New toys for Christmas

I just got an email from the sex toy site that I’m going to be reviewing for, saying that my first toy has been shipped today. How exciting! It’s all thanks to
this blogger
that I found out about this in the first place and hopefully I’ll write a good enough review to carry on working with them. The toy I’m getting first of all is a G spot vibe, fine with me. I’ll post the link to the review as soon as it’s live on the site, but it won’t be for a while yet as the toy is coming from the US and with the Christmas rush of posting things it will probably take a couple of weeks to get here.

In other news, the rest of my mother’s stay went smoothly, mainly because I managed to make myself come in the middle of the night, very quietly and felt much better the next day. I’ve also been having absolutely incredible sex which I’m not going to write about too much and if I do it will be fairly anonymously because I want to keep this one for myself and savour the moment without writing about it. I also want to move my blog over to wordpress, but I’m hesitant because I’ve posted this blog address in so many places, and there’s so much stuff on blogger that I think moving home would be a nightmare. But I do like the idea of being able to password protect some posts so that only certain people have access to them. We’ll see, maybe in the new year. I can’t believe how close Christmas is, I go up north a week on Sunday and I found out yesterday that there are no trains coming in to Euston all over Christmas so getting back to London is going to be a god awful nightmare, fucking national rail. Isn’t it obvious that people are going to be travelling to see family etc over Christmas? Right, time to do something other than watch porn.

Infuriating Mothers and pent up sexual energy

The two together are making me one cranky mother fucker today. I've been dying dying dying to wank ever since yesterday and not being able to is driving me insane. To put it plainly, I need to come and I haven't had a minute to myself in which to do so. Last night I spent over an hour awake in the middle of the night, pent up sexual energy driving me insane and thoughts of filth preventing me from getting back to sleep. However as my mother was in my spare bed near by I obviously couldn't do much about it and today she has driven me insane. We went christmas shopping which was good in itself, but what drives me mad is that she lacks common sense and you have to explain the simplest things to her a million times before she understands them. I tried to tell her to get an Oister card today and we had the following conversation.
Me: "You have to touch in an out at each tube station."
Mum: "Why do I have to touch in, they hardly notice if you do or don't."
Me: "Because if they then make you touch out at your destination you'll get charged the maximum fair."
"Why? How will it know I've been anywhere at all, I could just be coming in to the station for all it knows."
Me: "Because you're touching out, not in and because it doesn't know where you've come from it'll charge you the maximum fair."
Thinking this was all explained and good we bought the Oister card, only to have her not touch in and then have the same argument with me over again until I got so het up that I just said, "for fuck's sake mother! Just swipe the bloody card, it's simple enough, otherwise it'll use up all the money you've just put on there." My mum being a tight arsed northerner didn't argue with this conclusion, I think she would have died if it swiped the tenner she'd just put on the card. We had similar arguments over different things throughout the day but I can't really remember what they were about to tell you now. One other was about tube lines, she didn't seem to understand why we had to change tubes and that it's not just all one big line of tube stops. She's been coming to London long enough to know by now surely. So we arrived home after five hours shopping and I just wanted to quietly check my emails and have a cup of tea and she's there going, "feed the dog, the dog needs feeding, put the TV on, what are we having to eat, feed the dog, put the TV on." Aaaaaaahhh!
Although I do love her obviously, I'll be so glad when she goes for a hopefully long shower later and I can have some time to myself. She's leaving tomorrow afternoon and I get the feeling tomorrow will be just as stressful, especially if I don't manage to make myself come in the short space of time I'll have later. Oh and another thing, she's also discovered the wonders of facebook and I had to spend the entirety of yesterday evening showing her how to use it and setting up her profile so that she could, wait for it, go and look for good looking men. She's worse than me I sware!
Ok, enough ranting, I'd better post this before she comes back from smoking her cigarette and talking on my phone in the kitchen. Give me strength!
PS: she is now going through my dvd's trying to find something to watch and she just said, "what is Closer about?" "You've seen it mum," I said. She stared at the DVD and said, "I can't remember it." "Well you have," I said. You can garantee she'll insist on putting it on and ten minutes in she'll say, "Oh yeah I have seen this haven't I."
Oh, and one last thing that has infuriated me today? My phone keeps beaping like I have a text message, and when I check it, there's nothing there. So either my phone is fucked, or I have a serious case of hearing things.

The Spirit of Christmas

Firstly, I want to thank you for the comments, emails and phone calls I have received. I'm not going to get all soppy and emotional but I am very much aware of how lucky I am to be surrounded by such an amazing network of friends, and family too although hopefully my family aren't reading this. DL called me yesterday and I was silly enough to pick up the phone. She was hysterical and I ended the call very quickly and she hasn't tried to contact me since. I'm hoping in the nicest possible way that she'll go away quietly and deal with her feelings with her family for support and not behave irrationally towards me, something which I am slightly concerned about at the moment and I know others are too. But I'm doing ok, I spent today with Baby G at her house having a much needed catch up session and some relaxation time and I had a good long chat with my parents on the phone tonight and I'm actually quite looking forward to christmas now. I'm going back up north to see my family and I think I'll be spending christmas day with my mum, ex step mum (they are very good friends, don't ask, it's complicated) and my step sister which will be great. She's 12 now and I don't get to see her much because I live down here and obviously she's in school and is too young to come and visit on her own so it would be good to spend some time with her and find out about her latest crush, the bands she's in to who I've never heard of and how school is going. The last time I saw her she said to me,
"Amy and I aren't really friends anymore," Amy being her best friend.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Well we hang around in different crowds at school now, and well, I'm sort of gangster and she's not."
"Gangster!" I said, "What do you mean gangster?"
"You know!" She said looking exasperated and proceeded to try and tell me what "gangster" was and I was still none the wiser by the time she'd finished. The time before that when I saw her she described herself as, "Emo." I wonder what she'll be this time round?

So anyway on the christmas note I've told myself to stop being a miserable cow and to actually start getting in to the christmas spirit. I'm going to start my shopping and new year's eve should be really great because some friends down here want to get together, Sean is definitely coming to join us and Kim might also be coming down from Sheffield so the whole lot of us getting together will be fantastic whatever we decide to do on the night.

Last night I went to see Jill Scott in concert with Baby G and Rosey and she was absolutely fantastic. We all got the impression she's having a really hard time at the moment, she mentioned her divorce and she seemed really low in spirits, plus she mentioned repeatedly that she's not getting laid at the moment, I offered to give her a helping hand on that one but I was right at the back so I don't think she heard me. I'm also absolutely loving Alicia Keys' new album. I have to say it took me a while to get in to, but I think it's her best one so far.

Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment, my first in about four years in the morning and then in the evening the usual group of friends are going out for a meal to welcome Baby G's boyfriend, Will, back from the states where he has been for the past four months. I think it's about time I put the kettle on and climb in to my lovely bed to fall asleep listening to an audio book. Not quite sure what yet though, I've been reading Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson and Wire in the Blood by Val McDermid, two of my favourite authors, but I think I want something lighthearted tonight, so I'll go on the hunt for some trashy fiction, Jackie Collins or something like that.
Night night, and sorry for the randomness.
Oh, I should also add that all the stress of the past couple of days is making me really horny. I need to get Spanish Girl back over here to hit that spot she so expertly found on Saturday night. She wanted to meet up tomorrow but I couldn't and when I texted her saying so I didn't get a response. I get the feeling she's a woman who likes getting her own way and she doesn't like not being in control of a situation, but I've had quite enough of that for the time being so she'll either have to like it, or lump it.

Not quite right

Nothing has gone quite right this week for one reason or another. On Tuesday I had an appointment in the morning to test out some new satalite navigation technology that is supposed to help if you can't see, and in the afternoon I was set to have a job interview to be a trainee recruitment consultant. I got a call on Monday asking if they could move the interview to Thursday, fair enough, but then on the Tuesday morning I had a call from the tech guy saying he needed to rearrange because he was ill. I did have a rather productive day though sending off some more job application forms so that was ok. Stayed in on Tuesday night as the lesbian social group that usually meets up on a Tuesdays seems to have dispanded over the past few weeks, everyone having their own stuff on. Wednesday I got roped in to attending an event with a secret employer by a charity that I'm involved with, and it turned out to be some huge corperate finance company that I would have no interest in working for, so although it was nice I could have spent it doing better things. In the evening I went to the usual commedy night, to find that the usual compair was ill and that some one else was running it and it wasn't half as funny. Today I had a Virgin Media technition come to look at my TV as I've stopped getting two of the main channels, and he basically said that it should have never been installed because it wasn't serviceable in my building. So now I have to have it all uninstalled again and will have to find a new service provider for my phone, broadband and TV which is really annoying. And just to top it all off the company I was supposed to be having the interview with called and said they were having some problems within the company, the manager of the team I should have bene working for had been dismissed and the position wasn't vacant at the moment. They said they would keep my records on file but that they would have to cancel the interview. Jesus Christ! Next week though I have an assessment centre for a graduate scheme and I'm going to visit another recruitment consultants to see if I like the look of what they do, so fingers crossed. Also, Cherry and I have kept missing phone calls from each other all week long, either one of us being busy when the other tried to call for a chat. She just called while I was writing this though and we managed to speak for more than a few minutes, she wants to come over this weekend which is find by me as I'm more than ready for some more of what she has to offer! My dad is also here at the moment, he's in the kitchen cooking us dinner which is lovely of him, and he's bought the family dog who is currently snoozing in Una's bed.

Let's hope things get better over the weekend and that is the end of my run of bad luck.

Exposed

EXPOSED

THIS WEEK IS TURNING OUT TO BE QUITE A WEEK FOR SOCIAL EVENTS AND MEETING NEW PEOPLE. I’VE MAINLY BEEN GOING TO STUFF ORGANISED BY PEOPLE FROM THE BOARDS ON GB, SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE MY BLOG IS LINKED TO MY PROFILE ON THAT SITE. SOMETHING THAT WAS BOUGHT TO MY ATTENTION WHEN CHATTING TO PEOPLE IS HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY CLICK ON THE LINK AND READ IT. BECAUSE MY OLDER FRIENDS KNOW I HAVE A BLOG AND SOME HAVE BLOGS THEMSELVES WE RARELY SPEAK ABOUT WHAT I WRITE, UNLESS IT IS DRAWN TO THEIR ATTENTION FOR A SPECIFIC REASON. BUT A COUPLE OF TIMES THIS WEEK MY BLOG HAS BEEN MENTIONED BY PEOPLE I DON’T REALLY KNOW. NICE IN ONE WAY BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY HAVING A READERSHIP IS KIND OF IMPORTANT TO ME, IT’S GOOD TO KNOW THAT PEOPLE COME BACK TO IT TO FIND OUT HOW I’M DOING OR WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON, BUT MY READERSHIP HAS UP UNTIL NOW BEEN VERY CLOSE FRIENDS OR PEOPLE I DON’T KNOW. SO WHAT I DID FIND DISCONCERTING WAS THE THOUGHT THAT ANYONE WHO I MIGHT MEET WHO READS THE BLOG GETS A VERY DETAILED AND FRANK DESCRIPTION OF MY PRIVATE LIFE, WHILE I KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THEM. NOW WE ALL KNOW THAT I’M USUALLY VERY OPEN, I’M PROUD OF MY SEXUALITY AND I’M HARDLY A WALL FLOWER, BUT I COULDN’T HELP FEELING A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN, ON GOING TO A MEET LAST NIGHT FOR LOCAL LESBIANS, A COUPLE OF PEOPLE REFERED TO THE SEX PARTY I’D BEEN TO. DON’T GET ME WRONG, IT’S NOT THAT I DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO DISCUSS THINGS LIKE THAT, IF I WRITE ABOUT THEM AND PUT MY THOUGHTS OUT THERE FORE EVERYONE TO READ IT’S HARDLY SURPRISING THAT PEOPLE WILL COMMENT. IT JUST CONCERNS ME SLIGHTLY THAT SOME ONE WHO I COULD POTENTIALLY END UP DATING MIGHT HAPPEN TO CLICK ON TO MY BLOG, AND KNOW MY RELATIONSHIPS AND SEXUAL HISTORY OF THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHEREAS I HARDLY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, AT ALL. I GUESS WHAT I WAS FEELING WHEN THE TOPIC CAME UP LAST NIGHT WAS AN IMBALANCE OF KNOWLEDGE. THAT SOME OF MY MOST PRIVATE THOUGHTS, FEELINGS AND FANTASIES WERE COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO THESE PEOPLE, WHEREAS I WAS ONLY JUST BEGINNING TO EVEN KNOW THEM. I GUESS IT JUST TAKES A BIT OF GETTING USED TOO, BUT I HAVE CONSIDERED REMOVING THE LINK FROM THIS PARTICULAR SITE SO THAT FEWER PEOPLE I MIGHT HAPPEN TO MEET SOCIALLY HAVE ACCESS TO THE BLOG. IT MIGHT JUST MAKE ME FEEL A BIT MORE COMFORTABLE ABOUT SAYING WHAT I REALLY WANT TO SAY, RATHER THAN WORRYING IT MIGHT COME UP WITH SOME ONE I’M ON A DATE WITH, OR GETTING TO KNOW SOCIALLY. IT COMES BACK TO THE FACT THAT THERE’S ALWAYS A BATTLE WITH BLOGGING IN TERMS OF PRIVACY. DO YOU REMAIN COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS, NOT DISCLOSE YOUR IDENTITY TO ANYONE, NOT LINK YOUR BLOGS ANYWHERE ONLINE? OR DO YOU DO AS I HAVE CHOSEN TO, AND BE COMPLETELY OPEN, NO HIDDEN IDENTITIES, WRITE FRANKLY AND HONESTLY AND JUST DEAL WITH THE FACT THAT PEOPLE PROBABLY KNOW YOU BETTER THAN YOU DO THEM.

