IN THE SADDLE AGAIN???

OK, I'm sorry, my got up and go, got up and went......(to Scotland, I think....),writers block possibly, and the fact my memory has deteriorated, not only do i forget where the car is parked as before, but i literally have  to count the bath towels, to see if i had a shower or not !!!  So although i now carry with me (when i don't forget, a pen & notepad), by the time i actually manage to find it, i've usually managed to lose my train of thought, idea/information or comment that i had thought of moments  before!!!
BRAIN FOG, i'm told due to auto-immune disease.....thank god for that, i was beginning to think it could be caused by wine overdoses & Doritos's!!!.

So, for the BIG comeback, i thought about the layout, the pics i could add, the whole 'new look' blog, the hotties.....and do you know what??? Yep,  i haven't changed a thing!!!  Call me lazy, 'whatever', but you're still reading it aren't you???  (Thank you XXX).

FRIENDS ARE what makes the world go round, or upside down, you stick side by side, BUT when they disappear your life can turn itself inside out......God, this sounds like some dodgy lyrics to a song!!!Which reminds me, there are far to many lovely songs out there about friends.  Will now have to spend the next few hours looking on YouTube......& it's my husbands first night home in months......!!!  Ahhha, you're thinking, is this why the NOT so Greek Goddess is back????

YES, of course.......IT IS.....!!!   It's Football season (again)....and i no longer have any control over the remote or the volume!!!

But really, husbands come & husbands go, but friends are forever!!! (Even when they are far away....). What I really  want to say is, it's totally crap when  friends decide to move away....and you lose your bubble/real partner. I mean you can hardy moan about your husband to your husband can you???  That's just called nagging!!!  It certainly isn't as  much fun 'walking the dog', without coffee & cakes or several bottles of wine!!! (Smirnoff Ices/North....or whatever dregs of alcohol you can find....!!!).
My dog got walked frequently last winter, and often needed a rest outside friends houses!!!

YEP, there are many people  leaving 'The Island'.....not for sunnier shores, but possibly brighter ones.  The future is not looking so great in Greece at the moment......and rougher seas are yet to follow.....it's getting harder and harder to keep your head above the water.

BORED is....
The most frequently used word in our house at the moment, (due to teenage daughters), and possibly the longest one, in English that is, because it is pronounced 'boooooooooored'!!!  It's all 'yes', and 'no' answers and 'don't know....don't care'!!!

There is a book that has had some great reviews called 'Help, my teenager is an Alien'  it is  already in the basket on my Amazon list, which is getting longer & longer by the day.....!!! (Now, i just need a credit card).
 Perhaps i should also buy 'them' a Thesaurus for Christmas, and there must be a book for children to 'Help, my mum is turning into a dragon & an alcoholic', that i could add also!!!

Don't  you just  love being a mum sometimes, all that gushing that "ohhhhhhh yes, it's soooo rewarding".  Well i'm still waiting, and quite honestly most of the time, i think i deserve as most mums do, a bloody medal!!!
Due to stress, not only do i have to buy Clearasil for them, i now have to use it too!!!  The spot on my nose is soo big, it keeps interfering with my wine glass, ouch!!! My face (apart from the laughter lines of course, resembles a teenager, if only my body would follow suit!!!)

All my 'things' mysteriously disappear......turning up a few weeks later.....empty!!!  My husband has got it all sussed, he actually puts his razors in the safe....not sure if this is because teenage girls have a tendency to leave them hairy....or because he thinks his wife has 'lost it' completely, and it's all part of his suicide watch !!!
OMG would have to be ....it's Local Election time in Kos, and throughout Greece.......and funny, there hasn't been any real news for weeks ......  just lots of smiling faces in the newspapers, ...quite honestly the best thing is to put them up on the wall, throw a dart.... and that's who you vote for!!!  (If you fixed your papers that is!!!)  Politics, all very confussing, especially on a small island, where people are not just voting for the best party/Mayor, it's wether they are related to them & friendships too!!!

By the way:- thanks to http://www.kos-explorer.com/ we now have a better understanding in true English, what it's all about!
 FASHION

Finally, ripped tights/leggings are in.....(i've been wearing them for years!!!).....Just a shame that 'slightly' overweight  almost 40 year old's shouldn't really still be wearing them.   Yes, you REALLY know you are getting old, when you actually consider your 'age' before buying something!!!
 Scary!!! I didn't really want those lace leggings anyway :-( ....!!!

