I'm pretty wiped out this week. I feel like I haven't sat still for more than five minutes.

Last weekend we got a letter from the landlord: we're having an inspection on September 1st. To start with I panicked. This is my home now and the thought of someone coming in here (the someone who actually owns the house) and judging it and me kind of freaked me out a bit. Then I realised I was worrying over nothing. The house is pretty much spotless 90% of the time; we've got all the rooms looking very pretty now; and we love it here, which I think brings an extra element of niceness to the overall feel of the house.

But the inspection has made me go a bit cleaning mad. Well, that and the fact that in between the Olympics watching (yes, still hooked) I get a bit twitchy cos I'm not writing. I always clean much more when I'm not writing. I guess I have all that extra energy and time then, don't I? So I started with the floors. I hoovered and then mopped them all with the special stuff especially for laminate floors. I then moved onto my room. I ended up moving furniture around on my own (the wardrobe was the heaviest!) and have got it looking a bit better in here now. I'm still not 100% happy with it but that's cos it's a square-shaped room and working with a square is all but impossible when you have a big double bed to squeeze in, and an oddly placed radiator to contend with. I then weeded the front garden, pulling all the weeds up on the other side of the wall, too - the road side. I weeded the potted plants out there and then washed the front door cos it looked a bit grubby. Today I plan on cleaning the bathroom, and over the weekend I might tackle the back garden. Phew. I find cleaning strangely theraputic. Plus it should mean the house is sparkling like a new pin when the landlord arrives next month :)

The decision I thought I'd have to make fell through. Well, when something makes you cry you know it's time to walk away and explore other options. I don't think there'll be other options to consider. I think it's all done now. We're all happy where we're at. So - touch wood - no upheavals any time soon :)

The weekend starts now, doesn't it? Mine will be an extra day long because I've got the family wedding and so won't be back 'til Monday. We've all got our pretties (even Ray, who relented and let me drag him round the shops trying to find trousers that fit him - he has such tiny legs! 29 inches! I wear 34 inches! BHS is the only store I found who sell 29inch-length trousers for men.), we've got our drink's money sorted; now I'm just waiting for the pining for Sweepie to kick in. I haven't had to leave her in so long. I doubt she'll miss me, though ;)

Enjoy your weekends! (And don't post too much cos I won't be back online 'til Tuesday to read your blogs ;D)

Labels: cleaning, landlord, life, olympics, ray, renting, shopping, sweepie

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

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 |

I fell into Outfit last night. I should probably sue them. Where there's a claim there's a blame and all that...

I then accidently fell into the sale rack. I looked down and found a white shirt on my arm. Dazed and confused, I continued down the shop. I fell into some gorgeous dresses but, lucky for me, they were all way above the knee and I don't wear anything that short. On I stumbled, tumbling from one rack of clothes to the next. Before I knew it a green cami top had joined the white shirt on my arm.

I begged Ray not to let me fall into Warehouse. They're too expensive, I mumbled incoherently, as I made my way through the racks of clothes. Far too expensive. Don't let me look! He took my arm and led me away from a row of lovely floral skirts. He's a good boyfriend.

I soon found myself in the changing rooms, dancing along to an All Saint's song, exclaiming far too loudly how much I adored the green top. I completely forgot I was in a changing room and had no one in there with me (usually I shop with Jem or/and Mammy and we give running commentry on what we're trying on - "I'm putting my right arm in that pink shirt I picked up," "My bum won't fit in these jeans!" "I'm not coming out dressed in this!" etc., etc.). The white shirt was next. It was a lovely fit, nicely fitted around the waist to show off the spread of my hips.

Outside again, I asked Ray to check the prices and to then tell me if I could have either. After a quick calculation he said I could have both! Both! I say again: he's a very good boyfriend :) At the till they must have thought I was going to sue them for the way I'd fallen into the shop and then fallen to the till with garments to buy, cos they knocked £4 off the shirt. I didn't need to ask. She just scanned the tag and it came up as £3.

We hot-tailed it out of the shop after that. Me smug with my new clothes, Ray smug cos it had come in under twenty quid. And that was my evening out. I now own these two lovely tops and want an excuse to wear them out and about ;)



I have one message for you all: Go Shopping! Go on, treat yourselves. I haven't had anything new in ages (since the car ate all the money we had) and it felt so good to finally just give in and splurge. I want everyone to share in that splurging goodness with me. Go splurge! Go!

PS: Don't forget to sponsor Hilary as well, that way when you're selfishly buying stuff for yourself you will know in your heart you've done some good elsewhere too :)

Labels: photos, ray, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 5 | permalink |

I'm ill. It might be tonsillitis, again, but it might not. I've been pumping my body full of painkillers, sucking on Strepsils and drinking squash every other minute, and it seems to have slowed down the process. I'm hoping it might have stopped the bug all together but I've never known tonsillitis to be stopped in its tracks before. So I'm just waiting around, seeing how it develops. It made me sleep for ten hours last night! So it's not all bad ;)

I've got lots of photos of the house I want to share - new goodies, new developments with the plants - but I'm too sickly to post them today so I'll save them for another time.

About the only productive thing I did this weekend was buy Ray an early birthday present...



It's a Sony Ericsson T280i. He wanted a different one, one that had a few more gadgets on but considering his phones only last on average six months I told him I wasn't going to spend all that money. The T280i is a great looking phone, anyway, and I'm sure he'll be happy with it. His latest phone died last week and considering he needs one for work I figured an early birthday present was in order. It should be arriving any minute. Then I just need to find the energy to wrap it up ;)

Ahh I hope this illness passes over soon. For today I'm just going to have to curl up with a good book and keep the fluids up.