ANYWAY, ENOUGH OF MY PRIVACY CONCERNS…
I MET A LOVELY GROUP OF WOMEN ON MONDAY NIGHT. I WENT TO A MEET FOR FEMMES WHO LIKE FEMMES AT A BAR IN TOWN AND IT WAS GREAT. THERE WERE SOME EXTREMELY ATTRACTIVE WOMEN PRESENT WHICH IS ALWAYS A BONUS, AND I MADE FRIENDS WITH A REALLY LOVELY COUPLE WHO I’VE INVITED ROUND FOR DINNER SOMETIME. ON TUESDAY MY MOTHER ARRIVED FOR HER BIRTHDAY WITH MY UNCLE IN TOE WHICH WAS A SURPRISE, AND I TOOK THEM TO COVENT GARDEN WHERE WE DID SOME SHOPPING AND I BOUGHT A NEW PAIR OF TROUSERS AND SOME NEW TIMS, AND IN THE EVENING WE WENT TO AN IRANIAN RESTAURANT RECOMMENDED BY A WOMAN FROM THE FEMMES MEET. THE FOOD WAS DELICIOUS, ALTHOUGH GETTING MY FAMILY TO APPRECIATE FOOD THAT ISN’T BRITISH OR ITALIAN IS QUITE DIFFICULT. LAST NIGHT I WENT TO A MEET UP FOR GAY WOMEN IN THE LOCAL AREA, WHICH WAS GOOD BECAUSE A I DIDN’T HAVE TO TRAVEL VERY FAR AND B IT’S NICE TO GET TO KNOW PEOPLE WHO LIVE FAIRLY LOCALLY. TONIGHT I HAVE A DATE WHICH I’M QUITE LOOKING FORWARD TOO, I’VE ONLY SPOKEN TO THE WOMAN I’M MEETING ONLINE SO IT’LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT SHE IS LIKE. SPEAKING OF WHICH I’D BETTER GO AND GET READY OR I’LL BE LATE.

** ** **

JUST GOT BACK FROM THE DATE, WHICH WAS VERY NICE. THE WOMAN I MET WAS INTELLIGENT, A GOOD CONVERSATIONALIST AND SHE MADE ME LAUGH WHICH IS ALWAYS GOOD. MY POINT WAS PROVEN ENTIRELY THOUGH WHEN, PART WAY THROUGH DINNER SHE SAID, “SO… I’VE READ SOME OF YOUR BLOG.” IMMEDIATELY MY HEART SANK AND I KNEW WHAT WAS COMING NEXT. “DID YOU REALLY GO TO THAT SEX PARTY?”
SO AFTER WE DISCUSSED SAID PARTY I COULDN’T HELP SAYING, “OK SO NOW YOU HAVE TO TELL ME YOUR SEXUAL HISTORY.” AND I DID EXPLAIN TO HER THAT THE IMBALANCE MADE ME SLIGHTLY UNCOMFORTABLE. WE HAD A LAUGH ABOUT IT THOUGH AND MY SEXUAL ANTICS DIDN’T SEEM TO PHASE HER. MAYBE IT COULD BE A GOOD THING THAT WOMEN KNOW HOW ADVENTUROUS I CAN BE BECAUSE THEN THEY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE LETTING THEMSELVES IN FOR, HEEHEE. SERIOUSLY THOUGH, I REALLY AM GOING TO REMOVE THE LINK BECAUSE I WOULD MUCH RATHER MY ADVENTUROUS SIDE BE BOUGHT UP IN CONVERSATION BECAUSE I WANT IT TO BE, NOT BECAUSE SOME ONE HAS READ ALL ABOUT IT. I HAD A LOVELY EVENING THOUGH AND CAN SEE A POTENTIAL FRIENDSHIP FORMING IF NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS. SO WHAT’S THE PLANB FOR THE WEEKEND? I’M OUT TOMORROW NIGHT, AND THEN I’M NOT SURE WHAT’S GOING ON THE REST OF THE TIME, THIS IS THE WEEKEND I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE GOING TO THE LESBIAN ARTS FESTIVAL WITH DL WHICH I’M OBVIOUSLY NOT GOING TO NOW, SO MAYBE I’LL DO SOMETHING SPONTANEOUS INSTEAD.

Also, appologies if this post has come out in capital letters, my lap top appears to be having a fit.

Home comforts

I’m sitting in the living room at my mother’s house. The TV is on, Una is curled up in front of the fire and mum’s cooking chicken stir fry in the kitchen which smells great. It’s been a rather emotional week all in all, what with worrying about DL and finishing my job. I don’t usually decide to come back and see the family in a great hurry, but all I could think about this morning was my mum’s nice warm house, some home cooking having the chance to offload some of my worries on to her and having her make me feel better. Ever since our trip to New York I’ve felt a lot closer to my mum, touch wood we haven’t fought so much and I’ve found myself calling her when I have a problem or just to laugh about some girl that’s pissed me off or some guy that’s messed her around. I’m feeling a bit flat at the moment to tell the truth, I no longer have a job although I’m applying for work obviously as I don’t want to be out of work if I can help it, and my love life isn’t exactly sizzling either. I did ask my crush if she wanted to have dinner, and she tactfully declined, so another one bites the dust disappointingly. I do know that I am truly blessed to have such wonderful people around me though, I’ve made some lovely friends through work and will definitely keep in touch with them.

On Thursday night I had my leaving drinks and everyone came and we all had a great time. They were all taking the piss because the single gay woman at work, the one who came on to me at the wedding did it again much to everybody’s amusement, and the drinks were lined up in front of me after which I wobbled home to bed, alone! Yesterday I went in to work and in the afternoon everyone crowded round my desk and I was given a beautiful bunch of flowers, some chocolates and a leaving card. Everyone hugged me and said how much Una and I would be missed, and I found myself starting to tear up and by the end of the day had a headache from saying goodbye to various different members of the team and trying to keep my tears under control. Last night Caroline and I went to H and her wife S’s for dinner. S cooked a lovely meal and after that we had pina coladas and squashed frogs, discussed who we’d shag in the office, bitched about some one none of us can stand at work, talked about how H and S met and their wedding, watched the wedding video, discussed the state of mine and Caroline’s love lives and I was finally driven home just after midnight to fall in to bed.

Interruption, the dog has just puked all over my mother’s rug, this is the second time today she’s been sick, she must have a stomach bug. Will have to take her to the vets on Monday.

So here I am up north, and it’s bloody freezing! When I boarded the train in London I was sweltering in my coat, so I took it off. As we got further north it got colder and colder and by the time I got here I had my coat back on and was shivering. So I’m going to spend the next few days catching up with family, and trying to put my step sister in her place as she’s apparently been being naughty in school. Then it’s off to Sheffield to see friends if some one will give me a bed. Just finished this post in time for dinner, or tea as we say up north!

Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living

So the new job has started, and already Ii’m shattered! They say that the first week is the hardest though, I sincerely hope so because I would like to stop feeling like all I want to do is go to bed when I get home at around seven thirty. And the crap thing is that it’s not long after that that I need to be in bed anyway if I want to get up feeling vaguely human in the morning, aaahh dare I say I miss being a student? Seriously though the job is great and they’ve totally thrown me in at the deep end putting me in charge of an immense nation wide project. I’m not shitting it, honest!

