Music Crush #21

It's such a long time since I've written a music crush that it feels so weird to be picking out a favourite song once again - back to being indecisive!

It's December, so it goes without saying that I've chosen a Christmas song. 

Now everyone knows the classic Christmas songs and they're normally involving Mariah Carey, Wizzard, Michael Buble, etc. etc. etc. But, in an attempt not to be predictable, I haven't chosen one of those people and instead I've chosen a more modern, newer favourite.

Kelly Clarkson

~ ~ ~

Run Run Rudolph

Now I'm a hundred percent sure that this is a cover on her album Wrapped In Red because I've heard this song a million times in the movie Home Alone. I'm also a hundred percent sure that I have no idea who originally sang it and I'm too lazy to go and google it, but if it bothers you that much than you can always google it yourself (like I probably will at three 'o' clock in the morning when it's annoying me so much I can't sleep!).

Basically, there is two main reasons that I love this song.

One: It's a Christmas song.

Two: It's a Christmas song sang by Kelly Clarkson.

And they are the only reasons I have for loving it but I do!

Katie x

Who Are You Again?

Why hello there!

Who are you again, you ask?

I've been asking myself that same question lately!

I apologise profusely for my lack of existence on here in a loooooong time. I honestly just haven't felt like blogging for a long time. A lot has been happening in my personal life as well as uni kicking my ass - they weren't lying when they said third year was going to be a testing year! I also got a new job a few months ago, so juggling that and my uni work is proving to be... a little challenging to say the least.

It's nearly Christmas though! Woop woop!

And we all know I have a deep love for Christmas. I've been to the Nottingham Christmas Light Switch-On (again), and then of course I've been around the Winter Wonderland market here (obviously).                                

I also went to meet my bestest girl in Manchester so that we could catch-up whilst drinking mulled wine and touring the huge Christmas Market there - it was incredible (again, obviously).     

I officially finished all of my uni deadlines for this term on last Friday too, which means I've finished all my deadlines for this year! How freakin' crazy is that?! It does mean I could relax a little bit more though for my final week of uni before I go home and get all the baby cuddles and snuggles. Then again, a lot of said babies are getting older now and try to wriggle away when I finally catch them to steal a cuddle *insert my sad, pouty face*.

I guess I have a hell of a lot to catch you up on then, considering the last time I blogged was in June - I'm a bad person (and blogger), I know.

So what's there to tell you?

Well, I spent most of my summer working and going around lots of UK beaches with my grandparents in their caravan (I made a nearby beach be the specification to whichever campsite they looked at).

And of course I spent a hell of a lot of time with all my little ones. I took Daisy to Edinburgh for the day with my friend and we went to the zoo during my summer break as a late Christmas present/early birthday present for her. The week before we went and all of the day we went she was singing "We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo" which is apparently a nursery rhyme she sings in nursery now, or so she told me. Whatever the case, it was the frickin' cutest thing you've ever seen!

Talking of my little munchkins, it was three of their birthdays and two in the same week during summer and they had an adorable little, frozen-themed, joint birthday party, which I was chief photographer for because I am the queen of taking too many pictures...

I also took way too many pictures a few months ago when we all went away for a little camping holiday which provided a well-needed break from uni as well as smiles and cuddles from a huge amount of cuteness!

My mama and I had a lovely little break away for a week in Glasgow. It was so relaxing and we got to catch up with some old friends too whilst we were there. My mum even let me drag her around the shops for the day, and anyone who knows my mum will know that this is a BIG deal because she hates shopping. And when I say 'hate' I mean hates shopping. So thanks for grinning and bearing it for me, mama.

I moved into a house with some of my uni girls, and my room is the best and the homiest ever (once again, thanks mama Fi *mwah*). I have a picture wall in the form of wardrobe doors this year, just to mix it up a bit. 

I was also lucky enough to get to go and see Imagine Dragons whilst they were in Nottingham on tour and it was, without doubt, one of the best concerts I've ever been to (although I feel like I say that about all of the concerts I go to).

I'm struggling to think of anything else worth telling you now... I've been so lucky to do so many lovely things lately that I just can't think of them all at once. That always happens, I sit down to write, thinking I've got so much to say, then realise, actually, I have nothing. Nada. Zero. Noth-ing.

