tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-116655052012-01-30T20:40:59.261ZClairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.comBlogger10911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-43007281861735629932012-01-30T17:46:00.001Z2012-01-30T20:40:59.268Z

 Have you seen the girl who used to write the blog? Me, second row, second from left singing with Encore.  Marian has inspired me again. La Keyes has posted an updated newsletter on her website and it made me think of this sad neglected little website - where the blogs have been less than plentiful of late.  I admit, hands up, I've been taking a kind of head-in-the-sand approach to

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-28035238937844582292011-12-06T12:41:00.001Z2011-12-06T12:41:23.190Z

The boy and I were singing Christmas songs in the car in preparation for his Nativity play. (He is playing Joseph again... am a very proud mummy indeed). Anyway, the boy told me he didn't know 'Silent Night' so I launched into a (stunning) rendition ... and reached that line which has no doubt made parents cringe for generations.... "Round yon virgin...." "What's a virgin mammy?" he asked

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-90837524176315372372011-11-29T10:35:00.000Z2011-11-29T10:35:52.235Z

A few years back there was the famous conversation with the boy which warned me about my behaviour in the car. As we drove over a speed bump the then two year old piped up with "That's a f*cksake bump, isn't it mummy?" Needless to say my language improved. On Sunday I was in the car with my parents and the girl (now 2 and 9 months) and my father, who was driving, drove off onto what can be a bit

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-64225086581669163042011-11-16T22:04:00.000Z2011-11-16T22:04:38.311Z

I'm quite a fan of psychics and I tend to love to have my angel cards read. I believe the angels (and yes I do believe in angels very much) can bring you no harm and every reading I have had has been very life affirming and comforting. Until I had a reading on Friday night, with a local woman who shall remain nameless. I arrived expecting, well, I don't know, some comfort, some reassurance, some

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-31731442680129550762011-11-15T21:34:00.001Z2011-11-15T21:35:58.605Z

Joseph: Do you think Santa's list has a relegation zone? You know for when you are good, but know you could try harder?

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-24695652915691448652011-10-31T12:09:00.000Z2011-10-31T12:09:14.667Z

I’ve been on the hunt for a Hallowe’en costume for the boy this week. His request for this year is to be Harry Potter and he has approached it with great seriousness, googling costumes and presenting me with the results telling me where I could get a cloak, wand and Harry glasses at the best price. “This one’s only £30,” he said, with the enthusiasm of a child who has no knowledge at all of the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-63676462408059992172011-10-10T12:55:00.000Z2011-10-10T12:55:34.118Z

It's been three weeks since I went back on my magic happy pills. I was warned, and knew from experience, that it can take 6 weeks or more for the pills to start working on a therapeutic level but I did feel a little more "up" the week after taking them - probably a kind of weird depressive's elation at admitting there is a problem. Last week I struggled a bit - thankfully was able to hold it

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-73823487638020578602011-09-29T14:22:00.000Z2011-09-29T14:22:09.553Z

Out from now, in all good bookstores and on Amazon and from Poolbeg. Read, enjoy, be nice.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-54735851890143703902011-09-24T08:01:00.000Z2011-09-24T08:01:42.555Z

Well that time of year has come again when, despite my best efforts, I have to put my hands up and admit I need a little help. So I'm back on anti-depressants. It wasn't an easy decision... well, I say that, in the end it was an easy decision. I had started to feel so low, and so anxious and the scary thoughts were starting to nudge their way back in. But I had resisted it for a while, thinking

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-60429584789731346562011-09-21T12:24:00.000Z2011-09-21T12:24:16.812Z

C: Can we go to granny's? My want to see granny. Me: No, honey, granny is sick today. C: Ach, why? (standard response to most things these days... complete with Ach first). Me: She has a wee bug in her tummy. C: Ach why she have a wee bug in her tummy? Me: She just does. But she's getting better. C: Why she have a wee bug? Where did she get a wee bug?" M: She just did pet. C wanders off a little

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-39407991362543185322011-09-09T11:58:00.001Z2011-09-09T12:28:35.858Z

So, the deed is done. My son was deposited back to school, shoes polished and hair cut into a neat and respectable style. His new, slightly too big, uniform was pressed to perfection and his schoolbag was stocked with new HB pencils, a collection of sharpeners and rubbers and some brand new colouring pencils. He was excited to go back. He jumped awake at some time around 6.30am and declared,

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-81202997435006528792011-09-06T13:39:00.000Z2011-09-06T13:39:51.293Z

It's been manic - like never before manic. The rewrites are done - the book is being typeset as we speak. Only one further step - proofreading - stands between me and publication in just over three weeks time. It is all go. So I'm sorry if I have not been around - but seriously, I've not even been there for my own children and blogging is not quite as top of the list of priorties as that. Well,

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-52841608076607365042011-08-19T09:19:00.000Z2011-08-19T09:19:55.976Z

