My Blog

So, I have succumbed to the phenomenon that is MySpace today ~ I have a space on MySpace: www.myspace.com/kellyjanepalmer.  It’s still in it’s infancy, but I’ll make it pretty over time. 

Now you have two ways to catch up on all my news!

People!!  If you don’t watch ~ what the hell are you doing?!  Here’s a link to the US site but if you get the chance to watch it on TV ~ DO IT!!!

That is all.

So we arrived home from Chamonix yesterday after a week in one of the most picturesque towns I have ever visited.  It was truly beautiful, surrounded by the Mont Blanc mountain range & for most of the time covered in beautiful white snow.

Ryan & I went with my brother Marc, his wife Gillian, Gill’s sister Kirsty, her husband Michael, their lovely one year old Beccie, Valerie, Marc & Gill’s friend & Chris their friend also.  We stayed in a very pretty chalet in the heart of Chamonix town which was very close to all the bus links & amenities ~ it was great!

The main bulk of the group were skiers, other than Ryan & myself.  Ryan is a snowboarder, as many of you may know.  I am ….. well, I’m more bambi on ice.  Useless to say the least ~ so much so that I disclocated my right knee on Friday morning! 

As I’ve said in previous postings, I hate the cold & the snow & despite what happened on this trip I have to say I’ve changed my mind.  It’s not the cold & snow I hate, it’s being cold & the snow being slushy.  I was prepared for the cold in France & didn’t feel it at any time, plus (in the main) the snow was beautiful as you will see from my photos, so it was much, much more enjoyable than I had anticipated it would be.  In fact it was so enjoyable playing in the snow that Ryan & I chose to write a message for Marc & Gill in it, so that it was visible from our second story balcony, check this out.

I didn’t snowboard much this week, actually only 3 mornings really.  I have definitely decided that it’s not for me though.  The final morning, I went to the top of the slope at Le Tour on my own, while Marc, Gill & Val went off up to another longer run & decided to give it one last crack.  One last crack is exactly what happened.  Heading down the slope, I made my first turn to the left (my worst side) & over I went, spinning & twisting until I ended up face down in the snow crying in agony.  Some very nice English skiers found me & made sure that I was taken down the mountain on a sledge being pulled by a ski paramedic & delivered to a near by doctor by ambulance, where he told me that I’d dislocated my knee.  Whoops!  Luckily it was the final afternoon of the holiday & not the first as it could have been (my performance wasn’t much better on the first morning either!), although it wasn’t very lucky for Marc.  He had to come to the medical centre to help me & in doing so missed out on the best afternoon’s skiing of the whole trip.  I’m really sorry Marc.

Although I didn’t do a lot of snow sports, I did get out & take the oppurtunity to play about with the camera a little.  The subject matter was so beatiful that it made it so easy to photograph at every turn.  The light is stunning & the shadows create such dramtic lines on the mountains, that you can’t help but photograph them ~ photographing the mountains was one reason why I was so excited to go to Chamonix, so I’m thrilled that I managed to get some good shots.

Ryan took his Nintendo Wii with him as well this week.  We had hours of fun playing tennis, bowling, boxing & lots of other silly games.  Gillian turned out to be the boxing champion, knocking out her own husband!!  It’s great fun watching people play the games, even when you’re not taking part. 

It was a great holiday in the same way as playing on the Wii, while I wasn’t really taking part in the skiing, I very much enjoyed myself & would like to go back one day, maybe this time to try my hand at skiing, as I clearly shouldn’t snowboard again!

…. I passed my first aid assessment today, so now I am a fully fledged erm, First Aid person.  I can technically save a life using CPR, I can bandage your head, your leg, your arm, your hand & your foot!  I can detect signs of shock, I can detect symptoms of a book full of other ailments & I can treat any stab wounds that may occur.

I don’t know what all the fuss about doctor training is about.  It only took me 4 days training & a 15 minute test ~ I reckon they just get drunk for the other 6 years & 348 days!!! 

Yay me :0) 

So today is mine & Ryan’s 18 month anniversary ~ a year & a half since our first fateful date.  How time has flown.  It’s such a short time on paper, but it seems like forever to us. 

We’re celebrating our anniversary in complete style, utter decadence, total rock n roll manner ~ babysitting my gorgeous God Daughter & her fantastic big brother.  How crazy are we?!  I can tell I’m making you green with envy at the thought!  We’re so outrageous!

I love it though, we are having so much fun together & are really excited about our trip next month.  Life is breezy right now.  It’s winter nearly & the sun is bursting out of the sky, through the trees in the park, aah isn’t life great!