It's soooo NOT fair when your daughters friends come in wearing a similar outfit,......they look fantastic, whilst you are trying to  control all the appropriate parts, including your chins......& walk in heels that you are  not used to wearing anymore, (cos you spend more time at the swing park/supermarkets than anywhere else these days!!!)

God, help you if anyone wants to take a photograph, not only have you forgotten which side is supposed to be your good one......you actually realise it doesn't even exist anymore!!!   Even worse if it turns up on facebook, someone has tagged you, and OBVIOUSLY added even more wrinkles.....and for sure they have enlarged you.....yeah....they must have one of those aging/fat cameras......!!!

Nice to be back, Lots of Love

Tracey XXX

BACK TO THE HERE AND NOW.....!!!

I know, i know, it's been a while.....and it's soooo hot, no air-con in the kitchen ....by the time i actually contemplate a 'Not so Greek Goddess post', I have usually  been so busy (on face book)......that i am exhausted!!!.....Or been in the fridge too many times....for cold beer or wine!!!  That's the problem with the computer being here, why don't they make adult locks for the fridge???

I've been on a little trip, back to England and to the place where i spent my years...'growing up'.....it had been 5 years since my last visit, so it was lovely showing my children the 'City' and reliving some of those memories.....!!!  And visiting the places of my youth....(not just the pubs!!!)

They simply adored the double decker bus, and a train, one that actually runs on a track....!!!  I couldn't believe how many people use public transport....and don't wash!!!).  We annoyed the hell out of everybody, oohing and arrrhhhing....at everything, so we switched to 'Greek', not a good move, not only was i now a 'single mother, with 4 children....(major death stares),  benefits coming out of my ears (obviously)......but was an immigrant too'........!!!(resulting in tut-tutting as well as the stares.)

People were as helpful as ever, and friendly, I would say "Good Morning" to most, and they looked at me as if i was some kind of weirdo, that, or desperately trying to remember where they might possibly know me from!!!  I hit a guy in the face trying to get my stroller off the bus, accident of course, but honestly he could see me struggling.  I didn't realise you had to press the 'button'....i thought that was for an emergency stop or something....so we almost ended up walking home from another village too!!!

I also managed to fall down the steps of Debenhams, and graze all my shins, and not because i had been in the Murderers (The Gardeners Arms), at lunch-time, but again trying to manoeuvre the pram  god, where are the ramps.....they are always moaning here about access....!!! Of course everyone rushed to help....(.no.!!!)...

Isn't it a shame though that now with all the Safe & Healthy issues, some of the 'fun' has been taken out of life, for example you are no longer supposed to 'bump, on the Bumper Cars, you can't feed the animals at the farms (due to e-coli), and you can't even take pics of the kids just in case you get someone elses kid in the background......and are a paedophile. 

Everything you say, has to be 'PC'....which i thought was something to do with a computer until friends enlightened me.....Life is changing.  as  are we,.....gone are those days on the Broads in  a dingy.... not a care in the world ......without mobile phones......away all day....

Reunions....High School

OMG, would have to be....having read all the 'Do's and Do NO T's lists of what to wear, talk about, etc, etc....behaviour, forgot the most important one......do not get intoxicated.......!!!  Oh well, at least I wasn't the only one.  How weird, to find yourself back as a16/17 year old......in a body of a almost 40 year old, thinking OMG....OMG....OMG, but still so lovely to see people of 'yesterday', and although everyone has got older, more responsibilities....etc...etc....none of us have really changed.........???
I am not going to mention any beer bellies, lack of hair, cellulite, or anything else.....just thank god for Primark's big nickers and gel fillers, we girls are sooo lucky......!!!
I could have done with some Polly filler as well though!!!

  I spent most of the evening  accidentally brushing  against everyone , cos my chest had grown two sizes over night, and worrying that i might  not have recognised someone.....perhaps name badges would be good next time....and glasses even!!!

Which brings me to the next 'do not do'....and that is flash everything....yep, hadn't even actually 'got in' to the 'Reunion' and went to the loo....window was open, didn't realise, i was desperately trying to haul these super size hold everything in.....very tight long/ big nicks  up....and realised (mortified), i was in fact in full view of everyone in the bar opposite....ended up crawling down on the floor....still trying to get the bloody things up, when someone says....Ohhhhh....Tracey Harding......how are you???  AHHHHH!!!  By the way, it was the hottest day of the 'so called summer', so imagine....trying to pull anything up.  Why didn't i just wear the white dress???...(Or Burka)!!!

