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!

I'm Married!

I can't believe I'm married. We've been planning this wedding for 18 months, and it felt like it would never arrive. But it came and went, and Hubby and I (because I can now actually refer to him as that), have had three blissful days away on our mini honeymoon.

But first; the wedding...

Where do I start? Our wedding day was incredible.

Hubby and I woke up at 7:00am to spend a little time together before the chaos of the day began. But it didn’t really work out like that, because we’d had a late night before, so we just pressed the snooze button until 8:00am came around.

By 9:00am I was at the hair salon, but they were running late, and didn’t see me until 9:40am. My dad, brother and one of the photographers picked me up, and would you believe it was raining!! We’d had the most fantastic weather in the two weeks running up to the wedding, so this wasn’t expected.

But anyway, I got back to the house, and my mum helped me into my dress. We didn’t have time for any pre-ceremony champagne, because the car; a cream and red Morris Minor referred to as "Millie" had arrived.


Hubby and I weren’t worried about seeing one another before the wedding, because we’re not very traditional. But because I was running late, there was barely any time for him to see me anyway, and as I came downstairs, he was getting into his car and leaving.

It was still raining a little as my dad and I got into the back of the Morris Minor. One of the bridesmaids (Hubby’s cousin, but like a sister to him) came with us, and the other would meet us at the register office.

We arrived at the register office and the rain was pouring down on us. The driver of the car was prepared with an umbrella though, so I hitched up my dress, and looking rather unladylike, dashed towards the building.


I was almost thrust into a meeting with the registrar while Hubby was still in there, but luckily he didn’t see me, and I was sent into a different room to wait. I was in there with Hubby’s aunt, who by this point was all emotional. She told me how happy she was that I was marrying him, and that she couldn’t have imagined a nicer person for him to marry.

I had my meeting with the registrar soon after, and then it was time to get married. I entered with my dad, to silence, which was weird, but there was a problem with the CDs we had made, so there was no music. But it didn’t matter, because there was Hubby, and he was wide-eyed as he saw me coming. He later said that my dress was similar to what he expected, but so much nicer than he ever thought possible.

We got married, and we had photos outside on the steps as the weather was now clearing. We had three photographers snapping away; my uncle, a friend I studied photography with at college, and an old workmate that went off to study photography at uni. It allowed them to capture the day from their own perspective, and give us such a varied collection of photographs.


After the group photos, the guests then disappeared off to town for a few hours, while Hubby and I got into the Morris Minor and headed back to the house with a glass of champagne each. We had some photos taken outside the house with the car, and our photographers navigated the traffic, as we were in the middle of the road at this point.


The car left, and this is when I realised that I had dirt all over my train! I was upset about it for a few moments, but the photographer assured me that he could photoshop it to look clean, and that it would be dirty later on anyway.

We headed off to our photo venue shortly afterwards, and got some absolutely incredible shots:
















We also stopped for ice cream, and I tried very hard (and managed) not to spill it on my dress:


And this is Hubby trying (and failing) to bustle me while I held my ice cream and bouquet:


More updates later...

One Week Left

Yep, you heard it here first: I only have one week until I marry Hubby.


I'm excited, I'm stressed, I'm happy, I'm impatient, I'm fidgety, and I'm also feeling kinda sick.

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. I've been happy, and I've been sad... and I still have a week left! Right now I'm in the middle of the road, though you might call it "blah". I am excited, don't get me wrong; but I don't have anybody around me to be excited with, so I'm biding my time.

I went sunbathing this afternoon, since today has been the only sunny weekend day in the run-up to the wedding, and I was in serious need of some colour. Well, I certainly got some colour, because now I resemble magenta.


Whoops.

But all is not lost; it has 7 days to go brown/peel or whatever, before I desperately try to scour my skin free of embarrassment. But I'm determined not to stress about it, because I have much bigger fish to fry. And besides, we could always add a lobster theme to the wedding. I'm sure my skin wouldn't clash too much with the red of the roses...

Anyway, this afternoon it occurred to me that Wednesday is but four days away, and my mum ever so kindly offered to come by (on Wednesday after Weight Watchers) with her car and collect some things that we need taking down for the wedding. I'm heading to my dad's on Thursday after I finish work. I'll be taking the train (since I don't drive), so I can only take a little wheely suitcase with me.


I want this by the way, but I don't think they do it in my size :(

Hubby will be following in his car when he finishes work at 11pm, and my mum's following on Friday night with my grandmother, aunt and uncle, who are coming over from Homeland # 2.

To make it even more complicated; my brother and sister-in-law were going to go down on Friday night, but when my bridesmaid called last night to tell me she couldn't collect my flowers, I called him deserately asking if he would get them. So now they're following on Saturday morning with the flowers and one of the photographers, who will be staying in our flat on Friday night. My brother's in the area, so he may as well collect the photographer on the way through, and save him the train fare.

