The end of an era...

 Picture taken on my birthday!

Hello there beautiful people. This is my first post using the new Blogger interface and it has really thrown me (I know, I know, I should have used it sooner), I'm finding it very unwelcoming, but thankfully for anyone reading this, my little old page will look just the same, lucky you.

Yesterday was my last day at the magazines, and I had a real jumble of feelings. 1. I was relieved my notice period was over, anyone who has ever been made redundant will know working your notice period can be really hard when you've essentially already lost a job you love. 2. I felt upset, I've adored my job working for Style, and the other magazines. On my last day a colleague said to me he has never known someone so suited to a job, which is lovely but also a bit sad as I was leaving! 3. I felt scared, I'd worked there for almost four years and I knew my job inside out, which is very reassuring. Going somewhere new and doing something different takes me out of my box and my nerves are jangling already, which I guess is healthy. 4. I felt really surprised and touched (no, not in a gross way, you perverts) that so many of my colleagues came to our leaving lunch (three of us left yesterday) . I got some lovely presents and cards with messages that made me realise just how much I've enjoyed working with certain people. I also got some lovely emails from some of my contacts - many of who I really hope to stay in contact with.

So what now?

Well I've got ten days off to get myself sorted, clean the house, get back to the gym, do some blogging and generally get back to feeling like me again instead of a stressed little zombie. I've got a couple of exciting prospects bubbling away but I don't want to say too much until they are confirmed and contracts have been signed. But it looks like I'm going to be able to pay the bills, which is always nice.

I've had a hectic few weeks home-wise too so thought I'd share some pictures of what I've been up to outside of work...

My birthday weekend my parents came to visit and we went to a really fabulous cabaret club called The Greene Room in Milton Keynes.

 It was lots of fun - as you can see here, I am having fun. Although my mother looks slightly worried. No change there. 

 My cousin, Sam, had a hoe-down of a 21st party, which saw lots of cowboys, cowgirls, one boy who was dressed as a girl and a few other wild west themed characters. I wore two different costumes, obviously.

 I showgirled-it up, any excuse to wear a wig, and James in costume

  My cousin Tom, and I, in our cowboy/girl outfits and the birthday boy Sam looks out from the saloon

My Gran turned 80! We had a family meal out to celebrate, which was lovely, and I decorated a themed cake for her, which turned out better than I hoped.

 All my mum's side of the family.

My Gran with her cake I made, and me and my 'little' sister.

So that is me, what I've been up to and all that. I'm hoping my new job/s will give me chance to be a better blogger and dedicate a bit more time over here. Plus I'm probably going to get myself a laptop so I can blog-on-the-go. Exciting! Hope you are all well and happy and I look forward to getting reaquainted with my readers...*group hug*.