In General

Something else I realised is how many people still smoke.  Whilst travelling during early hours of the morning, i could not believe how many people were smoking in their cars on their way to work (probably the only place you can smoke these days in England)...........apart from 'out-side' the pubs, which seem to give men even more of a reason to stand around admiring the views???.........

Life is not always black or white, or greener on the other side....and memories are what we all carry with us.  (although the men, seem to lose a few on the way ,their brains are scientifically different.!!!...)  some fade away or are conveniently forgotten, but they make us what we are....god, I now I have found all my  old diaries too....., which are slightly disturbing!!!  Who went out with who when, what was happening in Neighbours....and who didn't I go out with???.....thank god, I met my husband when i did!!!


So if i ever go away again, lessons i have learnt are:-

Go alone.....(haha!!!)

Not a good idea to give the kids  milkshakes with crushed smarties in, when you are about to be confined in a small space for more than 3 hrs........!!!

Make sure your teenagers pack all their makeup in their luggage, not in the hand luggage, it took us about half an hour to then pack it all in those little plastic bags at Gatwick!!!

and having had my bra searched,( must have been the Terry's chocolate oranges down there)......not to wear any padding AND when then asked to remove your belt, shoes earrings.....don't suggest to the good looking Security Guard about  removing your dress as well!!! (Not good when they are in serious National Threat mode.....and no humour!!!.....meanwhile my children had disowned me....!!!)

Plus, never listen to anyone who tells you to "just to bring summer clothes'......i lived in the same jeans and cardigans for two weeks!!!  XXX

The excess kilo's on  the way home were generally to do with treacle pudding and custard, eccles cakes, pick n mix...etc...etc.....so next time i will make sure i take expanding clothes with me....!!!

Hope you are enjoying your summer,  will be off 'on tour' around the island  next week, (my car is finally fixed
and people can't hear me....before seeing me....!!!)

and blogging 'A little Greek Island'....

Lots of Love

Tracey XXX

Thank you to all my lovely family and friends for making our holiday so special....and for all your encouraging remarks and comments, i'm glad i make you laugh.  XXX  We managed to go to the Zoo, Gt Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, Shopping Mall(s!!!), Bowling, Cinemas......Parks.......Zaks....and so many other places too.

FOOTBALL

YES, everyone is talking about it.....(yawn, yawn....), Facebook, twitter, every news channel.....and most people with dangly bits between their legs.  It is upon us all, The World Cup.  Forgive me if i'm not excited this year, in fact i haven't even looked at the player's, usually that's how i decide who to support!!!

Oh there was a time when i classed myself as a bit of a 'Laddette', with my Newcastle Brown Ale (actually quite a few of them), and my footy scarfs, generally depending on what team the guy i liked, or which country he was from.  Usually, Man U......and England....

I remember also having a mad crush on Kevin Keegan (who didn't), and my bedroom door being covered with him, that is the only football player i remember really going crazy for.  I was never one for poncy haircuts, headbands, and men that spend longer in the bathroom than me!  Although, .....
I read a quote recently from a professional football player who said...."yeah, he treats us like real men, and lets us wear earrings".........about his Manager.....!!!

Our house was always divided in football teams anyway, Norwich, Southampton and Man U, my Nana being the biggest fan out of the lot of us!

Whenever there  was an important game, we even had a TV strategically placed so you could watch whilst going to the toilet....just in case anyone scored!!! 

Once , i met a man who was supposedly in the Icelantic World Cup Team, it's amazing what you believe when you've had a few Vodka and Blue Bols in a foreign country.  How could i have fallen for that one?  I remember watching every Icelandic match for months!!! Duh!!!

So sales for Pringles and beer are up, and the take-away businesses should be doing well.  Whereas any places without a TV during this period will not!  Although there are still a few of us out there, who would much prefer a good ole girls night out, and plenty of wine.....than sitting in a room (or outside), with a bunch of people who once they've got their football shirts on think they are now experts in commentary, rules, (especially off-side) and penalties..........!!! 

I used to even play football, and even took part in a charity tournament, are team were called the 'Victorious Virgins', we lost miserably, possibly because most of us had been victoriously slamming back tequila before hand, and couldn't work out which goal we were supposed to be shooting at! And, although most of us were actually in the hockey team, we had no idea what off side was!

I have friends on facebook, saying farewell for a few weeks due to 'football comitments', OFCS,  it's not as if it's 24 hours a day is it?  Other's that have booked time off work, just to sit in their armchairs to watch it............helloooooo???  O.k, o.k, i get it, it's a hobby......but really when you think about it, watching guys kick a ball around a huge pitch.....in long shorts (they aren't even sexy tight ones anymore, (athletics's is soo much more appealing!!!)......what's the big deal???