So Monday was the first day. I have to say I felt like the bottom had dropped out of my stomach all day long, especially on the way in. But I soon got in to it and towards the end of the afternoon I was happily making phone calls and getting stuck in. On Monday night HBS came over for some dinner and dessert, :P which was lovely as always and a great way to de-stress after my first day. I told her that’s how I should de-stress every day after work and she laughed and called me “yummie”, which is a new one. Just as we were getting cosy the phone rang and she insisted I see who it was. It was my dad so I ignored it and two minutes later it rang again. Exasperated I picked up and told him, "go away! I'm shagging!" To which he pissed himself laughing and said he'd call me the day after. When I did eventually speak to him yesterday he said, "getting hold of you is like trying to contact the bloody Pope. Although the Pope wouldn't usually pick up the phone and say "go away I'm shagging!"" Very amusing. If you haven't already gathered we're very open about sex in my family.

Yesterday, what did I do yesterday apart from work…? God I can’t remember, that’s terrible! Aahh yes that was it, I came home and had a singing lesson for an hour, then ate dinner and then spent an age on the phone to various people, because while I was talking to one person some one else would call, and I’d have to call them back, and it seriously went on like that for a good hour and a half until in the end I thought fuck it and stopped returning people’s calls and went to bed. This evening I really wanted to go to the group in town, but either the message didn’t get passed on to the group leader, or she didn’t get chance to return my call and so I couldn’t meet her before hand and still can’t find it by myself, so gave up on the idea and went to bed and watched tv for a couple of hours. To be honest it probably did me good because I have a horrible cough and cold that I’ve caught from DL and spent most of today trying not to cough down the phone to potential clients, or in the face of the company executive and directors who I met with in the afternoon. I’m also hoping I’m not going to get in to trouble because while I was on my lunch break I tried to log on to ginger beer, and it came up with a message saying “this site is considered as offensive by business systems and your attempt to access it has been reported”. I very nearly pooped my pants and sat in a mild state of panic for about an hour furiously working away and expecting a member of IT to either come and bolock me or call me up and have a word in my ear. It’s not like it’s porn or anything though so hopefully they’ll just glance at it and let me off. Will have to save the chatting for when I get home I guess.

So yeah, that’s about it, not sure what I’m doing with my evenings for the rest of the week, or with my weekend. I am supposed to be going to a meal thing on Saturday night with lots of lesbians who I’ve never met before, so I’m very very nervous and rather excited about the prospect, and need to find some one to dog sit for the evening so that I don’t have to worry about her. I’ve also gotten back in touch with a friend who I haven’t spoken too in a couple of months because we weren’t seeing eye to eye on various different things for a while and decided to stop talking. We’ve been chatting online though and things seem amicable enough which is nice because I did find to my surprise that I missed her when she wasn’t around, even though she bugs the hell out of me sometimes.
Ok I’m off to have a shower and then go to bed, then it’s back to work again tomorrow. Night folks. I’m going to snuggle up with the dog as I don’t have a woman in my bed, how depressing.

Wet in all the wrong places!

What a week! Terrible weather, terrible! I'm so glad I don't live in Sheffield anymore, for the readers who live overseas Sheffield was one of the worsed affected cities and came to a complete stand still for a few days with hundreds of people needing shelter when their homes were flooded. I did give ex flatmate a call and thankfully my old flat is fine, though. So at the weekend I went to see my mother and the rest of the family up north. Had a lovely time as there was a celebration party in honour of my degree result on Saturday night and everyone came and got slightly drunk and spent the evening singing and dancing around the living room very loudly, the poor neighbours. I honestly have a wonderful family and they all couldn't stop telling me how proud they were and my aunty started crying and said, "I can't believe you've moved to London, I couldn't do it!" I got cards and gifts and all the kid cousins were there which was lovely, as I haven't been home in about three months to see everyone. Sunday mother and I were very hung over and didn't really get moving until the afternoon. We went shopping for a new suit and blouses and shoes for me, and only came back with the shoes, so somewhat unsuccessful.

Monday I was supposed to go to Alton Towers with Sean who came over from Sheffield to my mother's house, but what with the terential rain it never happened and so we went in to town instead and had lunch and did some shopping. Sean got stranded with us overnight as Sheffield station was closed due to the flooding, so he stayed over and we both left in the morning, he to go back home and me to go on to a small little town near Wales where I did my a-levels. Baby G and I were asked to go back to give a talk to the students about university life and why "they really should go!" So we spent Tuesday and Wednesday there which were quite enough! It was lovely to see all the staff though and I've exchanged eamail addresses with them and so that was nice. By the time I got back to London on Wednesday I was too shattered to go to the discussion group and so gave it a miss and went to bed instead. Yesterday I timed and practiced the route to work again with the dog, and then had a singing lesson in the afternoon which I thoroughly enjoyed. I'm not doing a lot today, it's peeing it down outside so I'm intending to stay in and hunt for a new home on the net. DL is coming over later because we're going to pride tomorrow and then she has a school reunion in the evening which she wants me to go to with her. Oh and I got lost for the first time this morning taking Una to the vets. It's ridiculous! I can get all the way across London with no problem, yet I get lost taking the dog five minutes up the road!

Monday I start the new job, aaaah! Very very nervous! Then in the evening I'm seeing HBS, haven't seen her since April so that's very exciting, plus she made it quite clear what she's coming over for so hopefully I'll get some much needed attention! Tuesday evening I have another singing lesson and on Wednesday it's group, so I'll be shattered by Thursday. Will try to write more next week though and make it more interesting to read, rather than just a list of what I've been doing.

Another mad week gone by!
Just realised I haven't posted all week... I think i'm losing my mind!

I really just need life to slow down at the moment and let me catch up, but it's not going to and so I have to do a bit of jogging and catch up with life!

Monday was spent trying to finish off my essay and doing more work for uni, and so was pretty uneventful. Monday night we went to bed at about eleven and
made love and fell asleep at around twelvish. I was woken at four by puking sounds coming from the bathroom, and DL was nowhere in sight. Dragging myself
out of sleep I went in to the bathroom and found her kneeling over the loo emptying out the romantic meal we'd eaten earlier. She was up and down from
the bedroom to the bathroom for the rest of the night, and all of Tuesday, and I ended up taking the morning off because neither of us got much sleep,
to look after her. Poor thing, she just lay on the sofa all day not moving, and that was how I knew she felt like shit, because she usually insists on
getting up to do things. She started to get hungry later in the evening, and she'd tried some toast a little earlier and kept it down, so I made her a
baked potato with chicken, and she managed to keep most of it down thankfully. We went to bed on Tuesday night, and she slept right through until mid day
on Wednesday, which did her the world of good. She's feeling much better now.