Labels: birthday, illness, mobile phone, photos, ray, shopping, tonsillitis

by Ys | COMMENTS? 6 | permalink |

Remember I said I'd fallen in love with the Circus Kitchen stuff? Well, Ray give into me and he got me two of the things (actually the two not listed on the website)...



I fell in love with the teapot as soon as I saw it. I have no idea why cos I haven't made tea in a teapot since I was a kid. But it's just so gorgeous and looks so good in the kitchen:



I tried it out for the first time last night and let me tell you the tea tasted lovely :)



I now want matching coffee, sugar and biscuit barrels. Plus I want the funky cutlery set to match as well.

The house is really starting to come together now. Mammy and Daddy got a new sofa so have given us their spare (which is also a sofa-bed so now when we have guests they have somewhere to sleep!). Which meant we could move the furniture around in the main room, finally able to split the front and back of the room into two separate areas. So the front part of the room, the social part, looks like this:



And the back part of the room, the quiet place, where the computer is and now there's a place to read as well, looks like this:



I love how quickly the house is finally coming together. It took us six months but finally it's looking like a real, grown-up's house. So everyone is invited round for cups of tea now :) The reason for the little treats was because we got our deposit back from the estate agent! Yes, finally, we got our money back. The manager had to handle the case in the end cos the guy we'd been dealing with has been given the sack cos he was doing his job wrong! Typical! Never mind, at least we have our money back (four months later...). And the house is at last starting to feel like a real home :)

Labels: estate agent, house stuff, money, photos, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

Ray and I went out last night for drinks. While we were in the pub we decided to treat ourselves to a desert. We were tempted to have two separate choices but it worked out cheaper (and you know how I love to save every penny I can) if we shared something called an Ultimate Sharing Sundae. It sounded lovely:

Chocolate fudge cake, profiteroles, vanilla flavour ice cream, Cadbury’s Crunchie Nuggets and chocolate flakes with chocolate flavour fudge sauce and a whip of cream

And it was. But it was also huge. It was apparently meant for two people to share but I think even four would have struggled. I ate as much as I could but I had to leave the rest for Ray. I think I must have gained about fifty pounds just by looking at it!

We ended the evening in Tesco - yes, we are that hardcore ;) We bought two storage boxes (blue and black, not silver and black, though) for the bedroom. While I fell in love with all the circus kitchen accessories, which all appeared to be on the sale, which probably means they won't be available for much longer :( I can't wait 'til we can properly dress the kitchen.

Now then, do you want to test how smart you are? It's an english test. I am a writer, an avid reader, and English is my first language... yet I only got 15/20! Test Your Brain. Let me know how you got on :)

Labels: food, house stuff, pub, quiz, ray, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 5 | permalink |

After all that serious talk about life and the future, let's get back to something much more fun: sex.

Now, you know I'm on The Pill but because because we also use condoms as well. Because they're not needed for protection, as such, anymore, we've started using all kinds of different ones to see which ones feel the best. This month I saw this ad:



Says the porn stars love it so why wouldn't we, right? ;) I'll have to let you know. So far I haven't been overly impressed with the supposedly amazing-feel condoms on offer.

We tried the Love Condoms, which were meant to be the thinnest you could find. They were not at all lubricated so not much fun from my side, and from the male perspective Ray said he couldn't feel a thing. Pleasuremax: I could feel the ridges and dots when I was putting the thing on but once inside? Nothing. Same for him.

So we've stuck with the ones that feel the best for the both of us, funnily enough the first style of condoms I ever bought, Durex Elite. I can't say enough good things about them: they feel good for both of us, well lubricated, nice fit. All good. Seriously, we should have stocks and shares in these condoms! I know they're a little more expensive than the old favourite Extra Safe, but if you have another form of protection then these ones are really no fun anymore.

Any good condom recommendations? They don't have to be Durex, although I've just realised they do seem to be a favourite of mine. As long as they give good fit, lubrication and a natural feel then I'll be happy :)

Labels: condoms, sex, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

It was a bank holiday weekend so naturally it rained.

At least it was dry Saturday when I went out for a girly day with Mammy and Jem. There was a little shopping (I found nothing but have decided that yellow is my favourite colour this summer), a little lunch (Jem had an egg-mayonaise sandwich and has been ill ever since), and, the highlight of the day (and the summer if you're my mother) we went to see Indiana Jones IV.

I was raised on the original trilogy, probably due to my mother's obsessioncrush on Harrison Ford. As a life-long fan, I have to say that the fourth film did not disappoint. I loved how it was alien-based because the great mystery of the fifties (when it was set) was the Roswell alien spaceship crash. It was classic Indie from start to finish. And whoever decided to cast Shai LaBeouf (how do you pronounce his name?) as mini-Indie needs a big gold star. He is just lovely (but I'll save that gushing for another time). So, if you're a fan of the Indiana films then you should love the new one. If you're new to them, as some of the kids were in the audience, then you might want to not go in there expecting it to be like your run-of-the-mill noughties kid's film cos it's not anything like that. A great action film and absolutely hilarious. I hope they make another one!

Apart from that the weekend was literally a wash out. I had picnics and feeding-the-ducks planned but it all had to be scrapped. Sunday was spent trying to get bits and pieces together so Ray could change a tyre on the car (yes that damn car again; thsi time it wasn't the car's fault; there was a nail on the road - pop!). And Monday just never really got started. Although we did watch half of Return of the King (only half cos that film is long - great but long).

