Fat Angel Goes Thin

I'm on a weightloss journey, and since it's not really what I want to blog about as a DomCom, I'm developing a split personality and having a new blog specifically for this. Find it here if you want to see the incredible shrinking Angel.

Remember me....

When I finally got around to writing another entry on my blog, the computer had the effrontery to ask, "Remember me".....
It's been 6 months since my last blog, 6 months probably since I last commented on anyones blog and definitely 6 months since I spent any concentrated time in the blogosphere. I still owe someone a Christmas swap.... I hope she's still talking to me when finally the package makes it to her. Where have I been? I don't know! But I'm back... and this time it's personal.
My home computer has deserted me, stopped internetting and after months of harrumphing at it I have finally admitted defeat. I went and looked at notepads (not the paperchase kind) and tomorrow Iwill be delivered of a red (That's a RED) Dell thingy that looks like this;
So from tomorrow I'm back and not just in the half hour that I can grab from the kids and the cooking. I can be online 24/7 365, constantly at your beck and call..... but not for the first week. For the first week I will be playing with my new Baby. Dell. Adele? Del Boy? Delbert? Nah, this red temptress had better be Delilah. She can have a hand felted case and lots of exciting adventures. Mobile technology. Great,eh?

In which the Domcom apologises for a long absence and posts some pictures of a Christmassy home.

Wow! November 9th! And I haven't been working, honest I haven't. I've barely been on the puter either... or I'd have written before! I know that the first week of December I Christmassed the house, but what happened before or since I don't know. There was that cold, that lasted two weeks, and I have helped at any and every Christmas thing at school (dressing for the play? Love to help! Trip to Santa? Certainly, and I'll take 200 photos while I'm there!) so I haven't done nothing, in fact, I've used my catch up TV to watch every serious money programme and documentary going, and I figure that I am beginning to feel like I'm in the 30's and so I'm darned well going to live like that!( No, really, I looked up on a website where to get seamed stockings and my DH seems very keen!)

So, for a little light relief, here are some pictures. Enjoy (and hopefully I'll be back again soon)

But if I'm not, can I take this chance of wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a calm and peaceful 2009!

In which the Domcom shows a few photos of Madrid and has a book to comment about.

Last month, DH and I went to Madrid for our annual dirty weekend, if a weekend where both particpants are married to each other and shower everyday can be dirty. It's a break from the children, a chance to make sure that we can still talk to each other without awkward breaks and a chance to grab some culture without having to make it appeal to 10 year olds.

Madrid came up because of the convenient flights, both time wise and price wise, so off we jetted.

Having done Barcelona last year and having realised that a smattering of Spanish (dos cervesas, per favore) and a dash of French helps, we were pretty sure of a good time. Madrid lacks the seaside but has the museums, including the Prado, which I had long wanted to visit. We got there, got our paseo del arte and were off.

Lovely. Lovely. Lovely.

We visited all the cultural sights of the city, the Royal Palace, the museums and the Bernabeau Stadium. That last was my idea; what else do you do in a big city on a Saturday afternoon. Funnily enough, DH could think of no reasons not to go, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. We got to sit in the dug out, walk down the players' tunnel, see the trophy room and have a cracking case of vertigo from the top of the stands. Loved it.

Food wise, Madrid has great paella, the tapas bar we tried was fun, but the seafood is very in your face. I don't like to see tentacles and suckers, and there was Pulpo a plenty. The highlight for us was when we had a choice of an 8.30 or 10.30 booking and we chose the latter, a time we would consider at home as ridiculous but which is normal eating time in Spain. We went to a restaurant in England last week and were home by the time we would only have gone out in Spain!

I think Barcelona has the edge on Madrid; it has the seaside and the fantastic Gaudi buildings, whereas Madrid was a much more Museum based city, indeed a more business orientated place altogether. The old town wasn't as cute, the new town dirtier, but Madrid does have the advantage/disadvantage of being the country's capital.... and when you happen to be there on National Day there is a distinct chance you'll see something... this is the King Of Spain... look closer, can't you tell?

And a warning for Gaudi fans and Da Vinci Code readers.... The Gaudi Key is a preposterous romp through Barcelona where a young girl has been raised by her Grandfather to be really good at cyphers so that she can solve the clues hidden in the Masters work while crazed satanists try and stop her... It's not great literature but it was fun to read as long as you know your Gaudi. Fortunately, I had a book, otherwise I think you'd be lost. Some of th ebook is pure waffle, the rest is just plain daft. I liked it, but only because I am that sad individual who likes to sit there with a map and figure out if they're going the right way.