On Wednesday I dragged my very tired self out of bed and made it in to uni for both lectures. I also handed in my crappy essay, which I neither had the
energy or the inclination to make any better than it was, and have no idea what kind of mark I'll get for it, not a high one I'm thinking. DL was awake
when I got back home, and her friend Jackson was visiting from Dorset, so the two of us and him and Doofus went to the pub for lunch, which was great!
We spent most of the afternoon in there, and then DL and I went to the hairdressers to get hair cuts. In the evening DL went to see Doofus, and Kim came
round with poetry and Baclava (don't ask me how to spell it, it's a turkish/greek pastry), and I opened a bottle of wine. It was really great to catch
up with her, as I hadn't seen her since before easter, she read some of her amazing poetry to me, and we chatted about everything you could think of until
midnight, when I protested that I had to be up early and she left. Twas a fab evening though!

This is where the drama comes in. I have no idea what happened to me last night, the only thing I can say is that for some reason I completely lost the
plot for a couple of hours. DL arrived home just after midnight, and I was a bit miffed at how late it had gotten (which was both our fault), because I
wanted some loving. So we got in to bed, and she chose that moment to tell me that when her mother phoned earlier, she said that she wanted DL to come
and work with her in her office in London for the time being. This would mean that DL would be in London during the week and come back here at the weekends.
Well I don't know, I just completely lost it. I guess I took it personally that she expected or even considered that DL would half move out of the home
we've put so much effort in to making wonderful together, to go and live back with her parents during the week, leaving me here on my own for 90 per cent
of the time. I'm sorry, but we are not paying the price we are to live here to have a semi long distance relationship. If that was an option, DL would
have looked for a job in London when she graduated, and I would have moved in with other students, so at least I wouldn't be on my own. Anyway I got really
angry and upset, and said that her mum obviously didn't value our relationship very much and it was obvious she hadn't given a thought to how I would feel
about the situation, and lots more irrational things. It all came because I hadn't realised until then how stressed I've been lately, what with uni, stuff
with my mum etc etc, and I guess I didn't have time to rejuvinate over easter because we were in London. So basically I fell apart and cried for two hours
solid. It was horrible actually, I thought I was having a nervous breakdown. Every time I tried to stop I couldn't, it just got worse, and I thought it
would never stop. To be fair, DL was wonderful, she just kept telling me everything would work out with my mother and her mother and uni and everything,
and she held me and told me she loved me, and that she hadn't even considered her mother's offer etc etc. We eventually settled down at around three this
morning, and I missed a lecture at ten, but made it in for eleven. I feel much better today, I guess I just lost the plot temporarily. I'm still a bit
miffed that her mother on the one hand is lovely to me and seems to support our commitment, and then on the other hand she does things which I feel completely
undermines it. I think she'd just be happier if DL said she was moving back home for good. Even if I was ok with her going to London, and she wanted to,
we both talked this morning and agreed it wouldn't solve the long term problem of finding a permenant job, because while she's working in London, she's
not looking for a job here, and still paying rent to only half live in our house, so what would be the point. Anyway, that was last night lol, crazy I
know.

I have to go to the doctors shortly to sort out my injections for Africa, and don't think we're doing a lot tonight. Tomorrow my dad's coming over with
the dog for the day, and there's a possibility that my uncle, aunty and their two kids are coming to visit for the weekend. I just want to shut myself
away from the world for a while and collect my thoughts, and prepare myself for the next few months. The trouble is there's no let up, for a while at least,
I'm just going to have to keep going. I know I must sound like a moaning bitch, because people have things to deal with that are much worse, I guess I'm
just a bit stressed and worn out. Still here though, and will keep you posted.

Where has the week gone?
It's back to the grind stone already, and it doesn't feel like five minutes ago since mum and sis were here!

Nothing too eventful happened during the remainder of this week. I spent most of Thursday writing an essay I have due in next week, and in the evening we
went out for a drink with Doofus. I wasn't going to mention what I'm about to talk about, because I know she reads this, but she figured it out anyway,
so it doesn't matter.

Before we went out, we had a bit of a sort out of the naughty things we have for the bedroom, simply because everything until now lived in plastic bags,
and it was a nightmare trying to hide everything for when the family came. Speaking of that, while we were sorting out sleeping things for my sister, we
had to dig under the bed, and one of the toys got activated, and she was like, "what's that noise?" Luckily I thought of a quick lie, and said that it
was DL's phone vibrating, and quickly escorted her from the room. Anyway, that aside, I suggested that we make like a toy box, and keep them all in there,
so before we went out we sorted it all out. A couple of years ago, for my birthday, the lads (Chesworth, Ridley and Thoms) clubbed together and brought
this wireless vibe for me. It's the kind that you wear, and give your partner the remote control, and they can activate it whenever they want to, wherever
you are, so long as they're within a certain distance. Well, until now it had gone quite unused, mainly because I haven't felt daring enough to wear it
when out with a partner. So, we decided to use it when we went to the pub. I know we're filthy, but the vibrations aren't nearly strong enough to make
you come, it's just meant to be a nice tickle to keep you aroused for when you get home. Anyway, we were both pretty excited about using it, and we went
to the pub to meet Doofus. Hilariously, about half way through the night, Doofus looked at me and made a comment that went something like, "why do you
look like you're about to have an orgasm?" Well, we both absolutely cracked up laughing, and she couldn't understand why. Then, Doofus being Doofus, figured
out what was going on in like thirty seconds flat, the result I hasten to add of a mind that is probably more dirty than mine. The whole thing was hilarious,
and no doubt we'll use it again, although next time it's DL's turn to wear it! Maybe it's not so discrete though.

Friday I worked all day yet again, and ended up in tears about half way through. I've been having problems with Word lately, it keeps crashing and sometimes
it doesn't recover the document properly. It also keeps getting stuck whenever I try to do a spell check. So on Friday, I made sure I did a save like every
two minutes, just in case anything happened to the computer. And yes, you guessed it, word crashed. "It's ok," thinks I, "I've only just saved the document,
so I'll recover it and it'll be fine." Well, the bastard hadn't saved a single word I'd written that day, only the stuff I'd done the day before. I'd written
so much and got so far with it, I just sat with tears of sheer frustration and anger rolling down my cheeks. Sometimes I really hate computers, especially
temperamental ones. Anyway, on Saturday I used my microsoft office cd to do a repair, and touch wood it seems to be ok now.

On Saturday, Cathy arrived very early from London with DL's fixed car. She got here at about 8, and I stayed sleeping while the two of them returned the
hired car back to the company. When they got back I got up and started work again while they went in to town, and they picked me up at about one to go
and have lunch. After that we dropped Cathy at the train station, and then did a bit of shopping. I got three new t-shirts for Africa, a new belt, and
DL bought me a mosquito net hanging kit, that she origionally thought was an actual mosquito net, and a new passport holder. Last night we just kicked
back and watched more 24, of which we have started series three.

Today we went to B n Q to get plants for our mini garden, I did some more work, and then joined DL and Doofus in the pub this evening. Tomorrow I have to
work my ass off yet again, and I don't see it letting up now until the end of May, I have so much to do! So yeah, that was my week.

