h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I haven't been around much lately, probably because I'm feeling washed out and tired and whiney (how do you spell that?) and I don't want to bore everyone with that stuff all the time.

The Gruesome Twosome are still gruesome. W**k is picking up morale wise, and job wise it's getting much better (finally me and the new guy I was whining about before get along much better and work well as a team) but I still have way too much to do. Added to which the two others who work with me (who I trained) are away for just over a week in Korea so I have to do their work too. ho hum.

is having a rough (ie. overworked) time at his w**kplace, but even though he has his feelers out and eyes peeled there seems to be nothing much anywhere else. Struggle on as usual I guess.

Emotional roller coaster for me too, so I'm guessing that the hormome thing is finally kicking in and that I am at the beginning of what could be a long menopause.

Or I'm just a grumpy git. (that sounds a lot more likely)

On the upside, I've done a bit more woodworking and am about ready to start making some pieces to sell. Scary! But first I want to make two wooden ballet dancers (and if someone can translate Hampelmann into English I'd be grateful). The Gruesomes have ballet exams next month, and so I want to make each of them one of those wooden dolls where if you pull a string their arms & legs jump about. I'll make one prototype and then one each for the Gruesomes. If the prototype is any good I'll give it to the ballet teacher (who is my friend and Dr Who viewing companion) and she said she'll hang it in a prominent position and tell anyone who asks where they too can get one.

The little town close to where I live (as opposed to the Small Town to which my village 'belongs') has a City Lauf coming up on 21st May. If can get the day off (a Saturday! Imagine managing to get a Saturday off!) he will come and watch over the Gruesomes while I do the run. I am training for the 10km thing just in case, but I will wait until a little closer to the time before I decide.

Since I bought my funky new Asics Gel runners, I have had no knee problems whatsoever after running. I'm soooooo happy about that. Well worth the €100.00 that I paid for them (and which nearly gave me a heart attack at the time).

Ah, a pair of sweet little girleens doing ballet, is there anything more cute? *Pops daydream.* I remember when my sister started, she loved it, and it kept her out of my way for a couple of hours a week.

to hear about having to do other people's work, that is absolutely no fun, though I think that might be the point of work...Hang in there, baby!

Oh, and 'whiney' is not a word, so you can spell it any way you want. I, for instance, spell it 'zyxqtz.'

They are very cute. They are also, unfortunately, very Gruesome and pesky right now.

Hampelmann = puppet?

I'm a great believer in HRT have a peek at Michael Howard's wife Sandra, she's been on it for 20 years and has no intention of giving it up.

Don't suffer in silence, girl. Rant away! We'll supply plenty of and s

Not sure about HRT - I took the pill for years and I'm convinced that it was the cause of my weight problems (probably it was all in my head - but you never know)

I'm sticking with evening primrose for the time being, plus St John's Wort and B vitamins. We'll see

Right now I'm fighting with an mp3 player and a CD. I will get one copied onto the other. Somehow.
I hate technology.

Be careful with the St John's Wort when the better weather arrives, Sho - it can make your skin hypersensitive to sun.

One of the benefits of getting a little older is that the hormonal peaks and troughs aren't as marked. I take isoflavones now and find I'm pretty much on an even keel - for the first time in my life!

Thanks for the St. J's W tip - I'll have to look out for that because I'm fair and have sort of sensitive skin.

What are isoflavones when they are at home?

Isoflavones? Sort of phyto-oestrogen stuff - from Red Clover.
http://www.isoflavones.info/

I was desperate to get rid of the night-sweats which were disrupting my sleep patterns - and these have done the trick. Conventional HRT is not the answer for me - family history of breast cancer

I have to say that between my herbal HRT and a new exercise regime, including at the men's legs down the gym, I feel like a different and much healthier person.

It's not easy being female - I'm coming back as a in the next life.

I have been getting a bit warm at night,but I hadn't put it down to "the change"
Mind you, it might not be "the change" yet - I'm only 41, not that it means anything. I started the whole "woomanhood" thing very early, so I could be ending it early too.

And next time? I'm coming back as a bloke!

As I said to the woman sitting next to me, in the theatre last week while we were watching The Vagina Monologues, I'd like to be male for a day - just to see what it felt like.