Because there was only one comment on the previous post I'm going to stick to my opinion - that she's feeling maternal towards Ray, and only liked me cos I turned up in a pretty, girlie dress, which always makes older ladies like you. If I'd have been in my jeans the outcome would have been much different, I'm sure.

I forgot to mention three new purchases. Probably because I haven't had chance to wear the new clothes, and don't have any pictures of them yet. So I'll have to use my descriptive talents (ha ha).

1. A knee-length cord black skirt. I adore it. I wasn't sure about the colour (I'd ordered a brown, too) because often an all-black skirt can look clumpy and really make my hips look wide (wider than what they actually are, I mean). But it's great. Which means I can wear most of my colourful tops with it now.

2. A black long-sleeve cardigan. My other black cardy got wrecked. The grey one I ordered was too long and weird. But the black one is perfect. Has button detail on the cuffs, as well. I can't tell you how much buttons turn me on.

3. A berry-coloured, girlie top. It's long-sleeved, falls to just below the wasit of my jeans (so not too short or long, as tends to be the style these days). It has sparkly buttons and sequin-things as detail on the front, and a non-slutty slit down the front to offer a small show of cleavage (I'm not into cleavage-y tops).

Very pretty. I did try a really cool pair of jeans, which had pink trim and, very exciting, a button-up fly inside of a zip. I wanted them just for the fun of getting Ray to unbutton them but they were boy-cut and I can't wear boy-cut style cos ... well, they just don't flatter girls with the more voluptuous figure; they don't flatter me anyway. Still, the buttons would have been fun...

Today I'm going into town to get Daddy a birthday present. I wanted to get him this as soon as I saw it. But I'm broke (as in only have £1 in my purse) and size Small is not there anymore. Sob. So off to town with Jemma's wad of money it is. Don't worry. I will have money by the end of the weekend. I have a dog-sitting job, at last. Only for the one night so hopefully that should mean minimum pouting from both Sweepie and Ray ;)

Labels: birthday, clothes, daddy, dog-sitting, ray, shopping, sweepie

by Ys | COMMENTS? 0 | permalink |

I forgot to mention in my last entry that during my long, enjoyable day out Sunday, I also met a lovely, little old lady. She owns the house where Ray has been working (espcially late) for the last two weeks. During many conversations with her (she doesn't ever stop talking) he told her of my love for castles and how he'd be taking me to see Carew Castle at the weekend. Her, being so lovely and overly-nice, demanded that he bring me to the house and show me his hard work. So early Sunday evening I found myself in a lovely big house owned by two dotty old people who kept making me laugh too much.

But, not only did she want to talk to us lots, fill us up with tea and cakes, and talk about decorators she was thinking of employing, she also got Ray to show me the entire house. Not just the bathrooms and kitchens he was working on but the whole shebang. It was a lovely house. She had a Narnia wardrobe. It didn't look like the Narnia wardrobe but you could walk into it to a secret room, which my inner chid adored.

After being shown the huge garden and additional grape-plant in the greenhouse, which they didn't know what to do with because they're wine-grapes not eatable-grapes, we found a way to dislodge her conversation and headed home. Leaning on the gate, waving goodbye, she whispered to me, "Come back any time - even after he's finished the work. You're always welcome."

Now, okay, sure, I will admit I probably have found myself surrounded by not the nicest people during my lifetime. Not my own choice; it's just how things have worked out. That's pretty much why I find myself with few but very good friends and am extremely happy if I never have to interact with strangers more than once a week. Yes, I am anti-social: so shoot me. But this woman, this lady we met Sunday, was just beyond nice. She was like those people you read about in books. The ones who always help the weatherbeaten hero out when he/she is stuck in a jam. She would probably even let us move in if we got stuck! How do people get to be that nice? I'm just not that trusting. I mean, I thought I was mug-like material who gives a lot to people, but this woman made me look like Satan's daughter.

Anyway, to continue her niceness, when Ray went back to work there this week after the Bank Holiday, he said I'd have hated being there cos she was praising me endlessly (I hate being complimented, hate it, hate it - I mean, what the hell are you meant to say or do? Yuk). On top of that she thrust £20 into his hand and told him to take me for dinner somewhere. He refused. Ray does not take money off anyone. Ever. But, at the end of the day, when climbing into the van with his father (who is also working on the house) he was given the twenty again, told by his father that she wasn't going to let Ray leave unless he took it. Ray wanted to come home so, grudgingly, he took it. So we now have money to go out and have dinner from a woman I met just the once, and who Ray has known for less than two weeks.

Now, my grandparents died when I was very young. My gran (my mother's mother) died when I was about six and she was the last of them. (Due to sad circumstances, my father lost is mother when he was about ten; and my mother lost her father when she was about fifteen.) So, my question is, do all old people act this way? Is this grandparent-y type behaviour? Ray does bring out the maternal instincts in most older ladies (either that or they want to shag him - badly) so I could understand if this was some kind of grandparent thing. It would sit better in my head. Rather than just having to force myself to accept that she's just an extremely nice person. Which I will never accept.

So it's a grandparent thing, right?

Labels: life, ray

by Ys | COMMENTS? 1 | permalink |

Saturday night Jemma, Ray and I took the dogs down the beach. It was really sunny and warm here and yet by the time we got to the beach (about eleven miles away) the clouds had descended. You literally couldn't see the water even though you were only a few feet away from it. It was spooky as hell. Of course I didn't have my camera with me - typical! And by the time we were leaving we were able to watch the sun set, and then the clouds lifted and we could see the whole beach. We ended the evening by getting chocolate doughnuts from McDonalds drive-through. Mmm.

On Sunday Ray took me to Carew Castle. We got there about lunchtime so had a nice picnic on the grass outside.



