Let's talk about...being single

Oh yes, it's one of those posts.

I've been single for about two years now and, shockingly, I actually really enoy being single. I don't know where this idea came from that any lady that isn't already taken is desperate for a boyfriend because quite frankly, for the past year and a half the idea of having a boyfriend had absolutely terrified me.

But the point is, back when things ended between me and my last ex, amongst the cheating and the lying and the lack of trust and communication and space (long list...), ultimately, I was the one who wanted to be single. Everything was a bit up in the air for about six months where I'd change my mind, fearful of having to give up on someone I'd been with for two years, or where he'd decide he'd want to give things another go..long story short, it was enough complication to almost put me off men for life. But the bottom line was, even though I loved him and was fairly sort of happy, I wanted to be single.

I'd never felt like that before in my life. I'd never been in a relationship where I felt so confused ; I loved him and wanted to be with him, but at the same time the idea of being single and going on dates tempted me. There was no excitement anymore and I wanted to be single so I could experience flirting and first date butterflies again and all things like that. 

Two years on, the reality is only somewhat different, but I'm beyond confident that I made the right choice. Within the first year of singledom, I doubted myself. I headed back to Luton wide eyed and eager, expecting to be going on dates every week and flirting with the hottest guys around. I was so wrong. Bar a dodgy date spent at the local fair and 'accidently' ending parked up at a local dogging spot, dating just...didn't happen. 

Despite it being the very reason I was single, my heart just wasn't in it. And after 6/8 months of complication after breaking up, can you really blame me? It was tough and I found myself going back on my decision many, many times. But then slowly, things started to get better. I started to understand the other benefits of being single. Benefits like having a huge queen size bed to myself. Not having to share my pringles. Not having to give complimentary blow jobs when sex was out of the question during *that* time of the month. Not being lied to. Not being cheated on. And the list goes on.

And as I began to move on, accepting what had gone wrong in the relationship and where I'd been at fault, I began to feel more ready again. And so my life isn't filled with going on dates every single week (dating really isn't that big in the UK, is it), I've still fulfilled my need of having fun and enjoying singledom. I've dabbled in seeing people (I use that term very loosely, let's just say late last year I ended up bagging myself a toyboy and the less said about that the better). I've met some great guys who have gone on to become great friends. I've fallen for people and I've flirted lots. And lots. And I find myself going back to the same people over and over again for no reason. And it's made me feel wanted and has given me butterflies and just generally given me exactly everything I wanted since departing with 'the ex'. And most importantly, among these random drunken snogs and varied hook ups, somewhere along the way, I've found myself ready for a boyfriend again.

Although I don't necessarily want a boyfriend, the idea doesn't terrify me anymore. The idea isn't all that bad, finding someone that could give me butterflies in a long term sense and also make me bacon butties in bed in the morning. And although the guy would have to be pretty damn special to make me give up my single life (and the 2+ tubes of pringles I seem to scoff to myself weekly), it's nice to know that I've gotten to that point. I have no idea how it happened exactly and I couldn't pinpoint to you when it happened. Perhaps it was when I stopped worrying about things. Perhaps it was when I started to genuinely really like someone again for the first time in about two years.

But ultimately? It took time. And if I have one bit of advice to take from this post to give to you, it's that you should make sure to enjoy that time. So many people jump from relationship to relationship and likewise, so many people waste far too many months crying over their ex and wondering what went wrong. By all means, have a 'mourning' phase. Cry, dye your hair and work out what went wrong. But don't spend longer than necessary worrying about the past, because soon enough you will meet someone else. But you're still young, so make sure you get your fun in too. Even if you're not 100% over your ex, go out on dates and have fun still because it'll be a great distraction. Once you stop worrying about what went wrong, the rest will come naturally.

The ghosts of french chickens

I was filming a video for my main blog today and as I uploaded it, I noticed there were loads of unnecessary files stored in iMovie, so I started sorting them out and deleting old ones I didn't need. I came across an old file which I'd completely forgotten existed. It was a video me and my first boyfriend made back in 2008 and at the time I'd watch it all the time, it was that funny, but over the years I'd just forgotten about it. So discovering this hidden gem was so fun - it was basically just us messing around pretending to film a horror movie but it was so funny that I had tears of laughter streaming down my face. My tummy still hurts now.

As I watched it, it was so easy to see how much we loved each other and how comfortable we were around each other. Video me (and present me!) didn't stop laughing ONCE, and I had a huge smile on my face the whole time. We put on voices, made funny faces and just generally did really childish stuff that we seemed to find hilarious. At one point I was just like 'right let's just make funny noises for the camera!'

Don't get me wrong, I don't miss him in anyway like that. But I've always said that for a first boyfriend - he was pretty much ideal. We got together with no complications, it was all very innocent and new for me. He didn't cheat or lie and for my first serious relationship, that was the perfect experience. Had my first relationship included cheating or lying, I'm pretty sure the idea of being in another relationship again would scare me even more than it does now.

