Happy New Year... Let the Fun Begin!

So 2012...  Personally I feel like I had a pretty dire year.  What can I say that's particularly good about it?  Off the top of my head... nothing.  So to put it into perspective in order to promote a more healthy outlook on life I made a list.  I'm good at lists.  I like lists.  Lists help me obtain some form of order.  Until i loose them or put them somewhere "safe"

So here it is...

What was so great for me in 2012?

Bad

• Had to re-home Tattiana Caterina & Matilda Poo Cat (My 2 kitties)
• Moved in with cat hating future mother in law
• Future mother in law turfed me and daughter out because I wouldn't let her bully me on wedding related issues
• Had a wedding dress dilemma because it didn't fit right & was too short
• Money!
• Had to suspend cake making due to mother in law not wanting me to make cakes in her home
• Had to give up my home and sell/skip most of my furniture to move in with mother in law
• Sold my fabulous little Sport KA to buy a grown up sensible car
• Put weight on
• Was made redundant - twice
• Tried going to craft Fayre's to sell my truffles and made a loss & generally wasted my time

Good

• Realised I have wonderful friends who helped me out when I found a new home
• My two new baby kitties George & Bertie
• My new grown up sensible car - I love it after all!
• Found my independence again after I moved out of mother in laws and started a new life
• Work - My new day job is fabulous and I have some awesome colleagues
• Found a new wedding dress more beautiful than the original
• Tried my hand at craft Fayre's
• Completed Fallout 3 & Fallout New Vegas (I am a bit of a geek)
• My new home & awesome landlords!
• Had a hen party!

So looking at this I think 2012 was overall a bad year with some good bits thrown in towards the end.  What am I going to do now? 

I am going to move on and keep my head up!  Things could have been worse!  After all, I was made homeless momentarily, but managed to turn my life around and realise that I have some wonderful friends and family and the support of my man MrMc (when he isn't doing something "in a minute" or "later" ;-) )  If it hadn't been for my family and friends I honestly don't know how I would have managed.  They were there for me through thick and thin and offered more support and encouragement than I could have hoped for!

So here's to all the people who matter in my life who have been there for me.  Whether it be kind words of encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to sound off into or their home for a roof over my head.  I can't thank you all enough and I love each and every single one of you.

Thank you x 

New Family Additions

I have always for as long as I remember been a cat person.  For some reason I find it hard to bond with dogs.  By all means I will fuss friends canine friends and will not for one minute think of harming a pooch.  But cats are where my loyalties lie.  I remember having cats in the home since being very young and some of my earliest memories include the grey moggy we had when I was little.  

I always feel a house is not a home unless a cat lives there.

I was bought my first Garfield comic when I was about 7 years old.  I remember we were going on holiday and my Dad took me to the newsagent to buy a comic to keep me entertained on the plane and I picked up the only one with a cat on the front.  From that moment on I was a Garfield fan through and through and even now I have an app on my phone where I get a daily Garfield strip!  I am also a fan of I can has cheezburger and the kitty related stuff they come up with.  The cheezburger lingo has now become a second language in my household especially when addressing kitties.

I have led a cat free life since January this year and I have felt a small kitty shaped hole in my life ever since so when MrMc suggested getting a kitten I went on planning mode.  A week later I found myself the proud owner/parent/carer/slave to my two beautiful boys George & Bertie.  They were 8 weeks old and I fell in love the moment I saw them.  Two tabby boys who were abandoned by their mum who were then had reared by a lovely girl from Barnsley called Vicky.  Unfortunately Vicky couldn't keep them and had to find a new home for them, which is where I come in!  

Bertie

The last two weeks have been interesting, the boys spend half of the time playing and stalking each other and the rest of the time snuggling up with us all on the sofa.  They are especially fond of my fluffy throw and love to paw it and snuggle down.  I am enjoying every minute of their development and love watching them play and love the snuggle time they give us, the only thing I am not enjoying is the amount of poo they seem to produce!  I am sure they produce half their bodyweight in poo every day!

 

George

Looking forward to lazy winter nights snuggled up on the sofa with the family and the kitties.  Simple pleasures x

I survived my hen party!

As the title suggests, I survived.

After a full english breakfast, I headed over to The Wifes parents pub, where I was instructed to get dressed into my printed top and pink tutu.  (very attractive...)  They then blindfolded me and told me to sit still...  

I was filled with dread...  

What were they going to do to me?!

Whatever it was I needed to sit still and grin and bear it.  Let them have their fun and hopefully the rest will run smoothly...

Then someone grabbed my arm and handcuffs were applied.

Oh god no.  What were they doing?

My blindfold was ripped off and I was sat staring into the face of my new friend.  

A friend of one of the girls had been handcuffed to me... who happened to be a dwarf.  He thought it was rather funny and started drinking making it so that every time he took a sip I whacked him in the face...

He then dragged me outside and started waving at passing cars and buses whilst having a smoke.  I was at his mercy.... I kept thinking, please don't need the loo!

After about an hour, the mini bus turned up to take us into Blackpool.  We all piled on and were in high spirits all the way there and with a few cheeky shots of raspberry sambuka we were on our way to being merry!

Once we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by a hillybilly esque fella who was a little creepy to say the least... Buh!  The next morning one of the girls sharing my room informed me she checked the wall for spyholes before she went to bed just in case... Thats how bad it was.

Anyways, the rest of the day went well, nobody got too drunk and everyone just had good clean silly fun!  Such a breath of fresh air!

Heres some more pics to keep you entertained!

Hen Party Looming

Its my hen party soon... 

In fact its next week.  

Not sure if I am nervous or excited.

I know I am going to Blackpool (cos I am from round there originally and just like the silly cheesy atmosphere)  But I don't know what they have planned.  Which scares me.

Myself and 'The Wife' sat there with some friends one night after a belly full of beer and created names to go onto t.shirts.  We decided that Horny Helen and Kinky Kim had had their day, so we decided to go for something else.  Something which meant something to us.  So we went through the girls one by one and told stories about our memories and what the individuals are like and created a list of names based upon these factors.  It had us giggling long into the night and we woke up the next morning slightly fuzzy bust still grinning.  A job well done in my eyes!

I re-read some of the names and started tittering away to myself over a cup of tea...  Loved them!  We had a Dwarf Vader (for a smaller member of our group), T'Wife (for my friend who I refer to as the wife), Chickens (long story but the name is based on something silly the girl did whilst away in Whitby with us), Mammy (because my Mum HATES being called Mam), Tenner (because thats how much it takes to get her drunk), Scouse Brows (because she rocks em)... And so on and so on.  The list had me chuckling and still does.

Then I got the news that jeans are not allowed at the venue we are going to... And the girls have decided that tutu's and hot pink accessories is the way forward (oh no...)  This means cheap, tack and sh*t is the way to go.  Oh well.  If were going to do it, then we might as well do it right.  One problem, my figure is erm, well, round.  And being short and round isn't good when sporting a t.shirt, leggings and a tutu.  Lets just hope the circus don't try to claim me.

Ebay is brill for cheap tack.  Its full of it.  One hot pink tutu later and £5 lighter and im on my way to looking like a prat.

Someone at work said I would look good in neon pink with the illuminations in the background.

Gee thanks guys.

Now, call me paranoid, but If I am the only one wearing a tutu there may be a tantrum or minor paddy followed by some shots.

So I bought myself these to wear to cheer myself up...

I feel a little better now, thanks to Iron Fist shoes :-)

Amongst All The Chaos, A Cake Emerges!

So...

We have moved in.  Now were surrounded by boxes and nowhere to put anything due to lack of storage.  We sold all our bookcases and storage units at the beginning of the year, and now we are building ourselves back up from scratch which is slow moving. 

The only problem is... I have a wedding cake to make for my cousin this week for her wedding on Friday, so after clearing a path from the oven to the sink to the fridge, I was finally able to start work.  

All was going well on the baking front and I seemed to be compatible with my new oven which is always a bonus, when I realised at 7pm on Sunday evening  I have no cake boards or dowels!  doh!  However, as Mr Mc now uses the car for work, I have no way of getting to a cake suppliers in time for me to be able to complete the cake (I also have a day job).  So I called my Mum, who came to my rescue...

Cue Monday evening approx 10pm and I am now sporting cake boards and dowels.  Now I come to the grim realisation that I have no pearl lustre, no dragees and the chiffon ribbon for the board is next to useless as it is see-through and looks silver instead of pink... Doh!

Things were not looking good... I then realised I had missed my big brothers birthday too...

Its weeks like this where I just want to push rewind and start again.

So cue Tuesday.  I drag myself to work via the 30 minute trek over the fields and then the 30 minute bus ride to work.  Cue phone call from the dress shop where I am getting my wedding dress from.  Its arrived, 2 months ahead of schedule.  This is good and bad.  Good because its arrived and I get to go play dress up, bad because I don't yet have all the money to pay for it and I have no idea whether the wedding is still going ahead due to recent events and funding issues.  Can this week just stop throwing things at me and just let me crack on now please??

So cue Wednesday.  I drag myself to work and I go sit at my desk safe in the knowledge that Im working half day and able to collect aforementioned missing cake supplies before my dress appointment at 2pm... simples.  However, I feel like I am missing something...  But what?  Oh god.  I forgot to tell my Mum about the dress appointment!  Frantinc texting and busy morning at work and I manage to properly organise dress appointment with Mum and friend in tow... phew. 

The afternoon went pretty well... the dress fit, bought cake stuff and got home early afternoon and started final leg of cake... Then boom.  Cooker stops working...

REALLY?!?  C'mon!  Can someone gimme a break?

Luckily I had managed to get all my baking done, but that doesn't help the fact that we have nothing in the house to eat which doesnt involve an oven or grill...

So what did I do?  Nothing.  I sat down and carried on with the cake... At least that seemed to be coming along well (eventually)

So here it is.

I was really pleased with it and so was my cousin.  A good ending to a weird week.  

Incidentally, the cooker is now fixed thanks to a wonky cable.