It was a nice weekend, though, weather aside. Love, films, sitting around doing not very much, reading, Lord of the Rings - and Banoffee Pie mmmm. The duck's can have their bread later in the week ;)

EDIT @ 5PM: I've updated the projects section, which is all the way down on the right-hand side of the page :)

Labels: car, films, indiana jones, jem, mammy, ray, shia labeouf, shopping, weather

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

The day didn't start well. Ten pound missing from the Shopping Money Pot on the kitchen unit. I searched the pot, tipped all the contents out, quizzed Jem to make sure she definitely put it in there and not somewhere safe - you know that Safe Place we all have where things always end up getting lost forever. But she was adamant the tenner had been put in the pot.

There's another pot by the Shopping Pot, this one is called the Dog Biscuit Pot cos it holds, yes, the dog biscuits. Ray brought a ten pound tip home last night for Outstanding Tiling and Grouting (I'm so proud of my man) and I put that ten pound in the Dog Biscuit Pot, sticking up so I'd know where it was, so I knew not to out it somewhere safe. It was to be Ray's Getting His Hair Cut Money.

So I took a guess that maybe Ray had got the tenner's mixed up, put the Shopping Money tenner in his wallet and skipped off to work this morning. So I just took the Ray's Getting His Hair Cut tenner into town to finish off the shopping. I texted him to make sure, all the while cursing him lovingly for his lack of knowledge about different pots meaning different money which belong to different people. Yes, the ten pounds look the same but they're not - they're not! Nearly at the shop and he texted to say he had not taken the ten pound, that he'd given it to me to keep safe 'til tomorrow (when he gets his hair cut). Don't worry, he said, we'll look for the missing tenner tonight.

Hmm.

Sounds like a plan, I know, but I've searched the kitchen, Jemma's searched the kitchen, and there is no second ten pound note. We fear the dog might have climbed up onto the unit and eaten the Shopping Money note because she's weird and loves the taste of money in her mouth. Which means I've spent the Ray's Getting His Hair Cut money already. Which means there will be no hair cut. Which means his hair will keep on growing thicker and thicker until he ends up with a mullet. Because, yes, we're that skint that we don't have a spare ten pounds - the only reason he could get his hair cut this weekend was cos that money was a tip.

So now I'm thinking I might have to perform surgery on the dog. And while I'm in there I may as well look for my missing period. It's over two hours late. Yes, I know, only hours. But every second counts when you desperately don't want there to be a bun in the oven. Not that there could be anyway, aside from an act of God. Can sperms really get through Pill Defensives and Condom Defensives?

Oh well, there's some good things about today: it's a Friday, which means it's the weekend in about four hours; I'm wearing Ray's belt again which might mean it'll end up tied round other parts of me than my waist again later tonight; my hair has dried in perfect pretty ringlets; it's raining so I don't have to walk the dogs (plus they went for a huge walk last night); it's lunchtime at last so I can eat.

If any one finds ten pounds - it's mine!

Labels: condoms, dogs, hair cut, house stuff, money, ray, sex, shopping, the pill

by Ys | COMMENTS? 4 | permalink |

It was my birthday last Thursday. I turned twenty-five. I thought such a number would be frightening but it turns out I feel about that age anyway so it was no big deal whatsoever. In fact, I kept forgetting it was even my birthday!

I was spoilt rotten with presents - seriously! I got heaps of DVD's - at least six, I think - which are all so, so good. I also got some great clothes - jeans (cannot find them anywhere online!), a too pretty top, red skirt and red/white vest-top. My younger sister got me a gorgeous blue lamp for my bedroom, and I added a cute three-drawer unit, the same colour blue, to put in some of the wad of stationary I got for my birthday as well. I got a lot of stationary :)

I have a new project, you see. Instead of making ordinary photo albums to house all my photos, I've decided to make my own. Kind of like scrap books, I suppose. So I've bought in a lot of stationary to get the job done. It's probably going to take the rest of my life to complete but at least I'll have gorgeous photo albums to show for it ;)

I also got a lovely surprise present from a friend of mine - even though I told her no presents! And a big thank you to Gen for the card :) It was a really nice surprise!

So I had a lovely birthday, was spoilt, had a lovely day out shopping, had a gorgeous cake - did I mention I was spoilt? The day ended with a riding-crop, as well. I think I'd like it to be my birthday every day ;)

Check out the funniest pictures ever of someone opening presents HERE (there's other pictures too, of course ;D).

PS Thanks for all the advice on the previous post :) I think I've decided to keep on shipping out the manuscripts for now.

Labels: birthday, clothes, photos, presents, shopping, stationary

by Ys | COMMENTS? 5 | permalink |

I had a great Easter weekend. Did a lot of eating, a little drinking and quite a bit of shopping so all in all I think it was a success.

Saturday night we tried the pub down the road. It's closer than the pubs/bars in town, and we've eaten there before so we know the food's nice, but we'd never just had drinks there before. We had some change so we figured we'd give it a go. It was lovely. Nice and warm and cosy. And I got to try out my new glasses in a pub environment. Here's the brown/orange ones...



And a bit of a crappy photo of the black/red ones as well:



I'm starting to wonder how I coped without them now. I got really frustrated when I was trying to read something up on a high shelf in Tesco; I had to get Ray to tell me what it said. And the TV is just so blurry without them. Ray and I have been playing the When Can You Read That Road Sign game. He wins every time. Showing off cos he can see and I can't... ;)

Sunday was spent with Ray's family and then mine. I had a really nice day just sitting round other people's houses, then coming home to eat a huge meal before getting back the second time to mounds of cake (cake was our Easter treat). Mmm.

