...in which I am hopeful

Happy New Year's Eve people :) I hope 2011 is a good year for everyone. I'm feeling quite good about it myself, despite the alarming rate at which it looms closer.

Here are my resolutions;

1. Be healthier (including taking vitamins)
2. Carry on learning Greek
3. Be more organised
4. Become a beekeeper
5. Keep playing badminton


And here is the obligatory end of year meme;

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?

Flew a plane. Cooked risotto.


2. Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don't think I made any for this year. I have some good ones for 2011...


3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Nope, but there's a lot of babies due next year.


4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thankfully.


5. What countries did you visit?

None.


6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

A place on a PGCE course. More money.


7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

No specific dates, just periods of epic fun times.


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Being the bigger person.


9. What was your biggest failure?

Wasting money.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

The return of my abscess, a couple of chest infections and massive hayfever sufferage.


11. What was the best thing you bought?

Boots <3.


12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

My friends, my family, and my in-laws. Just for all being lovely and amazing.


13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

I can't name names, but nothing serious.


14. Where did most of your money go?

Rent, petrol, food. Thrilling :).


15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Christmas.


16. What song will always remind you of 2010?

Take That - The Flood
Flo Rida - Club Can't Handle Me
Stereo Love - Edward Maya featuring Vika Jigulina


17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. Happier or sadder? Happier.
ii. Thinner or fatter? The same I think.
iii. Richer or poorer? Poorer.


18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Travelling and writing.


19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Working and worrying.


20. How will you be spending Christmas?

I spent it with family.


21. How will you be spending New Year's Eve?

At two house parties :).


22. Did you fall in love in 2010?

No, I was already in love.


23. How many one-night stands?

None.


24. What was your favourite TV program?

Two and a Half Men, X Factor.


25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

No.


26. What was the best book you read?

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom


27. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Eh, I don't think I discovered much this year.


28. What did you want and get?

I wanted a nice Christmas, and I got it.


29. What did you want and not get?

A massive Lottery win.


30. What was your favourite film of this year?

Inception was amazing, Deathly Hallows also brilliant. I also re-discovered how awesome The Mummy is.


31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I went to work on my birthday and then out for a nice meal. But on the weekend before I had cocktails with my favourite people :). Oh, and I was 23.


32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A cat.


33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Haha, it has no name.


34. What kept you sane?

Escapism.


35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

David Tennant.


36. What political issue stirred you the most?

The whole election was very interesting.


37. Who did you miss?

The friends I didn't see often enough.


38. Who was the best new person you met?

Ginette and Jenny (new peepz in my department at work).


39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

Worrying gets you nowhere.


40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

Nooooo, I'm having a total blank right now. Something optimistic and lovely :).

... in which I'm warding off post Crimbo-blues

Well, Christmas has been absolutely lovely :)

After a terrific lay in this morning, John and I are getting ready to see more family that we didn't see over Christmas, and then to celebrate my "little" brother's 21st birthday with a curry. Om nom nom nom nom.

My brother's birthday also marks 2 weeks until my birthday. Huzzah!

Happy Christmas to you lot!

...in which I sniffle

Health fail. Lurgy win.

God I'm so ill. It's a gross cold along with a chest infection and it's knocked me for six.

I have left my house only to food shop, and pick up a penguin parcel from the sorting office.

The rest of my time has been spent drinking tea and alternating between watching Disney movies and Tennant-era Doctor Who.

C'mon antibodies!! I need to be rid of these vile diseases :)

...in which am equal parts happy and sad

It was the last day of term yesterday (whoop whoop!). I was really pleased to get to this point because this time last year our last day of term was cancelled due to epic snow, which made me sad because I love the Christmassy atmosphere at work.

But it all went ahead yesterday. After a bit of a disastrous start to the day car-wise. My car was frozen shut when I went out to her at 7.20am. After wrestling with both doors I managed to get the passenger door open and took refuge inside with the engine on for a few moments before beginning 20 minutes of scraping windows. I then managed to get the drivers door open... and then accidently drove off with the passenger door wide open. Fail.

I spent period 1 at work with Jo making a quiz for our period 3 lesson. I spent period 2 taking a year 10 maths class, which involved watching Meet the Parents and making sure the little lovelies stayed out of trouble. And then it turned out period 3 wasn't on, so my brilliant quiz went to waste. Quelle shame :)

After a quick assembly we went for lunch. And then the snow started... it began so suddenly, literally we walked past a window and went "ooh, look at those clouds, it might snow later," and then when we came back past the same window two minutes later everything was blanketed in white! Madness.

It was such a great atmosphere in the staff room. There was a row of people pressed up against the windows going "oooh, it's so pretty" whilst the rest of the staff were going "zomg, how will I get home?!"

Eventually our Headmaster sent us all home early. Winner!

I arrived home and promptly fell asleep on the sofa for an hour or so whilst Jeremy Kyle wittered on in the background.

And alas! When I woke up my chest was sore. And I knew, sadly, that a chest infection was on it's way.

I've woken up this morning to amazing, beautiful snow, and a horrid chesty cough. You win some, you lose some.

Happy Christmas holidays :)

... in which my inner fangirl takes over

This is my 100th post on here.

woohoo

And I'm going to use it to proclaim my love for Take That.



Also, thank you to the loyal bods who keep reading :)

...in which I tell the legend of the Northolt Blackout

One Saturday morning in December, Katie was woken by John who had bad news.

"The plumber is meant to be here in 45 minutes to fix the water pump, but the electricity has gone in our building," he explained to a sleepy (and hungover!) Katie.

"Bugger," mumbled Katie in reply.

A short while later, the two of them were still without power, but ready to crack on with the plans they had made for Saturday. John had planned a Man Day with Leigh and Rob, at Rob's house, which was a few doors down from where he and Katie lived.

Katie was travelling to Birmingham with Leigh's girlfriend Alice to go to The Clothes Show Live. Luckily the girls' day was not scuppered by the blackout, however the boys soon discovered that the whole of their street was without power and alas! They had to relocate Man Day to Rob's parents house.

Several hours later at around 7pm, after thoroughly enjoying themselves at The Clothes Show, the girls returned to Katie's flat in Northolt to discover that the whole street was still in a blackout.

After a hurried phone call to the boys, everyone gathered back together at Rob's (dark dark) house where a hundred candles were lit and Chinese food was ordered. After a hearty meal and watching "See no Evil, Hear no Evil" on a laptop running on battery the five of them began to feel the chill, and fluffy blankets had to be utilised.

As 11 o clock neared, movement could be heard outside.

Suddenly, something roared into life in the road below and began to hum monotonously.

"What's that?" cried Rob as they all ran to the windows in excitement. As their eyes focussed in the dark and they realised that the humming was a large generator the lights in Rob's flat flickered on, to be greeted by cheers and whoops.

The end.

********


This was a true story. Sadly, in the epilogue, the electricity lasted until Sunday night and has been intermittent ever since.


7 working days until the Christmas holidays :)

Luckily I've started my shopping too!

... in which I apologise AGAIN

Oh, readers! I haven't forgotten you.

I've just been very busy doing a lot of un-blog-worthy stuff (like work.... blerg).

Last night I went to see my school's production of Our House.... t'was brilliant.

Tonight (soon in fact) I am off out to Ealing with some work peeps for a few drinks.

Tomorrow I'm going to The Clothes Show. Exciting!

Proper update coming soon for you lovelies <3