this is the letter she sent me;

"Hello Curly K,

NK and family are writing this letter to send you some news from them. She is healthy as well as her family. NK and family thank you very much for what you are doing for their child NK who has become your best friend.

NK informs you that her parents are farmers and that they all live T, a small rural town 170km far from the capital Ouagadougou. They inform you that they live only from farming and breeding and also from fishing and gardening. They leave you on these lines and hope to hear from you soon."

It is one of the shortest letters I've ever received and written in far from perfect English but it is one of the best letters I've ever received! I'm so glad that little NK is healthy and doing well. I wish, for her sake, she was able to attend school but unfortunately there is only so much any aid agency can do to encourage children to attend school and apparently it is not unusual where NK lives for children not to attend school. I must write back to her very soon, I've been meaning to write since I began sponsoring her and have not yet got around to it.

Unfortunately, the charity I am sponsoring NK through do not allow you to send parcels but I do want to include a lot of bright and interesting pages in my letter, such as a coloured map of the world and a few things like that. Got some nice little stickers as well that I can include. Any ideas of anything else that can fit in a letter envelope are welcome!

Technorati Tags: Sponsor a child Burkino Faso

Shopaholic?

Anyone that knows Curly K well will know that I hate shopping and generally speaking shop like a man - see something I like and buy it, no going backwards and forwards between shops trying on a million outfits for this gal. I've even been know to buy the same thing in several different colours if I like it and think it suits, as many of my male friends do!

So, I'm quite shocked to say that recently I've spent quite some time browsing online catalogues and ordering quite a few clothes! Whilst I've ordered the clothes item online before I've never placed orders like I have in the last week or two so now I will have to wait and see if they fit and if I like them. Still find it strange to order stuff and not pay upfront. Not something I like doing so bills will be paid immediately - my previous experience with a (relatively small but still substantial) creeping credit card balance have at least taught me that much in life! (Old age and becoming financially sensible is a strange experience for an undisciplined woman like myself!! )

Bugger, am I a skittle, bell, or a brick?

So Trinny & Susannah have come up with a new classification for womens bodyshapes and I don't fit easily into any one of them - bloody typical! They have none to fit brood shoulders, tiny tits (relatively speaking - even though they a 38C/D - 40C/D!), big belly, a massive arse, tree trunk thighs and cankles!

Might just have to send them an email to confirm just how badly shaped I am - maybe they'll add the "jesus, she's massive" label to their current list;

• The Skittle – average size bust, slim waist, okay tummy with big thighs and chunky calves (e.g. Halle Berry)
• The Bell – small shoulders, bust and waist, short waist with big thighs and bottom (e.g. Hillary Clinton)
• The Pear – small bust, long waist, flat tummy, saddle bags and heavy legs (e.g. Sandra Bullock)
• The Apple – average bust, tummy larger than bust with flat bottom and okay legs (e.g. Kathy Bates)
• The Vase – large bust, gently curving long waist, hips same width as bust with slim thighs and legs (e.g. Kate Winslet)
• The Column – shoulder width same as hip width with a slight waist and long legs (e.g. Nicole Kidman)
• The Brick – broad shoulders, no waist, average tummy, flat bottom with chunky thighs and calves (e.g. Kim Cattrell)
• The Cello – large bust, hips, bottom and thighs with slim lower legs (e.g. Oprah Winfrey)
• The Hourglass – large bust, small and short waist, large hips and full thighs (e.g. Salma Hayek)
• The Goblet – broad shoulders, large bust, no waist with narrow hips and long legs (e.g. Catherine Zeta Jones)
• The Cornet – broad shoulders, small bust, no waist with slim hips and slim long legs (e.g. Cameron Diaz)
• The Lollipop – large bust with slight waist, slim hips and long legs (e.g. Angelina Jolie)

Technorati Tags: Trinny & Susannah Bodyshape

On a more positive note!

After my gloomy last post just wanted to ensure first post of the new year is much more upbeat and positive (sorry folks, have been dosed with one of the bugs that has been doing the rounds - if what you do on New Year's Day predicts your forthcoming year I'm fucked as spent the entire day under two duvets sweating a high temperature flu / tummy bug combo out - but enough of that!!)

We're all familiar with the saying that it's much better to give than to receive but without wanting to sound really preachy, it is so, so true. I don't want to go into details but today I carried out a random act of kindness, which I have posted about before, and really the feel-good factor makes me feel like I was the one who got something. So, if you see an opportunity to do something nice for someone in the next day or two, why not go for it. It is contagious so what better way to begin the new year other than spreading a bit of feel good factor around!

Also, in the last day or two things have just had a few occasions where things have just fallen into place;

• having spent the last number of months looking in vain for black ankle boots to replace my reliable everyday pair (they had to be leather, not too high-heeled, with a solid block heel and wide-fitting - you wouldn't believe how hard it was to find a pair that matched my requirements!) I managed to find two different pairs that fitted the bill exactly and they were cheap as chips - got them and a pair of "Gluv" shoes for work for €55 for all three!!!
• think I have finally found a suite of furniture that I like, knew I would know it when I saw it, went through the whole leather/fabric, recliner/non-recliner, corner/non-corner, modern/traditional dilemmas and still hadn't decided and then when I wasn't actually even looking for a suite I saw it, the first suite that I had ever considered buying! I knew immediately that it almost perfect but there were a few things I wanted to tweak. I had stumbled upon the suite in a shop which is part of chain and the staff were very helpful but I did want to check if the guy in my regular furniture shop could get something similiar as I really didn't want to walk past him with the business as I've always found him to be very honest, helpful and reasonably priced and a small local business. So I visited my friendly local with picture of said suite and eureka, he can get something quite similiar but with all the tweaks I wanted (firmer cushions, higher legs and higher back, in any material that I choose) for the same price or less and in half the time once I order it!!
• all that and one of my best friends and my former housemate got engaged on New Year's Day!

So all in all, things are good right now!

Technorati Tags: Random Acts of kindness