I then started thinking about how much we lose sight of things that are important to us as we grow up and how quickly we grow up and stop acting like children. When I was younger, I swore I'd never get into a relationship with someone who I couldn't laugh with. Now I'm not saying with my last boyfriend I didn't have this - I can still remember the hilarious pen/flour/water/food fights we had when we first met - but it was so shocking to me to see just how comfortable I was in this video in a way that I wasn't when I was with my last boyfriend. I would never have imagined of pulling the various funny faces I did in fear that I'd look ugly or turn him off, and although I loved him a lot, I never realized at the time that we didn't have as much fun together as we should have done.

Looking back at the video, it just made me smile at the innocence of it all and remind me that laughter and being able to be comfortable around the person you love is so, SO important in a relationship. So much of the time we let the every day pressures of life effect our relationships and at the end of the day that completely defies the point of a relationship. A relationship should be fun and should make you happy.

I think this has definitely reminded me that in my next relationship I should remember the important values and not just forget about them because I like someone. If anyone can make me laugh that hard then I know I'm onto a winner. I'd pick laughter over good looks any day.

French chickens making funny faces

Alternative guys

Ever since I discovered rock music as a teenager, I knew my taste in men would never be the same. As I found myself falling in love with the chords and lyrics of alternative music - most of which was the soundtrack to my teen summers - I also found myself falling in love with the vocalists and band members that created the music. I distinctively remember an instant attraction to Joel Madden of Good Charlotte, Jaret Reddick from Bowling For Soup and of course, the ever legendary Tom Delonge that first summer where their albums were on repeat.

I can't quite explain why alternative guys - or musicians - are so sexy to me. They just are, and I honestly struggle to get my head around the idea that some women might not agree with me, that ladies around the world would rather drool over David Beckham than Jared Leto.

First of all, musicians and 'altnerative' guys (also known as emo lads, rocker guys, etc) are not the same - although pretty much all rock stars are alternative anyway. When I say I'm obsessed attracted to these type of guys, I don't necessary mean just rock stars (although if you're a rock star it helps big time).

Musicians/rock stars are sexy because of so many different reasons - the biggest of which being passion. The passion men have for music is such a turn on, especially musicians that can get all deep and convey these emotions and feelings into a song. There's just something about the way a guy writes or performs a song - the passion he has put into it, the fact that you know it's come straight from his heart and his own experiences, the way he sings the song or so expertly strums that guitar. There really is nothing sexier than a musician.

Then there's the attitude that these men have, whether they are aware of their sexiness or not. It's about the way they adapt this persona ; on stage or otherwise. The fact that they have millions of girls after them or the fact that they know the power they have over these girls.

And of course there's *that* look they have. Dark floppy emo hair that usually party obscures their piercing eyes. The piercings of course, most especially lip piercings. The stubble. The tattoos that cover their body. The skinny fit jeans, the converse, the leather jackets - just pure hotness. To me there is NOTHING sexier. The alternative look is such a turn on and it's so much hotter than your average joe guy.

(Can I just add, I've got a board on pinterest called 'Ridiculously sexy men who's babies I want and who make my ovaries explode' - filled to the brim with half naked photos of rock stars and emo lads. I've got the page open - for research purposes for this article of course! - and my Mum has just walked in and caught me having a perv! Whoops!)

There's the argument that these guys will regret their piercings and tattoo's when they're older. Really? I don't agree. And when they have to take another role that won't necessary suit their alternative look, such as wearing a suit to a wedding or job interview, or becoming a father, you won't believe it but it is SO much hotter.

Kellin Quinn with his baby girl

I rest my case. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a 'non alternative' guy, but for me, rockstars, emo guys or just those who have something a quirky about them are just that bit sexier. And somehow I just know that one day I'll end up with my own rockstar ;)

Liebster Award

I won an award! I'm so chuffed, I didn't even know anyone read this blog to be fair. I received it from the lovely Librarian Girl! I won't be tagging anyone/passing this award along because I've received this award on my main blog and have already tagged people a million times before (so would only end up tagging the same people again) but I'm still rather pleased!

The Liebster Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers. Liebster is a German word that means sweetest, nicest, kindest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. It's a fun way to say welcome to the blogging community.

Here are the rules for receiving the award:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and create 11 new questions for the people you have tagged

2. Choose 11 people and link them in your post

4. Go to their page and tell them about the award (social networks accepted)

5. If you have not done so yet, follow the tagger and visit at least three nominees

6. Remember, no tag backs

11 Things About Myself:

1. One of my favourite childhood films is Willow, and I'm going to watch it after I've posted this!

2. I have a pet tamagotchi on my phone called Bob, however I tried to kill him off as he was the third pet I'd got that had evolved into an Octopus (the other two, my only pets, are called Roger and Sandy). I felt too bad though, so I'm sticking with him.

