Going the Distance

I’ve only been married for 4 years.  I know I moan a lot about my hubby on Twitter but honestly we’re happily married, even though I do get the urge to stab him occasionally!  A few people have got the wrong idea and have tried it ‘on’ but that’s a whole different post.

We’ve had a very difficult year, some of which I’m willing to share and some I’m not.  Many of you know that my in-laws passed away within 18 hours of each other in June.  Interestingly, and without sounding soppy, it did bring us closer together, even though the stress of his father being terminally ill and relocating his mother did result in a few flare ups to be honest.

My in-laws had been together for 63 years and in a way it was romantic that they went together and his mother would not have coped very well on her own.  They’ve both been cremated and their ashes will be spread together in Belfast next spring.  The registrar said it was the first time she had ever put two family members next to each other on the death register.  They’ll always be together now.

One thing I wished I would’ve asked them was what was the secret to a successful marriage?  Statistically, one in two marriages ends in divorce and I don’t want to be one of those statistics.

I was contacted by Diffusion Media and asked to promote a new series, which follows recently married Mike and Alanna on a motorcycle and sidecar, as they search for the secret to a long lasting relationship. The first part of their quest takes them across states and countries, meeting with everyone from Eskimos to Nobel Peace Prizewinners! And now they’re coming to the UK to discover just what it is that makes British couples special when it comes to making love last.

I did not receive anything in return for this post; I just think it looks brilliant.  I love travel programmes, adventure and would love to know the secret to a lasting relationship.  I hope it’s as good as it looks.  What do you think?

Secret Post Club May 2010

Just when I was going to give up the Secret Post Club, the Royal Mail Red van pulled up and cheered me up to no end.  I absolutely love the idea of the gift swap, but at the moment with everything going on, I really couldn’t face trying to remember to buy a gift by the 15th of every month.  But, this was just what the doctor ordered.

The lovely and blog-famous Josie from ‘Sleep is for the Week’ obviously put a lot of thought into her gift.  I wish I could say the same….

As you can see:

The wine is gone and I’ve moved onto bigger things!

The biscuits are open and I’m going to put the rest on a plate, cover with cling film and take to mother-in-law and pass them off as my own.  ;-)  Thanks for the brownie points or should I say cookie points.

And ‘The Wonderful Weekend Book’ by Elspeth Thompson’, don’t take it the wrong way but it’s the kind of book that you would put in the loo and pick up from time to time.  It’s all about reclaiming life’s simple pleasures.  Had a quick look at the table of contents and I’m going to:

  • Make a Movie
  • Have sex (not at same time as making movie)
  • Do a spot of spring cleaning (may get the cleaner to do this one?)
  • Go on a Spring Detox (in May 2025)
  • Compile a recipe book (consisting of take-away menus)
  • Pick your own (does my nose count?)
  • Get Out the Magnifying Glass (think hubby may take umbrage to that)
  • Light a Real Fire (Marlborough??)
  • Out with the Old and In With the New (ooh, a toy boy!)

All joking aside, I absolutely love books like this.  We all need to ‘reclaim our weekends by recharging our batteries and enjoying the simple pleasures in life!’

Josie I can’t thank you enough for such a lovely, thoughtful present and it’s been a pleasure to meet you.

Secret Post Club

What a treat to return home to see that the postman has been and brought me a gift instead of bills.   For those of you who don’t know what the Secret Post Club is, it’s the brainchild of Heather from Notesfromlapland.  It’s basically a giant Secret Santa for bloggers.  Each month everyone chucks their name in and then you are assigned a person to send a gift to.  For more info or to join in click here.

This is the first time I have been involved and I received my first gift today. Emily sent me home-made blue cheese biscuits, wonderfully wrapped and with a hand written note.  I haven’t had a handwritten letter in years, what a treat.  She obviously put a lot of thought into this gift and spent time exploring my blog to see what I’d like.  It probably didn’t take her long to work out that I can’t cook and I drink too much red wine.  It’s the perfect gift and I can’t wait to try them but I’ll have to wait until wine o’clock.  Many thanks Emily!

As for the gift I sent.  There has been a wee hiccup.  I’ll tell you all about it later.