Thursday 29 December 2011

Bang bang chitty chitty bang bang

Our fine, four fendered friend.


Don't you sometimes wish your life was a film? The avid book reader that I am, my friends would probably expect me to want to live in a novel but there are so many perks to a film over a book

1) 60 minutes in and the worst is almost over

2) There are no awkard pauses or gaps. You know after someone has kissed you, or you've turned someone down, or a conversation has come to its natural end, or you're showing someone out of the door and theres that really awkward silence where you're both thinking desperately of something to say. In films that never happens! The scene always ends mid-kiss or in the middle of the conversation when you're all laughing and its fine, no awkward, cringe inducing silences.

3) You always have to right thing to say. Its always said eloquently, sums up the meaning perfectly and even when you dont have a snappy comeback or a brilliant line of arguement its the right thing anyway and it works out just fine. Why isn't life like that?

4) The lighting is always just so, your skin glows and your hair looks sleek and glossy. Not a spot in sight, no shiny nose, no flyaway hairs.

5) You would save so much time primping and preening. You don't have to fix your hair after swimming. Just continue on as you are and in a few minutes it will be perfectly coiffed again, no tangled rats tails or birds nest, just beach waves or a sleek, straight mane. How I wish this were true for me, I'm a mess at the end of a day on the beach.

6) Ditto for clothes. You fall into the village pond, or dive into a swimming pool heroically or get splashed as the car of either your nemesis or your future husband speeds by, wail dramatically at the state of your designer outfit but it's all ok! They dry almost instantly. Sure, from some angles in this scene you'll look lightly sprinkled with water but most of the time at least, you'll be warm and dry.


So, 6 reasons to want to live in a film, now the dilema is which one, and who your co-stars are?

Tuesday 27 December 2011

It's ok if you want to bow down now...

I always feel so good the days I donate blood.

Not physically good. I always feel tired and crash in the evening; today I napped for 2 hours till 7.30, I just crashed on the sofa when I got home. That may have had something to do with a) not eating all day bar 1 rice cracker and a cup of squash, b) donating a pint of blood, c) spending all day walking around town shopping with my two friends and d) talking non-stop during c. It was wonderful though.

But morally, I feel excellent. It takes just half an hour of my day and I can help save someone's life. And contrary to expectations, it really doesnt hurt. It hurts less than a blood test- it really is just a little prick.

However, it does mean I have to wear long sleeves for the next day to make sure noone thinks I'm a junkie.

Monday 26 December 2011

Merry Christmas

My friend reposted this on her tumblr and I wanted to share it, it sums up how I feel today, as well as bloated and full of family. It's a good feeling.

"Grow older and wiser but never grow up. Live rationally, but without fear - allow yourself to have moments of complete abandon, moments you’ll regret in the morning but laugh about thirty years down the track. Take your top off in public. Dance on the tops of brick walls and don’t take a second to think if there’s anyone to catch you if you stumble… Understand that sometimes we falter, sometimes we fall, but we possess the infinite capacity to pick ourselves back up, to smile and to fall in love with life all over again"
 Thanks to http://www.daisylola.com/post/14779772434/grow-older-and-wiser-but-never-grow-up-live

Night

Saturday 24 December 2011

Its almost time...

I feel off today. Not sad or depressed per se, just sort of empty.
Its a peculiar feeling that I get every now and again. I feel all emotions as they come up but they feel hollow, they don't fill me. If I was at uni, I would play The Smiths, talk to one of my flatmates and go for a walk. The walk would be especially peaceful and relaxing if it was dark (as it is now) and frosty.



 I really fancy a walk now, I'll see if my Dad's up for it.






Merry Christmas

Friday 23 December 2011

Fill in the Blanks Friday

Today's blanks are Christmas themed!
Thanks to Lauren at The Little Things We Do

1.   The best way to spread Christmas cheer is ummmm... I dont try and spread cheer, if you meet someone how doesn't like the season, let them be. Otherwise, sing christmas carols at the top of your voice!

2.   The thing I love most about Christmas is the decorations. Shallow it may be but the lights everywhere are just so homey and inviting, I love them.

3.  The holiday season is a time for remembering that you have so much more than others so even though you might fight and everything may not turn out exactly as you envisaged, someone somewhere is having a much harder time than you , be grateful.

4. My favorite thing to eat at the holidays is everything! In my house Christams is a time to indulge in all the foods you like but especially yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes- white carbs ftw. 

5.  I will be spending Christmas  surrounded by my family. At 6am, my sister and I will open presents, at 9 we'll get dressed, at 11 we'll go the our neighbours annual brunch, then we will visit my Grandma in the care home and be home by 3 to sit down to lunch with the other 10 people who live locally. Its a busy day in our household!

6.  Tis better to (give or receive?) give, especially when you get someone that perfect present that makes them smile.

7.  I'm dreaming of a dry and non-rainy Christmas.

Favourite present ever?

What is the best present you've ever been given? Have you ever been given a present which was totally unexpected but absolutely perfect? Or maybe been given exactly what you'd hoped for but didn't expect to get?

With Christmas around the corner it's nice to look back on previous birthdays and christmases and, not to sound like a horrible cliche, remember all the good times we've had.

And especially this year I feel it more poignantly becasue, in February, my friend's Dad passed away after a long struggle with cancer. This will be her family's first Christmas without him. Of course everyday must be difficult, reminders of him are everywhere and that will always hurt but in a way, its lovely. They have a young son and for him, having little bits of his Dad everywhere is wonderful and so integral to keeping his memory alive. But at this time of year, when the rest of us are celebrating and indulging and enjoying ourself, she must carry with her the sadness of her Dads' loss.

And so, at this time of year, and particularly today when im in a reflective mood like today, I like to think about the things that make the highlights of my past. So whilst I've been writing this, I've been trying to think of my best ever birthday or christmas present and keep drawing a blank. When I think of those days, the things I remember aren't the presents but the messages written inside the cards and the people I've spent the day with. Those people, my friends and family, are the most important things to me, without them, I can't imagine...

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Because it's all in my head

Or on my head, as the case is.
I love the hairdressers. Specifically I love my hairdressers, Jenny my colourist and Ashley, my stylist, becasue they don't give me what I ask for, they give me what I need. Mostly, those things are the same but where they differ, the girls always *strongly* advise me to rethink and inevitably I end up with great hair and a huge grin.

Today's appointment was no exception. I want to stop colouring my hair translated into- lets colour all your hair so that next time you need less colour. Sounds like shes scamming me into colour but frankly, my hair colour is amazing now and very close to natural which means it should grow out nicely.

I was brushing my teeth and admiring my hair under the lights when I had a shocking thought- I think I'm quite ginger now! I've been blonde forever. With the exception of that unfortunate pink episode and the two weeks I was brunette I've always been blonde and I love being blonde- it suits me. Now I feel like Madeline!

This is Madeline in case you are deprived and have never had the joy of watching the film
 But, on longer and closer inspection, I think I really like it. Its new, different and (if Jenny wasn't conning me) should enable me to leave my hair for 6 months without looking like I belong in a shoebox in the gutter.

So ginger hair and bouncy curls I will remain.

Crushing Defeat

You wait 4 months for the first opportunity to attend the dearly beloved pub quiz only to be shot down at the door.

Almost. We arrived with time to spare, parked up (and then I parked again as I realised I was in a disabled space and my friend hadn't brought her badge) and walked inside only to find that the pub was absolutely rammed and that after 9pm, it's over 21s only. Gutted. On that sombre note we traipsed out into the rain and back towards the cars.

We went back to my friends house where we proceeded to eat nearly a whole tin of chocolates and acheived an incredible feat: at any given point, at least 3 of the 5 of us were talking. That takes skill.

It wasn't a terrible evening, far from it. We had a lovely gossip and catch-up which we would have done at the quiz anyway, theres just something about the quiz that reminds us of old times and it's nice.

However, at least this way we were saved the inevitable, crushing defeat of the two elederly gentlemen who put the rest of us to shame every week.

And as a sidenote, I bought these today:
They are earmuffs which you plug into your iPod or phone and play music. These things are the best christmas present I've ever bought for myself, I've been wearing them all day. Even indoors. 
So good.

Monday 19 December 2011

Due Back: [12. JUL 1972]


 It’s the first real day of my Christmas holidays and at 9am this morning I went to my local library to work. After crawling through the traffic and weaving between the shoppers I finally stepped into a blissfully quiet library.

This place used to be a second home to me. I knew the stacks intimately, I could locate books with incredible speed- I should have become a librarian. There is something peaceful and right about libraries. I know that people find the quiet unnerving or artificial and the atmosphere intimidating but I’ve never felt that way. In academic libraries I’ve felt flickers of those emotions, often when I look up to see leather-bound tomes bigger than paving slabs towering above me and realise I’ve unwittingly stumbled into the law section. Normally though, I head straight to the classics section, grab a book off my list, curl up in an armchair and lose myself in another world. Sometimes, I don’t even read when I’m there, I just walk between the book cases picking out books and reading snippets.

However, going to university meant becoming a regular at the universities library, trawling endlessly for statistics book hidden in obscure corners and not shelved according to their shelf-mark, frustrating to say the least. And my home library, I have discovered, is not that different. My university though that a friendly thing to do would be to set a book review of a revolutionary piece of literature. Due the first day back. Thank you. Just thanks. 

I did feel sorry for the librarian who had to make three trips to the basement into the basement to hunt out the 4 elusive books I needed but really, I thought, if they were on the shelves I could have found them on my own and saved her the trouble. It seems logical until you look at the borrowing slip on the front page.
12. JUL 1972
That is the first date one of my books was borrowed and in the 39 years since it was first issued, this one and only copy of the book has been borrowed exactly 39 times, the last time by me. 
The other books show similar lending patterns.

Now I see why they’re kept in the basement.

Sunday 18 December 2011

"I need a drink"

These were the words of my underage sister as she slumped onto the couch after work.
"There's one right there" I gesture to a glass of water on the table.
"No, a drink" was the reply, paired with a pointed look.
"OH! Ok, I'll drive, get Mum and Dad, we're off"

And 10 minutes later we were warm and cozy in one of our pubs, enjoying some crisp, local ales, wine and mixers.



You can tell we're related.
And value our family time.
And alcoholics.


On the plus side, supporting local breweries mean that this bonding tradition can continue into the next generation.

Saturday 17 December 2011

"What's that cut on your ear?"

"Oh that. Yeah, that's where I cycled into a lamp post"


Thanks Dad, obviously my bike was not fixed.

There's no place like home

As wonderful and liberating as I'm finding living on my own, there really is nothing like going home.

At the moment I'm in the honeymoon phase where everything is rosy and good.
My Mum stocked up on all my favourite foods
We're having curry from my prefered restaurant for dinner
I have tons of plans with my friends
My cat remembered me and came to see me straight away


But I know from experience that all too soon the the rose tinted glasses will come off and my patience will wear thin.
My parents will start nagging me to empty the dishwasher
Sleeping past 10am will not be acceptable past the first night
The car will never be available for me to drive
My cat will insist on sitting on my lap. At all times.
 N'awwww what a cutie

But right now, I'm home and I couldn't be happier

Friday 16 December 2011

Fill in the blanks Friday

Its Friday and I'm filling in the blanks courtesy of The little things we do

 
1.   My most favorite "little thing" is  the wonderful hugs my flatmate gives me every morning, it's the perfect start to any day.

2.   I'd give anything to be able to understand peoples thoughts and motives. I'll chalk it up to lack of life experience but I so often feel lost and confused when people are talking and find myself analyzing their behaviour and how it relates to me. And then I have to go to my sister for advice and for her to decode their minds for me.

3.  I can't believe  my favourite new jumper makes me itch like crazy and I wear it anyway.

4. The one thing I'd like to achieve today is vacuuming my room. I've been living here since october and its high time I gave it a good clean. However if I wait until my Mum comes tomorrow, she might do it for me.

5.  The last thing I want to do today is  go to this lecture. The lecturer has a very strong German accent and just reads off the presentation, it feels like such a waste!

6.  If I were writing my own blank today, it would say: 'If it were to snow today, my first thought would be'

I wish it would snow properly here. Apparently we had a little bit of snow this morning but I had the curtains closed and missed it! Heartbroken.





Will this move? I hope so...  Meh, never mind.
7.  My favorite candle scent is  Shortbread Cookie by Yankee Candle, it's so sweet and delicious and makes the room smell homey and inviting, mmmmmmm :)