The castle itself was a bit of a let down. They've made it a little too school-friendly. Which means that a lot of the original stuff has been taken away or plastered over to make it Child Safe. There's also a few new additions, as well, which just don't fit in at all. But we still had fun wandering around. We found a small room that we weren't meant to go into, which was fun ;) I didn't fall up or down any of the steps so I was impressed with myself. When I can be bothered I'll go through all the pictures and post up the pretty ones. Until then you'll have to make do with the silly ones. You can see the pretty ones HERE. ...Such as me battling with the wind and a flarey skirt...



Once we were done we went into the little shop and Ray bought me a Love Ring. Hehehe. There was some confusion from me over my left and right hand (subconsciously trying to get him wed me, I think, hehehe). At the last minute, I ripped my hand away and went, "Oh no! Wrong hand! Put it on the right one, not the left. It's bad luck other wise!"



We then took the walk round to the Mill with our 99's, which actually cost £1.80! The Mill was a big disappointment, though. Ray wanted to be able to play on the machines but he wasn't allowed to. But we did find some strange spanking paddles attached to the machines...



We stopped in a pub on the way home, then decided we'd go find a country/woodland park for the last hour or so. We saw a park advertised and went looking for it. An hour later we decided we must have both read the sign wrong. But we did stumble across some wind turbines, which we're both, sadly, very excited about. On the way back to the main road, it turned out we'd gone past the park right at the very beginning, and had both commented on how big a house must be to be on such huge grounds! What a pair of idiots!



The Bank Holiday Monday was a lazy one. We went out for food (the three of us again) and were not overly impressed by the place. We'd all been expecting something grander. I spent most of the day keeled over with period pain anyway so it passed in a blur of owwwwwww really.

I hope everyone else had a good weekend :)

Labels: beach, castles, jem, photos, ray

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

I did sunbathe yesterday. I spent the morning with my ipod plugged into my ears (or on to to be more accurate cos the in-ear-plugs hurt my ears so I have click-over your ear plugs instead; sometimes I do act like a flakey girl ;D), reading Stephen King's Firestarter. I'm not always keen on his earlier work but this one's grabbed me. Sure, it had a bit of hard work to do considering I was still mourning Harry Potter.

In the afternoon I went with Amber to her college so she could re-enrol after her year off last year. She was a little nervous so big sisters one and two went along, too. So I got to sample her driving. She's really good. I was impressed. I am a shockingly nervous passenger but only had to close my eyes twice when I got a little scared. On the way home, we looked for the horses in the field and couldn't find them. Mammy assures us they were probably just hiding in the trees.

On a whim I suggested Ray and I go down my local for a meal out. I haven't been in the mood for going out lately (I blame the shocking weather) so I jumped on my enthusiasm. When Ray got back from work we had to go down to his house so he could pick up his new wallet. Only when we got there he discovered his gran, while being helpful, had gone through his room looking for dirty clothes. Only she also found a bag of sex-stuff. She didn't mention anything but Ray knew the bag had been... handled, shall we say. Dear Lord! But that was forgotten about when it was discovered that Ray's wallet was missing. There was some searching but Ray was hungry and so cos he had his bank card said he'd come home later and search for it. While getting money out of the machine down the road he got a phone call from his mother: the wallet had been found: in the tumble-dryer. Oh dear. As of yet, I don't know how much money was salvaged. It was a new wallet as well with heaps of fun stuff in (such as Star Trek money and a Futurama bank card, which Jem had got him for his birthday) so I hope that everything survived.

When we did finally eat it was a lovely meal. I had the most inventive vegetarian pub meal I've ever had: vegetable ravioli, surrounded by lots of veg in a pasta sauce. It was gorgeous. Mmm. It was hot, though, and I have burned the roof of my mouth pretty bad. It was all worth it.

Mammy's off work today so I'm expecting lots of giggles. SHe's hilarious when she's not in work. Plus Madge is going for her first rendevouz with her Pug boyfriend this afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed for fast swimmers and inviting eggs, okay?

Labels: amber, books, driving, food, jem, mammy, money, ray

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

Yesterday, I had to go to the doctor's with Jemma for a blood-test. Usually she goes down the hospital, which is a little more convenient with the bus times. So, obviously knowing our luck, we ended up walking the 3.3miles home - most of which was uphill! It wasn't actually too bad, I suppose, but at the time I think I thought I was actually going to melt into the pavement, cos the sun decided to show it's face. But, we'd planned ahead and had picked up some cheese-pasties and iced-buns for lunch when we got home. Mmm. Lunch well-deserved, I think.

So to continue the theme of exhausting one's self. Here's a meme 3x Thursday:

1. On average, about how much sleep do you get in a night? Is it enough for you? Why/why not?

I sleep about eight hours a night, but it's always disturbed between six and eight o'clock by barking Pugs outside my window. So I usually wake up feeling tired. I find there's never enough sleep for my body, though.

2. Do you notice a difference in things when you don't get enough sleep for a period of time? What happens?

Oh Lord yes! I find everything frustrating and annoying when I'm tired. I also can't talk very well because I'm toot tired to remember the words. And I usually get pounding headaches, as well.

3. Generally when you sleep, do you sleep well? Why/why not?

When I go to sleep, I go out like a light. I am then known to sit up and shout at whoever else is in the room but I don't remember these times. I sleep right through then until the Pugs wake me up with their on/off barking (mother, put them back in the house already!).

