Prepare yourselves for a long one ;)

Well, I've been so busy these last few days that I haven't had time to blog! Where to start?
Okay so Thursday night was girls night a casa di Jess. I went over for about 5pm and we ordered curry and opened a couple of bottles of vino and decided to watch Mrs Browns Boys. Personally, I don't remember much! I think the curry was yummy and Mrs Brown was probably really funny. But all I remember is having a massive, in depth chat with Beanie and doing MC Hammer in her living room! It was brilliant! I haven't laughed like that for ages - it was an epic girls night in!

Us after too much vino!

So the next day, I was feeling slightly delicate but Beanie made me breakfast and let me shower and I went off to meet Aimz in Starbucks. We had a chat for ages and ages and then went on a hunt for boots. This is a tender topic because it's March, it's cold and raining and snowing and miserable and everywhere is selling bloody flip flops! Could I find a decent pair of boots? NO! So we gave up on that. To pass the time, we went for crepes and went to see Safe Haven (watched it twice now - seriously, go see it!). We also stocked up on some old school CD's for our travelling! We're 90's kids through and through! 

18 CD's for £15 - yes!!

At 4pm, we went to the Needle Asylum in Cardiff and we had our tattoos done. It took two hours to do both of them but they're amazing! There's so much in there for the both of us and personally, I can't stop looking at them!
We have a compass to show our travels and our holidays together. The colours represent Wales and the fact we're Welsh. The dial is also in the shape of a sun, again to represent our holidays. The mask is to show that we both love the theatre, in particular Phantom and also that our first and most epic holiday was to Venice. This also represents Italy for me and Aimz career in Theatre Design. There's a ribbon to represent us being on the same wave-length but also to represent the sea and us crossing it in our travels again! Finally 2012 in Roman numerals marks the year we both left home and the year we both went to Rome. Amazing tattoo - just epic!

Our tats!

On Saturday, I worked but we managed to shut up the cafe and get home in time to watch the game! And what a game it was! It was incredible and I loved every minute of it! I may have been born in England but I'm Welsh through and through and there was no prouder moment to be Welsh that at the end of that match. Well played boys! Me and Joel were sat on the couch in our rugby tops with our inflatable daffodil, chanting and shouting at the TV. Amazing - I would give anything to have been there! 

Celebrating ;)

Today, I spent the day with Aimz and the family. We went for food and we watched movies and ate junk food and it was amazing! I love lazy sundays like that! I did work this morning at the other restaurant in St Ffagans but it wasn't for long. I'm looking forward to a lie-in tomorrow! I finally managed to win my sister a table on eBay too so all in all, today has been an epic and successful day!
I'm curled up in bed now with Joel snoozing next to me and I couldn't be happier. I'm working and earning some money. I have AMAZING friends around me. I have an amazing adopted family and I can't wait to go to Venice with them in the summer. Finally, I have an amazing boyfriend who will do absolutely anything to make me happy. We've been together for quite some time now and I can't imagine a single day without him.

We're forever, babe <3

Finally moved in!

I've been living with Joel now for over a year and things have been a little more than cramped. After living abroad for 6 months and getting used to my own space, it's been a bit weird being back. However, Joel just happens to be a one-in-a-million fella and cleared some space for me this past week. This means that I've been able to take things out of boxes and bags and they can now live in drawers and on shelves! It's brilliant! Hopefully, moving into our own house won't be this slow!

My photo wall :)

 The thing I'm happiest about I guess is having all my photo frames up. If you haven't noticed already (you're incredibly slow) but I love having photos. So I've got frames from all over the place; literally different countries and everything. Now I have photos in (almost) all of them and they're up for the world to see! Along with my flowers that are still going strong. And we have merged our DVD collection - things are getting serious!

Flowers and photos! 

Even our calendars are next to each other :)

I've pretty much just been working recently and it's brilliant for my bank account because now I can afford to eat when I go to Germany! I'm hoping for some time off soon though because I'd really quite like to actually spend time with people! When I've been at home, I've only had time for a bit of dinner and then tidy a few bits up in the bedroom and then bed - I don't know how people do this permanent full time stuff, it's so boring!
I have no idea what the next few weeks holds for me but I hope I get to see a few people while I'm here and that we can do some memorable things!
So if anyone's free - let me know?
That's all for now - working again tomorrow - woohoo :(

A wonderful Saturday and a successful Sunday!

I'm writing this on Sunday night and already yesterday seems so long ago! It's terrible! Yesterday was actually pretty lovely. I got to spend some time with my sister again and also my niece and nephews. I went over to their house early in the morning and went out with all of them to a birthday party in the village hall. It was mental in there; kids running and screaming and whatnot. But there was a magician and he was pretty cool actually! 