In which the Domcom shows off an award and admits her tags.

Tilly Tatas gave me an award and tagged me for a 7 random facts tag. I can't remember if I've ever done one before/ for a while so, here goes.

1.My left little finger is smaller than my right little finger. I think it means I'm more highly evolved.

2. I met my husband when I was 11 and finally asked him out when I was 22. I've known him for 29 years. That's scary!

3. I wanted to be a nun when I was 11. All Catholic girls do. Something to do with Bernadette and St Theresa. I blame Blue Peter.

4. I have a Blue Peter badge for writing in to the programme. I got it when I was 19 and applied to be a presenter. I'd still like to be one, but I content myself with being a teacher. Not so well paid, but a lot less trampolines.

5. I can win at Trivial Pursuits using mostly the brown squares. I will answer the cheese questions for the other colours, but brown is my favourite and my best.

6. I have never read War an dPeace. It's the russian names, all thos epatronimics bore me. But I have read Lord Of The Rings three times, an dthe names in that are just as weird. perhaps I like the story better.

7. My favourite food is chocolate ginger. My Nana used to eat them at Christmas and being the only one apart from her who liked it meant I always got some off her. My Mum buys it for me now. Bless. We like to remember Nana at Christmas, even though she died 8 years ago.

So, there you are. Seven random facts about me. Who to pick on now???? Well, I can think of who deserves a Super Commenter award better than a tag, so I'll do that.

My super commenters are;

Mary Mary fairly contrary

Jennie at Falling down the Rabbit Hole

Thimbleanna

Papoosue and

Angela at Tracing Rainbows

And, if you want to you can do the tag, too!

In which the Domcom introduces her new baby and boasts how it can run already...

You know my camera died. (RIP) Well, I am shortly embarking on an annual dirty weekend with my husband (dirty= no kids & plenty of fun in museums, royal palaces, cafes and shopping arcades, not glamping in a field) going to Madrid. We like capital cities and we like taking photos in them, so the race was on to find a new baby for me to carry around.

We went to Curry's and Comet.

Now the organised among you will know that, when looking for a new camera it is good to know what you want. The majority of you will know that life is not like that. We just knew it needed a lens, because all cameras do, that a button to press is good and that as long as it uploads to Photobox it will probably be useful.

As soon as we started looking at cameras, I knew the battle lines were drawn. Could I make do with a small point and press? 3x zoom? No macro facility? Did I really need it to have white exposure facility? A setting for fireworks? A 2gb memory card (extra?)

I have had a point and press and, God bless it, it worked admirably. I have also been frustrated by its inadequacies and the times it just couldn't do what I wanted it to. And, yes, I have to say that blog envy reared its ugly head here. Last year Everyone (Oh! how I dread the days my then-teenagers tell me what Everyone is doing!) was getting a new camera, that giggled and whistled Dixie. I knew I needed a serious piece of kit; if I got the best I could then my photos will be the ne plus ultra (I think that means the best, doesn't it?) the absolute epitome (pronounced epi-tomb) of photographic geniosity. Wouldn't they?

So in the middle of Currys I finally drew up my wish list. No Dixie, but a super zoom, weight immaterial, massive memory (200 on holiday was touch and go, I figured. I needed more), a range of effects to dazzle and annoy my children (No, just do that again, I want to do it in superchrome, too) and a kinky black body to show people that here was no pink or red credit-card-sized-camera wielder, here was a Dedicated shooter (I am, unfortunately, good with guns, more of that another time) who knew her SLR from her DDT.

And the inevitable happened. The money man said no. No in a loud voice. (Not shouting, just loud.) How could I suddenly turn around in a shop and say the £99 camera on offer was not good enough when I had had nothing more for three years? Well, Duh? Progression? I said that I hadn't looked and analysed my needs vs wants to come up with my essential criteria and that, now I had seen what was available at what price I knew that for an input of another £50 to £80 pounds I could have a good camera that would do better portraits, that would have a museum setting (no sound, no flash, Who knew such things existed?) and that would make my scrapbooks (when I get them out again) even better than before.

