The 10 Day You Challenge : 7 Wants

These are a few things off of my life to-do list. Oh yes, I have a life to-do list. I have a lot of small, random things on it, and it makes me happy to know that some day I'll have done all of them. At least, I hope I will.

1.  Travel. A lot. I'll be putting the top 6 on my 6 Places list. I also want to go on a hot air balloon ride.

2. Get a great job. This is a big one, and will allow me to do pretty much everything else on this list.

My Gorgeous Guitar, now to learn to play it.

3. Learn to play my guitar. I have one in my room, but have yet to learn it. However, I can play the first few bars of Smoke on the Water.

4. Finish my Epic Poem. I'm in the midst of writing an epic poem. I have been for a while. I've got a storyline problem. But one day I will finish it.

5. Learn Pottery or Glass Blowing. Just things that I've wanted to do for a while.

6. Have a Tarot reading. I've always been interested in spirituality and everything that goes with it, so this would be really interesting.

7. Go to a very fancy restaurant. Well, why not? You see those tiny delicious dishes that people make on TV shows in fancy restaurants? I want to eat that. Especially the desserts.
In fact, I do want to go to a restaurant and just order a dessert sometime.

This one has been pretty easy, because all I had to do was look at my to do list, the problem was narrowing it down.

The 10 Day You Challenge : 8 Fears

Day three, 8 fears.

Fears are something I never really thought about, they didn't really bother me unless it was late at night and I got thinking about something terrible.
That was until I read Divergent by Veronica Roth. It deals with facing your fears in a way I couldn't have imagined. It's a great book so do read it. So now I'm trying to remember what kinds of fears I thought I had when I read that book.

1. Death. Of myself and the people I love. Of course, this is a common answer. The worst death I could think of would be by fire, but I think by stab to the gut would be second worst.

2. Failure. Any kind of failure. It's not a good feeling.

3. Disappointing others. I can't stand looks of disappointment of people's faces. To be recieving that look would be terrible.

Image from Google

4. Not being able to do everything I want to do in life. I suppose this is related to failure, but also because I have so many things I'd like to do and see, and I hope I'll have the time and the money to do them at some point.

5. To be at war again. It does scare me. Because I know what people went through. If something even sounds like the sirens in the Blitz I grimace.

6. Injections and blood-taking. Needles, fine. I have tattoos, they only graze the surface of my skin. Things going into or out of my blood vessels? NO. It makes me feel sick. I'm surprised and impressed that I got through A Level Biology without passing out.

7. Struggling Finacially. Or not being able to pay for myself. I prefer to pay my own way. So being unemployed is a struggle. I worry about using up my savings and having to lean on others to support me.

8. Getting really ill. Because I don't want to be a burden on anyone. And it would generally be horrible.
Well, this has been slightly harrowing, but the best way to conquer fear is by facing it.

The 10 Day You Challenge : 9 Loves

There are so many things to love in the world. To pick just a selct few is hard. So, there are probably far more than this, but heres my (probably) top 9:

1. Family, Friends and my Boyfriend. It has to be top of the list. The rest are in no particular order.

2. Stories and Reading. Anything. I just soak it up, take it all in and think about my view on the subject.

3. The Smell of the Night. you know when it's about 12/1 in the morning and you go to shut your window, but instead you lean out of it an just breathe in the night air. i love that. it's my absolute favourite smell.
I have a thing with smells. I often come out with "It smells like a good night". And it really does. I know what I mean.

4. Interesting Jewellery.  I have a penchant for weird jewellery. One of my favourites is one I bought from a stall at a craft market. It's a vintage-look necklace with an old American stamp inside it (picture of it, left). I'm holding out for some battenburg earrings still.

5.  Marzipan. Everything marzipan. I will get a whole block and sit there eating it as a treat. So fattening, but sooo good. Unfortunately you don't see many marzipan fruits around England these days, but I WILL have some soon.

6. Tea. Glorious tea. I'm drinking some now in fact. No wonder us British love it.

7. Films. Films are a passion. If I've seen one I'll usually know who's in it, and what else they've been in. It's a talent that has very little use.

8. Shopping. Don't most girls? Pretty dresses, gorgeous nail polishes, delicious food treats, killer shoes : heaven.

9. Nature. Because what's more beautiful than nature? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. My particular favourite item in natture are forests. Big, English, woody, mushroomy, bluebell-filled dappled sunshine forests. With cute baby rabbits and deer.

Yay!