Now, in all the excitement of the birthday meal and new clothes, I forgot to say that my younger sister passed her driving test Monday. Yes, she is now officially on the road - so be careful of her! ;) Hehehe, only kidding; I'm told she's very good. I'm a nervous passenger so I thought I'd better keep out of the car for now but I have said I'll go for a spin with her soon. Of course, rather worryingly, my father, having to be completely over the top, has now pretty much given up his car to her. Given up his own car to his eighteen-year-old daughter who doesn't have a job to pay for the car, the car that he has paid the insurance on, the tax, the MOT costs, and all the petrol that goes into it. Sometimes I wonder whether my parents are aware of the things they do. Hey, as long as she has that car when I need a lift somewhere I'm not even going to ask them about their decision ;) Well done, Amb! Be careful, okay?.

And, no, this does not mean I'm going to get the pull to learn to drive now. Every time I got the urge before we ended up crashing in Ray's car, so I've decided to heed God's advice and just stay as a nervous passenger, rather than a nervous driver. Too much power for me; it scares the crap out of me! I'm such a wimp.

Ooh, lookit that: the sun's out again! I might get some sunbathing done before lunch...

Labels: amber, daddy, doctors, driving, jem, mammy, meme, pugs, ray, walking, weather

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

Here are the new clothes I was talking about in the previous post. And yes I am aware of the silly faces I'm pulling in the pictures: they show off the outfits well so don't look at my face! ;)

The first is a whole new outfit - top and jeans:



The second is just a new top: lovely and orange:



Lovely new clothes. Mmm. I'm spending a little more soon. I've found a nice grey cardigan to replace the one I shrunk in the wash last summer. And I'm in need of some nice girlie shoes that go clink-clink when I walk, cos most the shoes I own are more practical and less clinky. I don't want huge heels cos not only do they make me tower over Ray but they also make me fall over a lot. Ideally I need a 1-2 inch heel. Mmm, I love shopping.

I went out for Ray's family birthday meal last night. The first place we tried had broken their grill so after a drink we headed to a pub which always does gorgeous food. We weren't eating 'til gone eight! Rumbling bellies all round. Once dinner was eaten Ray's mother and gran went home, which left us rambling on and on for over an hour, which was lots and lots of fun - I do love to talk.

We took some silly pictures by the car and they made us laugh so I thought I'd post them. They manage to capture both silliness and squee:



Yoda News: he's doing fine, recovering well. He had his check-up today and all is going well. Soon be back to living it large in the Gay Barn again.

And big hugs to Gen who's having a tough time at the moment. I hope everything comes right in the end :)

Labels: birthday, clothes, life, photos, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

I had a great weekend at Ray's. I think his twenty-first was celebrated in style and when we parted company last night he was still smiling so I would consider it a successful birthday. It was strange having to say goodnight to him actually, back to the usual place: my back door; I get used to sharing a bed with him far too quickly. Twenty-four years of sleeping alone, two nights sharing a bed with a boy and I miss him when he's not there. The female brain is a strange thing.

My weekend turned into one of those long weekends you hear people talk about. Which basically meant I'd finished all the chapters I had prepared on the Wednesday, and then went out doing other stuff on Thursday and Friday, as well as being away for the weekend.

Thursday I went shopping with Mammy and Jemma. Shopping with Mammy is amazing. She just makes it so much fun. And we were all having so much fun we had to stop halfway for lunch in the shop's cafe cos we'd exhausted ourselves. I ended up with an orange top, a stripey one with button-details around the neck and a pair of blue jeans. I've been looking for pictures of the clothes online but apparently they don't exist online so I'll take some pictures and either add them to the post later or else I'll post them next time. Call me biased but I think they're gorgeous.

Friday we had the Pug Show. That was a six o'clock start - yawn. It was fun, though, all of us in the car, laughing along with the Foo Fighters and Chris Moyles, following this rickety old bus which looked as though it had fallen through a time rift from the 1970's - even the people on the bus were dressed in 70's style clothes! The day was long at the Pug show. Falls went on early and won third and we were all very proud. Sweepie got sleepie but couldn't sleep until she crashed out on my lap just before her class. So in a class of twenty-three dogs (!) she didn't really shine enough and ended up with no placement. But we were all very proud of her and she got lots of hugs and kisses. She didn't care, though, she just wanted to go home. Bless.

Then on Saturday I got Ray to actually spend some money on himself. He's awful with money. He never gets himself anything; he just frits the money away. He wanted to buy me stuff but I refused, telling him I'd been shopping already and so his extra money from his boss (cos I'm not the only one who loves him apparently) got spent on himself. I took his hand and led him into the shops and got him to spend. He ended up buying a gorgeously cute white-tee-and-wool-vest-zip-up-thingy, a green shirt, heaps of spanners for work, and a new pair of trainers. He spent about £130 in one weekend - all on himself! I was very proud of him. I just believe that his bonus pay should go on himself. We had a nice dinner out, as well, although it took about an hour between ordering and getting our food.

Last night I fell asleep at about 11pm with the Bible still in my hands. I never fall asleep when reading the Bible, cos, well, it's just not something you do, is it? So when I woke up, I said a quick prayer, popped the book back on the shelf, climbed under the blankets and promptly fell asleep. I didn't wake up again until about 9:30am. So bang went the brainstorming for the new chapters of Olimpia Valley. So I'll be doing that this afternoon instead.

Time to get my washing done then. I've got a meal out with the in-laws this evening. It's the family meal we always go out for when there's a birthday in Ray's family. Means I get to wear my new orange top so I'm very excited :D

Labels: bible, birthday, jem, mammy, money, ray, shopping, sweepie, writing

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

I'd have thought that by the age of twenty-four my mother's mad cleaning/panting/I-have-to-do-everything rampages wouldn't really bother me. Shouldn't I have grown immune to them by now? My mother has a rather strange ritual in that she'll suddenly go on a mad cleaning splurge, and, even though she's been more than happy living in the clutter beforehand, will exclaim how filthy the house is, how lazy we all are, etc., etc. Funnily enough, I'm a bit of a cleaning fanatic myself; I like things to be put back after their used and not just left lying around; my parents don't have the same feelings. So when she starts on that kick I'm usually left standing there with my jaw ajar knowing that if I say anything she'll just shout at me. Not shout at me for any specific reason, just for interrupting her cleaning mantra, which means insulting us all.