 My niece Abby, my daddy, my sister Emma, my mum, my brother Peter , my crazy son, me and, on top my big sister Lisa Sometimes this is all that matters. Crazy and all as they are.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-3200886378891558102011-08-11T16:20:00.001Z2011-08-11T16:20:35.774Z

Feels Like Maybe, in Norwegian(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-21065350606164981502011-08-04T21:24:00.000Z2011-08-04T21:24:27.165Z

The Blurb! At last! And lo there was great joy across the land. (Or at least in my house). Cousins Ava Campbell (married, sensible, feeling old before her time) and Hope Scott (single, debt ridden, in love with a man who will never love her back) have nothing in common. But fate is about to throw them together. When their beloved aunt Betty, the free spirited black sheep of the Scott family,

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-45539908787640436012011-08-01T15:47:00.000Z2011-08-01T15:47:29.432Z

I'm almost there with yet another edit. Almost... almost.... almost. And then, like Arnie, I will be back - until that is I realise the deadline for the next book now looms.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-78591455091822291112011-07-26T20:33:00.000Z2011-07-26T20:33:04.439Z

We're in the car... she's singing having only recently found her voice and enjoying experimenting with sounds and lyrics... "Baa Baa black sheep... have you any wool? Yes Yes (she leaves out the sir... that's just how she rolls...) three bags full. One for the monster One for the monster dame (I do not understand it either..) One for the little girl who lives down the lane.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-39621905942467425692011-07-18T12:46:00.000Z2011-07-18T12:46:58.320Z

Isn't it funny, how things happen? Just last week I started brainstorming about new ways to try and promote myself and my books and came up with a marketing idea (which will all come to light in due course). So I asked around on Facebook and Twitter for people to give me memories of their favourite Claire Allan book. Now usually when I pose this question I get a mixed bag. There is a lot of love

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-22881029421327401142011-07-14T21:33:00.000Z2011-07-14T21:33:10.947Z

So tonight I'm being good and eating a low fat (chocolate muffin) dessert from M&S. Very cute two year old sidles up to me. "What's that?" she asks curiously. "Mammy's chocolate mousse," I answer.  She eyes it suspiciously. "My try some?" she asks, eyes wide and, well, who can say no. So I put some on my spoon and feed it to her. She tastes it like she is a head chef in a posh hotel checking one

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-76819130184273007862011-07-14T10:28:00.000Z2011-07-14T10:28:50.120Z

Things may have been quiet in blogland but they have certainly not be quiet in the real world. Writing has been continuing apace and, dear reader, I see light from the corners of the bunker for the first time in 10 weeks. The book has been redrafted - and actually turned into a completely differentl kind of a book. Of the 107,000 words I wrote for the 30 Something Crisis Club, only 10,000

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-10245361576773944592011-07-04T13:15:00.000Z2011-07-04T13:15:06.939Z

As my 35th birthday last week, and I noticed a few more crow’s feet around my eyes and how certain body parts are definitely on a downward trajectory I have decided to take the lead from a recent trend online for people to write letters to their 16 -year-old selves, imparting the wisdom and advice that only comes with age. Dear Me, I’m sorry about the perm. I thought it was a good look at the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-57074619429968553542011-07-01T13:20:00.000Z2011-07-01T13:20:58.339Z

Last week the family and I went away to the Downings in north Donegal for a few days to celebrate the husband's 40th birthday. We hired a delightful house on the Atlantic coast and had three blissful days of fresh air, nice wine (three for a tenner from Asda...), good food and great company in the form of my inlaws and associated children. I can't express how I felt in the house we stayed in. It

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-77376925945228980882011-07-01T13:14:00.000Z2011-07-01T13:14:45.849Z

or that she didn't have her own worries. Nor did I say my life was worse than anyone else's in the world ever. I'm pretty lucky as it happens. ALL I said was that she is living in cloud cuckoo land if she thinks the majority of working mothers can relate to her. It's as simple, or as complicated, as that. Thank you.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-13090282452697953462011-06-17T11:12:00.000Z2011-06-17T11:12:02.620Z

Dear Victoria, How are you? Can we have a little chat? Girl to girl? Mammy to mammy? Career woman to... erm, career woman? First I’ll start with the nice bits. You’re looking well these days with a little bit of meat on your bones. Pregnancy agrees with you. I’ll admit I’m jealous that you seem to manage to look so glamorous with it. I never managed that - not at all. For most of my

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-56997567681369114852011-06-08T13:14:00.000Z2011-06-08T13:14:42.464Z

Dear Writer Never lose the fire in your belly. Dampen it down a wee bit for a while, if you need to, so you can get some sleep. But never lose it. Write every book as if it were your first. Ignore whether or not you have an agent, a publisher or an established readership. Write as if you trying to make people sit up and take notice for the first time. Forget your past books, the published ones,

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-20326979755815956282011-06-08T12:39:00.000Z2011-06-08T12:39:34.906Z

Still writing... it's like NANO times 2. Forget 50,000 in a month, I've a target of 110,00 in two months. The more I write, the more the book is morphing into something different. The large swathes of text I hoped I would be able to use from the first draft are staring at me, redundant and fed up. I am starting to see words swimming in front of each other - and I can think of little else. My mind

