It’s all about definitions. The FF (if you don’t know, don’t ask!) will be defined in the extended entry.

Taken directly from Three Moms and a Single Lady, during their blogathing efforts
Go read more!
(more…)

Complete with tan-lines (yay!) and lots to say. Seeing as my blog hasn’t been updated for a wee while I’m not going to put this into the extended entry. Instead I’m going to leave it in all it’s long glory on the front page
I guess it’s best to start at the beginning and work my way through. I’ll label each day in case you want to skip to the end, I’m nice like that

So here we go…

Thursday 18th
I flew out from Jersey relatively early in the morning. Before I left though mummy handed my a gift bag and told me to open it when i got through to the departure lounge. I did as I was told and inside was a small bear holding a balloon saying “good luck”. It almost made me cry, it was such a sweet thing to do. So I walked onto the plane carrying this small bear and being looked at as though i were insane. Well, it’s not everyday you see a 21 year old travelling with a teddy bear. As i was trying to revise on the plane i ended up naming the bear after one of the researchers I had to learn about. So he’s now called Benjamin Lee Whorf… or Benjie for short… and he’s very cute
Arriving at Newcastle was very uneventful and I made it on to the metro and the train without injuring anybody, which is an improvement for me! Arriving at Durham I was met by Jim and we started the long walk up Claypath to his house. It’s all up hill (grr) and I was totally in the wrong shoes. By the time we got to the top my feet were rubbed raw and bleeding in some places. Not the best way to start a vacation. But bless him, he hauled my case the whole way, and it wasn’t the lightest of things. But he persevered and for that alone i will love him forever.

We spent the evening with him making a t-shirt for Becks and me frantically trying to cram information into my brain. Benjie was sat on my folder with me talking at him and it actually helped me remember some stuff. I went to bed relatively early due to being in a mild state of panic.

Friday 19th
Waking up I felt the panic really kick in. Walking down to the exam room I was trying my hardest not to cry. Once i arrived I saw lots of students in similar states to myself, most of them panicking, nearly all of them smoking. I swear, if you didn’t smoke before it’s one of those situations that will make you start. i sat on the steps, feeling the panic grow and trying not to rock back and forth like a lunatic. I did crack at one point though and ended up screaming the drugs aren’t working!!! Oh god, somebody please shoot me now!!! Oddly nobody took much notice…

The exam itself wasn’t too bad. i think i did enough to pass this time. At least, I hope I did. I didn’t cry and i did answer all the questions I was supposed to so it can’t have been that bad me thinks. But only time will tell now.

Walking back up I felt as though this major weight had been lifted from my shoulders. All i had to worry about was making it to the station on time, which i did. I said goodbye to the darling Jim and sat down to be sped to my boy.

Arriving at Kings cross was a nerve racking experience. He was running a little late so wasn’t there to meet me off the train itself. Now, I’m not fond of London at the best of times so being on my own, with a heavy suitcase, surrounded by lots of people, after all that has happened in London recently, didn’t put me in the calmest of moods. I got outside though and perched on my case next to the wall, away from the massive press of people that could have easliy carried me away to god only knows where.

Then, out of the crowd of alien faces, I saw him coming towards me. My boy. He pulled me into his arms and everything slowed down. And then it happened, he kissed me. It was the sort of kiss that deserves to be filmed and kept for prosperity. The camera would have moved around us on a 360 degree angle and all the other passengers would fade into non-existence. A kiss like that belongs where people can see it and say “one day, that will happen to me”. It was the sort of kiss i used to dream about as a little girl, and the sort of kiss that I want to keep in a box to look at again and again.

A perfect kiss.

When we finally made it back to his flat i was feeling distinctly more relaxed. Having somebody with me always makes me feel better in London. The flat itself is beautiful. Overlooking Brentford lock it has stunning views and despite being on the Heathrow flight path it’s really quiet. Well, except for the Canadian geese that is, they’re noisy buggers. We went out for dinner where he’s been working an dhad a gorgeous meal. The chef has done a special starter portion of Breem just for us and it was to die for. I don’t think I’ve eaten that much in a long time!

We got back and I fell asleep in his arms. I can’t tell yo uhow much I’d missed being there. It made me all emotional!

The weekend
We spent the weekend pottering around the flat and visiting Richmond and Chiswick respectively. Both of these places are absolutely gorgeous, it’s the sort of London living I could deal with Saturday night The Boy cooked dinner which was very tasty (well done baby) and on Sunday we went out to a Thai restaurant just down the road. The food was gorgeous though the chef needed work on de-veining his prawns… but that’s just me being picky! Despite his flatmate starting work the next day and us flying out relatively early, we were still up rather late, people watching and chatting. Twas all good, I love nights like that.