She may have almost finished now. If my mother and I do have one thing in common, other than our insane sense of humour (thank you, Raymond), then it's that we both work at a very fast speed, which means everything gets done double quick. Hopefully she should mellow out back to her usual self now that the mop is stored away and the hoover is back in the cupboard. Hopefully.

What a thing to wake up to! I prefer quiet mornings. I could totally live alone in the mornings, write all afternoon, and then have everyone come back to me in the evenings. I believe that's what marriages are like, right? ;)

I probably won't update again now until Monday because tomorrow I'm taking Sweepie to a dogshow with Mammy; then in the night I'm going straight to Ray's house, where I'm spending the weekend celebrating his twenty-first birthday. At least it'll be quiet at his house ;) Which makes a change actually cos it's usually full to the brim with child-cousins, who, although adorable when they're behaving, can get very, very loud and obnoxious when they want attention.

Oh, and I finished Book 6 of the "Harry Potter" series last night. Okay, it's not as bad now that I've read Book 7 and can see how it's all knitted together. Still think the love-story stories are lame, though, and the writing is pretty lazy and sloppy. Definitely still not one of my favourites.

Enjoy your weekends - don't go on any mad cleaning rampages that might injure those living with you! ;)

Labels: birthday, cleaning, life, mammy, ray

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

It's Ray's birthday on Sunday. Although I'm skint (I spent a lot of money on one present for him, which I think is gorgeous and am sure he will love; plus I'm really smug about it cos he's completely forgotten that he kept saying he wanted one), I bought him two more presents yesterday. Well, I've got him his main present, another small present, a silly one, then suddenly realised I didn't have any kinky presents for him, and we always buy kinky presents. I found a new creation from Durex I just had to get: click here. Yummy. I also got him something else but that's a secret just for us two. Much fun :D We're getting the weekend to ourselves, as well, which is such a treat, cos I can't tell you often that doesn't happen. (Ray, if you happen to read this do not click on the links, unless it's after your birthday then click away.)

And been as we're in a sexual conversation: TMI Tuesday:

1. Define "infidelity" as it relates to a relationship. Have you ever been guilty of infidelity? Have you ever been the victim of infidelity? Have you ever been a participant in someone else's infidelity?

Infidelity for me is when a person in a relationship seriously pursues someone else, and/or kisses them, touches them, has sex with them. Fantasies are not infidelity, nor are crushes. Action makes infidelity.

I have never been unfaithful, no. I have been kind of cheated on by a guy. In that he didn't tell me he had a girlfriend until a month into it and then just announced I'd better shag him that night or else "miss out" because his girlfriend was coming back from Ibiza. Hmm. I got rid of him pretty quick. I have participated in someone else's infidelity. I didn't know the girl he was dating but I knew the guy very well, from school, we'd been flirting outrageously for a few months and then on a night out we hooked up. I don't consider the unnatached person to be in the wrong in those situations. It'd be the same if my boyfriend cheated on me - I'd blame him because he's the one who's meant to love me. I don't agree with girls sleeping with their friend's boyfriends, though; in that instance I think both would have to be tortured.

2. What is the last thing you stole?

Hmm... I've honestly never been a stealer of things. I think I pocketed some chewing gum once when I was about eight years old.

3. Name one place in your country that you have never been but would like to visit and why.

I'd like to visit Snowdonia. Because it's the biggest mountain we have here in Wales. And I bet the view is spectacular.

4. What movies can you watch over and over again?

I have watched "Lord of the Rings" over and over again. I know the script! I'm a little bit obsessed with them. But I have also watched "The Matrix" from start to finish, rewound the tape (yes, this was in the days of VHS) and watched it all over again - three times!

5. Who is the last person you saw naked?

That would be Ray. Sunday night. Oh I wish it could have been last night...

Bonus (as in optional): In honor of the 237 reasons we have sex study. Tell us at least five but not more than ten reason you have had sex.

1. To lose my virginity (of course); 2. To try out a new condom; 3. To prove he fancied me; 4. Because Tajar had turned me on; 5. Because I was horny goddamn it!

And to end on some more sex news: Madge (my mother's Pug) is in season. And this time she's going to meet up with her boyfriend and have a weekend of Pug sex. Then a couple of months later we should hopefully have a litter of tiny little Pugs puppies for me to take care of :)

Labels: birthday, condoms, films, meme, ray, sex

by Ys | COMMENTS? 1 | permalink |

Yoda's doing really well - thanks for the messages :) I've calmed down a lot now after seeing how quickly he's recovering. He's eating on his own (to start with you had to sit with him and fuss him to make him eat) and he's off the really strong morphine-style painkillers; he's on the more normal ones now. He's sleeping a lot, which is good because it means he's using all his energy to heal himself. I still can't bring myself to take a photo of him in his cage. He just looks so sad and sore. Maybe when he's a bit better I'll get a picture.

My parents went away for the night this weekend. We all went down the pub - baby sister, as well, which was very nice. I don't think me and Amber have spoken to each other properly in about a month! I know it sounds awful but I think it's just that yo-yo effect thing, where we were beyond close a few years ago (as in mother/daughter type relationship) and then she grew up and didn't need me in the same way and so pulled very far away to make sure I knew that. It hurt at the time, and there were many tears, but now I can see that subconsciously she needed to do that; and I was probably doing something subconsciously to her as well. Anyway, she came down the pub with us for a little while, stopping for a drink before catching her bus into town to see her friends. She called me a pervert for taking pictures of Ray's bum. Pervert? Me? Never! She gave me a hug when she left, as well, which made me feel all warm inside. I do love my cuddles, especially ones I'm not expecting.