On Monday Ray and I spent the whole day together, just the two of us. It seems like ages since we last did that. We went shopping and just slowly wandered around picking up bargains without even having to try. We each had a gift for £8. I had purple version of this T-shirt cos it was just too cute to resist. And Ray got a game for the xbox360. We also picked up a new shelf, a curtain pole and three kitchen-knives for the house. We had a lovely hot chocolate when we got back - cos we didn't want to go home straight away we called in on town and had a drink together. It was a really nice day. One of those ones where I kept falling in love with Ray over and over again. And how exciting is all that stationary in Borders? I was nearly passing out with excitement!

Back to the real world now, though. Ray went back to work today, I have to clean the house and get back to writing. We have to start trying to squeeze in everything that needs doing in the few hours we have between Ray coming home from work and us going to bed. Still, it was a good weekend and one I think we all definitely needed.

Check out some photos from the weekend HERE.

PS: The Tudors Series 2 - whee!

Labels: easter, glasses, holidays, house stuff, photos, ray, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

My eyes are sore and useless. I have no idea what's wrong with them. I think they're just playing up cos I have an optician's appointment next weekend. I wish they'd stop being so tired. I can't get a thing done cos I can't read the words properly, which is giving me a headache. They'll be fine once the appointments done, of course. They'll magically start behaving themselves again. It's like when you go to the dentist, only in reverse. When I go to the dentist my teeth feel fine, then a couple of days later I'll get a toothache. It's always gone within a few days. Must be some kind of pyschological thing.

My eyes are probably tired cos I didn't go to sleep 'til late (I was having fun) and then have spent the morning running round doing stuff. The dogs needed walking, of course; then I had to go and start the shopping. Shop Day has become a bit of a nightmare now. Jem and I start the shopping in the morning, doing the supermarkets in town, picking up any bargains and any of the usual stuff we get from those shops. I always return home at lunchtime starving and with aching arms and shoulders from the heavy bags. By the time 7 o'clock hits this evening we'll be heading off to finish the rest of the shopping, at the two supermarkets that we need a car to get to. It'll be fine in the first shop, all of us giggling and laughing about weird products and how been as Sean Bean no longer endorses the store we're not even sure we want to be seen anywhere near it never mind purchasing goods from it! But by the time we reach the second and final store we all get tired and grumpy. Ray mopes behind with the trolley, feeling excluded; Jem wanders off and starts asking if we can add this to the trolley and that to the trolley; while I turn into a super bitch cos I'm having a panic attack trying to add up everything that's going into the trolley and making sure we can actually afford to pay for the stuff when we reach the check out. By the time we get home we're all usually very annoyed, grumpling at each other and mumbling profanities under our breath. Come Friday morning we'll have forgotten all about it. But it'll happen again the following week.

Shopping is just simply too exhausting. It should be an Olympic sport cos it just about kills me. Why was it so fun when I used to shop with Daddy? There was no stress, no arguments; we'd just shop and it was always fun.

I need to get my energy levels up by tomorrow cos we're celebrating Jem's birthday in the night. I will not have tired eyes. I will not have purple shadows under my eyes. For once I will go out looking pretty and nice and girlie. I have to try and remind Ray why he fell for me in the first place ;) I'm going to blame my tiredness on the fact that I'm back on the Pill after my week off. Seems like a good excuse to me ;)

Labels: birthday, daddy, house stuff, jem, money, ray, sex, shopping, the pill

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

This morning Ray's alarm woke me at 7am. It seems to get earlier every day - and an extra ten minutes earlier, I'm sure, on the mornings when I didn't sleep well during the night. I tell myself that it's just part of living with someone else. His schedule isn't the same as mine - he has a proper job, which means he has to get set his alarm for seven o'clock - when it's still dark outside! It doesn't mean he gets up at that time, though. He just likes to set the alarm and then roll over, kiss my nose and hold me for the next twenty-or-so minutes. On good mornings (usually when I've slept well), I hug him back, take a deep breath of his sweaty morning smell, and try to go back to sleep, while all the while secretly hoping I can stay awake and enjoy the quiet closeness of the moment. On bad mornings (usually when I haven't slept so well cos his body temperature is so high it makes me wake up throwing the blankets off myself in a panic...) I let him hold me, screw my eyes shut and pray that he gets out of bed soon so I can try and go back to sleep for the precious forty minutes before my alarm wakes me.

This morning I decided to reverse the roles. Fair enough: it was still his alarm that woke us both up. And it was him who turned to me, kissed my nose and then wrapped his arms around me. But when the twenty minutes were up, I curled my arm around his neck and wouldn't let go. "You want to me stay?" he asked. I nodded my head. Ten minutes later he said, "I'm really going to have to get up now." I shook my head and clung on tighter. I didn't let him get up 'til 7:50. He was squirming cos he needed to pee and Jem had already got up and gone in the shower. I tried not to giggle but it was kinda funny. So I curled my arms around his neck and dragged him back to the bed. He leaned over me for another five minutes before Jem finally vactated the bathroom and he went running.

That should have made him late for work. But his lift showed up thirty-five minutes late. It was in fact me who was late for my shopping-date with Mammy. So I ran around like a lunatic getting ready while he sat on the sofa sipping coffee, smiling as I sped by, stopping me for a kiss now and again.

One of these days I'll make him run to my schedule ;) But then again where would be the fun in that?

