This week my Word of the Week is: Break! #WotW

This week my Word of the Week is:

We had a lovely break away over the weekend, it was just what we needed and then way came home to all the drama. We are all fine physically. Mentally not so much. No one has died, no one is in hospital, me and my family are not in any trouble, we just have some things going on which I can't talk about publicly and at the moment I don't want to, I don't know if I ever will.

Something has to give, I don't have enough head space to deal with what is going on in mine and my families life and to carry on writing positive, normal blog posts. I am taking a break from blogging. Some posts which are already scheduled will go live next week but my Friday favourites post for today is not happening, I have lots of favourites but can't write about them. I've not taken many photos over the past week for Project 365 and most of the photos are about what has been happening. The meal plan on Monday, hahaha the less said about that the better, I have not even ordered the food shop.

I just want to say thank you to some blogger friends, who know me away from my blog (you know who you's are) who have reached out and offered some amazing advice and support. Thank you!

My top 5 favourite Summer movies!

 I wouldn't say I am a big movie buff but I do have a lot of favourite films and I have been listing them for a few months. You can read about my favourite action movies, Sci-Fi movies, my favourite Animated movies and my favourite musical movies and my favourite disaster movies. In the run up to Halloween I shared my favourite scary movies and the week after I shared my not so scary movies which were more up my street for the spooky season, in the run up to Christmas I shared my favourite Christmas movies my favourite sport movies, I had my favourite movies to cry to and most recently the top 5 movies that traumatised me as a child!

This time it's all about my favourite summer movies!!

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Baby is one listless summer away from the Peace Corps. Hoping to enjoy her youth while it lasts, she's disappointed when her summer plans deposit her at a sleepy resort in the Catskills with her parents. Her luck turns around, however, when the resort's dance instructor, Johnny enlists Baby as his new partner and the two fall in love. Baby's father forbids her from seeing Johnny, but she's determined to help him perform the last big dance of the summer.

Dirty Dancing is the ultimate summer romance with its iconic dance scenes and unforgettable soundtrack it’s a film that continues to capture hearts year after year. Myself and my girls love it, we watch it a couple of times a year and always sing along.

The Parent Trap (1998)

Identical twins Hallie and Annie are separated after their parents' divorce. Years later, they discover each other at a summer camp and decide to switch places in an effort to reunite their parents.

This remake of the 1961 classic stars Lindsay Lohan. It's full of mischief, and heart warming moments. It's perfect for a family movie night during the summer break.

Stand by Me (1986)

After learning that a stranger has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go and see the body. On the way they encounter a mean junk man, a marsh full of leeches, they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.

Based on Stephen King’s book, this coming of age film explores themes of friendship, adventure and the bittersweet transition from childhood to adolescence. I remember seeing this when I was about the same age as the boys in the film and wanted an adventure like this during the summer.

Mamma Mia! (2008)

Donna, an independent hotelier in the Greek islands is preparing for her daughter's wedding with the help of two old friends. Meanwhile Sophie, the spirited bride has a plan. She secretly invites three men from her mother's past in hope of meeting her real father and having him escort her down the aisle on her big day.

Escape to the Greek islands with "Mamma Mia!" This musical extravaganza, featuring the songs of ABBA, is pure summer fun. With its gorgeous setting, star studded cast, it’s the perfect film for a summer sing along.

The Inbetweeners Movie (2011)

Now that their final year of school is over, friends Will, Simon, Neil and Jay are off to Crete for a holiday. Hoping to get as much sun, sea and sex as possible, the boys quickly find more trouble than they had bargained for.

For a more light hearted and hilarious summer film, "The Inbetweeners Movie" follows on from the TV series. Full of awkward moments and laugh out loud scenes, it's a great choice for a fun summer night with friends. Probably not one for the kids though! It's not the best movie in the world but it is one of my favourites. It makes me laugh so much!

What are your favourite summer movies?

A weekend in Hull.

Months ago we saw that there was a Comic Con event in Hull and we decided to go but a few weeks ago we decided to make a mini break of it and have the whole weekend in Hull. Hull isn't that far from us, we could have easily gone to Comic Con on the day but we had no other plans for the summer and it was the closest we were going to come to a holiday this year so we booked a hotel in the centre of town for a couple of nights.

I had planned to write about the whole weekend in one blog post, including our trip to Comic Con but there is just too much to talk about so I am writing about the weekend in one post and Comic Con in another.

The girls and I travelled to Hull on the Friday afternoon and checked into the hotel. We were staying in the Holiday Inn Express right in the city centre, 5 minutes from the train and bus station and connected to one of the shopping centres. It wasn't the cheapest hotel in town but it was reasonable and handy for what we wanted.

The girls and I had a wander around Hull and sat at Queen Victoria Square, our favourite place to just sit and watch people. There are always a lot of buskers in town but we have our favourite, the girls call him Mr Boombastic as he once sung that Shaggy song and they instantly fell in love. He sings but also encourages others to get up and sing too. There was a school trip of foreign students and a group of them had a blast singing a song, I have no idea what it was. A Spanish song. We sat behind an artist at one point, he was painting and what made him stand out was that he had his whole head and face covered in a white woolly hat. He was amazing, even if we didn't have a clue who he was.

Stu finished work and we met up with him and went back to the hotel for a bit. I had turned the air conditioning right up our room and it was actually freezing when we went back in which was very welcome as it was the hottest day of the year at the time. The girls were in another room and they went off to relax for a bit before we got ready to go out to eat.

