Day 45 A letter to yourself a year ago

Hello me from a year ago.

Hope you are enjoying the new house and working hard on the dissertation of doom. I think you have 3 other assignments over Christmas and placement to prepare for but you'll get through it. Even when you hate placement, don't give up. Yes, you probably should have chosen another course but this one will be over soon.

Say hello to Dan too. Make the most of talking to Grandad on the phone and go see him even if it makes you immensley poor and you have no time. The excuses are crappy.

Be good.
Me x

Day 44 Something that fascinates you and why

Hmmmm.

I am most fascinated by other people, especially the man over the road. He has lots of different cars at any one time but never seems to leave the house. I think he might be part of the Bognor Regis mafia (if there is such a thing). If he doesn't go to work, how can he have a swimming pool and extensions being build all over his house at all times? He has 3 or 4 annoying children. They can't use a scooter properly they just smack the wheels against the pavement of hours on end... He is also MASSIVE.  Scary.

Facebook also facilitates my curiosity of other people but sometimes it's frustrating.

Be back soon.

Day 43 A picture of your favourite place in the world

I haven't taken a picture, so I'm cheating, but my favourite place in the world has to be my house. It has all of our stuff in it :D Ok, now I can keep going on this thing.

Bullet pointed news

2011 is looking up already!

Its nearly Christmas too and I have lots of lovely people to see.  Can't wait!!

Went to Nando's yesterday and BK too. Oooops.

I smell like lime jelly babies thanks to Lush :D

Uhm. My Dad is probably going to be moving to North Carolina next year. Bittersweet because we won't see him / Evie very much but it will be nice to holiday in the US.

Yeah that's it for now.

A Post Dedicated to the Best Grandad There Ever Was

Grandad's funeral was beautiful. We started off at their house, which was weird because I kept expecting him to come down the stairs or sneak a cheeky biscuit. Cheeky because he was extremely diabetic and knew that my Grandma had alzeimer's and would never linger on telling him off.

The flowers started arriving. Ours was huge! It spelt Grandad and along with my Uncle and Dad's flowers it was in his favourite colours, yellow and blue. They were beautiful.

Grandad then arrived about 1.15 and our cars along with him. I was fine in the house because in some way it felt comforting to me. It had been the only constant in our ever changing lives, moving from place to place so it felt like a really big hug. As soon as I stepped outside and saw Grandad's coffin I burst into tears (then slid my way to our car since it was really snowy / icy). Uncle Gary later told us that the dog who usually went crazy, over the road for my Grandad was in character and nearly knocked the blinds down which he would have found hilarious. 

Once we got there, there was a sea of faces peering at us. At any other time we might have felt glamourous but I was so happy to see that all of those people loved my Grandad. My Dad and Uncle Gary helped carry Grandad into the crematorium. It was very sad but being over 6 foot and the other coffin bearers being about my height it was a bit of a struggle to keep Grandad level.

We followed on with at least 30 members of my Grandad's choir singing us in with "Music" (was my first love). It was truly beautiful and apt for the occassion. I won't lie. I was a mess. I could only sing the last hymn because my eyes were filled up with tears for the rest of the ceremony.

Dad and Uncle G decided they were too upset to speak a few words about my Grandad but the priest did an awesome job of capturing his spirit. He was well respected and popular judging from how many people turned up. He used to say that he'd be able to fit everyone who would come to his funeral in a phone box when in actuality we had diffculty finding everyone a seat.

Grandad loved singing and was a natural baratone. His favourite to sing us was Sinatra and he loved a right old karaoke. He loved his family especially his kids and grandchildren. He'd rave about us to anyone who would listen. He liked to do crosswords in the Sunday paper and wind up my Grandma constantly. Towards the end he loved a good kip on the sofa and hiding the remote from us so he could still listen to his programmes. He used to end every telephone conversation with a kissing and cuddling sound "eeeeeeeee, mmmmmwah" and start with "have you been crying for your Grandad?"

The choir sang us out as well as singing the saddest hymms ever i.e. "O Abide With Me" if you're curious. 

Then we went to the last pub I ever went to with my Grandad (he fell asleep there too) for nibbles. 

It was a perfect way of saying goodbye. After it all I felt exhausted and had a good sleep. 

