Tag: prom dress

Prom Diddly Om!

by mkingdon, posted in mkingdon

Well this is odd.  I am looking out at the world at blog time on a Sunday and there is day light.  There is day light and no snow.  It may have been a little early for the flip-flops and mankini, but as I always say, I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly world.

Could it be that we are moving out of the bleak dark depressing claws of winter?  I suspect winter still has something to say on the matter, but I have my fingers crossed.

Moving into the warmer months brings mixed blessings.  On the plus side it means warmth, heating bills I can actually afford, driving to and from work in day light and not having to give Oli a full body bath after every walk.

The biggest downside is that I will have to shed my “winter coat” in order that I can once again fit into a T-shirt or two.  The forgiving nature of those winter layers hides a multitude of sins, and there have been many sins to hide, and as usual I leave the depths of winter at the higher end of the register of my acceptable weight.

I am hoping that spring will deliver me some mojo, as for me to exercise, I need the basics, like a modicum of energy and the desire to leave the house.  These two commodities have been severely lacking of a winter’s evening, but hopefully if I get home in the light, like some sort of overweight plant, I may absorb extra energy from the extended sunlight.  My O Level Biology tells me that is Photosynthesis, which I think is probably also a Genesis album!

Subliminally I may have started my fitness regime yesterday.  We visited the local cinema to watch This is 40.  Now, I know you know me better than to imagine I didn’t indulge in any snackage, however, I did only indulge in one snack.  I impress myself!

The film itself was very enjoyable.

Not a reference to my weight

I was expecting a fairly light gross out comedy, and there are definitely elements of that in the film, but it had much more substance and length than I had anticipated.  Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t Schindler’s List, but it had a decent story to accompany some real belly laugh moments.

If you do go and watch it stick around for the credits for some very funny out take moments from one particular scene.

It was a late showing, so we were back home late, almost midnight, which is a very late night for the 40 somethings in our house.  Sleep soon followed.

After a resultant lie in, today has only consisted of a little tidying, and a spot of driving with Emily.  My ability to remain calm despite my hatred of being a passenger is developing nicely.  Still, I’ll be glad when she has passed, so that I can then just sit at home and fret about her being out driving by herself!!

Saturday saw Louise and Rebecca out shopping for Rebecca’s prom dress.  Yes, we all know that prom isn’t until July, but apparently this meant we were cutting it fine!  It only took a couple of hours to find “the one”, and I am looking forward to seeing it in a few weeks when we pick it up.  Louise assures me it is lovely, and I will in no way reference the price paid for it….oh bugger!!  Anyway, I’m sure it will be worth it.  I mean Emily wore hers for at least four hours before storing it forever in her wardrobe.  Can someone we know please get married so that she has an opportunity to wear it again!

Why Rebecca couldn’t wear this one I don’t know!!!

So for those also in the hunt for prom stuff, good luck, and I hope you win the lottery too!!

Till the next time…..

A flight, a flight, my “Kingdon” for a Flight.

by mkingdon, posted in mkingdon, Walt Disney World

To the chaps who look after the servers and stuff that support the Kayak website I apologise.  I fear I have given your infrastructure a bit of a beating this week, not only from the laptop, but also from your excellent iPhone app.  I can report that all is functioning correctly, apart from one element.  No matter what bizarre combination of dates and departure and arrival airports the resultant figures displayed do not please me.

florida
Your pull is strong!

So as you can probably guess, we are still looking for flights.  The best we can seem to find are with Thomas Cook, direct to Sanford in August.  They come in at £619 each but do mean that we have no seat back TVs and a seat pitch so small that you have to stand up all the way, like one of those standy up rollercoasters!  The rotters are charging £419 three days later!!