No. No, said the nasty money man. Did I sulk? Did I stomp off in a temper? No, I did not. I am a mature adult and I knew I would get my own way eventually one way or another (the government owe me £800 in tax; have they rushed to get it to me? No. I exist on the bread line at the moment, living on the charity of my DH and Ma and consequently unable to make the cash input to lift the level ........ but I digress.)

We went to Borders. We bought the magazine. We went on T'internet that night and we discussed options. I needed a better camera for you, dear readers, and Reader, I married him so I knew he would agree eventually. Sense was restored. We looked, we saw, we bought.

And so, here is my baby. Hiro my hero, named after this cute guy who makes Wednesdays fun again.

Hiro has no passport yet, but he does have an impressive 1000 frame memory (hey, I can't even remember breakfast. Oh, yeah, that's coz I haven't had it yet.) and the chunky not so sexy body of a serious power athlete.

And he does work. Expect some seriously picture heavy posts here for a while. That is, if the weather lets me go out. Hiro doesn't respond well to extremes of temperature.

Good, eh?

In which the Domcom writes a long article and puts it on the net, with no intention to offend, just to inform.

In another one of my alter egos I occasionally write articles for my parish magazine. I go to St Peter's Church Woolton.

It's a nice middle class church in a nice middle class suburb of Liverpool. Its biggest claim to fame is that the church hall is where John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time. There's a plaque and all sorts of tourists, mostly Japanese and American, come by to go Wow! Also, Eleanor Rigby is buried in the church yard. Apparently John Lennon had lots of time to hang around in church yards. Who knew?

Any way, at 2 this morning inspiration struck. It's always 2am, never 2pm. Still small voice, I expect, the one I can't hear during the day for the TV, the kids, the husband asking for his tea....

Anyway, I am proud of this article and so, though I hate to inflict a much longer post than usual on you I wanted to give you the sneek preview. I've sent this off for the November issue of the Mag', so you really are reading it a month ahead. I hope it helps anyone who is in need, and that those of us facing a downsizing in our available cash (that would be all of us, then) will find some comfort and support in the message. Apologies to any non-Christians reading it; but since this is the God of Jacob and Abraham, Habakkuk counts as a prophet for Jews, Christians and probably Muslims, so there' s only Sikhs and Hindus to be offended.

Habakkuk; The Credit Crunch Prophet.

A few weeks ago what most people already knew was finally made official; the world’s economy was in decline and we were, for better or worse, in a recession.
And by the end of September the situation was dire; Lehman Brother’s Bank went down, AIG rescued by the American Government and HBOS amalgamated with Lloyds TSB in a merger that promised as few job losses as they could and everywhere, everywhere, the words Credit Crunch on everybody’s lips.

One wisecracker joked that the credit crunch was like a new kids’ cereal: sweet to eat but no good for you in the long run. I suspect that many people in the country have come to rely on their easy credit as just another available source of income, and that the current recession is a nasty slap in the face to many high spending fashionistas and low earning families who need to bridge the gap between income and expenditure. To paraphrase Mr McCawber; when your outgoings are more than your income the result is misery.
So, in a time of global recession and worldwide need, who do we turn to for help? Well, practically there is always Martyn Lewis’ moneysavingexpert.com, but for true support and real advice, I think it has to be God, doesn’t it? And, I think, for a salutary lesson and support for the time ahead, Habakkuk takes the prize.

Written in the 6th century BC as Babylon rose to prominence as a world power, Habakkuk is a short 3 chapter book that acts almost like a Question Time for God, but without David Dimbleby. Habakkuk had deep questions to ask about serious problems and wasted no time lamenting his situation. His first sentence is a question; “How long, Oh Lord, must I call for help?” Hab 1:1 Anyone who has ever phoned an automated bank phone line to try to arrange a temporary overdraft knows what that question feels like.