3. I have my tragus pierced and it is my favourite piercing (although I miss my lip piercing!)

4. I am on pretty much every social media site going (hey, I'm a journalist, it needs to be done)

5. I used to love music like A1, Lou Bega and Busted. I still have Busted on my iPod...

6. I really want a tattoo but I'm too scared to get one.

7. I have a skull in my room (it's paper mache, don't worry!) called Roger. He was named after Roger from American Dad as he has big eyes.

8. My favourite colour is Red.

9. I never want a relationship again unless the person is 'the one' and the one who I'm going to marry.

10. I'm so bored with my hair.

11. I've spent far too much money lately!

Questions from Librarian Girl

1. What was your childhood nickname, if any?

I had a few - Lou, Loopy Lou or Louish-Ann!

2. What is your favourite colour?

Red.

3. What inspired you to start a blog?

The chance to inspire others.

4. Do you have a favourite film? What is it?

I have loads so I couldn't pick just one, but my last favourite film of all time that I watched was Back To The Future.

5. Have you ever done anything scary, such as skydiving?

Does snowboarding count? I'd love to try skydiving or go bungee jumping or something one day

6. What's your favourite city?

London, without a doubt.

7. Something you are proud of.

Graduating from university (not only that but one that was a five hour drive away from home!) with a degree in Magazine Journalism.

8. What are your vices?

Falling far too quickly for far too many bad boys.

9. Heels or flats?

It depends on the situation, but heels for a night out definitely. I just can't feel sexy without them.

10. Can you play a musical instrument?

I can play two songs on guitar - Daniel Beddingfield - Gotta Get Thru This and Joshua Radin - Winter (which is supposed to be really tough to play so I'm pleased about that!)

11. What's your favourite sandwich?

Ham & Tomato!

As I said, it would be pointless for me to tag 11 people because I don't actually follow any blogs with less than 200 followers that I haven't already tagged in a previous award! However, if you click here, you'll be directed to my main blogs 'Blog Awards' page, where you can click on each post about award's I've won, and where I've therefore tagged other blogs - phew that was a mouthful! 

Finally, just as I haven't blogged recently - what have I been up to lately? Well, I've been working my bum off, going out on far too many nights out and partaking in short but sweet (and passionate!) 'flings?' which we're amazingly fun whilst they lasted :)

Nostalgia

This time last year I was graduating with a degree in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sunderland! At the time, I couldn't believe how quickly three years went by - in fact I still can't - and I can't believe I graduated a year ago now.

One of my best friends Jo only just graduated this week too as despite going to uni together, she spent a year studying in France. I'm feeling very nostalgic as it's dawned on me how long it's been since I've been a student.

I still remember leaving home for university like it was only yesterday - the long drive, the nervous unpacking, the first night out with my flat mates! University gave me so many amazing memories that I'll treasure forever, as well as giving me some amazing friends. I also learnt so much about myself in those three years.

I also remember the week I graduated so vividly. To this day, I still cannot grasp how much of my life changed in a matter of days. 

When I graduated, I had no idea where I'd be in a years time. But am I happy? I'm ecstatic. I've got a job relating to my degree and I'm still as close as ever to the girls I met at uni. I don't have my own place, but in all honesty I love being at home so much especially after spending three years away! 

Going to university was one of the best decisions of my life and sometimes I really would do anything to just pack up a bag, hop on a coach and spend a week there just for memories. I miss the town, the people, the food, the memories - everything. There's so much I didn't get to do, but so much I still want to do. I've promised myself that I'll hurry up and pass my test, get a car and visit again soon.

Of course, it won't be the same. It wasn't when I visited in February. Things will never be the same. But that doesn't mean me and my friends can't visit again for memories and to create new memories, doing all the things we said we would. We still need to have our big Newcastle night out and visit Amsterdam.

And when I visited in February, there are only two things I regret not doing. The first would be not getting a Chillino's pizza (oh my god my mouth is watering at the thought!). The second would be not visiting South Shields beach again.

South Shields beach, on my first ever visit, taken by me

To this day, South Shields beach is still one of my favourite places in the whole world. I never grew tired of living near the coast and spent almost every Sunday evening at this beautiful beach. This beach was my favourite place to be in Sunderland and is home to so many memories. It was one of the few things that still gave me good memories during my last year of university when everything else was going to the shit (for lack of a better word!).

Sunderland was my home for three years and I practically became an adult in that little town. It wasn't special - it wasn't home to the top university of the country or even the best nightlife but it was just right for me. I can't wait to go back.

Feeling overwhelmed

I'm feeling so overwhelmed lately. I know I'm having one of those weeks, but I can't shake this feeling that I'm trying and not getting anywhere. It honestly baffles me how people find the time, money, effort and inspiration to do things. There's so much I want to do with my life but getting to that point is near impossible.

