The Happiest Place on Earth ...

Heyy, 

So finally the weekend was upon us and it was that time of the month again where I get to see my besties! This time it would be a change of scenery from the one-bedroom council flat and instead was the homely comforts of the in-laws. Well future in-laws anyway! Oh you never heard? Well allow me to explain. Back in late summer when Mr Warehouse and I was getting ready to go on holiday to Tenerife, Miss Tweedle-Dumb and her boyfriend were doing some planning of their own. 

I knew Miss Tweedle-Dee from across the road directly from my house and we made friends initially in Lower School where she was a bitch and threw sand in my face. The two-some soon became a three-some when Miss Tweedle-Dee started started as a new girl in our Middle School moving from London somewhere. Almost instantly we were inseparable, spending every time outside of the classroom with each other either out playing or hanging around each others houses. Of course we would argue as would any group of girls, there were a few falling out over boys and other friends trying to make a move into our triplet but we always somehow made our way through. As we spent our time lazying away our weekends and summer holidays I always thought we would be friends forever and even in our old age we would still be giggling and laughing like we did when we were in school. But as the years passed we grew older and our groups of friends started to change but even with us being split by separate High Schools and Miss Tweedle-Dumb moving away, it still didn't stop us from hanging out. As we got into the thickness of our teenage life our priorities started to change and whilst I enjoyed going out and drinking in the local parks with boys and hanging out with groups of people much older than myself and my school friends, Miss Tweedle-Dumb and Miss Tweedle-Dee preferred to go to house-parties and drink in local parks around where their "posh" friends lived. 

Soon after we lost contact altogether as our lives separately progressed. No falling out. No arguments. Just drifted. I finished my GCSE's as did Miss Tweedle-Dumb and Miss Tweedle-Dee and we all headed to a different sixth form or college and lived out maybe some of our best days yet. After I moved to college in my second year of higher education the Tweedles and their "posh" friends went to university and after falling in love with Mr. Workaholic and getting life a little more stable I reached out and made contact with them to go for a drink, maybe the first one we had together, legally. In the few weeks that followed Mr. Workaholic and I visited them in halls and this is when I first met my besties future husband to be. He seemed shy and very reserved for a Uni-student, nothing like the loud, brash and ladish guy I met on my weekend binges. Someone focused, head-down and knew what they wanted and where they wanted to be. "Someone just like my Mr. Workaholic" I said to Miss Tweedle-Dumb as I waited in the car park for Mr. Workaholic to come and pick me up. 

"I am so pleased we have both found happiness and hopefully we can be apart of each others lives forever - Haha maybe even a double wedding!" I jested with her as I waved goodbye. Unbeknownst to me that within twenty-four hours it would all change for the following evening my dreams of a life with Mr. Workaholic were shattered into tiny fragments of painful glass as he ended our relationship. The first people I messaged was the Tweedles. They didn't believe me. They thought it was just one big sick joke. I wished it was. My life was over as I knew it and the man I thought I was going to marry betrayed my trust by snuffing it out without a chance of trying to make it work again. Packing my bags I stayed at my dad's that night but Miss Tweedle-Dumb and Miss Tweedle-Dee were there though out it all. The pain, the hurt, the emotional roller-coaster. And even when I went back to Mr. Workaholic (in which I never told them about but I am almost certain they knew) they still stood by my side and never scolded me for going back to what was familiar, just support and cuddles and boozy nights out getting paralytic drunk in order to forget. 

As the years passed Miss Tweedle-Dumb dropped out of Uni and Miss Tweedle-Dee barely started but after landing good jobs together life was finally settled. Miss Tweedle-Dumb would visit her boyfriend on different weekend when she could and even when he graduated with flying colours and moved back down to his hometown of Basingstoke, Miss Tweedle-Dumb would still visit regularly. But after being together all of about four or five years, Miss Tweedle-Dumb and her Bae decided to make the move and get their own place in the summer of last year. Only a one-bed, ground floor council flat but it was more than most people get offered when only a couple and it was certainly plenty for them. Building their lives together and watching them grow together they began to travel, as any young couple would visiting all the romantic tourist hot-spots across Europe and even farther afield including Paris, Rome, Las Vegas and more. Each time back home, Miss Tweedle-Dee and myself would prepare to see if he popped the question then?! But it never came. I was expecting it to never come and for them to just be that couple that are not engaged nor married but maybe have a child or two. Until a fortnight ago ... 

