Best laid plans ....

Snow, snow go away, and bring me summer whilst you're at it!

We're getting there people, slowly but surely we're heading in the right direction; namely towards June, when the sun shines and I don't have to wear six layers from the moment I leave my electrically warmed bed, to falling back into it at night.

I don't suppose it helps when the shops are now full of summer clothes, tempting me into buying cropped t-shirts, denim shorts and bikinis. Whilst these are going to look fab in summer, in February, when you're up to your ankles in the white stuff and it's -9 at night, really you're going to get some funny looks. So layers it is.

And to answer the question on your lips - yes, I did buy them. I'm going to look great in summer, I might look like a tramp right now, but bring on the sun and I'll blossom like a butterfly, you just watch.

I suppose the one plus about it being winter is that I can't just jump on a plane to Turkey. In the summer, well last summer anyway, I felt unsettled and like I wanted to book a flight every other day. I can't do that at the moment, so I feel strangely centred and settled. It won't last, just wait until May, my addiction to Travel Republic will be at stratospheric levels yet again. If that site made money on traffic alone, they'd be a hell of a lot richer and I'd be asking for royalties.

I'm feeling a tad bit more positive this week, you'll be pleased to know. I've made a few decisions, I have a plan, I can see a road leading to where I want to be. I'm very much expecting a few bumps in this road, it wouldn't be life without them, but at least it's heading in the right direction, when before I had a vague idea but I was taking the most unscenic detour known to man.

They say positivity breeds opportunities, at least I think they do, but if they don't then they ought to because I think it might be working.

For a start, you'll all be very pleased to hear this I'm sure, I have given up on the boy. An epiphany called Istanbul came my way and as much as I wish things were different, they just aren't, and are never going to be. So this little chicken is moving on, albeit limping and slightly wounded from the whole affair, but hey, at least I tried, right? I have no regrets and I can ask no more than that. Everyone has their heart broken at some stage, mine just came a little later than most.

Summer however is going to be interesting, but that's a story for a future blog, no doubt.

So a few opportunities have started coming my way this week, one in particular made me squeak veeeery loudly when it landed in my inbox on Friday. Fingers crossed, but that's all I'll say because I don't want to jinx it!

One thing I have learnt this week, even though I sort of already knew this, is that parents and technology do not go together at all well. My parents have my old laptop, the key word in that is 'old'. Something bizarre has happened to it where it won't start up and it's suddenly like the technological world has decided to conspire to do it on purpose. I fixed it once, it's broken again. It really isn't the end of the world, someone else will fix it better, someone who actually knows what they're doing and isn't just pressing random buttons and hoping for the best. But bloody hell, anyone would think someone's chopped their left arm off, and they don't even use it that much. One particular suggestion was that a virus has caused it (which it hasn't, I've scanned it) and it's as though it's suddenly going to jump out of the computer and infect every human being within a 10 mile radius. Honestly.

So this is how I am about to spend my Sunday afternoon. Fixing a computer to avert a household drama. I don't really have much confidence in this happening, the last time I managed to fix it, well I couldn't really tell you what I did to it, it just worked after pressing a few buttons. I don't remember which buttons granted, but I'll give it another go. I had planned to spend the day lazing around, doing some writing and making some headway with my book. So far I have written one paragraph, before the great computer drama occured.

Best laid plans .....