I think I may be all blogged out this week. There's not much to talk about...

There's been a trip home to see my parents. There's a dress I want to link to but I haven't got the code for it and I can't find it on the website. It's a strapless wonder at the moment but because it slips down when I raise my arms (don't all strapless dresses do that? So why make them the new in-thing?) I need some straps for it. My mother had a brainwave: use the belt/ribbon that comes with the dress to fashion some straps. So it's at home at the moment waiting for AmberMammy to work her magic. It's extremely pretty. It was a present from Mammy for the wedding-nuptials we're going to in a couple of weeks. Not my wedding nuptials. It's a renewing-the-vows type of thing. It's also an excuse for me to show off Ray to my mother's side of the family. A couple of them have met him already but quite a few haven't. I get to be proud girlfriend for the night :) There's also been a lot of writing this week.

Last night there were some chippie-chips. Jem takes Martha to the groomers every six weeks and it always falls on a Thursday - Shop Day. Because I cannot be bothered to cook again Ray and I always have chippie-chips as a treat. It's this one weird evening every six weeks where it's just me, Ray and Sweepie. We always take Sweepie with us to get the chips and it's just this tantalising taste of what's to come in a few years time. It's great that I can get a taste of things to come and that I like how it tastes. The chips tasted damn fine, too ;)

Today there was badminton - I'm still the champion ;) There will be the Olympics in an hour. And The Tudors this evening. The weekend? I have no idea yet. I think there's some window-shopping with Mammy tomorrow; visits to the families on Sunday; in between hasn't been decided yet. I like it when there's a whole weekend stretching out in front of me like this with very little planned. In fact Friday afternoon/evening is probably my favourite part of the weekend: because there's so much to come and Monday feels like it's weeks away.

Enjoy your Friday, Saturday and Sunday :)

Labels: amber, badminton, blogging, family, in-laws, jem, life, mammy, ray, shopping, the tudors, writing

by Ys | COMMENTS? 4 | permalink |

I'm having one of those Oh Jeez how old are you, girl? moments. Because I spent a large portion of this morning contemplating why butter is the same price in all the supermarkets - be they the big ones like Tesco, or the cheaper ones like Farmfoods. I thought it strange that I can shop around for pretty much every other item on my shopping bill and find lots of different prices (and varieties) but with butter it's all the same. Why is that, do you think?

The visit last night was really fun. I do really like having visitors. I'm sure I suck as a hostess (the fact that Ray's mother had to ask for a cup of tea, and then me giving her sugar when she didn't want one, pretty much proved that ;D) but it's just so much fun to get new people to talk to - fresh conversation and new reactions, and an excuse to babble ;) I've noticed something, as well. When we visit Ray's family they treat him like a kid but when they visit our house they treat him like an adult. It makes me giggle. Because I expect them to be one way and then they act completely different. Except his mother - she's the same whatever house we're in, precisely because she is his mother :) It's probably simply because he's always been baby-Ray at home, and then here they realise he has a house of his own and a life of his own that he's able to run by himself like a grown-up. What they don't realise is that I'm the one in charge - and he'd better not forget it, hehehe ;)

Sweepie was anti-social and barked for the first ten minutes they were here. Simon offended her somehow. By being a man, I think. She calmed down eventually and sulked in her bed, being a princess and not letting him touch her head. I picked her up in the end and after the cuddle she felt much better and ran off into the front room to sit with Jemma. She's such a slob. She never wants to leave the sofa for long ;)

Reverting back to the money topic: I got some Safex Condoms to try. Never tried that brand before. There's Sensitive, Natural and Ribbed. Any one tried those ones before? Any good? I'll be sure to review them once I've given them a go. I'll tell my opinion of the Crown condoms at the same time then. Good bargain, though, weren't they? I can always find a bargain ;)

Labels: condoms, food, in-laws, life, money, shopping, sweepie, visitors

by Ys | COMMENTS? 1 | permalink |

You'll never believe it but... it rained again last night! I wouldn't say it rained all night but it did on and off. Today it looks like it did before the hot weather hit - cloudy and grey - but it still feels incredibly warm and sticky. I had to go into town today to get some food and I thought I might melt onto the pavement even though it was picking with rain! We're having some very crazy weather this year.

