Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Madeleine's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
10:59 pm	Can anyone help me with James' Christmas present? I have just placed a bid on ebay for what will hopefully be James' Christmas present. If I win, I will need to go and pick it up from Rotherham. I probably shouldn't go on my own though, so I was wondering if someone wouldn't mind coming with me? Also, does anybody have anywhere I could hide it? Thanks. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, November 13th, 2009
10:24 pm	Happy Things (TM) I'm going to dedicate this post to Happy Things. First off, Jag and Rachel's babies. We saw their baby twins (Jessica and Isaac) for the first time on Sunday and I got to hold little Jessica. Apparently, they'd been trying to have children since they got married and were told that it couldn't happen. One of the great things about believing in God is that even when the situation looks hopeless, you can still ask Him to sort it out. Anyway, God sorted it out and after some prayer and fasting, they conceived twins. On Thursday, we were praying for Jag's job interview and Pastor Dave joked that Jag would probably get two jobs. I found out yesterday that someone else is having a baby, but it might be too early to talk about that yet :) I made some chocolate muffins last week. They were so good, James didn't criticise them. I decorated them with chocolate butter icing, chocolate buttons, rainbow buttons, maltesers, flakes, dolly mixtures, little fudge pieces and pink glitter. They looked awesome. James' sister Angie graduated today. She got to wear a poncified gown and shake hands with the chancellor. Go Angie! Like me, she now has a 2.1 in biomedical science. And she and her children now have a better house to live in. And she has a particularly beautiful and friendly cat, who has made me want a cat even more. I finally persuaded my computer to boot without the Windows 7 DVD in the drive. The solution was relatively simple, but I'd been putting it off because it involved unplugging the second hard drive. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
7:41 pm	"Come back when you're married..." I recently got an e-mail at work about sexual health/HIV training... or something like that. Anyway, it made me think about what I'd be like as a sexual health/family planning advisor. ( Can you imagine it...? ) It probably wouldn't be a good career move for me. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
8:18 pm	No, it IS our house! ( No, I'm not pregnant... ) ( Offer accepted! ) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
8:44 pm	Management Bingo I have a new game that I play at work. It's called Management Bingo. I have a sheet with a load of "manager-speak" words and phrases, such as "effectiveness", "trust policy", "forward thinking" etc. and whenever a manager says one of them (e-mails count), I cross them off. I've got eight so far. The idea came to me after we got a ridiculous e-mail from one of the managers about how they were planning to "apply lean thinking in order to enhance current processes". Nobody in our office knew what "lean thinking" was and the manager in question probably didn't either. I wonder who comes up with this jargon? Still, it gave us a good laugh. We had to evacuate (albeit briefly) yesterday because something caught fire in the pathology labs. I told James about it and he told me they had a fire at ALcontrol two weeks ago because someone from the food lab set a burger on fire. I went to my annual fire lecture today and ironically I returned to the office to find an enormous cage trolley thing blocking the corridor. We went to have another look at the house #18 on Friday. Still impressed. James' parents came with us and they liked the look of it as well. Now I just have to persuade James to put an offer in. That's probably going to be the hardest part of the buying process! Just got an e-mail from my dad, looks like he's off to India soon and will be spending the rest of the winter months in Thailand, as usual. Henry said he'd come up and help us out with the decorating when we do get a house. Dad said we will only get his assistance with the decorating when we buy a listed building of some substance. James went to Meadowhell earlier and I asked him to pick me up some socks. He got me Hello Kitty socks! YAY! Heh. I just clicked the "Detect location" button and it thinks I'm in Blackburn. Not quite, Livejournal... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
9:21 pm	Can I have House #18 please? House #18 - Loxley Pros: Loxley is very pretty, it's closer to where most of my friends live, secluded and quiet, reasonably close to work and Church, house itself looks poncified both inside and out, gardens are nice, has ball pit room (aka conservatory), lots of storage, downstairs toilet, smallest bedroom already has desk area (for computers), no chain. Cons: We can only just afford the "minimum" asking price, new carpets needed throughout, can't get vehicle very close to house (would make moving more difficult). Maddie wants this house. James also seemed reasonably impressed with it (James is notoriously difficult to impress) and he told the guy we'd be in touch, which is something he didn't say to any of the others. Also, it has two toilets and a conservatory. The significance of that is that Pastor Master was praying for us to find the right house and he randomly prayed for it to have the right conservatory and the right toilets. I did want a conservatory actually, he must have read my mind or something. I hate it when pastors do that, it's really unnerving. They're praying for you and you're standing there thinking, "How the flip did he know that???". Today one of the consultant plastic surgeons came into the office and told us that her husband (also a plastic surgeon) was away in Dundee or something... and he e-mailed her some photos to show her how to do this operation. Anyway, they got intercepted by the police and because the photos were of children, they're now being investigated for paedophilia. Whoops. (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
