White Britain

Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love the snow. I love the snow so much that when it comes, I dance around my living room hoping it will settle. Well, settle it did, all over the UK! I didn't know that at the time, and was just chuffed when they mentioned my town on every news channel. You see, Scotland is normally badly affected by snow, but here in the south it's rare we have any more than a light dusting. Alas, here we are surrounded by the white stuff.

They say that due to the low temperatures we are experiencing (last night it was -21c in Scotland), it could last another 3 weeks, which is causing chaos across the country. I'm normally pretty happy with a few days off work, but the trouble is, I can't enjoy it, because every time I venture out it seems my bum is magnetised to the ground, and all I want to do is skid around. That's fun, but not when you're five months pregnant, and hospitals are at full capacity.

But back to Wednesday - I woke up to a beautiful white covering of snow, 6 inches deep in our area. I spent about an hour trying to find warm clothes (that I could fit over my ever-expanding belly) and coaxing Hubby out of bed. It was time to find some breakfast. After breakfast we took a walk around the lake, where I took these photos:








This morning, two days later, I saw this on the news:


I heard our county was the worst affected area in the entire of the UK, but it's now apparent that snow has got everywhere. Through sheer guilt for not having worked in two days, I trudged to the train station this morning and made it into work, and it was a mammoth task. Taking 90 minutes and almost slipping about 10 times, I reached the office and breathed a sigh of relief. Just got to get home again this afternoon, and then I can relax for another day.

The big challenge comes on Sunday morning, when Hubby and I have to travel London-bound to catch our plane to Hubby's Homeland. Our flight leaves early on Sunday morning, when a second round of heavy snow has been predicted. I just hope the flight is still running, because I've heard it's a sunny 22c at our destination. If we can just get there...

Worried much? Haha, cross your crossables for me!

Brilliant Weekend Full of Food

I'm just popping in quickly today, because this week is hectic at work.

I had a brilliant weekend, starting with a night out with the girls from work on Friday night to celebrate my birthday. We had only intended on staying for one, but somehow it had reached 11pm by the time we left the bar; fed and watered and we'd had a blast.

On Saturday I woke to realise it was my birthday. Hubby bought me a card; though he forgot to collect the envelope in the shop, and ended up wrapping it in tin foil(!). Hubby never buys me cards, so I was thrilled to get one from him, that had "wife" emblazoned across the front.

At lunchtime my mother picked me up and we headed into town. We went to see "The Time Traveller's Wife" at the cinema; which I thoroughly recommend by the way. It's such a good film, but so sad! I've since decided to add the book to my honeymoon reading.

After the cinema, we went for dinner at "Old Orleans", which specialises in dishes from the Southern States; cajun chicken and all that. As you can tell; I was right off the diet...

I went home in the evening and vegged out on the sofa watching a couple of films, and waiting for Hubby to finish work.

On Sunday, Hubby and I went to Kingston to spend the gift vouchers we'd been given for the wedding. We wandered around the store choosing stuff (including more of the crockery we'd had our eye on, some Le Creuset cookware, and a lean meat grill), went to grab a bite to eat (bangers and mash), before making our way back home and grabbing a KFC for dinner.

Monday strolled around, and it was back to the throes of work; although I'd forgotten that this week we are auditing, so I was in for a busy one. Nevertheless, I met Hubby for lunch and wandered around town for a while in the sunshine (because England finally decided to perk up!). I got home last night and Hubby was cooking me a jacket potato and Yorkshire Puddings. Mmmm...


A weekend of food and sunshine; over way too quickly. I should turn 25 more often...

If You're Going to be Passionate...

If you're going to be passionate about something, be passionate about learning;

If you're going to fight something, fight for those in need;

If you're going to question something, question authority;

If you're going to lose something, lose your inhibitions;

If you're going to gain something, gain respect and confidence;

If you're going to hate something, hate the false idea that you are not capable of your dreams.

- Anonymous

Rachel's blog, "And If It's A Hero That You Want; I Can Save You", is my new obsession. I love watching out for her new posts, and I love hearing what she's getting up to. If you visit her blog (and I recommend you do), you will see that she has the above quotation in her title.

I heart this quote, because it makes me think. It encourages you to think beyond your immediate surroundings; to ponder things beyond the bubble in which you live your life. To remember that we are part of something bigger, and that "something bigger" shouldn't be forgotten.

I also think that every time you read this, you will take away something that you hadn't seen before. If you apply just one thing to your life; it will make you a better person; and no matter how good we think we are; there is always room for improvement.

This past weekend was very constructive for me. Not because I did something out of the ordinary, but because I simply took the time to reflect upon my life. I've emerged on this fine Monday morning, realising that any problems you might face at work, shouldn't have to impact your life. When I go home in the evenings, I switch off and I live my life; the life which I work so many hours to maintain.

I spend time with my family, with my husband, with friends and by myself. It is what I choose to do outside of work that shapes me as a person, defines me, and fills up the pages of the photo albums I cherish so much.

Work is work, and work worries should be left at the office when 5pm comes along. Outside of the office, I am me. No amount of mindless bickering in the office can change that.

I hope to remember this in the future, but for now; I'm back at work, and I'm determined to have a good day.

It's Confession Time

There's a couple of things I need to say before I go any further. I caved... twice.

My new best friend is Pepsi Raw. I love her slender figure, her bubbly nature, her sweet kick, and her ability to keep me up all night. Pepsi Raw is not only tasty, it's got caffeine, and it's packed full of sugar - you can't very well have a natural drink, and expect them to have it in a diet form.