That night the three of us came home after many games of pool (I won, I won!), and watched Jaws 3. I've never seen the third Jaws film before. It was made the year I was born, apparently. It was pants. It was beyond pants. It was just... no, not good at all. And the bit at the end, where the CGI-shark just floats into the window without swimming, just floating forward... oh dear, I did laugh. I wonder what Jaws 4 will be like next week. And what series of films will be played after that?

This morning I was meant to be going with Jemma when she gets a filling in her wisdom tooth. But, after waking early and getting down to the bus stop, we received a phone call from Mammy saying that the dentist had called. The x-ray has been re-studied by a new dentist (this one private not NHS) and it's been decided the tooth will be taken out instead. So we came home. Early morning for nothing. I even put mascara on to mask my tired eyes! She'll be having her tooth-ectomy some time next month under sedation, which she is much happier about.

Please visit Martha's blog. She's adorable, you know ;)

Labels: amber, dentist, films, jaws, jem, martha, pub, yoda

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

Here's a picture of Yoda, this was taken before the accident. I will get one of him looking grumpy in his cage when he's feeling a bit better; he's asleep now and don't want to wake him up:



To update from yesterday's post, he did not break his pelvis or any of his legs. His jaw is fine, a little bruised but that's all. His eye has righted itself completely now. All in all he is a very lucky boy. He has cracked his pelvis in two places but the only cure for that is cage-rest. So he's cage-ridden for the next six weeks. Already he's not impressed by that news. Last night, he somehow hauled his ass out of the top of the cage! In a way it's nice to see he's feeling that spunky, pelvic pain and all, but in another it's really sad cos he hates being indoors.

The poor cat has never had use to a litter tray since kittenhood and is deeply embarrassed about having to use one now. In fact he is refusing to go to the toilet at all at the moment. Aren't animals amazing creatures? I wish I had that kind of body-control. I just hope he heals really fast so he can get out and about with his friends again. The ex came round looking for him yesterday; later, Wang was seen with him on the drive, perhaps relaying what had happened. I have very human-ised pets, don't I?

In addition to my motherly duties, I managed to put my foot right in it last night at the in-laws house. "Big Brother" finished and granny asked me who I thought would be evicted tomorrow (today). Me, forgetting where I was, blurted out, "Well, it's going to be Amy, isn't it, cos she has nice ---" There I stopped. Both granny and mammy looked at me and asked, "What?" I went, "Um, well, Amy cos she has big boobs." Granny chuckled to herself, saying, "I thought you'd said something else then." Well, I had but wasn't about to admit that. It's just easier to keep the in-laws sweet and not mention the fact that I'm a little on the gay-side, considering the trouble I got myself into last time. I was mortified, not by what I'd said, cos I don't really mind if they know or not, but by the fact that I'd switched off so easily and completely forgotten who I was with. I am not to be trusted around people! I'm no good at sensoring myself. I need to be taught that.

Daddy wants me to fill something in for him. Promises if he wins he's going to donate £500 towards my moving-out fund. So I'm off to do it now...

Labels: daddy, gay, photos, yoda

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

I had my cat Yoda when I was sixteen. He'd been brought into the vets where my mother worked as a very tiny kitten - he was feral, which meant he'd have grown up in the wild and been a monster had he not have been found. He had awful cat-flu, which for a kitten so small and young should have killed him. His eyes were closed shut with mucus and he had to be fed milk through a syringe.

I met him at the vets one afternoon when I walked there after a trip into town. I spent quite a lot of time with him. Mammy brought him home that weekend and while we were waiting for my younger sister to finish her horse-riding lesson, I scooped him up out of the carrier cage and asked Mammy if I could keep him. She said "yes" quietly and to not tell my father.

I nursed him through the rest of his cat-flu. He sat on my lap the whole time, purring happily. He was a skinny little thing but always quite happy. Jemma was away at the time and so didn't meet him until he was another week older. By which time Daddy had been told of my desire to keep him and had relented, saying it was okay. That Sunday morning we all went into Mammy and Daddy's room and discussed what to call him. Daddy said, "He looks like that green thing in that film you've been watching lately." He meant Yoda from "Star Wars" and although I couldn't see the likeness, I did agree it was a good name.

Within a month he wasn't my baby sleeping in my lap anymore. He started going out on his own, made some friends, even had a boyfriend called Herbie who lived next door. He and Herbie founded the Gay Barn in the field at the top of the road. Then he and Herbie split up and there was much violence between them. Yoda came home with scratches and bites. From his wandering ways and his unsafe sex practises he always came home after a long weekend with worms and fleas. He was my scruffy baby. The eldest of my three babies. He's eight now.

Last night, Mammy came home from work and wasn't really looking where she was going. She drove her car down the drive, squeezing it carefully past Daddy's car, which was poking out a little. As she swung around the corner, round the front of the house, Yoda ran into the car and ended up under one of Mammy's wheels.

I was upstairs at the time, getting ready to go out down the pub. I heard Daddy say, "You just ran over one of the cats." I raced downstairs, only hearing he and no name, knowing we only had two he cats - one being Yoda, the other being Wang, who is so old we think he'll never die. I saw Wang sitting on the draining board when I went past, he meowed at me and I knew then it was Yoda. Ray ran out after me, was pretty excellent in a crisis, slipped onto his belly, grabbed Yoda who was hiding under Daddy's car and gave him to Mammy.