We heard this song on the way back home and I said "that was for Grandad".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avU2aarQUiU

(only a link because it's official and they have taken away the embed function)

Bleugh

I know I said I was going to take a break but I am bored in the Uni Canteen waiting for work to ringeth me back.

I am so ill :( I am all ready for work, blue polo shirt, tights under the trousers and all, but my chest hurts when I walk and I'm having to drink peppermint tea constantly to avoid being sick (again). I don't want to pass this onto anyone especially the children. I've had my flu jab so I'm pretty sure it's just a bad cold I've had for the past 4 days but it's still horrendous. I still need to find cover for my funeral and travelling days as well as today. I hope work will understand that I am icky and need to stay away. Or give me the contact sheet so I can get cracking.

My sister is staying over tonight like old times. It made me sad when she said it was nice to be in a house with heating and food but thats what you get when you fanny off on your ownsome! But yes, she will be heated and fed this evening woo. I do worry about her sometimes.  

Trying to block out sad things. It won't be real til tomorrow / thursday when reality kicks in. Will be nice to see Evieboo and my Daddy regardless (and my favourite Uncle Gary). Just trying to concentrate on being positive or I think everything might just unravel in front of me. Seriously hope 2011 is my year to be happy. The last year has been utter crap!!!

Next year I want to:

• Have a more full time job
• Go on holiday somewhere I've never been
• Celebrate and go out more often
• See my family more
• Sort out the house

Here's hoping!

Taking a break from Blogging

I'm going to take a break, at least until after my Grandad's funeral. I will finish the 50 challenges!!

Day 42 Bad habit(s) you have

I have a tendency to jiggle my legs around when I'm waiting to have bloodwork done or before an interview through nerves.

Apparently I do a subtle shoulder wiggle when I am uncomfrotable in conversation.

Hmmm. I'm pretty much the anti-pickyournose police so don't really have too many bad habits...

I get cross easily with people (drivers / people shopping etc). Not sure if that's a habit though!

Day 41 Whatever tickles your fancy

My Grandad is out of hospital but is so afraid of dying that he kept ringing ambulances and shouting at his neighbours to help him in the middle of the night. So he's now a resident of the same care home as my Grandma Joyce (his wife). It is a relief for the whole family to know that they are both being monitored and being looked after.

I keep hearing songs that they always used to sing to me when I was little but then never remember the names of any of them!

Hopefully we'll manage to get up there next year but funds are lacking atm :(

Just fancied writing down that they're ok.

Day 40 A letter to a deceased person you wish you could talk to

I am lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents (at the moment anyway) and a pretty healthy family. If there was one deseased person I'd have interest in speaking to it woud probably be someone like the late Freddie Mercury. I have watched loads of programmes about his life and wish I could understand more about his character etc. My step mum would probably love it too!

Day 39 Zodiac sign and do you think it fits your personality

I am a Virgo. I would say that I am pretty typical.

Modest and shy
Meticulous and reliable
Practical and diligent
Intelligent and analytical (I would like to think!)

Fussy and a worrier
Overcritical and harsh
Perfectionist and conservative

The only attributes in this list I was unsure of are in orange. I'm not particularly practical and diligent sounds a bit sumbmissive to me.

I think Tabby posted the massive section from the website on Virgo personality (are we virgoans? I never know!) So if you fancy a look again it's here: http://www.astrology-online.com/virgo.htm

It discusses cleanliness and needing things in order. I'm much better now that I have lived with Dan for 4 years. I understand that other people can't always meet my expectations on the tidiness front and can adapt to this. With exception of my sister that is. She is horrendously untidy and doesn't care about rooms smelling nice or washing clothes. I really struggled with having her here. Dan knows how odd I am about having things in their right places. I hate having anything on the fireplace (honestly why do people put their dirty plates / car keys / phones on our fireplace??) or in my line of vision on the floor. Ok I'm mad, moving on!!

It goes onto having trust issues and being self concious, both of which I can relate to well. I am constantly putting pressure on myself etc. It sucks.

So they bring the art of self concealment to a high pitch, hiding their apprehensiveness about themselves and their often considerable sympathy with other people under a mantle of matter-of-factness and undemonstrative, quiet reserve. They are still waters that run deep. Yet in their unassuming, outwardly cheerful and agreeable fashion, they can be sensible, discreet, well spoken, wise and witty, with a good understanding of other people's problems which they can tackle with a practicality not always evident in their own personal relationships.