Oh my god! Oh my God
I've booked the flight to Zambia, no going back now!!!
Yes! I spent most of this afternoon on the net and telephone researching flights from Manchester to Livingston, and working out which route would be the
cheapest and fastest. The end result is that I've booked a return flight with STA Travel, and it's costing £737. I also didn't realise how bloody long
the journey is going to be, I leave Manchester in the evening and don't arrive in Livingston until mid day on the day after, having flone all through the
night, and making two stops along the way. I'm now very excited and also very, very nervous. I spoke to the company about getting assistants when changing
planes etc, and they say it'll be fine, but I've never flone totally alone before and so am bricking it slightly. I'm also flying with the same company
that took me to Albania, and they lost my luggage for two days that time, so I'm praying the same doesn't happen this time. Aaaaaaahhhhhh! I can't fucking
believe it! I wanna scream and jump around and go crazy! The consequence of this excitement is that I can't concentrate on work at all, and that's bad
because I have so much to do for next week. I just have to keep thinking that if I don't pass with flying colours, I have to retake the modules in the
summer, which will be a disaster as I'm going away, so therefore I have to work my ass off between now and then. Wish it was that easy in practice though.

Anyway, back to the usual stuff. Yesterday my mum, step sister Alex and ex step mum Claire arrived at around mid day. DL was at work and we had decided
to go shopping, so they stayed for a cup of tea and several home made scones made by yours truely, before we headed off to the huge shopping centre near
to where we live. We spent the whole day there too, like until after seven, but it was really lovely. We had lunch, shopped until we dropped, and then
DL met us after work, with a red rose and a kiss for me which absolutely made my day. On the way home we stopped at the chinese to get take out, and after
filling our bellies we proceeded to laugh hysterically at too many things to go in to here, while I massaged DL's aching feet. They left this morning at
around twelve, and feeling decidedly horny, I decided to have a little play with the new toys by myself, which was fun. I then sent a text to DL at work
telling her what I'd just done, and she came home very turned on. I then cleaned the flat thoroughly, and then sorted out the Africa stuff. I've got a
basic check list from a travel website of things to take, and the organisation I'm going with are also sending me one, but I'm going to paste the one I've
got below, and if you think of anything else you think I'll need, be sure to let me know. Now I'm going to go to bed and have mad, passionate sex with
my lady.

Check list
Passports
Visas
Immunisation Record
Travel tickets
Travellers cheques
Insurance
Emergency numbers
Photocopies of documents
Guide books
Money belt
Combination padlocks
Passport photos (minimum of 6)
Personal safety alarm
Adapter plugs
Swis army knife
Camera
Film
Batteries
Whistle
Sleeping bag
Sleeping sheet
Mosquito net (impregnated)
Alarm clock
Candles
Inflatable neck pillow

Toiletries
Shampoo
Conditioner
Ear plugs
Tissues
Safety pins
Tampons
Flannel
Face wash
Shaving equipment
Wet wipes
Moisturiser
Toothpaste and brush
Sun cream
Lip balm
Insect repellent
Brush or comb
Dioderant
Toilet paper
Dental floss
Nail clippers

Medical
Prescriptions
Medical kit
Medications
First aid kit
Medical sterile kit
Water purification tablets
Antidiarrhea medication
Rehidration solution with spoon
Adheessive bandages
Antibiotic cream
Motion sickness medication
Vitamins
Thermometer
Parasetamal
Anti inflammatory tablets
Scissors
Tweazers

London Update
On Thursday morning, we watched the final episode of series 2 of 24 while we ate breakfast, then packed and tidied the flat. We set off around one, and
the drive was longer than I thought it would be, having not done it before by car. The journey was pleasant though, we ate the lunch I made, listened to
the radio, and I read to DL as she drove for a while. We reached DL’s parent’s house at around five, and were greeted by an excited Chesney, with a plaster
cast on his leg, at the door. About fifteen minutes after we got there, he decided to bring his box of Lego downstairs and make me a house, which proved
to be very unstable. So, in my infinite wisdom, I started to show him how to reinforce the walls by overlapping pieces and so on, and we ended up sitting
in the middle of a pile of Lego on the living room floor for an hour, making the house look great. I felt like a kid again, and DL kept laughing and saying
that she would buy me some for my birthday. I did think I was going to get us in to trouble at one point though, because her dad made a comment that her
mum would go mad at their being Lego on the floor, in case the cats got it, and I thought, o’oh because she scares me lol, but it was fine. When Cathy
arrived home she made us a lovely salmon dinner, and then we settled down for the rest of the evening to watch TV and talk.

It took me ages to get to sleep because of the heat, and we ended up putting the fan on and having the windows open, I forget how still and close London
air actually is. You get used to it after a couple of days, but at first it makes you sneeze and blocks your nose.

On Friday we woke at around ten, and after going downstairs for breakfast we came up to get dressed. DL was so horny however, that I ended up making love
to her, as quietly as possible, because we have the problem of a very squeaky bed, but her dad had his music on downstairs so it was all good. Then we
went to visit her nan, and her aunt and uncle were there too, and they plied us with beef sandwiches, hot cross buns, lemonade and tea, which was very
much appreciated. In the afternoon we went to Blue Water to do some shopping, and I got Rids a birthday present, and some stuff for Mister Chesworth and
Mister Thoms too. It still worries me greatly that we haven’t found a Christmas present for Baby G yet, because it’s almost half way through the year and
I’m starting to feel bad, but seriously, we can’t find anything we think she’ll like. I’m sorry it’s very belated hon. Didn’t find any clothes for either
of us, and so came back relatively empty handed at about seven. Had steak for dinner, and again sat down to relax. I went up to bed early at around ten
thirty to read, and left DL and her mum to watch a film.

On Saturday morning, we woke up fairly early as it was our 18 month anniversary. DL’s family left early on a day out, and we had breakfast and headed for
central London. It was a beautiful day and very busy as usual. I enjoyed every minute of it, we shopped in Covent Garden, and then went to Leicester Square
for lunch at pizza hut and an ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s. In the afternoon we went back to the shops, and then finished up at First Out, which is a
gay café and very cool. We then headed back to the house, hoping that the family wouldn’t be back yet so that we could have a cuddle, but just as we got
home, so did they, so that plan went out the window. In the evening we went for a Chinese at a lovely restaurant in Greenwich, and had a relatively early
night.

Sunday morning I woke up to go to the toilet at about half past five, and for the life of me couldn’t get back to sleep afterwards. I pissed DL off because
I kept telling her to turn over, because when she lies on her back she snores really loudly, and that made things even worse, so we ended up having a quiet
argument in bed, and then making up shortly afterwards. We did try to have sex, on the squeaky bed, and although it was enjoyable I couldn’t have an orgasm.
I’m hard to please at the best of times, and poor DL was beside herself with frustration. Not quite sure what we’re gonna do on the sex front, DL’s dad
doesn’t work anymore so the house is usually occupied, and so it’s proving difficult at the moment. Anyway, we had a ride down in to Kent, and shopped
in a little seaside town for a drink, and then went to a lovely restaurant for food by the river Medway. Did some work when we got back, as the guilt of
not doing any was starting to set in.