His left eye was rolled up the wrong way, a patch of fur was missing behind his ear, his right-nostril was bleeding, there was something wrong with his jaw; his back legs were not right, something had been broken. We popped him into a cage so that he'd be safe, then Mammy started ringing round the vets to see who'd see him. The place where she used to work refused to see him, which is illegal, on the grounds that we weren't registered with them. So we went to the emergency place, instead, the PDSA. It's expensive but the animals are all very dear to us and we'd pay whatever needed paying. We found out that cos Mammy works at a vet she might get a discount anyway.

By the time the vet saw Yoda his eye had come back to normal, and he even swore, which he always, always does, when she picked him up out the cage, which made us all smile in relief. We were sent home with him, cos Mammy is a qualified Vet-Nurse, and given painkillers for him. He's not in good shape but Mammy took him into her bedroom with her, still in his cage, and promised to give him more painkillers if he needed them.

Today he's gone into work with her for x-rays. Today I find out whether he's shattered his pelvis or just broken a leg. I find out what's happened to his jaw. He's a tough cookie. I know he is. But last night was one of the worst nights I've had in a long time. I've decided I don't want anymore babies - animal or otherwise - it's too stressful.

Labels: illness, mammy, vets, yoda

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

I've been writing non-stop these past two days. I think I've written twenty-three pages in just two afternoon's of writing. While I'm very happy with that progress, it did mean I had to tell Ray not to come over early yesterday when he, for once, finished work early. Oh dear. I don't think he minded too much. His gran wanted him to fit the new cooker, and one of his cousins is down with an xbox360 so I'm sure he amused himself with that. I wonder if this manic writing will continue all week...

Once I finished writing, I got changed and Ray picked me up and we went out for a pizza at Pizza Hut. This particular Pizza Hut I've had trouble with before. The service is exceptionally slow and crap, the food is often burned, and you're always left for about three hours before you get your deserts by which time the pizza's swollen up in your stomach so much that you think you might vomit. This time the service was as crap as usual. For a start they always sit couples on these facing-each-other long tables so you have to stretch half a mile down the building to even reach each other's hands. Why is it that restaurants always think couples want to sit opposite each other? It's not romantic; it's annoying. We usually pick a four-person table and then sit on one corner each but this time the woman seated us. We ordered our food straight away, thinking that this time we might get food before dark settled in. The cheesy-garlic-bread was great. We babbled and babbled, trying to work out whether Ray has male-sperms or female ones; well, it passes the time, doesn't it? Then the pizza turned up. We'd opted for the vegetarian pizza with those cheesy bites that you dunk cos we've never tried it before. Halfway through my second cheesy-bite I asked Ray why there was meat on the pizza. He went to find the waitress - heaven forbid she should be on the floor, checking her customers - and had to wait a further five minutes while she finished taking an order on the phone. Then I heard her say, "I thought she said meat supreme!" She speaks very clearly, cos I don't have a very Welsh accent I always speak clearly cos other wise people can't understand me so I know I spoke clearly. She indeed. And then asked us if we were vegetarians!

She took the pizza away, with a lame apology. She then returned and said they had to cook a fresh pizza so we'd have to wait ten minutes - then we had a proper apology. Obviously someone in the kitchen had warned her we might be secret service people who come in to check the service. We weren't but we could have been. Finally we got our pizza - by now our conversation had turned to how to raise boys differently to how to raise girls - and she said sarcy that it was a vegetarian supreme. Yes, we knew what it was - we'd ordered it! Of course, by this time I wasn't very hungry anymore so I only had two pieces of the pizza and a few very filling cheesy-bites. We then had to wait another twenty minutes for someone to see we wanted our bill. Still didn't get it, of course, so we just walked up to the till at the front of the shop. At the till the woman suddenly was full of apologies and trying to make conversation with us. Too late, woman!

So I've told Ray I'm done with that Pizza Hut. The ones in Cardiff, Newport and Bristol are great but this local one is pants. So no more local Pizza Hut.

We then went for a wander around the shops and Ray got me to try on a cleavage-enhancing bra and flash him my very pert boobs from the changing rooms.

I got home late and found out that Sweepie had had a funny turn and passed out in the garden. She's done this twice before and both times I haven't been around. Mammy's always been there, and says that she thinks Sweepie just forgets to breathe cos every time it's happened she's been playing with her brother. But I'm a little more worried. What if she has epilepsy? So I'm very worried about her and want to keep her close to me today. Of course Martha blames me. But Sweepie is curled up under my chair so I don't think she thinks it's my fault. Ray says she did it cos I went out and left her and Sweepie hates it when I go out without her. Funny cos Mammy said the same thing. Awww...

Labels: pizza hut, ray, sweepie, writing

by Ys | COMMENTS? 0 | permalink |

I got a few DVD's out to watch this weekend. The first one was Children of Men, which was very much like the books I write - dark, apocalyptic tales. I liked that one; it was good, and sad. And it involved rescuing a baby from harm, which I've always enjoyed ever since watching The Labyrinth repeatedly as a child thanks to Mammy's love for David Bowie.

The second film was Pans Labyrinth which was much more fantasy - and much more violent. I really enjoyed it. I love the proper fantasy tales, especially when they're interwoven with such brutal reality. Plus the fantasy characters looked creepy as hell and very, very pretty as well.

I also ended up watching Jaws 2. I watched Jaws the week before just by chance; and just by chance this week the film finished in time for me to watch the second installment. Now the first "Jaws" film is still scary - silly but scary. The second one isn't scary at all. And why are there so many screaming girls?

I burnt my shoulders and arms in the rare sunshine on Sunday morning. I never ever burn so this was quite a surprise, especially considering I was often going to sit in the shade of the stable so I wasn't in direct sun that much. Plus, like I said, I never burn. In the afternoon Ray took me for an ice-cream, but we ended up in Pizza Hut eating bonoffi pie instead ;)

Burns aside, the sun is fun. And it's made my plants in the shed shoot up! I'll have to get some pictures of them soon.

Labels: films, veg, weather

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

We got talking about friendships last night. It started out as Jem bashing men (hehe) and me sticking up for them cos I've had some really nice male friends who have been extremely lovely - not forgetting that my boyfriend is a bloody lovely young man as well ;) Jem said how I always stick up for the guys, that she's never experienced a friendship with one and so can't understand where I'm coming from.

It occured to me that I have very few straight female friends or gay male friends. I wondered why this was. Surely it's not something as crude as I can only be friends with people who could possibly fancy me, and vice versa? But it wasn't that at all. I make friends with people who technically could fancy me (straight men, gay women) but they don't like me because they want to get into my pants - they like me because of who I am. The warm glow that gives me in the belly is why I'm drawn to those people. Because they like me not what I can give them. It's the same with children. I feel so happy when one of them clambers into my lap and asks for a cuddle or for a chat because you know they're doing it because they like you not because they want anything out of you.

Saying that, I have of course fallen for a few male/gay friends in my time. But that happens from time to time with everyone. You have to ask the question then whether you just enjoy the crush and wait for it to run its course or whether you risk ruining a friendship by acting on it. The very few times I've acted on it it's ruined the friendships. I know what I'm like, though. If I fancy someone straight away and there's an attraction I know I can go ahead and flirt, if it's something that grows out of friendship I tend to know it's just me crushing on their platonic-feelings for me, which are strangely attractive. As I said last night, to a very bemused boyfriend, I don't respect anyone who fancies me.

Now a Saturday 8 on crushing (bit of a late one but who cares?):

1. who was your first crush?

Famous? Rick Astley! Non-famous? A boy called Hywel when I was about nine. That doesn't include my first boyfriend when I was five because I don't remember crushing on him ;)

2. do you currently have a crush on someone?

I have a crush on my boyfriend. Still. After fourteen months! I thought it wore off after that length of time but apparently not :)

3. what makes a crush a CRUSH to you? the fact that it's possibly unrequited? or that you can actually get the person at a later date?

There's two types of crushes for me. There's the I Want I Gotta Have type, where I am completely smitten and seeing that person can make or break my day. Then there's the other type where I just like being in the company of that person and it means nothing more than fancying their loveliness and not wanting anything whatsoever to happen between us.

4. who are your celebrity crushes?

Dan Radcliffe! I adore him at the moment. And David Boreanaz. One more? Gary Barlow.

5. have you ever crushed on a boss? did anything come of it?

I only ever had one proper boss and he was quite cute actually. Nothing happened at all. I just thought he was cute. He used to flirt with all the women who worked there. He was a bit of a sleaze.

6. have you ever crushed on a teacher? describe what made you fawn over them.

I can honestly say: no.

7. many people have met a spouse/fiance(e) at work. have you ever crushed on a co-worker, and how did that turn out?

Not having a "proper" 9-5 job I can't really answer it.

8. have you ever crushed on a personal trainer, a work-out buddy, or a member of your sports team? what happened?

I've crushed on a few rugby players. Frist one was a no-go even though he chased me before and after I asked him out - weirdo. Second guy seemed really keen but lived too far away I guess. After that I gave up on rugby players and dated the barman instead ;)

Labels: friends, jem, life, meme, ray

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

*SPOILER FREE*

I finished reading the final Harry Potter book yesterday afternoon. It took me about four days to complete it - four luxurious days in my sunny back garden, I might add.

To be honest, after reading the sixth book I wasn't expecting much. I really didn't enjoy book six. I thought it was boring and sloppily-written and just too predictable. So, although I was hyped about reading the final book (nagging Mammy to go pick up the copy she reserved pretty much every other day), I wasn't expecting the ending to be amazing.

Somehow I kept away from all spoilers. Someone did mention a happy ending for those who survived and, well, that was hardly a spoiler, was it? After everything that happened to the characters you pretty much need them to have a happy ending of a sort other wise life is totally unbearable in fantasy world as well as in reality! ;) (Yeah, sure, I love dark books with bad endings as well but this is a kid's book and you don't want to stunt their hopes just yet, do you?)

So, did I enjoy the Deathly Hallows? Yes, I did - very, very much. Although not my favourite, it has probably put itself in second place. I just adored it. I can see that maybe the children might find it difficult at times but she's written it - as well as the others - a little bit more grown-up as each book as gone along, assuming her audience are growing up with Harry, so I think it's probably all right. I really did enjoy the book, and I liked that it still had heaps of stuff to work out (which I never have in the past, and didn't again until Harry did and then I slapped my forehead and said, "Yeah, of course - idiot!"), and that everything was revealed at the end. I already knew bits of the end, because even idiot me had worked out what was awful lie and what was not in the last book, but that didn't spoilt it. I quite liked being able to be smug for a couple of minutes.

My conclusion is: great book. Definitely an eight-out-of-ten'er for me. I was actually quite sad when I'd finished it. Mind you, that probably had something to do with the awful, pointless, unimaginative epilogue she slapped on the end, which left me going, "Huh?" Why not just have a big wizard party instead? Would have brought more relief to the readers, I think. I thought so anyway. I needed all the survivors together one last time - smiling ;) I hated the epilogue. I'll just skip that bit any time I read it in the future.

I haven't heard of a bad review of the book yet. I think everyone's enjoyed it. I don't see how she could write another one; the epilogue pretty much killed those ideas off. I'd rather she didn't anyway. We've got the films to keep us happy for another few years and the books will always be there to read. It's like the end of an era. Wonder what new fad will sweep the nation once "The Deathly Hallows" has been made into a film, made heaps of money and gone into the DVD heaven of the bargain bin?

