LitleMermaid

What a beautiful wee bird! I know to keep an eye out when walking the dog down that way now!

I'm trying, I'm trying You wouldn't want a wife like me. Trust me on that. We'll just be taking off on a plane to Tenerife in exactly three weeks. Cheapo holiday as my mum's cousin has a villa out there and we decided to use some of my Grandma's insurance money to make new memories together. The place really shocked me with how lovely it is-especially off the beaten track (ie away from English people ). Hope you have a lovely time, Christmas there sounds ace, and fingers crossed your 2013 is better too!

Thank you!! Yes erring on the side of caution is definitely the way to go! Congratulation S8 Blade, I'm so glad it was good news for you too! I was lucky, I had a really early appointment and was in and out before I should even have been seen. They only did an ultrasound (which hurt like hell as I was so sore, but worth it obviously!) before telling me I was clearly just a lumpy lady but to go back if anything changed again. I'm going out tonight to eat lots of Italian food and drink lots of red wine to celebrate!

Thank you! Hoping 2013 brings me a HUSBAND and, almost as importantly, ( ) the chance to wear the beautiful white dress currently gathering dust at my mum and dad's!!

I'm fine! Just a lumpy person it would seem!

Yeah I'm looking forward to it-after the year we've had, (my cat April-who I completely adored-died 4weeks before I lost my job due to my boss being a fraudster 2weeks before my lovely grandma died the evening before our wedding which obviously was cancelled and have had a breast cancer scare since), we are slooowly coming out the other side and I feel like me, my family and my nearly-was husband need a week of eating, drinking, relaxing and generally spending some hassle free time together. NYE is going to be fab-2012 can kiss my bum.

Wow, you're all ace! Just had my mum sister and 2 year old nephew round for the morning which has taken my mind off things nicely. Ad left me with a hurricane ravaged house, and dirty looks from Tadg cat, but he's just going to have to suck it up Maddie ran outside and sat on the fence in the rain. Mardy cow. Medusa thank you-even though I know they wouldn't keep you waiting longer than was necessary its good to see in writing exactly why they take as long as they do. I'm glad everyone either had nothing to worry about or are better now-and also that, in the nicest possible way, I'm not the only one to endure a couple of weeks of this mental torture! Although a bit annoyed to find I'm perfectly normal. This is not the impression I'm usually looking to achieve

Thank you everyone! Arrgghh I thought it wouldn't be anything less than a week but chuffing hell it's a loooong time to convince yourself of the worst isn't it??! I'm sure it'll be fine; I'm only 24 which the doctor says goes in my favour, although obviously family history isn't all that great. To be fair to them, it's only been a week this evening since I found the lump so they are acting a lot quicker than they used to as far as I'm aware! And as this year has been so shocking, I actually laughed when I felt it. Not a normal reaction I'm sure Beer is the way forwards for a couple of weeks I think

Thanks. My God I hope I don't have the same entertainment as you-I'm happy with my Aunty/mum/fiancé's company (not sure who's coming yet) and my kindle. Plus I'm not known for putting up and shutting up when it comes to abysmal behaviour

Thank you! I'm really glad that you were fine-I can imagine your relief when they told you! They have been excellent with my aunty and I'm really impressed with how they've treated me so far. I saw my GP at 2pm on Friday, and by 11.30am on Monday I had received a phone call booking an appointment for me next Monday. So quick!

Usually 9. Usually I have a lovely life. It's just that in August I lost my job due to my boss being cheating, lying scum two weeks before my wedding. Then my grandma died the evening before, so it was cancelled, and now I'm having tests for breast cancer. I don't normally understand people who look forward to NYE because I thought they were wishing their lives away, but 2012 can kiss my bum. I don't even believe in luck tbh, but I sure as hell feel around the 1-1.5 mark at the moment! I'm clearly hosting a huge self pity party if anyone wants to join in!!

I was going to start a thread of my own but this came up in a search. I hope everything went well for you last year funbags My aunty was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of years ago and I accomapnied her to one of her chemo sessions so I am extra vigilant when it comes to checking myself. Last week I found a lump and have an appointment at the hospital on Monday. Obviously I'm worried but I've got my aunty to answer most questions-but one thing she can't remember is how long the results take to come back? My doctor just said if its a cyst they'll know on the day, but didn't specify how long other results might take? I appreciate its probably different for everyone, but if anyone can remember how long it took for them I'd be very grateful!