Shopping-wise I didn't do any, which is great cos I had no money. But I have booked myself in to get my hair cut next month.

Labels: hair cut, house stuff, life, love, mammy, ray, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

It's Sweepie's birthday today! She's two years old. Yep, two years ago I was a sane person who thought Pugs were just weird looking half-dogs. I couldn't understand why my mother had wanted to get one and didn't have a clue how much that dog's puppies were going to change my life.

Sweepie was the biggest, the loudest, the brashest of the pack. She made me laugh all the time. She quickly grew into a little princess. It took until she was about six months old for us to become inseperable, and moving here this year has made that closeness even worse (better). I never thought I'd have a tiny little, needy dog like Sweepie. But it's true what my mother said two years ago when I kept asking her why she'd ever want such a pathetic creature: she's like the baby I can't have.

This year I bought her a collar. If you don't know, Pug's necks are quite big and they're not really meant to wear collars. Well, they can wear them but you can't then pop a lead onto them and walk them, cos you can damage their necks. For walks Sweepie always wears her harness. But since moving here I've been worried about what would happen if she got out one day and someone found her but didn't think to get her scanned (she has a microchip, you see). I might never see her again. So I wanted a disk for her. Which meant she had to have a collar to hang it off. I spent about an hour in Pets At Home deciding on which was the right one (I'm so sorry, Ray; you know you love me for my indecisivness).

The little madam wasn't that keen on it to start with but now I think she's growing to like it.





Isn't she smug in her new clothes? She thinks she's a big dog now, like Auntie Martha.

So, there you go. I am now a crazy Pug lady. I love you, baby: Happy Birthday!

Labels: birthday, mammy, martha, photos, presents, puppies, ray, shopping, sweepie

by Ys | COMMENTS? 4 | permalink |

New week, new start. I caved in, as I always do, and no apology was offered; everything is continuing as if nothing was ever said. At least it makes life here bearable. I seriously hate arguments.

Saturday was a wash out. I went out with Ray to Boots to pick something up for Jem (who was too ill to go herself). I had a voucher that offers me half-price on all Boots own health products. What I was buying was Boots own vitamins. At the till, after having my voucher swiped, the price stayed the same. I asked the woman about it and she said, full of fake smiles, that she'd ask someone if I wanted her to. I knew what that meant: I'd stand there for twenty minutes, feeling more and more ill, and then in the end they'd find a way to say it was my fault. So I just sighed at her not to bother, that I didn't even care anymore. I was perhaps a little more arsey to her than I needed to be but I was ill and in no mood for it. Boots always do that with vouchers. There's always a clause so it ends up with you usually paying more than you expected to. Grr. Once that was done I only managed one more shop before my energy levels crashed. We went back to Ray's house for a cup of tea and I nearly fell asleep so he brought me home. I hate, hate, hate not having energy.

All this being ill has meant I've watched a couple of the reality TV shows I usually always miss. I was totally impressed when Christopher Biggins won "I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here" this weekend. I was sure Janice was going to get it, which just would have been such a shame, cos, funny as she was, she just wasn't winning material. And then I'm also hooked on Strictly Come Dancing, and am of course supporting the Welsh guy Gethin Jones. Not forgetting the non-reality stuff I'm hooked on too: The Blair Years (I miss you Tony :( ) and Tudors (phwoooar). Do you know what I've learnt? That TV isn't as bad as I believed it to be.

The weekend picked up for me yesterday. There was a big wind-storm and a big slab of glass from next door's conservatory blew down our drive. Luckily no one was in the garden at the time so there were no casualties. Then in the evening Ray and I went down the harbour and ate chips. The car was rocking dangerously back and for but Ray assured me it wasn't going to tip. It didn't. And when I got home the pups were running wild in the living-room. When they got sleepy I got to cuddle them on the sofa with Ray, which was really nice and cosy.

And today is the start of a new week. The pups are being put into their new routine now, which means I have exactly ten minutes before I have to be downstairs with them. New routines usually kick the mopiness out of me so I'm hoping this week should see my mood improving. I just need some good news; that'd cheer me up immediately. Constant bad news is just not good for a person.

Oh, and expect the new layout on here very soon. I'm very close to completeing it :)

Labels: arguing, family, jem, layout, neighbours, puppies, ray, shopping, tv, weather, websites

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

Well, thank God the mopey moods gone now. I had a really nice day yesterday, what with the that and all the Remembrance Day events, it really did give me the good kick up the arse I needed. So no more wandering round feeling sorry for myself. I'm over it. I'm back to my usual optimistic self.

The weekend was a weird one. Saturday night down the pub was just plain odd. I think Ray might be famous and I just don't know it. Everyone's still obsessed with our relationship - yes, eighteen months down the line! And then one of the little girls got her group of friends to start shrieking Ray's name as soon as I left the room. I got back to find him pretty wound up. I don't know why he didn't just tell them to shut up - I mean, they are only kids. But he's shy and he was just mortified that he'd been singled out in the middle of the pub. The lead girl is desperate to get in his pants at the moment. She's been loudly exclaiming how much she likes to have "taken" guys. Plus she did offer Ray a blow-job for a lift to the local night-club before he and I got together; he turned her down and I don't think she's very happy about that cos guys don't usually turn her down. It was also a sad night cos one of the older guys I like to talk to was hinting at me that his son, who I've known quite well on and off since school, is hooked pretty bad on coke. He was sad about that, and then we all got sad about it cos he is a family friend. Then one of the other older guys who likes to chat came in and started having a go at us cos we're not down the rugby as much - he feels we're not supporting them enough! Well, if the place/club wasn't riddled with coke, under-age sex and rude people then maybe we might chose to socialise there more often. As it is we prefer other pubs where scandal isn't shoved in your face every two seconds. We all came home rather disillusioned by the place and have pretty much decided to keep away for a while under the bitter aftertaste has worn off.