"Come on England"......everyone suddenly becomes patriotic, although they've been slagging the whole dam country off for months! 

FASHION......sorry, but football shirts only look good on 6ft, very FIT football players.....think about all those pairs of shoes you could buy in Primark for the same price!!!

Gladiator shoes are in fashion, but i now know first hand why they call them that, after about an hour of dancing in them, you wish you've been swallowed whole by a lion, or clubbed to death by an opponent....those fold up shoes you can squeeze into your tiny clutch bag are a good idea, although bare foot is sexier!!!

AND lastly, OMG would really have to be i have NO TIME FOR BLOGGING.....my teenage daughters are hogging the computer (whilst revising???), and it's too hot to be sat in the kitchen....if only my lap-top was a lap-top and i could sit out on the roof balcony at night......it would be perfect.

HAPPY WORLD CUP TO YOU ALL.....enjoy!!!  XXX

Lots of Love

Tracey XXX

P.S. I will confess if Ariadne had been a boy, I was considering to name her after the football player who scored the last goal in the World Cup Final.......when Greece actually won......ANGELOS......and perhaps, i would feel differently if i had a houseful of boys.....but it's all about Gossip Girl and 90210/Barbie in our household!!!

A CRUSH, BLUSH & NAUGHTY NURSE?

OMG  would have to be that isn't it, without a doubt however young or 'old' you are, and no matter whom you seem to have a crush on, whether it is the rough looking homeless guy, the man from next door, or the local newsreader.....you ALWAYS bump into them when you are:-

Smelling of tsatsiki (Greek dip made with lots of garlic and yogurt, and more garlic!!!)

Buying tampons.

Just popping to the shop and you haven't looked in a mirror since dawn, and it's 9.45 pm and you are desperate for wine, before the shop closes........

Tucking into a spinach pie, and you daren't open your mouth, let alone smile, in fear of the green dangly bits that are now lining your teeth enamel.

OR all of the above......


Well, there is no harm in 'looking', I was always brought up to believe in that!!!  The problem is the blushing and then the stupid things that just tumble out of your mouth......

Like mmmmm, yes, it's been a bad day (you have the huge bottle of Ampelia wine infront of you), but it's been really good...........uhhhh???  Helloooo........and that's even before you've had a drink!!!

Or you stand there answering "you're fine", when your nose is streaming, eyes are red raw, and you are struggling to breathe ....

YOU then proceed to knock everything over (the kids or the dog aren't even around to blame), with your over sized handbag.

By then your kids are ringing you, wondering why mummy is taking so long.....your phone is blurting out some kind of tune you don't even recognise, (they've changed it again), and of course you don't even realise it is yours and have no chance of even knowing who sings it....!!!
"Aren't you gonna answer that then"?.....

"Ummmm, oh, ummmmm, hold on.....wait a minute, where is it"?.....By this time, ALL the contents of your bag have been emptied and spread out onto the counter, for everyone to see.....and it's stopped ringing!!!

Contents of by bag usually:-
sweet wrappers, chewing gum wrapped up in paper (not mine), lipsticks without the tops on that are usually coated in something.....pens that don't work, loose change, cards from every supermarket on the planet, camera, magazine, receipts, a banana that has seen better days, and, and, and..........
Not only are you blushing, flushing, crushing.....gushing....whatever, you are for sure WISHING that the ground will just swallow you up, or at least that there could be a power cut !!!

So, it's a really good job you have that bottle of wine to look forward to when you finally make it home. 

That's if you remember to actually pick it up in the plastic bag, which already has split because it's soo bloody heavy!!!

 AND then if you didn't walk out the shop forgetting to pay, and  having to be called back, knowing your purse is somewhere in that Mary Poppins bag of yours........after all you had it out before, when you were trying to find your phone, and then the keys a few moments a go.........!!!

They are quite happy to say "pay me tomorrow" by this time, as you go to tip out your handbag again!!!

Meanwhile all you're thinking is thank god it's a screw top.....who cares  if it's not chilled!!!

......................................................................................................................................................................

I HEART The Anna Summers status updates on Facebook, and the outrageous questions they ask (the answers of course are even funnier!!!).....

Where do you hide your sex toys???   -
One lady wrote....
I don't, they make lovely bedside table decorations......(.haha....yes i can just see Jessica Rabbit now.....and the cleaning lady giving them a good dust!!!)