Chaos; I know. This is why I can't think straight at the moment.

Anyway, since I'm off to my dad's for a late Father's Day tomorrow, this is my only day free to do things at home before the wedding, so I figured I should probably get some bags packed and ready to give her. She's already taking my wedding dress in her car, so I'm not sure how many bags I can give her, but I'll definitely try to give her the guest book, confetti and cameras (we're both into our photography, but since we won't be using our collection of cameras - we have about 6 - we thought we'd offload them to our guests for the day, and take them back at the end of the wedding = instant photos, woop woop!).


Luckily my grandmother, aunt and uncle will have a car themselves. Phew...

I'm also trying to get some housework out of the way, since we now have house guests (the photographer) on Friday. Eek! So much to do, and I'm nattering on here...

EDIT - Argh! Hubby just called me to say that our band have suddenly demanded £500 to play at the wedding! We had asked them when we booked them if they wanted paying, and since they're friends of ours, they said payment in beer would be enough. They also get a party, hog roast and buffet thrown in. It's not a bad deal.

Apparently 3 of the 4 band members had a secret meeting. The last guy, the closest friend of them all, tried to argue with them, saying they should stick to the deal, as agreed six months ago. But he was out-voted.

Hubby told them where to go. I'm glad; I don't want anyone like that at our wedding. Except now that means we have to look for a DJ that's free next week. It's just one more thing on my list. You gotta laugh, I suppose.

It's sad for the one guy that did fight our corner, because he's caught in the middle. I desperately want him to come to the wedding still, but I have a bad feeling he won't want to show his face. But the others are dead to me.
Sad, but true. You don't mess with a bride one week away from the wedding.

20 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Anyone who's on Facebook may already have seen this sort of thing flying around. The idea is similar to the old fashioned "chain mail" - you write it, "tag" your friends in it, and then they write their own version of it and tag you back. I thought I would add it in here for a multitude of reasons, but mainly because I had some time on my hands while Hubby was watching the repeats of "Red Dwarf" that he missed from over the Easter break.


1. I love buying books, but rarely read them. I don't care whether they're novels or reference books; if I like it, I'll buy it. At last count I had around 30 I hadn't read; and that's not counting the numerous books I've lent to friends and not had back, and those I've given to charity after realising I'm never going to be desperate enough to read them.

2. I'm left-handed and proud. But I'm not one of those Lefties that writes with their hand curled round above the line they're writing. That just looks awkward. I love being a Lefty though, because it makes me different. It does, however, mean that I'm prone to smudge my work if I'm using anything other than a biro. I have left-handed scissors and a left-handed ruler - the numbers go from right to left. Other cons of being a Lefty include using a tin opener (rather awkward), sitting next to a Righty in a tightly-packed restaurant, and if I was being assessed based on my body language, I would be accused of lying, since Lefties apparently look to the other side when trying to recall information from your history (e.g. what you had for breakfast), but Righties will look to this direction when trying to fabricate a lie. Let's hope that I'm never in that situation! And finally, the icing on the cake; Nostradamus claimed that those who were left-handed would be afflicted. Perhaps that explains a few things...

3. I can only lose weight when I have motivation to do so. When I am motivated; I'm like a trooper. I lost 30lbs on WeightWatchers when I was 21, but watched my weight creep back up until this year, when I went back on the diet to lose the weight again for my wedding, and I've lost 15lbs in three months. I'm telling you; don't get in the way of a bride to be; she will knock your socks off!

4. I'm a closet fan of cheesy pop. I say closet fan because I refuse to talk about music in social situations, I'm embarrassed of my CD collection and iPod playlist, and I don't let on when I have no idea who Lady Gaga is. But don't get me wrong; I like it this way. I like what I like, and I'm not going to change for anyone. But honestly, some of Britney's songs are amazing.

5. I put way too much pressure on myself. My dad's dad was pretty harsh when my dad was a kid; he would always demand to know why my dad didn't get 100% on all tests, and my dad was expected to deliver. My dad didn't bring me up like this, but there was a certain expectation to succeed. It was hard for me to accept that I wasn't career-driven. I've only just started to be okay with the idea that I'm going to be married young, and that we intend to start a family young. When I was growing up we were always told to get our career sorted before anything else, but sometimes life doesn't figure out like that.

6. I love writing novels; I can spend hours and hours engrossed in my work. But I don't let anyone read them; I don't even talk about it to other people. ask any of my friends, and they won't know anything about it. When I finish one, I hit the delete key, and it's gone. Just like that. Forever.

7. I think Johnny Depp is absolutely gorgeous. He's the one celebrity I would put on my "list". Of course, I don't really have a list, but if I did, it would just be Johnny. He's lovely, especially as Captain Jack...