After being let down for a job offer in Europe, Miss Tweedle-Dumb and her Boyfriend took the opportunity to book a once in a lifetime trip to Disneyland Florida, The Happiest Place on Earth. And that it certainly was for as my dearest friend looked up in awe of the Disney princess castle, the midnight sky alight with fireworks and stars she turned back to the love of her life only to be greeted by a one singular knee and a shiny silver ring. Shocked and stunned (as were we all guys!) I was so overwhelmed with happiness when I got a picture the following morning I cried tears of happiness. I was so unimaginably joyful for her. Whilst close friends and family asked me how I felt, almost in a sarcastic way expecting my to selfishly want it to be me that got engaged at Disneyland Florida, I replied that I was genuinely over the moon for her. And whilst at first I begrudged her for going to the place where dreams come true in the first place because I wanted to go, I was thrilled at the prospect of a wedding I actually had a close relationship to the Bride! 

This weekend, I expected anyway, was going to be filled with wedding magazines, bridal boutiques and visiting venues. But it wasn't. It was normal. As if it never happened. Maybe its shock I don't know and maybe I was a little over-excited but I thought that something was going to be different to be about Miss Tweedle-Dumb now she was engaged. But there isn't. She isn't. Miss Tweedle-Dumb is the same girl I have grown up with. Silly, Girlie, Voluptuous and full of life. As life has gotten harder with jobs, families and the additional expenses that go with it all, us three have been there for each other as misfitting triplets. Some of us have lost friends and even close family members along the way as some people will come and some will go but for you to find someone so special that you want to spend the rest of your life with them and dedicate your whole being to them then they have to be pretty special. No matter what happens in the future, I will forever be the structure that my friend need as they are for me. Even if it is on the Hen 'Do in Magaluf ... 

 'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx 

Dinner With A Ghost

Hello!

Driving down a road that looked familiar, I soon realised it was the old route I used to take to my High School. I was in a small Ford KA and was with my besties, Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb. But they weren't driving. It was Mr. Ginge. Our relationship was mainly featured in post 'The Grass Might Not Always Be Greener On The Other Side' but in basic terms was my first boyfriend. Yes, Mr. Warehouse knew of our meet up and I think a negotiating factor was the fact that Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb were accompanying me. That and the fact that I was a teenager when we were last dating. But I was not a emo-teen anymore. I was a grown women, and Mr. Ginge was a grown man. Things had changed a lot since we last saw each other and now we were en route to my old High School for Dinner (Don't ask). Pulling into the driveway of the School I recalled some of my fondest memories before things got complicated and I became an adult. It was nostalgic to say the least. 

Seating for dinner the room was beautifully decorated with red walls and ornate, brocade-style gold fixtures. It was very grandeur and can only imagine it would have cost a small fortune to eat their, not just for myself and my ex-boyfriend but also for him to cater to my best friends was definitely impressive. Pulling out my chair I had some raised eyebrow looks from The Tweedles as if to warn me on what I was getting myself into. Truth be told though Mr. Ginge and I had met briefly before and we had swapped numbers, chatting for a few weeks before ending up eating dinner in a busy restaurant in my home town. This was something I had not told my boyfriend, Mr. Warehouse, for fear of him suspecting more than there was. I am a flirtatious person and Mr. Warehouse knows (Or at least I would like to think that he does) that I know where the line is and I do not cross it under any circumstances. Nevertheless here I was, across the table from my ex-boyfriend and with my best friends sitting side-by-side on the right hand side if me we continued our discussions and made up for lost time. 