The 10 Day You Challenge : 10 Secrets

Picture from Greenestmermaid.blogspot.com

After seeing this Challenge on a friends site (check her out here, she has an amazing sense of style), I was rather intrigued. There are a lot of things on here I haven't really thought about. At least, not for a while. So I'm thinking over the next ten posts I'll be doing some soul-searching and discovering, along with you.

The first is 10 secrets.
I'm not a secretive person as it happens. Usually if I don't want someone to know something I'll sidestep it. I don't like outright lying. But here goes. (This might take a while).

1.  I'm a book addict. It's not much of a secret, but it's a huge part of my life. When I'm not reading a book it doesn't feel right. I have to have a book on the go. To this end I also have a very large collection of books, and have trouble deciding which ones I should throw out/ give to charity because I always think that I might want to read them again.
I also have an amazon wish list the size of Kent.

2. I don't like Cats. At all. Kittens, fine, but not in the flesh. Cats, just no. They're pure evil. As mentioned in my post, Cats are Pure Evil. Of course, not really much of a secret, as I have posted about it before.

3. I worry that I'll never find a job I really enjoy. This probably has something to do with the fact that I'm unemployed. It's also rooted in fears that I can't get at the kind of job I want just yet, because they're not really recruiting in my field at the moment.

4. I love mythology and folk tales.  Pretty much always have. I prefer to read books partially based on them too.

5. I want a Herbs and Spices Rack. Because I enjoy using them in cooking quite a lot. Most of the time it turns out alright, but I have been known to overdo it with the garlic and the basil.

6. I had a goth phase. A very goth phase, in my early teens. Let's not go into it, my fashion sense hasn't really improved that much, I still manage to wear more black than any other colour. I noticed that the majority of my dresses are black and white, or navy blue. And oh, look, I'm wearing a black t-shirt today.

7. I like being alone. Sometimes, you just need a time-out. An hour or two being fully alone is like a small haven. I can watch what I want, read what I want, just think about things or listen to music. Perfect.


Image from Google

8. I cry at films really easily. The top contenders for crying: Titanic, Tangled, Moulin Rouge, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, The Green Mile. Yep, a Disney Film makes me want to cry.

9. I always have a craft/sewing project on the go. Or an idea for one. At the moment it's a bag made from an old top and jeans. I made the jeans into shorts and am using the leftovers. This time I'll be giving it a go of lining it with a lovely soft fleecey material.

10. I used to write angsty poetry. Now I write epic poetry and alternative fairy tales.

An extra secret, or thing that people don't really know about me, is that I'm an organ donor. i just wanted to mention it as I think it's something people should think about doing.

This has been a lot more difficult than anticipated, and more embarrassing.

How to Survive Living With Parents After University

This summer is the end of my Uni year, and after these first few weeks I can tell you that I already know thatit's going to be the same as the last few summers. There have been arguments, and there will be more no doubt. So I'm pretty sure my mum doesn't really want me or my sister to be living back at home either. Not least because we also pose a threat to her privacy and can be pretty annoying. So you see, I feel both my pain and my mums.

I think the first tip here has to be patience, and talking things over, and then moving out as fast as you possibly can.
They need to see that you're an adult and do things your way now, and you need to try to give them the benefit of the doubt. I know it's hard, experiences over too-long summers and Easters have shown me that living with parents after an extended time by yourself is, for lack of a better way of saying it, a pain in the ass. However, there are perks.

Image from Google

Perks Include:
- Not having to do all your washing or cooking anymore. More people, more chances of taking it in turns. Although I still very much intend to do my own washing. Now the only person I want touching my underwear is me. Well, when I'm washing them.

- Your mum's (or dad's) roast dinner. As a student, this was a no-go area. Now all you have to do is eat it, and scrape off the greasy tins afterwards (which is THE worst job ever).

- More channels on TV. WIN.

- A nicer house. Probably cleaner, too.

Reasons not to:
- Be prepared to strip away any independence you had at Uni. Now you'll be expected to do what is asked of you again. Your parents always want to know what you're up to. It's only to see if they can help, or to know you're safe, but after so much independence it gets old fast.

- Nagging. You never had to deal with people caring what you did at Uni, now it'll feel like more than ever before. Now you need to get a job, clean, do errands and so on, because now you're not at Uni every day. note to parents: this doesn't mean we're not trying our best to get a job. You know what the job market is like nowadays.

- Less space. There's always less space. Your room now doesn't feel like a haven of solitude because it's stuffed full of the contents of your Uni room. This means that you're forced to go downstairs and be around the 'rents whenever they're in. Tip: go out more.