On Monday Cathy had the day off work, so the three of us went shopping, firstly to Ikea, where we didn’t get much, then to DFS where Cathy bought a new
sofa on a whim, and then to Croydon. I’d never been to Croydon shopping before, but it seemed like a decent enough place, and DL really likes the area,
so while we shopped we discussed a possible move there after we’re done in Sheffield. It’s something we’ve both been thinking about, as we want to live
as close to London as possible, but not right in the crazy madness of it, so we were thinking sort of at the end of a tube line or something, so we can
commute. Anyway, on the Croydon front she said that you can get some really nice houses in Purley, which is a bus ride away from the town centre and a
train ride in to London, which would be suitable for work etc, so we’ll start looking in to it a bit closer to the time. Neither of us can wait to move
south, as although Sheffield is a lovely city in its own right, it just doesn’t do it for us like London does, and it’s in the north which is also another
negative, as most of our friends and DL’s family live in the south. What about my family? Well they’re all mostly based in Staffordshire, a place which
I’m definitely not keen to make a permanent home in, so unless my parents decide they want a change of scenery, we’ll have to visit as we do now, which
is every now and then. My mum can’t comprehend the fact that after uni has finished I don’t want to move in to a house on the same estate that she’s on,
because that’s what my family seem to have done. No one lives even an hour away on my mum’s side, and she thought I would be the same and is quite shocked
at me speaking of living quite far away. Hmmm, small town mind set I guess. Anyway I digress. Not a lot happened on Monday night, just did some work, and
then went to bed.

Tuesday, we spent most of the day with my friend Jo, introducing DL, catching up on news, and reminiscing about college life and the people we knew there.
Jo’s fantastic, I don’t see her very often but when I do we chat for hours and get on like a house on fire. We had a ball at college, myself, her and Baby
G having dinner, going clubbing, or just being crazy, so it was great to catch up and talk about old times. Afterwards we went to collect DL’s car that
had gone in for a service, and then headed home for dinner. Got loads of work done last night too, which was a bonus. And, we actually managed to have
successful sex when we went to bed, without the bed making too much noise. I hadn’t orgasmed since we got here, until last night, but o boy, it was soooo
good after waiting for so long, and I feel thoroughly content this morning. Accept for the fact that I’m now in pain because of my damn period.

Today we’re going in to town again to shop on Oxford street, and hopefully also go to our favourite adult store to buy something new for the bedroom, heehee.
Having a great time here, it’s lovely to be here, even though DL doesn’t seem to think I like being around her family. I know she finds it difficult, because
we have to be very reserved unless we’re alone, which isn’t often, but I do like spending time with them. They will, after all, be the in-laws one day
if she decides to make an honest woman of me.

Bloody live journal!
, I’m annoyed, I just wrote an entire post and it disappeared without actually posting, and I didn’t do anything wrong!

Anyway, I’ll write it all again…

Sorry I’ve been lame and not posted for a few days, the weekend has gone nowhere. Friday was spent shopping for new clothes, which I couldn’t find, and
then in the evening DL and I went to Climax, the uni’s gay night, with friends. Had a good time, although I remained sober because I had work to do on
Saturday, but we got hot dogs on the way home which made up for the lack of alcohol.

Saturday, we woke late and I worked most of the day on uni stuff. Then in the evening, I cooked a romantic meal for us both, which consisted of thai chicken,
which is chicken marinaded in lemon and lime juice, garlic, chilli, spring onions, ginger, and lemon grass, coated with sesame seeds, and served with rice
and Chinese vegetables. This was followed by home made cinnamon and apple crumble with icecream, which went down a treat. After we ate, we intended to
settle down and watch a film, but ended up in bed having red hot sex, until the early hours, and the film was long forgotten.

Sunday, woke up at eleven, did my shift, then dad arrived at five with the dog in toe. He still hadn’t gotten around to having the dog’s hair cut, so he
was all long and soft and curly, and DL took him to get trimmed today while I was at uni, and he looks soooooooo cute. Sunday evening we took my dad to
a Chinese buffet restaurant in town, which he loves, he’s as mad about Chinese food as we are so it went down well. Then we came back here, too full of
food to go to the pub and have drinks, and played a dvd quiz game, of which I came a poor last, and after watching trashy tv, we went to bed.

On Monday morning, DL got her first call from the agency she’s now working with, to go to a primary school about fifteen miles away, so she was up bright
and early, and when she gets up I find it difficult to sleep without her, so we were both awake from around seven. I got up and made her a packed lunch,
while she got dressed and got directions off the internet. She was so nervous bless her, but I tried to calm her as much as I could, because I knew she’d
be fine. We kept in touch through text messages during the day, and she really enjoyed being at the school. Dad ended up staying until around five, because
I was alone, so while I was at uni in the afternoon, we mooched around not doing a lot, but said he just enjoyed spending time here, so I didn’t feel so
bad. Then DL got home and told us all about her day, and after that he left. He really didn’t wanna leave the dog here for the week, said he would be lonely
without him, but he’s two weeks overdue his stay, so we insisted that we kept him. Worked until late last night, and got up early again this morning, DL
didn’t have to go to work though. Tomorrow DL is going to a high school all day, and I have uni and work to do, and the dog for company. He’s now snoring
away in his bed, bless him, I have my two favourite people in the whole world in one room, it can’t be bad!

Oh, and I also got a call from one of the organisations I'm hoping to travel to Africa with, and they think it best I travel to Cape Town to teach. Anyone
ever been?

The weekend.
I'm not going to post about why I felt like shit yesterday, or at least not yet anyway, because it would mean going in to lots of painful details that I'm
not willing to do at the moment. But anyway, I had a cry yesterday and feel better this morning, so will now back track from Thursday.

Nothing very exciting happened during the daytime, but our night out was brilliant. DL and I met up with Doofus, Dora, Helen and Amy, and after going for
drinks at a bar, and minus Doofus, we went on to a club. Everyone got wasted to some extent, I think Helen and I were probably about the most sober ones,
although still tipsy. Anyway we ended up having such a good time that we stayed until the club closed, which for me is a rarety, as I really have to be
in the mood for clubbing, I guess that night I was. Tried to get food from a take out near the club, but it was rammed, so we all took a cab, but ended
up getting out half way home to catch another, because we had the craziest driver in the world. He drove like he was on something, slamming his breaks
and then speeding off, until we were all falling all over the place and decided to pay and get out. Anyway, we made it home in one piece, and DL was pissed
off that she couldn't get food, so I, being the devoted girlfriend that I am, made her chili with garlic bread, that she devoured in her drunken state.

Friday
Woke up at around nine thirty, not having got to sleep until about three thirty, and didn't feel too bad. We made love, and then fell back to sleep until
around twelve, which wasn't a good idea as we were supposed to be arriving at my mother's house mid afternoon. We ended up arriving at six thirty, she
wasn't too impressed lol. Felt awful that day, I was so hung over, which was crazy because I wasn't that drunk really, and was greeted in the evening by
my step sister arriving and jumping all over me and demanding to be tickled. She's only ten, and she's adorable, and it was lovely to see her! Even if
my head did feel like it had an army parading around inside it. Consequently we went to bed fairly early Friday night.