Sunday was a much better day. My pups had opened their eyes! I scooped them up and introduced myself. Wednesday was a little bit scared 'til she caught my scent and realised I was the person who'd been cuddling her for the last week. They're very excitable now and are learning how to walk. So, so cute.

Ray and I got to spend the entire afternoon together, which hasn't happened in ages. He sneakily distracted me while we were in Boots and bought me Davidoff's Cool Water Wave perfume, and some hairdye. Little scamp. He always wants to buy me stuff. I do keep telling him that when I'm a rich author he'll be my kept bitch and he'll have to be bombarded with presents all the time and see how uncomfortable it makes him! ;)

So all in all it was a bit of a strange weekend. There was some ups, some downs, some weird bits and some fun bits. At least my mood is better. I hate being a whiney cow; it's so unnecessary.

Labels: drugs, life, puppies, ray, rugby, sex, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

I've spent most of the weekend sitting outside Madge's cage, leaving the door open so that she can come and go when she pleases - plus it means I can fuss the pups and take lots of photos hehe. I'm getting very clucky.

I went out to the new Outfit store that opened near me. I really like Outfit cos it has some of my favourite shops all under one roof. I tried a lot of lovely clothes on - mostly green and teal coloured cardigans. They were all pretty much gorgeous but they also had rather shocking price tags. I knew I wasn't spending any money, though, cos I am actually bankrupt at the moment. They gave me a glass of champange at the door and it made me tipsy. Yes, a tiny glass of champagne and I was tipsy. When did I become such a light weight?

Of course I soon ended up in Next, my favourite shop of the moment. I found a gorgeous outfit that I wanted. It's just something you should never do, is it? Take a whole outfit into a changing room to try on - always try on tops only or trousers only, other wise you'll end up lusting after an outfit you know you can't afford, which is just depressing, hehe.

I did very well: I didn't buy a single thing. Oh it was difficult ;)

Labels: puppies, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 2 | permalink |

Take a look at the wooden-flooring that it took Ray and Daddy three days to complete!



You'd better be impressed cos a part of me will always hate that floor for the hours I spent sitting, playing on the laptop, freezing my ass off cos the back door had to be left open so they could go back and forth cutting bits of wood; watching Ray grow sicker and getting more frustrated by his tiredness. I'm just glad it's all done. And I must admit it does look rather pretty ;)

I think my never-ending period might be ending now. Finally! I was starting to think I'd be stuck with it forever. And I took full of advantage of the flow-stop last night, I assure you ;)

Once it was time to rejoin the real world, I came down to help assemble Madge's cadge for the puppies. I'm starting to let myself get excited now. I feel like it'd be a jinx to get too excited before the birth cos so many things can still go wrong. There's only a few days left now. Whee!

I am starting to wonder if Ray's possibly slipping some of my tablets, though... Isn't it meant to me who's filled up with oestragen and getting clucky?



Bless. He's a bit ill at the moment. I'm hoping it won't spread to his tonsils and give him tonsillitis cos I don't know how I'll take care of and worry about him and a litter of puppies all at the same time. He's keeping himself drugged up and we're hoping he'll get better in the next couple of days.

Jem's Christmas dress arrived yesterday, which cheered her up after a couple of emotional days. We all always feel it when Jem's not feeling right ;) I still think my dress is prettier, though ;) So if you should see two girls wandering round in those dresses they may well be us two. So don't be a scary stalker and murder us, just say a code word or something so I know you read the blog. Say, like, "A light's on" really loudly or something hehe.

Urgh, I'm tired and hungry. At least the sickness has passed. I pop a pill and I get nauseous for a couple of hours, which isn't fun. At least I'm not over-eating and getting fat, which is what everyone else reckons they do when they start on the Pill. Oh and my hormones are doing a lot, lot better today. I've gone a full twenty-four hours without hysterics.

Well, there was a wobbly time last night when Falls (the dog) jumped on me when I was holding a cup of very hot tea and the tea ended up in my crotch. But those were tears of pain. I now have a little burn on my inner left thigh. Lovely. I've not really had a good week, have I?

One of the blogs I read has closed - that's the first time that's happened... no, second time. Bye Bye Silver Neurotic - I hope you find happiness in your new writing ventures.

I need lunch. Now.

Labels: illness, jem, madge, photos, puppies, ray, shopping

by Ys | COMMENTS? 3 | permalink |

Monday wasn't a very good way to start the week.

The pain I thought was wisdom tooth problems turned out to be a muscle pull in my jaw. I suspected it might be that. Not due to any kinky reasons. It just clicked Friday morning as I yawned before eating my breakfast. The pain was strange, though, so I suspected it was my wisdom tooth. But after a couple of days I realised that if I didn't talk for a few hours (while working) then the pain would be a lot less. My jaw/left-hand side of my mouth ached throughout Monday. To add to it I pulled my neck and left shoulder during the night and spent the day in pain, trying not to move my head too much. But the neck ache and jaw ache eventually led to a really bad headache. So I wasn't a happy bunny.

Last night Ray and Daddy started fitting the wooden floor in the living-room. It didn't go quite according to plan and they had to leave it with only a third completed at 10pm. That meant the living-room was left in a state and has been boycotted all day.

