Fabulous weekend!

Well, I got over the trauma of Thursday night with a combination of nerves, determination, and sheer naive stupidity (aka I pushed it out of my mind/forgot about it - I know this is not good in the long term but it works for now).

First of all I took a BIG step: I went into work fully dressed and made-up. This was a huge thing todo and, apart from the obvious reasons, I was using the practical excuse that I was driving down to stay with D for the weekend and wanted to set off mid-afternoon directly from work to make life easier.

I'd talked to N at work about going in as Fiona and she had had a quick chat with people there and they had said they were fine with it. Also checked with my manager to make sure there were no customers in that I might distract! Took me a while to get ready in the morning, obviously very nervous, but once I got to work everything and everyone was fine. It really felt quite natural and my co-workers were amazingly understanding and accepting! Can't really express how thankful I am!

Anyway, a long drive down several motorways (with plenty of traffic jams) later and I arrived at D's house (SatNav got me straight there - isn't technology wonderful!). D's husband, G, wasn't in until later so we had chance for a good chat and catch up which was nice. G didn't bat an eyelid when he did come back and was totally fine with me as Fiona - well actually I stuck to my other name for the weekend, no need to complicate things just yet.

[ Aside: I'm pretty much 'out' in terms of my choice of name but really I can't say I've ever been that bothered about how I'm referred to, I find that in normal conversation names don't get used that much and I'm happy for people to continue referring to me by my other name which can, with different spelling, be female anyway. I will correct people on pronouns though! ]

Saturday was shopping day! Decided to wear black knee-high boots (2" heel, quite comfy even after walking some distance), Brown loose top, and fishnet tights - okay, that last bit sounds a bit over the top, but it wasn't; this were referred to as "body-shaper" tights in M&S, they are just the holey (fishnet) variety which meant they were cool to wear but still stopped my legs rubbing together painfully and also kept them looking as shapely as possible. Practical rather than sexy was what I was going for.

We had some fun getting into London due to buses replacing trains for part of the trip so didn't really make it in until going on 12 o'clock! Got some nice chinese food and then headed into the main shopping area of London, Oxford Street. Actually heading for Selfridges as that is where I wanted to get my ears pierced!

Arrived, queued up, got nervous, wondered if I was doing the right thing, more queuing, decided what studs to get (just tiny 3mm ones), more waiting and finally .... ah, there was a problem. Apparently you need to have eaten within the last hour so that it minimises the risk of you passing out when someone shoves a stud through your ear (or other places I guess). So, had to go and get a KitKat to get a hit of sugar before carrying on!

OW!

Okay, they really didn't hurt that much but I did feel it! Was grinning form ear to ear (not a good look for me) when the girl let me look at myself in the mirror - I was REALLY pleased :D Another little step!

More shopping followed, but in charity shops! This was the main destination as D is an excellent bargain hunter and shopper and, sure enough she found me quite alot of really nice stuff (in very good, almost mint, condition). In the end I got 4 new skirts and a long slinky dress that I seriously need to lose weight (and gain bust) to wear!

Also had a REALLY nice chat with the girl in Barnardo's: she was really curious about me and asked lots of questions which I said I was happy to answer. She was so nice and really interesting herself! She was so nice and had a fabulous outlook on life that it was a shame to leave the shop.

We had a bit of a break and a drink somewhere cool with aircon, the weather had turned from grey and cool to bright and sunny! Then we tackled Primark! Bought some new PJs, belts, jewelery (necklace and earring sets - can't wait until the 6-8 weeks are up and the studs can come out), and a purse or two! It was madness in there!

Finally headed back home under the weight of our purchases and G was really sweet and came an picked us up from the station. Few glasses of wine proceeded an early night!

Sunday was more chilled with us all going out to All Bar One in Cambridge for lunch and then both me and D driving up north, I was dropping her with her sister near Manchester. Since the weather had really got out (well if couldn't really make up it's mind actually but was still warm) I even wore a skirt, with sandals and no tights - usually I want to hide my legs a little but (after giving them a quick shave) decided to show them off a bit! Oh, also we had a little detour to Tescos and I got some new nail varnish (3 for 2 offer); red, tangerine and black (always wanted black).

So overall all a very tiring weekend but absolutely fantastic, we had so much fun and bought lots of things and got lots done! And now I best get back to doing some real work in order to pay for the trip!