Thank you everyone. My aunty and mum phoned last night to say they want to give us some of her insurance money towards the new wedding-not sure whether to accept yet but my god it's buoyed me up to know I have such a wonderful family. Although it won't cover everything we lost it will go a long way in helping! Some lovely ideas of how to remember my grandma on the day-so thank you for that Yuck at planning ANOTHER wedding though-going to have to go through RSVP hell all over again

Thank you. We haven't lost EVERYTHING yet. Some suppliers have put things on hold-but only if we rearrange in the next year. Hopefully we do so otherwise that'll be six grand gone

Well two weeks ago I should have become Mrs Edwards. A week before the date, my grandma went into hospital. At this point we knew she would be unable to attend. Obviously we were devastated, but pushed on with plans as she insisted, and we planned to go up to the hospital in our wedding gear in the lull between the breakfast and evening party. The day before (16th August) we were told things were bad, and to expect the worse, and soon. She passed away at 10.30pm the evening before my wedding day. She laughed and joked until an hour before she died and never knew we'd cancelled, which I am so glad about. We should have been in Scotland for a week followed by a week in Germany, and on the insistence of the family still went to Scotland, and came back just before the funeral. We want to get married as soon as possible but having lost close to £3000 (some suppliers have been excellent, others very much less so) we are giving the whole thing a while to settle in before trying to make any plans. I just understand so very little about what has happened-I was preparing my grandma's eulogy when I should have been on a train to Vienna. Feeling very, very raw at the moment. In the last few weeks my favourite cat died, I found out my boss was a conman and consequently am owed £1000 and don't have a job, and then this. I am at the end of my tether. I'm not even sure why I'm posting this, other than I know a couple of people on here will be waiting for me to update on how the day went-and I don't have a wedding day to relate back to them. Cancelling was the right decision, and I know we'll pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off soon. I have taken from this though the realisation of truly how wonderful and strong my family is, and how lucky I am to have my fiancé. Whether I am his wife or not, I am the luckiest girl in the whole world. My grandma loved him, and so do I

Mr Strix won't thank you when they are homeless cos Strix has spent all their money on beagle keyrings Border collie section is under construction

Ahhh I've just seen you are advertising for people to do just this. Are you from Voice?

Yes I worked at Voice on the PPI campaign for six weeks post-uni until I found something more suitable. I really disliked it and have no idea how I lasted so long! Why do you ask?

We are having Scottish Highland place names (we love it there). The top table is Traigh, the name of the beach we got engaged on. My advice would just be to make it personal. I've heard of relatives getting offended if they are on a seemingly lower ranked table number wise, so named tables are the way to go

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply-had loads on and thinking about April too deeply is still horrible. Thank you! How awful about the kittens. What a cruel illness it is. Your probably right about the tests but something in me hopes that by some hugely fluke she doesn't have it. Deluded I believe the word is for such thinking general consensus seems to be to not get any more cats which is right but so difficult when I'm used to having so many. Bad, bad couple of years for our lovely pets. Poor you losing six in such a short time. Thanks for your understanding. I am usually quite emotional anyway but have been pretty good with other recent losses, but this is one step too far for me. She was fabulous. I miss her like nothing in the world. I can't believe 11 months have passed since you lost lovely Ailsa-it's gone so quickly. Cheers you! Maybe H snuggles at the wedding will go some way to filling my hug void What a lovely reassuring tale. I'm so sorry to hear about Jessica, but very glad that you other cats are still going strong! Thank you, everyone, for all your lovely words xx