Habakkuk sees a violent and greedy world around him; “Must I forever see this sin and misery all around me? Wherever I look I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed and useless, and there is no justice given in the courts. The wicked far out number the righteous and justice is perverted with bribes and trickery.” Hab 1:3-4 Familiar, eh?
And God replies, much as he does to us today; “Look at the nations and be amazed! Watch and be astounded at what I will do! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.” Hab 1:5 God felt the need to punish the Israelites and was going to use the Babylonians as his instrument of correction. Perhaps he can also use sub-prime mortgages or an increasing level of personal debt: however, he doesn’t mean to destroy. Habakkuk asks him, “Is your plan in all of this to wipe us out? Surely not!” Hab 1:12 and he asks God how long this will last, “Will you let them get away with this forever?” Hab 1:17
And God answers: “Slowly, steadily, surely the time is coming when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.” Hab 2:3
And this part of Habakkuk is really so meaningful in the modern world it is almost as though God wrote it for this time—now, even though it was written two and a half thousand years ago. What God has to say about wealth and its acquisition could be repeated to any of the City Bankers now staring defeat in the face (and looking elsewhere for gainful employment; enquiries into teaching as a career change have gone up by over 30% in the past month) and also to us: Any of these statements is true, but to have so many gathered together in such a small book gives each one extra weight.

“Wealth is treacherous and the arrogant are never at rest.” Hab 2:5
“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves and their lives are crooked.” Hab 2:4
“You believe wealth will buy security, putting your families beyond the reach of danger.” Hab 2:9
“Has not the Lord Almighty promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain.” Hab 2:13
“What have you gained by worshipping all your man-made idols?” Hab 2:18
“Can an idol speak for God? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside.” Hab 2:19

In a modern (post-modern) materialistic world we are encouraged to put idols above God. When somebody can pay £10 million literally for the Golden Calf the same day the world economy has its biggest collapse since 1929, well, isn’t that an example of mis-placed priorities? God says it here; we though wealth would make our families secure. But it doesn’t and it hasn’t.
I can only just remember the recession of the early 80’s, with GissaJob Yosser Hughes and high unemployment. I remember less of the 70’s with power blackouts and shortages (I do remember my Mum making bread: whether we ate it or used it as a door stop, I don’t know. I do know she had at least 12 recipes to stretch ½ lb of mince to feed 7 people) There are many in this church who can remember these times; some who even remember Austerity Britain and the hardship of the post-war world (you don’t need to admit this, unless you want to). For so long now we have been a nation of haves and have-mores. It was fun while it lasted, but the price must be paid.

Much will be said in the coming months of how to ride out the recession. Advice will flood the media of how to save as much money as possible, of what the safest return will be. There will be a lot of figurative and literal belt-tightening going on. And for Christians? Turn to Habakkuk chapter 3.
“I have heard about you, Lord, and I am filled with awe by the amazing things you have done. In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us. And in your anger, remember your mercy.” Hab 3:2

I watched a Christmas special of the Vicar of Dibley last week, the 2004 episode when everyone was persuaded to wear white armbands and stamp out global poverty. It made me cry (but so does Danny Boy) but it also made me worry; would such a campaign make any impact this year with all the expenditure cutting going around? Will charity be one of the lifestyle luxuries edited in our audits? I hope not. However bad this economy gets, I hope we will always be able to help those less fortunate than ourselves. And I hope we can take our cue from Habakkuk’s final hymn of praise. In chapter 3 verse 17 he talks of the olive crops failing, the fig tree lying barren and the cattle barns standing empty. I own neither olive trees nor heads of cattle to call my own so, with apologies to Habakkuk and inspired by an online group I found who have dedicated themselves to making Hab 3:17 their way of life, I prefer to alter it to suit me.

Even though the cupboards are empty and the freezer is bare, even though my savings account yields no interest and the mortgage rate rises daily, even though my work dries up and the car in the garage lies still from lack of petrol, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The sovereign Lord is my strength. He will make me as safe as a tax-free ISA and bring me safe over the credit-crunch mountains!
Amen!

*All opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those of the Church as a whole.

If you want to read more on handling debt and saving money, the following are useful websites and sources of information.

Martyn Lewis’s website moneysavingexpert.com offers ideas and forums to give you practical help in saving money. He also offers a weekly e-mail and can be seen from time to time on TV, most recently in the Channel 5 series, It pays to Watch this.
http://www.frugal.org.uk/ is a site of frugal living tips, including frugal food and a frugal Christmas. It’s small but a good place to check out.
The Citizen’s advice bureau is a good place to start if you need help with a large debt. Their website is http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ or you can get the number of the local branch in the telephone book.

If you do have problems, don’t suffer in silence. Ask for help and please remember that there are people around to help you. Together we will make it through. See you on the other side of the mountain!