Oh well. I hope you've enjoyed this little catch-up and, who knows, maybe I won't leave it six months before I blog again. Then again, maybe I will. Guess you'll just have to watch and see!

Katie x

(If you haven't already, please read my last blog post, it's an important one about the suffering my little hometown is going through at the moment. Just click HERE).

My Hometown's Under Water

My little hometown of Carlisle is currently suffering. I'm sure a lot of people will have heard about the disastrous floods of the past few days all throughout the lake district and, unfortunately, my hometown was one of those affected.

It's sad to think of somewhere I love so much, and have spent the majority of my life, being underwater and so many people I know being evacuated from their now ruined homes.

I'm a very lucky person to be able to say that all of my family were safe from it and they're homes managed to stay unaffected but, for most, they're going to be without a home at Christmas time. 

It's truly devastating to watch unfold and I hope that everyone is staying safe and well.

What I want to shine a light on though is that amongst all the bad things that have been happening throughout the whole world lately, a community can still come together to look after each other in times of need.

One of the worst parts of the floods in Carlisle is the people who are left homeless and without their belongings, clothes, hot food, beds; they have nothing but each other. But the nicest thing to witness is the way everyone comes together to help those in need. Carlisle isn't a big place but hundreds of homes have been affected and more than twice as many people but everybody has opened up their homes for those in need as well as donating essentials for those who need them. I'm proud to say that my sister is one of the people who's been helping provide hot food for the people who are currently having to live in community centres because their homes aren't safe or are still flooded.

Many local construction companies, roofing companies, carpeting companies and plenty of others are all offering their help for free in trying to fix the damage in the homes of the people who are suffering with the floods. As well as local businesses (and major chains) donating food and essentials. The local football club and their players even expressed their concerns and have given up their days next week to help everyone move things in their home and make them more livable. None of these people have to do any of this but they do it anyway, because this is there home and their community and they support each other in good and bad times.

All the emergency services have rallied together with even the army coming to help people who were stranded in their homes unable to get out because of the flood water surrounding them. My mum even told me that she saw a rescue boat from Lincolnshire there helping people. People from all around the country are doing their best to help everyone and that is something that I love. Thank you to all of these people because without them, this could've been much worse for a lot of people.

There are so many bad things that are shown on the news in the world but what's rarely shown is the good that people do when they come together in difficult times.

I'm proud to say I'm from this little city that's going through such a heartbreaking ordeal.

Please make sure you keep everyone from around the country that's been affected by the floods at a time that's supposed to be so special in your thoughts. Also, if you're anywhere near Carlisle or the Lake District area, and you're able to help or donate blankets and essential supplies, etc. to those in need then please do. Everyone needs all of your love now.

Stay safe.

Katie x

Music Crush #20

It's Music Crush time again! Wooooo!

I have quite the eclectic music taste; one minute it can be rock, the next charts/pop, to relaxed, to some kind of heavy rock stuff, to disney, to blues, to everything basically. 

Lately, I've been listening to the more relaxed music out there and, honestly, a lot of it's been classical/piano music, like Ludivico Einaudi and Roberto Cacciapaglia, but I didn't think they really suited this blog (although they are great musicians that you should listen to at least once in your life!). 

So, sticking to the relaxed music I've been listening too, I found an old sing that I've recently re-found, but a one that I  absolutely love!

Birdy

~ ~ ~ 

Wings

This song is beautiful.

I love the fact that I can still here the piano in it, hence why it's a part of my relaxed playlist at the moment. Birdy's voice is perfect with it too, there's just something about her voice that lulls me into a kind of calm serenity, in an eerie kind of way.

The fact that she's only nineteen too, amazes me - she writes amazing music, can sing, play the piano and is just all round pretty awesome, before she can even go to America and legally drink! Wow.

Here's the song, all for your listening!

Katie x

5 Things I Love About Home

 I'm home!

Which I already told you, I think, but, well, I'm telling you again! It feels so good to know that I'm home and I don't have to worry about all the things I should be doing back at uni, because there isn't anything! Now I have the whole summer to relax a bit and slowly start working on my dissertation. It's an incredible feeling to not have to worry about deadlines!

In honour of being home for the next few months, I thought I'd list a few things I love about home, because we all know how I love a good list.

1.

Family.

