Crazy busy times are now very much upon me, so much so that blogging is even further on the back-burner than I expected it to be by this point. Still, I have to take a break now and then, and what better way to do it than to write a list of things I love, to remind me that life’s not all work, work work!
Passing our Credit Check – Yes, the shiny new apartment is almost ours, and even though we don’t yet have a sofa, not to mention various other items such as dining chairs (yet we have a table), a full set of pans, etc. I’m giddy with excitement! I can’t wait to live there!
Dinner, Bed and Breakfast – The rather brilliant hotel deal I managed to find for last weekend included both meals for about half the usual room-only price. Because of this, I wasn’t expecting the food to be up to much, but it was really rather good and it was great to get in from a hard day’s studying and know that I didn’t need to worry at all about dinner.
Home Planning – Deciding what will go where, what we need to buy, what type of sofa we need, art, etc. to cover the rather bare white walls - it’s so much fun!
Freezer Raids – Throwing delicious meals together from the random contents of the freezer – it’s great fun and essential since we’re moving soon – there’s no sense in moving a load of frozen food and spoiling it in the process! I have pot-roasts and stews planned, hearty delicious winter food, might as well enjoy it whilst it’s still the season for it!
Cupcakes for Breakfast - Asda strawberry sundae cupcakes to be precise, possibly my favourite part of this week’s supermarket delivery. A total “blogger cliché” of course, but really when it’s a choice between making toast or taking a delicious sweet treat out of a box, it’s a no-brainer!
Grazia – Worryingly, I’ve started buying it every week, even though I’ve never really been big on fashion / celebrity magazines. For some reason however, I really enjoy reading Grazia and am even considering subscribing once I’ve moved house.
Other- Obsessing over getting lots of antioxidants, chocolate protein shakes as low-fat sweet chocolatey snacks, pineapple and mango, mmm, delicious, Crushing on House, Guinness for St. Patrick’s day, Feeling a little more confident about my upcoming exams, £4 Asda smartprice dinner sets – a total lifesaver since our housemate who’s already moved out owned all the plates, Our office lottery syndicate – it gives me a little flutter of excitement each Friday evening, looking forward to cocktails with colleagues tomorrow evening – a welcome break from study and work!
* Possibly finding the perfect Shiny New Flat! (keep your fingers crossed, I’m handing in the forms this afternoon) * Productive evenings * The Big Love season finale – I yelped at the screen a couple of times! * Finding time to relax in the midst of the total chaos that is my life right now * Taxis – they might be expensive but they solve a lot of problems! * Having time for a coffee before leaving for work * Going to bed early * Having “good skin days” * Lollipops * “Industrial” tag radio on last fm – music to concentrate to * Colleagues having birthdays and bringing in delicious cake * Portal 2 geekyness * Feeling rather pretentious reading law books on the bus * Post-it notes and highlighters – they make studying colourful! * Cadburys Creme Eggs*
Read – Fiona Robyn’s new book, Thaw, which is being published on a blog for all to enjoy! I’m captivated by it so far, and can’t wait for the new chapter each day!
Be Inspired By – Eva Markvoort, a young Canadian woman fighting Cystic Fibrosis. A few weeks ago, she posted a video on her livejournal about her chronic rejection 2 years after a lung transplant, and how she is now losing her fight for life. Reading her journal, it’s the writings of a woman who has lived and loved more than anyone I’ve ever met or read about, and it reduced me to tears on quite a few occasions even though I only heard about her a week or two ago via theblackcigarette community on Livejournal. The documentary 65_RedRoses followed her as she waited for, and then had her transplant, and it’s won awards. I hope at some point it gets shown in the UK.
Today – is the birthday of one of my favourite musicians, Gary Numan, so I leave you with this video of one of my favourite songs, enjoy!
I mentioned this meme in a previous post. Found on Masumi’s blog, you may see a few of these posts from me over the next few weeks, as I think it’s a really fun idea! Her original challenge ended before I had the time to enter, however I hope she doesn’t mind me, well, stealing the idea and posting a few photos of my own!
I took the above photo with my phone whilst picking things up from my bedroom floor. When I emailed it to myself (because I’d just put my data cable away, typically), I gave the email the subject line “Nemesis”. These shoes really are! I bought them for 99p from eBay and although they’re slightly too wide for my feet they’re actually narrower than I expected them to be. I’m going to tie them onto my ankles with scarves like they did for the fashion show on Material Girl. They are my nemesis as I have never been able to walk in narrow heels. Ever. I love pretty shoes however, and I’m also really short, so I have decided I need to learn, quickly! I’ll buy some that fit me properly once I’ve convinced myself that I can handle them – I don’t want to spend a fortune (and with feet as narrow as mine I’ll need to) on a beautiful pair of shoes only to scuff them up and ruin them by falling over or just generally not walking properly in them.
Over the next few weeks expect photos of books, notes, junk food and caffeinated substances!
* An exquisitely delicious meal out with the boy and my parents * Chanel No. 5 * Espresso Martinis * Looking forward to summer * Cat photos * Putting my new glasses on when my eyes are getting tired and feeling better * Green, gold and purple eyeshadow * Fresh pineapple * Beautiful skirts * People complimenting my hair * Managing to control my shopping impulses * Pale pink lipstick * L’Occitane Shea Butter hand creams * Listening to bleepy industrial music to aid my concentration *
For me this is going to be a week of action. Of completing the unfinished and discarded, finally starting the tasks I’ve been procrastinating over, and generally getting things that really need to be done, done.