Simon didn't end up coming to visit yesterday. He's coming over tonight instead, with Ray's mother. But we went down to see him last night anyway. It was loud and excitable and extremely overwhelming! It was fun trying to play Guess The Actress, Guess The Film with Simon, though; his memory is even worse than mine! Tonight I get to play hostess here. Trying to stop the dogs from wrecking the place is the hardest part. They like to play and in doing so usually pull the cushions off the sofa and slide the mats up the walls ;) One more day and then they can run wild again hehe.

Ray and I then spent the last part of the night curled up in bed trying to debug each other's brains. It came to me as clear as day why my mind went into meltdown. My brain related something that happened to someone else to a bad time I went through a few years ago, and it just brought back all the memories and made me go a bit insane. Isn't the mind a weird and wonderful thing? I'm glad I know what was wrong now anyway. I was trying to work out Ray's psycology. He's had a very interesting life. The things he's been through should have seen him wound up in jail or something equally as bad, but he went completely the other way. He doesn't dwell on what happened then and is happy where he is now. It's very refreshing but also a bit annoying cos then I only get the facts of what happened and not how he felt about it all. I'll break him one day ;)

I've spent this morning hiding from Steve. Remember Steve the estate agent who wouldn't give us our deposit back, then later got fired for not doing his job right? Well, he's been walking up and down our street (that's not too unusual he does live up the road a bit but we've never seen him before) a lot. Then I had to go into town on my own and I was worrying I'd bump into him and... yes, I did! But he just looked away and pretended not to see me - even though we walked right on next to each other! Hehehe. Probably thinks I'm going to kick his ass again like last time I saw him - verbally, of course; I don't believe in violence. I haven't seen him again since so maybe he'll go back home now and stop stalking me.

Ooh more exciting than any of that crap, of course, is...The Harry Potter Trailer! I cannot wait 'til November :D

Labels: estate agent, harry potter, house stuff, in-laws, life, ray, trailers, weather

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

It rained last night! We were meant to have a storm but that turned out to be just some heavy rain (that lasted all of ten minutes!), a couple of rumbles of thunder and one bolt of lightning. Of course, we went recycling when it started up so had a wonderful view of all the clouds as we drove right into the so-called storm. I haven't felt so giddy over rain in years. It feels like ages since it last rained.



What can I say? Ray was also giddy from the rain. He loved running across the recycling car-park to get rid of the old toaster cos it meant he got absolutely drenched. Was it wrong of me to want to park up somewhere, get out and have sex in the rain? I swear, it hasn't rained properly here in ages! Don't be surprised if there was a million new babies conceived last night. That brief storm was quite electrical, or it could be like I said: everyone giddy cos there hasn't actually been any rain in ages.

On our travels we picked up some more spotty stuff for the kitchen. I got the tins I mentioned in my previous post. So everything is looking much cleaner now. I just want one more pack (there's two big tins in each pack) to put the dog stuff in now and I'll be happy. The kitchen is looking very pretty, I have to say. I'll take some pictures soon to show it off ;) I've had to make everything look sparkly and lovely for our visitor tonight. Uncle Simon is coming over, who is Ray's favourite uncle. We went to stay with him in August 2006 and had a great time. But I don't think I've actually seen him since, perhaps a flying visit here and there but nothing else. I love having visitors these days. We're having sleeping-over visitors next month and we're all - sadly - extremely excited about it ;)

Ray started playing his other new game last night - Dark Sector - which is so pretty. (So no worries of losing him to Oblivion yet, Fink, but thanks for the warning ;D) Jem and I read our books and Ray played his xbox, the dogs lazed about on the floor, and it was just a lovely, quiet time. As I said at the time: it's going to be one of those memories that I cherish when this time of my life is over. I love it when we sit there quietly together like that. No arguments, no bickering, no pouting, just all of us together as friends.

Labels: dogs, house stuff, in-laws, jem, life, ray, recycling, video, visitors, weather, xbox 360

by Ys | COMMENTS? 4 | permalink |

I'm going to draw a line under my emotions from last week. I can't change anything and obsessing over it doesn't help anyone so I'll do what I can when I can. And hope it's enough.

