X-cellent Christmas

Ho Ho Ho - Merry Christmas, 

Waking on Christmas morning as I normally do in my old room at my Dad's Girlfriend's House. Cold winter sun peeking through the window I awoke with the sound of Mr. Warehouse's pooch running up the stairs and wagging her tail furiously against the door. Letting her in we had a cuddle before I realised just what day it was ... IIITS CHRIIIISTMAAAS!!!

Heading down stairs I was greeted, not by the Santa ambush I had always anticipated as a child, but by the mountain of presents sat in a pile all for me. Sitting on the floor yet more doggy cuddles ensued and Mr. Warehouse and I took some time before my Dad and his Girlfriend came down to join us. I soon realised that our Kanine's stocking had more presents in it that some of the gift bags for close, human family members. Nevertheless our Pup seemed to enjoy her biscuits, treats, dog chocolate, toys, squeaky things and tit-bit's. Even the Christmas jumper was a hit and she stayed in it all day comfortably. 

Seeing the gifts my Dad, his partner and Mr. Warehouse had bought me I was more than happy to get started. After settling down with the "adults" and a cup of coffee, I started to unwrap the beautifully glittered and shiny paper. Hair accessories, beauty gifts, make-up, nail varnish and pamper treats I was certainly in no way going to run out of things and ways to pretty myself. Mr. Warehouse's car smellies (AKA air fresheners), sewing kit, clothes and my main pressie was a beautiful, new Lenovo Tablet/Laptop. I can hardly believe how spoilt I was by everyone as well as my Dad and other family members. More gifts included gift vouchers for different restaurants so Mr. Warehouse and I can have dinner somewhere nice, Candles ... Yankee of course, copious amounts of chocolate and biscuits. 

Now was the big time though, for it was Mr. Warehouse's time to unwrap his final few gifts. He started with some flat box shaped presents. Unwrapping them I apologised for the format, knowing full well what was to come. 
"I thought it was for Xbox 360 love, sorry. I will have to take them back to the store next week and get the right ones. So sorry Hunny." I said sympathetically. Looking at Mr. Warehouse's little face though I was just buzzing for the next few minutes to pass by. This had been over a year in the making. I had wanted to buy Mr. Warehouse an Xbox One (The new Microsoft game console) last Christmas in 2015, although by the time it came out I had already purchased the flight tickets to Dublin, and although I had really given it some serious thought into selling them and buying the console I decided against it. We obviously had a fantastic time, and I pondered that it would probably be cheaper come his birthday in August. The difference being is that in April, Mr. Warehouse left his job and had a few of his fingers in different pies for a while, some of which never worked out and as a result finances were very, very tight as I kept our little family afloat throughout the summer. As Autumn came and the leaves began to fall I started to pay more attention to the prices of the consoles and games, even more-so than I had before. But passing my driving test, buying a car and a career move I thought would have taken a toll on my bank balance but in fact has had the slight opposite effect. In spite of this, come Black Friday I awoke earlier than Christmas morning and logged online to see the deals that were about. Finding a corker I nailed it down, purchasing a Xbox One S with Fifa 17. In the following weeks I bought some bits here and bobs there as well as two further games. 

But now came the moment that my loving boyfriend was sat in PJ's with a furrowed brow wondering if I am just that stupid to buy the wrong formatted games or if I have been playing him for months. Opening the large box found down the side of the arm chair he was sat in, his face sunk. 
"This is a cruel joke. This is horrible. You haven't?! You couldn't have!?" Mr. Warehouse exclaimed, excited yet dubious. Opening the box, still not sure if it was just something heavy weighing it down rather than the actual real-deal. However after disguarding the remaining packaging there was nothing left but a white Xbox One S and Fifa 17. There was no hiding now. It was true and the dream had come true. 