Yep yep and yep.

LIKES
• Health foods
• Lists
• Hygiene
• Order
• Wholesomeness  ??

DISLIKES
• Hazards to health
• Anything sordid
• Sloppy workers
• Squalor
• Being uncertain

You rarely hear the word squalor these days! I guess these fit me. Lists are my favourite of course, they help me to be organised and get things done. So yeah, I am your typical virgo(an) destined to be obsessive compulsive and reserved forever and ever.

Cool Places

Writers Block Question:
What's your favorite city or town that you've visited? Why do you love it?

My favourite UK city has to be Bath. My earliest memory of it is when I was about 6. I remember getting a magazine with free black jack sweets I hated and palmed off on my Dad. We did the whole visiting the Roman Baths thing because I was obsessed with history (I was an odd child) and it was very exciting.

More recently Dan and I went together as a couple. We stayed in the Travel Lodge that has a Wagamama's (my favurite restaurant in the UK) beneath it. We took lots of lovely walks which mostly involved looking for piggies (http://www.kingbladudspigs.org/)

We also went to a couple of tea rooms (Not Sally Lunn's because it was too busy!) We also visited the Roman Baths! Some pictures of the very beautiful and historic Bath:

Day 38 A photo of your parent(s)

There aren't many photo's of my parents together but luckily my graduation helped with this one. My Step Dad is in this one too. Weird!! Mum on the left. Dad on the right.

Day 37 A song that you like to dance to

Sorry I've been a rubbish blogger. My grandad is still in hospital and has taken a turn for the worse so a bit preoccupied.

I like to dance to lots of songs, normally in the car (much to the disdain of BoyFace) or whilst cleaning. At home I like to listen to XFM and dance to the likes of:

Day 36 Some hobbies of yours

• Baking
• Reading
• Watching films
• Looking after our animals
• Shopping (when we have the funds!!)

Day 35 A letter to your crush

Dear Crush-a,



Love from Me x

(lazy I know but in agony with my hip atm :( )

Day 34 Your favourite quote

I'm sure I have looooads but cannot think of any!!

[a bit later...]

• A number of religions in Ank-Morpork still practised human sacrifice, except that they didn’t really need to practice any more because they had got so good at it. — (Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!)
• I was going to put an educational quote but they are all quite cheesey!
• "Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho." (Die Hard)

[a bit later still...]

Watched a lush review and one of the ingredients was ylang ylang oil so it reminded me of this:

Day 33 What you’re craving right now

Sleep. I was woken up by Dan at about 6.32 because I slept right through the 6.30 alarm going off. Getting really bad at doing that but where he likes to have a million snoozes in the morning, my brain just block the sound out now!

Money. Too obvious? Need some for Christmas!

Seeing my Dad :( Even though I only saw him a month ago!

Oh and I really would like to purchase a cupcake from the Swallow Bakery today (even though the moody manager hates people who are gluten free / hates people!!).

Day 32 A photo you took

I know I could post an artsy fartsy photo but I have chosen this one instead!

This photo makes me happy because believe it or not my Dad was fast asleep as we all piled on the cushions and soft toys Evie (my little sister, probably 5 years old at this point) could find! We were very disappointed that there was no 'Buckaroo' moment :(

Day 31 Whatever tickles your fancy

Whatever tickles my fancy eh? Hmmm.

Recent events:

It's my first proper shift tutoring today (eek). Start at 4pm. Dan finishes work at 4.30 :S. A well thought through plan!

Our very clever guinea pig Rodney now chooses when he wants to come out and play with us or not using a step fashioned out of a lunchbox. So cute! Chuck is now really into watching tv and flattens himself out, cuddling into our legs. He enjoyed the film 'Open Season' yesterday.

My Grandad decided he was going to fall down the stairs last week and needed a blood transfusion. He's 78! I think he's ok though. Its about the 3rd time it's happened in 2 years but they won't move into a bungalow because they feel it isn't worth it. Old people!! I still have all of my Grandparents *knocks wood* because somehow they seem to bounce back from their crazy antics. Bodes well for future me I think.