Why don’t you…
Give things away – One of my biggest tasks for the week is going to be gathering all my old clothes and other re-useable items that I will likely never wear or use again, and bag them up for charity shops. If like me, you don’t drive, find out if one of your local charity shops has a collection service – my local British Heart Foundation shop has a van that goes round collecting donations (with prior arrangement) and labelled bags can be left out for them if you can’t be in on that day.
For Inspiration – Try this meme, if I remember I’m going to take some snaps whilst I’m sorting everything out (if I can find my camera battery charger).
Soak up some Vitamin D – It’s beautifully sunny here for the first time in ages. If it’s the same for you, try to spend some time outside, or even sitting by a sunny window, it always makes me feel more content and upbeat.
edit: I also want to link to this post on body image by Gala Darling, in the highly unlikely event that anyone who reads this doesn’t read her blog too. It’s well worth a read, as are many of the comments.
Thank you so much for your kind comments on my last entry. Just to prove that I’m not disappearing completely, and because I’m taking a brief break from studying right now, here’s what made my week sparkle!
* Days Off – Okay, so it’s not really a day off, I have to wait in for a parcel that can’t be re-delivered at the weekend so I’m currently in my living room with a cup of tea, my laptop and a pile of Law books, but it’s better than being at work!
* Having Groceries Delivered – I truly think it’s one of the greatest things about living in the modern world, being able to order a week’s worth of shopping Online and get it delivered to your door in a specific timeslot. I’m definitely willing to pay extra for the convenience!
* Japanese Food – I have rice, pickles and inari wraps galore, and will be making myself a delicious lunch to take to work tomorrow!
* Cute Stationary – I’m not sure what I’d do without this, I genuinely think the only reason I manage to get through long study sessions is the application of multicoloured gel pens and pretty notebooks! It’s a good job they help too, because I’m totally addicted to buying them!
* Glasses – I’m starting driving lessons soon, so I thought I’d better get my eyes tested and sure enough, I need glasses for distance. A lot of women would probably find this quite horrifying, but I’m actually rather excited to pick them up, it’s like getting a new custom-made accessory!
Other – The first signs of Spring finally arriving (I hope!), sliced mango for breakfast, talking to my mother’s cat on the phone, finding solutions to problems that were stressing me out, drinking far too much tea.
I am currently embarking on what will probably be one of the most stressful periods in my life, so it is possible that things will be a little sparse around here for the next few months. I have every intention of blogging as often as I can, and indeed, I will probably use it as a welcome distraction from everything else I have to do, but right now, other tasks must take precedence.
I have:
A 4500 word essay to write for April, which will require a lot of work because this one really needs to be perfect.
Mock exams to revise for and take.
Real exams to revise for and undertake in June.
Two more modules of my course to learn in the meantime.
As well as the course-related stress, we’re also moving house sometime in the next couple of months, so I’ll have even less time (and possibly limited Internet access for a while).
So, if I disappear for a few months, only posting and tweeting very sporadically, please don’t abandon me, I will be back! I’ll also be noting down any ideas I get in the meantime, so hopefully when I have more time on my hands after June I will have a wealth of posts to choose from. So please bear with me through the next few months, after which I hope to have far more time to devote to blogging.
* I actually have that exact hair colour at the moment too, and blue eyes, if I had a fringe she could be my dolly doppelganger!
Read - Le Gothique for totally amazing cosmetics reviews specialising in mineral / indie companies, as well as some great guides relating to make-up. Her reviews always make me want to spend a fortune on gorgeous bright colours!
People must stop buying and buying. With so much fast fashion available to us, we are not giving ourselves the opportunity to develop good taste – Vivienne Westwood
Make - Sushi! It’s a lot more than just raw fish and so much easier to make than it looks. The best thing about it is the variety of ingredients you can use – unless you’re allergic to rice, chances are you can make some sushi to suit any dietry requirements. Plus it’s really healthy!
Pancakes – I absolutely love them, and every Shrove Tuesday I find myself wondering why we don’t eat them more often!
More Geeking – Yesterday I was very pleased to discover that the small power boost I gave my PC when I rebuilt it recently was sufficient to run Crysis with all the graphics on high. (I’m not so impressed that Half Life 2 still makes me feel sick after about 15 minutes of play however).
My New Bag – I’d been looking for a new bag for a while, one that’s both really comfy to carry and will hold a lot of stuff, and I finally found it! I may do one of those “what’s in my bag” posts at the weekend to show it off!
Looking After Myself – I’m finally starting to feel better, after a few days of early nights, relaxation and healthy food and drink. I really do need to look after myself a lot better than I have been doing!
Post – I may be addicted to email and the Internet, but I also adore receiving and sending snail mail. I’ve ordered quite a few things over the last week and received a couple of letters too, which I shall reply to this weekend. The personal touch of a letter really appeals to me (even though I loathe my own handwriting!).
Singing - When I’m alone in the house, I have a habit of singing loudly, and it makes me happy! I’ve done a lot of that this week for some reason!
Other – Drinking ridiculous amounts of green tea, The anticipation of trying new Graze products, Making reminder notes into images and setting them as my phone background – SO effective, Freshly-dyed hair (again!), Reading loads, Meeting cute cats, Having good skin days, Honey and yoghurt “shower smoothies”, Colleagues complimenting me on my fabric conditioner perfume!