Still in shock throughout the rest of the day we muddled through Christmas Dinner, more presents, visits to friends and family, wine, arguments and unimaginable amounts of food. Even now as we sit in Momma Warehouse's Boyfriends house in the Cambridgeshire countryside I don't think he really believes it, that is until we get home tomorrow and have a good play on all our toys. Jokingly I said I wouldn't see him until June 2017, but now I am not so sure that it is wrong. 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

When You Know, You Know?!

Hi everyone!

So yet another Bank Holiday has graced the United Kingdom and after feeling rather poorly since last week's post and having to take a few days off work sick, I have been feeling much better over the last few days. Nothing serious, just a combination of UTI, Kidney Infections and crippling back pain along with nausea and vomiting. And don't worry I am not pregnant - I have checked already. But I suppose you would be checking too if you had woken up at three-in-the-morning on the nose for the last five days vomiting ... Unless you were a man?!

Finishing work on Friday exhausted from my half-worked week, I arrived home and spent the night cuddling with Mr. Warehouse. After hearing that one of our work colleagues was getting engaged after a trip to Dublin I was pleased to hear that the European Capital had made such a profound impact on the couple who had asked for mine and Mr. Warehouse's advice on where to go and what to do there after our Christmas/Valentines Trip in February. Mulling it over dinner, Mr. Warehouse then exclaimed that he himself had also considered proposing to me whilst on the Green Isle. This I was shocked by. Sat their open mouthed over the dinner table I was stunned that I had been so close to being "wifed". 

Totally bewildered and stunned by this revelation I asked Mr. Warehouse how and where and when and why but the only real response I got was that it would have been at some point on our drunken night out in Temple Bar or maybe at a few other romantically set scenes across the city, of which I suspect the Zoo was one of them. He explained that whilst he has yet to buy a ring, ask my dad, get me a manicure and gain advice from Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb and they are just the basic things needed in proposing to the one you love. 

I think it panicked me slightly that whilst we are now living together in my little flat and the dog has moved in also, I sometimes find myself missing the fact that we used to hardly see each other. Whenever Mr. Warehouse was due to come round I would clean my home in a frantic mission to make it look beautifully tidy and presentable. I would make a conscience effort to look good all the time around him and I really miss the days when we would just go out for a walk or meet up for a date. I enjoyed the fact that it was my flat and whilst I am more than happy now sharing that with the other half and the fluff ball, I miss the days when it was all brand new. I know that my friends and I are getting to an age where people are getting hitched, having babies and buying houses but I don't honestly know if I am ready for that right now. I want more that life has to offer before all that. I want to travel more and experience things before all my priorities get ploughed into a house, husband or hordes of offspring.

I love Mr. Warehouse to pieces but I often wonder for his own well-being. I want him to be a little more like me sometimes and have a bit more get up and go. Find a better job so he doesn't have to work crappy shifts so that he can earn more money, in turn making some new friends or rekindling old ones so as to create a social life instead of just being in front of the TV all the time. Playing rugby or another sport, going off down the pub to watch the football or crashing round someones house to have an all nighter on the Xbox; All of these things I think would make him into a better person and ergo make him feel better and more confident in himself. I worry that as I did in the past, Mr. Warehouse is consuming himself with my presence and to be brutally honest it makes me feel guilty when I go out with the girls or try to plan holidays as I know he doesn't have any other avenue to socialise other than his huge extended family or a few work colleagues. As harsh as it sounds if I knew that Mr. Warehouse did not have as many hobbies and activities outside of our relationship as I do now then things might be different, but then on the other hand, in a way I knew all of this when I first met him and I still continued to date him so something must be there beyond just lust?!

I suppose with all of this comes compromise and prioritising your problems and issues. We have to sort out each fault in life one at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither can a new life for someone. I know where I want to be and what I want out of life in the future, I just question sometimes when I will be ready and how will I know I am ready because for me, with everything I have been through as a late-teen and in my early-twenties I am now at a point most people my age are past. I wanna go out and party through the night, getting in when the sun's coming up, having wild parties and creating memories I will never forget. I am still the college-grad that wants to party away her weekends in flowery headbands and glittery make-up as opposed to spending them settling down and creating the foundations for a future with someone. 