So next week I'm going to be busy with this Fist Aid Course, the only reason my husband is allowing me to do it, is because I said I would practise on him 'after', so better go and buy some band-aids......although, I'm thinking he was thinking  more along the lines of a Naughty Nurse outfit......and bandages.  BUT, then I might really have to resuscitate him!!!  (Not by any means i would look good in it, it's just a man thing isn't it???)
If only a could find a McDreamy mask.....you can buy wigs though!!!


So that's it from me, have a great weekend......

Lots of Love

Tracey XXX

P.S.  We can get a discount if we order the wigs in bulk.......???!!!

Alvin & The Chipmunks - You Had A Bad Day - Daniel Powter (FULL VERSION)

So you've had a bad day....bad week,  wine helps!!! XXX There's a storm brewing and no doubt i'm just about to lose my connection.........

Handsome Men's Club

I posted this on Facebook a few weeks ago....and still thinking about it.....!!!  Enjoy, lots of lush men.....all in one room, who would you choose??? XXX

EAT LESS EXERCISE MORE

Yep, by the time we get to 'almost 40', most of us actually do know  what we should be doing, and what we shouldn't be eating!!!  It's simple really......but just difficult to follow.

I mean sayings like 'You are what you eat'.....don't really help, do they?  I would be cheese.....which is of course the perfect accompaniment to wine!!!
Are you what you drink then too......medium, white and fruity??? 


Not a day goes by on Facebook that someone doesn't mention how many lbs/stone...kilo's they've lost....or put on even, or which diet they are trying this week.  Think of the millions we've all spent over the years on cabbage, eggs, Cambridge shakes, diet meals, and fitness video's and DVD's....(I've got a cupboard full of them!!!).   All the dusty exercise equipment, (never actually could afford any myself, just a hula hoop), and gym membership cards. 

Oh yes, we've all been there,  (well some of us),  and probably are still the same size, or bigger, just a few of us  might have got to lolly pop status.  Certainly not me, I mean how can you always be on a diet, (since about 15years old) but still be overweight???

I've followed the CABBAGE soup diet, absolutely disgusting, even when you fool yourself it isn't.  You do lose weight fast, but also friends with it, gets a bit embarrassing when you can't hold one in......wind that is!!!

Eggs, done that, again same problem as the Cabbage one, and probably best avoiding now, all that cholesterol and red meat, have to start thinking about your heart these days too.

Then you've got the Cambridge diet (does it still exist???). Not wise to do this for a week, and then binge drink (bottle of Cinzano), and end up with someone practically having to call the Paramedics, which happened to someone I knew once.......!!!  I have never drank that again, nor Southern Comfort, Babycham, Pimms, Pernod......etc....etc............!!!

To be honest, I really have attempted them all, Atkins, Low Fat....Special K, ummm, the Post Natal one, which how on earth are you  meant to be cutting up/juicing everything, when you don't even have time to wash your face, in the morning???......I can't understand.............Sooooooo many diets, so little time really!!!

The diets that I really know, are the ones that start on Monday and last till about Wednesday (on a good week).  The ones that you save up all your points and then binge on anything and everything at the weekend.  The ones when you've had a bad day, and think sod it, you only live once, and then proceed to eat everything in the fridge and freezer!!! 

It doesn't help also living in Greece when every day seems to be someones birthday, name day, or another kind of eating occasion, it's so rude to refuse!

I think the only time I've actually lost weight was due to illness, and you're finally feeling thin, and then everyone tells you how awful you look!!!  Or when I had the twins, basically for 2 years I don't think I actually sat down, let alone ate, how do people manage with triplets and more???

Nope, diets aren't 'my thing', I'm the type of girl that walks into the mini-market and can't decide, wine, crisps or chocolate, so buys them (drinks & eats) them all, especially if it's been a bad day!!!

I wonder if I would hate Monday's still so much,  if I didn't associate it with a diet or doing the housework after a manic weekend........of food, drink and toys!!!

OMG would have to be....I must be the only one not talking politics at the moment!!!

AND I so want a Yoga Instructor like the one in 'Couples Retreat'..............BOOM...BOOM.... (You won't understand if you haven't seen the film, not that it's particularly brilliant, but makes you laugh in places......and you can iron without burning anything......!!!)

FASHION....polka dot's..........'She wore an incy wincy....'..........well, not quite in my case, unless I wear pegs at the sides, (which almost makes me look as if I've got a flat stomach), and tattoo my stretch marks, now there's a thought!!!  Or maybe just a very large spotty sarong!!!

Lots of Love

Tracey XXX

P.S.  Well done to all those girls/boys out there on Facebook who have done so well.....it's not easy...!!!