Becoming more wibbily on the flowing red wine encompassed a full bodied flavour including cherries and strawberries, I could tell that Mr. Ginge was enjoying my company. Forgetting my friends, I continued to relive old memories with my ex-boyfriend including how we met. I suppose rather conventionally we were introduced to each other though Sixth Form. Childhood sweethearts you could call it maybe. On my first day I made friends with a young chap who introduced me to all of his peers. Amongst the misfits and outcasts was Mr. Ginge. Taller than the rest at about 6ft something, with fiery red hair and a smile to loose yourself in, he was hard to miss. At the time I was unusually shy and when it came to our first encounter Mr. Ginger made sure I wouldn't forget him. Thinking I was cool a few days into term, I handed round a note pad for everyone to sign their mobile numbers and e-mail addresses. Look it was like 2008 OK everyonene was still living in the days of MSN Messanger. But when it came to Mr. Ginge's turn he disregarded my simple blue Biro. He took out a massive black marker pen and began to write his details in the rest of the book, using up a page for every single, scrawled letter. Smiling, acting coy we flirted for a week or two both inside and outside of the school gates. Looking back I can see that his boyish pokes, jokes and pushing was just a bad attempt at flirting and an excuse from him to touch me. Men, eh? But on the eve of my 17th birthday we began chatting over E-mail. 

Mr. Ginge had just got in from doing Cadet's training to be in the Army and was tired but had something to tell me. As my eyes scanned the laptop screen that evening I read over and over how this handsome lad that I had know for less than three weeks was telling me how beautiful I was and how he loved to hear me laugh. 
"I love your cuddles," he typed continuing with "your eyes are something magical too." Flattered and still in slight shock to even realise he had asked me to be his girlfriend. Cocky in my teenage arrogance I said that if he had the balls to do it in person I would oblige and so he vowed that tomorrow on my 17th birthday he would ask me again. Less than 12 hours later were standing on opposite ends of the court-yard garden at Sixth Form avoiding each other and discussing what to do with our friends. Finally, our friends forced us into a quieter area together and then scurried round the corner but within earshot so as to hear what was going on. With me hiding behind a fan of birthday cards and Mr. Ginge chewing on the end of a yogurt sachet, he made the proposal again. within moments of me saying 'yes' we had all our friends rallying around us congratulating and asking for kisses and weirdly pictures of the newly 'hooked-up' couple. It was like I had just fallen into Hollywood and Mr. Ginge and I were the hottest new couple. Within a few days my world would be turned upside down forever to change me and take away my innocence and naivety, all of which Mr. Ginge stuck by me. I think its safe to say that there were more lows than highs and he could have easily ran a mile at the first whiff of trouble. But he didn't. He stayed with me and made life bearable when the days were darker than death. Some of my brightest moments I shared with that man and I can honestly say that there will always be a place in my heart for him. 

So as he got up from the table and walked round to beside me I thought that he may be going to the toilets. A moment passed as I wondered if the dining area was this grand, how grand would the restrooms be?! Snapping out of it I realised everyone in the restaurant was silent. Mr. Ginge was on the floor. On one knee. With an open black box. Suddenly the 'vino' disappeared and was in a very sobbering situation. Mr. Ginge was proposing to me. 
"Will you be my wife?" Mr. Ginge asked, batted breath from everyone including myself. A long silence ensued. I looked around. Some faces were smiling, some faces looked concerned that moments had passed and I had yet to give an answer. This is not what I planned when I got ready this evening, nor when I was messaging Mr. Ginge a few weeks beforehand.  

I looked at Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb, urgent for an answer to a question I was not anticipating answering so soon, let alone from someone I was not even dating.
"Yes" I replied, shocked to even hear it myself. Cheers and an applause erupted and it felt as if I had just accepted and honorary title. Seating for the rest of the meal it flew by in a haze of congratulatory Champagne and shock. Heading to my room that evening above the restaurant, Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb accompanied me and stayed the night in my bed whilst I tried in vain to get some sleep before returning to the reality of the situation I now found myself in. 

Many hours past and as I felt dawn approaching I knew it was time to go. I had to leave and get our before Mr. Ginge awoke. Hurrying the girls, hushed and silent as possible so as not to wake the other guests. As I finished getting dressed and packing my bag Mr. Ginge suddenly appeared in the room. Solemn in his change of mood, Mr. Ginge offered to take us to where we needed to go. I think he had realised, or been told, that our marriage was not possible. I was in love with Mr. Warehouse. He was my boyfriend, not Mr. Ginge. I felt awful and as I thought about having to tell Mr. Warehouse of my evening I felt hot waves of sickness wash over me once more. Whilst Mr. Ginge was my first love and a part of my heart will always belong with him, Mr. Warehouse was the person I wanted to marry and he was the one my future now lay with. 