Monday 22nd
Getting to Heathrow was easy, as was getting to Zurich. Just got on the plane. It did however feel really good checking in with the boy. On the “how many of you are travelling” question the answer was of course “2″ and I found it very hard to supress a grin. The pilot bounced his way into Zurich and we then had 4 hours or so to kill, not the most fun thing to try and do.

We were originally going to travel into Zurich itself but the weather was horrible so we just stayed put. We went for a wander, bought some cheap CD’s (Jack Johnson… mmm…) and admired the odd painted bears that were placed all over the airport. I still haven’t quite managed to figure out why they were there. Flying to Lugano was easy as well. The filght was fairly full but it was a prop job dash plane so there weren’t that many of us to start with! Lugano airport by the way is tiny. It’s almost as if somebody decided to turn a farm into an airport, it really is very rural.

The boy’s daddy picked us up and we then had the long journey back to the villa. As i was talking I could feel my vowels lengthening, it’s a very odd sensation. For the whole week I was talking highly correctly indeed! Arriving though we just about had time for a slice or 2 of pizza before heading off to bed and collapsing in exhausted heaps. We were separated though. He slpet in with his bro and i was in with his 2 sisters, of whom I’d only met one before.

Tuesday 23rd
Waking up in the morning I was able to see the magnificent view we had over the lake. It seriously took my breath away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite so beautiful before. I was informed that the family (plus myself) were going on a boat trip across various parts of the lake and to an island in the middle of the lake called “isle de Brissago”. This was a botanical garden island (if that makes sense) and was covered in glorious plants, flowers and creatures, including hundreds of little lizards. They were kinda cool, but I was always very aware that I may end up standing on one, I didn’t though, so it’s all good

After visiting the island and having lunch we went swimming. Not just any kind of swimming though, oh no. We swam in the lake itself… and it was suprisingly warm! There was also a proper pool and a water slide that was just so much fun! you had to hold on to your bikini top coming down

On the way back from the swimming in Brissago we called into Lucarno, which is on the other side of the lake to where we were staying. We were going to get the vernicualr railway up and then transfre to cable car to get right to the top of the mountain but due to timing restraints we only managed the railway bit. Walking back down we went through an absolutely gorgeous chapel and down past the 12 stations of the cross. It was only on our way back that we realised we could see the chapel from our side of the lake due to it’s wonderfully bright orange and yellow walls. It looks better than it sounds, believe me!

Wednesday 24th
As we were staying so far south in Switzerland we were in the italian area. We were also only about an hours drive from the Italian border. So on wednesday we got in the car and headed off to Milan… you know… as you do.

I’ve never been to Italy before and have always wanted to go, so the suggestion of a road trip had be bouncing up and down like a lunatic. Well, i bounced when nobody was around to witness it. If they’d've seen me they may have thought i was a wee bit odd.

Milan was absolutely stunning. I can’t even begin to describe it. All this glorious architecture and women running about in 4″heels (damn them and their stamina!) Let’s just say, if you ever get a chance to visit Milan… go. And go for a long weekend. You won’t regret it.

In the evening the boy and myself cooked so I didn’t feel to bad about his parents taking me to all these different places. I also introduced his dad to the theory that there is no such thing as too much garlic, and i think he appreciated the sentiment!

Thursday 25th
This was the only day when the weather wasn’t glorious, but it wasn’t cold by any stretch of the imagination. It was also the day that The Boy’s bro got his GCSE results. So we all piled into the 7 seater monstrosity of a car (well it was rather on the large side) and headed off to see a damn. This damn was the one that they used at the beginning of the film Goldeneye, where he bungee jumps off it. The view really is spectacular and if you had around 200 swiss francs going spare you can even do the bungee jump yourself. Not sure I’d want to do it off a damn though, I’d be paranoid of swinging back into the wall!

His bro had stayed in the car to phone the school and get his results and when he joined us we were informed that he’d managed to get 4 A’s and the rest B’s, which is fantastic seeing as he hasn’t been in school since January. Carrying on up past the damn we came to an area of the river that ran incredibly clear and saw more than a few lunatics jumping in off a large rock. If it had been slightly sunnier I may have joined them but looking at the overcast sky I really didn’t fancy it.

There was a gorgeous little path over a stone hump-back bridge and we followed that with the full knowledge that it would lead us to some rather lovely donkeys, whom we had some apples for.

