Turning the page into a new chapter

One of my best friends has gone into labour today. It is the start of a new chapter for her and for all of us.

Having grown up together since playschool and secondary school, I like to think that my friends and I are a bit like Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda from Sex and the City (except without their money!) We are all best friends and have been there for each other through almost every type of emotion and situation from family separations, losing parents, break ups, depression, marriage, new relationships, career changes and those drunken girlie holiday and nights out where we have danced and giggled until the sun has come up.

However, there is a new emotion and experience that one friend is going through now, one that the rest of us have no idea about and can not even empathise with the feelings and pain: childbirth.

I think we all had visions of being married at the same time and then pregnant in unison so we could be 'mums who lunch' together, but that is by far the case and J is about to set the scene and experience something without the rest of us.

Having been sat with her this afternoon whilst her contractions went from 8 minutes to 4, I felt helpless and so emotional that I had no idea what she was going through or how to help. Her tears down her rosy cheeks made my eyes well-up with every contraction.

She is going to be the first of us to be a parent and even though baby is on it's way, it is still so surreal. I can't believe that the next time I see J & P, they will be a mummy and daddy and there will be a baby and that they will be a family.

I am so excited for them, they are going to be amazing parents who will have a lot of help, love and support from us. I already have the title of Nanna Jo (I can't be Auntie Jo because apparently I am too much like a nan!) I am hoping that they will love the patchwork quilt I have made (with my mum's help of course!)

So much is changing. I look back at how far we have come, both in our lives and as friends and I am very humbled at what has been. We are all facing new chapters but nothing seems as scary when you have your best friends with you.

Come on Jadey!... you can do it beautiful x

No blues here

Well, January is nearly over and I am pleased to say that this first month of 2010 has been great and I hope that the rest follow with the same good feelings. Last January, I wrote this post ; I was feeling very different than I am now thanks to some great times with some lovely friends both old and new.

It is often the most simple things that give the greatest pleasures - shopping and coffee with friends on a Saturday morning, dinners in and out to catch up and smile. Last weekend I had a crazy night out with a work/twitter friend; we drank cocktails and danced until the early hours, laughing until my stomach hurt. I don't remember all the events of the evening, although I did had a flash back when Bon Jovi's 'Shot through the Heart' came on the radio yesterday. I have a vague memory of dancing (with actions) on an 80's dance floor.

This weekend as been much different, in fact, I would go as far to say that it was almost perfect. I drove to Brighton on Friday night for a mini tweet up with Butterfly Girl , a friend who I have got to know through Twitterland. We went for pizza and wine at her local, which, I have to say does the best pizzas I have ever tasted, and chatted about love, life and our adventures. On Saturday morning, we continued the conversations and theories whilst drinking coffee on the beach and watching the winter sun dazzle on the sea and give warmth to the bones of West Pier. We had nosey in a little art shop/gallery, where I fell in love with the work of Robert Ryan whose work can be seen in his shop Ryantown. The imagery and words are beautiful and make me excited about love and the future. I think I might have to start saving as I need some of his work in my room and in my life.




I left Brighton feeling refreshed and enthused and with a desire to go back to some books and philosophies I read some time ago. Thoughts that I may have let slip but which are ultimately part of me.

Saturday evening was spent with family as my sister turned sixteen. We enjoyed a nice meal and Louise received some great compliments from a women at the bar relating to her confidence. I told Louise how proud I was of her and that she is simply awesome. Love her to bits.

Today I have lazed about the house, reading and enjoying silence, pottering and writing. A few years ago, a Sunday spent in my own company would have driven me up the walls with sadness and boredom. Not now though, now I am comfortable and happy.

Christmas Come Dine With Me

Every year, my best friends and I have a girlie Christmas dinner which we have been doing this since we were old enough to drink in pubs.... which makes twelve years of Christmas girlie dinner hangovers! We always used to go out for a meal and then as we all started to get our own places we took to cooking Christmas dinners ourselves, but the saying 'too many cooks' springs to mind and too many times we ended up being very tipsy very quickly and dinner being forgotten.

This year we decided upon something different. We are all fans of Come Dine With Me so thought that we would have our own CDWM style Christmas dinner. We couldn't do it the same as the TV series with going to each others house for 5 nights so we opted for cooking a course each.

We were due to pick the courses from a hat, but in true 'us' fashion, we left it too late so it was a scramble over email as to who wanted to do what. I ended up dessert which suited me as I figured most would be drunk by the time we get to eating it and my score would be higher thus, I would win. But it isn't about the winning - it was the taking part that counts!