An obvious one, really. But no matter how often I try to make a journey home, I always miss my family the most. Especially my last month or so in Nottingham I started to get really homesick, and there are only so many Skype conversations you can have before you realise it's just making you miss your family that much more. So I can't wait to spend the whole summer with my family and going on adventures with the little ones.

2.

Baths.

From family to baths. Yep. That's how I roll! When people tell me they don't like baths, I actually question that person's sanity because, honestly, how can you not love baths?! Light a few candles, grab a book, make sure there's loads of bubbles and climb into that lovely hot water and life is brilliant!

3.

Cheese.

Shallow, I know. Seriously though, that stuff is freakin' expensive, and I'm a cheese addict! At uni I have to make a conscious effort to cut down on the amount of cheese I eat and try and make it last me. Therefore, when I'm home, I do the exact opposite; I eat as much cheese as humanly possibly and annoy my mum when she comes home and realises I've eaten all the cheese that she only bought a few days ago - sorry mum...

4.

My House.

Before you start thinking I live in this huge mansion, I don't. I live in a normal little house but it's home, and I love it. My mum has cute pictures of the little ones all around (as well as a few embarrassing ones of me and my brother when we were younger), and it just feels home-y. And it always smells nice; I never need to worry about walking into the hallway... not that we have one of those at home but if we did I wouldn't have to worry about it smelling like sweaty feet or whatever other kinds of smells there were at uni.

5.

The Countryside.

I don't actually live in the countryside, not properly anyway. However, my grandparents live in a little village surrounded by fields and gorgeous views and I live with them part of the time; it's one of my favourite things to be able to go and run outdoors in some place quiet and calm with just me and my iPod, and occasionally a dog or two as well if I'm at my grandparents. Something as simple as a lovely, peaceful view can make me the happiest person for a few hours. I'm going to blame it on the creative writer in me; it helps me to think better.

There are plenty of other things I love about being home but those are the five that come straight to my mind. Of course, there are things I miss about being at uni too, like all of my friends and my flatmates and I love living in a big city too, but it's nice to have a change and a little break from all that busy-ness.

Katie x

Music Crush #19

I've missed writing these sooooo much!

I debated for quite a while as whether to make this my music crush or not, but I've been in love with this musician so I figured I'm just going to go for it. Although, I'm pre-warning, if you fall in love with this rendition of this song as much as I have, it's not available to buy. Yet. Hopefully this guy will get signed soon and then I can listen to his beautiful voice all the time.

Calum Scott

~ ~ ~

Dancing On My Own

He has one of those voices that I can quite happily listen to on repeat for hours and days on end and not get the slightest bit bored of. It's thanks to one of Britain's biggest TV shows that I heard him too; he appeared on Britain's Got Talent, singing this song in his first audition, and I couldn't take my eyes away from him. His voice has that haunting edge that makes it hit you with every bit of emotion he pours into it - which is a lot. 

For his second appearance, on the live shows of the program, he sang a cover of We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off, and I can safely say I've never heard it sang as well as when he did. It was truly stunning. 

In  addition to that incredible voice of his, he seems like a genuinely lovely guy too. In any interviews I've seen with him, he's definitely managed to melt a lot of hearts and I'm sure he's going to break a lot too with that whole clean-cut look he's got going on!

He didn't win, for those of you wondering, however, he made it to the final and he was one hell of a contender. I'm living in hope that a record label is going to snap him up because they'd be stupid not to - I'd buy his music instantly, with no arguments!

Well, here's his version of Robyn's Dancing On My Own. And I've also put his version of We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off below as well, because if you don't fall in love with him as quickly as I have then we're going wrong somewhere!

Katie x

Second Year = Completed!

Haven't written one of these in a while! 

It's definitely not been hard to notice I've been as absent from this blog as a first-year uni student who doesn't actually care about passing the year with higher than the necessary 40%. I've missed this little space but I've really just had no time for anything that isn't Literature essay related *sad face*. 

However, as of a week and a bit ago, I am finished for the summer! Woop woop! It's been a hectic few months and uni work practically buried me (if you'd seen the state of my friend's room - you'd have thought she was trying to bury herself under a million printed drafts of essays about urban landscapes and feminism).

As you can tell, we were more than a little bit happy to have finished our
final exam and second year!