Can't think of anything else! Til next time x

Day 30 A letter to the friendliest person you knew for only one day

It's 2 days late, sorry! And to make matters worse I can't think of a really friendly person I only knew for one day. I'm full of disappointments :P

Day 29 Provide the HEX code of your favorite color

#00ADF7

This colour is known as "Méemo Blue" in my family because when I first went to Uni in Plymouth everything was colour coordinated with this shade of blue.

Closest I could find through Google Images:

Day 28 Favourite places to shop

Feeling uber tired and lazy today so I'm giving you just one...


My favourite place to shop is LUSH. I love being pampered and the staff are so lovely in each of the branches that you always end up spending more than you intended! They offer free samples of things you want to try (some quite sizeable ones) and hold fun parties and goodie bag giveaways now and again. All of their strategies make shopping fun. There's nothing I get from Lush and think "urgh I wish I hadn't picked that up" (except for the black menthol bath ballistic that was supposed to look like coal last Christmas... ew)


Some of my favourite things from Lush:

Big Shampoo turns the volume up of my very fine and lifeless locks. The big granules of salt take a little bit of getting used to but when you smell it and see how shiny it makes your hair you can't help but fall in love! (Not good for frizzy types).

This is a current fave but it is a limited edition for Halloween (Day of the Dead) Celebrations. Calacas (skulls) are so yummy and make you smell of lime jelly babies (As pointed out by my OH). Really helps me to get out of bed in the morning (can assume this is down to the uplifting neroli and lime scent) and lasts absolutely ages. I have a backup yellow pot too so I can enjoy this one a bit longer!

This picture shows off Bob soap apparently but my chunk looks nothing like this. Mine is much more sludgy purple and green with lots of glitter. Its a Christmas Retro product atm and I have bought it for the last 2 years because it smells of cinnamon and terry's chocolate oranges. Mmmmm. Christmas in a soap!

Facial cleansers aren't the most exciting products in the world usually but after trying Buche de Noel (Xmas special again) I got a FREE sample of this (Angels on Bare Skin) and have been using it for 5 days and only halfway through. I started becoming allergic to my Simple skincare products for some reason and switching to Lush skincare has really helped me to avoid having itchy eyes. Not sure what changed in the formulation or what I'm allergic to but it's nice to have a nice, fresh alternative!


Hope you have enjoyed :)

Day 27 A talent of yours

I wouldn't consider myself a talented person as such. I can't play an instrument, I can't cook a posh meal and I can't knit / sew / crochet. I do think I am good at keeping my house tidy if that counts? I am good at being organised and organising other people (i.e. Dan :D).

Day 26 Favorite books

I loooove books. However, I seriously need motivation to open them these days. I think thats what happens when you do 3 English courses in your second year of college and then take on an English Degree (which I actually dropped out of because the 18th century tomes were too heavy going and I was ill / homesick).


Anywhoodle, (a few of) my favourite books are as follows:


The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton - I used to love these stories because they took you to another world. I used to imagine climbing the faraway tree and eating pop biscuits with Moonface. Also the human characters had amazing names; Jo, Bessie, Fanny and Dick. The last two were changed consistently on my placement by my class teacher which made me laugh. Richard and Frances would have sufficed but I think she completely made them up instead John and Susan (something like that anyway!). I read this book for the first time when I was about seven or eight years old and have read it about 10 times since. I think its hidden in a moving box now though!


The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood - My amazing English Lit A level tutor introduced us to this book. She was so passionate about it and the story had so much depth that we had no choice but to be sucked in. The characters are brilliant, as is the plot. The topics presented are quite sensitive and thought provoking i.e. slavery, using women as carriers for the rich folks babies and a particularly graphic sounding murder. Not lighthearted but enjoyable.


Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult - I read this book whilst on holiday last year. I could barely put it down. The story centres around a troubled teenager whose love for his best friend is unrequited. This leads up to him going mental and commiting a heinous crime which only takes 19 minutes (if you've ever seen Bowling for Columbine you'll see some similarities between real and fictional worlds). It is a book written from many different perspectives (Each chapter is written from a different characters viewpoint) giving a deep understanding of the events that unfold.


I think thats probably enough now!

Day 25 A letter to someone you judged by their first impression

Sorry for completely forgetting you yesterday blogpants. Here is another installment.