5:38 pm	Jobs, houses, ill-fitting shoes, kittens and lucid dreams. Still trying to get a better job. Applied for another Assistant Genetic Technologist job earlier. I've applied before and they haven't given me an interview, but I've kept tweaking my application and who knows, maybe they'll like it this time. A Waiting List Co-ordinator job has just come up and I might go for that because the waiting list co-ordinators have just been upgraded to a band 4. I don't really want to be a waiting list co-ordinator, but like most people we could do with the extra money. Still house-hunting too. I get the impression James doesn't really want that house in Woodhouse despite the good size and location because it looks ugly and he feels it would be far too difficult to resell. I found one on the internet last night that I really liked the look of. We'll ring the estate agents tomorrow to arrange a viewing. It's in Loxley, which made Mary from Church happy because she wants us to live near Hillsborough. If we do want it, we may require some form of divine intervention because they want "offers over £100,000" and we definitely can't afford anything over £100,000. Went shopping yesterday to get some new work shoes (old ones have holes in). Unfortunately nobody sells half sizes so I had to get size 5. They were all right when I tried them on with socks, but I wear tights to work and today I realised they're actually too big. Maybe if I stuff the toes with tissue and get about three pairs of heel grips... Oh and I got another (toy) kitten. I already had a grey one called Cloudy, a ginger one called Sunny and a white one called Misty. The new one is black with little white bits and he's called... James. This is because back in the days when James was just some guy I spoke to on the bus going to/from work, I decided that if he were a cat, he'd be a black cat with a little white bit under his chin and little white socks. ( Lucid Dream Challenge ) Current Music: Kool & The Gang + Jamelia - Straight Ahead (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
6:43 pm	I think the estate agents are fed up with us as they are no longer responding to our requests to view houses. I want House #9 and it turns out it's still on the market: This one is my favourite OK it doesn't look very nice from the outside, but it's much bigger than most of the others, it's in a non-dodgy area, on the 52 bus route and it has a ball pit room, I mean conservatory. The problem is that James is the one who has to make the final decision on this- and he has a very hard time accepting something that is not perfect. He is worried about the construction style of the house as it looks cheap. James: There's probably a good reason why it's still on the market after all these months. Maddie: Because it's *our* house! James: *laughs* Maddie: Elaine said that if this was our house, nobody else would be able to buy it! James: Elaine lives in Shiregreen. I think I'll ask them if we can go and see it for a second time. ( The usual rambling ) (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 8th, 2009
3:27 pm	House #17 - Wybourn Pros: Reasonably close to the tram, house is well-maintained and looks poncified, driveway, garage, big outbuilding, conservatory, on the market for just £85,000. Cons: Bedrooms not very big and made considerably smaller by having hundreds of fitted units in. Bathroom also small. Not much space in the garden due to outbuildings. Fitted hob is electric. This house is certainly a possibility. We'd have to take out a lot of the fitted wardrobes (I think my sister is the only person I know who could actually fill all those!) and I think we would use the conservatory as a dining room. It doesn't have as much space as some of the others, but it would be quite easy for me to get to work. It should also be possible to replace the electric hob with a gas one, as the property does have gas. James thought the boiler might need replacing as well. I have just pre-ordered Windows 7. I've had a 64-bit processor for years now and I still don't have a 64-bit operating system. I pre-ordered the home edition from Amazon and it was < £70, which isn't bad for a new version of Windows. Right, I'm off to play good old C&C Tiberian Sun. Not played it in years. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 30th, 2009
10:32 am	House #16 - Parsons Cross Pros: Nice conservatory, big bedrooms, outbuildings, private garden, lots of storage space, looks good from the outside, well maintained. Cons: Getting to work might be a pain, needs new carpets etc. ( Rambling about illness, jobs, cake and The Sims ) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, July 13th, 2009
