A Matter of Choice

Way back in 2011 when blogging was second nature to me, when I wrote several posts a week and joined in with many 'link ups', blog parties and the like, I started a series of blog posts called 'My A to Z'.   In order not to put any pressure on myself and make a promise that I might not follow through I said  "I have no time frame in mind for these - just as and when the mood takes me." Which was lucky as I after starting in May 2011, I managed to get to February 2013 and as far as 'L is for Leo and Louka'  I'm pretty sure I had at least a vague idea of what I would do for each letter,  assuming I would struggle towards the end but maybe I didn't believe I would make it that far.  Reading back through old posts now is very strange for me,  I always want to go and edit them, mainly to make them a bit longer as they all seem so short.   I was always worried about waffling on too much and them being too long, which is strange as that doesn't se...

Growing up, unlike many children with aspirations to be a nurse/ teacher or similar the only thing I ever wanted to be was a wife and mother, although whether that was down to a lack of imagination or an actual calling is debatable!  Maybe because looking back I don't remember knowing any 'career women' the only women I knew were Mum's, some with jobs, some who stayed at home but with their main focus on the children.  I've had many jobs in my life , mostly ones I hated and I could never come up with anything I actually really wanted to do, always feeling like I was just killing time and doing something because I HAD to. I was 31 years old when I had Leo which is the same age my Mum was when she had me.  I had always wanted to be a younger Mum but I'm now glad I wasn't as looking back I really value the years I had which were firstly all mine, and then mine and Aaron's.  I grew up as an only child and from a very early age was determined I wou...

  Here I am in 1995 off to start my very first day at work.  It was not long before Christmas and in fact was the same day that the very first National Lottery was drawn in the UK.   The job was a temporary Saturday job, just for a few weeks with the last day being before Christmas day, working in the restaurant in Alders department store. I remember coming home and checking the lottery ticket I'd brought at lunchtime and hoping I would win and not have to do that 'work' thing again! I was quite late in getting a Saturday job compared to some of my friends, due to the fact I was very lucky and managed often sweet talk my parents into giving me the odd fiver here and there and I didn't want to miss out on the fun I had each Saturday playing lacrosse *ahem* . On the first day, within a few hours of starting I managed to crash a whole trolley full of dirty plates and cutlery as I took them back to the kitchen, smashing everything dramatically over the floor ...

What does make a house a home? Furniture?  Who you live with? The decor?  The location?  or something else?    It's something I've often wondered over the years and I still can't quite put my finger on it.  I left my parents house at the age of 18, that was home and continued to be 'home' even though I'd moved out.  I then lived in a shared house with Aaron and a couple of others and although it was fun, it was never a home - there was far too much beer and not enough food to class it as such! I then lived in a flat on my own for a while, it was nice and after a shaky start I did love it but although it was 'my little place' it never felt like 'home'. In 2003 Aaron and I brought our first house, it was nice and exciting, much better than the one we first lived in, and this one was 'ours'  Over the years we decorated it, brought new furniture and also did an amazing redesign of the garden, but still I always felt something was missing...

Gravesend, according to Wikipedia  is a town in northwest Kent in England on the south bank of the river Thames opposite Tilbury in Essex. This photo of Gravesend is courtesy of TripAdvisor Gravesend, according to many people who live there is a bit of a s**thole.  Gravesend, according to me is a place full of many fond memories (and some bad ones but we ignore those!)  I lived in Gravesend from 1997 until 2003 and then continued to go back for the next six years after moving away until we eventually left the country. We met a fantastic crowd of people there and had more brilliant drunken nights out than I could possibly count, or remember!  It's the first place I lived when I left home to first live with Aaron, we had a great year sharing a house with two others, - all men, I was the only girl!  Looking back it was great fun but I could never do it again! I later moved into my own flat in one of our 'not a couple' phases. Although at first I was un...

