A bit of this and a bit of that » general

Time in Malta

owen — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 08:07:42 +0000

: Image by CiuPix :: Perepe QuaQuaQuaQua Perepe via Flickr

So, our stay in Malta is coming to a close, and I have a million photos to upload. We’ve seen family, we’ve seen friends, we’ve been swimming .. Camille and I have even been out on a date. It’s great to see the country develop, seeing fresh ideas and seeing the strengths and weaknesses of our old home. I must say, I had never realised how much the Italian market influences what happens in Malta. You’ll find all the big Italian brands around: Alfa Romeo, Fiorucci, even Panini; but you’ll struggle to find Grohe faucets for example. Even McDonalds has a decidedly Italian flavour. I’m not talking food flavour of course, rather the choices on the menu.

About long jouneys

owen — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:21:34 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

I’m always happy to travel, but I must say, travelling has a different flavour to it nowadays, to the way it used to be in the past. Travellers are more wary of their neighbours and more ports and airports contain staff trained to treat their guests with suspicion. One thing I would have is if I were a smoker. A number of airports today have banned smoking and there definitely is no smoking once you’re on a plane. I remember that when I was a kid, planes used to have smoking and no smoking sections, but today it’s different.

I guess if you’re a travelling smoker there are innovations like the electronic cigarette that can rescue you in times of dire need. It’s still tough I guess. Travel is no longer a luxury now is it; instead it’s just a chore. What a shame.

Off to the UK for Easter

owen — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 19:12:40 +0000

I`m sitting on my sofa watching Disney Channel with Arthur and thinking about our forthcoming trip to the UK. You see, we have a 4 hour drive and it`s going to be interesting keeping him busy through the voyage. The problem is that we have 2 six month old babies so our attention is probably going to be on driving and the babies. So, we`re looking for something for him to watch videos with. An internet based device would be ideal and with something like business satellite internett it could be possible to remain connected all the time and actually stream off the internet.

In the meantime, we’re probably sticking with a DVD player, just because we have one and we know it works.

First kilo of the year

owen — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:31:10 +0000

Yippee! I weighed myself this morning and seem to have lost my first kilo of the year. I’ve been meaning to start working on my diet since Xmas, but my weight change was going the wrong way and I had to change that first. I hope this kilos just isn’t water loss, but it’s a great help in terms of motivation to keep going. I’m doing the calorie counting thing, not using any fat burners or diet pills, so it’s harder, but it’s more long term.

The trick it to get into the right mindset and use that to build a foundation for the future. Doesn’t help having that in mind when someone puts banoffee pie in front of me

Starting the babies on baby rice

owen — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:15:44 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

Well, today we gave the babies their first taste of baby rice. They’ve had a taste of melon so far, but this was their first real “solid” meal. Aristea just wolfed it down, while Alexander was a bit more cautious at first. He seemed to develop a liking for it though, and quickly proceeded to catch up with his sister.

It’s good to see them move onto real food, though one of the benefits of breast feeding is that you don’t really need any preparation or equipment. (Not that it’s industrial equipment, but there are still bits you need to have handy). Still, it’s the way they need to go, and it was fun seeing them slurp away at their baby rice.

The NHS

owen — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:59:24 +0000

You know, I think sometimes the NHS is underrated. It’s easy to grow accustomed to the idea that healthcare is free for everyone. But you only need to look across the water at the US, to see what problems some people have getting medical care and struggling to find a health savings account.

The thing is, I was brought up in this system, so I don’t really know any different. But it strikes me as being pretty convenient having access to any medical care that may be needed, when and how that might be. What do you think?

Learning to type with one hand

owen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:17:54 +0000

Well, looking after the babies is pretty much a full time job, which means more time with the family and less time to blog; though I do get the time every now and again to spin one off (just like this one). I am getting better and better at typing with one hand though. I’ve also put my weight loss regime on a back burner; though I am watching what I eat, and am still managing to pop to the gym every now and again.

It’s a full time job and I have no idea how Camille copes during the day. But we’re hoping it gets better; the first six months are bound to be the worst. I dread to thing what’s going to happen once they start crawling, but we’ll deal with that once we get there

Surprise party for me!

owen — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:16:20 +0000

I forgot to blog about it, but last week, Camille organised a surprise birthday party for me. A number of friends came along, which was great, though it was strange seeing people from different contexts all in one place. I did get some great gifts (though luckily no wrinkle cream), but just the fact that people turned up was a great gift in itself. Here are a couple of quick snaps from the party:

A surprise is always nice

Lost a kilo this week

owen — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:32:45 +0000

: Image by Getty Images via Daylife

It looks like I’ve managed to lose a kilo this week, which is not bad going I guess. It feels really hard, all that effort for just 1 kilo, but if I manage to keep it up, week after week, it will all build up. There’s 13-14 weeks till the end of the year, and well, a 14 kilo weight loss would be just awesome. Then I could just put it back on over Christmas

Seriously, it’s great to start seeing some sort of result, and I guess will help motivate me for the next week. It’s interesting seeing adverts for fat burner supplements and other pills, when all I’m doing is calorie counting. It’s great seeing results this way, and I’m hoping to report more positive news next week.

Time to do some house refurbishments

owen — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:52:55 +0000

We’ve decided that out house needs a bit of a spruce up this year. Not that we have too many issues with the way it is, but unless you maintain things they tend to fall in a state of disrepair. The outside of the house is due a paint, and we have some other bits and pieces. We’re also going to have to make some changes to accommodate the twins. First of all, one bathroom for a family of five (+ any guests) could be a bit of a problem, so we have a downstairs cupboard we’re turning into a toilet. Then there’s the issue of how we get a double buggy into the house. We’ve tried the front and back doors and they’re just not wide enough, so we’re planning a conservatory at the back which could act as a “staging area” where we could leave prams, shoes and other paraphernalia. We’re not doing anything fancy, like mosaics or using glass tile; just what we need to sort out the day to day.

Maybe there will be photos .. just maybe …