Worth The Wait!

It finally arrived. After a wait of many weeks, and my anticipation reaching worrying heights....my Pottermore email appeared in my inbox this afternoon :)

I know I'm 36, I know I'm an adult, but I adore the Harry Potter books and was desperately waiting to have a look at the new website JK Rowling has created.

After a night which once again saw little in the way of decent sleep, an early start to see my Doctor to hear a verdict that I'm still not fit for work, and won't be for at least another 4 weeks it really was a boost to hear my email notification go off and see my Welcome To Pottermore email.

So - I am now a proud Slytherin called KnightSkull50 (you can't choose your username lol) with an 11" rigid Larch wood wand with a unicorn hair core...and I'm loving it!

(In case you're interested, Hague is a HufflePuff, which is quite sweet)

Worrying Ignorance...

In my current state of mind, not much gets my back up. I spend my days trying to insulate myself from the big bad world, staying nice and cosy in my head, however some headlines today have pushed me to the point of a blog...I know!!

On both the Sky and Daily Mail websites (and probably others) a story has been published regarding the controversy surrounding children taking part in MMA contests. Now, I appreciate that a lot of people who peruse my blog won't have a scoob (scooby doo = clue) what MMA is...if I substitute MMA  for "cage fighting" I may have a few more people who understand what I'm talking about.

MMA means mixed martial arts....remember those? Karate/Judo/Muay Thai/ Kick Boxing they are all martial arts disciplines. The sport of mixed martial arts combines all of these, plus Ju Jitsu and Wrestling. The resulting sport is an exciting combination of trying to get a submission and the skills of stand up skills such as boxing. I will concede that it's not a sport for the faint hearted, but then neither is boxing!

The very fact that so many skills are required make it a wonderful sport to me, seeing a bout containing the wealth of skills from Ju Jitsu, Wrestling, Boxing and Muay Thai really do make for the most exciting combat sport I've ever witnessed.

Back to the children though - children of 8/9 such as those in the sensational headlines do not wear headgear or  gloves. This isn't an oversight, a loophole screaming for the RSPCA to get involved, it's because they are not allowed to strike, kick or punch each other. This means that they are confined to grappling, using wrestling and Ju Jitsu skills alone.

Call me biased if you will, but when we are bombarded with tales of our obese children, surely the mere fact that some are taking interest in such a skilled sport should be applauded? These kids will learn discipline, they will learn how to defend themselves from attack and learn the importance of fitness and training when you want to succeed at sport.

People wouldn't think twice about sending their child to Karate classes, so why this blanket hate for a fledgling sport that few could truly claim to understand, but are quick to condemn and berate. Take a look before you mindlessly follow the crowds and get swept up in the Daily Fail mindset. Please?

Latest Addiction

As you may have noticed I get addicted to various things. These things become almost an obsession, burning brightly for a while until I either forget about them or get bored.

Recently they have been few and far between I guess, mostly my photography/365 and various FB games.

The one that has taken over though is Top Cashback. I scour the website for free offers, or for offers that give generous cashback for minimal outlay. I convert the cashback into Amazon vouchers and am currently saving all the pennies for the DVD boxset of Two and a Half Men. I don't know about you, but times are hard at the moment and money is tight so I can't think of a better incentive to just click through a cashback site before buying something you were buying anyway!

Even better (and perhaps partly the reason for this blog *blush*) is that you can also get cashback for referring people. To me it's a win/win situation....getting money back for things you were going to get anyway, and for letting people know about it, you can get even more money!

If nothing else it's worth a look, and if you do sign up, you might as well do it though my link eh?

Linky to TopCashback  :)

Faulty Dog

Boo had some blood tests today to check that her seizure wasn't due to an underlying issue with her liver, kidneys or heart. The vet found nothing out of the ordinary, while this is wonderful news for the health of Bayleigh it's once again bad news for my finances...

This little adventure has involved a total of £215 in Vet's fees. Early this year it was £50 on her dislocated toe, and over the years she's seen a back specialist for a back problem that totally vanished, the vets for an unexplained abscess, two years of (ridiculously expensive) medication for bad skin (that was ultimately eased by a change of food), and removal of lumps (one of which was cancerous).

