Silly in the snow and sick at the sidelines..

I don't know where to begin this blog entry. I suppose I should start where I left off from my last post; On Friday the snow came in thick and fast and in the afternoon I attempted to take some photo's with .... a tiny bit of luck. Within 7 minutes of stepping out the front door I was soaked from falling snow and bitter winds that only encouraged the icy downpour and R and I went on a walk that left me far too cold for comfort. I got back in to the house feeling lethargic and in need of a good hot chocolate. Which I made myself and then happily got down to some college work as I'd missed the day because of the snow :(

R and R's father trying their luck in a desperate mission to retrieve a plastic bag :P

My two minute snowbaby

oh no snow- look what you've done to my mascara

I'm really disappointed how this term is working out for me so far in college. I told myself that in this new term I'd be in my new house, not missing a day and since then I've had to miss a several- Including every day this week so far - which I'll explain later. One word though ; Unimpressed!!

I spent the entire evening of Friday making pages for my college sketchbook and managed to get all the ones I wanted complete so, YAY :D The entire time R was drawing in the background and it was ENTIRELY cute if I do say so myself.

Some of 'diary' pages for college :D

Saturday I woke up, peeked out the curtains and practically ran for the shower. The depth of the snow outside was just too much to resist even though I purposely had gotten up early to get on with college work. I spent the entire morning and early afternoon in the snow, taking photo's, building a family of snow-people and in general just feeling like a child again. When I eventually got back in doors I went straight to my college work and started the monotonous task of binding my pages... which took the entire night AND some of the next day.

RHYS IS THE BEST <--- R's little contribution to this entry whilst I went to the loo.

my little snowbaby buried after a night of snow :(

TADDAAAA!! Snow Family :D :D

On Sunday I FINALLY moved in to my new house. Once again it didn't go how I'd imagined; R and I passing through the doorway in to our new life together and alone.. instead we spent most of the afternoon with my mother and her boyfriend and my niece.

 It's entirely odd having all my possessions packed up, in a new house- finding all its flaws out as soon as possible so I can begin to work with them in a different way then I'm used to with my last house. Some things have remained the same though; the heating here isn't working the way it should for instance.

Munchkin is finding it odd too. I let her outside for the first time this morning and she ventured no further then 2 meters from the front door, sniffing and playing with a bush tentatively for about 5 minutes before bounding back inside. exploration time over! :P We'll get there bit by bit.

Yesterday R and I decided to visit the local shop too in the evening as I'd been feeling ill all day and felt like I needed some air. Unfortunately It made me miss the beloved co-op from my last village. It's odd the things that we miss when moving house. Co-op never seemed all that important to me but if I knew I had no food at home one evening I could quickly pop in from the bus and pick up a stir-fry and some salad or a frozen pizza if I'm in more of a stodgy mood. Also I'll miss the free cash withdrawals at the local ATM which is a service i took advantage of ALOT when forgetting to get any bus money together. In the grand scheme of things these are just small changes to my daily routine and I will soon get used to them but the change is unsettling and it's easy to miss something you've known for 6 years.

Getting back to Sunday though, On Sunday evening R and I thought it would be a nice welcoming to try out the local take-away (although we've NEVER found one that surpasses the locals in Penygroes) and I think, although am not sure, that that is where my trouble began. It took hours of having tummy pains and running to the loo for the hypochondria to kick in and suddenly it was all I could think about and I was almost in tears with the pain, Struggling not to throw up and tossing and turning. It was 5h30am before I eventually drifted in to an uncomfortable sleep. I woke up on Monday excited that the ice outside didn't look bad so I'd be able to get into college but as soon as I stood up I had to rush the the bathroom and so the day began with numerous trips to the loo trying not to be sick and failing. I can't believe on my first night in my new house I got ill and, to make it worse, it has since stopped me being able to get in to college :(

Minus the awful ill feeling and the struggle not to ring my mother out of my hypochondria-tic state to ask her if I'm dying i've enjoyed the peaceful evenings in this new house, cuddling up with Munchkin on the sofa, candles flickering above the fireplace. I just wish I hadn't been in pain and nauseas the entire time. Perhaps that is why my fortune cookie was empty on Sunday. It didn't want to have to tell me that I'd be ill for days :P

On the plus side, being home from college has allowed me to indulge in a bit of unpacking when my bodies nausea subsides for a few moments and during this unpacking I came across cd's full of Images from Namibia I had practically never known had ever existed, and, a book on gap year volunteering experiences and etc and have fallen in love with doing numerous of these adventures. After an hours deliberation I decided my favourite are: a 2-4 week trip to China working in a Giant Panda conservation ( Yes, with panda's being my favourite animal and camera's encourages, this would be a dream!!), a 2-4 week trip to my beloved Namibia to work in an animal sanctuary that caters to abandoned animals including baby baboons ( in nappies!! :O :O), lion cubs etc etc, and a 4/ week trip to Thailand with teaching English to a local school involved. I also found an experience in Africa especially for snap-happy enthusiasts to basically take hundreds of photo's for this conservation for them to be able to use in their leaflets/on-line to raise awareness for their cause. That would be an amazing opportunity if I had a strong zoom lens. Unfortunately I don't anymore though :(

The one negative about these trips are the prices though - at around £800 a piece I think a lottery winning is in need for me to be able to do ANY of those things. Or some very generous donations :P

Following on from that R and I have decided to each fill in ONE lottery ticket a month and get one scratch card. You never know when luck will find you :)

For now, My nausea is starting to subside and I'm looking forward to getting back to College tomorrow, (especially after missing a big night out yesterday evening that i'd been looking forward to and now feeling COMPLETELY unsociable as that was my opportunity to come out of my hermit state) and so, for now

Love always,

Luciie Panda

xXx