Even if we do end up in Florida, the deal is that we do not do the Disney theme parks.  Universal is on the cards, with a stay at the Hard Rock, but our Disney fix would be limited to Downtown Disney, and a look around a couple of resorts.  I am Ok with this, as we don’t need to do the WDW parks again, after eleven years on the trot, and a bit more relaxing would be a nice change as long as the girls can cope with the inertia.  In theory this shouldn’t be an issue, as when they are at home it takes a small incendiary device to get them to do anything at all.  If we do a villa, with the internet, a pool and a TV then they can amuse themselves much as they do at home.  Crucially, unlike at home, I won’t have to drag my sagging body out of bed at silly times, sit in traffic and drizzle for an hour to then sit in an office I don’t want to be in, doing things I don’t want to do.

Instead I could drag my sagging frame to the pool, unleash the guns on the neighbours and eat high fat nonsense, whilst occasionally dipping in the pool.  Outings consisting of –

Shopping – To enhance my position of Husband/Dad of the Century

Mini Golf – Fantasia Gardens is overdue as the kids were 4 and 2 the last time I inflicted humiliating defeat upon them (it still counts)

WDW Resorts – Always a favourite past time of mine, and even the girls can put up with it, as it will probably involve “cute American boys”.

Eating – As you may know from my trip reports, we are pretty good at this, and in fact our days have often been constructed around our plans for food!

Should keep us from getting too bored, and with a few days at Universal with FOTL privileges, and then some time on a beach, it sounds like I have given this plan some thought!!  As if.  By the way, for the coast bit, I may be in the market for some DVC points for a bit of Vero action should anyone have any going spare?

Still, until someone is willing to carry us across the Atlantic for something less than the ridiculous sums being quoted, all this expert planning is for naught.

Away from holiday planning, the week has been fairly normal.  Thankfully, it has been without medical emergency.  It has been half term up here, and Louise took the chance to take Emily to look for her prom dress.  One was found, and I was despatched on Saturday to pick it up.  I shall refrain from any photos at this point, but fear not, at the time she actually wears it, I shall bombard you with proud Dad photos!  I haven’t yet told Rebecca that due to the cost of the dress she’ll have to wear it too, and if at all possible both may get married in the bugger too!

Paul
A Paul-ished effort

Saturday evening saw us out together as a family.  This took some organising.  I had to book the girls well in advance, and it was nice to do the family thing.  We went to the local cinema and watched Paul.  Having not been to the cinema for a while, I made the most of it with both a three scoop Ben and Jerrys, and soupcon of Pick n Mix.  Of course I felt sick, but as they say, no pain no gain.  I can recommend Chunky Monkey, Phish Food and Cookie Dough as a combo made in heaven.

With Louise’s famous New York Cheesecake in preparation for tea, I fear my meager efforts at exercise this weekend may be in vain!  We (well, Louise) has purchased a rowing machine, and I expended more sweat erecting the thing than actually using it, and I suppose there is a common issue for men of my age!  All the effort in getting it up, meant that the time actually “in action” was brief.  Enough?  OK.

Back to the film.  Paul is great.  I have liked pretty much everything Simon Pegg has done, and I wasn’t disappointed at all.  It is funny and entertaining, and if you can forgive the language (the girls hear worse during my DIY sessions), it is fun for all the family, unless your kids are toddlers!!

I have to go now, as preparation of the Sunday roast is down to me today.  I have to say these Sunday roasts are not my favourite.  The enormous effort involved in actually cooking stuff properly never lives up to the minutes it takes to eat them.  In fact I may nip down to the cinema and get my triple scoop combo instead, and follow that with some cheesecake!

Let me finish with a plug.  I was very flattered to be asked to contribute to a new web site called www.nottheface.co.uk this week.  So I did, and my first “effort” is now up there, so please click along and have a read….not my bit necessarily, as there is much goodness there, but if you don’t read mine I will hold it against you!!  If you all comment on mine too, it will make me look urbane, insightful and popular all at the same time.  It won’t surprise you in terms of content and style I’m sure!!

Right, let’s be having these roasties and veg then….

Till the next time……