Much as I love the little-legged, one dog hair shedding machine she is the faultiest dog I know! It's always one thing after another, and usually those things happen over a Bank Holiday weekend....

Ah the joys of dog ownership! Thank god for pet insurance and those scrobbly, floppy, droolly kisses!

Nightly Ponderings

Last night, whilst lying in bed, wide awake until 5am (yeah...sleep is still utterly crap). I made a few small decisions. Sensible decisions on ways I can help myself to get better, to make my life better and drag myself out of these doldrums that are dragging me down.

Number one on my mind was losing weight. Rather than dieting, I have decided to make small changes in my lifestyle and what I eat with a goal of losing just 1lb a week. That's it, anything more would be a bonus. I think that is sensible and sustainable and if I break my loss down like that, it's not so huge in my mind.

Number two is to have a sort out. This is the type of thing that always goes through my head, I suppose it's a way to improve my surroundings without actually spending any money (always a good thing as with my pay cut our outgoings become bigger than our incomings for the first time in a long while - not good). As with the weight loss, I have set myself small targets. I shall start with our bedroom, and each piece of furniture shall be tackled one at at time, keeping the task manageable and achievable.

I guess this is how I need to think right now, pushing my targets too far right now is likely to push me into panic and anxiety, rendering me useless to tackle anything constructive at all, so I shall face life like this for now, with baby steps.

One thing I do have to do though is force myself to start - lethargy is my biggest enemy right now. Safety and calmness are synonymous with the settee and non-thinking activity, I NEED to scare myself a little every day and pull myself out of my bubble, out of my comfort zone and take control. I think these little steps will help, perhaps without so many thoughts whizzing around my head I might actually sleep as well....I can but hope! :o) 

Scarey Old Day

Just when I think no more bad news can possibly head my way, I am yet again proved utterly wrong. After a not particularly nice day (doctor visit, supermarket visit, hideous low mood) me and Hague were winding down for the evening when Bayleigh (my Basset) started to retch and threw up on the carpet. Now, this isn't much of an issue - it's something that happens from time to time when you have pets, so it wasn't really much of anything to worry about until she unexpectedly tried to jump up on the settee with me, she knows she's not allowed and so I tried to push her down but she was strangely stiff...we got her on the floor and she was utterly rigid, limbs all straight out and her eyes were glazed.

Perhaps you know what's coming next, but I have never witnessed someone having a fit before and so I had no idea what was happening. Luckily Hague with his care work knew what was going on with her and did his best to calm me down, whilst trying to make sure Bayleigh was okay.

Seeing the pet you love in distress, voiding bowels and bladder, crying and fitting is awful, scary and terrifying. Even when she came round she wasn't right, eyes glazed and totally disorientated. When she finally got back to her feet she went from one extreme to the other, becoming hyperactive and distracted by everything, this finally gave way to constant crying which only calmed after a 1am walk.

Despite talking to the on call vet I still couldn't rest, although Bayleigh seemed fine, I was alert to any strange noises from downstairs and so barely slept a wink. My head spinning with thoughts of another fit, of tumours, cancer, brain problems and variations on these....the scariest of thoughts that always seem clearest in the dead of night when you are too worried to sleep.

Finally morning arrived, and with it a visit to the vet for my silly old doggie. She loves it there, luckily, so many other dogs to say hello to, and people making a fuss of her. Her tail even kept wagging whilst her temperature was being taken :)

The vet recommended blood tests, to check that her kidneys and liver are okay. The diagnostics then progress onto the scarier world of neurologists and MRI scans. However, she may never fit again. There really is no way to tell at the moment, especially if the (stupidly expensive) blood tests show nothing. At least now we have medication in case it happens again, the knowledge of what to do if it happens again and I guess we are also now forewarned that seizures can happen to dogs.

Today, she has been fine. Back to her usual self, silly, sleeping, whinging for food, getting very overexcited at the thought of having some cheese and not wandering far from my side. She's Bayleigh Boo, Wiggle Puppy, My Pickle, same as always. It just brought into sharp focus (again) just how much Bayleigh means to me, how much I care about her, and how I never, ever want to say goodbye to her.