This doesn't bode well for either my diet, or my intention to kick the caffeine. Ugh, never mind. I'm drinking the final bottle of my 4-pack, and it's back to caffeine free Diet Coke tomorrow. It was good while it lasted.

But my second confession is a little more embarrassing. I got carried away when I promised myself I wouldn't do. I bought my second pregnancy book; before I'm even pregnant.


In fairness, I think you should know that I bought my first one when I was 2 weeks late a few months ago. I bought it because I had a feeling I was pregnant, so figured I would act pregnant until I found out otherwise. But in order to act pregnant, I had to research what that meant.

But this book is amazing. I love it already. It goes through your pregnancy from day 1 right through to after the delivery. It details what is happening in your body each day of your pregnancy, with full colour pictures and the odd fact thrown in.


And my reason for buying it? Well, I figured that you only find out you're pregnant when you're four weeks gone, and by that point I will have missed out on the first month. So I thought I would buy the book and get all spiffed up on the first month. That way, when the day comes and I do find out I'm pregnant; I know where I'm at and what's been going on in my body.

Work has flown by this week, but I'm still glad it's Friday. I love Friday even more than I love Pepsi Raw. I had a pretty crappy day yesterday, when I seriously reconsidered whether I should stay at my current job, or just walk out there and then. It was rough.

Of course I didn't walk out; I have rent to pay, and we have no savings to live on, so the reality is that we couldn't last a month without two incomes. That's the reason I've stuck with my job throughout this recession. It's safe, and I'm not about to be made redundant. So when I have trouble at work, I'm annoyed to say the least, because it's not like I can leave for something better.

I apologise in advance if you're reading this and you are unemployed. Of course I value my job; I would be stupid not to. I have a good contract and aside from the lousy pay, I have a good deal. It's better than nothing, but I'm a firm believer of people just getting on with one another wherever possible.

Nevertheless, I didn't walk out. I didn't even rise to the bait. I was civil, and I did my work; leaving at the end of the day; knowing that I had been the bigger person.

Of course, being the bigger person doesn't mean that it's any less tense on Friday morning. Roll on 5pm, because you won't see me for dust!

What happened to this place?!

I was so excited when I left the office on Friday evening, because I was going to a pub re-opening. But not just any pub; the pub I've been going on about since the beginning of this blog.

For those of you that are new, you may not already know the story, but for my long-standing readers; you may remember that Hubby and I were made redundant from this pub, where we had both been working for a number of years. It was Hubby's main job, where he was working as Head Chef, but for me it was simply an additional £4,000 per year, because I already had my office job, but I was working all the hours under the sun to save up for our wedding.

Anyway, this all happened in November 2008, because the owner, who was like a second father to us all, decided to skip town without a word to anyone. You've probably realised that I try to avoid going into too many details on here, because I try to stay largely incognito (not that it always works). In this case, I'm avoiding the details because there's no point in opening old wounds; and these wounds are particularly raw.

But back to Friday's event; in June it was announced that the pub had been bought by four young entrepreneurs who already owned a couple of fancy wine bars in town.

Except this isn't a fancy wine bar in town. This is an English country inn.

We've spoken to one of the owners through Facebook (he contacted me, because I created the staff group on Facebook; I wasn't some crazy stalker). He said from the beginning that he wanted to keep it largely the same, with the same homely, comfortable atmosphere it was renowned for.

So, with baited breath, we went to the official re-opening. I should start by saying that I had an amazing evening, largely because I got to spend time with old colleagues and customers that I hadn't seen since my last shift at the pub - the Tuesday before the sh*t hit the proverbial fan.

But the pub?! Well, the shell might be the same, but it's a completely different place. Picture fancy tables, a fancy-worded menu (after all, a burger is still a burger) and fancy prices to go with it. Then picture staff who don't know a beer pump from their elbow, and four equally dim managers who think that flapping around is a good way to get something done.

I know I'm being overly critical, but I can't help it. I arrived with two guys that used to work there with me, and we all ordered the hamburger; which the manager informed us was the best thing on the menu by far. I guessed the chefs love their pepper, because I couldn't taste much else. But we soon learned that they don't even make the burgers on site, but they get a farmer to make them up to their "own private recipe". Fine, but you're the chef; he's the farmer. Surely the chef's supposed to make the burger. If he's just cooking it, then surely he's a cook, not a chef.

The guys then left, and I sat with more old workmates. This is when I ordered the fruit crumble, and they had their main courses. One of which ordered the fishcakes. The manager's response was "oh gosh; that's the tastiest dish we have!" - Are you kidding me? I may not have been the best barmaid slash waitress ever, but even I know you should stick to having one favourite per day.

I reckon the fishcakes were better than the burgers, so perhaps she was right on that one. But when we worked there, Hubby made a wicked burger. These ones, quite frankly didn't measure up. I know I'm biased; but wouldn't you be?

We had the dessert menus on our table for two hours, waiting for someone to take our order. In the end they went off the idea of desserts altogether. It was probably a good thing, since my custard had the consistency of water.


I guess what I'm saying is; I don't like change. Or perhaps it's because I feel like someone's torn it apart and tried to turn it into something it can never be. I'm protective over it. I know that's silly, because I know the old owner will never come back to run it. I wasn't the only one to have this opinion., but in the end it's down to the public to decide.

But enough of my tirade; in other news...


Would you believe it's taken me three months to figure out how to reinstate the "compose" mode when you're composing a post? I think that rates me one of the slowest bloggers on here! But I'm glad I've finally got it sorted; I was missing it...

I've spent the entire weekend uploading wedding photos to our wedding photo blog. My laptop has an issue with internet connection, so I literally have to disconnect and connect again each time I upload a photo. Phew, but it's done now, and I can sit back until I get more through the post.