As you may know, I'm a bit of a fan of lists, and A to Z lists especially so I wish I'd thought of this one  am pleased to join in with Lauren from The Real Housewife of Suffolk County's new meme.   Here is an A to Z of things about me.... ANORAK…Do you have a sad side ? I have a love of REALLY bad music, proper cheesy stuff that shouldn't even be allowed. Aaron says I have a bad music gene! BODY…What physical attribute would you most like to change?  I'd like a nice flat stomach again, I had one for a short while in between reaching my Slimming World target and getting pregnant! CELEBRITY…Which one would you most like to date and why?  David Tennant,  Why?   Why NOT?! DEBUT …Tell us about your first ever blog post. What made you start blogging?   My first blog post  was about the conversation Aaron and I had about moving to Cyprus.  I started blogging to record our move and how we got on with living in a different country...

When I started my A to Z posts  I knew that 'E was for England'  I had started this post in draft some time ago but couldn't quite decide how to write it. England is my country of birth, I haven't missed it too much since my move to Cyprus and I didn't want to write a post that ended up running it down for fear of offending my fellow Brits.  Aaron has been saying for ages that the country is going to s**t and he didn't want to bring our son up there. He has always said there is no discipline any more. Parents, teachers and Police have no power to stop kids and that they should bring back National service.  Health and safety has gone mad and the Government is rubbish. I hadn't planned to write about any of that in my post as  I used to generally bury my head in the sand and assume it would all be ok.  But you know what, he's right. I've been shocked by the events unfolding in London and all over the UK over the last few days. What the hell i...

I debated over what to use in this next post in my series of A to Z posts . Originally I thought 'D is for dogs', I've grown up with dogs in my life but have blogged about them before, both my own dog and those I grew up with  . It was a hen night, hence the flowers! So instead I'm going with another love of mine.... Dancing, oh and drinking as they go together oh so well. Not 'proper' dancing as in ballroom or ballet but real 'several beers later, singing your head off on the dance floor dancing' Back in the day when babysitters were not required and Aaron and I used to both go out, at the same time I was usually to be found on the dance floor while he propped up the bar. (He doesn't DO dancing  except  in fancy dress and then only once ) which was actually a great arrangement as it meant it was easy to get another drink :) I've had many many amazing nights out before Leo came along and it's probably the main thing I miss about ...

Considering I now live in Cyprus it was a fairly obvious choice for the letter C in my series of A to Z posts . We've now been here 18 months and it feels like I've been here forever. We took a big risk in moving, and went against all kinds of sensible advice of the type you read online about moving abroad. I don't regret anything we did (apart from maybe spending a bit too much money in the first few months!) although I'd have to revert to the same advice that I read so often to anyone else thinking of doing the same thing! Advice such as, make sure you have a job (or adequate funds to live on for a year) before you arrive. Rent for a year before buying so you are sure which area you want to live in and visit at different times of the year as winter in Cyprus is very different to summer. Although we did none of those things looking back we have been very lucky, I know of others here who did similar things but have been here a while and jobs may have been easier to c...

When I started this blog back in  September 2009  I had no idea I where I was going with it, I had no idea there was a whole 'blogging community' and even when I realised that I never imagined that I would feel like I was part of it. I started my blog as a record of our move to Cyprus and how we were getting on in our new home, I imagined family and friends would be subscribing to keep up to date and maybe a couple of people who were looking to do the same thing might find me and be interested. (I'd have loved to find a blogger doing the same during our buying process) As it turns out apart from my Mum (thanks Mum!) I'm not sure any of my friends of family actually read this blog, I post to Facebook and I've had one or two friends mention that they read it but no-one (except Mum again!) has ever commented -    Hello?!  Lurkers please leave a comment, they make me so happy :) I'm fairly sure if I hadn't found the other bloggers I wouldn't still b...

I am starting a series of posts inspired by Stay at Home Mum  entitled 'My A to Z'  It's very simple - I plan to go through the alphabet and write a post for each letter on something personal to me. There could only be one possible subject for the first letter..... I would like to introduce you to Aaron, the hubby formally known as AJ. (in the blog world anyway!) When I started blogging I did not ask Aaron how he felt about me writing about him so I used his initials in some random attempt for him not to be recognised.  I realise now that with the amount of photos and the fact that if you know me you'd know him it's all a bit pointless - also the first few months of blog posts I didn't expect anyone to read it and used him name anyway!  I met Aaron in 1995 in my old local pub, I'd like to tell you it was love at first sight but he was actually first brought to my attention by my friend with the comment 'Ooh look, he's got a nice arse...