My Bayleigh tonight...her usual cute self :)

The Moon

The moon, something I love to look at, something that can light up the sky and something special to me being a Pagan...and since I've got more into photography something I've been wanting to try and take some decent photos of.

My first efforts were on my little old Nikon - and were, to be frank, crap. A blurry white ball which could have been anything.

When I got my DSLR I thought it would be easy to get a moon shot, and tried on numerous occasions, still ending up with fail all over my face...

I then progressed to a zoom lens, surely this would be the equipment to finally capture a stunning shot of the moon? No...still a white blurry ball :o(

When I got my Powershot, I didn't hold out much hope and tried to get some shots on holiday in Auto mode - once again with no luck at all.

I'd almost given up hope, despite reading online how to do it, and investigating all sorts of photographically nerdy information I had not managed a decent pic. Until two days ago...I put the Powershot into manual, and used the settings recommended ...

I finally had a moon pic!!! Although it was slightly dark, and the moon wasn't full, but due to the sense of achievement it was my picture of the day!  (Day 252 if you're keeping track)

Today was a contact day for Dan and so involved a drive to Barnsley and back. On the way home the moon rose early and I just couldn't resist - normally the lure of the TomTom telling me her fairy tales about our arrival time mean that I can't be distracted from beating her by anything, but still high on finally capturing a moon shot I decided to stop...

Not so great, so perhaps I have a bit to learn about shooting the moon in daylight - still, as we drove, the moon rose higher, and became brighter and brighter, practically begging me to try again, to try and get a better picture, to do her justice.

Despite driving for over 3 hours, despite being out of the house for almost 14 hours, I couldn't resist, and tried once more...

I still have room for improvement, but I so pleased to finally have taken a decent moon shot! I don't officially have a photography Bucket List - but this was definitely on my imaginary, just in my head one, so I can now tick it off (until I take a better one)

The Best Laid Plans

I had big plans for today. Whilst (once again) struggling to sleep last night I decided that getting out of the house would help my mood and thought that we could pop down to the South Quay and have a mosey around the Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival (not the Marmite festival as one of my FB friends misread it...). I enjoy the Maritime Festival and normally try to pop along, as we're heading up to Barnsley tomorrow today was my only chance.

However...due to lack of sleep I woke up at 10.30 utterly shattered. Due to the long drive and early start tomorrow more sleep was not an option, therefore I dragged myself out of bed. The weather was grey and uninspiring and somehow I got sucked into the time abyss that is t'internet and found myself reading ever more bizarre 9/11 conspiracy theories until nearly 2pm. A very constructive way to waste hours I'm sure you'll agree... O_o

The motivation to leave the house was even lower by then, and despite promising myself (and my Mum) that I would leave the house to at the very least walk the dog and buy a lottery ticket it is now close to 9pm and whilst I have managed to buy a lottery ticket, order some (desperately needed) screen cleaner and even rustled up dinner (thank you Pizza Hut discount codes) the closest I have got to being outside was opening the garage door to admire the stunning sunset and take some pictures....

I really do fail at doing anything even vaguely required concentration, motivation or activity at the moment. Please hurry back Old Me, I quite liked you all things considered!

Today's sunset - the only thing worth moving from the settee for...

Oh So Pretty!

I was getting bored with the layout and colour scheme of my blog so I've had a bit of a play around with it. I think the pale violets and purples were a bit bleh, and wanted something a bit brighter - who knows perhaps it will help lift my mood?

Well? What's the verdict? Let me know what you think!

Feeling Better

Not so much my overall mood and well being, but I DO feel better for finally having my 365 project up to date. A small thing maybe but I've not uploaded any photos since my return from holiday, so was nearly a fortnight behind.

I'd kept on taking photos, so I hadn't actually missed a day, but it was definitely starting to bug me that I'd let the project lapse a bit.

I guess it's one of those depressive side effects, worrying yourself about minor things, well that minor thing is now as it should be, and I now have one less thing for my overactive brain to think and mull over in the small hours when I should be sleeping!