Life is largely back to how it was before the wedding (and it's taken two weeks, ha ha). I'm immersed in my work again, though now I don't have anything interesting to distract me ;)

I'm now looking forward to our honeymoon in Hawaii, which is in... 6 weeks tomorrow. It sounds like a way off, but the last six weeks of the wedding countdown went really fast, so I'm not impatient... yet.

How I Spend My Evenings

It's 9:30pm, and I'm at work.

Now, my job is 9-5, so why am I still here? To be honest, I'm only here because of my printing needs. I've been working for the past two weeks on the order of service / information leaflets for our wedding.

I've gone on my merry way to work each morning hoping that it would be ready to print, and each day I've found a new problem with the document. The main issue was that I'd started it in Excel. Excel doesn't let you have different sized fonts unless it also increases the row height. I didn't want a crazily formatted booklet, so I figured I would have a play with fancy fonts in Photoshop on my laptop, save the text as JPEGs, and do a simple copy/paste into the Excel document when I was at work.

Well, it didn't work, because apparently my PC at work doesn't like the format that my laptop saves its images in. I had a bitter argument with each computer, and eventually decided to upload the Photoshop images to another blog I have running, and copy/paste them into the booklet.

Finally it worked, and I'm so relieved. There's five days left before the wedding, but only two more evenings I can stay late to use the printers, binders and other supplies.

Come on, did you really think I wouldn't rely on my work for a couple of freebies?

Anyway, I've been here since 5pm, printing and sticking and binding and in total silence. I did take a break to have a Feast though, and it was sooo worth it.

This is the finished product:

Sorry to have fuzzed out the text, but it's just his name on the left, my name on the right, and our married surname in the middle. What do you think? Can't believe it took four hours, right?

That's a "before" photo of me by the way, when I weighed about 170lbs. I'm glad to say I no longer look like that, but this was the photo that was used on our invitations, so it seemed fitting to use it on the wedding day itself too.

I kinda like looking back at this photo actually, because Hubby and I have both lost weight since then. Many people haven't seen us yet this year, so they will still know us like in the photo. I'm going to love walking down the aisle 2 stone lighter :)

Now I'm just sitting here waiting for Hubby to finish work and collect me on the way home. La-la-la...

Yay for Wedding Season!

It's official; the next wedding I'm going to will be mine.

The wedding I went to last night was really fun. Admittedly I did take advantage of the open bar (first time I've ever experienced one of them, because in the UK we normally have cash bars), but I loved seeing my workmates out of work. The bride, a colleague of mine, looked absolutely gorgeous. I didn't manage to get many nice photos, so I've only added a couple of her in her beautiful designer gown:


The photo doesn't do her justice though, because she was absolutely stunning, and she looked so happy and relaxed. This was also the first time I've been to a wedding where the bride and groom leave on their honeymoon straight away. They left the reception in this:


They're taking five weeks to tour the country at their leisure. That's how a honeymoon should be done. It's got me thinking now...

One Dress Down; One To Go...

Happy Saturday everyone! First off, I want to say a big THANK YOU to Rachel, who nominated me to receive the "Keepsake Blog Award".


Ahh! My first award; I feel so special! :)

Thanks so much Rachel, and sorry it took me so long to realise. For anyone else reading this, my email account decided to put Rachel's message to me straight into my spam folder. Not helpful, Yahoo!

When you receive this award, you're supposed to post a funny or sweet keepsake that says something about you. Well, this is mine:


This is the wooden and ivory jewellery box that my grandfather left me in his will. He died in 1998, when I was thirteen, and since he lived in Homeland # 2, I didn't realy get a chance to get to know him as well as I would have liked. This jewellery box means I have a constant reminder of him, and it's like I can take a piece of him with me; though I guess that sounds weird. My grandparents used to live in Africa, and they brought this back with them when they moved to Homeland # 2 in the 1950s (when the transportation of new ivory was still legal). And since I want to travel the world, but haven't yet been to mainland Africa, it's like having a piece of Africa, and it reminds me of my hopes to visit the continent in the future.

And part 2 of receiving this award is to pass the award on the 10 other bloggers that I think are keepers. So here goes:

C. Beth Blog
From This Day Forward
Gorgeous Footsteps in the Sand
Grab A Drink And Pull Up A Chair
Make Mine a Mojito
Misadventures of a Newlywed
Perfectly Imperfect
Smile Steady
Somethin' to Talk About
The Ratpack

Thanks again Rachel; I shall display my award proudly on my blog!

Something else I'd like to mention, is Blogger's very strange sense of humour when providing text for word verification:

Enough said.

Now today's been a busy day. I went into town with one of my bridesmaids and went looking for a black dress for her to wear to my wedding, which by the way is in THREE WEEKS TODAY!!!

Ahem, mini celebration over. Anyway, we did find a dress, which we thought was black until we read the label, which said it was "chocolate". It's actually a really dark brown, but I maintain it still looks black. Here's the dress we bought:

She's going to accessorise with hot pink so it doesn't seem so dull and plain. For those of you that don't know; our colour scheme is black, cream and red. One of my bridesmaids doesn't suit red, and to prevent them wearing white (or the wrong shade of cream), and clashing with my dress, we settled on them wearing black. It also makes it easier for them to match one another, since one of them is studying overseas, so with flights and her exams, it's been impossible to get them both together to go shopping for dresses.

I've emailed the bridesmaid that is abroad, and asked how she's doing finding her dress. I hope it all comes together...