Little cutie enjoying his dinner!

After the party, we went home and had lunch together. The kids were playing all kinds of weird and wonderful games but Sean was trying to watch the rugby so we took the kids out for a little walk. Even Oscar's walking now - I can't believe it. He just gets up and goes! He's changing so much and he even says a few words now! Amazing! Hope he doesn't change too much again while I'm in Germany...

Family Dinner

Attempted kidnapping!

After a lovely day with the kids, me and Joel went out for a date night! We went for food first in the East Wing and then to Cineworld after. We wanted to go to Ruby Tuesday but seens as I'm pretty strapped for cash, we decided on Pizza Express instead. It was lovely and filling and we even had time for dessert! It was yummy and we shared this massive chocolate explosion thing - lush! Then we went to see Safe Haven which we thought was a harmless romantic mush film but turned out to be a thrilling chase between this really gorgeous woman and her psycho husband who beats her and she tries to escape him by fleeing the state but he finds her when she's happy somewhere else. This film is epic - seriously, if you haven't already seen it - GO NOW! 

My boy <3

I love dicking around with youuu

I worked today for mother's day and it was rammed in the cafe. We served roughly 70 people and there was two of us working - yikes! So yeah we were rushed off our feet but managed to walk away with some yummy tips! £30 yes please! Also, because my boss saw me working real hard and being so awesome and doing an 8 hours shift with no break and no food, he sent me home with a bottle of vino! Boom! Me and Jess Bean will be downing that on our girls night in! Also, we were giving flowers away to all the mum today but the one in my picture was left behind. It has a flower missing and looks a bit knackered. My boss said I looked a bit knackered at the end and said that I should take the flower home! In again at 9am tomorrow - shoot me! Oh well, it's all money for Germany :D

Sign of a job well done!

Over and out! 

Definitely something worth writing about! :)

Today I had a lovely day and quite a successful one too!

I had a quick lie-in and then a shower with actual running hot water! Everytime I go for a shower recently, the boiler decides to have a coffee break! Instantly, I knew this was going to be a good day! I went off to town to meet Joel for lunch but ended up bumping into my Mum and Stepdad in the pub so we had lunch and a drink with them. My Mum tells me that she has something for me at her house. My Uncle died at the start of February and his wife has given me a pocketwatch that I bought for my Uncle's birthday a few years ago. He was in the army when he was younger and I managed to get his army regiment and flag engraved on the pocketwatch. I'm quite happy that I get to keep it. It's something very sentimental and just for me and him. 

After lunch, I went and sorted out part of Joel's 21st birthday present. He's not 21 until June but I'm out of the country until then so I had to get it sorted soon. I didn't manage to get exactly what I wanted but it was the next best thing and I'm hoping he'll be chuffed with it! After that, I picked up a cheap book from The Works and went and sat in Starbucks to wait for Jess to turn up. I miss reading. I use to read a lot when I was younger but because of University now, I don't get a lot of time. 

I didn't have to wait long before Jess turned up and despite the fact we hadn't seen each other in about a year; it didn't feel like we'd been apart at all! Except for the fact that we didn't shut up for 4 hours! We clearly had a lot to catch up on! We talked about everything; friends, boyfriends, work, university and everything in between. I feel really bad that we'd missed out on so much but it was so nice just to be able to talk with a friend over coffee! It was lovely! We were so busy talking that we didn't see the group of boys come in and sit on the table next to us and we didn't pay any attention to their nationality. Jess had me speaking Italian to her, she gave me a bit of Spanish and then we both made a very poor and painful effort to speak German. To my knowledge, she's never studied German and yet we were both probably on the same ability level! We were giggling like mentalists over the fact that she had said "Ich lebe dick" which means "I live fat" instead of "Ich liebe dich" meaning I love you. We had a childish giggle over the word dick and once we'd quietened down, the sound of the group of boys drifted towards us. The colour drained from our faces as we both instantly realised they were German and probably thought we were the biggest idiots going. It didn't stop us howling with laughter again though! 

I've been feeling kind of lonely recently; feeling as though I don't have many friends here at home. I have plenty of friends in Parma, my best friends are in London and all my school friends are scattered around the UK. But it was nice to be able to have that catch up and even though we haven't spoken in a while, we still got on like a house on fire! What I really need in my life right now is to know that I have friends around me. Today definitely showed me that! Hopefully, next week we're going to have a girly night in which will be lovely :) 

Reflecting on my rather whining post a few days ago, I am now thoroughly grateful for the presence of all my friends - wherever they may be in the world. I'll never forget the friends I made in Parma, I hope to see all of you VERY soon. I love my weekend trips to London/West End with Aimz (Can't wait for our tattoo next week!). I'm gutted Lucy J is going back to Parma now and I won't see her. I'm looking forward to making new friends in Germany and as heartbroken as I am that I had to leave people behind in Parma, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I would hate to have lived a life without you in it; each and every one of you is special to me! Yes, even you! 