Setting up the magazine is on the back burner at the moment, I'm afraid. Although I'm constantly thinking of new ideas, knowing what to do with them is a different matter. I'll be having some meetings in September to see about getting a business loan, but until then, what can I do other than research? And I said I wouldn't tell anyone about my idea to avoid pressure but I did to get some interest and contributors. Although they understand, I can't help but feel like I'm letting them down when I tell them about my big plans and then they here nothing from me in weeks. I just don't know where to start, I can't make any progress on content at the moment.

I guess I am slightly worried about failing. Not because I'm not good enough. I know for a fine fact that my writing is top notch and I have some really big challenging ideas, it's just getting the word out. Promotion has never been my strong point and the majority of hits for my blog for example are returning loyal readers who genuinely enjoy my writing. But finding new people, people to read my blog and buy the magazine? That's the tough bit.

The other main thing is travel. I still want to take a year out, but how will that fit in with the magazine? I can't go ahead with it all and decide later on that I'm going to take some time off, then just leave it for a year.

And travel. That's the thing! How can people afford to do it? It's like one thing at a time for me - concentrate on work for money instead of a career and somehow save to go traveling, or concentrate on putting my writing first.

There's just so much to do. There's not enough time in the day. And then I find a week or two have passed and before I know it it's been a month and I've not gotten particularly further with anything. I think if I'd just done a little bit each day, I'd be considerably further by now. But it just doesn't work like that.

Life's much too short. I need to hurry up and do things before I turn around and realize years have passed and I haven't yet done what I want to.

When things get tough, just remember...

This feels familiar,

I’ve been here before.

A different face walking

through the same door.

Thought it’d get easy

but it just hurts

more, every time.

The way I see it,

nothing ever ends.

Like a circle,

something new begins.

And now I turn my back

into the wind and carry on.

I know you’re gone.

I had to walk away.

Now it’s broken,

It’s the price I pay.

But it was worth it,

now I can say you’re name,

without falling apart (like the circles)

We always end up at the start.

I know it’s scary,

what you can’t define.

But just a temporary

place and time.

We’re pushing forward

and we can’t rewind.

But that’s alright,

It’s how we survive.

I had to walk away.

Now it's broken,

It’s the price I pay.

But it was worth it,

now I can say you’re name,

without falling apart (like the circles)

We always end up at the start.

And I know, I know,

feels like it’s always changing.

I know, I know, it’s 

like just rearranging.

Build it up,

tear it down,

all the walls and hurdles.

We’re running in circles!

I had to walk away.

Now it's broken,

It’s the price I pay.

But it was worth it,

now I can say you’re name,

without falling apart 

We always end up at the start.

(For future reference)

Work Hard, Play Harder

Last night I watched the film Project X.

First of all, this is an amazing film in its own right (with an equally amazing sound track!) so I'd suggest watching it anyway! I've already posted something similar on my other blog but this film reminded me how sometimes you have to just forget who you are sometimes and forget your responsibilities and concentrate on having a good time.

I've had some amazing nights out over the years and some amazing parties. I've been to foam parties, popcorn parties, UV paint parties, rollerskating discos and even hot dog parties. I've had too many house parties to even remember. I've been to events themed as nearly everything under the sun - school girl, nurse, Mrs Santa,  beachwear, army, neon/80s, and so, so many different Halloween costumes. Despite not being Irish, I've been on three different pretty awesome St Paddy's Day pubcrawls. I've partied with Matt Willis, Lee Ryan and er Steps. I've attended nights out, I've hosted nights out, I've DJ'd nights out and I've been the official um dance mover maker for nights out. I've done A LOT. 

Do you think I spent any of these nights out worrying about uni in the morning or how skint I was? Nope. In fact, if those thoughts crossed my mind, I instead used this as an excuse to party more.

Don't get me wrong - university, a career, big responsibilities like that - they DO come first. But it's always good to remember that you need to get the fair balance between the two. You can't go to university or spend your whole life working without letting your hair down - in fact your work will suffer if you're sat at home not taking time to relax. Likewise it's probably not a good idea to party constantly because you'll never get anywhere in life.

BUT this film has also reminded me that sometimes it's alright to be a bit silly. No matter how many responsibilities you have, you're NEVER too old for a decent night out. Sometimes it's hard to forget that when you're piled down with work and you've got so much to do, life really is passing you by. Of course I don't recommend that you burn a whole street down BUT even nights when you really shouldn't go out - you're skint, you've got work in the morning - sometimes these nights turn out to be the best ones. 

It's all about finding the balance between working hard and playing hard. If you're out 24/7 anyway this probably doesn't apply to you but if it's been a while since you've been to a good party then forget about what responsibilities await you the morning after and just go out and have fun. When you're old you'll never look back and think about the amazing memories you had staying in each night and working, will you? No, you'll remember the epic last minute nights out you've had that probably shouldn't have happened but led to amazing nights, amazing friends and amazing memories. 