9:48 pm	House #13 - Southey Green Pros: Out of the way, big conservatory, huge and sunny garden, carpets in good condition, met the police officers who patrol there and they said they've never been called out there, vacant. Cons: Some bits need replastering etc., has no bath, transport links not very good. House #14 - Handsworth Pros: Nice area, on 52 bus route, nicely decorated, has bath AND shower cubicle. Cons: Needs new doors, looks tatty from the outside, master bedroom not very big. House #15 - Parsons Cross Pros: Pretty garden with pond, neighbours all have lovely gardens, driveway with space for two cars, big bedrooms, new kitchen, beautiful bathroom with corner bath, lots of storage space, Netto within walking distance, house looks good from the outside, downstairs toilet, vacant. Cons: Parsons Cross has bad reputation (although the immediate area looks fine), needs redecorating and new carpets. ( More house-related rambling ) (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 21st, 2009
9:12 pm	June Convection! House #12 - Wybourn Pros: Best garden I have ever seen, detached garage and poncified-looking driveway, not too far out, right next to a tram stop, house is green! Cons: House is too small and was generally unimpressive, not a particularly nice area. I haven't requested any more viewings. I might have another look now though, see if there are any more that we ought to look at. We went to view a house in Beighton, but there was nobody there. We decided not to bother with it though, because Beighton is a long way out. ( Breakthrough convection? ) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
9:04 pm	House #9 - Woodhouse Pros: Lots of space, conservatory, utility room, quiet area, on 52 bus route, walking distance of Woodhouse train station, nice garden, vacant, low asking price. Cons: No bath (although it wouldn't be too difficult to put one in), not on tram route, car has to be parked on road. House #10 - Brightside Pros: Looks pretty from the outside, nice little garden with a decked area and a shed, dining room, driveway, garage, we wouldn't have to move very far, near tram stop. Cons: Current owners not found a new house yet, bedrooms a bit small. House #11 - Longley Park Pros: Double fronted, spacious, quiet road, big pond in garden with lots of fish (although needs cleaning), parking space, dining room. Cons: Parts of the house look run-down, kitchen didn't look very nice, poor transport links. I think House #9 might be the one. We've been looking for a compromise between location and space and I think we've found the right balance there. This morning I was imagining James and I having breakfast in the kitchen of that house and it just seemed to work. I've been thinking about walking down the road to catch the bus to work in the morning, chatting to the neighbours and redecorating it. James' sister lives in Kiveton Park, so it would be easy for her to hop on a train to come and visit as well. We have a couple more viewings lined up this week. One on Friday in Beighton, but I've just realised that if they're serious about the "guide price", then we won't be able to afford that one. There's another one on Saturday afternoon that we're going to look at, but I think it might be a bit small. The main attraction of that one is that it's green. At some point last week, I read a post of John's that mentioned creating an Age of Empires map with no other players but lots of trees- and deforesting the whole lot. Anyway, that made me want to play Age of Empires, so James and I have been staying up too late playing Age of Empires II. However, tonight I will not give in to Age of Empires. Tonight I will go to bed at a reasonable time, i.e. within the next hour or so. ( rant about BNP-supporting work colleagues ) One last thing that I remembered. James was at work today and Derek (my old boss) came up to him and asked if he was still in touch with me (James and I used to eat lunch/catch the bus together). James replied, "Am I still in touch with her? I MARRIED her!!!". That must have been a bit of a shock. Wish I'd seen his face! (Comment on this)
Friday, June 5th, 2009
10:07 pm	'Cause I'm Herr Brightside... House #8 - Skye Edge (not the council estate bit) Pros: Gigantic garden of doom, massive cooker that would enable me to bake about three cakes at once, washing machine and dishwasher included, quite close to city centre, quiet area with good views, new carpets, driveway, gas fire in the living room. Cons: No bath, garden sloped, floors uneven, previous owner went crazy with plug sockets (there's even one above the stairs), a couple of windows need replacing, smallest room has been extended into the main bedroom and made it a weird shape. James really liked the garden. It was massively overgrown as the owner had gone to America. I wasn't sure how we'd tame it, especially given that it was so sloped- and realistically, we probably wouldn't have the time to put into it. ( Open up mein eager eyes... ) (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 29th, 2009