To conclude: Thank you BeanieBaby for a wonderful day today. It was really brilliant! I love all of my friends and always will. I'm now going to go and eat apple pie and wait for my best friend in the whole world to come home from work so we can cuddle and sleep. Before anyone starts any rumours, I mean Joel ;)

My Parma Girls <3

Parma family plus Jo :)

My Soulmate :P

My BeanieBaby :D

My Parma Girls <3

The Cardiff friends :)

The best friend/soul mate/hopefully-one-day husband!

Just a pensive day...

Today wasn't really anything special. I had a bit of a lie-in after a restless night's sleep and then I started work at 12pm. I was meant to work until 6pm but it was quiet at 4pm so they let me go. Was a fairly busy day in work, met some more of the staff (half of us are from my form in school!) and earned some more money! I ended up scrubbing everything in the kitchen and sweeping the whole shop to keep busy. I'm working a couple of extra days this week and it feels nice to have the money coming in. 

This is Toast!

I've spent most of the day thinking, which is always dangerous anyway, but now it's starting to hurt my head a little bit! So much has happened in the last 6 months and I've been shoved out of my comfort zone and forced to get used to so many new things. I'm honestly finding it hard to settle back into my normal life. I've really landed on my feet with this job. I have an income, a way to pass my days and something new to add to my CV. I'm back living with Joel and his family who love having me here and who include me every night in their family dinners and when they watch Tv and everything else they do together. Why, oh why am I still yearning for Parma? I miss the people I met there and I miss the places we used to go. I'm finding it hard knowing that the people I got on so well with, are probably having a better time with new people and have forgotten about me. They all have each other and I can only look on Facebook and see the statuses. I'm never going to be a part of that properly again. 

Parma <3

I'm now ridiculously nervous about Germany, so much so that I'm losing sleep. I don't want to have to leave Parma behind. I don't want to have to settle in all over again. More to the point, I don't want to make a new set of amazing friends that I have to leave behind. I'm not good at making attachments and then walking away. The friends I have, I keep for life. I met Jen Handley in nursery/reception in Coventry and we're still close and tell each other everything! I met Aim Jenkins on my first day in Radyr. We're getting tattoos next week and going to Venice in the summer (again!). I can't handle this YA where I'm finding myself meeting these incredible people with whom I have an amazing friendship and then I have to leave and watch them have fun with new people and forget about me! 

I miss Parma. I miss the people. I have everything I could ever need/want here in Cardiff - why am I not happy? 

I miss my friends! Even Jen & Aim are in London. I can't wait to settle and have all my friends and family in one place <3
At least I have Joel! My knight in shining armour who puts up with all my whining and complaining and still goes out to the shop late at night to get me biscuits to have with my tea to make me happy. He puts up with a hell of a lot - I have no idea why but I'm so thankful! I'm lucky to have you :) No matter how much I miss other people, I'm still grateful for everything you do! 

A quick message to all my friends, wherever you may be! Whether you're in Wales/England/Germany/Italy/Belgium/France/ - wherever! I miss you and I wish I could be spending more time with you! Yes, you! 

Family & Flowers!

It was nice to spend the day with the family

Today started early - 7.30am! I'm no longer used to this! Me and Joel headed over to my sister's house to spend some time round there. She was still in work - she works far too much these days - and Sean had to pop out so it was me and Joel with the two boys for a bit. Oscar was poorly so he spent the first hour curled up in my arms sleeping. 

Oscar having a little nap

Harry was his normal self; slightly hyper but not saying much! He had Joel playing every game from Disney Princess Jigsaw Puzzles to the Fifi & The Flowertots version of Buckaroo. Joel's so good with him; it's beautiful to watch. After a while, Harry settled back down in front of the TV to watch some Peppa Pig and occasionally joining in with my Peppa Pig impressions. 

Oscar was so cute when he was sleeping - as always - and he really reminds me of Courtney from when she was that age! Can't believe they're all growing up now and it's scary to think about how much time has passed! Anyway, here's a picture of Oscar "copping a feel".