Oh and the wedding itself?  Beautiful.  The bride was beautiful, the groom was blushing, everything about it was brilliant.  Congratulations Mr & Mrs W!

PS.  I also forgot to post their card too...  

Happy Home Building

So... 

We have finally moved in!  And you will be pleased to know the move went well with massive thanks to Mr Y, my lovely fiancés' best mate, who lugged and shifted those boxes and furniture like his life depended on it!   I am and will be forever grateful, as if it wasn't for him, Mr Mc would have had to have done it all himself due to me not being allowed back at the house (very mature I know)

I am surrounded by boxes and half built furniture, yet I feel more content than I have done in months.  Why?  Could be something to do with not being under pressure to have everything we own tidy, tidy tidy, out of sight even though the rest of the house is messy?  Or possibly because I don't feel the need to hide away in my room which was lovingly known as the fortress of solitude by the end.  I now have a whole house to spread out in!  

Its a really nice feeling unpacking and discovering belongings I haven't had access to for over 6 months, and then putting stuff on display without upsetting anyone.  I  But do you know what one of the best things about having our own home again?  Not having to live out of a cardboard box!  All of our food was kept in a cardboard box in the utility room as we were not allowed any cupboard space and it was positively awful. 

Its also a brilliant feeling discovering trinkets and gizmos you forgot you even had!  Some would argue that if I forgot I had them, then why do I even need to keep them?  Because young grasshopper, the rediscovery of my lost treasures brought a smile to my face which has been absent for so many months.  Rediscovering things which I forgot I had and reminiscing about their origins has reminded me that I still have a life to live and someone to live it out with.  We are surrounded by family and friends who genuinely care for us and take us as we are, without upsetting our lives and life plans over something as petty as the hemline of a goddam dress!  (Did you see what I did there?  I nearly had a full on rant but stopped myself just in time! :-) )

If it wasn't for the hospitality, help and generosity of our family and friends over the last few weeks I have no idea what we would have done, and I am eternally grateful for everything.

You know who you are x

Operation Salvage My Life

Ive been a very bad blogger...  For good reasons.

I have been busy salvaging my life following a massive relationship breakdown with the In-Laws.  So sit tight and grab a cuppa if you fancy listening to a long winded ranty story.

Last year I bought a wedding dress - I wrote about it in another post.  It didn't fit right when I bought it.  The skirt was 4" too short at the back and too long at the front, and it only just fastened up.  The Mother in Law (MIL) was there when I bought it and kinda pushed me into buying it with the help of the stroppy shop assistant.

It then sat in the spare room for about 10 months eating away at my subconscious.  So I tried it back on and it was still ridiculous.  A little weight loss later... Yep still don't fit right.  So what did I do?  What any normal woman would do.  Start looking for another dress.  I can't feasibly loose 4" from my height can I??

However, this wasn't enough for MIL, she wanted to take it back to the shop to "have it out with them".  I really didn't think this was appropriate nor did I want this to happen because I should never have bought it in the first place.  Its my dress and my problem, so I graciously declined.  Little did I know that this meant all hell was going to break loose...

The subject was not over or dropped.  She continuously brought it up with MrMc and was told to leave it alone.  MIL is apparently used to getting her own way and was not happy that I had refused her interventions.  I dug my heels in deeper and refused to let anyone interfere in "The Dress" situation.

Then it went BOOM!  I was branded a liar.  I was accused of lying about my dress.  This meant I was a liar through and through and wasn't to be trusted.  It also meant I was driving a wedge in her mother-son relationship and MrMc should give serious consideration into not marrying me because he would be marrying a liar, and all I am after is her money and house... Yes.  Really.

"That girls the devil d'ya hear?  You stay away from her!" - I love the Waterboy, what a film!

Anyway... 

She has also refused to come to the wedding incidentally...

I forgot to mention that we moved in with the In Laws in February, to give us the chance to be able to save for a deposit to buy our own home and pay for our upcoming wedding.  Which has not been fun.  I also forgot to mention that we had our own (rented) home previously, and gave it all up and either sold or threw away all our furniture due to lack of available storage.  I also had to find new homes for my kitties (which devastated my daughter and I still get a little upset about it too...)

Anyways... the above all meant I was "no longer welcome"  all because I was accused of lying about the hemline of a dress, bugger all to do with her... ridiculous?  Hell yea.

This means we have had to start from fresh and use all our wedding and new home fund on new furniture and starting again.  Angry?  Hell no.  Friggin furious is probably closer to the truth.

What am I going to do?  Nothing.

Why?  Theres only so much a person can put up with before the will to fight back is knocked out of them.  I think I have reached that point in my life where I just can't be bothered to fight back.  Why should I?  The woman is delusional and possibly rabid!

Ill just let them continue having her P.I. friends investigate me and her changing the locks because she thinks I broke in and went in her bedroom (what the chuff for I have no idea), or have her report me to ebay for omitting to mention something in a listing (why the bloody hell shes searching for wedding dresses I have no idea... maybe I should give her mine so she can go roller skating to Morrisons in it) and a massive list of other crazy sh*t.

Rant over.