Author: lorz83

2018 – You’ve been a roller coaster

~ lorz83 ~ 1 Comment

Somehow it’s December and I find myself only just getting around to writing my first and only post of 2018!

You may or may not recall that 2017 wasn’t my most favourite year and at the end of it I had high hopes that this year would treat me well and have good things install for me. Umm well I’m not sure that I’ve had a particularly good year, in parts I guess it’s been good, making memories, however for a large part of 2018 I’ve been a miserable, unbearable, crying mess.

When I started this blog I was on a mission to love myself in the hope that doing so would lead to someone else loving me. The title ‘Gym, Gin, Game of Life’ a reflection as to how I hoped to accomplish ‘Mission Love Me’. I was going to the gym regularly, I’d lost some weight and was beginning to tone – Because in my broken little mind I thought (and sadly still do) that I’ll only be loveable if I’m slim. I felt relatively good about myself and although I hadn’t found love I was having fun searching for my Mr Right, playing the ‘game of life’. And gin is gin, something to drown my tears in.

At the end of last year my sister found love again, and of course I was (am) so very happy for her, but a part of me was (is) jealous. How has she found love, and I haven’t? What’s wrong with me? I am just unlovable? An overwhelming feeling of sadness and loneliness engulfed me. I’ve always been happy for my sister and friends with their boyfriends/girlfriends, houses, engagements, weddings, babies, but I feel like I’ve used all my happiness on them and never on myself. All of them are moving forward, making their own memories and although I’ve been part of their journey for parts, they all get to crossroads where they turn left, right or move straight ahead and I’m left there at a standstill on my own.

All I’ve ever wanted is to have a loving boyfriend/husband, a cosy home and babies, my own little family. Everyone around me seems to have all of this (granted they may not be happy all the time) but not me. My sister and friends are all moving on and I’m getting left behind. Have you ever felt so incredibly lonely even when you’re surrounded by people who you know care and love you? My biggest fear is being on my own. Well these feelings make you crazy!!! And I was a horrible person to be around, I mean I even hated being around me! I’d cry myself to sleep, feel genuinely shit, I was even more mardy than usual, I was (probably still am) awful to be around.

I’ve always been very aware of mental health issues, but had never for one second assessed my own mental health. I’d never drilled down into the symptoms of depression because I didn’t think what I was feeling was depression. Why would it be depression? I have family and friends who love me. I have my health, no illnesses. I have a job. I’ve not lost anyone (well I have in sorts but they’re still very much alive). One evening, with puffing red eyes I googled ‘Symptoms of depression’ and it was like I’d come across a profile for me:

  • Continuous low mood or sadness
  • Feeling hopeless and helpless
  • Having low self-esteem
  • Feeling tearful
  • Feeling guilt-ridden
  • Feeling irritable and intolerant of others
  • Having no motivation or interest in things
  • Finding it difficult to make decisions
  • Not getting any enjoyment out of life
  • Feeling anxious or worried
  • Changes in appetite or weight
  • Lack of energy
  • Low sex drive
  • Disturbed sleep
  • Avoiding contact with friends and taking part in fewer social activities
  • Neglecting hobbies and interests
  • Difficulties in you home and family life
  • Suicidal and/or self harming thoughts

Out of this list, the only one I didn’t have or feel was suicidal – Everything else got a tick. I felt like a complete phoney, how could I be depressed?

I made an appointment with my doctor, I think I was expecting him to dismiss my self diagnosis. I’d felt so emotionless and dead inside, and although I would often cry myself to sleep, I didn’t for one second think that i’d leave my 10 minute appointment looking like Alice Cooper. My doctor has been my doctor since I was a child so he knows me and family and therefore knows our past medical/personal history. I walked in and told him why I was there and to my surprise he implied that he’d anticipated my visit, knowing my past and how much I take in my stride, he knew it was only a matter of time before I gave up and cracked! So that time had come and I left the room with black tears running down my cheeks, a referral to Talking Therapies and a follow up appointment. I had mixed emotions, firstly I felt relieved that he’d diagnosed me with depression but then I felt dread that he wanted me to speak with someone.

I know every single reason why I feel the way I do. From being bullied as a child, my best friends telling me they’d never liked me whilst at secondary school, my parents separating and subsequently my dads family disowning me and my sister to name a few. I have a crazy memory where I can remember word for word conversations, remember the date and time, what clothes people had on and what fragrance they were wearing. Sometimes I treasure this ability, when I can recall happy moments in time and relive them, but often it feels more like a curse, living through something horrible and hurtful once is bad enough, but if something triggers me to remember a bad memory, it’s emotionally draining.

As my doctor had referred me and my Mum and sister both thought it would be a good thing for me, I did attend some counselling sessions. I was also prescribed ‘Happy Pills’ aka Prozac, something I was initially against, but now am grateful for and by the second third of the year I was definitely less miserable. The first part of the year started with me being miserable with my family either shouting at me or giving me the silent treatment which in turn lead me to going to the doctors and the start of my new journey.

From Easter the tablets had kicked in and my moods had subsided slightly. I felt more relaxed and more at ease. Come May I’d got myself back on the dating apps, I matched with a few people (many of whom let me down) but in June one restored my faith and sparkle.  

Our first date was Friday 15th June at 20:30 and ended at 04:30 Saturday morning (not too shoddy for a first date hey) It was a if we’d known each other forever, nothing was strained, no awkward silences, it was just…..perfect.  So much so we went for our second date Saturday evening which rolled into the Sunday (which I guess was technically our third date?!?) Doesn’t this all sound too good to be true.  Well of course it does, it’s me and my life after all, there’s never any fairytales for this ugly sister.  He called me on the Tuesday saying he had something to tell me.  Oh great he’s married I thought, just my luck. But no that wasn’t what he wanted to tell me, instead to tells me he’s got a new job, nothing wrong with that I thought, I mean surely you wouldn’t go on dates with someone if the job was miles away and would mean us not being able to see each other?  Well last time I checked Limerick is in Ireland and Ireland is the other side of some water that happens to be the Irish Sea and then technically there’s also another country between England and the Emerald Isle and that would be Wales.  Yes yes, his new job and life is in Limerick, Ireland (or what I like to call the shitty place!). During our speed dating escapade we’d decided to go to the seaside the following weekend, despite his news I opted to look on the bright side (Ireland isn’t that far away really, and I do have a massive soft spot the Irish) and wanted to make memories with the person that put some colour back into my black heart.  We went to Bournemouth and had the best time, it was all just so easy and fun.  I didn’t want to think that we wouldn’t be able to do spontaneous things like this every weekend. 

He moved at the beginning of July. Thankfully I had lots of things to keep me occupied, my birthday, weekend in London seeing Mr Timberlake (Happy birthday to me from me!), The Races and Craig David, then it was my sisters birthday and then me and sissy went to Amsterdam for a few days in August which was such a giggle. Since he moved we’d messaged every day and spoke on the phone probably once a week for 2 hours or more. Obviously this was far from ideal but I felt optimistic we could make this work. September came and I took a trip to Limerick (I’d decided in advance that the West Coast of Ireland wasn’t my favourite and that I’m a East Coast, Dub kinda girl) to see Bobby Garden. We did some exploring together, we visited The Cliffs of Moher (where he got rather annoyed with me and my persistence of walking close to the edge to “take a little photo”) we spent time in Limerick city centre and went for a stroll at Lough Gur (where I’d love to visit again in the spring where I imagine it to be even more beautiful). We had fun, we laughed, we went to Miss Marples tea room (jealous right). When it was time for me to come home I can honestly say a big part of me didn’t want to, which annoyed me because I knew that meant that I’d let down my guard and allowed myself to like BG much more than I wanted. He took me to the airport and we said our goodbyes, which I think I knew even then was a ‘Goodbye’ goodbye. We spoke a couple of times after my visit but it was sad for both of us and as willing as I was to figure something out he clearly wasn’t as I’ve not heard from him since the end of October. So he’s in Ireland probably with a Siobhan or Niamh and I’m here writing this lengthy blog (sorry it’s a novel, if you’ve read all this ‘Thank you’ for reading this bumf)

The latter part of the year has been reasonably quiet, I did manage for go away for what I’d hoped would be a sunny break (it was tipping it down when we landed!) to Tenerife in November. The sun did shine for some of our time away and think it’s what I needed, sunshine and warmth definitely helps my wellbeing and moods. Perhaps I should seriously consider moving abroad! And then of course we’ve had Christmas, which I love (it is the most wonderful time of the year after all) where I spent the day with my parents and sister and her boyfriend in their new home. It was a lovely day, lots of drink, so much food and of course lots of presents.

In truth 2018 has flown, I’ve had some ups and quite a few downs, I’ve laughed lots and made memories I’ll treasure and I’ve cried and been physically and mentally exhausted. Thank you to everyone who has been here for me this year, your ears and shoulders have very much been appreciated and I’m sorry for being such an unbearable bitch at times.

2019 is virtually upon us, which is completely crazy! I’m not making New Years resolutions other than to take each day as it comes, to believe in myself, and know that I am good enough (I’m basically Mary bloomin’ Poppins – “Practically perfect in every way”). I want to get back into a routine at the gym (I’ve piled on a good few lbs which to be honest really doesn’t help with my low self esteem so needs to be rectified). ‘Mission love me’ needs to be my priority and I need to allow myself to be happy. So come on 2019, let’s see what you have in store.

Wishing you all a fabulous start to the New Year – Please keep your arms inside the car and enjoy the roller coaster ride

L x

Why isn’t life like a Disney movie?

~ lorz83 ~ Leave a comment

Why is dating / trying to date so bloody hard?!? It’s honestly like a full time job that could give you RSS in the process! My views on dating and romance have always been very fairy-tale like, girl meets boy, girl falls in love, girl and boy live happily ever after. Well let me tell you, life is not Disney and parents should tell their little girls (and boys) this when they’re growing up. You won’t find seven little men Hi Ho-ing to help you find your prince (unless perhaps you work in some stables with a bunch of jockeys), you won’t first meet your prince being woken up by him with a kiss (if you are woken up by a complete stranger in this way I suggest testing out all known Body Combat moves, screaming loudly and calling the police) nor will Mr Charming track you down should you lose a shoe on an alcohol fuelled evening. And finally any street rats you come across are likely to remain rats and won’t become princes who ride magic carpets and Mrs Pots is unlikely to prettify any Beasts out there either.

I honestly don’t think I’m asking for the earth, when I’d simply like to find a tall, dark, handsome, chances are foreign (it’s my thing – moth to a flame and all) blokie who has a slight sarcastic arrogance about him, but will treat me like a princess (and have good genes, thinking ahead!)  Oh and a more recent addition to my list of requirements is voice – He needs to have a dreamy voice and accent, please.  It seems apparent following recent dates that my ‘Tall’ requirement is unlikely to be achieved as men these days appear to have stopped growing around the age of 15 and at a push have a height of 5ft8″!  I’m not the tallest of girls, 5ft7″ but I do like to don a sassy pair of heels (although following a visit to the doctors this week and being advised I have the onset of osteoarthritis in my knees flats are becoming my new best friend) and therefore ideally I’d like to meet someone who is at least 5ft9″ plus.

Having said this the last date I went on was perfect (and he’s probably 5ft8/9″ – it’s hard to gage when you’re similar heights I think).  I didn’t once compare him to SkoA, he was the perfect gentleman, he travelled to my town (he lives in East London) and it was a really lovely evening.  But since it went well and I quite like him it’s almost a dead cert that it won’t go any further as the pattern seemingly goes like this – I like them, they don’t like me and then vice versa, the ones I’ve written off adore me (god knows why – complete mystery!)  So as it stands I’m very much on the shelf, a dusty shelf pushed right to the back, likely to go out of date!

So April sucked, I hated that month and I had a feeling that I was going to hate August too.  I’d prepared myself for an answer to a question, I asked the question last month, holding my breath in the process, which I felt I’d been doing since August last year.  I got the answer, ‘No, not yet, not for a while yet’  I felt like I could breathe again; not fully, not full deep breathes but a little, just enough to get some oxygen into my lungs and give me a little more life.  Fast forward to this week and I find out the answer to my question wasn’t the ‘not for a while yet’ and in fact as I had thought whilst I’d held my breath before, the answer is actually ‘Yes!  Right now!’  It now feels like a bullet has been shot through my heart for a third time.  To quote Swifty “Band aids don’t fix bullet holes” so what the hell will?!?!  I’m hoping that I’ll find the answer with my trusty one again, off again love – Gym!  Avoiding games, will also undoubtedly help my heart recover.  A player will tell you not to hate the player, hate the game, and well that’s been my problem; I don’t hate the player (not even now) it’s the game I’m not a fan of.  That’s a bit of a lie, the game is lots of fun initially, it’s just when you start losing it slowly becomes shit and you get burnt!  Lesson learnt – Don’t play with fire (and don’t fall, head must at all times rule heart!!)

My on off love affair with the gym and fitness continues as usual.  I’ve recently started a diet plan (fallen off the wagon a little the past week or so, aching heart and buggered knees are to blame!) and Phil has given me some workouts to follow alongside my weekly PT sessions.  I know I say this in pretty much every post, but it is all about ‘Mission Love Me’.  I’m certain that once I conquer this sodding self-loathing and hatred towards myself and my body that I’ll be happy and in turn good things (beings) will come my way – Fingers and toes crossed.  I have also been told that I need to fish in different ponds!  My response to this remark (from a ‘happily’ married man) was “You find and tell me what pond I should fish in and I shall fish it!”  It’s highly unlikely he’ll be able to find me a pond as I am almost certain the majority are dried up! I will of course be the first to take that back should a recommend pond produce a tall, dark, handsome prince; but lets face it, going on past fishing excursions it’s more likely to produce frogs and toads!

This time last year I was in Italy and the year before that I was sunning myself in Sharm El Sheikh; today I’m stuck at work and it’s grey, wet and miserable (very reflective of my mood) outside.  Get me on a plane – I desperately need some R&R!!  My sister and I did have a lovely little visit to the beach last week.  We went ‘Out Out!’ to see Micky Flangan at the BIC in Bournemouth on his ‘An’ Another Fing’ Tour – It was HILARIOUS!!!  The two of us haven’t laughed that much in a long time and teamed with a stroll along the beach, sea air and a Margarita in Chiquitos it was just what the doctor order and laughter is definitely a marvellous drug.

So this is basically where I’m at right now: holey damaged heart, knackered knees, drinking a hideous concoction (it’s certainly not GIN!) in the mornings as per Phil and the diet, trying to again increase my gym visits and get some sass back!  I’m definitely still a work in progress, but i’m getting there, slowly.

L x

The Moans

~ lorz83 ~ Leave a comment

So perhaps there is something to say for endorphins – I’ve always pooh poohed the concept that there is such a thing as happy hormones, but having been totally and utterly shit for pretty much a whole year with regards to gym visits my moody miserable bitchy hormones (I simple call them The Moans) have been spiralling out of control and have taken me to a whole never level of Mizzog. So I think those little ‘Dolphins’ (dolphins always seem so happy don’t they) aka endorphins have in the past helped counter balance ‘The Moans’.  So I 100% need to get my lardy Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian combined sized arse back in the gym – I need some happy in my life and I’m certain my on again off again love, Gym can help me; so tonight I have got back on the wagon (or bike in this case) to start my quest to find some happiness (mission love me recommences for the hundredth time!)


So the reason for the lack of posts is plain and simple there’s been No Gym, some Gin (thanks to Craft Gin Club and my birthday) and No Games what so ever have been played (certainly no scrabble!!).

Although I’ve had the odd burst of gym enthusiasm over the past year, my visits have dwindled so much that I’m shocked every time I do manage to walk through the door and my card allows me through the barrier. I’m very much back to square one! Fitness levels are non existent right now, I managed 20.5km on the bike tonight in 65 minutes – Pathetic! And following my recent trips (oh yeah they’ve happened in the time since my last post, along with my birthday and my sisters) evidence of everything I’ve eaten and drunk over the past few months has taken residence on my stomach! Joy!  

My holiday in Barcelona was lush – Had the best time. It was relatively lazy, I’m really not sure how Mum and I managed to get some much of the touristy bits done last time we went, but because we had seen so much already we just enjoyed the city and the gorgeous Spanish sun. Race day on the Sunday was particularly hot especially being sat on a stand with no cover what so ever; my freckles definitely got topped up! We spent a day at the beach, I managed to have a little swim in the sea, and just enjoyed some much needed R&R. Following on from our last visit where I took my Mum to Uma (an alternative restaurant, think Heston wacky) I booked us into a more suitable restaurant this time around – Accès (www.acces-bcn.com/en) it was amazing! Staff were a delight and the food was outstanding; my Mum actually said that it’s the best meal she’s ever had. Throughout the holiday I also enjoyed numerous gin and tonics and sangria – It would have been too rude not to – Me gusta gin y tónicos y sangría.


Me and Sissy also spent a lovely weekend in Edinburgh (pre birthday girlie getaway). We flew up from Southampton on a little noddy plane (terrifying). Checked into the hotel and then had a little look around before heading back to the room to get ready for dinner. We had booked into Forage and Chatter (www.forageandchatter.com) and had the most amazing steak, it was delicious, so yummy. It would appear that Forage and Chatter is the place to go as Justin Trudeau visited a few days later whilst staying in the city. My sister then found an absolute hidden gem of a bar called Panda & Sons (www.pandaandsons.com) Such a cool place, from the outside it looks like a barber shop, you walk downstairs and through the bookcase door into the bar. Table service so no pushing and queuing, cocktails delivered right to you – Amazing!  We spent the next day exploring the Castle and the sights and then as we were in Scotland thought it was only fitting to try some Whiskey, so we went on the Whiskey Experience (which following on from the Bananaman cocktail my sister had had in Panda the night before we weren’t so sure how much of a good idea this was). All went well and we both found whiskeys that we like – It will obviously never be my tipple of choice, no spirit can replace my love for gin.


Although I’ve been feeling completely low and out of sorts of late, I have shared some really lovely fun family days with my Mum and Sister namely at stately homes and palaces. On my birthday we spent the day at Blenheim Palace and then a few weeks later we took a day off work and visited Hampton Court. Our family days have had a rather regal grand theme to them. Last Monday was my sisters birthday, she wanted to visit The Tate Modern so that’s exactly what we did. I was very sceptical about this, however I found myself appreciating some (you can’t appreciate all of it, a yellow Perspex triangle stuck on the wall and varying filled levels of Coca-Cola bottles are not art in my opinion, but what do I know?!?) We ended our visit with a scrummy afternoon tea at The Swan at The Globe (www.swanlondon.co.uk/afternoon-tea) complete with a Love Potion cocktail (I’m still awaiting the effects however)


To summarise, I’ve not been to the gym (and my tummy proves this) I have enjoyed some rather scrummy food (gin and sangria) in Barcelona, Edinburgh, Newbury (www.lussokitchen.co.uk = Best gelato and http://www.arigatodining.co.uk) and London (again my overindulgence is clearly visible).  

This time last year I was shattered and instead of turning a negative into a positive I’ve allowed this feeling to make me feel shit. Well enough’s enough and I need to take control again and to quote the gorgeous Bradley Simmonds I need to “Get it done” 

So watch this space 
L x

Less mardy May has sprung

~ lorz83 ~ Leave a comment

Wow my mood change month (May) is almost over! After my April blues, surely May would put a spring back in my step?!? Well there has definitely been an improvement in my mood, although it has still been a rather up and down month with some fun family days, gym (& gin) sessions teamed with a few tears.

I love spending time with my Mum aka Betty and my Sister (even when sometimes it’s threes a crowd and we end up bickering) we always have fun and giggles. Since my last post way back at Easter the three of us have been on a few girlie days out. At the end of April we had a trip into London, to St Mary’s Church in Marylebone, not for a wedding service or christening but to watch Romeo & Juliet. It was a Backyard Cinema production (www.backyardcinema.co.uk) they took over the church and staged it like the church scene in Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo & Juliet film. I love this movie with the cute and young Leonardo DiCaprio (I still have a crush on that guy) and I love the soundtrack too – It reminds me of being young! Before the film started a choir filled the altar and sang songs that accompany the movie which made the whole experience that more fun.   I do still always hope that Romeo will look up and see Juliet moving before he drinks the poison though (What was old Shakespeare thinking!) much like I wish Rose would move over on that sodding door and make room for Jack in Titanic (Poor Leo, it doesn’t always end well for him does it).  I do also wonder when I’ll find my Romeo – Perhaps I’ll find him in Barcelona (we all know I have a thing for foreign guys) as I’m still not having much luck on the ‘game’ apps, I think they might be broken?!?

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It’s Bank Holiday weekend – Yay! I had Thursday and Friday off work, and how lucky was I with the weather! Freckles have been topped up and my lily whites have been out! Betty and Sissy also had time off work so we spent some more quality mother / daughter / sister time together. Thursday we spent the day at Nirvana Spa (www.nirvanaspa.co.uk) which was heaven! I even got a little obsessed with the plunge pools (12 to 17oC) which is crazy given on holidays it takes me forever to get into a cold pool; Turkish would moan and tell me to just get in when I’d be dipping my big toe in and wincing at how freezing it felt. I’ve been struggling a bit with my knees lately, the left in particular so I figured the hot to cold water would help a little and I have to say it really did. We had lunch at the spa and then after our time was up and our visit was over we drove into town for a look around the shops. We then had dinner in one of my sisters faves, CAU, before heading to The Hexagon to see Jon Richardson. I love that bizarre little man! We were all in hysterics, my cheeks ached. Brilliant end to a perfect day. Friday was another sunny, hot day (Summer 2017) and we opted to spend the day in Queenies back garden in Windsor. We arrived around midday, popped into trusty Waitrose, grabbed some food and Pimms and then set up our picnic blanket in Home Park for another fabulous girlie day together.

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Last Monday was a sad and upsetting day for me as a motorbike racing fan. The week before World Champion Legend, Nicky Hayden, The Kentucky Kid had a cycling accident in Italy. Reports suggested it was bad and watching the MotoGP Le Mans race on the TV you could sense it was worse than reports portrayed. Monday evening Nicky passed away. I never got to meet Nicky, I have regretted my decision to go on a Pitt Lane walk at Silverstone over going to his meet and greet but was hoping I’d get the chance to meet him by going to some World Super Bike races in the future. Never the less, although I never met him in person, I’m devastated by the loss of a young, champion, motorbikeracing talent. His smile was infectious, his personality shone #RideOnKentuckyKid.

IMG_0150Photo taken at Silverstone 2013

Tuesday Morning we all woke up to the news we should NEVER have to wake up to. An attack in Manchester following a concert. I will never understand how or why anyone can take another persons life for no reason. Children and parents simply enjoying themselves one second, the next their lives are taken away. In a world where all religions supposedly believe in goodness I can’t for a single second comprehend how taking lives is good – It’s simply evil. My thoughts are with everyone affected xoxo

I’ve really tried to up my game at the gym recently. I’m still a long, long way off from having the body I want, but it is a journey and making the changes is the start. Nothing worth having comes easy. I’ve started to think about what clothes I’m packing for my forthcoming trip to Barcelona and have been trying a few bits on from last summer. Good news and bad news – It would seem that I have lost an inch or two over the year (Good news) as my clothes, denim shorts in particular, are rather loose, to the extent that my knickers are pretty much on show (Bad news) Looks like I’ll be spending lots of my trip in Zara updating my wardrobe – Eek!

I have purchased a few new bits recently, all of which are floral and as my sister likes to tell me ‘You’re clothes are all frou frou frou’ (she hate colours and isn’t really a pattern fan, especially not flowery print). I’m a girlie girl, what can I say and I love pretty clothes plus I need something to counterbalance my mardy face at times hehe

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Frou frou frou

I really should be at the gym right now and the reason I’m not is I was planning on doing some work so I wouldn’t be quite as manic in the office tomorrow but I can’t access the network, so I opted to write this post instead. I am currently still in my nightdress, hairs in a messy bun, glasses on, no make-up and its gone 1:30pm! So I think I’d best get my peach in the bath and get myself together. Maybe I’ll pay my old mucker Gym a visit later (doubtful, I know what I’m like) I have got PT tomorrow though and I’m certain Phil will put me through my paces (Can’t wait – typed through clawed fingers)

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Oh, forgot to say, my new favourite accompaniment with my G&T at the moment is basil and a wedge of Sicilian lemon – FYI – Cheers.

I hope you’ve all had a fab weekend and enjoy your bank holiday Monday.

L x

Butterflies be gone!

~ lorz83 ~ Leave a comment

Do you ever write a message in a card or send a text and mean the complete opposite of what you’ve written? When you wish someone lots of happiness but actually want to say ‘I want you to be as miserable as you’ve made me feel’. I’ve done this a few times over the past few weeks, just call me Little Miss Passive Aggressive.

What’s that saying, “Play with fire and you’ll get burnt” I certainly feel scolded right now, completely my fault, actually no, not completely my fault; I played the game, I lost and it sucks. What sucks even more are butterflies I can’t seem to kill off in my tummy that make me feel sick far more often than I’d like to even admit to. The game is over butterflies, so take your giddy stomach churning feelings and bugger off!

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So I’ve completely written off April, I don’t even think the Easter bunny delivering chocolate eggs will cheer me up or get me out off this awful mood. I have been hitting the gym lots hoping that the endorphins will work their magic although they don’t appear to have had much effect as yet but it is only the 14th of the month. I’m annoyed with myself for falling of the gym waggon last Summer and for my poor effort at the start of the year (granted I had a poxy cold) I was really hoping to ‘love me’ in 2017 but almost a third of the year down and I’m nowhere close. Hence I’m now desperately trying to get my revenge body by becoming a bit of a gym bunny again – I was waiting outside this morning for the gym to open, aiming to make Good Friday a Great Friday. I ran (I’m not runner though, think Phoebe Friends), then I went on the bike (think Bridget Jones) followed by a visit to some of the arm weight machines (back boobs & bingo wings – Done)

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Since my last post my Sister treated our Mum (and me) to the most delicious meal at John Campbell’s The Woodspeen (www.thewoodspeen.com) for Mother’s Day. I had the Scallops with pigs cheeks to start followed by Fillet of beef and then it would appear our waiter had me sussed and knew before taking our desert order that I would choose the ‘Pina Colada’ Coconut parfait, macadamia crumble and pineapple & lemongrass sorbet (just listing the food is making my mouth salivate!) We went to The Woodspeen on the Saturday evening so on the Sunday, Mother’s Day aka Betty’s Day we laid on a champagne afternoon tea (I successfully made scones for the first time) It was a weekend full of eating and drinking, which is another reason why I need to up my game at the gym (plus colleagues appear to be sabotaging my weight loss by baking flipping cakes that I can’t refuse sampling!)

Spring sprung last weekend (although it appears to have vanished for the time being) and it was lovely to wear one of my summer dresses and get my lily white legs out in the sun (honestly my legs are like Casper the Ghost – when people sunbathe next to me they get the best tan because I reflect the sun!) I spent the weekend in my sisters back garden topping up my freckles, watching the planes fly overhead wondering where they were jetting off to wishing I was on board. My holiday is about 8 weeks away, I can’t wait! I’m going back to Barcelona, so I’ll be testing my Spanish skills; Me llamo Laura, mi número es cero siete nueve cinco……..taking in the stunning sights, dipping my toes in the Balearic Sea and hitting the shops! I love shopping and shopping in Barcelona is fab, with Spanish brands like Zara and Mango on almost every street the experience seems far more stress free than here. Since losing some weight I enjoy shopping even more as I can find clothes that fit me in the majority of outlets, it also gives me the opportunity to try different styles. I’ve also been trying different make-up and changing my look a little there too. One of my besties sells Younique make-up products (www.youniqueproducts.com/mrsbeckythompson/products/landing) so my current go to eye shadows are from the Younique Addiction palette No3, I use ‘Smitten’ as my base, topped with ‘Flippant’ and ‘Cheeky’ to create a subtle yet sassy smokey look.   The 3D Fiber Lashes+ mascara is amazing too (although I do have to be a little careful if I’m wearing my contact lenses) The lip exfoliator is brilliant for a silky smooth kissable pout and my sister swears by the Behold setting powder.

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I’ve had quite a few G&Ts over the past month, my hairdresser said that perhaps that’s why I’m in such a mopey mood as it can make you depressed!?! Nope I think gin is my saviour and I’d be far more miserable without it, so thank goodness I received my second gin delivery of the year from Craft Gin Club.

So I’ve made it through half of April as a Mardy Moany Mizzog, only another 16 days to go! My aim is to have as many dates with good old gym as possible in the hope that I can improve my mood (I think the chances of that happening are slim to none, but the hope is there)

I hope you all have amazing Easter breaks.

L x

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A 1/4 of mardiness

~ lorz83 ~ Leave a comment

How is March already? Where the heck did January and February vanish to? After my first post of 2017, just hours after Big Ben had chimed and I bid farewell to 2016, my aim was to get back on track with everything and to keep my blog up to date. Hmmm given that it’s now the 22nd March and this is my second post, it’s safe to say I’ve not got off to the best start!

I started January off with the best intentions only for them to get scuppered with me catching a sodding cold! My first gym visit of 2017 was as I had mentioned in my 1st January post on the New Year’s Day Bank Holiday Monday – I was sat outside waiting for the gym to open, such a keen bean. I think I managed one other visit that week and that was it until I felt well enough to hit the gym again on the 23rd January! Since I’ve recovered from my inconsiderate cough and cold I’ve really been trying to get my derriere back in the gym. Phil is pushing me in my PT sessions (I’m trying to be less moany – I told Phil it was my new years resolution, to be less of a moany bitch in our sessions and that was the real reason why I’d been poorly and not hitting the gym; meaning I got through a whole month of keeping this resolution haha). Phil made me do box jump thingies holding a weight a few weeks back – I can’t jump so this was the most hideous thing EVER! Plus he knows I’m single and he’s making me look fricking idiot! I think it’s pay back for all my past (and future) moaniness!!

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I felt rather sorry for myself in January with girl flu (the lesser strain of man flu) and then February came along and I was over the month before it had even begun! The shortest month of the year seemed to go on and on and on. At the start of the year I had high hopes that 2017 was going to be a good year, but now almost a quarter in I’m not really feeling it (what exactly ‘It’ is, I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve definitely not got the good vibes). One part of the year so far I have been a fan of however is my gin delivery from Craft Gin Club www.craftginclub.co.uk – In January I received the most delicious botanical gin distilled by Glendalough, Irelands first craft distillery (www.glendaloughdistillery.com) It’s sooooo good (a trip to the Emerald Isle is definitely on the cards to replenish supplies) My next bottle is due to land on my doorstep early April, I can’t wait!! #treatsforme

2017 finds me still very much single and living in hope that my Mr Right (I’ll settle for Mr Right Now) is waiting for me just around the corner (I obviously will not be holding my breath and do expect to see pigs fly before I happen to stumble across said Mr) I really wish I would stop falling for complete and utter arseholes and start seeing and liking some of the ‘Nice’ blokies that are out there – Why do us girls like the arrogant shits out there?!? Why do we rip our own hearts outs?!? Answers on a postcard please. I saw a post on Instagram the other week that I reposted, it said this: Email 12 years ago: ‘If you don’t forward this, you’ll be unlucky and single forever’ – Me 12 years ago: ‘LMAO, yeah right, OK’ – Me now: ‘Very much single and very unlucky. Shit’ I think Elite Daily could be onto something here, I shall be searching through my old emails for any chain mails so do expect to receive spam from me in your inbox; in the hope that I can rectify my singleton status! My sister told me that I might have to kiss a few more frogs before I find my Prince (frogs, more like pond scum) Depressing isn’t even the word!

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The new MotoGP season starts tomorrow – So perhaps my fave men (and their leathers) will pick my mood up a little; I’m certain my little trip to Barcelona in June for the Catalunya race will put a smile on my face (for a week at least) I loved mine and Mum’s trip there a few years ago, bikes, sights, beach, food and drinks – What’s not to love about that?!? Me and Sis had a fab weekend in Camden a few weeks back, we saw The Chainsmokers at The Roundhouse, which was amazing and had a lush meal at Gordon Ramsay’s York & Albany.  We’re also booked to go to Edinburgh for a weekend in July too, so I’ll be clocking up a few more Airmiles over the coming months and taking in some new scenery, so I’m looking forward to that.

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I did my first good deed for the year last week and gave blood (www.blood.co.uk) I’m O Negative so my blood is like liquid gold and in high demand following the winter months. Only 7% of the population are O -, people of other blood groups can be given O -, however we can only receive our blood group so I’m really chuffed that I was able to donate again (I’m booked in again for July, so fingers crossed the NHS Vampires will be able to find another vein to draw off another pint then)

To summarise the first three months of the year, I’ve been a proper mizzog (partly due to a horrible cold) I’m still single (I did go on a date a few weeks ago, but he’s not for me, doesn’t tick all the boxes on my check list) I’m trying to trim down my bum, tum and thighs at the gym (although it appears only boobage is disappearing much to my dismay) No games have been started or resumed (much to my disappointment) I’ve given blood, booked holidays and very much still love gin!

I promise I shall try and be less tardy and will write another post again soon (Warning – I have written April off already – SkoA reasons)

As always thanks for reading my rather dull, uneventful blog – Mwah

L x

And so the adventure begins

~ lorz83 ~ Leave a comment

So that was 2016, huh! It went a lot quicker than I was anticipating and my efforts on project #missionloveme faltered somewhat at the back end of the year; if I’m honest the brakes were sticking on this mission from around August (August was a really sucky month!)
Like last year I’m not setting New Year resolutions as such, I’m just going to continue with my quest to love myself, freckles, bingo wings, tummy and all. I need to start loving me for who I am, for who I’ve been and for who I’m still to become. Here’s to living, loving and laughing in 2017! I’m certain some curveballs will be thrown into the mix and some things won’t go how I hope, but fingers crossed this will be a good year for me.

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Last January I wrote my first post ‘Gym, Gin & The Game of Life’ which as I stated then was pretty self explanatory – Gym ~ I was smashing it at the beginning of 2016, but at the end (again a lie, from around August) I completely and utterly lost my gym mojo! So from Monday, along with all the new gym bunnies I will be hitting the gym, getting my Kardashian derrière back on the bike, cross trainer, treadmill (which ever piece of equipment is available) in the hope that some miracle will occur this year and the body that I’ve dreamt of having will finally make an appearance ~ Gin ~ I’m still very much in love with Gin. It’s still my tipple of choice, I’ve even signed up to Craft Gin Club (http://www.craftginclub.co.uk/?gclid=CK3-r57en9ECFaoy0wodCB8L4w) for quarterly gin deliveries (opted for every 3 months, didn’t want to look like a complete lush) ~ Game of Life ~ Life is a continuous game and
I’m looking forward to starting a new game or two over coming months. In 2016 I certainly lost a few games, a few went on pause (a small part of me hopes one game will re-start although it’s beyond unlikely to and equally deep down I know it’s probably best to just delete it)
Perhaps I should have titled this first post in 2017 ‘Gym, Gin & The Game of Life V2’.

Since my last post Santa came to town and 2016 has exited stage left. I was spoilt this year by Santa (and by my family and friends) I’ve got more perfumes than a department store, I love smelling nice and I love how my different scents remind me of different people or places, I received some lush jewellery, some gorgeous pyjamas and funky Ted Baker fur leather gloves (they’re sooo fluffy!) Fair to say I was on Santa’s nice list (shocker I thought it was a dead cert I’d be on the naughty list). I’ve had a lovely festive break spending time with my family, relaxing, eating so much food it’s insane, drinking gin (if it was good enough for Queen Victoria it’s good enough for me) shopping (standard Laura – Oops) and I’m now psyching myself ready for the gym and for making me a better version of me.

Right, that’s enough waffle from me on day one of 2017. I want to wish you all a fabulous year, live your life to the full, love with all you heart and laugh until your cheeks ache. Mwah

L x

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Ho Ho Ho – Only 7 more sleeps to go

~ lorz83 ~ Leave a comment

So it’s been five weeks since I last posted from sunny Valencia and I’ve been back in wintery, cold Newbury, busy at work moving into our new shinny office, cocktail making, hosting the office Christmas Party, visiting the gym (hardly) and now can’t quite believe there are only 7 more sleeps to go until Santa does his rounds!

I thoroughly enjoyed my girlie mummy daughter Spanish break last month – What’s not to love, yummy food and delicious drinks, lots of shops and amazing sights to be seen and of course fast bikes and men in leather! I was in my element! To round off my week off work on the Friday my friend Suz and I had a fab girls afternoon at the Bombay Sapphire Distillery just down the road in Laverstoke http://distillery.bombaysapphire.com/. We did the gin cocktail master class which was such a giggle, highly recommend it (we’re planning on going back again in the summer), what’s more enjoyable than having a laugh creating a fancy cocktail or two that you then get to sample and drink afterwards!

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This year I hosted my third office Christmas Party, which I have received lovely feedback from my colleagues and friends, so all in all I think it was another success. The party was held for a second year at The Elvetham Hotel in Hartley Wintney (my first experience of this stunning hotel was at my gorgeous friends wedding back in 2009) following on from requests from our Chairman and CEO. We opted for a 1920’s Gatsby theme, with the ladies dressed as flappers and the gentlemen looking dapper the majority of  my colleagues were very sporting and looked very glamorous and handsome (sadly Mr DiCaprio couldn’t make it though, drats). I hired an amazing boutique photo booth from Booth Nineteen (http://booth19.co.uk/), a fabulous live band called Bella & The Bourbon Boys (http://www.alivenetwork.com/bandpage.asp?bandname=Bella) think The Great Gatsby soundtrack and used BalloonsforU (http://www.balloonsforu.co.uk/) for the gorgeous ostrich feather table centre pieces and balloons for dancefloor.

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Friday evening was fun, my mum, sister and I went to the panto – Cinderella at The Corn Exchange. We went for drinks first, then dinner and then onto to see the performance. It was such a giggle and it was a lovely way to spend an evening with my two faves and get in the festive spirit of things.

My gym visits have been lacking to say the least, I’ve well and truly lost my gym mojo, if anyone finds it please do feel free to point it in my direction! Last Monday was honestly the most pathetic PT session I’ve EVER done, after 30 minutes of zero effort and constant moaning, Phil gave up on me; he gave me 30 minutes more than I’d given myself, I had given up before I’d even parked the car! I have been feeling pretty run down lately and have had a really nasty cough, no excuse really, but that’s what I’m blaming my lacklustre gym effort on. I’ll be there tomorrow for my pre-Christmas PT session, I’m still not feeling 100% but I’ll try my best to at least bring my B-game (I rarely have my A-game when I’m on it) haha.

I’ve got tomorrow and Tuesday off work – Heaven! I’m going to try and finish off my Christmas shopping tomorrow, I don’t really think I’ve got much else to buy but there’s no harm in having a little mooch around the shops again is there. On Tuesday I’m meeting up with my gorgeous friend and her adorable, just turned 1, little girl for a girlie festive lunch and catch up,  I’m really looking forward to seeing them both.

I can’t quite believe there’s only 7 more sleeps until Santa comes to town, I’m pretty certain I’m on the good girl list so fingers crossed I’ll receive more than just a lump of coal.

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It’s crazy how quickly 2016 has flown by, my intensions back in January when I posted my first blog was to write a post once a week, it started off well, but yes, I’ve been slacking lately – Sorry! Now I’m certain I will not write another post now before the 25th December (because I’m rubbish!), so I’d like to wish you all a magical Christmas, I hope you receive lots of delightful goodies and have fantastic time with all your loved ones.

Merry Christmas

Love

L x

Hola!

~ lorz83 ~ Leave a comment

Hola desde Valencia!

So it has yet again been an age since I last wrote a post – Apologies for my complete and utter tardiness!  I honestly do not know where the weeks go – I’ve seen count downs on Facebook stating it’s less that 6 weeks until Santa comes to town (I do hope I’m still on his nice list)

So what have I been up to since I last blogged.  In truth I don’t actually think I’ve done that much however the lack of time to type up a post would suggest otherwise.  As I mentioned last time, my sister and I started a foundation course in Spanish – We can both now say ‘My name is……I’m English and my phone number is…..’ Perfecto what more could a girl need to know in a different language? Oh I’ve also be able to ask the shop assistants in Intimissimi for my bra size in Spanish (perhaps not the best thing as I have now purchased tres new sassy bras – Oopsey)

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Mother and I are currently here in Valencia for a girlie few days shopping and sightseeing sandwiching the men in leather of the final MotoGP race which took place yesterday.  The race itself was really good, the weather was glorious and there was a fab atmosphere.  The journey to and from the circuit however was not ideal; we got to the station about 20 minutes before the train was due to depart and it was already rammed pack, so we stood like sardines for the hour journey! Once we arrived the signs in and around the track were shocking, I don’t think we realise how lucky we are at events hosted in the UK; there were so few food outlets that the queues were ridiculous that we didn’t actually eat or drink anything the whole time we were there!

On Saturday we walked through the  Jardì del Túria (River Park) down to The Oceanographic which was amazing! The park was bustling with joggers and ladies doing yoga, children playing a netball like game using buckets as baskets, people walking numerous breeds of dogs; there were noises all around, yet our stroll was pleasant and peaceful.

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Today we walked back through the park to the shopping centre which is down by the Oceanographic.  There’s a El Corte Ingles department store down there (there’s lots around the city to be fair) which is probably a similar size to John Lewis on Oxford Street so it took us a while to mooch around.  I’ve brought a dress to wear Christmas Day as this year for the first time my Sister, Mum and I are eating out (I figure I can’t get away with wearing my lounge wear or jimjams)

I’m now back in my hotel room having a little rest; it’s been an exhausting few days, I even had to have a Nanna nap yesterday! I’ll get myself sorted in a bit, fresh make-up, re-do my bonce and get glitzed up for some sangrias and dinner.

I’ve been pretty busy at work recently, finalising the Christmas party and also helping with our new office move (I return to the office next week for ‘Installation Week’).  I’m not going to promise (we all know I’m shit) but I’ll try and post again once I’m back home.

Adiós por ahora.

L x

Time flies (and so do I)

~ lorz83 ~ Leave a comment

So apparently time flies when you’re having (or not having) fun! I promise that I had started typing up a post back in August but I managed to get side-tracked (by absolutely bugger all) and failed to post it! Before you think it, I’m useless I know I am!

So in the non-posted August blog I’d typed the following opening paragraph…..Well I’m actually rather impressed with myself (and it takes a lot to impress me!) I went to the gym Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday and then I did my third Body Combat class Saturday morning.  The Thursday, Friday and Saturday visits I’m particularly chuffed with as I joined Charlotte for her PT session Tuesday evening (I’ve moaned soooo much that Phil has run off to Mexico and I won’t see him until the 5th September!) and Sammy completely broke my legs (I sense he took great pleasure from this, calling me a Princess due to my bitchy moaning and defeatist attitude – He’s even invited me to join them for this weeks sesh, he’s a glutton for punishment!) I’d then written this…..My gym visits certainly play an integral part towards Mission Love Me; however I know I have many other demons I need to address to graduate with flying colours.  Last Thursday Charlotte was my shrink for the evening, she told me things I already knew (just choose not to acknowledge) she also shed some light on my non-existent love life.  I have always (well perhaps not always, I’m certain when I was around three years old I didn’t) hated myself.  I never think I’m good enough, hence I will always go above and beyond to please others in what ever way I can with the aim to be accepted and loved.  This self-loathing has stemmed from various obstacles throughout my 33 years – being bullied at school, Dad having an affair, breakdown of friendships etc. team this with me being a complete and utter emotional idiot and I’m paving the way for me to completely sabotage my love life and subsequently my happiness.  How depressing is that?!?  So basically the jist of my little therapy session is that my love life sucks because I choose people that I know can’t be with me or who I know will at some point reject me as this confirms my beliefs that I’m not good enough.  When someone tells you this, actually says it out loud, its just the saddest, depressing thing.

I think its safe to say I was still feeling rather mopey and sorry for myself after events with SKoA and a few other things when I was typing last. Hence I desperately tried to channel my hurt and upset into my gym workouts to push myself that little bit more which did help; along with hoping that SKoA’s black halo slips and chokes him at some point, this too has massively helped.

My gym visits had been up and I was feeling heaps better and then on the weekend of Silverstone (Ooh i’ll write a bit about the MotoGP weekend in a bit) my ear felt a bit odd. Over the course of the weekend the odd feeling turned into an ache combined with an annoyingly loud ringing in my ear. I went to the doctors on the Monday and was told that all looked relatively fine, there was a little redness so I was given a spray to use but was told the ringing should clear. Well it didn’t! In fact it got worse. I honestly wanted to go all Van Gogh and cut my left ear off, the ringing was intolerable. So the following Monday I went back to the doctors and saw my GP this time who looked in my ear, pulled a face of disgust and told me my ear looked bloody awful and I had a perforated eardrum! Thankfully 3 weeks on following a course of antibiotics my eardrum is healing and the ringing and buzzing has stopped; I have however had a poxy cold – I think I may have picked up a lurgey on the flight home from Florence (oh yes you have read that correctly – Florence!)

So Silverstone and Round 12 of the MotoGP was a fabulous weekend. It started on the Thursday (which if I’m honest was the best day of the four) with Day of Champions. We arrived just before 10am, contended with a rude carpark marshal before heading into the track. We had a little look around the stores and then got in line ready for our Paddock Pass visit. Now I was on a bit of a mission ( / stalk) and I basically was on the look out for Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa as it was their autographs I’d been hoping to get after missing out on getting them a few years ago. We walked past Rhys Edwards (former Communications & Marketing Manager for Honda Racing Corporation) saw Monster Energy and Crutchlow’s bestie Jake walking alongside Lucy and baby Willow…..so we were getting close, I could smell the leathers haha. Mum and I weaved our way through the crowds until we found Jorge’s motorhome and then we waited……..and waited……..We saw Artur Vilalta, Lorenzo’s Communication Manager and Marc Rovira Jordana his personal trainer come in and out of the trailer…….then we saw his team manager Wilco Zeelenberg……it was just a matter of time and the hour or so of patiently waiting paid off! Not only did Jorge sign my photo, is was an absolute dream and let me take a picture with him (which he may have regretted when I was faffing around telling him to ‘hold on, one minute’ whilst I flipped the camera screen) I’m completely in love, he was so friendly, the perfect gentlemen – Swoon. With aching feet, sunburn and little time left in the paddock I’d pretty much ruled out seeing or meeting any of the other riders…..but with around 20 minutes left on the clock we walked past Repsol Honda hospitality and saw a few people going in and out that who I recognised so had a really good feeling that Dani was inside, and sure enough he was! Yay!! Now Dani doesn’t like crowds of people, so when other people started flocking around him I began to lose hope that he’d sign my photo, but with a little smile and a ‘please can you sign this for me Dani’ he took my sharpie and photo and signed it before zipping off on his scooter. BEST DAY!!! Race weekends are long and tiring we spent the day there Friday for free practice, opted for a day shopping in Milton Keynes on Saturday as it was pouring with rain and then back there at 7am Sunday morning for race day! Dad came Sunday morning so me and Mum met him at the track. Good races, some unexpected results but all in all it was a fantastic and memorable weekend.

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Jorge & Me

One of the many photos I’ve taken of Pedrosa signed by Dani himself – Eek

Hmmmm what else have I been up to? Oh yes, Sunday before last my sister and I drove to Gatwick, for a tour of the South Terminal and a flight to Pisa! Yes! We actually boarded an aeroplane this time and we only blimin’ well made it all the way to Italy!! Yip to the Pee!!!  We hadn’t got excited or got our hopes up just in case the trip didn’t happen, but thankfully it was all relatively plain sailing!  Our EasyJet flight departed on time and we arrived in Pisa around 17:30, we purchased our bus ticket and waited for the next one to arrive to take us into Florence.  The bus was a little late leaving which was a little annoying, however we were in Italy, which was more than we achieved in June so we didn’t let it bother us too much.  The bus dropped us off at the train station so there were lots of people milling around and the queue for the taxi was pretty long so we opted to walk our hotel, it was only 30 minutes away, although perhaps walking with suitcases on cobbled streets at around 8pm wasn’t the best idea (I just wanted to get to the hotel as soon as poss and we did get to see some of the gorgeous city all lit up)  We checked-in at Hotel Home, freshened up a little and then went out for dinner.  Let me tell you Italians don’t do small portions and they also offer like 12 courses (perhaps not 12, but there’s lots!)  After eating lots (too much) food we walked back to the hotel and settled down for some much needed sleep to prepare us for the delights Florence had to offer Monday morning.  Waking up fresh from a good nights sleep we started our day with breakfast at the hotel and then walked along the Arno down towards The Ponte Vecchio.  We crossed over the bridge looking in the windows of all the jewellery shops homed there and continued wandering through the cobbled streets and back across the river until we arrived at the spectacular Piazza Del Duomo.  Honestly the pictures (and I took lots) don’t do the cathedral justice, it’s magnificent renaissance dome, the octagonal baptistery, the white marble teamed with the green Prato marble; it’s just completely stunning.

After our afternoon mooching around and taking everything in, my sister set out to find us a restaurant to go to for dinner.  The restaurant she chose was called 50 Sfumature di Gusto (50 Shades of Taste) with it’s very own ‘red room’.  Sounds ummm intimate right haha, but it honestly wasn’t seedy and the food was amazing!  We both highly recommend it, oh and the melon liquour, forget limoncello it’s all about the meloncello – delicious!  Following our scrummy dinner (and three free shots of meloncello) we walked back to the hotel and asked for access to the private rooftop terrace.  We took the lift to the top floor and walked through door 1000 and made our way up to see Florence glowing in a moonlit sky.  The rest of our time spent in Florence consisted of lots of walking and eating!  Tuesday we started off by walking up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for views across the city and the surrounding Tuscan countryside, then in the afternoon we made our way back to the duomo and we climbed Giotto’s Campanile aka bell tower (or death tower as we like to call it – the narrow 1330’s stone stairs are terrifying) for yet more spectacular views of this dreamy city.  Our four days in Florence came to an end and on Thursday afternoon we caught the train to Pisa for our final stop before the homeward journey.

The train was a little eventful – you have to get your tickets validated which although my sister has mentioned as she’d visited Rome last year we failed to see the machine to do it.  Luckily the train was delayed a little so I dashed off and ran the length of the platform to get the tickets stamped -Such a blimin’ faff!  We arrived in Pisa around 17:00 checked-in at our quaint bed and breakfast, showered and changed and went out for our last Italian meal.  Again my sister chose the restaurant based on online reviews and found Il Peperoncino.  It was fab -the owner was very welcoming and funny (the map had taken us to the rear of the restaurant and all he kept saying to us was “Why you two gorgeous girls coming to my back entrance – I’ve got a lovely terrace at the front, why you come in this way?!” He had us in stitches.  Again we were not disappointed with the food (I of course struggled with the portion sizes as I had all week, an issue my sister didn’t have!) we walked out the front of the restaurant (we didn’t want any more grief) and wandered down in the direction of the leaning tower.  I can assure you that its definitely wonky and it wasn’t due to the Peroni I’d had at dinner; it was just as wonky Friday in daylight!  The tower is rather impressive, and we were both surprised with its location.  The leaning tower is right next to Pisa’s Duomo and is in fact it’s bell tower – Who knew that?!?  We mingled around with all the other tourists and did a stop of shopping, had our last giant pizza lunch before heading back to the B&B to collect our suitcases and take our taxi back to the airport.

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So our Italian vacation was a success as was my weekend at Silverstone.  Gym visits have gone from one extreme to the other (due to stupid holes in eardrum and cold!) I really need to get back on track now I’m back and almost feeling 100%.

I had a fun day today at Friendsfest but given I’ve typed up an essay already I’ll tell you all about that next time.  Oh and I’m starting Spanish lessons Tuesday evening so I’ll fill you on them too!

Thanks for reading – Sorry it’s sooooo long and it’s taken me an age to post!

L x