'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

Top 'O Tha Maarning T' Yas!

Hiya, 

So after last weeks entry I was very much anticipating my Gravediggers Ghost Bus Tour that evening however after a quick snack-a-roo en route to the stop in Dublin's City centre, Mr. Warehouse and I were saddened to hear the woops and roars of what appeared to be not one but two Hen Parties on board our tiny 30-something-seating double-decker bus. Now you guys know me, and after my messy Irish night out on the tiles with Mr. Warehouse I am never far from a party or two, but when your Hen Do is impacting on my ability to enjoy my last night on a romantic Ghost Bus Tour with my boyfriend who is shitting himself even before boarding said bus then we are really going to have a problem here! 

Boarding the Bus and getting to know everyone on-board, being the day after Valentine's Day we were all asked who we were and where we came from. In-between dick jokes and more slanderous comments from the obtuse Hen Parties either end of the bus, the rest of us not partaking in the tom-foolery discovered that we had a very international bus load of anxiously scared passengers ranging from Italy, Canada, USA, Finland, Brazil, Germany and not to forget the Brummy and Liverpudlian Hen's - Of course they were from the part of England with the very worst of accents! Wondering if there was any possibility murder or sudden mysterious forces would force the chants and drunken "banter" to stop we commenced what would be an OK tour made worse by such inhabitants. Oh where was the Irish famine and Plague when you needed it! 

Returning home that night and packing was nice as I knew in the morning after a glorious breakfast (of which it was) and a mooch around the shops, stopping at Pandora for the umpteenth time this trip we would be heading down to Callan, just outside Kilkenny on the borders of County Kilkenny and Tipperary in the beautiful green countryside of Ireland. 

The journey by coach was long, a little over two-hours, but certainly shorter than going back the other way. Stepping out into the cold, wet rain of the tiny village I was waved over to a car that had come to collect Mr. Warehouse and I. Realising it was my Uncle I went to load our things into the car and get out of the rain. Heading along the winding roads I worried at how Mr. Warehouse and my Uncle would get along, especially since before Christmas at their first encounter with each other they had not got off to the best start. But I need not have worried for by the time we arrived at my Aunts Cottage twenty-minutes or so later they were getting on like they had known each other for years. 

Settling in I helped with the dinner since my Auntie has never really liked cooking at the best of times, and besides, I had kind of missed it strangely. I suppose that is what eating out for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner does to your mind - Makes you needy for mash and cooking veg! Sitting down to dinner we chatted for hours and days even, continuously loop-talking about life in general and how to make the world a better place, righting all the wrongs back home in England with family, friends and colleagues as well as some important issues like trying to explain to my drunken Aunt and Uncle what a 'Gooch' is and what 'Teabagging' was in a context outside of the arts and crafts world. 

The following days were spent mainly out of the area, visiting local points of interest and touring mainland Ireland. First outing was to Waterford, a small town renowned worldwide for its connection to Waterford Crystal alongside a fishing harbour, bordering County Kilkenny and Tipperary. I think I made the poor mistake of choosing a Latte when entering the Lily O'Brien's Chocolate Café. A mistake that right now I am regretting as Mr. Warehouse chose their luxury hot chocolate and after taking a sip I knew my coffee-infused decision, this time at least, was a bad one! 