The menu was as follows:

Canapes: Caramelised onions and mozzarella puff pastries, brie and cranberry filo parcels, smoked salmon and prawns with cream cheese bites, roasted tomatoes and cream cheese bites, prawns with Thai green curry dip and pitta bread with homous

Verdict: All were very very yummy! A lot of effort went into the preparation and there were plenty of options. I gave Peta a score of 8

Starter: Laura went the extra mile and presented the starter on a scroll, complete with coffee stains! There was even a bottle of Chianti to complement the very tasty bruschetta.

Verdict: Delicious! The home-made pesto was mouth watering. I rated this course a 9 due to the amount of effort and the nice little touches.

Main Course: Chicken Thai Green Curry and Tofu Thai Green Curry with sticky jasmine rice and noodles

Verdict: Very impressive home-made Thai paste, clearly a lot of effort (which we were reminded about by Jade and Anna with stories of their exhausting shopping trip and hunt for green chillies!) The curry flavour was as good as any I have eaten in restaurants. However, I did score them at a 7, my reasoning being because I felt they could have impressed more with the presentation (oooh get me and my opinions!) I also commented that I thought the rice was 'too sticky', clearly the 3 bottles of wine were beginning to show they pointed out that it was meant to be sticky jasmine rice!

Dessert: Christmas Sticky Toffee Pudding with chocolate toffee sauce (courtesy of twitter friend @scooby867)

Verdict: Well, I won with a score of 25/30. I impressed with my presentation - a light dusting of icing sugar and a decoration grabbed off my tree. I also got higher scores due to the chocolate sauce; not being able to eat chocolate myself I made two versions which meant everyone was happy! Thankfully, Jade who is 4 months pregnant has a very sweet tooth and is craving puddings.. I knew I was onto a winner!

Me and my pudding!

It was a great evening and everyone put a lot of thought and effort into their courses. The videoing of our comments and scoring was hilarious, particularly as the bottles of red disappeared. We never got to see Peta's score for the main course, she turned the video 'off' to record her score then on again as she left the room, so there was twenty minutes of a mattress. Great viewing! But not as good or as funny as the other tape I found in my camcorder case. Rewind back to 2004 to another girlie night in and a very drunken one at that. We laughed so hard at how young we looked, how I seemed to be dressed in men's clothes, our attitudes and our dancing skills: Vincent Vega and Mia Wallace - eat your heart out! There were a few parts that pulled my heart strings, the fact that I claimed that I was going to get married in 2006; I remember feeling that my life was so planned out. I am now thankful that it didn't turn that way.

Saturday night was fantastic, not only was the food amazing but the nicest part was all being together and being able to catch up over several bottles of wine. Getting together like last night proves more and more challenging as we get older due to our work commitments, lack of time and everyone busy with partners and moving on to the next stage of their lives.

Good times.

Life is good

I am starting to feel a bit more comfortable with Christmas now and I feel happy. I have put up my tree (although it looks like the roots have been sipping on sherry making it impossible to stand straight) I have wrapped all my presents and placed under the tree and finally, I know how and where I am spending Christmas. Every year I have the drama of too many people to see and not enough time, which heightens the pressure and my bah humbug attitude. Last week I would have been content to go to sleep Christmas eve and wake up New Years Day. However, I have had a good few moments over the past week or so which have put me in a very good mood and I am ready for the festive jollity.

Highlights include:

1. Seeing my good friend Lou become a Mrs; she looked so beautiful and ecstatically happy. I like the idea of a winter wedding. Their first dance was a teary moment; I don't think I have seen two people so happy and in love like Lou and Matt - it was one of those perfect moments which you want to put in your pocket to take away and watch time and time again.

2. Being at the O2 with Martyn on Saturday for the last night of the Stereophonics - Decade in the Sun tour. Absolutely amazing. It was a special night and we had so much fun. Kelly Jones sang outstandingly well, the acoustics were fantastic and the atmosphere was electric. The best gig I have been to by far.3. Watching ice skaters at Hampton Court Palace on Sunday evening, then riding on the carousel, licking sticky candy floss fingers. Family fun at its very best.

4. The annual girlie Christmas dinner with lots of food, fun and laughter. A joint effort cooking a gastronomic feast, red wine flowing and toasts to us all and what 2009 will bring. After a session on Guitar Hero, the paper came out for some drawing and consequence fun! I am slightly concerned as to how my best friends view me.