So apparently I just check in at the end of the month now. Okay. Hi.
It's finally Pancake Day at least - I can't believe I've had to wait the entire month for it, I'm sure it wasn't this late last year.
We had Valentine's Day which was nice. I think I've mentioned this before but the cards Jack gets me always have dinosaurs on them, but he said he couldn't find one that he liked enough, or that he hadn't already got me in the past. So to make up for it, inside the card he did get me were two postcards from Paperchase, one of which has a T-Rex on it (the other has a turtle). Everytime I go into Paperchase I always look through their postcard rack to see if there's any good ones, and if there are I'll pick one up and stick it on my bedroom wall. Before Valentine's Day I had 4, and when I stuck the two new ones up next to them I was dismayed to see that they weren't the same size as the others. And I mean, postcard sizes are standard, right? The four original ones I had are all the same size. But the T-Rex one is slightly wider and slightly longer than the others, and the one with the turtle is slightly thinner and slightly longer. The size discrepancy has aged me prematurely, and I don't know why it annoys me so much but it does.
Jack said: "You could just cut them."
And I said: "That's not the point."
I suppose there are bigger problems in the world. But still.
It's been another fairly good reading month; not as many read as January but I'm still sitting pretty at 11/40 books read so I'm pretty chuffed. I don't have a least favourite this month as I've liked everything, but my favourite was probably History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera. It's not all that long but I finished it in one sitting because it was so painful that I wanted to get it out of my system all in one go. I felt like someone was clenching my heart the entire way through and it stayed with me for daaaaaays.
Finally, Spotify does this thing where every week they generate a playlist of 30 songs that they think you'll like based on what you listen to on there, called 'Discover Weekly' and I've found some new songs because of it that I keep playing on repeat:
Drive by Gretta Ray
Say No More by Fickle Friends
Honey by Swim Deep
See you at the end of March! Or sooner! Or never! Who knows? Not me, that's for sure.
Currently reading: I just finished A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab so I'm probably going to start A Conjuring of Light next because there was a cliffhanger and I have questions that need answering.
Song of the Day: Honey Bee by Seahaven (I think that you deserve some form of apology/ So here I am, and here it is, I'm sorry)
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
A sort of January round-up
So we all thought that 2016 was bad what with Brexit and the American Presidential election and many, many other reasons, but we all hoped that 2017 was going to be better. It's like we all collectively forgot that this was the year that Trump was actually getting sworn in, and thus the worst was yet to come.
So far he's gone after the Affordable Care Act, re-instated a 'global gag order' on abortion that will basically defund organisations like Planned Parenthood (which are so essential), introduced the horrifying travel ban which will undoubtedly lead to more deportations and families being torn apart, he's had climate change pages removed from the Environment Protection Agency website, and that's just to name a few. That's just a drop in the ocean of insanity. Not to mention he's still going on about that bloody wall. Look, you've all seen the headlines, but here's a couple of links if you want a more comprehensible list.
It's been eleven days, and it's terrifying. This is fascism in action. This is what fascism looks like.
I think it's going to be a very long and very uneasy four years.
But anyway, enough about that. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.
Near the beginning of January, someone (or some people) broke into our garden shed and took a garden shredder. A pretty hefty thing, too, I'm surprised they thought it was worth the effort. They got into next door's as well and made off with most of their power tools. Which is just such a scummy thing to do, really.
So I rang the police to report it, and at one point the police-lady asked me if I had ever reported a crime before, and I wanted to say, "Why, am I doing it wrong?" but I managed to refrain. Anyway, a few days later I had a phone-call from a friendly neighbourhood policeman who asked if I wanted to sign up to a crime alert email system for the local area. I thought this seemed like a good way to stay informed so I agreed.
It was, in retrospect, a terrible decision. Every time I get an alert and it tells me about burglaries two streets over or cars being stolen off drives really near to where I live I get really paranoid. There's just so much crime. I mean, sure, these crimes would still be happening if I wasn't getting these alerts, but at least I wouldn't know about them. Ignorance really is bliss.
Last year, I aimed to read 30 books and in the end I managed to read 40. I could have read more, too, but I hit my target in August and then slowed down considerably, and re-read a few books instead of just reading new ones. So this year, my aim is to read 40 books, and then maybe I'll read 50 all in all.
I'm off to a really good start because I finished 6 books this month. According to Goodreads, that puts me at 15% of my goal, 3 books ahead of schedule. Go me.
