Ovaries before Brovaries - Happy Galentines Ladies!

It's coming up to that time of year when everything goes a little bit nuts.

Impromptu proposals, way more chocolate than anyone should be eating this soon after Christmas, and the card companies rubbing their hand with glee as they watch the money rolling in!

Yup, you've guessed it. Its Valentines day.

Whilst its a lovely holiday, and its nice to be nice and all that - there is a very important day that comes just before Valentines. One that doesn't get talked about often and honestly, one that I think we should be shouting about from the rooftops!

February 13th is Galentines Day.

Yes ladies, this one is all about you! No Boys Allowed!!!

This is officially a boy-free holiday, and its your chance to celebrate the friendship, love and support that you share with the special women in your life.

I wanted to use it this year to recognise those gals who truly have been my rock throughout my life. Ladies, I wouldn't be here without you.

These are the women with whom I have experienced some of the most special moments in my life.

We have laughed until we cried. I have broken my heart with them and they have gently helped me to put it back together one broken piece at a time.

We have danced and drank and eaten until we could burst, talking long into the night about life, love and everything inbetween. We have explored and walked and shared hundreds of experiences that have shaped not only the women we were, but also the women we are becoming.

Everything that I am today stems from everything they have been and continue to be to me.

So, this is my thank you to you all for everything you have been, everything you still are today, and everything you will continue to be in the future.

Jen- The best friend who was also your boss and had the audacity to make you work!

I am a little terrified to try and work out how many years I have known Jen, but we met when she joined the company I worked for as my boss.

I loved her from the first moment I met her. Funny, vibrant, energetic and extremely easy to talk to, we became fast friends.

Now what I will say about Jen is that she collects people. Bear with me whilst I explain.

She has worked in hospitality as long as I know, and in every site that she has worked, there have been one or two of us who have stayed in touch and become firm friends. I had the absolute pleasure of being one of her exclusive collectee's, (is that a word) from Woodhorn Grange and I have never looked back.

Although we don't get to see each other often, to this day she is still one of my very favourite people. When we do get the chance to get together, its like we have never been apart, and it was Jen who really championed the blog. She kicked my arse over and over and I eventually paid attention.

I have never looked back but if you want someone to blame, I would definitely recommend you take it up with her. This is totally her fault!

I have also made friends with people I would never have had the chance to meet without knowing Jen and for that I am truly grateful!

(Little cheeky shout out to Fiona and Vicky and Jen's mum. You are all amazing!)

To one of my biggest supporters always standing there in the wings encouraging me to believe in myself and keep going - thank you for everything.

Thank you for believing in me, supporting me and not putting up with my silliness. I love you dearly.

Happy Galentines Day!

Katarina (AKA Katie) - Full Time Bartender, Part Time Therapist, Part Time Philosopher!

I met Katie around 7 years or so ago.

At the time, she was working behind the bar at a pub in my town. Because my then partner worked away four months at a time, I would spend a good deal of time on my own. After a particularly busy day at work, I decided to pop into what would fast become my local for a glass of wine before I headed home to an empty house. Katie was on the bar and the rest is history.

Seeing as I was on my own that night, I had decided to sit at the bar with my drink and just observe.

I do that a lot. People are really interesting when they don't know they are being watched.

Anyhoo, Katie and I got to talking and it turned out that she was a Doctor Who fan. (I would however just like to clarify that this was when it was good!)

From there we got talking about Lord of the Rings, and from that moment on, I knew I had met someone who would become one of my very best friends.

Someone else who has been an avid supporter of all things literary Rebecca, she has been with me from the conception of the blog and we have spent many a night discussing the books that we will write.

What I recently discovered as well was just how good a writer Katie is.

She started writing a blog that focuses on environmental issues and protecting our sea's and beaches so this is also a shameless plug for her!

You should totally check her out - she is very talented. I even made it easy for you. You just have to click on the link below.

https://www.nwt.org.uk/blog/katarina-martin/i-aint-afraid-no-ghosts

Katie and I discovered through talking that we both have a love of the water. She is not only studying Marine Biology at Newcastle University, but is also a very experienced diver.

She was the one who introduced me to the benefits of cold water swimming and took me on my first proper snorkelling experience at the Farne Islands which there is a blog about, just in case you're interested. (I know, yet another shameless plug!)

We make a point of going to the Ocean Film Festival every year, and when we get our arses into gear, we will be making our own film focussed around the North East and its incredible coastline so watch this space.

I also have had the pleasure of spending time with Katie's mum who is an absolute hoot! Game for a laugh and about as good as me at a pub quiz, we have a lot of laughs when she joins me and Katie on a night out.

To my karaoke buddy, a true warrior of the waves, and someone who recognised someone who wanted to chat but didn't know how to - thank you for everything.

It has been, and it will continue to be an adventure. I can't wait to see where the next 12 months take us! Keep being the beautiful, crazy, free soul I have come to love!