The shock had still not dispersed as Miss Tweedle-Dee, Miss Tweedle-Dumb and I got into Mr. Ginge's car again. I was quiet for the majority of the journey, my Tweedles doing most of the conversing with my Ex so as not to make it more awkward than it already was. It was dark. I remember passing some tavern's and old public houses, golden and alight inside with the warmth of good company and hot toddies. The darkness only made what I had done worse. I had betrayed not only my boyfriend, patiently waiting for me at home, anxious of my company I was keeping. I had also disappointed my best friends, only disclosing the full extent of my growing fantasy with my childhood-sweetheart after the out-of-the-blue proposal. As we carried on along the road I became more and more ingrained in my thoughts and suddenly the realisation about the next few hours dealing with the consequences of giving my hand in marriage to another man kicked in like a punch to the face.

It was then that I woke. Clammy and heart racing I was glad it was Mr. Warehouse I was waking up next too. Shuddering at the strange dream I had just encountered and promising myself I would later look it up in my extensive collection of dream books and sleep-interpretation encyclopedias, I snuggled into Mr. Warehouse's back. When my boyfriend finally rolled over and I kissed him gently all in the knowledge that should the moment or time ever arise, I knew what the answer would be. 

'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

Driving me Crazy!

Hi there you!

So last weekend was, let's be honest here, a bit of a bore - Obviously ignoring the night out with my work colleagues that is. But this week and the weekend just gone has got me thinking more about life as a whole and where its going and what I want to be doing with it. 

Work is work for most people right? Not for me. I enjoy my job. Love it more than Starbucks sometimes. But since the arrival of some more company down in my end of the office in Autumn last year I have been embroiled in a conscience battle as to whether this is a job for life or not. Now I am not saying for a single second that this is a job whereby I would leave any time soon, but given the right offer and circumstances, I would consider heavily. 

You see today has been like many another day in the office. Paperwork. E-mails. Phone calls. And it is this that I love - The busy nature of the place. The fact that every day is essentially the same but without being the same is why I have stuck it out for so long, the good with the bad, the rough with the smooth. I mean something happens every day that keeps me on my toes, which I enjoy and the thrill of having stacking paperwork and jobs excites me knowing I have a busy time ahead of me. But lately since my old Supervisor moved to a different department I have been increasingly unhappy within my role. Needless targets, silly procedures and pointless run-through's of stuff I already know and do is really dragging me down. The snotty, condescending and quite frankly patronising remarks I get from some colleagues of mine leaves me wondering where my future is heading and whether a this is what I really want for the years to come. 

Now I understand that everyone has to have a bitch and a moan sometimes about their employment and as a British person I feel even more so I should have a good old moan about it. Everyone has bad days right? And sometimes when you are having a bad day, be it at work or else where, an offer of any kind can seem like such a bedazzling light at the end of the tunnel that like a firefly you head right towards its burning flame. This happened to me today. 

After fucking up a couple of times last week (and I literally mean like two or three times) with everyone from my engineers to customers and all in between, new procedures have been implemented from my supervisor, making my job at least an hour longer every day and more complex than what it should be. Ironically this is something I went to a conference last month about: Looking for ways to increase business and get rid of all the silly procedures and protocol. After having a good old British chin-wag about it with some work colleagues in the canteen I was made aware of a position within the company that had my ears pricked and my eyes wide! Within the same building there was a girl whom I had become quite close with. She was leaving soon and as a result a job opening had become available doing pretty much the same thing I do but for a different division. Mood suddenly brightened by an opportunity within grasping distance and on hearing that the girl's manager had already tried to poach me for the position I was intrigued and asked for more information. 

Whilst the job is at the same salary there are pro's and con's to the career move. On the plus side it would be me and my boss working together on similar projects I work on now. Secondly, I wouldn't have to deal with the daily remarks of not doing my job "well" or "in the correct way" not to mention constantly being undermined and undervalued as an employee. I would have more space and freedom.I would be the first person to receive the post every morning, distributing it throughout the building and mingling with my old colleagues. I would even have the potential to ask for a pay rise. On the other side, it would be fairly lonely with minimal interaction from people both in the office and over the phone. I would have to get better with my lateness as well as improve on my timely manner and the likelihood of me being invited to any nights out or events would potentially be at risk. 

