Apologies in advance for my somewhat corny choice of words, but I hope they go some way to explaining my recent absence. I've missed you, Plinky!

hope
Hope is the name of the university that holds my future in its hands. Next week I'm off to Liverpool, where I shall be interviewed, tested, poked and prodded by various eminent bods, who will ultimately decide if I am suitable teaching material, and thus dictate the rest of my career. Needless to say, I am freaking the ever-loving crap out.

love
Love is something I have been discussing at great length lately with my new boyfriend. Yes, this humble shortstop has found love again - the really real kind this time, not the "I think I'll end up marrying you but I don't love you so I'll string you along until I get bored" kind. I have been feeling rather foolish for thinking I was only worthy of such nonsense. My beloved is the definition of chivalry, and I turn to mush whenever he calls me his princess.

family
My beloved is in the rather fortunate position of being able to choose his family. (His own is problematic, which would understate the issue.) He has gathered around him a fantastic group of brothers and sisters, all of whom are incredibly close-knit and more loving than most birth-families I've come across. In the short space of time that we've been together, I've been completely accepted and welcomed into the fold, and I've seen with my own eyes just how important it is to have the people you love around you, whether you're blood-related or not.