All of those nights I've mentioned have been awesome in their own right. But some of the best nights I've ever had were honestly hand on heart never planned. Some of the best nights I've had were when I was stuck at home, skint, with work to do and all I could think about was how much I'd like to be out because there was no way I could concentrate on my work. So I did go out. And it was awesome.

I've got some pretty amazing nights to come as well. I've got so many birthdays to celebrate (what should my next theme be?), plus an Ibiza holiday next year. And of course there will be many other unplanned as of yet nights out to come.

So this post is to say remember you're young so go out and make the most of it! Don't quite go as far as they did in Project X (thought we both know you're tempted to) but still have as much fun as you can. I'm not encouraging anyone to go out and be unsafe or cause havoc either but remember sometimes when you do accidently have a bit too much and do something silly - you are only young and the whole point is to learn from it.

Go out and let your hair down ;)

(But be safe too!!!)

Busy Busy!

The past month has almost been non stop and it looks like next month won't be any different!

I am taking on this editors roll like...a fish to water..or whatever an appropriate phrase is. In other words - it's perfect for me. I'm really, really enjoying it and I absolutely love finding out about different places and things to do. Working from home can be a bit tough as I've always had problems with motivation but I'm slowly learning to close that Facebook tab and get my head down, refusing to go on any social networking websites until I've done at least an hour of two or work. The new All American Rejects Album - Kids in the Street - is helping a lot too. I love it and it has quickly become my background album to listen to whilst I work, helping me to concentrate.

I've also been helping one of my sisters friends who has her own business and had fallen behind so needed an extra hand. It started with popping down to hers one Friday and just generally helping out a little bit - sorting out her invoices and making lots of tea and coffee. But it's soon becoming more than that as yesterday I learnt all about renewable energy and how to draw a floor/house plan. She is an domestic energy assessor and as boring as that sounds, it's actually really fun! Next week I'm acting as her assistant, manning the phones and booking assessing times whilst she's out and about doing her job. Then another day next week I'll be out with her, doing floor plans and all the measurements and such. It's pretty fun and I guess that's another bit of experience I can add under my belt - plus she's going to give me a great reference.

Finally, I was offered a job at Next the day before last which I am chuffed about! It was kind of funny how it worked out because the interview was almost a month ago now and I'd heard nothing. I'd left the interview feeling extremely confident however, I'd built up a great rapport with the woman that was interviewing me and definitely got the vibe that I was being offered a position. However, four days after we went on holiday, she was going on holiday too (actually to Sharm, Egypt as well which was a bit spooky!) for two weeks. After three weeks I assumed I hadn't got it and gave the office a ring Thursday and she told me she had actually planned to ring me the next day. It was her and another woman dealing with the new employees and the interviews and such and this other woman had gone on holiday as she'd come back. So I was actually offered a position in their new store opening. I'm really pleased about this because I really wanted this job.

Even better is it's part time so I can still keep on with my editor duties and learning to be an domestic energy assessor!

I'm off to a Flea market in Soho tomorrow which should be fun and I have my induction for Next in the week so it's going to be a very busy week!

June is looking out to be just as busy too as I'll be in London quite a few times, plus I'm arranging a bloggers meet up in St Albans for the end of the month which is going to be really fun. It's also my Nan's birthday and my Dad's birthday and we're hoping to throw a nice BBQ for that. The website is also set to launch in July so I'll be working extra hard with editing duties. Luckily I got my good friend Becky in with a job as well as she studied Journalism with me at university and lives right in London. This means we'll be able to divide the work out between us and I'll get to see a lot more of her at all the different events we'll be going to! I'm glad about this as we were quite close at university and although we still talk all the time, she works full time and as she lives in London it's hard to find time for a catch up.

I'm also still working on setting up my own magazine. On the surface it looks like I've put it on hold but in actual fact behind the scenes I've been working hard to find different contributors and get all my ideas into motion. I've also started writing my own novel - random, I know - but I'm feeling pretty positive about this as it's sounding quite good even if I do say so myself!

I'm still blogging over at Inspire Magazine too and have actually been in contact with a few companies for reviews. After redoing the whole layout I've been trying to take a more professional approach with it rather then just updating as a hobby and with companies interested in a company-blogger relationship, it's finally taking that professional turn. The blog will soon be going onto bigger and better things soon as you all know so it's good to have companies interested!

So I've been learning lately that staying positive and getting your head down and getting on with it makes a huge difference. It's been really hard to find a spare moment to myself over the past few weeks and it's been especially annoying with this hot weather! A couple of times last week I decided to go out for a run and a bike ride but in all honestly I thought I hated running and loved bike riding..I'm not so sure now though! I went out on my mum's bike and my god is my bum sore! Her bike seat is really uncomfortable so yeah, I think I'll be sticking to the running until I can get a more comfy bike seat.

Well, that's what little old me has been up to lately so if you find me absent from blogging over the next few months - you know why. I'll leave you a photo of me being a bit of a poser in my favourite new dress after my parents took me out for food last night to celebrate the new job.

My holiday in Egypt

Last night I arrived home from a lovely week long relaxing holiday in Egypt. I've always wanted to visit Egypt, everything to do with Egyption history absolutely fascinates me and I'm obsessed with the idea of visiting the pyramids and such. We were nowhere near Cairo and there's trouble there at the moment anyway so we didn't go site seeing or visit them. Really it was just a last minute deal to Egypt for a relaxing holiday but it was amazing!

Generally we spent our days sunbathing by the pool ; napping, reading, listening to music and going for a dip in the pool and to the swim up bar. We'd then have lunch and do it all over again! The absolute perfect way to enjoy the boiling hot weather :) 

On Tuesday we visited another sensatori hotel and went on a tour of it. My sister and the other ladies I went with all work for Thomson and this other hotel was also a Thomson hotel so where they'd spent the last few months designing the brochure for it, they were intrigued to see what the hotel was actually like in person. It was stunning ; it was five star so it was all very exclusive and high-end, most of the rooms had their own individual swim up pool and a jacuzzi too. The spa was beautiful, it was situated at the very top of the hotel so it had amazing views. The fitness aspects of the hotel were also pretty amazing too, you had so many options of ways to keep fit and healthy including things like yoga on the beach at sunrise and things like that. Amazing!

Beach tent things at the sensatori - what I'd do to live there!

On Wednesday was one of the best days where we went on a Sinai By Starlight excursion. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life and something that was totally up my street. We left the hotel pretty early and got a coach into the middle of the desert where we then had a camel ride further into the desert. Now I wasn't sure what to expect, I was excited but I'd never really had much um experience with camels in the past. It was scary. Very scary. They were all making loads of really scary noises and camels are a LOT bigger than you expect them to be. Once you climb on they get up by kind of leaning down and getting up with their back legs first followed by their front legs - it's hard to explain but you end up all over the place and it's really scary. In fact I almost backed out as I really didn't like the idea of it! There was a camera man filming the whole excursion and we bought the DVD and you can see me on the camel as it gets up. You can see the absolute fear in my face, haha! Once I was up and moving though I was okay...until half an hour later it came to getting off the camel in the same fashion and as it dropped to the floor I was so scared I screamed! Everyone looked at me and laughed!

After that weird experience we all went into a bedrin tent and drank some Egpytion tea and had/tried a shisha which was interesting! We also learned a bit about the history around where we were before watching the sunset in the mountains.

Sunset among the mountains in the Egyption desert - stunning!

Then we had some food, made some bread and some men did some traditional dance thing and got all us ladies up to dance too. After that we wandered into the desert with a professional astronomer who gave us a talk about stars and the solar system - stars, planets and constellations we could see and such. It was beautiful, of course in the middle of the desert the sky is 100% clear so it was a really beautiful site. We also looked through some telescopes and saw Saturn up close - so close that you could see the rings around it - and the actual surface of the moon! I was astounded! We managed to take some photos through the telescope though the Saturn photo just looks like a blob, ha!

Saturn

The surface of the moon

Anything to do with the solar system fascinates me so it was really a truly amazing experience for me. 

We got up to various stuff during the rest of our holiday - I ended up DJing at one of the club nights there which was funny! We pretty much hosted this night to be honest - we got everyone up dancing, making up all these new dance moves, putting on awesome music and getting everyone involved! We also very nearly won the quiz night (we came second by ONE point). One night I remember being particularly funny was when we were really tired and planned to get a cup of tea and head to bed - in the end we ended up still in the bar at 1am making our way through the cocktail list with the aim to try each one! 

I had mixed thoughts on the hotel. It was pretty beautiful - the reception had all marble floors and a stunning staircase that curled around a waterfall feature and a bridge at the bottom. We named it death bridge as it had loads of ridges in it and was impossible to walk over in heels. The grounds were stunning too - loads of flowers, water features and cute wooden bridges. The pools were SO nice as well. However, some of the rooms needed to be made a bit more modern - you could see where parts of the hotel could do with a makeover and the staff were actually a bit dodgy/rude. One of them even smashed a glass on the floor in a huff when they messed up our drinks order ha! The food was pretty bland too - it was all inclusive - but it was very repetitive and by the end of the holiday we couldn't face it and walked into town to have food elsewhere.

However it was just a really lovely way to relax and spend some time to myself before my new job. I've added some more random photos below.

Me DJing! The DJ added me on Facebook after this, ha!

Me and my sister on the dodgy camels

We did not, I repeat, we did NOT choose this pose ourselves! We asked some guy to take a photo of us and he started modeling us into all these different poses then insisted we had a photo with him too! So funny!