- Your parents probably don't want you back either. Sure, they weren't happy when you went, called you up most days and silently wished that you wouldn't like it at Uni, but their bird has flown the nest now. Now they've got over that little bit of oddness, and revel in their own independance.

Image from Google

So, as an overall account of living with your parents after Uni, its probably best not to. You WILL annoy eachother. Everyone needs their independance and privacy. But if you have to, just remember it won't be forever, and to try to be as nice as possible.

I might be pinterested...

Lately I've been a little bit obsessed with Pinterest.

from Pinterest.com

For those of you who don't know, Pinterest is an online pinboard. You just sign up and whack on some pictures, quotes, ideas for clothes, stories, places to go, people you'd have liked to meet in their heyday, animals looking stupid... you know, that kind of thing.

So I've been obsessed with the 'places to go' boards, and trying to put on all my favourite things. This is because generally, I try to write stories and poems, and it never really works out, so I'm trying to get some pin-spiration (get it??) . Right now I'm pretty sure I have about 12 destinations on my online pinboard, all of which I seriously want to go to. They look utterly beautiful. Top of my list, though, is:

1. Norway (on a cruise, to see the Northern Lights)
2. Peru and Venezuela (Macchu Picchu, Kuzco, Lima and the Angel Falls)
3. Hawaii : specifically  Honolulu. It just reminds me of everything wonderful when I look at that place.
4. Spain and Gibraltar (it's where hlaf of my family come from)
5. The German Christmas Markets. Because I went there when I was 15.. or was it 14.. and never got over how amazing it was. And because I love Kinderwein and Bratwurst.

My current favourites are also marzipan fruits, quotes (mostly Einsten and Lewis Carroll) and some music that I adore (ie. Play that Funky Music by Wild Cherry, a bit of Queen, some Elton and a pinch of Stevie Wonder).

I reckon if I carry on like this I just may find myself organising a full blown party. Seriously, so many food ideas and handmade decorations, fashion inspiration and so on. It seems only natural to plan a party, your ultimate round the world trip, your dream home, your wedding and your funeral. (I would not be surprised if people do that on there).

So, if you're interested in joining me in this love of Pinterest, please visit me at My Pinterest Site.

The Handbag of Hell.

This post will be owning up to a lot.
After reading a friends blog about what's in her handbag (to be nosy, you can look at her post HERE) , I've been inspired to write about what's in my handbag. Now, you might think its not that bad, but if you know me, then you'll know I carry a lot in my handbag, and it's actually got better over the years.
At college I had an absolutely enormous bag that literally had everything in it.
Now I've whittled it down to a fairly normal sized handbag, but I still cram stuff into it.

For many eons the modern woman has had her handbag. She cradles it in her arms every single day of the year, almost never letting it out of her sight. The trusty handbag is almost more important than the not-so-trusty boyfriend (but we love them anyway), but not quite, because it can't give you hugs and kisses, or make you tea. But over the centuries of dependence we have filled our handbag with more and more useless stuff. Now is the time to reveal all of this stuff, and take a hold of our handbags with pride! (And empty out all of those receipts and tissues).

Of course, there is that thing that a girls handbag can tell you a lot about her. The look of it and what's inside. As you'll see my one says that I think of a lot of possibilities that are unlikely to happen, take precautions for everything and get ill quite a bit.

If I emptied it out it would look like a rubbish dump. And here's a picture to prove it.
So now, just like every woman should do at some point every ten years, I've got my bag on my bed, and I'll guiltily list the contents (and try to justify them).

- My mobile phone. I went without my phone for a day and the most annoying thing was that I never knew what the time was. And not being able to know what other were doing, so not good.
- My Glasses. They help me see, I need them.
- Three pens (red,black,blue) and a notepad. This is Uni's fault, plus I always find i need to write things down at the most inopportune moments.
- My Purse Well, this ones a no-brainer, but I could probably do with getting rid of the receipts inside.
- An endless supply of tissues. Who knows when you'll need them. As I have a massive cold at the moment, I need lots. As well as my lozenges, throat spray and so on.
- A Mirror. This is where the uselessness kicks in, although it is good for checking for food in your teeth.
- Paracetamol and Ibuprofen Always carry pain relief (I get headaches easily).
- Also Hay fever tablets.
- Hand Sanitiser - for unruly toilets.
- My Camera (currently). Because it's nice outside and I keep meaning to take random pictures of pretty things.
- Some plasters. You never know.
- Hair band X2
- A Comb
- Tweezers
- Batteries (for my camera)
- Make up. Don't ask me why I have so much of it yet don't use it that often. (Includes 2 eyeshadow sets, 2 lipsalves, mascara, lipgloss, 2 lipsticks).
- Reciepts and lozenge wrappers, maybe a sweet wrapper or two.
- Packets of beechams and decaf coffee. People find this one weird. This is because I don't want to get caught out without a Beechams, and in case there is no decaf coffee at someones house/out and about.
- Ear plugs
- Chewing gum
- A random button.