Post Holiday Blues

I suppose that post holiday blues are to be expected, however when you are already suffering from stress and depression before that holiday the comedown will always be awful. I'm now drifting down into a horrible place with only the memories of the holiday to keep me going...so...I shall endeavour to cheer myself up with some of the little high points of my holiday to try and keep my sanity within touching distance at least!

Reaching the villa at midnight and dipping our feet into the pool and then lying back and looking up at thousands of stars in the clear night sky.

Picking a lemon off a tree in the orchard and the amazing citrus smell of it.

Tasting a mojito for the first time!

Re-discovering what being relaxed felt like.

The first cold, cold can of Keo by the pool.

The amazing blue colour of the sky.

The breathtaking sunsets.

The delicious nibbly/cheesey/spinachy/olivey nommy things that the local bakery sold.

Greek yoghurt and honey.

My first proper Brandy Sour in 9 years!

Spending time, relaxed time, with Hague :)

The views on the drive to Pafos.

Eating the most delicious chips in the world.

Spending time, and celebrating 40 years of marriage (my Parentals) with my family.

Spending lots of time with my Nieces - and reading them Harry Potter as a bedtime story :)

Holiday Hague :)

Being disowned by my Mum for wearing 3 different swimsuits with different straps - this apparently is not the proper behaviour for suntanning, and led to my being disowned as the daughter of a professional sunbather lol!

Lying back in the pool, eyes closed, just floating in the cool water with the sun on my face.

Lizard spotting in the beach bar.

The receipt from the first shop that was bigger than Jenna!

Jack Daniels costing 16 Euros a litre!

Carys learning to swim.

The delicious tomatoes.

Walking into the air conditioned bedroom after sitting in the sun.

It really was the most amazing fortnight. The villa was in a wonderful location, with gorgeous views over the bay. The weather was hot - but not to the point of utter discomfort (the pool helped with that!). Being away reminded me why people have holidays, why they scrimp and save for those precious days of escape each year. I'd not been away in 5 or 6 years, not had a fortnight's holiday in 9 years and had truly forgotten how much that break is needed. 

Now though, I'm home...every part of me is yearning to be back in Cyprus, I miss the smell of the island, I miss the sun, the views, the feeling of utter contentment that washed over me whilst I was there, even after 6 or 7 holidays there the love for the island is still strong. But...I'm home, struggling with my state of mind, changes in work, debt, and all the other problems that are piling up...I shall keep the memories of this holiday as fresh as I can, I'll keep them close as a weapon to help beat down the depression that seems to be beating me down right now.

My tan may already be fading, but the memories I will keep bright and strong, to help me through.

How Time Flies!

Two weeks, gone. Just like that! Unbelievable how quickly a holiday flies by. I'll be back to blog properly but as I've just uploaded all the pictures to Facebook, updated my 365 project and still haven't unpacked (my priorities never are ordinary...) I now need to go and enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend.

Normal service will be resumed ASAP :)

Mere Hours..

There are mere hours to go now until the long awaited, much needed holiday begins! In just under 12 hours we will be heading to Heathrow airport before jetting off the beautiful island of Cyprus for 2 delicious weeks.


The many things that had to be done are nearly done (although my European Health Card has gone totally AWOL in the 3 weeks since it arrived..) The last load of washing is in the machine. The survival guide to The Menagerie has been written and is all ready for our house/pet sitter. Holiday money is mine, an anniversary card has even been bought for The Parentals!


All that remains to be done is the packing, and the dying of my hair - I have chosen purple for my holiday hair, and just hope that it takes (and covers the pesky little greys).


So, I shall be absent for 2 weeks, I doubt the villa has wi-fi so no blogging, no Facebook, Twitter or anything else. Just sunshine, relaxation and enjoying time with my family for a celebration of 40 years of marriage.


So before I go, here is where we are heading off to, catch you on the other side!


Holiday Heaven

It's Always Someone Else's Fault...

After the third night of "riots" in London, people are now queuing up to make excuses for these "disenfranchised" members of the community.

Apparently it is the fault of the Police for using their powers of Stop and Search, it is the fault of the Government for making cuts. It is the fault of advertisers for making people want top end goods. It's the fault of everyone else....