Second outing was one I was not fully committed to in the beginning, I will be honest, but afterwards was totally blown away and so very glad I was made to visit. Cahir Castle had stood in the little village of the same name had been standing there for over eight-hundred-years and as the rain drizzled I entered the courtyards and gardens of the small stone castle I fell in love instantly. In my head it was impossibly easy to imagine hiring the whole thing out for the day to host a wedding, where in my head I was the Princess Bride and Mr. Warehouse was the brave Knight. His dog could be dressed up to look like a gallant steed and I would try to resist putting Mother of the Groom in a Jester outfit. The lawns were perfect for my dream of vintage fair games like coconut shy's, candy-floss machines and hog roasts, whilst the great hall and 18th Century barn conversion would host 'Ye Olde Wedding Ceremony' and reception afterwards. Little rooms and outhouses provided perfect escapes for guests to explore the old ruins and make-believe for a day that we were all Kings and Queens. Upon my way out I knew I would regret it if I didn't ask so collared the guide-lady to ask about holding a wedding there - Obviously not for myself of course!? But alas you shall have to await as the venue does not currently hold a marriage licence yet and is only able to accommodate a blessing so I shall have to wait for my dreamy Irish castle wedding for another day - Well that and a time where I am actually asked to be someone's Bride! 

Returning back to the cottage to help with firewood and the landscaping of a few garden areas in order to make way for oil/central heating to be put in (yes the cottage is really that old), Mr. Warehouse and I prepared to go home and back to reality and the following morning bid farewell to my Aunt and Uncles as we made the gruelling ten-hour trip back home to the 'Shire. 

Indeed I enjoyed my trip to the Green Isle and back home I am now looking forward to my next adventure with the other half ... Maybe somewhere beach-ier though?!

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

Having a Whale of a Time!

Hello there one and all from a strangely sunny Dublin?! 

Now, I say strangely as they don't call it "The Green Isle" for nothing you know and every time I have ever visited it has always been dreary and raining. However my holiday so far with Mr. Warehouse has been brilliant. Obviously last week there was talk of getting my Ta-Ta's out, although I think that was slightly optimistic given the fact that the weather out here is about the same temperature as back home in Blighty, not very warm indeed - ergo, no Ta-Ta's out this holiday! 

Lets start from the beginning shall we? So finishing work on Thursday at half day was as blissful as all half days usually are, although this one was manic as I had been up since 6am and had not stopped to sit down until I was either at work, the nail salon or the hairdressers! It was go-go-go from the moment I got up and after finishing my working (half) day it did not stop there as I continued my day collecting medication for Mr. Warehouse, posting parcels, sending letters, buying some last holiday bits, collecting some clothes and packing my case and that was not including the pampering disasters I had on the way. I arrived at the nail salon I went to just before Christmas to get my nails did which incidentally made no difference what-so-ever as they were chipped by the time I finished packing Thursday night in turn putting me in a foul mood to start with. And the foul mood didn't stop when I woke up on Friday morning ready for our afternoon flight from Birmingham International as the hair cut I had the previous day that looked lovely, if a little on the short side, I now discovered that in actual fact I had been given what can only be described as a wonky graduated bob resulting in me loosing more than double what I asked her to trim. Royally fucked off now I had no choice but to don my rat-tail extensions in the hope they looked relatively real. Sipping on a Caramel Latte from my beloved Tassimo I went through the days travel plans to get us to the airport, before getting dressed and ready to leave. 

Getting to the airport I thought would not be as faffy as it was, however with a journey time of around three-hours from door to airport check-in I was exhausted already. The slow train was very, very slow and with a connection time of seven-minutes I was anxious to get there in good haste. Sitting in Birmingham International Airport I was excited to be finally a little closer to our holiday away, although regretful slightly that it wasn't somewhere more adventurous on the departure board. 

Several hours and an uneventful flight later we touched down in what appeared to be a very grey and overcast Dublin. My hopes were not high and whilst I knew we were not going to be sweltering in forty-degree heat I so wanted Ireland to be the place where Mr. Warehouse fell in love with it as much as I have in my years of coming here. Whizzing through airport security as usual with only a glance at who we all were, Mr. Warehouse and I headed to the exit only to be told that since the bus had to leave on time we would have to wait for the next one which was only an 'Irish' five-minutes away. I say 'Irish' as Irish people seem to be on a different time-scale, something which I am more than accustomed to. An 'Irish' five minutes is more like twenty, very similar to the commonly used phrases 'I am on my way' and 'I just need to do my make-up'. 