But my busy day's not over yet; I'm fresh out of the shower and after I finish posting on here, I'm getting ready to go to another wedding; that of my work colleague. I can't wait to see what she's got in store, because we've been comparing notes throughout our wedding planning, but she's been pretty hush hush on the reception front. So, armed with my camera, I'm heading off out in the hope of a great evening...

Quietly Excited

I can't wait to leave work today, because at 7pm we're going out for our Blues Brothers inspired Joint Stag & Hen do! Yay!!!

It's been quite hard to rally people together on this, because it's a Monday night. Unfortunately Mondays are the only nights Hubby can take off work at the moment, since his Chef de Partie quit last week. Don't even get me started on that, because we had hoped everything was now working out with his staff. Now he's frantically trying to train his Sous Chef to manage the kitchen on our wedding day (a big party is booked in at the restaurant), and for our honeymoon. Hmmm...

Anyway, back to tonight. So a lot of people can't make it, because they can't take tomorrow off work, but we're still going to have a great time. I've booked the day off tomorrow, when I fully intend to upload all my photos of this night of mayhem.

We thought a Blues Brothers theme would be both effective and cheap for people to join in with. Hubby has his black suit, white shirt, black tie and fedora hat, and I have my black dress (which I bought last week), black heels, black stockings and fedora hat... AND my red and white garter which I bought especially for our Stag & Hen.

4 hours to go...

How I Love Fridays!

I was cleaning the house until 10pm last night, but I finally got everything sorted. Just in time too, because our friend is coming to stay tonight. He's on the train at the moment, so I'm passing time until he arrives.

I met one of my bridesmaids for lunch today, and it was great to see her again. I haven't seen her in about 2 months, because I've been so busy with the wedding, and she's been busy with her new man too. She was made redundant 4 months ago, but what I didn't realise was that her partner was also made redundant shortly afterwards, so they're having real trouble paying the bills at the moment. There just doesn't seem to be any work around. It's hard seeing your friends in that position, because you can't do anything to help them, despite wanting to more than anything. But there's a hint of work somewhere, she just doesn't know when. I really hope things work out for them soon.

This friend that's coming to stay tonight is photographing a wedding here tomorrow, so we offered him our settee to sleep on. He's actually one of the photographers for our wedding, so Hubby and I will take the opportunity to talk to him about photos on the day. I'm not sure what he's going to say though, because he hates posed shots with a passion, and favours the reportage style. When I was photographing weddings, I would find that the best photos were indeed the reportage shots, but you need some posed photos too, so he's going to have to be flexible ;)

When he arrives I'm going to meet him at the train station and then we're gonna hit the town and get some grub. I did offer to cook for him (somewhat uncertainly since at one point he was a Michelin Star chef), but he's well aware of my lack of culinary skills, and he's suggested going to a restaurant for dinner.

I can't wait to see him again, because it's been so long since we last saw him; possibly a year. He used to be the head chef in the pub that closed down last November (although at that point he wasn't working there), so Hubby and I both know him really well, and he's such a great friend. He makes me laugh too, so I know tonight's going to be great fun. Unfortunately Hubby's working, so we can't talk about the photos until later on tonight, but never mind.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. The sunny weather has diminished, leaving us with grey skies and threats of rain, so I don't expect I'll be able to sunbathe tomorrow (trying to top up my tan before the wedding, so I don't look too pale), but if it's horrible outside I might just kick back with a couple of DVDs and rest. After all this cleaning it's well deserved!

1 Month Today!

Let me get this over with here and now:

one month today until we get married!!!
I can't even tell you how excited I am about this. I spend my time hovering between excitement and panic, but today is definitely a day of excitement. I never thought this day would come. I spend so much time hearing other brides counting down to their own wedding, and now it's only a matter of days for me! One month; 30 days; four weeks = not long at all.

Another reason to be happy is this: At my Weight Watchers weekly weigh-in (that's a lot of W's), I discovered I’d lost 3lbs since last week! You may recall that when I went for my first dress fitting, I was heavier than I was when I first went to collect my dress. It gave me a huge downer, so I vowed to lose some of the bulge, and I did it. I’m so happy.

Now, I'm not afraid to admit how much I weigh, so to give you an idea of where I am;

* Last April I weighed 173lbs
* When I started WW in January, I weighed 161.5lbs
* I currently weigh 144.5lbs
* My goal for the honeymoon (31st Aug) is 140lbs
* My goal for Christmas is 133lbs

The first 12lbs didn't count in Weight Watchers terms, because I lost that weight before signing up. But I lost a further 14lbs between January and March, but was then told to stop losing by the wedding dress vendor. I've therefore been hovering around the 147lb mark ever since, but as of 8th July, I'm officially back on the points system again; in a mission to get to my honeymoon goal.

And now I have some free space in my wedding dress, I intend to make the most of the food at the wedding, by eating lost of crackling!

Sorry if this image grosses you out, but crackling's a huge thing in my family, and was the deciding factor for having a hog roasted at the wedding reception. But as everyone knows; calories don't count at weddings, so I should be safe...

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I go to my Weight Watchers meetings with my mum, and then spend an evening with her; catching up, chatting, laughing and just enjoying one another’s company. Hubby picks me up on the way back from work (which is often as late as midnight), so I don’t always get much sleep on a Wednesday night! Last night we were up until 1am, which explains why I’m sitting at my desk about to nod off.

This is not good.

Tonight I’m on day four of my housework frenzy. We have a friend coming to stay tomorrow night, and the house was an absolute mess. I’ve managed to get through most of the washing up, all of the laundry, and consolidated paperwork into one monster pile, which is now situated in the corner of the room. Tonight will be spent cleaning the bathroom, mopping the floors and vacuuming the carpet.