Dear Ex-College Tutor,

Back whe I was in your class I didn't understand why someone who was 6 years older than me was teaching me things I already knew. Whenever I asked questions you didn't seem overly sure and I gave you loads of grief. Now I'm nearly your age and I am really sorry. You were actually a sweet girl trying to make the best of things and you'd been catapulted into our class halfway through the year. When you fell down the stairs and hurt yourself, you tried not to cry in front of us. You did anyway. I felt bad then for confronting you about you lack of knowledge. I *wish* I could obtain the job you had or any job in fact which obviously means you were good for something (even if you couldn't tell me about certain child development theorists!). I bet you are amazing now!!

Me x

Day 24 Time to face morph

I *loved* doing this! I continued doing it with pictures of Dan too which was hilarious.

Me as a monkey.

Baby Me

Afro Carribean Me!

East Asian Me

West Asian me

Some artists interpretation

Botticelli Me

Manga me

:D

Day 23 Share one of your current favourite tunes

I am loving The XX at the moment. I first heard them on indie radio station XFM and fell in lurve straight away. The DJ at the time asked if anyone had made out to their album since is quite calm and seductive. I just want to say, no I haven't!


The XX - Crystalised

Feeling Rubbish

I think I might be cursed! The only teaching job anywhere near me, they don't accept NQT's. The only nursery job I can find apparently closed a week ago but hasn't been taken off the site (even though it says the closing date is tomorrow). The only jobs I can find anywhere that I am possibly qualified for are things like working for a bank or in retail. AAAARGH. I blame my parents for giving me my crap eyesight and mobility issues.  If not for them I would be able to actually DRIVE places. I would actually be able to get a bloody bus on my own because I'd be able to read the route number. I fucking hate it. [rant over/]

Day 22 A photo that makes you happy

This picture was taken at my Mum's Wedding. I told Dan to capture all of the moments when we weren't posing so that our photo's weren't exactly the same as everyone else's. Plus my Auntie Elaine (great aunt) on the left and her husband on the right are the nicest people to ever walk the earth. She is trying to hide her many chins here apparently! My sister is doing her natural smile and my mum looks gorgeous. I think it's the most beautiful I have ever seen her (despite brushing the hair from her face!). I hope I look as good as her at 50!!

I tried matching the text to my Mum's dress :D

Day 21 Your favourite television program

I am going to share 2 of my favourite television programmes with you today.

The first of which is the Gilmore Girls. I *wish* people were really like the characters in this show. Everyone would look after each other and get their handsome hunk of a cafe owner to fall in love with them. Everyone would know everything about each other and have a best friend they'd known since nursery. I seriously want to be adopted into the Gilmore household. The 'Gilmore Girls' love old movies and snacking and everybody loves them. Sometimes when I'm pigging out I feel like I am channeling my inner Lorelei!

Here is a clip of their fast talking...




My other favourite has to be Masterchef. I enjoy salavating over their creations and choosing who I think is going to suck at judging. I always find a handsome man to gawp at and an underdog to cheer on and unlike most talent shows these people actually have cooking ability! Plus I love the judges and presenters of the show. Greg Wallace for the win!

Masterchef innuendo's:

Day 20 A letter to someone that changed your life

Dear Someone,

You have changed my life in so many ways. Some good and some terrible. Let's start with the latter category just to be sure of chronological order.

You broke my parents marriage up (more than once). My mum will never recover from what you did. She'll pretend that everything is fine and that she's moved on but pain like that runs deep. Really, how could you? My sister was tiny and I had been in hospital and you were the last thing my family needed. But there you were.

So then we moved (continents) and life went on and so did the affair. We're not stupid...

Mum saw sense finally and removed you from our lives. Or at least we thought. We saw Dad once a fortnight throughout our teenage years because of you. I resented you for it. Mum got a degree for herself and supported us completely but then she resented us for needing her like that.

Then Dad took us out for a meal one night. Chiquito's. Nothing says I'm going to completely change your life like mexican food. He told us he was seeing you again. Mum went spare.

We met you and exchanged nicities. Bex had only just found out what had gone on previously but we tried to get along.

Now onto the good:
You married my Dad.
We get on pretty well now and you worry about him like I want you to.
You gave me my half sister. She is a bit of a brat but we love her.
You think about us and care about us. You go out of your way to look after us.
My Dad is happy.