Not only that but I question whether I am actually ready to leave. I spoke with several friends and family members and the response was mixed to say the least. On the one hand I am excited for the new opportunity and the idea that I had already been theoretically head-hunted for the role was ego-boosting anyway. But am I ready to leave the business I have built up from nothing? I was only a matter of hours into my role within the company before I was thrust the division I work in and pretty much told "Its a mess, please help us to sort it out". I am the one who built the business into what it is today with the practical procedures and inventive ways of helping everything tick along nicely. I am the one who has built up a two year relationship with both my sales reps, engineers and customers, not to mention the employees I work with. I have grown the subcontracted side, with help from colleagues, from thing from barely there to being a huge part of what the company as a whole does. Am I really willing to hand over my baby and sack it all in potentially for what has been a crappy few months with an equally shitty rubbish day? As one friend in the office put it ... Am I prepared to see another person sat at my desk doing my job? I need to find out some more details so first thing tomorrow after digging into my CoCo Pops I shall approach the boss man and ask him the details of the opening. With the other girl leaving on Friday though I will have to make my decisions quick although I am sure I shall update you next week with the outcome.

Maybe I am over-reacting? I mean my stress levels recently have forced me into meltdown over the silliest of things. The fact that in less than twenty-four hours I will have known whether I have passed or failed my theory test is something that has been looming over me for weeks. I am bricking it! After studying for weeks about road traffic signs, speed limits and stopping distances, not to mention the difference between pelican and puffin crossings I feel like my brain has been frazzled and whatever I do now is redundant for I am almost certain to fail. In every mock test, exam and hazard perception video I go through I scrap by with the skin of my teeth. Or just fail by a smidgen. But with less than twenty-one hours to go and my first driving lessons already booked for Saturday morning there is not much room for error and the expectation to pass this exam is greater than it ever has been before. 

Wish me luck!

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

Is This It?

Hello again you!

So after last week's post this one is going to seem very much mundane indeed. Sorry to all those Nypho's out there but I have been far, far too busy this week to set myself up as a phone sex operator just yet. I have much bigger fish to fry you know. With Mr. Warehouse moved in and mostly settled, with his doggy joining us this weekend, we begin our lives together in harmonious bliss - That is until all hell breaks loose because he ate all my Mini Cheddars!

Who ever knew that things would end up this way huh?!  When I look back on the time I have had with Mr. Warehouse and all we have done in it, everything just seems so fast. This suddenly hit me whilst walking past a jewellers on Friday afternoon following a rather hectic but relaxed few days in the office (and considering it is coming up to the end of financial year, it says a lot about our office productivity). There I was, all twenty-four years of me, standing in the afternoon shadows of a second-hand and vintage jeweller, looking at the sparkly sapphire numbers twinkling back at me that I dream of wearing on my left hand one day. But then it suddenly dawned on me. I am twenty-four! 

Walking away I suddenly I could hear my maternal clock located somewhere in my womb ticking loudly. Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock! Louder and louder as I thought about what I wanted to do and what I had planned for myself and the timescale to do it in. I mean we all have a five-year-plan right? Right? You see, I want a child before I turn thirty at least. And before all of that I want to get married and tell stories of fairytale princesses and dancing the night away with their Daddy on the happiest day of my life, next to the day that they came into my world of course. I had to get a decent paying job (or just ask for a cheeky pay rise). I would have to travel the world to several more places including Africa and the East in order to extend the stories I already hold to include riding elephants through the jungle and cuddling lions in the Savannah! I will need to buy a house to accommodate this womb-bending brood I plan, something as you all know including four-bedrooms, an en-suite to the Master and a picket fence outside on a quiet suburban street with optional neighbourhood watch. But I suppose that is a lot to do for a little person like me who is only just learning to drive and still sees a shot of Cherry Sourz a good friend on a night out!