And tomorrow I can relax, because I’ve decided to ban housework for the next few days.

Lucky? Apparently Not

Now, don't get me wrong; I love my friends from school. They're kind, interesting people that I get along with, and relish catching up with them whenever we can (which, in all honesty, is not as often as we'd like). But I can't stand it when they speak without thinking.

In all fairness, the school I attended wasn't in our "catchment area", which I'll try to explain now. The catchment area is normally a 5 mile radius around said school, and kids inside that radius can enrol at the school without any problems. The school in my catchment was full when we moved into the area, so my older brother had to go further afield to a school that still had spaces. When an older sibling already goes to the school, you then have more entitlement to go to the same school than other kids who live closer. This worked great for us, because this was the top school in our area.

It also won't be a surprise that the best school in the area attracts wealthier families to live in the catchment area; therefore meaning that eventually, 90% of the kids are from well-to-do families. Normally I don't have a problem with wealthy people. I'm not going to be bitter just because we were brought up in less fortunate circumstances, and I'm not going to complain about the lack of opportunities we had as a result. At the end of the day, my upbringing was less than perfect, but I've grown into a mature, responsible person, and it doesn't take much to make me happy.

But I think by the age of 24, these kids, now adults, should think about what they say, before they say it. In other words, they should know their audience. It was barely 9pm when these two girls started chatting about their uni days, and how their time there seemed to fly by. My mother couldn't afford to send me to university, my father had money tied up in his business, so he couldn't pay either. The hardest thing was that I couldn't get a loan from the government, because they said my father had enough money to send me. In the end I had to accept that there was no money, and I had to go out and work. I missed out on the university experience because of a crazy loop-hole. If I'm honest, I'm not over it, because I could have flourished with a higher education, but the government let me fall through the net because of a stupid rule. I don't blame anyone for this (other than the government!), especially not my friends; they had the opportunity, and they took it - good for them.

The conversation quickly moved to how their first years were awful, because they were homesick, they wanted to see their friends, and they basically had a crap time. But their reasons just didn't seem justified. You're homesick, I understand that, but you're also 18 years old. I was living on my own at the age of 17, working 2 jobs and studying with these girls while I was at school.

One of their mothers actually drove up to the university campus and brought her daughter home each weekend, but this girl was still moaning. Even to this day, their parents are paying money to send their 24 year old daughters travelling round the world, and they still don't see how lucky they are.

It reminds me of a conversation I overheard in class when I was 17. One of my classmates turned 17 (the legal age to drive in the UK), and her mother had bought her a car. A car. Incredible, I know. I've seen "My Super Sweet Sixteen", and it's a world away from what I see day-to-day. But this hideously generous gift wasn't good enough for this brat. It wasn't the right colour, it didn't have the right alloy wheels, and it was a diesel and she wanted regular. Apparently she'd argued with her mother that morning, because, in her words "I told her exactly what I wanted, and she didn't listen". I remember listening to this conversation in disbelief. How can someone so lucky be so ungrateful? I'd have been lucky if I'd got a £20 note in my birthday card.

Urgh, I suppose I am having a bitch, but I do get annoyed at people like this. It's a different world. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only person on this Earth that appreciates the smaller things. I don't have many possessions, but I have a man that loves me, a family that would do anything for me, friends that understand me and a life I love. I have loved my life since I left school; the only resentment comes when I compare it to people who have had everything given to them on a plate - because let's face it; we'd all love an easy life.

Ironically, I probably would have lost Hubby, because when I was trying to apply to university, our relationship was still very new, and we would have just grown apart if I'd moved away. But because I stayed behind, I worked on our relationship, and now we're weeks away from getting married. I doubt I'd be in the same situation if I'd gone to university, so I'm grateful for that.

I consider myself very lucky, because I know people who are worse off than me, and I've been worse off than this. I just don't understand how they can have all of this, on top of having money and a university education thrown at them, and they still pick holes in it.

Reasons to be Happy

I'm giddy in a good way today. There's just so many good things happening around me!

* The weather is incredible at the moment, and I mean incredible. There hasn't been a cloud in the sky; it's been beautiful. The weather's set to continue until at least Sunday, and they say it's going to be a hot Summer.

* At work today a colleague of mine received an award for all of her hard work in the organisation. It's about time she was recognised, because she goes above and beyond to help people, and on top of all that; she's a good friend of mine.

* Lots of people around me are expecting babies. I'm not sure if it's just because it's Summer and all the bellies are out, but it seems there's loads of them around at the moment.

* I'm getting married five weeks tomorrow! Five weeks!! Now, that's very scary, but so exciting. I have to pinch myself because I quite literally can't believe it. This day has been so long coming, and it's now a matter of weeks. Awesome; in the original sense of the word.

* I've been learning about HTML tags, and found out that:

you can do cool things like this on your blog
* I'm watching "Britain's Got Talent", and it's getting more and more camp. I absolutely love it. These are the Dream Bears:



* Also on BGT, there was a little girl called Hollie Steel, singing "Edelweiss" (which, by the way, is one of my favourite songs in the world, because I'm a sucker for The Sound of Music), who started crying in the middle of her performance. Simon Cowell has assured her they will let her sing again. Pfft, and people say he's mean!

* I paid the final installment of our honeymoon this afternoon. I have a slight sick feeling now, because I only realised today that we booked a "room only" holiday, meaning we have to find more money for food. I'm sure I specified that we wanted all inclusive. Now I just have to admit my mistake to Hubby...

* Before finding this out I bought a really cute denim dress from Oasis (pictured right). I'm ashamed to admit that even though I have absolutely no spare cash this month, and the fact that I was looking for a "little black dress", I found this denim one and I loved it. I don't have many dresses for the Summer, and this was perfect. And what's more; it makes me look really slim! You don't need to know how much it is; because it was too much. I've already cut off the tag and washed it, so Hubby will never know...

* I did also find a "little black dress" (pictured left), which I needed for our joint Stag & Hen party, which is on 8th June. Our theme is "Blues Brothers", and I had the hat, the heels, the stockings and garter, but no dress. Panic over though, because I've found it, and managed to squeeze into a UK size 10 (I'm normally a 12). Unfortunately there's no space for my bra, but the tightness of the material will keep me in check, haha. Me = Cloud Nine.

* I received a letter from my great aunt today, who lives in Homeland # 3. I contacted her a while ago in a bid to find out what she knew of the family. I read her letter when I got back from work today, and she said some really nice things. I was just left feeling like I was flying. There's something about receiving letters from family and friends that can instantly lift your spirits.

* And last of all; it's Friday, which means I don't have to set my alarm tonight :)

Officially More Intelligent Than My PC

I know computers are supposed to be cleverer than the average human, and that they're supposed to be the ultimate problem solver; but sometimes I'm sure I could run circles around them. Like today...

I have been reading the latest blogs in my feed, and subseqently commented on one, and my computer went absolutely bonkers. It was opening webpage after webpage for about 5 minutes (I dread to think how many pages it had opened at the end of it all); when finally it decided it couldn't continue, had a little panic and beeped at me. Failing the Ctrl-Alt-Del function (which I tried a few times), I ended up having to restart the computer.

Now, I'm no Bill Gates, but I spend about 90 hours a week on the computer, and I know how to work it. And I know this isn't normal behaviour. And I don't know about you, but if I behaved like that at my job; I'd be out the door. Well, perhaps not, but my colleagues would wonder how I'd got past the interview. I think I should sack my PC.

But this isn't the only weird IT issue I've had today. My usual computer has given up the ghost, taunting me with crazy error messages until I had to accept defeat and walk away. The technician (only a phone call away; they're quite useful really) says the hard drive has gone, rendering all my documents inaccessible.

I suppose I'm lucky it wasn't sparking at me, lol. Needless to say; it's been a very strange day, and I've decided this office is as mad as a box of frogs. But as you know; these things seem to happen to me. It's only been a couple of months since I blew up another computer (incidentally, it's the one I'm currently using to tell you this story!)

So, probably quite wisely; I decided I should put a distance between myself and technology (if only for an hour), and I set about sorting out my new passport. Since the application is so awkward (I'm changing my name, but not yet married into the name; my current passport is foreign, even though I'm not...), I chose to take it to the Post Office and pay a fee for their "Check & Send Service", letting them check the details before sending it (since they know more about passport forms than I do) - and paying £78 for the privilege (I should point out that that cost is for the Check & Send service as well as the passport itself, so it's not a total robbery). This getting married malarkey is getting awfully expensive! But hopefully (all my digits crossed), I shall have my new passport, in my married name (yay!) in the next couple of weeks.

What I did learn today though, is that you get a free passport if you are over the age of 80. So that's... 55 more years until I'm eligible. And in that case, I shall hold off all my major travel until then, and reap the benefits :)

I had some pretty decent photos to go with my passport application, hooray! After years of looking pretty gormless on my passports (and having the guards chuckle too), I now take the time to make myself look gorgeous whenever I have to have photos taken. I first started doing this when I applied for my provisional driving license (I still haven't taken any lessons; I only use it for ID when buying alcohol - the UK are really tight on ID). The photos turned out okay too, except for my head looking a bit off centre. I must have a slouch!

And I'm officially back on the Weight Watchers wagon this week after gaining 1lb and weighing more than I did when I first collected my wedding dress.

So I'm sticking to the rules again, pointing everything I eat and refusing to go near chocolate and crisps (my two favourite things!). But this time next week will be a different story; because I will have succeeded!

Wedding Discussions...

On Monday Hubby and I went to the register office to have my passport forms signed, and we took the opportunity to have another look at the room in which we’ll be getting married. We haven’t been there since we attended wedding there in 2003, so we booked it based on our memory.

N.B: I don't know how much you know about English weddings, but if you don't want to marry in a church (I'm not religious), and you don't have stacks of cash, it's really only the local register office you can use. And since my dad's offered his house for the reception, it was the register office in his city that we are using.

We were pleased to find out that:

• They’ve re-decorated and the scary turquoise doors have gone (which clashed with the seats, I may add).
• The waiting room is much more swish.
• Where the couple used to face the registrar and a white wall, they now face a beautiful stained glass window (pictured). It does look out onto a car park, but you can’t have everything!
• There’s much more light in the room, thanks to the window.
• And most importantly (in my opinion), there is now a proper aisle for me to walk down. In the old layout, the bride came through the door, walked 2 metres and she was there. She didn’t even get to pass the guests on her way in. But now, you come in through the same door, but the registrar and groom are at the other end, meaning you have about 6 metres of aisle, which means my chapel train gown will seen – hooray!

We also discussed a lot of wedding things with my dad and stepmum, taking advantage of the fact that Hubby was with me. We have a lot of family coming from abroad, and we can only offer 10 people accommodation, which meant we had to make our decisions based on languages spoken (eg having Spanish speakers with other Spanish speakers), as well as giving the oldies somewhere easily accessible to sleep. we even discussed photo opportunities around the city, which has been a stress of mine since Christmas. The register office doesn't have any grass or trees nearby, and the reception venue will be taken up by a big marquee, meaning we had to look elsewhere. We've found a number of places, but haven't got permission for any of them. So in case we're caught, I shall have to practise sprinting in my wedding dress...

All in all, we got a lot agreed, which makes me feel a lot better about things.

This Saturday I’m off to Kingston to sort out our gift list. I’m looking forward to having one of those hand-held barcode scanners where you just zap everything you fancy. I’ve only ever seen them in “27 Dresses”, but this Saturday I get my own. It’s the simple things…

Work, thankfully, is less busy this week. I’m relishing being able to sit at my desk and plod through my emails, as I normally do. We had a meeting recently about our pay, and if all goes smoothly and is accepted by the unions, I may be in for a £900 lump sum payment in October. I can’t wait, but fingers crossed the unions agree, otherwise it’s back to the drawing board for the fourth time. Hmm…

And lastly, Hubby has a Sous Chef! He ended up hiring an old colleague of his who recently came back into town. Hubby knows him, and knows how he works. He’s not about to do a bunk. What a relief, except, this guy was invited to our wedding, and it now means he’s not able to come because he’ll be working in Hubby’s place...

The Best Job in the World

I'm only posting quickly this evening, as my tiredness from travelling all weekend seems to have caught up with me, and I've go a persistent migraine. There are times when my miracle tablets have no effect, and unfortunately; this is one of those days.

But before I do I thought this was worth a mention:

A British man has been chosen to be the new caretaker of Hamilton Island, off the coast of Australia.

He will live there for six months from 1st July, in a three bedroom villa equipped with a private pool, ocean views and even his own golf buggy.

Ben Southall's new job requires him to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel, make friends with the locals and generally enjoy the tropical Queensland climate and lifestyle. I don't know about you, but I could do that job.

It's been dubbed "the best job in the world", and it generated much interest the world over, having over 130,000 applicants. And since the job is part time, asking a mere 12-hour working month, the salary equates to an astonishing £972 (US $1,462) an hour. It gets better and better!

Nobody Ever Warned Me About...

It occurred to me today that adulthood is never how you expect it to be. When you're a kid, you ache to be older, but when you are older, it seems childhood was so much easier. I never hated school, but I grew sick of writing essays about things that didn't interest me. I love being an adult... most of the time. But this morning I had to sign over 75% of my paycheque to rent, council tax, gas, electricity and water; and I found myself wishing I was back in school, being herded around by the teachers. It just seemed easier back then. So today, my post is going to be focused on "nobody ever warned me about..."

Nobody ever warned me about:

* Chocolate's tendency to camp out on my hips
* Credit cards, and the mess you can cause getting into debt (and the mess I'm still in)
* Relationships, and how they can hurt
* Friends betraying you
* Politics
* Stress in general
* Reaching a certain age and having to act responsibly (I must not have reached the magic number yet!)
* Having to spend four years working two jobs just to pay the rent

Then again, nobody ever told me about:

* How wonderfully amazing junk food can be when you reward yourself for being good
* How great shopping sprees feel (haha)
* How incredible it can feel to be in love with someone, and have them love you back
* How one good friendship can make up for all the false friendships in your life, and how that friend can help you through anything - if you let them
* How chuffed you can feel when you can get involved in a political conversation, and actually understand what they're saying
* How a massage can help relieve all your problems; if only for five minutes
* How good it can feel to cut loose and go crazy once in a while
* How you can meet the most amazing people through work, that they can be like a second family to you, and you can have such a blast that working 70 hours a week just doesn't even matter. You're tired, but you're having the time of your life

There's a positive and a negative to each point; and I've realised that finding the positive can make you feel so much better. I'm still working on trying to find a positive for my lack of money this month though, but hey; perhaps it will encourage me to diet, since I won't be able to afford food! Well; it's not that bad yet...

The Hippo and the Tortoise

Last night I went to Weight Watchers - the first time in two weeks. When I go on holiday, I forget about my diet and I eat what I want to eat (within reason). When I was in Hubby's Homeland, I got a little carried away with the lovely foods, and of course having a Burger King in such close proximity; and let’s just say, I ate too much.

So all through work yesterday I was dreading stepping on the scales, and I actually had butterflies in my stomach when I was about to go on them; but I was pleasantly surprised. I’d lost half a pound. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to stay that way; I suspect my body is going to go stealth on me and pile on the pounds for next week instead. But for now, I’m basking in my success!

I wanted to share something with you all though, because I thought it was heart-warming. And we all need a little pick-me-up every now and again, so here’s what greeted me in my inbox this morning:

“Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed”

A young hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing 650lbs, was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on 26th December 2004, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

Owen has since formed a strong bond with a male giant tortoise. The tortoise, thought to be 100 years old, has adopted this young hippo, and seems to be very happy acting as a surrogate father.

'After Owen was swept away and lost his mother, he was traumatised. Fortunately, he and the tortoise have established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together,' Mr Kahumbu, a local ecologist said. 'The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it would follow its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother.'

'The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years,' he explained.

This story shows that our differences don't matter much when we need the comfort of another. We could all learn a lesson from these two creatures. Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together.

If you would like to see this story in a short video, click here.

Hooray for Hubby!

I'm continuously surprised how fast a weekend can pass; and this weekend was one of those that you just don't seem to feel you've had. I'm back at work on this rainy Monday afternoon and wishing I was tucked up in bed watching reruns of "Friends".

Hubby has found himself a Sous Chef, so much to our relief, he will begin to have days off again in the next month or so. He's really worn out at the moment, so I'm glad he'll finally be able to relax a little, and have some time to himself.

We celebrated with a glass of Pimms (which, if you haven't tried yet; I strongly recommend). Anyway, it's been about 10 months since I made my last Pimms, and I accidentally made it too strong, meaning Hubby went off it completely. I'm hardly one to waste a good drink, so I revelled in being able to drink both, ha ha!

I emailed my stepmum yesterday, giving her the details of our wedding guest list. She's very intricate in the organisation, because we're having the reception at their house, so she wants to be able to sort everything out. She's asked to know final numbers, as well as approximate ages of everyone so that we can plan entertainment etc. It's all go, it seems. I've got to discuss flowers with my colleague, who has offered to help us, and I've got to go for a hair trail on 9th May.

This weekend I'm taking advantage of the bank holiday (Saturday-Monday) and going to Homeland #2. To aid you here; and for the sake of protecting identities:

* Homeland #1 is where I was born and raised (1/2 my heritage)
* Homeland #2 is where my mother was raised (1/4 of my heritage)
* Homeland #3 is where my grandmother grew up (1/4 of my heritage)

It's safe to say I'm a bit of a mongrel, but I'm proud of it. I have family in each country, so they will be mentioned a fair few times, which is why I thought I'd explain them now. We're going to meet up with family, and it will be my last trip abroad before the wedding; so when I get back I will need to surrender my current passport while I apply for a new one in my married name (very exciting!). However, it also means that I can't go to Hubby's Homeland until after the wedding, so if Hubby's grandfather doesn't make it, I won't be able to attend the funeral. It's funny how they penalise you for getting married...

Anyway; here's to another week. It's set to be a busy one, which is good, but it means there's less time to daydream!

Happy St George's Day!

A happy St George's day to you all! I don't care if you're not English, or not descended from English stock; have a cup of tea (or a glass of Pimms) and a scone and sit back and enjoy the sunshine. It's sunny here today; apparently the warmest April in 30 years! Despite landing at 1:30pm yesterday, by the time I went to bed last night I was still in holiday mode, and so when I woke up this morning and turned on GMTV (morning television) to learn that it was St George's Day, I actually groaned. Don't get me wrong; I absolutely love this day, but it meant I had to root around for something red and white to wear to work; despite having chaos all around me from unpacking our suitcase!


Anyway, find some clothes I did, and I'm now at work wearing a white top, a red skirt that is now too big for me (the joys of losing weight!), and white ballerina pumps - beautiful!

As I made my way in to work today, I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that I didn't see anyone else wearing the national colours, or waving a flag or anything. Not that that wouldn't have been weird. It's a pity more English people don't celebrate our patron saint day. Everyone's happy to celebrate St Patrick's day, but nobody even cares when it's St George's day. This is what it's come down to: A couple of events in London, followed by haters yelling at them because they're offending the non-English members of our communities.

I don't want to seem rude, but if immigrants come to England, surely they are expecting to be thrown into an English society; all stiff upper lipped, non church-going, non saying hello in the street style. If I go to China I don't expect them to greet me with a cup of tea and a shortbread biscuit. Last year the government were actually telling people not to wear or display the flag of St George for fear of making foreigners feel unwelcome. My own mother is foreign, and even she thinks the country has become too obsessed with keeping her sweet. Political correctness gone mad.

Anyway; my mini rant out of the way - My trip to Hubby's Homeland went better than I expected. Hubby's grandfather, though not well, was better than we thought he would be. He's getting radiotherapy, so hopefully it will help him a little. While we were the weather was amazing; not a single cloud in the sky for the duration of our stay. We went fishing, went to the new casino, ate out, and caught up with Hubby's Best Man and his wife, as well as other friends.

One of our friends is taking part in the local version of "Strictly Come Dancing" or "Dancing With The Stars" for those of you in the US. We went to see the opening night while they were filming it for TV, and we had a great time. The six couples danced either the Waltz or the Cha Cha Cha. Although we can't see the televised shows here in the UK, we're asking them to keep us updated on our friend's progress in the contest.

I ate so much while I was there though, and I feel like such a porker, so as of today, I'm back on Weight Watchers with a vengeance. We went for breakfast, and Hubby had toast with garlic and olive oil (yum!). We also took the opportunity to have lots of fried food, a Burger King, a KFC and a whole bag of Jelly Babies...

The importance of today is three-fold for me though; because my little brother celebrates his birthday on 23rd April, and my grandfather also died on this day. So as well as celebrating being English (not British), I give my brother a call to wish him a happy birthday, and take a moment to think of my grandfather.

In other news, and possibly the most important of all; Hubby and I have agreed that it's time to think about getting on the housing ladder in his home country. So I've said that once 2010 comes around, he can scout around for a job there, and if he finds one with a decent salary; he'll accept it and we'll be emigrating.

Now, for those of you who don't know; Hubby grew up abroad, and I moved back there with him in 2004, but moved back to the UK when I was offered double bubble as a store manager. He has always wanted his children to have the same upbringing as he did, and Hubby's Homeland is the safest, friendliest place we know. So once we married we would try for kids, and move abroad once we found out we were expecting.

BUT things never really work as easily as you think they will. There is a housing list you need to go on for government housing, and you can only go on it once you've been living there for a year. But we can't live with his parents with a screaming newborn, so we've realised we're going to have to plan things a little better.

So here's the deal; if Hubby can find a decent job over there, we can get a mortgage (stupidly affordable over there), I can then focus on finding a job that doesn't need any fluency of Spanish (even though the official language is English, this is harder than you'd think). We can then try for a family, I will be able to raise the kids, learn Spanish, and we'll live happily ever after. I'm not sure about the last part, but that's the plan at least!