Cheryl...gets back to normal!

Well, it is all back to normality now after a lovely break away in Southport. Me and my mum had a wonderful time, we always make sure that we go on holiday every year just the two of us. Sometimes you just get caught up in the craziness of life and I think it's really important, that even at 25, I always make the effort to spend lots of time with my mum. She is, after all, not only my mum but my best friend too :) 

Being typical as holidays in the UK are, we weren't blessed with the nicest of weather, although our first two days there were quite sunny and warm, the days that followed were rainy and dreary! Still, we knew this in advance and planned what we did accordingly. We stayed in a lovely self catering apartment about 10 mins out of town, we like staying in our own apartment as it gives you the freedom to cook your own meals if you want to (instant money saver) and I always find them much more homely that hotels. We were lucky that we found this place on the internet and also, buying booking our train tickets with Virgin a few months in advance were managed to get a pretty good deal, considering we travelled a fair distance! Also, this time of year is particularly hard for us as the 11th June is my Nan's anniversary so we like to go away to take our mind off everything.

We had a great time wandering along the promenade, the pier, the lovely quaint shops and of course the obligatory 2p machines! I swear, one day, I will win one of those strategically placed keyrings! We also had 2 afternoon teas, one horrible (which was bought with a online voucher-whilst it was cheap, the food and the service wasn't great which was a real disappointment) and then on our last day, a lovely one in which we even had glittery cupcakes! It's safe to say I have come home from holiday with a real cake belly and probably a good 4 pounds heavier! But what are holidays for?

We also visited one of my favourite cities, Liverpool and we went twice-once to go on the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour and once to visit the Albert Docks area and the shops. Liverpool often gets a lot of stick for not being a very nice area but I couldn't disagree more-it it's a wonderful place, full of friendly people (I have to admit, being a previous Brookside fan, I do love the scouse accent) and it is steeped in a lot of history, particularly musical. It is like any major city, just like London or Manchester, in which there are beautiful open green spaces as well as not-so-nice run down areas. 

The Magical Mystery Tour was so much fun, we got to visit the old homes of the Beatles and also key places from their songs including Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. I have always been a big fan of the Beatles, mainly due to my mum and also my Grandad. He used to talk to me all the time about them which got me interested. I remember being 8 years old, wearing huge headphones and sitting in our living room listening to their classic hits and I have been a fan ever since.

We really wanted to do and see more, like visit the smaller seaside towns along that coast like Formby but sadly time and also weather was against us! I bought some lovely little bits in the gift shops, including a giant frame which I lugged home (will put some pics in a later post), some nice jewellery, some fudge and tea for Michael and some little bits for our bedroom.

So now the holidays are almost over and I am back to work for 6 weeks before the long summer holiday is ahead of me. I can't believe it has gone so quickly-yesterday I came home to a package from my new school including my contract which I need to sign. I am so excited to finally have a permanent position somewhere and also to be starting a fresh and meeting new people-which is a very scary thing for someone shy like me! However, it's something I need to do. I am going to do my best to have a relaxing weekend now, I have a few blog posts planned soon so watch out for them. Have a lovely weekend everyone xoxo