No, it's not. If someone has nothing to hide, why would they protest about stop and search? I'd happily be searched if I thought it would stop crime in my community and I was innocent. Government cuts are a sticky subject perhaps, but the country is bankrupt, everyone is struggling, and funnily enough not everyone sees it as their right to go and help themselves to whatever they want from Currys. As for blaming companies for making us want things....that's probably the most idiotic line I've heard. Are these people so mindless that they feel it is their right to have whatever they want?

Unfortunately this seems to be the society we live in. A society where people know all of their rights, but none of their responsibilities, where kids running wild, organising where they can loot next on their Blackberries, are portrayed as disadvantaged! Where people expect to be handed a living with no input whatsoever.

Society is on the brink of total breakdown, this is what happens when discipline and respect disappear. God help us all :(

Many Things

There are now 5 days left until we leave for our holiday. I have many things left to do, but I am currently sitting on the sofa watching Keeping Up Appearances and pondering another cup of tea.


Some are rather important, such as ensuring the house is not looking like it's usual bombsite crossed with student digs when our house/animal sitter arrives on Saturday. As well as ensuring she has enough information to hand to survive a fortnight with our ever more eccentric Menagerie and our temperamental appliances.


Other things are pretty damn essential, such as making sure the documents we need (passports, health card thingies) are not forgotten and are liberated from The Safe Place to avoid a panic stricken search on Saturday morning and changing normal money into holiday money!


Some things are essential only to me, such as reducing the caterpillars currently residing over my eyes back to normal eyebrow levels, defuzzing most parts of myself and dying my hair as funds will not currently stretch to a visit to my lovely hairdressers :(


Finally, All The Clothes need to be washed to ensure maximum choice from which to pack. Then they need to be smooshed into two bags, which need to be light enough for us to actually carry. Along with the clothes need to be the 79084978395493 chargers I need to take for my various gadgets that I cannot leave home without. I also need to find a handbag/Mary Poppins/Hermione Granger type bag to use as hand luggage to hold all the "essential" items I may need during the flight.


I'm exhausted just writing about all the things I have to do - best get another cup of tea!

Weighing It All Up

I guess one of the main symptoms of depression and stress is not being able to see the wood for the trees, not seeing anything good or bright or cheerful in the world, losing your enthusiasm and the ability to see the beauty around you.


Rather than just allowing my drift downwards to continue I have decided to try and pick out the good and bad in my days to see if they really are as bad as they seem...


So....the bad...
Not sleeping very well (again) so feeling really tired.
My Dad's birthday present not arriving today despite me spending extra to ensure it was delivered today.
Not taking a very good 365 picture.
Dumbfoundus being cut out of Come Dine With Me.


And the good...
It was my Dad's birthday, so everyone was in a lovely mood.
The dress my Mum bought me yesterday fits and looks nice to boot.
I got to spend the afternoon listening to all Jenna and Carys' news.
An hour in the hot tub is enough to relax anyone.
The weather stayed dry and warm.
When I dug out my swimsuit to take to The Parentals today, there was a top in bag that I'd forgotten I had :)


So there you have it - depression or not, overall today was a good day, and I have to do my best to recognise them when I have them, and help myself out of this illness sooner rather than later.

Safety Nets

I guess we only really find out what sort of safety nets we have when the time comes that they're needed. I've been feeling worse and worse for a while, everything stacking up on top of me, and by yesterday the realisation hit me that it was time to check if that safety net could catch me....


I guess it did - my GP is concerned, understanding and wants to help as much as she possibly can. Hague is a safety net all of his own and despite the mood swings, shouting and over the top behaviour, he is, was and always will be there for me, through everything. A wonderful friend sent texts so full of concern and offers of help that it brought tears to my eyes, and reminded me just how deep some of my friendships are.


Although I have never been hugely close to my family, they are always there for me when it counts, and today my Mum and Sister were fabulous. They invited me out for some shopping and lunch, and my instinct was to refuse, I was feeling fragile, down and vulnerable but Hague encouraged me to go. 


They listened, they laughed, they encouraged positivity, they pointed out all the bright spots that are hiding in the darkness for me at the moment. They dragged smiles out of me and made me feel better, by doing nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever.