…. but good lord I don’t like snowboarding!  I bought a pair of snowboarding boots a few weeks ago in preparation for our trip to Chamonix in February & Ryan took me to the snow dome last Thursday to try them out ~ much to his utter joy I might add.  He was beside himself with excitement at the thought of me in snowboard boots, on snow.  I wasn’t.  This is how it went.

I got on the lift to take you to the top of the slope.  Now apparently, for any other human being with 4 fully functioning limbs, this task is simple.  For me, it’s more like an exercise in utter humiliation & degradation.  First time, within 5 seconds I was face down in the snow being dragged up a ‘mountain’ with Ryan yelling ’stand up!  Stand up!’.  Now for those that know me well, I don’t need to tell you the profanities that came out of my mouth.  For those that don’t know me well ~ you’re lucky.  Second time up the lift, I was encouraged by the fact that I made it up further that time ~ on my face ~ oh what sweet joy.  Not.  The third & final time of being dragged face down & humiliated, all I remember was yelling at Ryan that he could stick his board up his mountain & storming off down the slope, with my board tucked safely under my arm.

When I had finally calmed down, Ryan convinced me that I shouldn’t let it get the better of me & that I should give it another shot.  I compromised with the fact that I would walk up the ‘mountain’ & attempt to snowboard down.  This is how that went.

First time, I fell backwards, banging my head on solid ice.  Nice.  Second time I lost control & went careering down the slope, while Ryan raced past me & courageously threw himself in my path to stop me.  Imagine an out of control bus flying down a hill & the Keanu Reeves character jumps on board & saves the day …. that’s almost how it looked only Ryan got flattened underneath me.  At least he stopped me from maiming anymore innocent by standers though ~ every cloud has a silver lining I suppose.  The third time I tried to make my way down, saw me fall on my back with a loud & painful thud.  That is where my snowboarding lesson (& almost my relationship with Ryan) ended. 

I hate being cold.  I hate being wet.  I hate falling over & I hate being so bad at something that I want to tear my own arms off in order to hit the people that smarmily say ‘you were doing so well then before you fell over’.

I have foolishly agreed that I will take another lesson, although this time I will be taught by a professional, more for Ryan’s physical well being & the preservation of our relationship than the fact that Ryan’s a bad teacher.  He’s not, I’m just a very unruley & useless student.

Bring on Chamonix!!

Well the birthday celebrations have come to a close for another year & what a week it’s been. 

I’ve been to dinner more times than I can remember, I’ve had wonderful breakfasts both at home & out with friends, I’ve been on suprise picnics, I’ve met more waxwork celebrities than you can shake a stick at, I’ve received some thoughtful & wonderful gifts & I’ve had a thoroughly brilliant time!!!  It’s been a busy few days, all coming to a close today with a quiet dinner at home with Ryan & a bloody good nights sleep I think.  There are lots of photos for you to see: Birthday photos which give you an idea of what we got up to over the last few days.  There will be more to come as well so be sure to check back!

How do I feel now I’m a year older?  A little bit more creaky & a lot more sensible!  No more going to bed at 5am & waking up with a hang over for me … I’m all sensible now!  In bed by 1am with a few pints of water to keep me going.  Ryan laughs at me, but I’m the one laughing the next day when he’s feeling ropey ;0)

Here’s looking forward to next year ~ as soon as I start planning I will let you all know.  There will probably be an email going out next week!!!

xxxx

How excited am I?!  Not only is it only 4 days until my 28th birthday, but I’ve received 2 birthday cards already ~ only helping to build on the birthday frenzy!  I haven’t opened them though as I’m sure they are the only cards I will get in the post, so I’m waiting until Wednesday.

Ryan & I are going in today to book our Christmas holiday which is SO very exciting too!  We have decided to go to Egypt & do a 15 day tour over Christmas & New Year.  It will include all the sights from Cairo, Luxor, Aswan & under the sea as we are going to Dahab to learn to scuba dive as part of the trip.  I’ve been to Egypt before a few years ago, but Ryan has never been, so I’m looking forward to seeing his reaction.  I haven’t been to Cairo though, so the pyramids etc will be new to us both.  Can’t wait to see them, I just hope that we get to see them when there’s not too many tourists about ~ they always spoil the view!  The weather for the trip wont be too hot either, at about 20-25c, so it will be just nice to see everything.  Last time I was there it was between 40-47c everyday, which was almost unbareable. 

I can’t get too excited about this yet though, we’ve go soo much to do before then, what with the tipi trips, learning to ski etc & of course ~ my birthday!