I had a lovely weekend, which helped to cheer me up a lot. I went out with Mammy and Jemma to see The Dark Knight on Saturday. Heath Ledger is as good as everyone is saying he is; it isn't just being said cos he died. I thought the film was a bit long-winded but it was still very good. I don't understand how it got a 12A certificate, though, cos it was seriously dark and quite a lot disturbing. I wouldn't want my children seeing it. At the end a group of them rejoined their parents and started saying how they'd cried in fright through most of it! Besides that factor, I really don't think young people would really get what was going on. On the top level, sure, but not all the psycological parts. I reccomend the film, anyway :)

Sunday was spent visiting everyone, and doing a little shopping ;) I didn't buy anything too grand. Just a mug-tree. It's not the one I wanted (I wanted a white wooden one) but it was the best I could find:



The kitchen is very fastly coming together. I love the white-with-spots look; it's cute. I'm going to get some round tins next to store some of the junk is so that the worktops aren't bogged down with bowls full of knick-knacks. I prefer clear worktops.

While Ray bought himself a couple of new xbox360 games. He's waited patiently week after week and then this week he gave in and bought two. I could link you to them but I don't actually know what they're both called. I know one is Oblivion because we had fun making up the character's face to look like Ray ;)

That afternoon we went visiting everyone. It was a really lovely visit back to Ray's house. Dale's shaved all his hair off, though! He has such lovely blonde hair, which he grows long and then shaves off. Nicky gave me a mini-gumball from her mini-gumball machine and we all had fun laughing at Mams trying to blow bubbles. Everyone is such fun when it's sunny, aren't they?

Then it was onto my parents' house with the two dogs, where we had a huge BBQ and stuffed ourselves silly. There was lots of silliness, lots of laughing, lots of noise and games with the dogs; and we ended it all by walking all six dogs up the road together, which caused Sweepie such excitement that she had to be carried for most the walk in fear she'd pass out (she doesn't handle heat and excitement well together at all).

SUMMER BBQ

So all in all it was a really nice, fun weekend.

And it ended with the best words I could have heard: "If we weren't skint we could have a baby now." :)

Labels: daddy, films, house stuff, in-laws, life, mammy, martha, motherhood, ray, sweepie

by Ys | COMMENTS? 4 | permalink |

I'm still cranky but I think this is more to do with tiredness than anything else. Tired of being on, hehehe ;)

It was Visiting The Family Day yesterday. Ray's house was filled with people. It often is on a Sunday but I haven't seen it fill up that quick in a long while. We didn't stay long. I don't know what to say about it. It's a weird time. We then went on to see my Old Folk, with the dogs, as well. We like to gatecrash spectacularly ;) Mammy welcomed us with a present: some spotty mugs for the kitchen:



Very cute. She's spoiling us again. I christened them with some wine last night. The wine was disgusting (I just don't like wine no matter how hard I try!) so after a couple of sips I concluded the christening was finished and didn't need to drink anymore.

It's been a weekend of watching films. First: Be Kind Rewind. It was such a lovely, sweet film. Funny, of course, as you'd expect from Jack Black (that man can make me laugh with just a look!), but very sweet, as well, which I wasn't expecting. I liked it :) Then we watched A Cock & Bull Story, which I have loved since I first saw it three years ago. I finally found it to buy! Everyone must see this film: it's so kooky and funny :) And, finally, last night we watched The Crow: Wicked Prayer. I only wanted it cos David Boreanaz is in it (I've been in love with him for an age!). I quite liked Edward Furlong back in my days of youth, as well. Both actors can act, just a shame that what they were acting with was so bad. Awful film, of course, but it had some strangely pretty moments with the flashback/after-death scenes spliced in.

It's back to the real world now, though. Paying bills and writing, and thinking what I'm going to be eating for lunch today... ;)

Labels: daddy, david boreanaz, films, house stuff, in-laws, life, mammy, photos, presents

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

I am sober 90% of the year. The one time I do get accidently drunk why does it have to be at a thirteen year old's birthday party? ;)

Last night Ray and I headed down to one of the local nightclubs cos his cousin (I think they're cousins; there's so many cousins I just say he's their uncle to make it easier for me to remember; we are Uncle Ray and Auntie Ysabel should anyone ask) was having a party there. It's her birthday next month but she wanted the party before school shut up shop for the summer. We were invited down so off we went.

First of all I was very excited that I got to sit in the VIP area, closed off with a rope and everything. Okay, it wasn't really a VIP section more like an OAP section. Us oldies sat out the way and let the kids go mad. Secondly, I was surprised by today's youth fashion. Do you know that kids these days are wearing? Teeny-tiny white shorts or skirts, coupled with brightly coloured tights and/or leg-warmers, and brightly coloured vest-tops. I had no idea that was today's fashion. It was like old-style rave fashion.

There were some shocking moments - like when all the girls made a tunnel and the boys went through and snogged whichever one they liked! That went on for about twenty minutes! I was cringing and hiding behind my hands. I do not want to see little people snogging. That was when the vodka-lemonades came in handy.

An hour or two later I was teaching Ray how to dance to the Grease melodymedley, and very enthusiastically dancing to the Superman song. You know that one? "Comb your hair, go for a walk, sneeze, now... superman!" I used to dance to that one a lot as a child at family parties so I was very excited to hear it being played, considering all night we'd had some extremely shocking music. You know the one that goes, "Face down, arse up, that's the way we like to fuck"? Yeah, that one. At a thirteen year old's party!

I laughed and laughed and laughed. And I didn't once put my foot in it, which I always do when I'm trying hard to keep away from certain subject matters, or, in my usual case, a seemingly innocent outcry of annoyance, which although hilarious to me in its melodrama can upset people who are fragile. It was such a fun night. I'd forgotten how much fun it is hanging out with the family (be they mine or the in-laws). And cos Ray and I are neither "The Kids" or "The Adults" we mingle with both groups and then get left alone a lot to be naughty. Hence all the drinking.

Sounds like fun, yeah? But then I had to get up this morning and go and play badminton. Oh dear did I regret every single drop of vodka I'd put in my body. I worried there'd be vomit but I held it together. In fact, it was Jemma who injured herself by pulling a muscle in the back of her thigh. The game was cut short due to that and the fact that I was nauseous and we'd bust our last two shuttlecocks (we have more but Ray left them in the work's van last night!). Do you know the annoying thing? I never used to suffer from hangovers before. But I haven't had a proper getting-drunk drink in about six months and so now my body has forgotten how to cope!

Roll on the next kid's birthday party I say!

Labels: badminton, drinking, in-laws, life, ray

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

Last night I went to visit my in-laws. Ray's mother was in work and his gran is poorly so after a bit of chatting we amused ourselves with some old photos Ray had found.

I come from a family that documented most of our lives from childhood onwards. Actually, I think it slowed down once we all got into our teens but then we were able to take over the job ourselves and so there has always been albums full of photos in the cupboards. The other week my parents dug them out and we all stood in the kitchen reminiscing, laughing and teasing each other about the funny faces we were pulling in the shots.

I forget that other people don't take as many photographs. I forget that other people don't put their photos into albums.

Last night I sat down expecting to see heaps of embarrassing photos of Ray when in fact there was only a handful that he featured in. One when he was about twelve - such a skinny blonde thing, and always in a baseball cap. The others from his uncles wedding when he was wearing make-up to cover up a black eye from a fight the night before. He assures me the fight had not been his or his uncle's fault but do you think I beleive him? Do I heck! ;) And finally some photos of him with his cousin proudly holding up some fish they'd caught.

He doesn't say it but I know he feels sad that there aren't more photos of him. That my endless albums worth of childhood photos remind him that his life was different to mine. It made me think about my own childhood.

Ray has always said he loves visiting my family because our house is a home, that everyone can say and do what they like - we're all a bunch of idiots who don't care, basically. I didn't realise just how fun and relaxed and filled with love my family home was and is. I went through some tough times with my family in my late-teen years but looking at us now and how we were before the bad times I wonder how it ever happened, how they could be the same parents who hurt me so much. Because they're not like that anymore. They weren't before and they're not now.

I guess moving out of home has made me look at my family and my family life in a new light, from a different angle. I had a wonderfully happy childhood, no matter how bad it got after puberty hit, the childhood was fun. And in between the bad times the good times were always so good. It's nice to be able to appreciate the good parts of life. I spent so long concentrating on the negative that I forgot to see that there was some damn good times mixed in there too.