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-78077828281253906372011-06-06T16:37:00.000Z2011-06-06T16:37:30.146Z

And I decorated - kind of in an avoidance of the writing kind of a way. We redid the baby's room (I say baby, I know she is two and three months. I know I am in denial of that fact. The dummy/ nappy police will be battering at my door soon enough over the head of it) - which especially now that it is freshly painted is my favourite room in the house. How I love the vintage Cath Kidston-esque

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-758573103614646982011-05-30T08:30:00.000Z2011-05-30T08:30:10.211Z

I was writing the latest book last night - as part of the mega in-the-bunker rewrite - and I reached a point where it clicked. It does that some times... writing. It just clicks. I had sat down to write that particular scene several times over the last few days and just couldn't find the right words so last night I sat down and said I wouldn't move until it was done. It was a short scene - a

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-20332170326454110912011-05-24T12:52:00.000Z2011-05-24T12:52:01.144Z

So this week It's Got to Be Perfect hits the shelves in paperback. It's a lovely book - honest. Funny, a bit risque in places, ultimately about friendship and the goals we set ourselves in life. It has a fabulous pair of pink bridal shoes and a gorgeous bridesmaid dress. And a VERY hairy man.It also deals with step parents, and wannabe parents and scared they are never gonna be parents...It's the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-66305482913778976872011-05-20T14:35:00.000Z2011-05-20T14:35:48.845Z

Right now I'm in the middle of pretty intensive edits of my fifth book 'The 30 Something Crisis Club' which is due out in September.With a tight deadline and a determination to make this the best book I have written to date, this has become the most intense writing experience of my life. I feel as if I should be holed away in a bunker sitting in front of a dozen computer screens all containing

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-52513896748061330792011-05-19T09:47:00.001Z2011-05-19T09:51:52.835Z

So we're in the car and she's chattering. C: "Mammy, my go to the doctors" Me: "Really?" C: "Yes. My go to the doctors." Me: "Oh dear. What's wrong?" C: "I'm a just a bit sad." She's 26 months old.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-4150408077390615432011-05-17T12:33:00.000Z2011-05-17T12:33:29.229Z

You know that saying you see on novelty signs hung in taxi offices and Chinese Takeaways and the like "Good morning, Let the Stress Begin" well today has been one of those mornings. First of all I was woken from a lovely dream where I was Kate Middleton and was stinking rich and planning a wedding.Then I went downstairs to find the baked ratatouille I had prepared last night had disinigrated

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-61154845178699187332011-05-06T09:27:00.000Z2011-05-06T09:27:26.622Z

As the mother of a young daughter there is a fear, deep rooted in my heart that one day she will turn to me - big blue eyes shining - and say “Mammy, can I do Irish dancing?” It’s not that I object to our national dance and I certainly don’t object to her learning how to do it. My fear, dear reader, lies completely and totally with the all encompassing culture that comes with it. From the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-58058238699314825962011-05-02T14:30:00.001Z2011-05-02T14:47:29.474Z

Every few months I write a blog post and thus follows a few months of "yay, go me! I'm losing weight" posts. I may, or may not, post a wee sidebar to this blog detailing the pounds dropping. There may be before and during photos. I will inevitably at some stage say "I feel as if I'm really, really going to do it this time." This time I'm not going in with that bravado. But I am going in. I

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-49525342256348884272011-04-29T11:59:00.002Z2011-04-29T11:59:09.864Z

It’s been everywhere this week - talk of the ‘big do’ when Prince William finally marries his commoner girlfriend Kate Middleton. Our TV has been filled with documentaries and news items. Our newspapers have been filled with articles on everything from who else is getting married today to what dress Kate will wear. (There has been an inordinate number of articles published brandishing ‘

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-42571346039581222602011-04-25T15:43:00.000Z2011-04-25T15:43:40.647Z

Random conversations with the Girl (aged 25 months). She ran to the window, with the enthusiasm typical of a two year and glanced at the grass across the street from our house. "Mammy," she chirped. "look at the fluffy daisies!" It took me a while to figure out she meant dandelion clocks.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-19616866920325126042011-04-21T09:45:00.000Z2011-04-21T09:45:44.764Z

I read this article in the Daily Mail (I know... I know...) today and instantly I felt angry, and sad, and concerned and  I suppose bereaved a little bit. This article is about a woman who has hyperemesis - not morning sickness - but hyperemesis. Surprisingly I would say the majority of people, even women, don't know what Hyperemesis (Also known as HG) is. It's not morning sickness - it's not

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-80149824083344887252011-04-20T13:35:00.001Z2011-04-20T13:42:51.511Z

There comes a time when you sit, a manuscript in front of you... a year or more of blood, sweat, tears, hope and dreams and you realise it's time to go in with the big guns. Yes, my friends - welcome to editing hell. The truth being I have taken agin my latest book. And I want to make it much better. And I NEED to make it much better because I'm five books into this writing toot and it's coming