They're in the middle of completing it now. I'm on one of the sofas watching and working on the Joe Site. They're having to take one of the doors down to fit one of the panels. It looks like tonight is going to be another late one.

Today has been better. My neck ache is nearly all gone (thanks to a massage from Ray last night - don't I have the best boyfriend? He worked all day, spent all night fighting with my wonky walls and then massaged my aching neck!). And I've tried very hard not to talk too much so as to ease the use of my jaw. I mean, how are you meant to rest your jaw muscles? You use them all the time! I'm starting to think I'll either have to live with the discomfort or else get someone to punch me.

Other good news today is that my lovely new dress arrived - the one Mammy wanted to get me for Christmas. Isn't it gorgeous? (Ray don't you dare click on that link - the dress is a surprise for New Years Eve!). I adore it.

Ooh the door is almost off its hinges. And my laptop is nearly out of juice. Might be time for me to get a round of drinks in for the busy workmen.

Labels: daddy, illness, life, ray, shopping, websites

by Ys | COMMENTS? 4 | permalink |

Yesterday I went with Jemma to get her new tattoo done. It was a really fun day, despite the very early wake-up call (damn bus times!). The guys in the tattoo place were really fun and made Jem's nerves melt away. Then as she was about to go in and be zapped they told me I should go in and watch - so I did. She says it didn't hurt at all; that the sensation was quite pleasurable. Thirty minutes later this was on the back of her neck:



It was still a little red then, plus I had to use my camera-phone because my digital is playing up. It's having it's zoom error problems again, which means it needs dropping on its head, again. Anyway, the tattoo is very girlie and pretty. It's the notes to a Deftones song called "Digital Bath". I think everyone was impressed by it so that's made Jemma happy.

I almost wish I was cool/girlie enough to want a tattoo. But, alas, I'm not. I just have no desire to. I am tempted with a nose-ring, though. I have said that when/if Ray gets his nipple-ring done I'll do my nose. I'm just not cool. At twenty-four years in age I have finally come to terms with that fact ;)

We did a bit of window-shopping in the afternoon. And, while I was looking through the rows of sale items in Top Shop, my favourite glasses broke. The arm has broken off at least three times before. All I have to do is screw the little screw back in. Only problem this time was that the little screw was rolling around the floor somewhere in Top Shop. I got on the floor but couldn't find it. So it was the end of my glasses. It was very sad. I bought those glasses in Liverpool in 2004 and they've been with me ever since.

So I had to buy new ones because we were having one of those freak hot weather days. I looked around the shops but the only ones they were selling were those fake designer ones (yuk) or the huge bug-eye glasses that all the celebs now wear. Believe it or not, I wanted them glasses before they became cool but didn't buy them cos I was told they were too silly-looking. Pah! I have a pair of them now, anyway. Want a really dodgy picture of me wearing them? Here you go then:



Damn camera needs fixing! I'll go drop it now and see if it fixes it.

Labels: jem, life, photos, shopping, tattoo, weather

by Ys | COMMENTS? 1 | permalink |

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 |

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 |

My new trainers arrived - and I adore them!





They are both white and pink, which is what I've been looking for for about a year now; plus they're a designer name, which just adds to the yumminess.

I have fallen in love with the shopping buzz. This week I have shopped two nights already, not including the online shopping, which was frequent but unfruitful (nothing fit when it arrived and now I've run out of time). I've got myself some icky but fabulous mustard heels and bought a matching mustard bag and belt (the belt doesn't match the dress, though) the following day. And now my trainers have arrived. And tonight I get to go bra shopping. Don't think I suddenly have lots of money - I don't. The trainers were a birthday present, the shoes, belt and bag were all on the sale (I love my sales) and my bra... well, okay, yeah, that's a treat to myself.

And in the middle of all that I even managed to have a fight with Ray and make up again - for the record Goassmer condoms are evil; they burn like hell! Won't be using them ones again; I've passed them along to my sister to see if her body likes them; if not, they're going onto one of her friends. I like to think of it as a condom chain.

Hmm, I love my new trainers. It is raining, though, and when I test-drive them tonight they're going to get dirty, aren't they? Aww well, who cares?

Edit @ 2pm: New layout: I fancied a change.

Labels: condoms, photos, ray, shopping, sweepie

by Ys | COMMENTS? 0 | permalink |

I spent the weekend down in Cardiff. It didn't quite go as I expected - I spent most of the time doping myself up on painkillers to rid myself of period pain. But it was fun in between the pain bouts.

Friday night we went down to see the Blues V Leinster game. It rained right up until we got to the stadium and then it stopped - perfect. Jemma stood us by the tunnel so she could watch the players come and go - check out how many little Blues' groupies swarmed around her by the end of the game:







Saturday we met up with Gesine and Will, who were taking Jem to see The Manics that night in the uni. We all shopped a bit.



I was looking for a new dress but spent all morning without finding one, which was very frustrating. But in the afternoon, I found a dress in the most unlikely shop - Miss Selfridge. (I can't find a picutre of it online but I will be wearing it Saturday so there'll be pictures then, I'm sure.) And Ray got himself a really nice black earring:



After a quick break and a rest of our feet, we all went out for a Pizza Hut.
On the way we found one of the statues enjoying a drink from McDonalds:



Jem went off to the gig and me and Ray went back to the hotel



This is my Come and stay at the Novotel pose:



And we watched The Eurovision Song Contest, cos we're seriously hard core. It made me laugh a lot. I love Terry Wogan!

This is a video of us riding in the see-through lift with some background chatter from some guests who jumped in the lift with us and didn't realise we were filming:



The next morning, we had time for breakfast before it was time to drive home through the pouring rain...