8:15 pm	House #6- Somewhere between Norfolk Park and Manor Pros: Lots of space, cheapest house we've seen so far (mortgage payments would be considerably less than the rent on this apartment), garage, new bathroom, new kitchen, quite close to city centre, area doesn't look too dodgy, covered driveway, patio. Cons: Looks really horrible from the outside, needs redecorating throughout, one or two ceilings need replastering, boiler might need replacing, garage door is all rusty. House #7- Hackenthorpe Pros: Nicely decorated, new kitchen, impressive garden, utility room, quiet area. Cons: Poor transport links, car has to be parked on the road some distance away from the house itself, quite far out. House #7 was quite nice, but for some reason didn't really appeal to me- I can't even put my finger on why. The guy had a cat and a hawk that lived in an aviary in the back garden. Well, the hawk lived in the aviary. The cat was curled up on one of the beds, looking contented. I think house #6 has great potential. There probably isn't anything that needs doing to it that we couldn't do ourselves, although I think I would have to enlist the help of my little brother. I love how it's nearly 9 o'clock and it's not dark yet. James' birthday is on Thursday, we are thinking of going to Magna. I have meant to go there since I started at ALcontrol, but so far haven't gotten round to it. I've now booked the tickets, which means we are definitely going. Denise, Eunice and Rachel are all coming back to work on Monday, so I'll be back doing my own job. However, rather that feeling relieved, I actually feel slightly disappointed because I'll be back to doing nothing but typing. I think I might apply for some more challenging jobs this weekend. (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
8:04 pm	"Oh wait- I'm allergic to hydrocortisone" House #4- Intake Pros: Looks pretty from the outside, nice garden, good area, close to tram stop, new windows, bedrooms reasonable size. Cons: Smells of old people, needs redecorating throughout, needs rewiring, needs new kitchen and bathroom, bathroom is very small, would cost a fortune just to make it livable. House #5- Hillsborough Pros: Much closer to Church, friends and work than the others, friendly neighbours, pretty garden, tastefully decorated, well insulated, has cool attic room, kitchen contains biggest cooker in the world (for making big cakes!), has little outhouse for storing bikes/recycling etc. Cons: Not much space downstairs, living room can be seen from the street (meaning that musical instruments might have to go somewhere else), car parking might be difficult at times, asking price is a bit high (but should be able to afford it if ~£5k knocked off), neighbours' cute kids might make me broody. ( House evaluation and general rambling ) (Comment on this)
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
11:47 am	The search continues... House #2, Gleadless Pros: Garage, conservatory, close to tram stop, really cool bathroom, nice big kitchen, living room not visible from outside. Cons: Rough area, needs some work, garden is a six foot square patio with a washing line in the middle. House #3, Intake Pros: Nice area, beautiful garden (has pond!), garage, cheap. Cons: Needs a LOT of work, horrible kitchen, tiny bedrooms. Someone put round an email at work asking if anyone had a chocolate fountain they wanted to sell. I told her she could have mine for free. She accepted and I brought it in the next day. The next morning I found an envelope on my desk containing a note thanking me for the chocolate fountain and a lottery ticket. A lottery ticket? That's a bit random. Is it still gambling if somebody else gives you the ticket? (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 9th, 2009
8:05 pm	The search begins... House prices have apparently dropped considerably, but they're still too expensive if you ask me. We wanted to live in Walkley/Crookes/Hillsborough sort of area but it looks like the houses there are mostly beyond our means and the ones that aren't just don't seem worth the amount that they're asking for. The other day I got an email at work from someone who wanted nearly £110,000 for a one-bedroom flat in Nether Edge. Do we get a rubbish house in an area that is close to our friends or do we get a considerably better house further out? I've really missed everybody since I moved out here. It's been weird having spent four years living with my friends and then hardly ever seeing anyone. We looked at our first house yesterday. It was in Swallownest. The road looked rough. On one side it had flats with the number spray painted on the side and on the other side it had dirty-looking pebble-dash semis... except for the one we were viewing, which was all painted and looked nice. House #1 Pros: New kitchen, dining room, conservatory, drive space for two cars, garden with patio, owners probably leaving the dining table, chairs, fridge freezer + corner sofa, cheap, has 3 bedrooms. Cons: Location is a bit rubbish, would be difficult for me to get to work and people who don't have cars would have trouble visiting. Not a particularly nice area. I really liked the house actually, but if I lived there, I would probably feel even more isolated than I do now. We've been looking around the Gleadless area today. I think we will probably end up having to live a bit further out- we will just have to throw lots of parties to make sure we see people. I really can't wait to live in a proper house again, an apartment just doesn't feel like home. I also can't wait until we can actually have visitors. We can't invite people round here because it's a tip and there isn't enough space for everything. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
7:35 pm	Yay, kittens! ( Long update post with pictures of wedding. And a picture of me with a kitten. ) (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 4th, 2009
11:13 am	Steal meme from Harriet now. ( Yoink. ) (1 Comment |Comment on this)