Just a shame we had to get here from all the other crap. It's not how you do things.

Love from Me x

Day 19 Whatever tickles your fancy

This is not going to be very interesting for those not animal obsessed but our guinea pigs made the "I want food please" whooping noise for the first time this morning! I'd heard of it happening on websites and youtube but they'd never done it. Instead, Chuck usually ran away as soon as you'd approach the cage but there they were standing on tiptoes and asking for their healthy breakfast of piggy nuggets, kale and a carrot.

It went a little something like this:



Also, Halloween was VERY exciting. We bought 2 fun size packs of mars bars and carves a pumpkin to go in our porchway. We put it out about 5.20pm and we didnt have to wait long for our first trick or treaters. The first of which had a little brother who couldn't make it down our driveway because he was frightened of our jack o lantern.

There was (were?) certainly a range of ages from little toddlers to teenagers. The one I wasn't expecting was one mum with 8 kids, I couldn't get the mars bars to them soon enough. Little hands everywhere and barely a thank you between them! Luckily we live in quite a nice area so they were the only ones I came back in from a bit shocked. If people have gone to the effort of giving your children sweets the least you can do is say thank you. In contrast, one little girl said thank you three times off her own back and was reminded by her dad to say thank you so she said it again, bless her!

We will be more prepared with more sweets next time I think.

Day 18 Set or share a goal

Happy Halloween! It's also my little sisters 7th birthday! Today is going to be a short update because I have a cold :(.

My main goal at the moment is to get a grown up job and save money! I have a new part time job to keep me going until then. Beyond that is marriage and small people.

Apologies for being lazy.

Day 17 A photo that makes you sad

This is a 19 year old me standing in our new (now old) flat. This photo is bittersweet for me because it was the begining of Dan and I being free from our parents, getting to do what we liked, when we liked. I'm sad because this was pre-uni and we no longer live there. Our house is much better but we made so many memories there that it makes me feel sad to have let it go. Now we drive past it almost ever day and although Dan doesn't get sentimentally attached, sometimes I wave like a crazy person in the flats general direction. Also, I'd like to be 19 again please.

Day 16 Provide pictures of 5 celebrity crushes

I had to have a really good think about this one. At first I struggled to think of 5 and then my boyfriend (of all people) listed the many celeb crushes I've had over the years, telling me that I'd have difficulty picking just 5!

In no particular order -

1. Will Smith

Ok, I found the most pervy picture of Will Smith in all his gorgeousness! MMmmm. This celeb crush I oddly share with my Step Mum but it's ok because he is beautiful.




















2. George Clooney

 

It might seem a little obvious and he's only a year younger than my Mum but he is the ultimate silver fox! I can't help it. There's just something about him.

3. Jason Statham

Every girl needs a bit of rough. Jason Statham is mine! His body is fit and he plays interesting characters I fall in love with. YUM. He is currently dating a Victoria's Secret model (boo!).

4. Matt Damon

Being gorgeous, funny and down to earth makes Matt Damon the perfect man. Plus he does charity work and married someone out of the biz.

5. Zachary Levi

This guy plays the lead role in 'Chuck'. My guinea pig is named after this character because we love this show. He plays a computer geek spy but, like most of these lovely men, gets snapped up by a beautiful blonde :(.

Some of the pictures wouldn't move to the right places but the sentiment is there. Day 16 completed!



Day 15 A letter to someone you wish you could meet

Dear Greg Wallace (of Masterchef fame)


I am obsessed with your programme and your fabulous comments about food. You seem amazingly down to earth and I am jealous of all the lovely people you meet and food you taste. When visiting a surgeon about my cataracts I read an article about you (between 20 eye tests and being chatted to by an elderly couple) and you seemed so lovely (but rich).


Please could we share a pudding sometime?


Love from me x x x x x x x

Day 14 A song from your childhood

When I was really little my Mum was obsessed with Simply Red. I swear it was the only tape in her car! I can remember sitting in my car seat listening to this song over and over. She also loved Michael Jackson but I think that tape entered the car at a later date :) So here we go, Simply Red's Money's too tight to mention.

Day 13 Whatever tickles your fancy

My extremely talented boyfriend (who IS probably reading this) made a fab video featuring our graduation to the Duck Sauce song (Barbara Streisand). I love the fact that my name is in a song. Anonymity is out of the window in this case! Hope you enjoy.