Saturday
Woke up at around nine, and saw mum for a while before she went off to work. We had decided to make the most of the day, by catching up with, and introducing
DL to members of the family that she hasn't already met, and so spent most of the day visiting with relatives. After mum had gone to work, we got dressed,
and then set about fixing a lock on the bedroom door. All day I was slightly nervous, thinking that it would go one of two ways: she would either flip
out completely and rip the thing off, or not mention it. Thankfully, she didn't mention it, and she must have noticed because we had her room and she slept
in there, so if she didn't it was a miracle. I'm thinking that the reason she didn't say anything however, was because on the Sunday morning she approached
me very sheepishly, and asked to borrow more money to pay off the rest of her debt to the loan company, which I wasn't too impressed about, so I'm guessing
she'll let it lie. Either that, or I'll go back to find it's been removed.

Anyway, getting back to Saturday. After getting totally lost owing to my mother's painfully bad directions, we arrived at our first port of call, which
was to see my uncle John, Aunty Pat and cousin Katie. We stayed for about an hour an a half, my uncle John having gotten a number of dvd's ready to show
to DL, which were all of me when I was very little and very annoying, at parties, singing, and reading books. She seemed to enjoy it, and to be fair they
did make me laugh, and I got to see my nan and grandad on them too (grandad died when I was six, nan when I was nine). After that we headed up to see my
cousin Laura, aunty Pauline and Laura's baby, Calum, who came to visit us a few weeks ago. That was the nicest visit of all, I held the baby lots, and
he snuggled in to me making little noises of contentment, and the broodiness started all over again. Had lunch there, and then went in to town to get my
dad's birthday cards, and for DL to find a present for him. Then on to my uncle Ian's and his two children briefly, and then finally to see my next door
neighbours, who are like my substitute grand parents. All this was done by six thirty, and then we got ready to go for a meal with my dad as it was his
birthday. I think we did well, and everyone was pleased to see us, which was lovely.

Sunday
On sunday morning, we went to visit my aunty Margret, and my cousin Mel popped in to see us there too. This again was nice, but this time my mother came
with us, and to be honest we didn't really get a word in edge ways, and she just went off talking about her job etc, and so for a lot of the time we sat
listening to her go on and on about work, and I wished she'd have stayed at home. That sounds awful, but I don't really see my family that often, and it
was the first time my aunty had met DL, and my mum lives around the corner from them, so I felt slightly miffed that she'd muscled in on our time with
them, and was thankful she'd been at work the day before when we saw everyone else. After that we headed back to her house for some brunch, and then headed
back home.

So all in all catching up with everyone was lovely, and I'm glad we did it, it was just seeing mother that was the painful part. But that's for another
post... Today I have to work work work.

I am the champion my friends!
Why is it, that throughout the day, I think of loads of things to post about, and then when it comes to it my mind goes blank? Does anyone else have that
problem? I think I'll have to carry around a virtual pad to scribble on.

Yesterday was a crazy day!
Both DL and I got out of the wrong side of the bed, and spent most of the day niggling at each other for no reason. We didnt' actually fight, but we were
both aware of each other's faults more than usual. Anyway, it wasn't a very eventful day all in all, the highlight of which was kicking her ass at draughts.
We decided to take some time out to enjoy each other's company in the evening and to try and lighten the mood, so she challenged me to a game, one which
I hasten to add I've never won while playing against her. So last night I was determined to win, and succeeded. However, she wouldn't conceed defeat in
the slightest, and we ended up shouting at each other in a very commical, non aggressive way about the rules of the game, and then laughing at the fact
that she's such a bad loser. Anyway, it finished the day off nicely and we went to bed and made love!

Today
Two out of three lectures I should have had were cancelled due to a strike by the association of university teachers, so I only had to go in for an hour.
I should add, that yesterday was very industrious, so I have little to do today in terms of seminar preparation. I finished Northern Lights, and read Twelfth
Night, and so all is well. I also found out that a presentation I thought I had to prepare for next week isn't happening until later in the semester, which
gives me a relatively easy weekend. I do however, have an essay that is due in in three weeks time, so I intend to not leave it until the last minute.
But, the point to my ramblings is, that it's my dad's birthday this weekend, and origionally I wasn't going to visit because of work commitments, but now
I can. So I called my dad to say that DL and I are coming, and he was thrilled, bless his heart! He's so enthusiastic about everything, and I love that.
We're also bringing the dog back with us to stay for a while, so we're both looking forward to that. We'll be staying at my mother's house, which I'm not
so bothered about because I'll have DL with me, and my mother pretends that we have this impecable relationship when anyone else is around, so it should
be relatively hastle free. After the xmas trauma however, I'm planning to put a lock on the door, so that I can have some privacy both when I'm there with
DL and when I'm there alone, and I don't think she'll like that so much. She has this way of just walking right in though, without knocking, and I find
it extremely invaissive, so she'll just have to cope! And yes, I have asked her not to do it, and she doesn't pay attention.

DL is going for a job interview in a little while, so I'll finish here to spend time with her before she goes. We've been together for seventeen months
tomorrow, so I think we'll do something nice. Thursday night we're planning to go clubbing with friends, and then Friday we'll be visiting, so it looks
like it's going to be a good week.

I'm wicked and I'm lazy!
Gotta get my ass in gear!

Wow, i've been such a bum for the last couple of days, it's untrue. Didn't go in to uni on Monday, I had the notes for the lecture and so decided to give
it a miss. Was a very naughty girl and lazed around for most of the day, watching episodes of 24, which we're addicted too, having incredible sex, and
reading trashy fiction. It was wonderful!!! I need more days like that!

Yesterday I went in to uni in the morning and then to the gym in the afternoon. Did a good, hard work out, changing my programme slightly to include more
weight machines, and now my muscles are screaming every time I move. I'll get used to it, I'm planning on going again tomorrow, I feel great. And I've
lost more weight, which has given me a boost, and it doesn't seem to be coming off my breasts which is great! Last night I cooked dinner for once, taking
a break from work, and then DL made pancakes for pudding, very naughty and unhealthy I know, but come on, it was Shrove Tuesday! Anyway they were lovely!
We should have been going out last night, but we ended up being late, and so decided not to go. I read some more trashy novel, and then we watched more
24 before cuddling up to go to sleep.

Today, my dad's been visiting with my lil pooch, which was wonderful. He's so easy going and we get along great, and I miss my hound terribly so it was
lovely to see him and have him trotting along behind me when I moved around. Bless him, little love! Don't intend on doing a lot tonight, although from
tomorrow I really have to get back in to work mode. This is so unlike, me, I usually switch to work mode on a Monday and switch back to relaxing at the
weekend, but this week it just hasn't happened, and I'm starting to feel slightly guilty now. I've just looked at all my essay deadlines and project work
that has to be done by the end of the semester, and I just know I'm gonna be run off my feet in a few weeks time. American Pie The Wedding has just started
on tv, so I'm going to watch it.