2 donkeys and one bag of apples later we headed back to the car and moved further up the mountain to a stone village that makes you wonder how they got up there to build it in the first place. We had coffee up there and then had to navigate our way back down the mountain on little windy roads. Always fun in a large car :S

We had lunch down in Brissago where we ate on Tuesday and then got on with the very important task of shopping. Well there were 2 teenage girls and myself to take into consideration! We were going to go back to the swimming area but the water slide was closed and so we didn’t really fancy it. Instead we had a relaxing evening back at the house and prepared ourselves for the journey ahead.

Friday 26th
Having packed everything the night before we piled all our stuff into the 2 cars and The Boy’s daddy drove us back to the airport. The only problem with that was that they were headed off as well and so we ended up at the airport around 3 hours early! But we are experts at killing time so it didn’t really matter.

The few days we had in Switzerland were absolutely beautiful. Gorgeous weather, stunning scenery and really good company. My Boy’s family made me feel really welcome and I knew I was ok when his dad said I’d been there long enough to be insulted. That really made me feel like they were ok with me being there
The flight to Zurich was fine and then we had just enough time to buy duty free goodies before heading on to the next flight. Unfortunately they’d had to extend business class and so we ended up being separated but only by 1 row. I could still reach out and wake him up when the nice air hostess came round with the sarnies and the free booze
On the way back, the boy and i decided that I really should own this stunning necklace:

It’s Swarovski crystal and I’ve promised to wear it to Ladies Night, as it really will be best suited to an evening dress. I will treasure it forever though.

When we got back to the flat we cracked open the bubbly to celebrate a gorgeous week away and also the end of Hoops’ first week at work. I didn’t want to go to sleep though as sleeping would mean the morning would arrive even faster and that’s when I’d have to leave him, and that was something I really didn’t want to do.

Saturday 27th
Morning did come though, and it was with a very heavy heart that we left for the station. I did better this time, I didn’t cry. But it did feel as though I’d left a large part of myself behind on that platform. I was sped away from him back up to the north east and it took all my self control not to jump off the train and the next station and go back to him. It also took all my control to let go of him and let him get off the train at Kings Cross. But let go I did and 3 hours later I was back up in Durham.

The train journey was mildly comical. The woman sat opposite me kept looking at my bag as though it were going to jump off the table and attack her. The woman behind her was giving therapy over the phone, rather loudly, so we were hearing all about how “good it was to share”. I just hope her client wasn’t suffering abandonment issues as she kept getting cut off everytime she lost her signal.

My parents picked me up at the station and we headed to Sunderland for the party. The party itself was a roaring success and everybody had far too much to drink, myself included.

The rest of the weekend is a bit of a blur. We headed into durham on Sunday to show dad where i’d been living and where i will be living next year, and Monday was spent at the metro centre doing lots of shopping, well it would be rude not to.

So now I’m home, after an eventful journey back to the airport that has made me vow never to travel in a hire car with both of my parents again. All i need to do now is unpack my suitcase and wait for the curry we’ve ordered to arrive. It’s all good
I miss My Boy terribly, but at least it’s only a month til we’re in the same country again. And seeing as he has all the pictures off our hols you’ll have to wait til he sends them to me and then I promise I’ll put them up
Right, i feel this post is long enough and i shall sign off. If you’ve made it all the way to then end without skipping any of it then well done!

Onwards to the unpacking!

AxXx

Thursday, August 18th

I leave in just over 2 hours. I’m flying out to Newcastle and then onwards to durham. It’s all very exciting!

My exam is at 9:30am tomorrow (eek!) but then it’s off to London to see the Boy… yay!!!

I’m then off to Switzerland for 5 days and then to my great Aunt’s 80th birthday party.

It’s gonna be a busy week or so!

I’ll be back on the 30th. Until then, be good people!

AxXx

Ten Random Things About Me

1. I love the smell of petrol
2. I can’t stand the sound of babies/children screaming. It makes me violent
3. The nails on my little fingers are smaller than a childs. Honest. They’re tiny.
4. I adore silver coloured jewellery.
5. I can’t wear yellow gold, it looks odd.
6. I talk to myself way too often
7. I’m obsessed with lemurs.
8. And pandas.
9. Not to mention fresian cows.
10. Sicne working at the vineyards I’ve developed an intense like for fudge and all those who buy it.

Nine Ways To Win My Heart

1. Accept my faults, insecurities and craziness.
2. Be almost as daft as I am.
3. Understand that I can’t be where i want to be all the time.
4. Be a cat person.
5. Be open to absolutely ANYTHING.
6. Don’t take anything at face value.
7. Be loving, loyal, honest and patient.
8. Tell me you’re a Barenaked Ladies fan.
9. Make me laugh so hard it hurts.