Day 12 Post a self-portrait

Just catching up with posts since graduation was a bit of a whirlwind. Was fab to see my Dad and all my Uni friends. My parents didnt kill each other after not seeing one another for years but it was a tad cringey and uncomfortable. Overall it went pretty well!

Now marvel at my artistic talents (harhar)

Day 11 Share your favourite recipe

Go here:

http://foodgloriousfood-toto.blogspot.com/2007/09/slice-of-childhood-chocolate-biscuit.html



This cake is gorgeous and requires no cooking whatsoever! Everyone who tries it loves it and we've made it a fair few times. Sadly it is FULL to the brim with calories and now I have a wheat intolerance so Gluten free digestives for me but it is simply delicious.

Enjoy!

Day 10 A letter to the person you hate most or caused you a lot of pain

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I was a complete nervous wreck at my interview and then when I came home and the adrenalin had gone I just wanted to sleep forever. Apologies!

This challenge is a bit tricky too!

Dear Doctors of the UK,

You are only doing your job but you basically suck. I can barely walk into a hospital without breaking into a nervous sweat, even if I am not going to be operated on or have my vital fluid stolen (they should be in my body where they belong). Having had so many operations and been treated as patient X in front of all of your students has wound me up beyond belief! No one looks their best when they're in hospital and being handed your pants in a sandwich bag is just plain humiliating! (Although hunky doctor of appendectomy fame didn't seem too bothered... And is therefore exempt).

The worst part is that I will soon have to meet with you again to have lenses placed in my eyes, cataracts removed and a hip replacement. Please try to be nice even though it is in your nature to think you are better than me.

Not so much thanks,

Patient X

Day 9 List some of your favourite bloggers

I've not been blogging for long and I'm not aware of many bloggers. My favourites, therefore, are:

Tabby: http://tabbinator89.blogspot.com/

and

Frankie: http://thegingerbreadlady.blogspot.com/

Yay!

Day 8 A photo of you taken recently

This photo was taken pretty recently. This is me holding Chuck one of our lovely guinea pigs (Rodney is the other one)!

They are probably about 3 and a half months old now but when we got them at 6 weeks Chuck was passed on to me and I immediately fell in love with his tri-colour face :D.

As you can see, they are currently outside but we have just ordered an indoor cage so that they don't have to endure an English winter.

DAY 7 A YouTube video you find funny

In light of watching the new series of 'The Apprentice' here is a montage of Sir Alan Sugar and his minions, jumbled to sound funny. Alan Sugar is worth £8!

DAY 6 List of what you ate today

I'm just going to give you a list of what I have eaten so far today, so that I don't feel guilty for not posting at all!

• Covent Garden Plum Tomato and Basil Soup
• Quavers
• Tea x 2
• Tea Pig's Chocolate Flake tea

Not much, but I'm freaking out over my interview next week. Another place decided to ring me to offer me another interview (part time work) for the week after whilst I was trying to prepare for the first one. Slept for about 8 hours last night which was awesome after not sleeping for 3 days on the trot. As you can see my appetite is also suffering :(. Hopefully I'll be back to my normal food-guzzling self soon!

DAY 5 A letter to an ex

To ex-person,

You are an ex for a reason. I am having a much better time now. It was a long time ago. I'm over it.

Not so much love,

Me

DAY 4 A photo of you taken over ten years ago

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Originally uploaded by smiley_laydee

I am posting again to take my mind away from scary and more pressing matters...

This photo was taken much more than 10 years ago. It's on our joggler in the kitchen and it always makes me smile. Gappy teeth galore! Parents always seem to take pictures of their children in the bath. I thought I'd save you from seeing the potty photo!

DAY 3 Your favourite film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxBXm7ZUTM

Die Hard

Disregard the creepy voice over man, this is an awesome film. I know I was probably supposed to pick a Disney film but since this is one of our fail-safe movies I thought it was the better choice. Perfect for Christmas (and any other time in our househould!) I first watched this when Dan and I started going out and we've watched all of the others since. I'm not going to tell you the plot, you'll just have to watch it!

Yippee kai yay Motherfuckera!

(if someone could tell me how to embed the photo that would be great!)