Labels: books, films, harry potter, review

by Ys | COMMENTS? 1 | permalink |

Yesterday might have been the best of summer for me. It was just one of those really nice days where everything was... well, nice.

The day started, as I said yesterday, with walking the horses from the bottom field to the top. That's an uphill walk and I do not do hills very well. I don't know why. I just think I don't have the legs for it - or the stamina or something. I've just always been crap with uphills. Even when I was a child I used to have to stop halfway up a hill for a breather. Crap lungs, I guess. I had two uncles, one aunt and two second-cousins with me yesterday. Everyone found the beginning of the hill hard but there didn't seem to be any stopping so I just let Meg's head go down into the grass - "Oops! Meg don't eat grass," I said outloud. "Stay there, good girl," I added under my breath. But after that brief stop I was okay. Me and my aunt walked up the back (meg also struggles with hills cos she's older) and just chatted all the way up the hill. Then we hit the flat of the cycle track and Meg decided she wanted to go up front, and suddenly had some spring in her step! That's okay for me - I can walk on flat for hours - it's the ups and downs I'm crap on. So I made it to the field in once piece. The horses got excited once in the field and me and Mammy got booted aside a little and only just stumbled out in time.

Then all of us humans had to walk back down to the original field via the park to get back to our cars. I ended up talking with one of my uncles - the one I looked after the house of - and he was telling me tales about when he and my gran thought they'd killed me this one time when they put me on a huge round-about and got it spinning really fast and I slowly slid off it and bounced across the park. I was okay but they didn't tell Mammy - except once in later years - in case she never let me and Jem go stay with them again, hehehe. Most of the injury stories from when I was a child involves me bouncing away from harm. I was a rather round child, I suppose...

Back at the cars, I had thanks and kisses off everyone - always nice - and then they set off back home and me and Mammy came back here. There was some lunch and then we went shopping because Mammy wanted to do a BBQ for everyone that night. On the way she told me some jokes, which she forgot the punchlines to so had me laughing for all the wrong reasons. We did some recycling and then headed home.

In the afternoon I sat in one of the garden chairs, curled my feet up underneath me and read my Harry Potter book (nearly finished it now). I did that until I stopped to feed the cats, read some more, then stopped to help with the BBQ. The BBQ-making was fun and we were all very impressed by how well we'd done. Then the men came home from work - Ray first, Daddy late. We ate 'til we burst, shoved an Ice-cream-Mars in as well then collapsed.

After a mug of coffee we took Martha and Sweepie up the road for an evening walk, which are always nice. Then it was back home for a game of Halo 2 for Ray because he's stuck on this one bit (we all got stuck there but me and Jem have completed it now and Ray is most embarrassed at being beaten by a couple of girls, espeically when he's been playing the game like an expert for years). He's still stuck!

We then cuddled up on the sofa to watch "Big Brother". Anyone else think this Halfway House stuff is a bit crap? To be honest, it all seems to have gone a bit pants now. We've had the conclusions to two of the main things: 1. Charlie got evicted and now knows she is a silly bitch (well, whether she knows it or not I don't know actually...); 2. Chanelle finally realised Ziggi was treating her like crap and only saying he liked her to look good when really he doesn't want her at all. So after some late-night dry-humping, the next day he dumped her, and said some rather nasty things; after that she pretty much decided she'd be better off leaving. She seems really nice out of the house, as well. But in the house seems boring at the moment. The new housemates are pants, the original housemates are just sad and mopey cos their friends either keep leaving or getting shoved into the Halfway House. All seems a bit lame. It'd better pick up again soon.

I ended the night with my Harry Potter book again :) Very nearly finished it now. Which will be sad, but good, like it always is when you finish a book you're enjoying.

And that was my Best Day of Summer... so far...

Labels: bbq, big brother, daddy, family, halo, harry potter, horses, jem, life, mammy, martha, ray, reading, sweepie

by Ys | COMMENTS? 1 | permalink |

Ray now officially owns Little Red. He had heaps of work done on him last week (new exhaust, fix the hole in the water tank, clutch tightened, brakes sorted, etc., etc.) and was returned to us yesterday. I was really excited to see the little red tincan driving down the drive again :) And do you know? He only has 0.05% emmissions. How environmentally friendly is he?

This is only Ray's second owned car. The first being Baz, who we both loved so very, very much. There was a week-long fling with a purple death-trap that his uncle gave him, which thankfully died before it killed us, and now he's bought Little Red after borrowing it from his boss for the past six months. So tonight LR gets a good clean out - get rid of all that plumbing/kitchen-fitting nonsense that's always hanging around on the backseat and in the boot. Well, the plan is that Ray cleans while I sit and watch - his idea, not mine. Now that's a good boyfriend, huh?

Today I've been roped into moving the horses from the bottom field to the top one. The other way round would have been better because that would have been all downhill but... The hill isn't too bad, I suppose, and if it is I'll just throw up on the side of the road. Hehehe. My uncle and aunt are coming down as well because their granddaughter and grandson (my second cousins) are going to ride the horses. I get the bigger mare - Meg - while Mammy will bring the little boy - Potsyn - up the rear. Meg walks much faster than Potsyn so my plan is to keep on stopping with the pretence that I'm waiting for Mammy to catch up... ;) I just have to find a way to amuse an eight-year-old boy while he's riding the horse now, though. What the heck should I talk to him about? When I have to talk to Ray's nephews/cousins I usually just let them do the talking or else cuddle them on my lap - I can't do that this time, I have a feeling the boy's shy! Eek!

Labels: baz, car crash, family, horses, life, little red, ray

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |