Life has a habit of...

...biting you on the ass when things seem to be going swimmingly.

Well what a long month it has been. Brilliant highs and some serious lows.

A roadtrip to Amsterdam with my dad for some quality father-daughter time was great. We camped for 4 days, drank beer, saw some sites, ate alot and just generally hung out. Something I miss out on alot with us living 2 hours apart, but all the more worth it when we can fit it in.

Another high point - although I would've called it a low at the time - was finishing my first 10k race in 1 hour and 10 minutes. I know that's not an impressive time, but for a girl who's been working on her beer gut at uni for the last 18 months, I was pretty chuffed.

Great nights out with friends have been strewed across the month too, and the sun has even seen us pay the occasional beer garden a visit.

But just as life has a way of balancing itself out, there have also been some lows. Wednesday saw me and my fella of 4 years split up. And along with that I've lost my second family, a home and a gorgeous - but naughty - Beagle pup. But just as every cloud, apparently, has a silver lining, my inner monologue is going stir crazy with all the funny and slightly tragic anecdotes I will pen when the time is right to laugh about this.

Right now though, it's not. So I'm working to my deadlines, going to work, writing about everything and anything, getting drunk with friends and trying to instill some normality back into my life between all of that.

Updates to follow, as always.

The (new) holiday of a lifetime!

Camping has always been close to my heart, ever since I was a little girl and it was the only holiday we could afford.

I've been on my fair share of holidays in my lifetime, some truly amazing ones; Florida, Italy, France, Switzerland, Mallorca, Turkey, and many many more. But now I'm happy to say I'd gladly choose camping over any 5* luxury getaway.

Having left things to the very last minute in terms of booking a foreign getaway, last year my boyfriend and I decided to embark on a rather different holiday. Transit van packed full of stuff and 3 hours later we arrived at our destination - Keswick, in the Lake District. A quaint little town with much to offer us as happy campers.

We arrived on one of the rainiest days in August, and after battling with our brand new 5 man tent and awning (yes, there were only 2 of us!) we checked into our accommodation for the next 7 nights. I was disappointed to find I had to make my own bed, and a chocolate on the pillow was often missing, but all in all I had an amazing time.

Being away from many of the distractions of everyday life meant Robbie and I actually had to socialise and spend time together. With none of the usual forms of entertainment available to us, we found ourselves going rather old school, and playing endless hours of Monopoly and Yahtzee. Embarrassingly, we also developed a bit of an addiction to puzzle books - rock and roll I know!! - snuggling up in our sleeping bags most nights with a crossword.

Another thing which became a central thesis to our day was mealtimes. Robbie donned his apron and turned all Gordon Ramsey on me, making me a beautiful cooked breakfast every morning - no cold baked beans or Pot Noodles for me thank you!

Even though it was the first time we'd both camped in a good few years, we were much better prepared than I thought we'd be. Robbie had a hole kitchen unit, shelves and everything. We had 3 gas rings to cook on and a grill to do toast, I didn't feel like we were 'slumming it' at all! We had a couple of tables, some comfy chairs, plenty of lanterns and loads of blankets and throws to snuggle up in.

All in all, I had a great week. One of the best holidays I can remember in fact; we left feeling like we'd actually spent some real quality time together, and were completely chilled out. Best of all, I didn't go home with 3rd degree sunburns and a hole where my bank account used to be.

This year we've planned to go away with our friends Aimee and Adam, to introduce them to the wonder that is the good old camping holiday! I couldn't be more excited for beers, BBQs and banter! It's gonna be a top laugh :-)

Just another Hallmark holiday?

With Mother's Day fast approaching (Sunday 18th March for all those unaware!) it got me thinking about the so-called 'Hallmark holidays', and in particular Valentine's Day.

Now I know it's been and gone this year already, but I must say it annoys me more and more every year. Year after year you see angry tweets and Facebook statuses about it being "commercial," "a load of crap" and "a waste of money," to name a few. I have to say, the majority of these come from the bitter, single people out there, and can't help but think if they did actually have someone to spend it with, would they whine so much? The answer is no. 

What girl (or guy) could honestly say they wouldn't welcome a bouquet of red roses with open arms? Don't get me wrong, like many others I don't think it takes one day a year to tell your loved one how much they mean to you; you should do every day. But equally, I don't think there's anything wrong with a day to remind us that a little cuddle can mean more than you think.

I'm not saying me and my fella buy into it whole-heartedly, but we always get each other a card and organise some quality time together. Anything else is a bonus. I can't help but feel that all the negativity surrounding it is just down to jealousy. I know there are some terrible excuses for holidays out there - St Patrick's day for example, I mean, who wants to receive a 'Happy St Patrick's day card? A pint, maybe. A card, no.

Take Mother's Day. You could argue that this 'holiday' is as equally commercial, depressing and unnecessary as Valentine's Day, but who really wants to explain that's the reason why they haven't got their Mum a card? Exactly. 

Maybe we should be thankful to the likes of Clinton cards, for reminding us that sometimes expressing our gratitude and love to those closest to us isn't done often enough.