Favourite book of the month: Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Least favourite book of the month: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
It's February tomorrow. I like February. Pancake Day is in February.
Currently reading: The Sandman Volume 4: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman
Song of the Day: I Found by Amber Run (And I've moved further than I thought I could/ But I missed you more than I thought I would/ And I'll use you as a warning sign/ That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind)
So far he's gone after the Affordable Care Act, re-instated a 'global gag order' on abortion that will basically defund organisations like Planned Parenthood (which are so essential), introduced the horrifying travel ban which will undoubtedly lead to more deportations and families being torn apart, he's had climate change pages removed from the Environment Protection Agency website, and that's just to name a few. That's just a drop in the ocean of insanity. Not to mention he's still going on about that bloody wall. Look, you've all seen the headlines, but here's a couple of links if you want a more comprehensible list.
It's been eleven days, and it's terrifying. This is fascism in action. This is what fascism looks like.
I think it's going to be a very long and very uneasy four years.
But anyway, enough about that. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.
Near the beginning of January, someone (or some people) broke into our garden shed and took a garden shredder. A pretty hefty thing, too, I'm surprised they thought it was worth the effort. They got into next door's as well and made off with most of their power tools. Which is just such a scummy thing to do, really.
So I rang the police to report it, and at one point the police-lady asked me if I had ever reported a crime before, and I wanted to say, "Why, am I doing it wrong?" but I managed to refrain. Anyway, a few days later I had a phone-call from a friendly neighbourhood policeman who asked if I wanted to sign up to a crime alert email system for the local area. I thought this seemed like a good way to stay informed so I agreed.
It was, in retrospect, a terrible decision. Every time I get an alert and it tells me about burglaries two streets over or cars being stolen off drives really near to where I live I get really paranoid. There's just so much crime. I mean, sure, these crimes would still be happening if I wasn't getting these alerts, but at least I wouldn't know about them. Ignorance really is bliss.
Last year, I aimed to read 30 books and in the end I managed to read 40. I could have read more, too, but I hit my target in August and then slowed down considerably, and re-read a few books instead of just reading new ones. So this year, my aim is to read 40 books, and then maybe I'll read 50 all in all.
I'm off to a really good start because I finished 6 books this month. According to Goodreads, that puts me at 15% of my goal, 3 books ahead of schedule. Go me.
Favourite book of the month: Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Least favourite book of the month: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
It's February tomorrow. I like February. Pancake Day is in February.
Currently reading: The Sandman Volume 4: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman
Song of the Day: I Found by Amber Run (And I've moved further than I thought I could/ But I missed you more than I thought I would/ And I'll use you as a warning sign/ That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind)
Minor injuries are major inconveniences
If I had made a list of ways I wanted to spend my Sunday, driving Jack to the hospital wouldn't have been high on it. In fact, it probably wouldn't have made the list at all. (He fell over playing football and sprained his wrist. He's fine.)
Jack sent me a text, which I didn't notice until almost an hour after he sent it, asking if I had any wrist braces or bandages at my house. I told him no, but that I could get some. And then I sent another message saying, Also why do you ask? What's happened? The reply I got just said that it was a long story and that he'd explain when he got back.
It wasn't a long story. He fell over and hurt his wrist.
He eventually got back about a million years later and had stopped at Waitrose for some tubing stuff to support his wrist, and then he explained what had happened.
I said, "Does it hurt?" which was, admittedly, a stupid question.
And Jack said, "Well, if I keep it perfectly still, it's only a dull pain. When I move it, it's excruciating."
"How did you manage to drive back?"
"With difficulty."
"Do you think we ought to go and get your wrist looked at then?"
"That would probably be best."
So I drove Jack to the hospital. Anticipating a lengthy wait, I took my Kindle with me. Jack didn't have the same forethought. The wait time for minor injuries simply said 'over two hours', which unnerved me.
"That could mean anything," I said. "That could mean two hours, or it could mean, like, 5 hours. We could die here, Jack. We'll never see the sun again."
I am nothing if not dramatic.
Luckily, it seemed to have been a relatively quiet day, as after waiting exactly two hours, Jack's name was called, and he was back out again with a wrist brace and a pamphlet on hand injuries twenty minutes later. I didn't even get to finish my book.
He asked the doctor who saw him about driving, and was told: "If you try driving and it doesn't hurt, then by all means, carry on."
And Jack said, "Yeah, I tried earlier and it was excruciating."
So the doctor said, "I probably wouldn't, then."
Sound advice.