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-42976429866807702462011-04-15T09:08:00.000Z2011-04-15T09:08:06.270Z

Standing in the kitchen on Saturday I listened to the toddler playing in the garden. It was a lovely sunny day and I had hauled her playhouse outside and set her up with her tea-set and dollies while I went about sorting washing and cleaning as I watched her. She sat there, like the delicate little flower she is and invited her cousins (who weren’t actually there) in for tea. “Darcy, come in for

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-16871874977612093792011-04-13T15:54:00.000Z2011-04-13T15:54:14.122Z

Well, the writing is going well but all encompassing. Am delighted to say book 6 - with a very provisional title of 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?' is powering along nicely - 10,000 words have almost magically floated onto the screen and not once I have been tempted to tear my hair out. It's set in a wedding dress shop - a gorgeous place with real wooden floors, sash windows and bright

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-91689191427280991222011-04-05T07:07:00.002Z2011-04-05T07:09:16.910Z

 Cara feeding 'Baby Cara' before the cries for "pee pees" went up  The baby (now officially two and a toddler) has started to take a very slight interest in all matters toilet related. She has decided the most fascinating thing in the world is to look at her soiled nappies before they are deposited in the bin and has started talking about the potty and the toilet.On Sunday she asked to

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-28409200164480052042011-04-01T17:55:00.000Z2011-04-01T17:55:00.469Z

It's a Post It Note... with Cathy Kelly's email address written on it - by her very own hand!! I may frame it. I'm very tired... it has been a long few days but here are my key points about the event that was the Eason Celebration of Women's Fiction. Patricia Scanlan is very lovely indeed and didn't laugh when I told her I wanted to be Devlin and run my own City Woman. Sheila O'Flanagan knows

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-14540180549449875372011-03-30T12:33:00.000Z2011-03-30T12:33:57.303Z

The boy's homework last night was to write about my hobbies - obviously on a Mother's Day kind of theme. So the boy rambled on about writing books, and singing in the choir and we were having a lovely conversation where he said one of my favourite things was being his best friend. Buoyed by this sense of confidence I decided I push things one step further which I should have known was a bad

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-1545583932531821032011-03-29T11:18:00.000Z2011-03-29T11:18:04.841Z

So the weekend my father took it on himself to tell Joseph a story about a wee boy he knew who had been gifted a football signed by the entire Chelsea team by a businessman who had heard the wee boy was sad and wanted to cheer him up. The wee boy was said because he had recently lost a friend in tragic circumstances. Joseph thought this through for a while, and paused, "Well if anything happened

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-87878230756336986302011-03-29T11:15:00.000Z2011-03-29T11:15:17.775Z

Oh readers, I am very excited. More excited than a grown woman should be perhaps... but excited all the same. On Thursday I will be travelling to Dublin (ON. MY. OWN. aka NO. KIDS) to Meet with some lovely writerly friends for drinks and dinner Stay in a hotel on my lone (as Joseph would say) and have a bed all to my self. To get dressed up in nice clothes, with make up and everything (Can you

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-88582946768231184092011-03-18T10:18:00.001Z2011-03-18T10:18:26.262Z

Of all the images which have haunted me since the earthquake and tsunami rocked Japan last week, the one I have found most poignant is that of a child - no older than two or three - standing, his arms raised over his head - being scanned for radiation poisoning by a man in scary white suit and mask. I’ve thought about that child a lot - and about the other children in Japan - and of the fear

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-1989246643440435032011-03-17T21:05:00.002Z2011-03-17T21:05:15.682Z

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-10089236083839269332011-03-17T20:58:00.000Z2011-03-17T20:58:33.725Z

Dear Boots, Thank you for your lovely email today asking me if I could believe my toddler was "around 2 already"? No, since you asked, I can't really believe it. It's a bit mad. Seems like only three minutes since she was born. It was nice of you to remember. I mean you could have sent a card, rather than an email with a generic picture on it. Also her name is CARA... but stilll, I'll not hold

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-63455439315167377882011-03-10T22:01:00.000Z2011-03-10T22:01:48.887Z

In short, I am written out. 'The 30 Something Crisis Club' went to Dublin this week - after a frenetic fortnight of editing it to within an inch of its life. Now I feel as if i'm spent - for the moment anyway - until my writerly juices kick up to full pelt again. I do have ideas - strong ones - so it shouldn't be too long. But for now I'm going to do some of the things I just could not while I

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-70310140087858426762011-03-01T13:53:00.000Z2011-03-01T13:53:44.980Z

Yes. Today I will feel calm. And not think about deadlines.Or how my hall and landing need painted.Or how I don't know what I'm going to write my column about.Or how my ideas for book 6 are all a bit up in the air.I will think about my children - when they are being nice and not grumpy/ huffy/ cheeky. I will think about the fact that Grey's Anatomy is on the TV tonight. I will think that my edits

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-19600733302684031022011-02-24T22:56:00.000Z2011-02-24T22:56:54.836Z

So I had my tattoo. Which was a big one. And tonight I ticked something else off my "things to do before I turn 35" list. I joined a choir. I know. Me! Who can't sing. Well, actually... let me tell you a story about that. For as long as I can remember I have been surrounded by music and by singers. My parents love to sing and can hold a quare tune. My sister has a voice that could charm the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-80541679365757775372011-02-21T14:33:00.000Z2011-02-21T14:33:12.494Z

I had the most delicious day with Miss Boodles yesterday. Dressed in her own creation of wellies (on the wrong feet), vest with poppers open, slightly sagging nappy, her safety reigns, a pink plastic necklace and her apron she asked me to lift her "Mup" - which of course means "up" - while I was starting to prepare their dinner. I was having one of my very rare Annabell Karmel Super Mammy

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-74266159707542220102011-02-17T13:34:00.000Z2011-02-17T13:34:51.485Z

I was, as we say in Derry, "all lurred" with myself yesterday. I did eventually have a productive day., started book 6, tidied up book 5 a little bit more. I went home in my lunchbreak and in the 45 minutes I was in my house I cleaned the bathroom, polished the gil's bedroom, hung out the washing, did the dishes, had a general tidy and emptied all the bins. After work I sat down to read/ listen/

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-31897610531604039872011-02-16T14:02:00.001Z2011-02-16T15:02:51.657Z

I envy those people who think with their heads and not their hearts. Those people who are able to make calculated and considered decisions based on rational thought. Not like me. I shoot from the heart. A hopeless romantic to the core - that's me. I believe in the inherent good in people - in ever lasting, heart stopping, knee trembling love. I thought Jack believed in all that too. And in a way

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-80430837903805807042011-02-16T10:49:00.002Z2011-02-16T10:49:30.672Z

I can't fully explain how I feel today - a little floaty and out of sorts. As if something is going to happen. I don't know what that something is, but there is something there in the air which is stealing my concentration and making me very unproductive. Yesterday I had one of those busy but very fulfilling days at work - where I got to speak to and meet very inspirational women who really

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-49313905676433272122011-02-14T13:54:00.000Z2011-02-14T13:54:15.978Z

So I'm not really thinking about starting book 6 - not really. Not until I get the edits done on book 5, but still I've been mulling over a few ideas. Do I start it sexy and vibrant? Do I start it dramatic and foreboding? Do I write first person (my preferred choice) or third (a bit harder in my experience)? Do I have one MC or two? The story could lend itself to two ala Feels Like Maybe... I am

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-44424713004933499372011-02-12T19:13:00.002Z2011-02-12T20:42:13.093Z

So I had been talking about a tattoo. And during the week I kind of decided I really, really wanted one to mark getting a little older, finishing my latest book, having two kids, being bone crushingly sensible etc etc So I got one. Today. With no magic numbing cream to take the pain away. I woke up and just decided to go for it. Even though I have no pain threshold at all. I arrived in the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-92163772604274984432011-02-11T15:13:00.001Z2011-02-11T15:14:06.722Z

I packed up some of the baby’s things this weekend. Her high chair is awaiting a new home. She has outgrown some of her toys and when I dressed her on Friday I realise she has taken another one of those growth spurt yokes which means that a wardrobe filled with 18-24 month clothes will soon be passed on to my baby niece. Of course there are upsides to this all. My kitchen will seem bigger without

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-67140013727598034082011-02-10T21:48:00.000Z2011-02-10T21:48:02.840Z

It had been a long day and  I have been thinking alot about my whole new "work it baby" mentality. All this of course ties in with my mid 30s impending crisis. So on top of my weekend dying my hair Cheryl Cole red, today I went a few steps further.  I spoke to my lovely photographer friend Stephen Latimer about doing some new author photos for me. And I told my sister I wanted a tattoo. And

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-31396067460541925182011-02-09T18:48:00.001Z2011-02-09T18:50:12.441Z

Dear all, It has been brought to my attention of late that I'm not a very confident person when it comes to self promotion. You see when I was at school Mr Flood told me pride was a sin and ever since then I've kind of reserved my pride for other people thinking pride by proxy was a lesser sin But now, I'm told I have to sell - be bold, blow my own trumpet, shout from the rooftops, kick some PR

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-25839041828427121662011-02-07T22:21:00.002Z2011-02-07T22:21:48.374Z

The strangest, best, most emotional feeling in the world. I have written five books. Wow!

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-86013508272450911792011-02-04T10:34:00.002Z2011-02-04T10:34:25.895Z

Mandi’s mammy died on Sunday. On a brisk winter’s evening, as the sun faded over the Hospice she slipped away surrounded by her loved ones - her battle over. You might not know who Mandi’s mammy was, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t tell you about her now. Chances are if you didn’t know her, you know someone like her - a matriarch with a wicked sense of humour, a fierce tongue when she

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-65995089580502852892011-02-03T13:36:00.000Z2011-02-03T13:36:08.265Z

Dear Joseph,Well I'm not quite sure how we got here, but here we are and you are 7. Seven! For the love of  God - that's like proper big boy and not at all like a baby any more at all.This past year has probably seen you grow more and transform more in front of my eyes than any other. Your face has changed - thinned out, lost the babyish look and adopted the look of who I can see you are going to

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-86966477465909299412011-01-27T12:21:00.003Z2011-01-27T12:57:18.562Z

It was only a cosy-toes. One I forgot I had, to be honest. It's pink (what other colour could it be?) and it went on her buggy - the one my aunt keeps in her house when she minds her. This morning my aunt gave it back to me. Cara is too tall for it now, she said. Maybe I knew someone else who could make use of it? I looked at it and then at the toddler, with her hair in braids, her mini Uggs on

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-27230904979317403522011-01-26T16:26:00.000Z2011-01-26T16:26:40.305Z

There are two things in the world which fill me with a fear so deep that I actually get palpitations at the very thought. Steve Martin gives me the heebies Those two things are A) Fish (of any description, live or dead.) B) The dentist. Now when it comes to the fish, I can rationalise my fear. When I was a toddler I apparantly choked on a fishbone, had to be rushed to Altnagelvin

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-50870630071331174632011-01-26T09:33:00.000Z2011-01-26T09:33:54.890Z

98,500 words written. A few loose ends to tie up. A re-read and some padding out of previous scenes, a little bit of character building here and there. And it shall be done. And I shall be getting very drunk, which may be irresponsible to admit to, but its the truth. So there.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-51038811359528212532011-01-21T12:31:00.000Z2011-01-21T12:31:37.014Z

My younger sister and I are very different people - in every respect. While she has a scientific kind of brain which looks for the logic in everything I like to see things on a more creative level. She’ll explain to her three children the actual real reason for things like rain or snow or rainbows. I’ll go for making something up which amuses us all no end but probably leaves the children more

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-74027487769148834522011-01-14T15:22:00.000Z2011-01-14T15:22:20.683Z

Joseph, like butter wouldn't melt... Joseph's homework on Wednesday seemed simple enough. We had to fill in the missing words - and the topic was winter. So, for example, we had "In winter the weather is very _ _ _ _" Duly, we filled in c .o. l.d We were going great guns on the rest of the homework til we reached the sentence "Old people don't like the cold _ _ _ _ _ _ _ " Now, I knew the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-47515132226789139042011-01-14T09:37:00.003Z2011-01-14T15:09:20.049Z

The world of the celebrity gossip mongers has gone into overdrive this week with the news that Victoria Beckham is expecting her fourth baby. The Beckhams, who have three boys already, are expecting bambino number four in the summer. Already chat forums and Facebook status updates the world over have declared their delight for the Beckham family and the hope is that Victoria finally gets the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-20184991387903335202011-01-13T11:07:00.000Z2011-01-13T11:07:19.873Z

I'm turning 35 year this. Thirty Five. I'll also be married ten years. My eldest child will turn 7. My "baby" will turn 2. By the end of the year I will be looking at a pre-school place for this child who, it feels anyway, was just laid on my chest all wrinkly and teeny tiny as a new born about three seconds ago. I'll publish my fifth book this year too (if I get it finished). And all this is

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-73969551249998705632011-01-09T16:28:00.000Z2011-01-09T16:28:18.834Z

I pulled all the furniture out and hoovered under it. I cleaned my kitchen windows. I finally emptied my laundry hamper and washed all the clothes, dried them, folded them and put them away. I cooked an inordinate amount of fresh, wholesome food for my family to turn their noses up at. I tackled the stair basket which has become the dumping ground. I went through our paper work, recycled what

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-60191995637738565112011-01-07T15:40:00.000Z2011-01-07T15:40:37.409Z

Another thousand words done... can see the finish line. Must. Not. Rush. Must. Not. Give. Up. Either. Must not drink loads of wine and eat loads of chocolate in a bid to try and promote creativity when I'm feeling stuck. Must not get distracted by a McDreamy/McSteamy combo in the new series of Grey's Anatomy - or indeed with the new series of Criminal Minds or any TV for that matter. Must try

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-49969658834187337142011-01-04T11:14:00.000Z2011-01-04T11:14:07.036Z

I went to WeightWatchers last night (Pro-points... now there's a scary prospect) and as I was sitting waiting for the talk to begin after the kind of scary weigh in a woman approached me. I'm getting used now to being asked "Are you the girl that writes the books?" and while I still blush furiously I have learned to deal with it by thanking the person for being so nice, telling them I'm glad they

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-17403207642672908882011-01-03T17:32:00.000Z2011-01-03T17:32:13.852Z

With a significant effort over the last few days and a great deal of ignoring the telly/ books/ my children I am now in the final throws of book 5 - which feels like it has taken me the very longest of all my books ever and which feels a bit like the never ending story - except without a flying dragon and a princess with a stupid name. Each book has taken a little bit more out of me - even the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-63182111398945167132010-12-31T13:10:00.000Z2010-12-31T13:10:40.923Z

Happy new year, and lots of love to all. I wish I could write something witty and inspiring here but sadly this New Year's Eve  is quite sedate. It's not like the time I wore one brown boot and one black boot to work - by mistake, but which I told everyone was to herald the start of the new year while saying goodbye to the old one. It's been a tough year, but you've been lovely. Let's just

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-91935659851455780862010-12-28T18:12:00.002Z2010-12-29T09:43:36.015Z

So Christmas was pretty much a grot fest. It started late on the night before Christmas Eve when my eye got a little twitchy. I woke on Christmas Eve with two swollen eyes, which were bright red and stuck together (sexy, non?). A venture to the pharmacist diagnosed bacterial conjunctivitis and drops were given. By night time I was coughing and spluttering and aching. As was hubby. As was the baby

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-68383159563490345852010-12-23T19:54:00.000Z2010-12-23T19:54:04.574Z

Prompt: New name. Let's meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why? Oh I've thought about this a lot - especially as I get to make up names a lot. Choosing names for my characters is something I both love and hate. I love it as I have a limited number of children (happily) and there are names I would

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-55054554557477988052010-12-21T19:26:00.000Z2010-12-21T19:26:56.085Z

Or near enough. The tree is up. The snow has fallen and is continuing to fall. The boy performed in his nativity today and I sat like an over emotional mammy. There is something about children singing 'Away in a Manger' which gets me right in the pit of my stomach. The presents are bought. The cards are written. I'm ashamed to say they're not posted yet... but I'll do that tomorrow. Nothing is

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-62407470056802457262010-12-15T09:46:00.000Z2010-12-15T09:46:00.314Z

Prompt:  Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010. I love this one because it makes me focus on the very positive and not the negative, which is my usual tack given that I am definitely a glass half empty type of person. So what would I want to grasp onto for 2010... My baby's

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-79499462784230603422010-12-13T20:27:00.001Z2010-12-13T20:27:21.430Z

This was a big part of my Christmas when I was growing up, stay tuned for the singing and listen to the words. Still are important today as they were then.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-29450919399483352982010-12-10T11:17:00.000Z2010-12-10T11:17:17.876Z

December 10th Prompt: Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? Decisions are not my strong point. I am, by very nature, a very indecisive person. I once loaded my online shopping basket, paid for an order and cancelled the same order before reordering three times in a 24 hour period. I have been known to wake in a cold sweat about what the children will

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-89263838561473043612010-12-07T12:04:00.000Z2010-12-07T12:04:48.973Z

A reverb10 prompt December 7th. Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? Ah, perhaps not strictly this year because this has been an ongoing thing and I know, dear reader, I'm going to sound a bit "lovey-ish" here but this year the strength of my fellow writers has kept me

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-1514831314845944372010-12-06T16:21:00.001Z2010-12-06T16:21:51.305Z

I picked up on an email prompt thingy while reading my sister's blog today - and while I know what I'm like and there is no way I imagine it will provide good food for thought when I am completely stuck. Today's prompt was: What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? Now the truth is, I don't make

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-31866883577724080652010-12-02T17:49:00.000Z2010-12-02T17:49:02.560Z

December reminds me of many things, not least the annual visit to Santa. There were no super fancy grottos in our day - I remember if you were lucky there was a bit of tinsel and a man in a red suit. Sometimes the man in the red suit was scary - bizarrely as a child I don't think I ever really noticed just how scary. But as an adult I can look back on the following picture and wonder how I was

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-80671137341487958052010-12-01T17:20:00.000Z2010-12-01T17:20:17.951Z

... And be the kind of writer who sits on her sofa wrapped in blankety goodness each evening writing. Especially in this kind of godawful nice-to-look-at-but-shite-to-be-out-in weather.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-55914340155197140722010-11-29T16:17:00.001Z2010-11-29T16:19:23.862Z

Yesterday was Cara's first real snow. I say her first real snow because last year she was too eeny to really make much sense of it. Yesterday however the verdict was in. Snow is good. She loves it almost as much as her brother. Snowed in and "forced" to spend the day playing on the floor with my kids and watching cheesy movies, I had one of those "Would it be great if it was like this all the

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-25718018879272722762010-11-25T12:27:00.000Z2010-11-25T12:27:24.398Z

Devastating news here this morning folks. The boy's rock band (made up of him, his wee friend Dylan and his wee cousin Ethan (who is two)) Rock Bros have disbanded. In fairness as Dylan lives in Scotland I don't think he ever knew he was in Rock Bros in the first places... But this morning in the car, the boy announces. "Me and friends in school are forming a band. I'm not in Rock Bros

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-43398844908982102792010-11-24T21:55:00.002Z2010-11-24T21:55:19.325Z

His letter to Santa .... umprompted by anyone... started with.. Dear Santa, I know this year has been a bit of a curvy line.... At least he's honest.

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-1051993717731804652010-11-24T21:39:00.001Z2010-11-24T21:46:20.891Z

The last week has been even stranger than the week before. On Sunday, while wandering through Prestwick airport I came to the conclusion that I was never going to write again - apart from blog updates and Facebook statuses. And of course journalisty things because, obviously, they pay me to do that. And Christmas cards and signing the boy's homework. But when it came to my novelisty ambitions I

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-23197348533946494162010-11-18T16:50:00.000Z2010-11-18T16:50:59.214Z

First of all it has mostly be dominated not by the news of the royal engagement but instead by the introduction of the Atex Content Management system in the Derry Journal (feel free to fall asleep now). A quick Google (always love saying that word in a soft Galway accent, for the record) of Atex and Johnston Press (our parent company) will show that the move has not necessarily been a popular one

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-79200175380757573842010-11-12T16:31:00.000Z2010-11-12T16:31:22.761Z

My sister (the younger one) has worked exceptionally hard and has managed to shed an amazing 78lbs this year (that over five stone in old money). She has blogs about it here - and also about her new cooking habits which have, no doubt, aided her weight loss. You see Emma is what is known as a foodie. She sees a cupboard of ingredients and conjures up something exotic, tasty and healthy. I am not

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-17292940162007689072010-11-12T11:47:00.001Z2010-11-12T11:47:43.567Z

The quest to lose a bit of weight and shape up has stepped up a gear. Let me say for the record I had diastrous summer putting back on a healthy portion of the weight I had lost at the start of year. I have to take my oil - this was all entirely my own fault. I stopped going to my WeightWatchers’ meetings and ignored the gentle nudges my class leader. I figured I knew it all and anyway, it was

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-3770272630847094282010-11-11T12:59:00.000Z2010-11-11T12:59:09.704Z

Usually I reserve gushing over my fellow writers to the acknowledgements of my books but I want to say a public thank you to two very special fellow Northern Girls for absolutely being there for me over the past couple of weeks when I've been feeling crappy. These girls, hugely successful and very busy in their own right, have taken the time to call, email and text to make sure I'm okay but

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-27117494084491442962010-11-11T12:54:00.000Z2010-11-11T12:54:07.873Z

Especially when the heavens are opening as they today. Seriously... if I weren't so well mannered I would say it is pishing it down. (Pish is an underrated, if slightly offensive word. But sometimes no other word will do). Poolbeg have sent me the cover for the summer mass market release of It's Got to Be Perfect - and it's a deliciously frothy wee cover which made me smile. Hopefully it will

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-91098347831798144572010-11-10T11:30:00.000Z2010-11-10T11:30:58.800Z

I've received a number of lovely comments, emails and messages of support following my post last week about how I'm feeling a bit meh just now. I'm feeling a bit better this week - still very anxious (probably due to the DAMN BOOK NOT BEING FINISHED) - but getting there. I've tried to get out and about walking a bit in the evenings which seems to clear my head and I've been eating better and

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-3859100287625817942010-11-08T15:58:00.000Z2010-11-08T15:58:07.683Z

... the book. We are in the endgame though. Almost 80,000 done - the end in sight - the finish line not too far in the distance. I wrote just under 4000 last weeks of new material and spent a considerable amount of time editing the rest  of the book and reading over it and hoping I didn't hate it. Thankfully I didn't but dear Lord I am at the stage where I want this book to be done already. I

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-60722337164121799882010-11-05T09:26:00.003Z2010-11-05T09:27:23.806Z

The internet is no doubt a great place for having a row. At any given hour of the day or night you can click online and find some scandal or other brewing. This week scandal has particularly ripe. First of all proud parents from across the UK got their knickers into a knot when some scurrilous individual reported that a bonny baby competition being run by a highly respected clothing chain was

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-201903427776635282010-11-02T11:18:00.000Z2010-11-02T11:18:22.898Z

I wonder about Marian Keyes a lot - not just because she remains a real inspiration to me and I feel like I know her even though we've never met - but also because this year she has been battling the horrors.I know what the horrors feel like. They are like my long lost friends - and every now again they pop up, as if on Facebook - and poke me as if to say "we haven't gone away you know". Lately

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-65580412341850802292010-11-01T16:31:00.000Z2010-11-01T16:31:29.618Z

Tonight is my first "new me" weigh in. I'm nervous people - very nervous. I have been good -apart from a slight (thin crust) pizza incident last night. I have walked - a lot. And I bought those new Reebok Easytones so when I walk it's like really, really, really sore on my arse but still I walked (well it was kind of a waddle by the end but still I was moving... there was a snail, in fairness,

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665505.post-40379702358203924432010-10-29T11:07:00.000Z2010-10-29T11:07:00.188Z

It seems to be the case that every few months I write this post. Perhaps I could just repaste what I have previously written? But I am starting WeightWatchers again. I should say, I have NO DOUBT in my mind that WeightWatchers works. Sometimes I just don't. I get lazy, fed up and daunted by the mammoth task ahead of me. I genuinely feel very jealous of people who just have a wee half stone or

Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15798870215657618475noreply@blogger.com1