My lovely OH proposed last September in Scotland. We love the Western Highlands and hope to live there one day, and there is one place in particular we fell in love with-a beach called Traigh near Arisaig. I'd literally weep when we had to leave and talk about it all the time at home. Two days into the week long holiday we drove there and had a wander, playing with the dog on the dunes and stuff. It was a really sunny day (in Scotland!!! ) so we sat on the rocks together chatting. Suddenly he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box and asked me to marry him. My face was like this ----> I really hoped when the time came he'd ask me there, so the boy did good. He chose the ring all on his own and it is beautiful. I was very proud Got back to the cottage to find a Scottish-inspired feast to celebrate with-smoked salmon pasta, champagne, strawberries, shortbread, chocolate and a cheeseboard, and of course, lots of Irn Bru to wash it all down and now we are frantically getting everything together for the wedding in...27 DAYS!!!!! Love reading all the other stories on this thread

Whoops, x-post! spats thank you for that- gave me a lump in my throat! I'm not sure if it was wet or dry but I do know Maddie had some breathing issues (snorting-very annoying ) which the vet said was caused by her having cat flu previous to coming to us, but upon researching I wonder if this is a symptom of being infected. I know we should really keep her indoors so she can't infect any other cats. Poor thing, she's so miserable when cooped up and never goes further than the end of the gennel without April to hold her paw but there are loads of cats on our street and it's just not fair to them. I feared the advice would be to not have more cats. Obviously I won't do anything to cause Maddie upset but good God, when fostering we had TEN in the house at one point. We have one now. It's been a terrible couple of years for losing pets and my house is so empty! Thank you so much for your advice, it is much appreciated.

Cheers Evei! Unfortunately it's extremely likely Maddie is infected-they've shared food bowls and litter trays for years now I can't decide whether to get her tested now on the off chance it might come back clear and I can stop panicking, or to selfishly wait until we come back from honeymoon in case the news is bad, and I don't have to know for sure until then (ie I can keep kidding myself she's ok. We'll be back six weeks today and whether we test or not makes no difference to Maddie, otherwise I'd have tested already!)

I'm not around much here anymore but I have some news I had to share. Anyone who has been around here for years will remember when I got April as a teeny kitten. Five whole years ago. I know you shouldn't have favourites when it comes to pets, but even though I didn't treat her "better" than the others, she was mine-I loved her more than you would believe, and she was there for me through all sorts of rubbish in her first year, and more recently, through the fabulous last four years. I'm rambling. To cut to the chase, two and a half weeks ago she died. She'd been off-colour for a couple of days, so we took her to the vets, who gave her anti-bs which perked her up. After the weekend, however, she was back to being weak, so on Monday evening we took her back. The vet asked us to leave her overnight so she could be put on a drip, and told us to come and get her the next day. I didn't even say goodbye. I thought I'd be seeing her in 12 hours! So I popped her back in her basket with a quick "be good you little cowbag (disclaimer; she was a cowbag ), love you". Half an hour after returning home, we got the worst shock in the world when the vet told us she'd gone. It was FIP, which she may have had since birth, and there was nothing we could have done. Mostly it stays dormant in cats (a large percentage carry the virus) but in some unlucky individuals it mutates, and this is what happened to my beautiful girl. I'm completely heartbroken (I suppose, in a way, I'm lucky to have never known grief like this before at the ripe old age of 24). I've thrown myself into finalising wedding stuff and my new job, which is useful, but I just miss her so much. I suppose the point of this post is to ask about other people's experience with FIP-Peak Vets were fabulous but now I'm so worried as we have to get Maddie our other cat tested. If she's positive I don't know how I'm going to cope basically waiting for the same thing to happen (even though it's unlikely it will mutate it's still a horrible thing to have hanging over us) Also, how do we go about ever getting any more cats? We are too raw to think about it now, but in the future I know we'll want to and the advice online in conflicting-some say as so many cats carry it anyway it doesn't make a difference. I'm loathe to knowingly bring other cats into a house if Maddie does have it though. As you can probably tell I'm just super confused about it all, as well as overwhelmed with how much I miss April. I don't really know what I'm expecting everyone to say to be honest-but if you've ever been touched by this foul disease than some words of wisdom would be much welcomed. Cheers.

Meds you must be so upset-but do not beat yourself up, imagine how many kittens wouldn't have had such a fighting chance of a good life without you. You've done SO much, and even though I'm not around anywhere near like as much as I used to be, I still know that everyone on here thinks you are fab. Hugs xx