Posing

Janine, Claire and Sharon

I had an amazing time and really enjoyed myself. By yesterday I was ready to come home though! My shoulders, neck and hairline (?) were burnt and our flight was at a ridiculous time of the night. Ricky from TOWIE was at the airport though and everyone started fangirling over him - one of the girls sat near us even got his number! The flight was horrible too - three screaming babies in the aisle next to us and horrible girls sat behind us trying to cause trouble. We didn't get in till 4:30 am and I felt like a zombie by the time I got in!


Some of the funniest memories/quotes from the holiday -


Sharon sleep talking but mumbling then all of a sudden saying (not singing!) really loudly as clear as day 'I'm sexy and I know it'!
The dodgy crab dance in the pool
The chocolate song/dance
The night of 'We'll just pop up and get a cup of tea to take to bed with us...three hours later LETS DO EVERY COCKTAIL ON THIS LIST'
Talking about traveling and stonehenge and I talk about how I'd be worried about Jasper. Janine goes 'er what you'll only be gone to stonehenge a day' 'Um I meant when I take my gap year' cue tears of laughter
Always assuming that if anyone is going to fart or snore, it'll be Janine
The camels!!

Never Turn A Gypsy Away

Continuing on from yesterday, I have now discovered where all this luck has come from.

I feel pretty bad actually as only recently I had a little rant on Twitter. about how excessive bragging usually tends to mean that you're just trying to prove a point and that if you're main concern is proving a point to everyone else, you're probably not being honest with yourself. But this mainly applies to relationships in my eyes! Anyway, I don't think informing your friends and family of a new part of your life really counts as bragging?

So anyway. Yesterday my parents were out shopping and a gypsy approached my Dad asking him for money, so he gave her a pound. In return she gave my Mum & Dad a little shell each, claiming them to be good luck.

Yesterday my interview went extremely well and obviously I got the job. I also got offered two more interviews when I got home, one in person today (which went really well and I'm very confident about) and a phone interview I am currently waiting for. My Dad was also offered a job yesterday (after only having the interview the day before - on Wednesday) AND my Mum won £10 on a scratch card yesterday.

Apparently there's a myth that you should never turn a gypsy away else you'll miss out on good luck.

I am seriously thinking that all our recent luck comes down to this gypsy! Very odd thing to think about, but pretty cool nonetheless :)

I'm over the moon for my Dad as well, we've had a bit of a struggle recently so it's nice to have a change of luck. Although I stated in a post when I first started this blog that usually when everything goes so well it means something bad is around the corner but we've already had our 'down' time so to speak. We're off to see The Avengers tomorrow and even if bad news is on its way, we're going to celebrate and stay positive about our luck in the meantime!

Maybe I should put the lottery on...!

It's My Lucky Week...

I explained in my last post how unfortunately (down to my incompetence!) I missed a rather important meeting. Luckily the guy I was meeting with was very understanding about the whole thing so instead I made my way into London today for the meeting! The meeting went extremely well and I am unbelievably excited about this new project. Basically when I applied for the job I thought I'd just be contributing. However, instead today I found myself walking away from the meeting (when it was finished of course!) with something I'm pretty bloody chuffed about.

I am now the editor of London.com!

(Please don't go on the website, it's a mess at the moment, we're relaunching it in July!).

You might think it's just a fancy job title but in fact its a lot more. To begin with, it's practically my dream job. My role involves developing the content for the website which we're hoping is going to be the 'go to' guide for everything London. So that means writing about everything thats going on in London and everything there is to do. Exciting right? That's not it.

Not only have I jumped on board at the very beginning - which means I am pretty much helping the whole project evolve from start to finish but this will look amazing on my C.V. It's going to be such a great opportunity and the guy I am working with, who is setting up the whole thing, has a ridiculous amount of contacts most of which I'll be meeting.

I am also getting paid to attend different events around London which I get to attend for free! I get access to different media events where I can mingle with top media contacts, I get to attend gigs and theatre shows for free and even get additional tickets for friends and family..I'm basically getting paid to be a tourist and write about it all! It's such a great opportunity!

I'll also be creating a lot of contacts along the way too. My boss/manager (again, who has set up the whole thing) has contacts and leads in everything. My ex, if he ever hears wind of this, is going to be one jealous person because he's a DJ and I'll be meeting and getting the opportunity to attend events by Ministry of Sound! I really can't believe the perks of this job!

Finally, we have some really big plans for the website. Hopefully if it all goes well, my manager is even looking to creating a similar idea/website for Paris, New York etc.

And I get to be a part of it all!

So as you can imagine I am EXTREMELY chuffed to be offered this amazing opportunity and I honestly cannot believe I am now an editor of such an amazing project.

Why I Am A Class A Div

Usually I'm a pretty professional person. I know my professional etiquette and I actually love how polite I am. I know never to sign off professional emails with a kiss and if I'm meeting someone for an interview or otherwise, you can bet I'll have checked the route 5+ times on google maps, walking to the destination using street view just to avoid getting lost - AND writing out my route. But times? You can absolutely guarantee that being there on time - or being there at all - is my downfall.

9 times out of 10 I'm a 'leave it to the last minute' type of girl, much to my dismay. I love my sleep and I'll leave it till the last possible minute before I drag myself from my peaceful slumber and get ready. I'm hopeless with public transport so without a doubt I'll 'just miss' the earlier bus/train and end up getting the one that will get me there late or just in time. 9 times out of 10 though, I always manage to land on my feet and make it.

Most times it was because I'd get my times and dates mixed up too though. My Mum would insist I double check my ticket a million times both for the date and time. I would do, yet I would still end up somehow telling them the wrong departure time or, even in some cases, find that I'd booked the ticket for the wrong day completely! In the end my Mum insisted on checking all my tickets after that. Many, many, MANY times at university, whilst traveling to and fro Luton/Sunderland myself and my parents would embark on a typical ritual of almost missing the coach or train. Usually you'd see my parents rushing - almost running - to the station/platform with the train or coach due any second only to find me strolling along behind casually as if missing my train or coach didn't matter. (Usually it didn't. When I was at home I was so settled that I didn't want to go back to uni and do all that work and whilst at uni I didn't want to go home and not see my boyfriend at the time for months). But alas, I always made it. Once, I was late getting the train and it was only by sure coincidence that the train was late too and was only just pulling into the station as I was. If it had been on time I'd have missed it!

There was only once I actually missed the train and that was coming back from Newcastle to Luton. Deep down though I'm pretty sure I missed it on purpose though as I'd just gotten into a relationship and couldn't bear the thought of leaving my boyfriend for a few months when we were still very much in the honeymoon phrase. My Mum was livid. I just shrugged before we went and got a Burger King.

That's the only time I haven't fallen on my feet. Except now.

Quite possibly on the day of meeting someone for one of my most exciting projects yet, typical incompetent Louise rears her head yet again. Seriously, incompetent is practically my middle name for my family. I spent most of yesterday evening getting ready, double checking my meeting place and yes, downloading an MP3 tour guide of London Canal Museum, something I'd hoped to visit if I had time after the meeting (as it was nearby). I decided on my outfit and woke up this morning although not early, but with enough time to get ready with time to spare. And then I get a text. From the person I am supposed to be meeting. Telling me they are there waiting for me.

Wait, what?

I panic, wondering why he's there two hours early.

That's right. In my usual fashion, I got my meeting times mixed up. Somehow (I'm blaming the fact that when I skimmed his email I spotted the number 2 when he was talking about his next meeting) I thought we were meeting at 2:30 rather then 12:30. How unprofessional!

Luckily for me, my writing is just that good that people are willing to take another chance on me ;). No, but truthfully, it happens. Very luckily for me, he understood and re-arranged the meeting for Thursday instead whilst I sit here cursing myself for double checking every detail except the most important one.

The lesson to this post? If you are ever on the receiving end of someone being late or having to reschedule altogether due to something like this, understand! It does happen and it's such an easy mistake to make. It's never done on purpose. And always, always double check EVERY detail INCLUDING THE MEETING TIME.

In the meantime I'm going to get into the habit of updating my year planner with everything, even the non important stuff (what it makes me look busy) so I never make a mistake about this again. Oh and I'm also going to, in the wise words of Fall Out Boy, start 'setting my clocks early because I know I'm always late'!

Please note - if you are somehow a professional reading this having stumbled across this blog and you think my writing style is excellent yet tut and shake your head at seeing how incompetent I am - I'm not really, I promise you! I am hard working, confident, extra polite and will never, ever do something so silly again ;)

Growing Up?

My 'Big Plan' is still underway :) Just a quick update regarding this, I've ordered some books, I'm looking into some part time courses and I'm currently carrying around this gorgeous vintage notebook...

...which I'm scribbling down ideas in constantly!

But I had a thought last night that almost put me off the whole idea altogether.

If I'm going to run/own my own magazine and be an editor, does that mean I have to stop making stupid choices and grow up?

I mean seriously. Have you ever heard of a magazine editor who still fantasizes constantly about marrying a rockstar? Or one that has only used an iron maybe 5 times tops in her life? Does this mean I have to stop flirting and sleeping with men unless they have the potential to be my future husband? Does this mean I have to settle down, live with a bloke again and get a pet? I know I'm only 22 but if I'm going to be a magazine editor, I need to stop blaming my stupid decisions on growing up and start, er, acting like an adult...

Additionally, I've found one of my biggest issues to be motivation! Once I get motivated I'm absolutely fine but its getting motivated, or rather the times I get motivated which seems to be the problem. When I wake up in the morning I'm perfectly happy spending my day lazing in bed, watching TV/movies, chatting to friends, reading etc. I just can't find any motivation to work, even when I'm up and about. But as soon as it gets dark out and its the evening, suddenly I want to do everything. I'm perfectly content making a cup of tea, sitting in the dining room and working though the night! I'm definitely a night owl..!