Hi everybody! It's been too long since I last visited DA and spent some quality time here. I really have missed talking to you, collecting and commenting on your Dev's. I know I have a lot to catch up on and I promise that I will try. A lot has been going on in my corner of the world (probably too much to fit and/or too much that you could possibly read without eye strain, ). Hopefully those who read this won't fall asleep on me, but I won't blame you if you do!



Were fantastic! I think I may have had the very best Christmas that I have ever had. All the presents were really thoughtful for and from everybody and the day was just great.

On the 30th of December however I walked out on my job. I literally walked in in uniform, handed back my shop keys, name badge and discount cards and said goodbye. I'd been putting up with too much workplace harassment for way too long. It was all stupid, petty crap that no employee should have to deal with on a day to day basis. My health and even my relationship with those close to me was being torn apart and I had had enough (the whole story I'll save for another journal entry). So goodbye to retail hell and hello to the unemployment line ( for now!). It's not how I wanted to end my three year run with the company, but what can you do?

My New Year's was great after that. Knowing that you no longer have to drag your feet to a badly managed business for the start of your New Year is a good feeling. Sleeping in without having to fear the telephone ringing and your boss grumping at you for something that they should be able to handle themselves (and I really did fear it) is a good feeling too...

I owe a lot of thanks to my family and friends, the employees that were loyal to me (and still are), and my amazing boyfriend Michael for everything good in my life at the moment. Without them all I would be an empty shell.

Ironically my old boss set Michael and I up weeks ago. The details of which are a little foggy due to the fact that there was alcohol involved (not on my part, I don't drink ) and I'm not sure exactly what messages were sent between mobile phones but in the end it was one staff party that turned out nicely instead of the other way around. I got an interesting text message from Michael on my way home (which I still have, ) and after coffee the next day we were inseparable. We're a good fit; I don't think I've met anyone who has so much in common with me. Sometimes it's a little freaky, especially when we both say the same thing at the same time, . But it just adds to the fun of it all.

But really, he's smart, handsome, driven, caring, understanding, sensitive, loveable and just... well... perfect. Michael's a big part of the reason that I left the aforementioned job and I couldn't be more thankful for it. Without him I think I would have kept backing out. Michael is my rock. I'm 100% certain that I put him through absolute torture before I quit, and definitely a few times after () but he's never been phased and that just makes me love him more.

We're going on a short holiday tomorrow to escape the horrors of our work and job-hunting and I can't wait. It'll be nice to get away for a while.



It's pretty boring I know. But I just finished watching "Divide and Conquer" and couldn't help myself. So your thoughts would be nice. Let me know if you can read the text without having to squint.

Since DA's made some nice changes to the profiles since I was last here I've taken out a lot of stuff from my journal that can now be found on the right (friends and watchers mainly). Liking the new profile design too!

Well, I think I've ranted enough... no, actually that's not true. I would love nothing more than to type pages and pages right now but it would just be stupid of me. So I'll drag my fingers away from my keyboard long enough to press "update journal" and leave you all to rest your eyes, .

Abby.

... for someone else. I nominated this amazing deviation for a Daily Deviation and got it recognised!



C'mon, you can't tell me that it's not worth it. Go over, take a look and fav it. Congrats ~foreverdelayed!

I feel good knowing that the DA team do actually look at all the DD suggestions that they are handed.



In other news, life is looking up for me. I've been feeling a bit down lately. A lot of things have been going wrong and although most of them were small things... when they all build up...

But anyway, things are getting better. I'm coping more with my responsibilities and am finally finding more time to do the things that I actually want to do. And I'll be perfectly honest and say that a lot of this is because of all of you. You know who you are and I thank you very very much! Let's hope things stay this way!

Luv you guys!

I'm in the mood... in the mood to make stamps! I'm nos sure why I want to but I do. So if anyone would like a stamp for anythihg that they have in mind just let me know. It's free, and you can request as many stamps as your heart desires. I'll make them all look unique so that no two people end up having a stamp that looks similar.

All you have to do is either comment here or note me and let me know what you're after. All the stamps that I'll make will be the same size as the ones that fit nicely in your journal unless you speicfy otherwise.

Hope to get some stamps to do so that I'm not bored! I don't feel like doing anything else right now. I'm on holidays... lol.

Abby

I came across somebody's blog in another language that's using one of my deviations. I hate finding my artwork elsewhere on the web without me knowing about it (which I'm sure is the same for everyone) so I need a little bit of help in trsnslating. The website is here: [link]

I did try one of those free translator things that are out there on the web but it was either useless or there were too many spelling mistakes in the original text for it to do any good. All it put back was "you smell" and then some gibberish.

Any help on it would be great!

Thanks everyone.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi! Oi! Oi!

So I've found myself watching more of the Olympics than I had planned to. I honestly thought that it wasn't going to be as good as it has been considering all the protests and terrorist threats made to China. I loved the opening ceremony despite all the fakes that are now being leaked. So what? It's entertainment afterall. Now I've been watching tellie on my days off and when I get home to cheer on the Aussies.

Who else feels so sorry for that poor weightlifter who was hurt so badly? I cried... It's so unfair that someone who trains that hard and has that much love for the sport ends up getting hurt and embarrassed like that. He walked on with such a smile only to walk off in pain.

There's not enough hours in the day anymore... lol. It's been so long since I've updated my journal that it's hard to think of what to write.

I guess work has been taking up a lot of my time, maybe too much. Late nights are becoming routine, which isn't good.

So I'm looking forward to my holidays in October. It'll give me a chance to relax properly and get so much of my fun stuff done! It's not that I don't like my job it's just that sometimes all you need is time to unwind.

When I think of something worthwhile to write I shall!