In all seriousness though, I really love the NHS. I know it's not perfect, but it's so nice to be able to go and see someone and get medical advice and treatment and not be charged for it.
Anyway, this morning I watched Jack struggle to put his t-shirt on, and said, "Do you want any help?"
To which he replied solemnly, "This is my life now, Em. I've got to get used to it."
Because Jack is also nothing if not dramatic.
Song of the Day: Deserve This by Circa Waves (Oh why do I deserve this/ I was never good on purpose)
Jack sent me a text, which I didn't notice until almost an hour after he sent it, asking if I had any wrist braces or bandages at my house. I told him no, but that I could get some. And then I sent another message saying, Also why do you ask? What's happened? The reply I got just said that it was a long story and that he'd explain when he got back.
It wasn't a long story. He fell over and hurt his wrist.
He eventually got back about a million years later and had stopped at Waitrose for some tubing stuff to support his wrist, and then he explained what had happened.
I said, "Does it hurt?" which was, admittedly, a stupid question.
And Jack said, "Well, if I keep it perfectly still, it's only a dull pain. When I move it, it's excruciating."
"How did you manage to drive back?"
"With difficulty."
"Do you think we ought to go and get your wrist looked at then?"
"That would probably be best."
So I drove Jack to the hospital. Anticipating a lengthy wait, I took my Kindle with me. Jack didn't have the same forethought. The wait time for minor injuries simply said 'over two hours', which unnerved me.
"That could mean anything," I said. "That could mean two hours, or it could mean, like, 5 hours. We could die here, Jack. We'll never see the sun again."
I am nothing if not dramatic.
Luckily, it seemed to have been a relatively quiet day, as after waiting exactly two hours, Jack's name was called, and he was back out again with a wrist brace and a pamphlet on hand injuries twenty minutes later. I didn't even get to finish my book.
He asked the doctor who saw him about driving, and was told: "If you try driving and it doesn't hurt, then by all means, carry on."
And Jack said, "Yeah, I tried earlier and it was excruciating."
So the doctor said, "I probably wouldn't, then."
Sound advice.
In all seriousness though, I really love the NHS. I know it's not perfect, but it's so nice to be able to go and see someone and get medical advice and treatment and not be charged for it.
Anyway, this morning I watched Jack struggle to put his t-shirt on, and said, "Do you want any help?"
To which he replied solemnly, "This is my life now, Em. I've got to get used to it."
Because Jack is also nothing if not dramatic.
Song of the Day: Deserve This by Circa Waves (Oh why do I deserve this/ I was never good on purpose)
Little Updates
I had a visitor yesterday.
He kindly stuck around long enough for me to grab my camera and sneak outside to take a couple of pictures, and then when I looked up from my camera display, he had vanished. So long, friend.
In getting my camera to photograph my little fox pal, I finally got around to moving photos onto my laptop, which means a select few of the Newquay ones will be up at some point. There's some great ones, Newquay is beautiful. So watch this space for those. Or don't, whatever. I'm not the boss of you.
I recently read the entire Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor and I loved it so much (excellent recommendation, thank you Lydia). Here's some mini extracts (non-spoilery).
He kindly stuck around long enough for me to grab my camera and sneak outside to take a couple of pictures, and then when I looked up from my camera display, he had vanished. So long, friend.
In getting my camera to photograph my little fox pal, I finally got around to moving photos onto my laptop, which means a select few of the Newquay ones will be up at some point. There's some great ones, Newquay is beautiful. So watch this space for those. Or don't, whatever. I'm not the boss of you.
I recently read the entire Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor and I loved it so much (excellent recommendation, thank you Lydia). Here's some mini extracts (non-spoilery).
"Where I come from, old man, a soul's as useless as teeth to the dead."
"Spoken, I think, by one who still remembers what it was like to have one."
Akiva did remember. His memories were knives, and he was not pleased to have them turned against him. "You should worry about your own soul, not mine."
"My soul is clean. I've never killed anyone. But you, oh you. Look at your hands."
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone
"Mercy breeds mercy as slaughter breeds slaughter. We can't expect the world to be better than we make it."
- Days of Blood and Starlight
The two of them were stoic and stone-faced and ten feet apart, currently not even looking at each other, but Zuzanna had the impression of a pair of magnets pretending not to be magnets.
Which, you know, only works until it doesn't.
- Dreams of Gods and Monsters
They were right up my street, I really enjoyed them. Also they have what is maybe my new favourite fictional friendship in Karou and Zuzanna, I loved their dynamic.