I guess that's the power of a safety net, you're not supposed to know you need them until the support is suddenly there, and today it really was, and I'm truly grateful.

One ?

Apparently you learn one new thing every day.....but today I have learn - oooh - squillions :o)


Days that start in a rather poo manner, definitely don't have to stay that way.
Mcdonalds hash browns taste bloody awful cold.
The Sutton Bridge takes about 17 days to open and close again o_O
The weather app on my phone really has NO idea what the weather will actually be.
Mcdonalds free wi-fi doesn't spread that far from the actual restaurant!
There is a Trans-Pennine Trail that crosses the whole country (and I found a pretty bit of it today).
The sun does shine (and burn. A lot) Ooop North.
This....

...is the caterpillar of the Cinnabar Moth.
Ladybirds never stay bloody still when you want them to.
How to use my x10 magnification filter (at last)
Teeny frogs are impossible to focus on.
Sam reserves his most angelic of smiles for when he's just about to try and swipe your drink.
I will never be able to unwrap a clingfilmed item again without giggling.
There is a "Wall of Death" currently on a world tour...
The Little Chef at Newark has probably the cruddiest toilets in the world.
There are now only 13 days left until Cyprus....okay so I didn't really learn that today, but it is rather exciting :o)

Scary Times!

I’m not much of a one for change. I like things to stay as they are, and I’ve never been one of those dynamic, career driven women….all shoulder pads, high heels and chips on the shoulder. I’m more of a low maintenance, get the job done, get home and enjoy the money it brings in type of gal, and as such I’ve tended to stay in the same jobs for years, only moving on when I have to.

With all the recent upheaval at work, I’m feeling deeply unsettled, and am not relishing the prospect of returning to a job on the line. Not that there is anything wrong with a job on the line (or the weeks off!) I just don’t want to have wasted my time since January 2008 learning and developing a load of skills I’ll never use again. So I have been combing the papers and job websites for something interesting, and that will pay the wages I need to live the life of poverty we currently “enjoy”

This is not an easy task, wages are not high in Suffolk/Norfolk, and my skill set is firmly in the type of area that is the first to be cut back in the current financial climate. That said I have found a few jobs that intrigue me and so I have re-entered the world of CV’s, application forms and personal statements….. I am beyond useless at bigging myself up, utterly forgetful when it comes to achievements and hate having to analyse what I do and have done to channel it towards a job description. I find it stressful and it puts me totally out of my comfort zone…but I have taken the decision to look for something else, and so I shall plunge into it headfirst – however scary I find it. All positive vibes, crossed fingers and advice gratefully received! :o)

Monetary Musings...

This morning on the news the two main headlines were that our economy is in the sh*tter (for want of a better phrase) as the GDP only grew by 0.2% in 3 months, and that America has one week to sort its economic policy out or it's broke.....Now, I have little to no understanding on how the world economy works, but all day I've just been sitting here thinking about it, more and more questions whizzing round my head....

How can the whole world be in debt?
If the whole world is in debt, who do they owe all the money to?
If the whole world decides not to pay up….what will happen?
If the worst thing to happen is that all the banks lose the money they lent to everyone – is that such a bad thing?
If debt was completely removed from the equation, would the world be an easier place to run?
If everyone from corporations to countries to a teenager fresh out of school knew there was no borrowing of money, how different would the world be?
Is the world awash with money that doesn’t actually exist?
If money goes into my bank, and then out again via a debit card or direct debit….did it ever really exist as cold hard cash?
How can a debt every really be repaid if all money is lent by the banks, who print the money, then add interest to the loan?
Where does the money for the interest come from?

Hmmm I wish I understood economies, monetary systems or even how countries can be in debt by billions, how have we got into such a mess? Brought to you by the girl who can barely afford to buy food anymore….

A Very Sad Day

The news has just been confirmed that Amy Winehouse has been found dead, she was 27. I'm sure most people have an opinion on her, and I'm sure that quite a few have nothing good to say about her.


Her voice, and her ability to write songs that spoke directly from her heart cannot be denied. Her stunning talent is undeniable.