Please feel free to gawk at the sheer amount of crap shown here.

And that's the entire contents of my bag folks. Mostly useful things, but a couple of weird things and rubbish things thrown in for good luck.
Hopefully everyone can be as honest about the amount of pure crap that inhabits their bags.
Please.
And for the sake of everyone's sanity, we should tidy them up a bit too.

How to blag University.

Blagging University is not as easy as it sounds. Upon almost finishing my third and final year, I have learnt a lot about the art of blagging, how to avoid salespeople, looking like you're doing something important when you're not, spouting words that sound good when you have no idea what you're talking about, and going to lectures after having hardly any sleep and probably still being a bit drunk.
I'm pretty sure anybody who has been, or currently goes to University knows the feeling.

You will need:
-One very powerful liver.
-An excessive amount of patience.
-A can-do attitude (if you do not have this you will need more patience).
-Skills in lying, personal defence, hypochondria, insomnia amongst others.
-To overcome the hatred of the library that school and college inflicted upon you.
-Knowledge of microwaves and washing machines (or copious amounts of credit on your phone so that you can ring your parents/friends/999 for help).
-A good imagination (for when you're asked any questions at all).


In order to be a good guide on how to get through Uni without failing at life, I will now tell you a few how to's that you will need. Definitely.

1. How to make yourself sound knowledgeable when you don't know what you're talking about.
- Use long words, with complex sentences. (maybe by spending a few minutes wikipedia-ing some awesome sounding words, maybe even something to do with your subject.)
- Go on about it for a few paragraphs. This way everybody gets a little confused and probably won't bother with you again for a while.
There is a downfall to this approach. You may be asked to say it again in simpler terms. If this happens, I have a fail safe:
- Change the subject. You can do this by saying something along the lines of 'As relevant as that is, I think this...' And then hope you get away with it. Or, you could say that it is irrelevant because of something else, then make something up again.

Of course, this is more useful if you have a good imagination. If you don't, I suggest you try to know the answer to the question. or something about the subject.


2. How to eat junk food and not feel guilty.

This one is easy. When you're drunk you don't feel guilty at all.
The other option for the more health-conscious of you is to balance out your meals. Be sure you include lots of fruit and veg so you don't get scurvy and such, and allow yourself a 'treat' of something outrageously delicious and fatty every few weeks.
If you're like me and have a sweet tooth, eat something savoury and a bit more healthy first. You'll feel better. I promise.
Another option is to be ridiculously fastidious and eat healthily all the time. Then you have absolutely no need to feel guilty in the first place.

3. How to get yourself served quickly in a bar/club.
Girls: Lean over the counter a little, preferably with some boob showing if you want to get served by a man. Give them the eye too. And smile. Don't forget to smile.
This doesn't work on other girls, gay men or straight men that prefer flat chested females, they will just think you're a hussy and won't serve you.
With other girls, gay men or straight men who prefer flat chested girls, just wait there and smile when they come your way.


Guys: Acquire an air of not caring whether you get served. This way you might start to believe it.
To be quite honest I'm not sure there's a way to get yourself served quicker than usual, unless you've got some rippling muscles tucked away under a tight shirt. As usual, this won't often work on straight men, or on women or gay men who prefer men who aren't ripped. If you aren't that muscular, you're in with more of a chance with them.


4. How to get rid of stress.Stressed? I'm not surprised. Well, to be honest i can't help you. Just calm the hell down and don't give yourself a hernia. But, I will give you some useful websites. I'm not all bad.
DeStress - a website for all your stress-free needs.
Unconventional (ie. Weird) ways to de-stress. 
Keep Calm Gallery.
Get a Reality Check - Seriously, the universe is huge, and you're worrying about one tiny exam?

And there you have it. A not so useful guide to blagging University.
You will get through it, I promise.
But if you can't you can always drop out.
(Just don't forget you'll owe the government some money.)