I just want to be fully prepared for parenthood and know that I have done things the right way and inside wed-lock. I know it is not for some people; The whole getting married and then having children, and in all honesty I do try not to judge people who are in that situation, but I just know that in my heart of hearts I would be severely disappointed if my life was planned out any other way. Not of course that I would ever regret my children if that is how the winds swayed, but I would feel disappointed in myself that they were not born into something that was already legally and lustfully bound by love. 

Now I know that a huge majority of that gumph above is pressure put on by myself and that to achieve everything I want before having children and ideally speaking within the next six years, that is one heck of a shit-load to cram on in! I mean whilst I love Mr. Warehouse to the ends of the earth and back, am I really ready to become someone's wife? I just don't know?! As harsh as that sounds the whole prospect scares me slightly, but at the same time excites me with the possibilities! Is this it? Is this now my life? Is Mr. Warehouse the one I shall grow old with? Is Mr. Warehouse suddenly dawning on me as Mr. Right?

I suppose in several of my past relationships, I have queried if I could ever be with that one person for the rest of my days, eating with them, sleeping with them, living with them and raising a family with them. Will I ever get bored of them, or them of me and is there anyone else left out there better suited? But then I think about my Mr. Warehouse and to back when I was single. Reality is that even then and now it would be the same answer. No there is not someone better suited to myself. Or maybe there is but who has time to flick through countless dick-pic's on Tinder and faux profile's on PlentyOfFish.com when I have someone who is wonderful in so many ways - His ability to eat all six packets of Mini Cheddars not leaving me a single crumb being one of them, haha! 

My dearest boyfriend is ever so kind and considerate. He is very affectionate but also stands his ground when we have a barney or believes he is right (does he not know all women species are right in every way all ways?) He buys me gifts now and then, sometimes flowers, sometimes chocolate and when I have a crappy day he brightens my mood by breaking me into laughter. He is silly and stupid - Just like me. He is immature and loves giggles, pillow fights and chasing each other round the house with tickles just as much as I do (apart from I don't like being tickled). Mr. Warehouse is thoughtful, getting me things I need and helping with household chores when I ask. He looks after me when I am ill and comforts me when I am sad. He has never made me cry. Ever in fact. And he does his very best every day to make me feel like I am his absolute world. His be all and end all, and everything in between.

I suppose the next logical step for us would be for to get a dog, get a house and get engaged. But that is my plan and a relationship is about compromise, but with Mr. Warehouse holding my hand tight, I doubt I will be compromising much that I didn't already have the chance to look for! 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx

New Year, New Me and All That Bollocks!

Hello Dears!

Happy New Year 2016! I hope that your New Years was as manic and amazing as mine, although maybe some of you would prefer the Non-Alcoholic-Mocktail version since I have pretty much drank enough beer, wine and spirits to sink the Titanic. 

Suffice to say though that I have had a very relaxing Christmas and New Year. Crazy and very busy at times but more often than not I found myself smiling and laughing with everyone around me. Most of the days I have had off from work on my shut-down, I am not proud to say, I spent in front of the Telly chowing down on the mountain of chocolate I got rather than visiting friends and family. But that is something I need to work on next year: Seeing more friends and family in those lazy days between Christmas and New coming year. Hopefully though I will be in my very own little car and be on the road by then, although I feel this is an incredibly optimistic stance on what is shaping up to already be a very busy year. 

Although before I commenced 2016 I was found spending the last few days of 2015 hanging out in the Bedfordshire Countryside with Mr. Warehouse and his doggy, going for walkies (even if they were just down to the local shops for yet more food!) as well as that one, somewhat productive day, when Mr. Warehouse and I went shopping and yet spent no money at all after having a wonderful time catching up with my family at a local Costa Coffee (yes, I know I betrayed Starbs but it was the families choice not mine!). 

But as New Years Eve rolled around I still had no set plans. So when head of Mr. Warehouse's family called for everyone to come down to the local social club for a few then who was I to say no, especially when there is a DJ and the potential to sneak in your own alcohol! Which I might add that Myself nor Momma Warehouse had any involvement in doing - Those miniatures were there already! 

Sat at the kitchen table, workstations (designated areas of a room to get ready for a night out in AKA drinking/refill stations, make-up stations, hair stations, ect) inadvertently already set up in every corner of the room we had finished the fun of dolling up ourselves and with half hour to spare Mr. Warehouse, Momma Warehouse and I thought it would be a good idea to play a drinking game. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my Cards Against Humanity game and so we got by with drinking our overly boozed beverages every time we heard the title to any song. First on the list? The aptly named 'Shots' by LMFAO. This was a disaster! around 70 times that bloody song has the word 'Shots' in it! Wasted by the time our lift arrived, queue Momma Warehouse and I falling into the local shop to get some cash out and buy cigarettes and then diving back into the car before anyone could see how pissed we were already! 

Walking into the venue we realised whilst we were not the only ones seated around the dance-floor, we were certainly all related in one way or another. It was like a family/work reunion with some family faces from both the office, warehouse and Mr. Warehouse's family. Near enough downing a few Screwdrivers (Orange Juice and Vodka) I hit the wooden floor, covered by this point in lazers, strobes and fog. Although it wasn't long before a few little faces made it into my personal space and started trying to play a god awful game of 'Tag - Your It'. I soon quietened their pre-pubescent selves with a little Macarena and Cha-Cha-Slide therapy and a strict "No! I'm drinking and getting wasted now - Go away children!" and that seemed to do the just the trick. 

Count down beginning I thought back to last New Years 2014/2015 and realised that at this precise moment I was either in the toilet or in a muddle puddle at the bottom of a children's slide missing the countdown. This year however I was in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with my dearest Mr. Warehouse, his family and our friends surrounding us and as we began to count backwards I suddenly became scared and anxious about what the next year would bring me and my life. Over the next year I plan to learn to drive, buy a car, go on a few more nice holidays and even maybe a few other surprises! As the DJ stopped to ring out the bells of Big Ben in London I felt overwhelmed and as I was pulled in for a loving hug by my boyfriend I felt more excited and happy than I think I ever felt. Squeezing each other tight we didn't let go. But eventually we were prised apart by Momma Warehouse yelling at her son to "Get down to one fucking knee and propose to the poor girl already!" Ahh yes, she was slightly sozzled bless her little miniature bottles ... I mean heart! Laughing it off as normal we went around everyone in the pub that night wishing them and their friends and families to come a very Happy and healthy New year and to make 2016 an even better one! 

Waking up the next morning with a fuzzy mouth and an achey head I took some time at breakfast with Mr. Warehouse and Momma Warehouse to look back on the previous evenings activities. Starting the evening with selfies and cute close-ups, I had ended my evening sitting in the living room, legs a kimbo, Labrador on my lap and my fake eyelashes now off and stuck underneath my nose in a very unorthodox salute to a tyrannical leader of 1940's Germany! 

So it seems that my new years is off to a good start and I mean to carry it on well with the coming months churning out a trip to Dublin and southern Ireland as well as a Christening in a few weeks. Spring will bring me birthdays galore and all the engagements that come with such celebrations. Summer will hopefully see me off on another rumbustious holiday with Miss Tweedle-Dee and Miss Tweedle-Dumb as well as a wedding with Mr. Warehouse and his family down in Newquay and a new baby will be arriving sometime in the summer, making Mr. Warehouse an Uncle for the fourth time. September will bring about yours-truely and her special day and then into the winter months I plan to spend some time travelling cold, snowy Europe before passing my test and buy a car so that Christmas and New Years 2016 can be just that little easier logistically. 

So my New Years Resolutions are as follows I am hoping you have a successful time as me:
1. Get up off the couch, put down the Cadburys and Cheetos and get to a more happier size. Whilst I realise that every year I say "get into a size 12 by Christmas" I actually want to do it. Well at least I want to think about it anyway?!
2. Save enough money by working unsociable and unhappy hours at the call-centre so I can learn to drive and buy a car ergo ensuing many more adventures, places to see and things to do. 
3. Finally face up to the fact that I am, at some point, going to have to let Mr. Warehouse move in with me. 
4. Try and go on more holidays and work out where else in the world I can go that isn't going to cost me an entire years salary. 
5. And on the subject of money ... Get more of it!

A Happy and Safe New Year 2016! 

'Til next time, Love A.Lou xx