Eight Things I Want To Do Before I Die

1. Go see the lemurs in Madagascar
2. Bungee jump.
3. Swim with sharks.
4. Have a large, noisy, wonderful family.
5. See the pyramids in Egypt.
7. Go to Paris (I’ve still never been *sigh*)
8. Do something so worthwhile that people will remember it and me for years to come.

Seven Ways To Annoy Me

1. Eat loudly next to me.
2. Have no concept of table manners.
3. Talk about me or my friends behind our backs.
4. Be an arsehole.
5. Hurt somebody I love (though that’s more likely to get me majorly pissed)
6. Be cruel to animals and children.
7. Be a hypocrite and generally bad person.

Six Things I Believe In

1. There is somebody out there for everybody.
2. No matter how many times I get hurt I still believe in loving somebody with everything you can.
3. Cats really would rule the world if they could only learn how to use the tin opener.
4. Karma can seriously kick your ass.
5. Everything has an opposite, even if you don’t realise it.
6. Nobody understands how women think, not even ourselves!

Five Things I’m Afraid Of

1. Rejection
2. Loneliness
3. Being alone forever.
4. Losing my family.
5. Being burned alive.

Four Favorite Items In My Room

1. My bed (duh!)
2. My desk. It’s an old pine kitchen table and I love it.
3. My ceiling. It’s covered in glow in the dark stars which rock.
4. My rug. I brought it all the way back from Tunisia.

Three Things I Do Everyday

1. Tell my family I love them
2. Check my email.
3. Find the cat and stroke him lots… and occasionally get bitten for my trouble!

Two Things I Want To Do Right Now

1. Get another cup of tea.
2. Put on some funky music
(both of these are achievable… yay!)

One Person I Want to See Right Now

1. My Boy. Who else?!

and we’re done
AxXx

Firstly, and most importantly I feel, they have discovered a new species of Lemur! 2 in fact but they only have a picture of this one, the goodman lemur. He’s so cute!!!

Secondly I have new shoes. My daisy shoesies finally bit the dust and so I am now the proud owner of a pair of these:

They’re so much fun! If a little odd to walk in. It’s almost like a rocking motion. But according to their website they’re really good for feet, legs and posture. They’re also the hieght of fashion at the moment… apparently… go me!

Thirdly I treated myself to some new nail polish so i can show of my toes in my spangly new shoes It’s all pink and shiny
Lastly, having been to the doctors I now have a short course of beta blockers to help me get through this ruddy exam. It’s all good.

Right, I’d best get back to revising.

… mmm, new shoes …

AxXx

Do you ever get those moments. The moments where the world just seems to stop turning and you are left with nothing but your thoughts. As soon as the world starts to move again they slip out of your grasp and you’re left wondering exactly what it was you were thinking so intently about.

I keep having those moments, and I don’t know why. Every so often everything freezes and for one blissful moment the chaos that is my brain comes into some semblance of organisation. But just as everything becomes clear it’s snatched away from me again.

It’s as if the world is mocking me.

I know there’s nothing hugely wrong… but I keep getting the feeling there’s something I’m not quite getting. Everytime I reach for it I slip and stumble, allowing it to flee from my desperate grasp.

I wish I could keep a hold of whatever it is… but my brain won’t let me.

It’s so infuriating. Just having one of those moments.

AxXx

For all those of you who are as obessed with LOST as I am (now showing on channel 4, wednesday nights), I give you this… the Oceanic Airlines Website. Poke around and you’ll find all sorts of very cool stuff, including a teaser trailer for season 2!!!

It’s so exciting!

I know we’ve only just started on season 1 over here but still, I can’t wait til September 21st for the next one!

AxXx

… when they have a sale on and you’re trying to save. Especially if it’s something you’ve wanted for a while. And it’s now being sold for a third of the original price.

This can only lead to pain, heartbreak and torture.

Don’t do it!!!

Now if only somebody had given me that advice this morning *sob*

AxXx

I was going to make a long, rambling, wordy and possibly fairly good post. But now i’m exhausted and can hardly keep my eyes open so it’ll have to wait.

Night all.

AxXx

I feel like I’m presenting a childrens television program or something! That’s right folks, it’s birthday time!

On my list today I have 2 names. The first of our lucky birthday people is …

Dafyd! He’s 19 today so pop over and wish him all the best.

And second on the list is…

Cozi! She is also 19 today so please go wish her all the best as well!

So yes, to both of you I send lots of birthday squigy nugs, but especially to my Cozi bean
Have an absolutely fantabulous day guys, you deserve it
AxXx