8. I'm a strong believer in not regretting a single thing in life. I've been through bad times, like everyone else, but those bad times have lead to good times. The one that stands out most for me is when I got depressed, dropped out of college, moved home and became totally cut off from everyone. I suppose I had to spend about six months getting back into the swing of things, and then I met Hubby. If I hadn't gone through that time in my life, I wouldn't have moved house, and I wouldn't have met him. I wouldn't be getting married this summer, and I wouldn't be as happy as I am right now. So the next time I think my life is crap; I just have to remind myself what good can come at the end of it all. It keeps me going.


9. I taught myself to type whilst on study leave for my GCSEs. For those not native to the UK, GCSEs are the final exams taken in Secondary School (High School). I decided I couldn't be bothered to revise, and I spent my days on chat rooms. The more interesting your chat partner is, the faster you try to reply; and in turn you become a faster typist! I may have missed out on one of my GCSEs from doing this, but I have a great typing speed on my CV!

10. My favourite drink in the world is Coca Cola. I don't smoke or drink (much), and I've never taken any drugs, other than those available over the counter. Coke for me is like a cigarette. The familiarity calms me, and the sugar relaxes me. When I've had a hard day, or a shock to the system, I'll crack open a can of Coke and sit back. It's the best feeling.


11. When I was in first school I wanted to be a stewardess for British Airways. I actually drew a picture of myself in 30 years time, and I was dressed as a trolley dolly with a runway in the background. After that we had to draw a picture of ourselves in 60 years, and I was a grandmother with loads of grandchildren - that one's still possible! When I was in Secondary School, I wanted to be a vet. Until I realised it was harder to become than a doctor. I think that was the day I let my dream crumble!

12. I love eating pickled onions. Perhaps that's my English side coming through. I can literally polish of a whole jar of them in a day.

13. I hate cooking. I mean, I'll do it if I have to, but I really don't like doing it. My friends say it's good that I'm marrying a chef, but in the 7 years we've been together, I think he's made me four meals - and one of them was pasta in tomato soup.

14. I can wiggle my eyeballs back and forth really quick; except you have to get really close to me to be able to see it... so I only mention it to people I know VERY well!

15. I have chronic migraines, and I've had them since I was 14. They had to get to the point where they were daily and lasting up to 9 days for a doctor to take me seriously. Now I'm on a lovely drug called Sumatriptan, which sorts me out within an hour of an attack. Gotta love those pills...

16. I only realised my hair was naturally curly at the age of 22. In all fairness I had the most amazing blonde wavy hair when I was young, but then adolescence came, along with the Frizz Fairy, and made it unsightly. I wore it in a ponytail from the age of 12 to 22, when I discovered a mousse strong enough to keep it in check. But I can't really afford the mousse on my salary, so I can only use it about 6 times a month, but it also gives me the "wet look", which isn't really ideal for the wedding. I'm interested to see what the stylist can suggest...

17. I'm absolutely obsessed with photography. I even worked as a freelance wedding photographer for a time, but have now reigned it back to being just a hobby, because I find that when I HAVE to do something; I no longer enjoy it.

18. I'm also obsessed with genealogy. To the layman, that's tracing your family tree. I'm the youngest person I know of that is doing this to any serious extent. I'm currently back to 1708 on my paternal line, but back to the 1400s on non-direct lines.

19. I was in the top group for spelling when I was at school, but I still have issues with the word "premises" and "accommodation"

20. I "suffer" from Night Terrors. I put suffer in quote marks because I am classed as a "sufferer", but I think they're actually quite interesting. They only seem to be about bugs crawling all around me. I wake up screaming, and I've once even smacked Hubby in the face after dreaming he had a tarantula on him. I think they come out more when I'm stressed, and there can be weeks when I wake up screaming on 4 different nights. The only real trouble is that every time I have one of these fdreams; I develop a little more of my phobia of creepy crawlies. It's getting to the point that I see a spider and I break out in a cold sweat!

Busy Busy Day

Well, it's not even half way through the working day, and it's been very eventful already. I'm covering reception in the receptionist's absence, and I apparently saw fit to blow up the computer.

Don't ask me how, because I'm not entirely sure myself, but it lead to the tripping out of another computer close by. I've spent the last couple of hours running between desks trying to operate the switchboard (again, don't ask!). Phew! I'll be happy when five o'clock comes around!


On another note, I had a bit of a shopping spree yesterday before work, and bought a photo album for our wedding. Anyone who knows me will know how fussy I can be with photo albums following my interest in photography. I can't seem to find the perfect album for any of my photos, so I always knew the wedding album would be even more of a challenge. Anyway, I found an ivory album at WH Smith for £20 (in the sale), so snapped it up there and then.

This morning I was also invited to another wedding by a colleague. She and I have been passing our ideas back and forth as we're planning, but only get to see one another twice a week, so there's always something new to share. I'm honoured that she's inviting me, and it sounds like it's going to be an amazing night, so I can't wait. Only a couple of weeks after her wedding, I will be getting married, so I'm going to be all weddinged up for the last month or so!