Yesterday I had a lovely lie-in and then finally started watching my Angel Season 5 DVD, which Jem got me for Christmas. It's not as good as the previous seasons' but it's still very funny - and David is always a honey ;) In the evening, I bought some mustard shoes - ones I call Random Shoes because mustard is a random colour and the style is like those little cool kids' random style of shoe. They sound icky but they really do suit my dress. Now all I need is an icky mustard bag to match.

The water's gone off today! And we had no warning! I'm not impressed! But I did finally find trainers I wanted, after searching for a month. Of course, I am now officially bankrupt.

Now I'm going to catch up on everyone else's blogs :)

Labels: angel, cardiff, czekaj, photos, shopping, the blues

by Ys | COMMENTS? 0 | permalink |

Friday was an exhausting day. It's my mother's birthday today (Happy Birthday, Mammy) and we hadn't found the time to get her present yet so we had to go Friday. The only problem was the bus timetable. We could leave here at 11:30am but not be able to get home again until 4:30pm. That meant five hours of shopping. Not exactly a huge problem considering I like shopping these days but even I'll get tired after five hours. Jem and I ended up spending the first hour clothes shopping (big oops considering I'm extremely bankrupt) where I bought a cute stripey green tee-shirt and a green jumper - both on the sale, which made it all better in my eyes. Then we did the thirty minute walk over to the other "mall" I guess you'd call it; "shopping centre"? I dunno. Anyway. Once there we found out that the thing we wanted to get Mammy was nowhere to be found and so we had to change our plans. We got her some perfume and a cute bathrobe for Fall Out Boy (the dog) cos she really wanted a tee-shirt for him after she saw them all at Crufts. Of course, while in Pets At Home, we obviously had to buy stuff for our pets too. I was bankrupt so had to be strong and say "no!" to the blanket I wanted to get for Sweepie (she spends so much time in my room now that she really does need her own blanket so she's not messing up my bed) but Martha got a new pink lead to go with her spangly new pink collar:



I'm not usually a fan of pink leads and collars but when I got home Mammy gave me this really cute pink lead/harness set for Sweepie that was too small for her mother. I have to admit she does look absolutely gorgeous in it!



Saturday was the big Family Meal to Celebrate Mammy's Birthday. I'm not a fan of Family Meals at the best of times. When I was younger and things weren't so great at home they turned into a big bitch-feast' with me coming off as the bad guy cos I was muddling through and coping, when I believe what I should have been doing is falling apart and failing my sisters. That was never going to happen cos that's just not what I do. But as things have calmed again and I'm older and have way more confidence and won't stand for too much slating anymore, the meals aren't as bad. Could be more the fact that I just don't attend them anymore actually. This one I had to go to. And cos it was Mammy's birthday we all dressed up in our pretty girlie dresses (not Ray, obviously, but he did let me paint his nails pretty):





The meal itself was awful. Their only two vegetarian dishes were strange mushroom things that we didn't understand what they were until they were put in front of us. Jemma hates mushrooms so she and Daddy had a bit of a row. It soon calmed again, though, and apart from the few digs about Ray's lovely black nailvarnish (it's totally a generation thing; older men think it means something terrible but I'm not sure what) and Mammy getting too drunk, it was actually bearable. She had some presents and this one seemed to be her favourite:



The next day I spent the whole day half-asleep on the bed. It was warm in the sun and I just couldn't be bothered to do anything. It was like a Hang-Over Sunday only without the Hang-Over, which is, of course, lots more fun. Ray and I eventually went out for food at about 4pm. We decided on McDonalds eaten in the car down by the Woodland Park so I could coo over all the different dogs being walked. We both got HMV vounchers off our chips as well. I got £2.00 Ray had two £1.00's so we were quite smug.



When we went out to put our rubbish in the bin we almost got knocked off our feet by the extreme wind and spent the next ten minutes laughing stupidly over how mad my hair went:





I swear something like that is only funny on a sleepy Sunday afternoon.

I have to wrap Mammy's presents up today now so she can open them when she gets home from work today. And I think Sweepie is asking for a walk already! A mother's job is never done...

Labels: birthday, mammy, martha, photos, ray, shopping, sweepie

by Ys | COMMENTS? 0 | permalink |

Here's the new layout. Halo inspired, of course. I'm still tweaking bits here and there but it's pretty much finished. Does it work on everyone else's computer's cos I'm having a few problems with Blogger cos I'm using a frame?

Sunday I went to Bristol to see The Deftones. I think I mentioned this gig before. It wasn't one I chose, it's one of my sister's; so I wasn't overly excited about it. I really like their "White Pony" album, though, so I was sure I'd enjoy it. But we got to the gig at about 6pm only to find that the show had been postponed due to illness. Bloody great! So we spent the night in the hotel eating chocolate and watching strange TV.

The next day we got to shop in Cardiff on our way home. I bought a new pair of jeans, a pink jumper and a white shirt with pink lines on to go with it. Gorgeous! I'll have to get some pictures of them :) I didn't find any shoes, though, which was what I was meant to be buying. Oops.

I didn't get home 'til about 4:30pm and spent the night slobbed out, resting my aching feet and shoulders. Then this morning Jem told me that the Deftones gig had been re-scheduled to, wait for it, a day before my birthday. I was meant to be spending three days at Ray's then but I have this awful feeling I'll be spending the day of my birthday on a train. Not something I'm looking forward to. Of course if I don't go then I'll be the super bitch who let down my sister when