After waiting around for more than twenty 'Irish' minutes, we had arrived at our final destination, our hotel! Discovering our room was 202 in the heady heights of a five-storey Georgian town-house with no lift access Mr. Warehouse reluctantly grabbed the bags and headed for the stairwell. Our room was tiny, smaller than Mr. Warehouse's bedroom at his mothers house back home it was nicely decorated and was situated only a few moments from the hub of Dublin's City centre including shops, restaurants and tourist-y things! Our first evening in the city we had agreed would be a slow one, so we headed to the Tourist Information and paid upfront for a Gravediggers Ghost Bus Tour, which is happening tonight - SO excited! 

For dinner we had settled on a teeny-tiny burger joint called BoBos Burgers! Now everyone knows how much I love a good burger and believe me nothing could top my favourite place for burgers - London's Honest Burger! Last years first holiday to Lyon with Mr. Warehouse nearly toppled it with King Marcel, again feeding us on our first night to the French Foodie City! After reading on-line about how good this place was I knew I would have to try it out, and boy am I glad I did. I cannot recall the burger I had but in it was sweet red-onion chutney, a medium-rare Irish beef burger, yummy cheese, and other gorgeous ingredients! I opted for chips as well although after finishing my burger, I could only stomach a few fries. Feeling bad and after passing more than a handful of homeless people on our travels, I got the restaurant to bag them up ready for someone else's dinner tonight. Only a few metres down the street from the restaurant and outside a posh delicatessen, Mr. Warehouse and I spotted a homeless man who appeared to be asking for food and money. I bent down and explained that we were tourists and that after our meal just now we had not been able to eat all our chips (two buckets worth I might say adding up to over seven-euros). They were still warm and as I handed the grubby man the bag he continued to thank us, explaining that we were angels and that this was his dinner tonight. It was freezing out, not much more than one or two degrees so the fries in all fairness were probably nearly cold but for him we had possibly made his day and that is something money cant buy. 

Saturday we travelled round on the tourist buses all day, attending the site of the Guinness Factory and walked past the Guinness hospital, set up by the Guinness family for the employees of the factory. The top two conditions doctors would see - Alcohol poisoning and sclerosis of the liver?! Enjoying our bus ride we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our all-Irish night out on the tiles in Dublin. The Temple Bar District of Dublin seemed to be the place to be and after heading into several pubs, having one drink at each we found ourselves at the end of the night in the same bar as we started at with the same Irish musicians as before. Drunk as Irish Husbands we headed for home collecting a McDonald's en-route (which tasted incredible I might add as my burger has crispy fried onions in it was amazing, although that might have been the umpteen ciders I had been drinking that evening) before we hailed a man with a bicycle-took-took to take us the ten minutes back to the hotel. 

Waking up yesterday morning, Mr. Warehouse and I felt like the back-end of a Donkey with breath smelling much worse. Happy Valentines Day! Not being able to remember much that wasn't fuzzy or blurred, Dublin had well and truly fucked us in the bum. Hanging, I drank some water and took some paracetamol and got on with it whilst Mr. Warehouse groaned for about twenty minutes and then got over his hangover too. Boarding the bus we headed to Europe's third largest Zoo after London and Paris - Dublin Zoo of course! Walking around we saw babies such as Lion cubs, Elephants and Giraffes as well as their mommies and daddies too. Enjoying every bit of the day we ended it in the gift shop of all places where Mr. Warehouse bought me an adorable cuddly toy Lion - A romantic gesture I have always wanted a lover to buy me from the Zoo, something Mr. Warehouse probably won't know until reading this the sweetheart! 