We of course went to our favourite place in Hull to Eat, Wings! The all you can eat buffet. I have written about it in the past and nothing much has changed since we first visited in 2020. We have noticed there is such a difference to what they serve on a lunchtime compared to an evening. On an evening there is a lot more to choose from and we love it. I think our plates say it all. I went for mostly a Chinese option with prawn toast, spring rolls, noodles and hoisin chicken covered in sweet & sour sauce, Stu went for similar and Becky had chips, lasagne and pizza to start with. lol

We went back to the hotel a little before 9pm and went to the bar and ended up sitting outside on their rooftop terrace. I have walked around Hull lots over the last few years and never noticed that there was a space up there. It was so nice as it was starting to cool down and the views were fantastic and funny too. Seeing people getting chucked out of pubs and arguing.

We were up bright and early on Saturday morning after a mostly good nights sleep. Stu and I are used to a bigger bed, not just a double. hehehe We had breakfast and went off to Comic Con.

We had a fab day at Comic Con and left there about 3pm with aching feet and bags full of treats. We went back to the hotel, I was just planning on laying on the bed and watching TikTok for a bit but I actually napped! I never nap as I always wake up feeling rotten but I must have needed the hours sleep that I had. I blame the heat as it was another scorcher of a day!

We went out to eat again and this time went to Wetherspoons, cheap and cheerful. There was a whole host of restaurants that we could have gone to in Hull but we wanted something we knew. We rushed our food down and went and sat outside as our favourite busker was there! Wetherspoon pubs are known for not having music playing so they brought the fun!

There were people coming across from the pub over the road to have a sing song and request songs. We had such a fun time but 9pm soon came around and that is when Ellie had to leave as she is still under 18. We headed back to the hotel and to their rooftop terrace. We sat, chatted and had a giggle. We soon started smelling food from nearby takeaways and someone got Domino's pizza delivered to the hotel so we were tempted and Becky placed an order.

We all went back to mine and Stu's room and filled our belly's. It's years and years since I had anything from Domino's so it felt like such a treat. We had an early night, we needed it after a busy day. 

We were up early the next morning to have breakfast and get the early bus back home. It was such a lovely weekend, it was nice to have a break from real life and we are so glad that we stayed in a hotel and not just travel to and from Comic Con from home.

Have you ever stayed in a city close to you just for a short break?

If you don't laugh, you'll cry!

There's a saying "If you don't laugh you'll cry and that was so true when we had that bit of drama and a stay for Ellie in hospital. We had to find the smallest things to keep our spirits up and we found plenty of things to chuckle about.

Mc'Doctors!

If you have seen Grey's Anatomy you know Derek Shepherd is called McDreamy and Mark Sloan is called McSteamy. Well we met a few doctors and nurses that we named. McOlivia who reminded us of our friends daughter who works in a hospital, she looked like her and was so kind like her. There was McStabby who got a bit enthusiastic when he was trying to take blood from Ellie and McFunny who was a nurse who kept us laughing throughout the night.

Football on the TV.

When we were sat in A&E at about half past seven you could see all the men getting antsy, they were wanting to watch the England match. One man took charge and started trying to switch on the TV that was on the wall. One of the reception staff came out with a remote and there was a cheer when they got the football on just as the teams were singing their national anthems. All the men were crowded around the TV including my dad.

Old People!

Old people are hilarious. They have no time for faffing around and they definitely know what they want. A woman in the bed opposite Ellie was given her lunch and said I am not eating this crap, she demanded beans on toast and got it! Another woman wanted water which was colder and said in fact just get me some ice cubes. A woman was telling us about the blood she was getting delivered from Barnsley, she had a rare blood type and thought it was so funny they had none in this hospital. 

Not what she ordered!

On the first morning Ellie was in hospital she panicked when the nurse came around with the menu for lunch and just asked for a ham sandwich. By lunchtime Ellie had moved rooms and it turns out she got what the previous person had ordered. Orange Juice, some sort of green soup which she loved, Lasagne, mashed potato, chocolate sponge cake and custard. It was such a nice surprise. After lunch she ordered her tea and then ended up changing rooms so got another surprise meal. This time it was not to her liking so she ended up with tomato soup, a ham sandwich and chocolate and vanilla mousse. It turns out hospital food is not as bad as she thought.

Getting lost!

When Ellie was having lunch Stu and I decided to go for something to eat. The canteen is at the other side of the hospital and it turns out most of the staff at one side do not know where it is as it's so far! We got lost several times and it was a good 15 minute walk. I said if I had been by myself I would have just sat down and cried, Stu was with me so we found it funny and Ellie found it hilarious that we had taken so long.

Snoring!

The night I stayed with Ellie I didn't get much sleep, partly because she was vomiting and partly because I had a normal chair. When Stu stayed with her he got a reclining armchair and had a good sleep, so much so that Ellie threw a cup at his head (it was just a paper one) to wake him up as he was snoring so much.

The Vampire!

On the ward where Ellie was if the struggle to get blood out of someone to test they call for the sweetest and most gentle nurse who never fails to get blood. Ellie's veins were not good, small they told us and it was a struggle but the vampire nurse did an amazing job and got enough blood. When the nurses had gone off to back where they came from all the woman on the ward were saying when you see that nurse coming you know she's coming for blood. Eek!

Good toast!

On the morning after Ellie had been vomiting the nurses asked her if she wanted some toast and she said yes, not expecting anything amazing but the toast she had was the best toast ever!! I told her how when I had her and her sister that first slice of toast after my c-section's was amazing too!! She said there must be something special in it. 

Have you ever found things to laugh about while staying in hospital?