Simon told me he couldn't make it to Llanwrtyd because of a disaster at home... I'd better not go into details. So one phone call later, and Dan asked Paul to give me a lift too. So Paul, Tom and Dan delayed setting off and picked me up from work at 3. Met Ste & Laura there, and had sausage and chips all round. Blew up a few hundred balloons. Got dressed up and met Jodi, John and David. Went to the Stonecroft, which was packed, but I felt ill again so I went back to my room. It was too loud so I hid in Dad's flat instead and ended up sleeping through New Year.

Mum drove me, Dan and Euan to Dad's for the day, so we could all see Nick, Carole, Flavien, Marilyne and Granny. Exchanging presents and some yummy food. Euan thoroughly enjoyed all the attention, and he managed to be hyper-excitable all day, with a brief nap to recharge.

Christmas Day was good - still felt poorly, but had a nice day eating and opening presents with Mum, Dan and Grandma. Boxing Day, Euan joined in the fun and ran around causing chaos and opening presents. Finally home today having spent 3 nights at mum's. Still feeling unwell.

Horrible day. Got up, felt fine, got bus to work... had to ask him to stop so I could get some fresh air as I was feeling really faint, dizzy and claustrophobic. Made it to work, but he drove right up the road and dropped me outside the door, offering to walk me inside. So I must have looked ill. Of course, a big bus turning round in the entrance brought people to the windows in work, but I made it as far as the IREC before slumping into a chair and causing a nice little scene. Everything had gone numb and tingly and I felt thoroughly unwell, so they bullied my doctor into seeing me straight away (always good to have Irene on your side). The doctor said I had hyperventilated and altered the salt balance in my body, causing the tingly numbness. Apparently. So that's OK then. Went back to Mum's (didn't want to be stuck in Coedpoeth on my own). Mum went back to work, but took a half-day and offered to treat me to a late lunch in her favourite café in Hawarden. Felt poorly there too. Weird. I'm not risking going on a long train journey to Dad's for Christmas, as a ten-minute bus journey induced a panic attack, so in a last-minute revision of plans I'll be at Mum's instead.

Good grief. What a fantastic day yesterday turned into. I actually succeeded in pacing myself, and didn't fall over at all! Meal was nice. Followed by a disco (cue cheesy music and self-conscious dancing). Then into town - Barracuda then Chicago Rock where we saw loads of other Revenoo people. Ben from Admin was hilariously drunk and kept draping himself over any women he could get near. He lifted me off the floor and pinned me against the DJ box at one point. Took me by surprise to say the least. Ryan was drunk in a staring-into-space way. Steve Cuff danced a lot, which kept everyone entertained. Chris was thoroughly pissed, blurry, and huggy. Trevor Phillips was dancing. Tex Burke was flirty. I talked to everyone. I danced rather enthusiastically. I went home at a sensible time instead of staying to the bitter end. Didn't see any trouble though, considering it was Fighting Friday (factory shutdown). I don't even have a hangover - I just feel a bit fuzzy. Much better than last week! And I'm not dreading going into work, because I can remember everything - yay! Must try this moderation thingy more often.

Oh dear. It's taken me this long to report on the Christmas meal. I got very drunk. Nothing new, admittedly, but in front of work colleagues... the football lot were all out, and RIAT, and the IT team... Started on the wine at my desk in work - I hadn't had any breakfast because the milk and bread had gone off while I was away. Shared a bottle or two of wine at the Pant yr Ochain with Nicola, then when we got to town we started on the double vodka & cokes... After this point everything gets a bit blurry. I've been told I was dancing with some random girl no-one knew. I also fell over a lot - everyone's mentioned that. It took me until about Tuesday to feel properly OK again!
Put the Christmas tree up and wrapped the presents last night. Euan loves it. I feel quite festive now.
It's the TDO Social Club meal at Llyndir Hall this Friday... I'm going to drink lots of fruit juice, and less vodka. No, really.

What a week. I'm now officially sick of Peterborough. Strange city - very flat place. Stayed in the Holiday Inn this time, so we spent a lot of our time in the pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room! Training this time was all about telephone techniques - interesting, but the pace of the course was so slow I was struggling to stay awake. This was the last one for a while - it was nice to see Ste again while I was there, but learning all the course material was hard work! Got home and tried putting the heating on: the pilot light had given up at some point in the last week and didn't want to work. Then I discovered that the dripping pipe under the sink had turned into a stream... with disastrous consequences. Cleared that up. Managed to slow the drip and replace buckets.

Busy weekend - cousin Eleanor got married to Alan in Northumberland. Euan was really well-behaved for most of the time, although I missed actually sitting in the church because he would have been too fidgety and noisy. The reception was lovely, food was nice, then a ceilidh afterwards, and a bumpy minibus ride back to the cottages that the assorted Ketts had taken over. A family meal on the Sunday (all 20-something of us) to celebrate Nick's birthday too, and a long journey home. I darted into the house, repacked my bag, and I'm staying at Mum's tonight - I've got another early start for Peterborough this week...

Went to see Mr Murphy, my solicitor. Discussed numbers and documents. Signed some stuff. He gave me the old pre-registration deeds & documents to keep safe - they date back to 1949, which covers half the lifetime of my house! Fascinating to read through its history. Handed Euan to his Auntie Shell and came home. Played real-life Tetris with all the crap in the shed. The bin is now full, but at least I can get to the freezer without digging. No, really, it was getting that bad. Felt proud of being a domestic goddess.