So my holiday so far has been wonderful and very romantic given it Valentines weekend. Walking around Dublin with my other half is lovely but I am also looking forward to the next part of our trip which commences tomorrow, where Mr. Warehouse and I will head down to Southern Ireland near Kilkenny and visit my Aunt and Uncle and their farmyard animals in the thickness of the Irish countryside. 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

All Ma' Girls!

Hello Dears!

So with less than a week to go I am super excited about my holiday with Mr. Warehouse to Dublin and Southern Ireland to see the family. But this weekend I spent some Q.T with the Tweedles, Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb in a mammoth sleepover-weekender. 

Friday I had decided to take a half day as not only did I not fancy spending more than two-hours getting to Miss Tweedle-Dumb's house in the darkness after work, but I also wanted to try and catch up with some family members after Christmas and New Years. Settling down in a local cafe for Afternoon High Tea with my Nanny Pumpkin I soon forgot the stresses of work and the mountain of paperwork I had to do come Monday (AKA this) morning. I had barely sank into the comfy, leather tub-chairs before Nanny Pumpkin unleashed all her worldly gossip to me, nattering away and chatting like we always do about work, life and a little bitching here and there for good measure. A slice of coffee cake and mug of caramel latte soon disappeared as did the time, and eventually we left, thankfully my little Nanny Pumpkin gave me a cheeky lift back home to Dunstable/Houghton Regis to see some other family members where again we chatted for a good few hours, consuming more tea and putting the world to right. 

My afternoon with the elderly relatives in my family really put it into perspective that I have come along way since those dark days of my teenage years, just after being chucked out by my pathetic excuse for a mother. Looking through photos of me as a baby I wondered to myself what life will look like with my own children in it, a nice Silver-Cross parked outside the cafe, or breastfeeding whilst having a chit-chat with me Nan in her rocking chair. I hoped and wished that one day I will have children and they could meet these wonderful older ladies in my life, for they are genuinely the ones that have made me who I am today and will encourage me I know to be a better person tomorrow. Their influences already and what is to come from them will help me become the mother I want to be and makes me less scared of the crappy example I had. And it seems as though now the dust has finally settled, both sides of my family have accepted me to be a honest, true and well-turned-out individual in my very own right. 

Drizzling with rain I walked the five-minute walk to Miss Tweedle-Dumb's house and was greeted by the over-sized family hound and my bestie waiting with what can only be described as the best welcome to a sleepover I have ever had ... Gooey Baked Camembert and red onion chutney with lightly toasted French baguette. Mmmm, Yummy! Settling in for the night we indulged in a horror flick (something I will miss once Mr. Warehouse moves in since he is such a pussy when it comes to scary things) and ended the night all curled up in Miss Tweedle-Dumb's parent's Queen-sized-bed. 

Saturday brought a new sense of excitement as we were all heading off for a shopping trip, something we had not done in absolutely ages, and whilst it was to the posh, commuter town of St. Albans, I most certainly spent more money on stuff that quite frankly, I am sure my bank balance will suffer for later. Who needs a concrete Ampersand anyway? No-one. But it looks good in my flat and was only three-quid so it has been fully justified. Some Cookie-Dough lube, Yankee Candles, toning weights (because I realised that I have enough bingo wing to fly both me and Mr. Warehouse to Dublin and back twice over without having to pay for the Ryan Air privilege) and some other home improvements were also in my bags Saturday and although there was nothing in there that I essentially necessary, it is all very much needed in my life now. Lying in bed that evening, Miss Tweedle-Dee on my left, Miss Tweedle-Dumb on my right, I knew I was thoroughly happy with all my purchases and was somewhat sad that I had to go home after such a wonderful weekend. However when Mr. Warehouse messaged me Sunday morning with the promise of cocktails whilst he watched the Game on TV in the local pub in Bedford I was more than happy to oblige and head home. 

On the train journey back I was also made aware that there were now even less sleeps to go until I get to eat out every night and wear nice clothes that aren't office appropriate! So hurry up Dublin - I wanna get my Ta-Ta's out! 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx