Update

It's been forever since I've updated this so I'll attempt to bring you up to speed on what I've been up to.

The shoe shop is now closed which is sad but I've been in my new job about a month and a half and I'm pleased to say I'm loving it. Lots of varied things to do, flexi time and weekends off - what's not to love.

The new car is great and is coming in very handy for the 25 minute drive to work and back every day.

I graduated from Leicester in July with my PhD in astrophysics. It was a lovely day and lots of friends were graduating too. Here's a photie of us in our silly gowns:


I had a great girly weekend in Manchester and a girly week in Rhodes with my sister Charlotte. We just got back from Rhodes last Thursday and had a brilliant time. Even the 15 hour delay on the way back was quite fun since they put us in a 5* hotel while we waited!

I'm absolutely loving having every weekend off. Much as I loved the shoe shop it was not fun working weekends and not having much time with Ben. Now its brilliant - 2 whole days together every week :)

I think that brings us broadly up to date. I'll make the obligatory promise to update more often and not leave it so long in future but you know what I'm like...

Exciting news!

So I went for the big interview last Friday. I spent the whole week preparing. I'd been told to expect a short Excel test and then a formal 45 minute interview so I spent ages refreshing my Excel memory, thinking of answers to obvious interview questions, reading up on the council and the department I was applying for etc. Turned up to the interview and was told I had half an hour before the interview. I had the Excel test to do and could also look at the interview questions and write some notes. The questions were pretty interesting - a few standard 'what skills will you bring to this position?' style ones and then more interesting stuff like 'what is the role of research in the local council?'. Anyway cutting to the chase, I nailed it! All the way through they were scribbling stuff down and saying things like 'great answer'. At the end I asked how long it would be before I heard and was delighted to hear 'within the hour'. I was buzzing when I got out! I knew I'd done the best I could and figured if I didn't get it then there was someone better for it and fair enough. At least I could be sure that I'd done my best.

I drove back to work to give my boss the lowdown on what happened. Just as I was telling her they said they'd ring within the hour, the phone rang. I got the job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woo woo!!!!!! I was so excited! It was the best feeling - to know that when the store closes I'm not going to be unemployed and that I'd actually managed to get a better job! I didn't come down from my high for the whole weekend (which made sleeping rather difficult!). So I'm finally going to be using some skills from my PhD, earning a decent wage and not spending weekends at work. I can't wait to get started!!

Busy B

Things have been a little crazy since the last post. On the job front, I got a phone call the other week from one of the local councils. I'd applied for a job with them way back in April and hadn't heard a thing. It said on the application form that if you don't hear anything within 2 weeks then you've been unsuccessful so I'd put it out of my mind. Anywho, they rang the other week to see if I was still interested and, of course, I said yes please! My interview is next Friday so fingers crossed please. Later that week I had another out of the blue phone call about another job that I'd applied to ages ago and thought I'd lost out on. This time it was a shoe company who wanted to see me on Monday about a management position. This call caught me a little off guard so I stupidly said I couldn't make it (my family were coming to visit and we had plans for that day). I got into work and the first thing my boss said to me was 'What's wrong?'. I sheepishly told her I'd turned down an interview for a decent job and she swiftly kicked my ass for doing that when we have only 7(!) weeks of employment left. She sent me upstairs to ring the company back and tell them I'd changed my plans and grovel for the interview. Thank god she's there to keep me right! The interview went well although I've not heard anything back. At least if I don't get the council job I won't be kicking myself for not going to that one and wondering about what could have been. I've got some more applications to put in tomorrow so I'll keep you posted on what happens but please please please keep those fingers crossed next Friday because I really really really want that job!

As I mentioned above my family came to visit last week and even that turned into a bit of a fiasco. It was supposed to be my mum, dad and sister all coming but at the last minute their pet rabbit Minnie was ill. They had to book him in for an operation so one of them had to stay behind to look after him. My sister chose to stay and booked some train tickets so she could join us on Tuesday. When she arrived at the vets on Monday morning it turned out that they couldn't operate because Minnie wasn't pooing. Can't think of a nice way to put that so there you have it. He was given some injections and medicine to take and told to come back Tuesday. So Charlotte wasn't on her train on Tuesday and by the time Minnie got himself going it turned out he didn't need an operation after all but it was too late to make it worthwhile for her to come visit. Mum and Dad had a great time though so it wasn't all bad.

Finally my faithful old car Mog went in for her MOT last week. The news was not good. It was going to cost roughly twice what she's worth to get her through it so we decided to take advantage of the government scrappage scheme (thankfully I got the MOT a little early so the old one still covers her) and buy a new one. Ben flies to Singapore today and of course the family were staying last week so its been a hectic few days - visiting dealerships, entertaining the parents, packing suitcases, going to work and finally committing to a 'finance package'. Eek! I go pick up my brand shiny new Hyundai i30 next Tuesday though. Very exciting!!

Time to go to work for a rest now I think!

Abattoir adventures

Until about a month or so ago I was a vegetarian. Not a very dedicated one (I still ate seafood and I bought leather shoes and handbags) but a vegetarian all the same and I had been for about 10 years. Boredom at work led me to decide that my decision to not eat meat did not prevent any animals from being killed and also made life difficult for people who had to cook for me (many many apologies to my mum, the boy and also his mum who always pulled out the stops to make me yummy veggie options). To be honest I was also pretty curious about what certain different meats tasted like. I'd never had things like duck and I can't even remember eating much pork or lamb as a kid either. My meat eating education is coming on a treat but last week I took it a step too far I think.

You will recall that I'm currently job hunting as my lovely shoe shop is closing at the beginning of August? Well I answered an advert last week for a trainee secretary in what I thought was a food factory. I got an email back to say they wanted to see me and at the bottom of the email I noted, with horror, that the company was actually an abattoir. I decided that if I was going to eat meat, I should be able to deal with this and so I decided to go for the interview, much to the bemusement of everyone around me.

As I entered the building, the gentleman I was supposed to be being interviewed by came running down the stairs, pulling on a white coat streaked with blood and told me 'You've arrived in the middle of a disaster. Would you mind waiting? Watch the blood on the stairs'. I did as I was told, all the while wondering what on earth I was doing there.

The interview actually went ok and I was called back to meet the head of the company for a second interview but between them they talked me out of the job telling me I would be bored and it was a very junior position. I turned the job down much to the relief of friends and family who thought I was mad for even turning up in the first place. So far the job hunt is not going so well!

Bye Bye Siany

That leaving do I mentioned I was at the other week was for my good friend Sian who's leaving lovely North Wales for a stint in Scotland. We've only been friends for a year or so but she's been there for me since I moved here, while I was finishing off the dreaded thesis and she's been a really good friend. I'm going to miss her lots :( Good luck Sian!! Don't be a stranger!

The job hunt continues

I was just about to write that things have been fairly quiet here recently but thinking about it that's not really true. Last week I think we were out every night: Welsh lessons, a cinema trip, a leaving do (more about that in a future post), Megaweek at Debenhams (i.e. working till 9 on a Friday night) and finally a curry/Eurovision party round our house on Saturday. All good fun (apart from the working on a Friday night - I love my job but not that much!).

I also managed to fit in a job interview on Saturday. I'm going to rant about that on my other blog, Moosings (www.mymoosings.blogspot.com), but suffice it to say that I was offered the job but I'm not taking it. Today is my day off so I've been trawling the web for other opportunities. Fun fun!

This weekend we're off to see my friends Hannah and Paul get married which I'm very excited about. We don't catch up as often as we'd all like so it'll be great to see them again. Fingers crossed for some decent weather!

All good things must come to an end

On Tuesday, after going to an emergency area meeting, my boss called an emergency staff meeting to tell us that our concession is being closed in the next few months and we'd therefore be made redundant. Even though it's only a part time sales assistant position in a shoe shop I love my job so I'm pretty gutted to lose it (no more discount!!). I'm trying to be positive about things though - this could be my chance to find my dream job. If only I knew what that is! Since leaving the world of astrophysics I've struggled to decide what it is that I actually want to do. I've toyed with ideas of owning my own shop, being a writer, making some money from my knitting but to be perfectly honest I just don't know and have no idea what I would have to do to achieve any of these dreams. Time to put those research skills I keep telling myself I have from my PhD to good use I think! If anyone has any advice for me on the great career conundrum or any ideas of what I'd be good at then please comment. I'll keep you posted on how the job hunt goes.

Down on the farm

On the subject of wonderful weather, this Sunday was brilliant too. We decided to go to Foel Farm Park near Brynsiencyn (pronounced Brun-shen-kin according to my Welsh teacher). It's a really fantastic place, especially for families I think (we were probably the only people there without kids in tow). You can buy bags of feed at the door and then you just head round the barn and fields and pet and feed the animals to your hearts content. I'm a big animal lover and had a great time petting the cows and bunnies and feeding greedy goats and sheep. There was a trailer ride up to some of the fields and you could walk round some of the other fields closer to the barn. There's also a 'bunny barn' with some of the cutest rabbits I've ever seen - tiny fluffy little balls of gorgeousness! The kind man looking after them even let me hold one (although I did catch him counting them up as I left in case I'd slipped one in my bag). We were only there for maybe an hour and a half but we thouroughly enjoyed it. Here are some choice piccies:

Easter Weekend

The weather really provided for us this year at Easter. I had Easter Sunday and Monday off work and the weather was totally gorgeous both days. Not wishing to be ungrateful, we set off on trips out both days.

On Sunday we did a favourite trip of mine and went over to Beaumaris. I had read in the Anglesey Insider (the local magazine that pops through the door every month or so) that a new ice cream parlour had opened in Beaumaris and that the owner had trained in Italy. This was not something I could ignore for long hence my suggestion that we visit Beaumaris that day. We had a lovely wander along the front and down the pier before heading to Neptunes which I'm sure I must have raved about on here before now - absolutely gorgeous fish and chips! Mmmmm! We took our plastic boxes down to the beach and got stuck in. Delicious! A little walking round the town to burn off ooh maybe 2 of those fish and chip calories and then I couldn't wait any longer - we had to try out Red Boat ice cream. I'm pleased to report that it was delicious and great value. I pay nearly £4 at the local cinema for a double scoop but here it was just over £2! Bargain! The flavours were fantastic too: creme brulee, Creme Egg, Ferroro Rocher and Jelly Baby to name just a few. I opted for creme brulee and Creme Egg while Ben went for fudge and rum & raisin.

After this we were planning to go to Rhosneigr beach for a nice walk but on the way through we saw loads of cars parked up at the entrance to Aberffraw. All those cars must be there for something we figured so we joined the pack and discovered a lovely little beach (the perfect beach cricket beach according to Ben). After a nice walk along the sand we headed home to rest our swollen bellies and sit out in the afternoon sun with the paper.

We decided to make Monday a shopping day and drove out to Llandudno. I was hoping to get some really cute purple shoes from River Island - I'd seen them in the store in Bangor but the only pair in my size was horribly scratched. The Llandudno branch had sadly not treated them any better and I decided that even if they were a bargain at £20 they weren't worth it with so much damage. In the end my one purchase of the day was a book - One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell which was half price in WHSmiths and included a free copy of Sex and the City as well. Bargain of the day! Ben fared much better than me and spent over £100 on 2 very nice jackets which feel lovely and look great on.

A most enjoyable Easter weekend!

Hen do!

I've been on a trip to Birmingham this weekend to go to my friend Hannah's hen do. It was brilliant to catch up with her and another friend, Jayney. We were all in halls together at university in Sheffield and we shared a house in second year. As is the way with these things we don't keep in touch as much as we'd all like because of busy lives but when we met up on Saturday everything just clicked back into place and we were chatting away like old times. Thanks for a great time girls - can't wait for the wedding next month!

Bye bye Nanny Smith

It wasn't just Jade Goody who passed away this Mother's Day. My Nan died then too. She was in her 90's and was in a hospice so it wasn't exactly a shock but still very sad of course. The funeral was last week - the first one I've been to - and it was as lovely a service as I guess a funeral can be. I don't want to be too maudlin about it but I just wanted to say on here that I'll miss her and that she was a great Nana - loving and bonkers in just the right amounts.

Perfect Sunday

I've been meaning to blog for a few weeks now about what I consider to be perfect Sundays. I don't get all that many Sundays off work but when I do this is how I like to spend them: sleep in till we wake up which isn't usually that late, maybe 8.30ish, then I go to the papershop and Ben makes breakfast. Usually croissants and tea for breakfast but every now and again we go the whole hog and have a cooked breakfast. We eat breakfast in bed and read the paper - Ben reads the serious bits and I read the magazines ;) Around 11ish we get showered and ready and then, if its good weather, head out for a walk or a little trip somewhere. Then its home for some food in the evening and Sunday night TV (which is great at the moment: Dancing on Ice then Lost, Desperate Housewives and Dirty Sexy Money). Bliss! Maybe I'm getting old because reading the paper in bed and going for walks doesn't sound like what I would have said a few years ago but its true.

Domestic goddess?

Anyone who knows me well will say that I'm not really into all that domestic goddess business of cooking and cleaning. Especially Ben who cooks about 99.9% of nights, maybe even more. This year I'm trying to be a bit better and pull my weight in the kitchen more (although to be fair its March now and this is my only effort so far!). With that in mind I thought I'd make Ben a yummy birthday treat back in January. I wanted to do his favourite cake which I found out after some subtle probing ('what's your favourite type of cake Ben?') was black forest gateau!! Black forest gateau!! That sounded hard to me so I called in the big guns - my friend Sian and Mrs Beeton.

After an assault on Tesco's for ingredients we set to work. For good measure we also did a batch of chocolate muffins to take to the pub with us later that evening. Although I'm not all that comfortable in the kitchen we had a really fun day and the results were, if I do say so myself, really tasty. Ben seemed chuffed with his cake aswell which made it all worthwhile :) Here is photographic evidence of me and Sian elbow deep in cake mix.

and here is the finished product. Not bad hey?

More Christmas updates

Last Christmas was the first one I've spent in Wales and the first proper Christmas for me and Ben spent just the two of us. Although we both missed being with family it was a really lovely day. We had good food (which as ever was nothing to do with me - Ben is the chef in this house) and both got some nice pressies. Here are a few choice photies from the day.

This was the yummy Christmas dinner Ben prepared. Yes those are veggie sausages wrapped in veggie bacon - anyone who's ever eaten veggie bacon will appreciate how difficult Ben found making those fake pigs in blankets.

Since Christmas things here have been quite chilled out. I got the approval on my thesis corrections and my friend Kim back in Leicester sorted out the printing and binding (thank you thank you thank you!!) so the thesis is now officially properly over!!! Hurrah!

Just wanted to mention that my sister has started an Etsy shop and wanted to point you in its direction. She makes chintzy stuff like aprons and bag tidys and is trying to make a bit of spare cash by selling a few pieces. You can check out her stuff at www.ProjectChintzy.etsy.com. She also writes a blog about her makes: www.projectchintzy.blogspot.com. I know I'm biased but I think the stuff she does is really cute!

Resolution time

Happy New Year readers!

Its been a while (as ever!) but one of my new year resolutions is to keep my blog updated more regularly. Other resolutions are to stop whinging so much and to get my ass in gear and find a way to earn a bit more money.

So what have I been up to since November 6th? Well I had my viva on November 11th and passed!!!! It was a terrifying but fabulous day and the feeling when they told me I'd passed and that they actually thought it was good work and I should be proud of myself was amazing. It made all the misery worthwhile. Since then I've handed in the corrections they gave me and I'm just waiting to find out if they're happy for me to print out the final copy and hand it in.

In December we went to Plas Newydd on Anglesey for a Christmas fair and a lovely wander around the grounds. Wish I'd taken my camera for that one because the view was fantastic but we're planning a return journey when the weather picks up so I'll get some photies then.

On my birthday we had a nice lunch at Blue Sky cafe in Bangor and a wander round the second hand bookshops. In the evening we went to Sian and Laurie's house for a Mulled Wine and Mince Pies evening. There was even a birthday cake for me which was fantastic and very yummy :) The boys got way too competitive over a game of beach cricket on the Wii and a good time was had by all.

I'll continue my rundown of festive activities in the next post (when I have my camera to hand and can put piccies on).