DAY 2 Make a bulleted list of everything that happened in your day

So far today:

• Woke up at about 7am with Dan's alarm going off for work
• Laid in bed until just before 9. Didn't sleep, just stressed about things.
• Watched Friends
• Hoped for post
• Checked for jobs across various websites
• MSN conversed with Dan
• Took my morning inhaler
• Showered with Snow Fairy :) got dressed
• Sorted out the Guinea Pigs (feeding, letting them out to the run, cleaning them out)
• Made lunch - soup. Ended up wearing some of it.
• Freaked out due to recieving the post I wanted
• Got a massive head ache
• Drank 3 cups of tea
• Tried to plan
• Waited for Dan to come home

I foresee that I will:
be going food shopping
eating dinner at some point
probably watching a film
finishing some sudoku puzzles

Before bed!

DAY 1 Introduce yourself / List your likes and dislikes

I'm Aimee. Better known as Meemo / Meems / Aimz to family and friends. My last name plagues me. For some reason no matter how many times I correct people I will always be referred to as 'Hannah', So there we go, my first dislike and we are a mere 3 sentences in. I also know that my surname is a palindrome and yes if Dan and I ever get married I will still have a Christian name as my surname (Kelly - if you're interested).

Aside from this, I am 24. Currently an unemployed teacher and hating every minute of it. Every minute that doesn't involve drinking tea and watching Gilmore Girls re-runs that is... I'm hopeful though.

I'm looking forward to settling down. I live with my boyfriend and best friend of 5 years. We share 4 gerbils and 2 guinea pigs and hope in the future to own a border collie named Copernicus (a la Back to the Future).

Ok, enough of that. Onto likes and dislikes:

LIKES: tea, baths, the smell of baking, gluten free cupcakes, gluten free pancake mix, fruit, sushi, Wagamama's, reading under a duvet, gerbera's, songs with piano parts, raspberry jelly, Gilmore Girls, my family, dressing up

DISLIKES: hospitals, needles, my retainer, taking tablets, how quickly my house gets messy, massive spiders, ironing, map reading, rude people, supermarkets

That will do for now I think!

The 50 Day Challenge

Ok, so I've been reading about this 50 day challenge on Tabby's amd Frankies blog and have decided to jump onto the metephorical bandwagon. It could be fun. We'll see if I can stick to it and who knows, it might keep me out of trouble!

DAY 1 Introduce yourself / List your likes and dislikes
DAY 2 Make a bulleted list of everything that happened in your day
DAY 3 Your favourite film
DAY 4 A photo of you taken over ten years ago
DAY 5 A letter to an ex
DAY 6 List of what you ate today
DAY 7 A YouTube video you find funny
Day 8 A photo of you taken recently
Day 9 List some of your favourite bloggers
Day 10 A letter to the person you hate most or caused you a lot of pain
Day 11 Share your favorite recipe
Day 12 Post a self-portrait
Day 13 Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 14 A song from your childhood
Day 15 A letter to someone you wish you could meet
Day 16 Provide pictures of 5 celebrity crushes
Day 17 A photo that makes you sad
Day 18 Set or share a goal
Day 19 Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 20 A letter to someone that changed your life
Day 21 Your favourite television program
Day 22 A photo that makes you happy
Day 23 Share one of your current favourite tunes
Day 24 Time to face morph
Day 25 A letter to someone you judged by their first impression
Day 26 Favorite books
Day 27 A talent of yours
Day 28 Favourite places to shop
Day 29 Provide the HEX code of your favorite color
Day 30 A letter to the friendliest person you knew for only one day
Day 31 Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 32 A photo you took
Day 33 What you’re craving right now
Day 34 Your favourite quote
Day 35 A letter to your crush
Day 36 Some hobbies of yours
Day 37 A song that you like to dance to
Day 38 A photo of your parent(s)
Day 39 Zodiac sign and do you think it fits your personality
Day 40 A letter to a deceased person you wish you could talk to
Day 41 Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 42 Bad habit(s) you have
Day 43 A picture of your favourite place in the world
Day 44 Something that fascinates you and why
Day 45 A letter to yourself a year ago
Day 46 Photos of personal things in your life (pets, family, house, ect.)
Day 47 Birthday wish list
Day 48 A photo of you right now
Day 49 Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 50 A letter to your reflection in the mirror