Well placed hand, Oscar

When Sean took Harry to school, me and my sister put the kettle on and sat and put the world to rights! It was so lovely to have a proper chat with her, even though Oscar was ill and we had to keep changing rooms and bouncing him to keep him entertained! We talked about everything and anything and we've decided on going to see Viva Forever in May! That's another trip away from my Year Abroad - always for the theatre?!  Courtney came home from school and I surprised her in the dining room. She still thought I was in Italy so she ran in and threw her arms around my neck and we had a proper cuddle - it was lush! My sister went to work and Sean took care of Oscar while Courtney had me and Harry playing hide and seek! She counts really fast and it's really hard for a grown-up like me to hide! I miss being a child! We then played "Popcorn" which is a game invented by Harry in which we all jump on the trampoline with the ball-pit balls on there with us. We weren't allowed the balls today so we just had to pretend... 

My stunning flowers!

Joel soon came and picked me up so that I was home in time for dinner with the family. The roses that he bought me have finally opened out so we took some photos of them. Here's a couple of snaps of us being vain with the roses. Personally, I think they're stunning - I love getting flowers :)

Love you!

After the photo-shoot, we had dinner and washed up in the dark because the kitchen is in the process of being redone and the light keeps tripping when the washing machine is on - fun eh? We're now sat upstairs in bed together like an old married couple but on our laptops. When I finish this post, we're going to get into our jammies, finish watching Rock of Ages and have a cuddle before bed. Early night because I have work tomorrow - yay employment! 

Joel <3

Me & my flower

Another beautiful day with beautiful people. I love my life :) 

A weekend away!

A weekend in Longbridge Cottage with the boyf! <3

From September 2012 to February 2013, I lived in Parma, Italy as part of my Year Abroad. It was a massive change for me; I've never lived away from home before! It took a long time for me to settle down but eventually I got used to being away from my friends and family and I made a new life for myself out there. I didn't realise the effect the YA would have on my loved ones though. Joel found it really hard without me and I felt selfish for not realising this! So when I came home for a month between Italy and Germany, we decided we'd spend some time together, just the two of us, and we rented a cottage in Shepton Mallet for the weekend.

The bedroom

It took us about an hour and a half to drive to the cottage and it was definitely worth it! The cottage had it's own cobbled drive-way and a little pond outside. Inside, it was idyllic and quaint! Downstairs, there was one main room; the kitchen and the living room together with the bathroom through a little doorway on the side. The living room was lovely and cosy with a faux fireplace on the wall and a big, comfy, purple couch in the middle. In the corner, there was a spiral staircase leading to the upstairs level which consisted solely of the bedroom. The whole cottage was open-plan so we could see/hear each other no matter where we were.  

Us settled down in front of the fire

When we first got there, we spent time unpacking and making ourselves at home. We had a classy first dinner; chucking a pizza in the oven with rocky roads for afters and then settled down to watch The Hangover on the couch under the duvet. The pizza was pretty nice considering I've lived in Italy for 6 months and anything else in life will be inferior! The rocky roads, however, were an experience. We didn't realise you were meant to cook them in the microwave first so they were pretty interesting! A nice cuddle before bed, and then the best sleep I've had in a long time! A massive double bed with the most comfortable duvet in the world - it was heaven! 

The staircase and the birds!

 The next day, we both had a lie in before taking the duvet back to the couch to spend the rest of the morning watching stand-up comedy such as Sarah Millican and Jeff Dunham (including his various puppets!). We decided that since we'd driven all that way, we'd better take a wander around the village and see what was there. It was a really tiny place with small cafes and little shops and everybody seemed to know each other - we must've stuck out like sore thumbs! We found a giant Tesco and Boots and I decided to pick up some hair dye - so I'm now back to brunette. We went back home, cwtched on the couch and watched 50 First Dates with tea and biscuits! Champion! For dinner, we went out to a local pub called The Dust Hole AKA The Kings Arms. Joel being Joel decided to have a curry - surprise surprise! I went for the lamb and mint pie with mash and veg - I'm too British really. Once our food had settled, we went back home for some more comedy and Jam Roly-Poly in bed! Perfect! 

The amazing fireplace!

Sunday, unfortunately, we had to leave. We got up nice and early to get ready, to pack and to make everything nice and tidy before we left. It was very depressing to leave the cottage; neither of us wanted to! It was a beautiful weekend and we'd thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope we go back there again soon. It was a nice way for us to get away from our lives and responsibilities just for a few days and spend some proper time together! I know I won't be forgetting this weekend in a hurry!

Joel in the kitchen, cooking us some omelette!

Best weekend away so far! It was nice to spend quality time together and even though I'm coming back from Germany for our 4 Year Anniversary, we're treating this weekend as our 4 Years so that we don't have to travel and waste time when I'm back in May. I felt so special this weekend; it's only been 4 years so I hope I still feel this special after 40 years!

Something tells me that I will <3