Lady Louise and Her Intrepid Troupe Of Doogles!

Lady Louise came to work for my current day job about three and a half years ago and she slipped straight into the day to day routine as if she had always been there. (She isn't really a lady but we do like to take the mick a little).

One of the kindest, warmest most caring people I know, she fast became one of my very favourite people.

No matter what is going on in her own life, she always seems to look after every one else first. Becoming a small team of two a while ago now, we would have been in serious trouble if we hadn't clicked, but from that first moment of being introduced, we have become firm friends.

I know that no matter what, I can tell her anything and there would be no judgement and no resentment. The constant banter and in jokes between us has created an environment that the other girls regularly get a hoot out of witnessing when they are in the office. We regularly take the mick but if one of us is struggling, the funny quip's stop and the serious side kicks in with alarming speed. She is able to pick up on my mood changes before I am even aware that I am starting to have a wobble which for me is priceless.

With a very similar sense of humour, we have had days, usually fueled by the occasional can of monster where we have laughed till we cried, and like the other special women in my life, she has championed my writing whilst gently kicking my arse for not starting it sooner!

Between the chocolate biscuits, the laughter, the tears, the deep conversations, the confiding and the day to day running of a small business together, I have been lucky enough to find someone who supports, loves and accepts all the weirdness that comes along with being my mate. She has been a true blessing in my life and someone who I hope will continue to be part of it for many years to come.

Also, between our similar taste in music and her collection of the most adorable six doogles, having her around every day plays a huge part in why I look forward to work.

For the woman who was unexpected, but who has made every day a joy - thank you. Keep being you, because the gentle, giving heart I have come to love is truly what makes you so special.

Last, But By No Means Least, My Beautiful Friend - Rebecca

I was incredibly lucky to get the opportunity to go back to school around 13 years ago and do a degree.

I had always wanted to do one but trying to prove how grown up I was when I left school had left me in a position where my only real option was work.

It was three of the best years of my life, and this lady was one of those reasons.

Obvs, anyone called Rebecca is naturally going to be rather fabulous, but this Rebecca was definitely something else entirely!

We had a small group that we were part of at college and we did everything together. From tattoo's to studying to flying to Paris, we created some incredible memories which will remain part of some of the most special moments in my life.

Our little group - the Bison's - a story for another time - was something that kept us all together throughout college, and although we have all drifted somewhat since we finished degree's, myself and Becca have continued to be part of each other's lives since.

She has become so much more than a best friend to me, I look at her as a sister.

Her family have become an extension of my own and I love them all dearly.

They are some of my very favourite people, and although we like to spend time just the two of us, I have had some amazing times with her and the kids carving pumpkins, playing games, watching movies and collecting rocks at the beach to make runes.

No matter what, she has been there by my side and I am not sure I would have made it through the last few years without her steadfast loyalty and gentle nature keeping me from crumbling completely. She has never judged anything, but instead quietly supported and encouraged me whilst being honest with me when I needed to hear certain things.

For those looking in on the outside, I sometimes wonder if they question us as best mates. We are like chalk and cheese, but I think that's what makes it work.

While I am walking barefoot across a field in the middle of winter, she doesn't hide in embarrassment. She understands why I do it, takes the mick mercilessly but walks with me, not worrying at all what anyone else might think. She has been everything and more and I am so grateful that I had the unbelievable good fortune of her being part of my life.

So this one is for you more than anyone else Becca.

Happy Galentines Day and thank you.

Thank you for years of friendship, and fyi - they reckon once you hit the 7 year mark then you become family so there is no getting rid of someone. Sorry, not sorry!

Thank you for being so patient with me.

Thank you for being there to help pick up the pieces and put them back together.

Thank you for never judging or walking away because I could be too much.

Thank you for accepting me, barefeet and all and loving who I am inspite of the weird obsessions.

Thank you for supporting my endeavours and helping me when I struggled with the most basic of things.

Thank you for letting me into your family and treating me like part of it. Your kids have become some of the most special people in my life.

Thank you for never being something you aren't, and for continuing to fight even when the world felt too hard to keep going. You are inspiring beyond belief and I wish you could see the incredible woman that I see who is a shining example to her kids and the other women around her. I am so unbelievably proud of you and of being your friend.

Most of all, thank you for loving me. Our friendship is so important to me and I hope that we can continue to be friends until we are pushing up the daisies. After all, I need someone who will be willing to escape the care home for a Tynemouth bottomless brunch with me on occasion!

I have been so lucky in my life to have had so many incredible women as friends. Some have stayed the course, others have been part of a particular period in time, but every last one of them has made a lasting impression and had an influence on the woman I have become today.

To every last one of you, thank you. There isn't time to mention you all but you are all so special to me in your own ways, and I wouldn't be me without having had you in my life.

Happy Galentines Day to you all!

Until next time...........