Basically: my family rule! ;)

Labels: childhood, daddy, family, in-laws, love, mammy, photos

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

I was going to say how my new outlook on life didn't start off too well. I argued with Ray Friday and we didn't make up 'til Saturday morning. Then all that day I spent curled up on the sofa ill. But on Sunday things got much better. My health improved therefore my mood did and I had a great time visiting the two families, and finally celebrating Father's Day with Daddy, a week late. [Pictures can be viewed HERE] But I need to talk about a door.

This door sits down the far end of the kitchen. It is a spare door. We think it used to be in the archway that separates the kitchen from the hall (there is no door there now). It was left here by the landlord (in fairness he didn't know we were moving in when we did, thanks to the rip-off estate agents, so perhaps he'd have got rid of it had he have had time). It has a big glass panel at the top and one at the bottom. And it's heavy. It's been left behind the door that seperates the kitchen from the back-room. This door is only shut if the dogs are in bed at night. But the spare door has always sat happily behind it be it open or shut. I forget it's there, to be honest. I just clean around it, mumble how it's kind of getting in the way, then forget all about it again.

That was until today.

When it fell on me.

I was vaccuming the kitchen floor and I pulled open the door between the kitchen and back-room to clean up the dog hair that had gathered there. One hand on the vaccum cleaner, my head tipped down looking at the floor, and suddenly I saw this great big thing - made of glass! - coming straight at me. I looked up just in time to see the glass a mere inch from my face. I don't know how I did it but I somehow managed to get my free hand up to catch the thing. My wrist twisted, I dropped the vaccum cleaner, that got crushed under the door, and grabbed the door with my second hand. I cried out for help but no one answered. So I pushed it back up, put it back in place and just stood there looking at it.

It's never fallen before. It hasn't even been moved so why it would suddenly decide to drop on me today I don't know. I hadn't even gone near it when it fell. Needless to say I was/am a little shaken up. I mean, that glass would have caused me some damage, not forgetting the sheer weight of the door probably would have knocked me out. Bleurgh. Doesn't bear thinking about. I know have an aching wrist, which hurts up to the elbow, but nothing's broken so I live to see another day.

I've texted Ray. He says we can smash the damn thing up tonight with a hammer. Hehe. He always knows how to cheer me up ;) I think the moral of this story is not to clean!

Labels: daddy, house stuff, illness, in-laws, life

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

Did everyone spoil their mother this Mother's Day? I tell you, when people invent these holidays they don't think about what it's like when you're in a relationship and so have two sets of mother's to visit. Thank God neither of us have step-mother's as well (well, Ray does but she's never really liked him so she doesn't count). I don't know how you'd fit them all into one day!

I spent the morning with Ray's mother. That was nice. Everyone was in a happy mood and were telling tales and making me laugh. When Ray's gran is on she's really on and just makes me laugh the entire time I'm there. Even her tale about planting her daffodil bulbs upside down had me cracking up! Sunday's at Ray's family is often hectic. It's nice when you're feeling brave cos everyone is there and you get to hang out with the kids and the grown-ups and find out all the gossip. But when you're feeling a little fragile it can often be a little daunting. Being a kind boyfriend, Ray tends to keep me away on Sundays. But Mothering Sunday pretty much means it's going to fall on a Sunday. The key was to get there early enough to miss the mad rush. And we did. There was only three adults and two children.

After a quick lunch it was onto my parents' house. We went from a house filled with people to one filled with animals. There's no way to avoid the mad rush of animal welcomes in my house - you just have to put up with it, and wear clothes you don't mind getting hair and mud all over. We got my mother John Barrowman's Autobiography cos she's a dirty perv' who fancies him, plus the usual flowers and chocolates. The plan was to spend a couple of hours but I think we ended up staying for about four. Daddy needed Ray's help to put up a new door, and Mammy wanted to talk to us. So I held Poopy Wednesday in my arms and listened to all of Mammy's gossip.

It was a nice weekend, even if it was a bit busy. Saturday kind of disappeared on me as well. Ray worked in the morning and then when he got back we went back to bed ;) I'm learning there's more and more perks to living alone, you know? We got up to eat pizza and that was about it. So my long list of things to do never got done, well, all expect me, of course ;) So I've got to get everything done in the evenings this week now. I don't regret a thing.

Labels: daddy, family, in-laws, mammy, mother's day, puppies, ray, sex

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |