The Dalai Lama……

Im cheating as I posted this on the other blog but at the minute Ive not got time to write another post lol, so here goes:

 

just an experience I wanted to share with everyone.

I have just had the great honour of spending a weekend listening to the teachings of His Holiness The dalai Lama.

NEVER have I had such a humbling, awe inspiring day in my entire Life.

Karl bought me tickets for a series of talks he’s been holding in Nottingham this weekend for christmas and I asked my Mum if she wanted to come. Obviously she jumped at the chance, Who wouldnt????/??

I have to admit, I was a little concerend that the weekend would be about buddhism, something I know very little about, I was very pleasantly surprised that one of the first things he said was that he was a simple monk, nothing speacial and that no-one should expect any pearls of wisdom or mystical powers. lol. He also said that we should not convert to buddhism, but follow the faith of our culture…..

Hving listened to him all I can say is that it was completely awe inspring! An experience I will NEVER EVER forget!!!!!!!

Its been a lifetime ambition of mine to hear him or even see him as a speck in the distance lol, I can honestly say, even if Karl spent thousands looking for another present for me he couldnt buy anything anywhere near as thoughtful as this if he tried. It was awesome! The whole vibe (no Im not going hippy on you, but its 1am and I cant think  of a better description lol) in the arena was really friendly, there were people of all colours, races, sexes and relgions mixing together and talking, everyone was smiling and there was a real mood of anticipation.

Religion didnt even enter into it, he spoke about how to ensure you live a happy life (Basically, treat others well and dont get angry about things you cannot change) and how to live ethically.

absolutly awesome!

BUT as I say, its 1am, Im beyond knackered and I cant concentrae anymore other than to say, I hav never heard anyone who has been through so much and yet be so humble, compassionate, loving and awe inspiring in my entire life, and doubtless I will ever hear anything like it again!

 

I promise I will post more about the weekend when I have some more time and energy, I wazs at work friday night till about 1.30am, then up at 7, then at work last night till about 12 because someone phoned in sick, then Karls at work this morning so I was up at half seven again. Im beyond shattered!

I’m feeling smug!!!

Having a good day today. Had an email through yesterday offering us discounted tickets to Playhouse disney live in nottingham. VERY discounted tickets, a quarter of the price to be exact!!!!

Instead of them being £20 each, they are just a  fiver! So in effect, you buy one ticket, get four free lol.

Madness!

Anyway, we’re booked to go see it the day after Jacks birthday (Good timing eh?) for the 5pm showing.

I honeslty dont know who’s more excited, Me because of seeing the kids faces, or the kids becasue they are going to see Handy Manny etc etc

 

Anyway, enough with the smug faces…

Its suddenly dawned on me Ive not updated this for ages and that all the posts so far have been moans…..

So, trying to focus on positive things…

Jack went for a hearing test again yesterday. He suffers from glue ear (Too much fluid in his ear canal) He did very well and for the first time really understood what they were asking him. He played the “games” well, did what he was told and even had them all giggling at his reactions. He let the doctor check his ear and didnt flinch once! (A huge improvment from last time) I think it helped that I had been pretending to be a doctor looking in his ears before we went in, and explained what would happen beforehand.

Apparantly his hearing is “adequate” but if it stays at the level it is at the minute WILL need some sort of intervention. Something to drain the fluid from his ears. Im guessing gromits. It could affect his learning ability in school as he struggles hearing things when theres a background noise. We are goin back in four months time to test again, as he has a cold at the minute, and then we will see what happens.

The positive thing is, that now something actually seems to be happening about it. His speech has improved 200% recently, he actually holds conversations with us rather than just talking gobbldygook.

Another positive thing is that I have regular hours at work, I can budget better, and I can plan my time and the kids routine more. I also am able to take them with me for half an hour till Karl can pick them up after work.

Jacks started pre school one afternoon a week and is settling in really well. He whinges a little bit when we leave, but by the time we’re walking round the outside of the building he’s off and playing with whatever toys are out that week (I can see him through the window). He actually asked to go this week and wasnt impressed when I said he had to wait a few hours!!!!

Lukes clingyness is wearing off a little bit. He still wants me if he’s tired or hungry, but he’s trusting a few more people now. Before, he would sit on my knee for the first half an hour of visiting anyone, including my mum and dad, and Karls Mum and Stepdad. Now he’s happy annough to run off and play at theier house straight away and will even follow certain friends around. I cant wait till he starts pre school, its going to be difficult I think because he wont like me not being there to start with, but hopefully he should soon settle.

The only downside at the minute is Karls work. He’s under a lot of stress at his main job, having to sort out problems (The majority of which are not his fault wither, but someone elses lazyness!) The window tinting side of things has quietened down a hell of a lot too! I think its a combination of more and more companys locally offering the service, and the credit crunch meaning people simply cant afford to splash out on what is considered a luxery! Other people we know with thier own businesses are struggling too so its obviously not just us.

Our house is almost ready for selling though thank god so we can move out of this shitty area and hopefully move somewhere that world war three isnt starting every two minutes!

 

wantglasses.co.uk

Ive recently had to go and have my eyes tested again, i noticed a little while ago that my vision wasnt as sharp as it had been so i decided to go get them tested.

Walking through tescos the other day they had a promotion on so I decided to bite the bullet and get it done. I dont pay for my tests because of tax credits and get help towards new glasses.

The bottom line is my eyesights got worse, Ive dropped from -1.25 to -1.75

The last couple of pairs Ive had have been bought online from www.glassesdirect.com Ive never had any problems with them but decided try another site this time.

Ive ordered these

http://www.wantglasses.co.uk/WebsitePages/A47-p-18.html?nextimage=145

and another pair

http://www.wantglasses.co.uk/WebsitePages/539-p-114.html

Ive got both pairs for £35!

Seeing as I get a voucher worth £35.50 to help against the cost, they’ve cost me £3 odd postage….

Bargain!

I’ll update as to what they are like when they arrive.

All Ive got to do now is post off my NHS voucher!

 

 

*UPDATE*

 

My card WAS charged despite having been told is wouldnt be!

Im now overdrawn facing a bank charge and the rest of the money I did have in my account has been swallowed up because someone in customer services cant do their job properly!

Im not at all impressed with this company, and if it wasnt for the fact that these are the only glasses Ive seen that I really like I would be cancelling my order!

Here’s a copy of the post Ive now put on www.moneysavingexpert.com and will be posting on other sites too.

Ive had a complete farce of an order with http://www.wantglasses.co.uk
I rang to check about the NHS vouchers and how I could process the order with one.
I was told to put the order in online, and that although the card details would be taken I wouldnt be charged if I emailed customer services and told them about my voucher. I was assured twice during this conversation that no charges would be made against this account until the voucher had been processed.
I did so, immediatly sent the email through to them and told them my order details.
A couple of hours later, I recieved one back:

Hopefully seeing as this post is coming up on the first page of a google search for wantglasses then people will read this!

Hi Emma,[/font]
Thanks for the email. I have noted this on the system and will wait for your form to come through. We will go ahead with your order in the meantime. I have told accounts not to process your payment however they informed the payment went through… so i have refunded this immediately to your card. Sorry about that!
Hope this ok. Please call or email if you have any more queries

All well and good, but now I have gone overdrawn, the little bit of money in my account that was supposed to be paying for my little boys nursery session this afternoon has been swallowed up and Im now being chaqrged for it!
All because someone from the technical department cant be bothered to add an extra option on the payments page!
After speaking to customer services Ive now got to go and request a bank statement from my bank, (and pay for it!!) go and post it through to them and have to wait for t to come into my account. This Im told could take up to 10 working days!!!!!
Im disgusted! I rang and checked this information before putting an order in in good faith.
Now Im stuck at home with no money and a little boy who’s very upset that he cant go to nursery this afternoon.
Not impressed at all!!!!!!
Not really a good impression to give a new customer is it
The worst thing is that they have my contact details yet didnt even have the decency to ring and explain the situation themselves. Just sent a fairly flippant email!!!!!!!!!!

*Second update!*

In the end I actually went into town, borrowed some money from my other half and went and paid the money into the bank so I didnt get any bank charges. Highly imcinvenient especially with two toddlers in tow!

The glasses arrived quite quickly (Although I suspect this was because of the stink I kicked up more than anything!) On the day they arrived I got a call from customer services, “just to check everything was ok” and the guy I spoke to casually mentioned they had read my comments on the money saving expert forum…..

Yup, I said, nothing but the truth though. He then replied that it was a mistake that I’d been charged, although I find this hard to believe seeing as the site uses and automatic payment system, so every time someone places an order the payment is taken straight away. Unless a voucher code is created for NHS vouchers to be used I cant see how it will be stopped from happening again, but meh! lol

All in all the glasses have arrived, they arent bad quality for the price and I suppose if I had been paying for them I would have been quite happy with the site.

All in all I would reccomend people using the telepone ordering system if they are going to order using an NHS voucher….