I have listened to her and loved her music for many years, her voice has been the soundtrack to so many wonderful moments in my life, and her songs will always be among my all time favourites.


I'm not someone who is enthralled by celebrity, normally a celebrity death is accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders and an acknowledgement of how sad it is, but I am genuinely and deeply upset by this news, of the loss of a troubled young woman with unbelievable talent. I just hope that she has now found the peace that she never found in her short life. 


The brightest stars seem to shine for such a short time.


RIP Amy Winehouse, you will never be forgotten.

More Countdowns!

Firstly...work crap....I told the management my decision today (to stay - for now - although they don't know the for now bit - except they might now - doh). Although due to appeals the final decision won't be made for, oh fecking ages, although they doesn't stop me from missing out on keeping my job!


On much nicer ground, my passport has finally arrived! I was starting to worry slightly, especially as I got a letter asking for more paperwork at the start of the week, but it appeared, safe and sound this afternoon!


So that means I can fully concentrate on getting excited about the holiday! Holiday clothes are all purchased, a housesitter (a very lovely one) is all sorted, holiday money is saved. Literally all we have to do now is change up the monetaries and pack! That's it! I am so excited! I've not had a proper holiday in years (think it's 5 or 6) and it will be the first holiday that me and Hague have taken together, what's not to be excited about??


Cyprus, for 2 weeks, in glorious sunshine. Nothing to do but enjoy good food, wonderful weather, 14 fabulous days with my gorgeous Hague, wonderful people and a villa with it's own pool. Add to that 2 weeks without work and 2 weeks spent with my gorgeous Nieces and I'm sure you can appreciate why I am overexcited!! 22 days and counting!

A Rest And A Break

I've not been at work since last Wednesday. I've taken the time I've been away to mull over what to do about my job on one level, but on another level I'm been doing my best to relax.

It's easy not to think about my job when I'm not at work, to not even think about the decision to be made on Friday, but I guess deep down I know what I'll end up doing, whether that will be for the best or not I guess only time will tell.


This weekend has been just lovely. We have done nothing but relax. The weather has conspired to keep us indoors, it's been rainy and grey despite being July so we've been reading Harry Potter books and watching films. It's funny how the nicest of weekends can come out of nothing - we had no plans beyond seeing Deathly Hallows on Friday, and yet we've had a wonderful few days :)


We also got to meet our housesitter/pet sitter Georgina, and Boo and Flump seemed to love her, so hopefully all will be fine and dandy when we have our long-awaited holiday to Cyprus :). The only spanner in the holiday works at the moment is my passport, which despite me getting it checked at the Post Office, requires more paperwork.....not good! Fingers crossed please everyone???

And So It Begins...And Ends...

Ah....Friday, how I love thee. Do you know what makes Friday's even better? When you aren't at work! Something that can help make them even more amazing is going out, not just going out, but going out and seeing the new Harry Potter film in 3D on an IMax screen.

It is only just coming up for 9.30pm and today has been wonderful, relaxing in the morning, seeing the final Potter film (which was just amazing, epic and fantabulous, everything I hoped it would be) meeting up with my cousin Gary and his lovely girlfriend Laura - who seem to be just about perfect together. A nice meal, and now lots of alkyhol and sillyness on the television.

This weekend WILL be a good one, I shall not let anything spoil it, nasty things shall be banished until Tuesday, simple as that. This weekend is about having fun, being with people I love and relaxing, putting worries to one side and getting on with living and loving and having the best time we can!

Decisions

I'm useless at making them, and now I have to make a HUGE one. The pieces of the puzzle are getting clearer by the day, but my mind is still not in the right place, it's whizzing and whirring around, trying to fit everything together. I can't concentrate on anything.


I've taken today off work (I'm already off on Friday and Monday) and will take the time to get my decision made once and for all (with an obvious break to see Harry Potter tomorrow squee joy etc).


I hate being in this position, but I am, and I need to get things sorted out once and for all, and I need to make sure I make the right decision for me, so many caring people are putting in their two-penneth worth, and it all helps to clarify, but I need to do this myself, I need to think of what's best for me, for our future, and it's not something I'm taking lightly. Wish me luck :)