In other news, I've seen a few new (to me - two of them are actually old) films. I watched Love, Rosie on Netflix which is your standard predictable romance, but fairly enjoyable nonetheless. The other two are both Studio Ghibli ones. Firstly, Laputa Castle in the Sky which is adorable and I really loved. The second one was Grave of the Fireflies which I knew enough about to know that it was going to be sad, but holy hell, it is potentially the most upsetting movie I have ever seen. I sobbed. And I am not known for sobbing.
Music wise, I have been listening to a lot of soundtracks, namely from Princess Mononoke and Braveheart. But also, Stevie Wonder and Adam Lambert (I can't get Another Lonely Night out of my head.)
Song of the Day: Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie (And I do believe it's true/That there are roads left in both of our shoes/But if the silence takes you then I hope it takes me too)
Pia-pia-piano
Way back in January, I wrote this post outlining a few of my goals for 2014. Number 1 on that list was to start playing the piano more regularly. I'm afraid to say that I haven't played it at all this year. Not once.
Until today that is. We have a proper piano (I say 'proper', it's not a baby grand or anything as it's still an electric one, but it's human sized. With a chair and everything.), but in the last couple of years, every time I've played on it I end up getting incredibly frustrated when I don't pick up things as fast as I'd like to. So today, I went rooting in the attic for the keyboard I knew was up there, and I've brought that into my room to practice on.
As it's much smaller than the piano, it doesn't seem as daunting to me and I figured I could practice enough to not feel embarrassed playing, before I graduate to the 'big girl' piano. I've even ordered some new music to play, one will be arriving tomorrow, and the other I got in Kindle form because I didn't want to wait. The good thing about the keyboard is it shows you on the little display what note you're playing, so that should make things easier for me if I get stuck.
So that's my Friday activity. I should probably go outside, it's really sunny...
Currently reading: The Maze Runner by James Dashner, because I saw a trailer for the movie and it looks really good.
Song of the Day: That's What's Up by Lennon & Maisy
Until today that is. We have a proper piano (I say 'proper', it's not a baby grand or anything as it's still an electric one, but it's human sized. With a chair and everything.), but in the last couple of years, every time I've played on it I end up getting incredibly frustrated when I don't pick up things as fast as I'd like to. So today, I went rooting in the attic for the keyboard I knew was up there, and I've brought that into my room to practice on.
As it's much smaller than the piano, it doesn't seem as daunting to me and I figured I could practice enough to not feel embarrassed playing, before I graduate to the 'big girl' piano. I've even ordered some new music to play, one will be arriving tomorrow, and the other I got in Kindle form because I didn't want to wait. The good thing about the keyboard is it shows you on the little display what note you're playing, so that should make things easier for me if I get stuck.
So that's my Friday activity. I should probably go outside, it's really sunny...
Currently reading: The Maze Runner by James Dashner, because I saw a trailer for the movie and it looks really good.
Song of the Day: That's What's Up by Lennon & Maisy
Blogging thoughts
So the last time I was here, it was July and we were experiencing the best summer we've had in years in the UK. Now, it's the middle of October and winter is fast approaching.
I don't know what happened to be honest. I just lost all motivation and inclination to blog anything. Also because I have another blog as well, I felt like I couldn't update one without the other. I think that I probably don't blog consistently (despite my good intentions) because I have two blogs and it's hard to be organised enough to keep on top of things with both of them.
I've been thinking about maybe starting a new blog which combines both of my original blogs together and then just deleting the old ones. The only trouble is, I'd want to import all (or at least most) of the posts from both blogs into the new one, and I don't think I'm tech-savvy enough to do that. Although I'm sure it can be done, I'll have to look into it. I just feel like I kind of want to start again (but without really starting again as I'd still have all my posts from both of these blogs, just in a brand new space, if that makes sense!) Anyway, these are just some thoughts I've been having, so stay tuned as I may be making some changes and moving to a different space of the internet, haha.
This outfit looks better in person than it does in pictures which is annoying because I actually really like it. Never mind, you can just take my word for it. Also, I'm wearing my new glasses (well they're not that new anymore but they haven't made an appearance here because I've been absent for so long!).
I don't know what happened to be honest. I just lost all motivation and inclination to blog anything. Also because I have another blog as well, I felt like I couldn't update one without the other. I think that I probably don't blog consistently (despite my good intentions) because I have two blogs and it's hard to be organised enough to keep on top of things with both of them.
I've been thinking about maybe starting a new blog which combines both of my original blogs together and then just deleting the old ones. The only trouble is, I'd want to import all (or at least most) of the posts from both blogs into the new one, and I don't think I'm tech-savvy enough to do that. Although I'm sure it can be done, I'll have to look into it. I just feel like I kind of want to start again (but without really starting again as I'd still have all my posts from both of these blogs, just in a brand new space, if that makes sense!) Anyway, these are just some thoughts I've been having, so stay tuned as I may be making some changes and moving to a different space of the internet, haha.
This outfit looks better in person than it does in pictures which is annoying because I actually really like it. Never mind, you can just take my word for it. Also, I'm wearing my new glasses (well they're not that new anymore but they haven't made an appearance here because I've been absent for so long!).
Jumper: Warehouse
Dress: New Look
Tights: H&M (I think)
Boots: ASOS
An update!
After an unexpected blog hiatus, I'm back! There's no particular reason as to why I haven't been posting, I've been busy-ish I guess, but not overwhelmingly so that I couldn't post anything at all. This blog is for fun though, and if I don't feel like posting something, I won't. Anyway, what have I been up to...I went to visit my friends Sophie and Joe and played lots of Mario Kart on the N64. Also, I turned 24! If I was my mother, I would say that I am now nearly a quarter of a century old, because my mum seems to enjoy making things sound ancient. However, I have just said that, so I suppose I am turning into my mum.
Anyway, the nice things about birthdays is that sometimes lovely people give you money to spend on whatever you want! So today I went to Topshop and bought a dress, then came home, put it on and photographed it immediately, because that's just how I roll.
I had actually seen this dress in white a while ago and quite liked it but something was putting me off so I didn't buy it. Today I saw it in this lovely blue colour and loved it so I'm glad I didn't but the white one. It's amazing what difference a colour can make in deciding whether or not to buy something!
The sandals are new too. These are my first ever pair of gladiator sandals, believe it or not. I know they've been around for years but I've just never gotten around to getting a pair, I tend to just end up wearing flip-flops. These will be a good investment though I think as they are much more durable than flip-flops, plus I can drive in them (ever tried driving in flip-flops? Don't!).
Anyway, the nice things about birthdays is that sometimes lovely people give you money to spend on whatever you want! So today I went to Topshop and bought a dress, then came home, put it on and photographed it immediately, because that's just how I roll.
The sandals are new too. These are my first ever pair of gladiator sandals, believe it or not. I know they've been around for years but I've just never gotten around to getting a pair, I tend to just end up wearing flip-flops. These will be a good investment though I think as they are much more durable than flip-flops, plus I can drive in them (ever tried driving in flip-flops? Don't!).
Hairband: New Look
Dress: Topshop
Sandals: New Look
Sorry for my pasty legs by the way. We haven't had enough consistent sun for me to get any colour on them, and I'm not really a fake-tan kind of person!
OK, finally, Google Friend Connect is disappearing in a couple of weeks so pretty please with a cherry on top go and follow my blog on Bloglovin' here. If you want to. No pressure :)
This is not an outfit
It is cold today. It is beyond cold actually. So instead of taking outfit photos, I made some soup instead.
It was good.
Howdy
So it's been quite a while since I posted here. Something happened that made me not want to blog particularly and so I didn't, and the longer I left it the harder it seemed to come back. But anyway, here I am, and I've decided to make a shedule for both this blog and my other one so that I can give them and myself a bit of organisation and structure. When I've finalised that structure I'll let you know. But until then, we're heading into winter (which is my favourite) and I need a new coat, plus I always want new boots. Here's some that I'm currently considering. So much choice, what's a girl to do?
A lazy outfit post
If you live in the UK, you'll probably have noticed that it's still raining. Therefore, I haven't been outside all day. And because we've been having a lot of these days, an awful lot of my outfits have looked like this one:
Cardigan: Matalan
Top: New Look
Jeans: Dorothy Perkins
There's been variations on this outfit, of course, but the main components (as in jeans and a t-shirt) have remained the same, and I thought it would be a bit boring to photograph everyday. If the weather doesn't improve soon (which in all likelihood, it won't) I might recreate some of the outfits I've worn out recently but didn't get a chance to photograph, like what I wore on my birthday, for my Grandad's birthday meal, and even what I wore to the cinema yesterday was quite nice. Which reminds me, if you haven't seen it yet, go and watch The Amazing Spiderman. It's good. No offence to Tobey Maguire but Andrew Garfield makes a much better Spiderman.