So, even though it's been a hell of a long time since my last post, there hasn't actually been that much happening... but here's a little life update anyway!

The last blog post I did I told you all about the awesomeness of The Script concert that I went to (HERE). Some of the girls from my course and I booked tickets to go see Imagine Dragons at the Capital FM Arena in November, which I can't wait for! I love their music so obviously as soon as we heard they were coming to Nottingham we realised we had to go.  I'm considering it a birthday treat to myself, as well as an end-of-second-year-of-uni treat.

Only a few days after I went to see The Script, my grandma and grandad came to visit me in Nottingham, brought the dogs, and stayed for a whole week, which was amazing! It was perfect timing too, because homesickness had started to overtake, seen as I hadn't been home for over three months. It was lovely to see them and I got to show them around Nottingham a bit more as well as taking them to Sherwood Forest, one of my favourite places in Notts.

I went on a work placement with a friend from uni at the beginning of my Easter holidays before going home, where I got to see all of my little ones! I really hate how fast they grow, they just seem to ignore me when I tell them they're supposed to stay little babies forever! My nephew has learnt to say my name too, so he kept walking around going 'Kakie' and grabbing my hand to lead me to what he wanted, because of course he would know that I'm a softie and give in to cuteness way too easily. Although I did end up working most of the time I was home, which sucked because I wanted to see people but it was good at the same time because money. What student doesn't need money? Also, rather bizarrely, it ended up snowing for quite a few of those days - I know I live in the North of the UK, and our weather is often a lot crappier, but snow in April? That's crazy weather, even for us!

In the meantime it's been a few months of many birthdays, including my own! Which has left me rather poor, thanks to many nights out (although very awesome nights out, may I add), meals, presents, etc., etc. All of which were very lovely and deserved!

As for me, I've unfortunately left the teenage years behind and I've entered my twenties, I'm going to make 'twenteen' an age though because it sounds way cooler... right? My lovely flatmates decorated the flat and got me a cake whilst my amazing best friend (I better say that, in case she ever reads this ;) ) took me to the cinema to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron which, may I add, was a frickin' incredible movie. Obviously. My mum also rang me to tell me she'd sent me a card but she'd sent it to the wrong address... again. Yep. Again. It's not the first time she's sent me something and then I've had to go and retrieve it from some random strangers that she's sent it too by accident - she's lucky I love her.

Then came all the deadlines and exams and all the boring stuff, blah, blah, blah. Needless to say they were a tiring few months filled with a lot of work and very little sleep. However, I did find a lovely little place that I started running, or even just going for 'procastination walks' throughout revision period, but I'm gutted I found it so late in the year, especially when I won't be living in halls again next year so I won't be able to just walk out my door and down the road to it whenever I want. Oh yeah, and I developed an addiction to chocolate digestives thanks to stupid revision. Ugh.

BUT! We had a great final weekend - as an end-of-exams celebration and a birthday night out for my bestie, we went for our final ever Saturday night out of our second year, with some of the best people, and had an awesome night with a hell of a lot of dancing and laughing!

So I've realised I maybe had more to update you on than I first thought, and this became a much longer post than I first thought it was going to be.

It feels incredibly strange to think we've finished our second year of uni; it seems to have gone so quickly and it feels even weirder when I think about the fact that I'm heading into my final ever year of university (and education in general) - now that's a crazily scary thought!

Katie x

A Night To Remember

Hi!

I was lucky enough to get to go and see The Script at The Capital FM Arena in Nottingham a few weeks ago, thanks to a very lovely friend who got me tickets for Christmas. Personally, I've never been to a bad concert or gig (whatever you call them) and The Script is definitely up there in my top three... It might even just be a war between them and McBusted for top spot because they were just awesome.

The one thing I really loved about this concert, aside from the fact that it was The Script, obviously, was that it was a really down-to-earth show, there wasn't a load of unnecessary props or staging, it was just them and a stage and a whole load of amazing lighting effects going on. 

I don't think this spoils anything... It's pretty obvious as soon as you get in the main part of the venue because you see it straight away but if you're worried this is a spoiler, jump straight to the next paragraph now. There is a little stage a little bit further back than the middle of the floor where they disappear to part way through the show and they play a beautiful piano version of The Man Who Can't Be Moved after saying how much the song changed their lives, and it was one of the most beautiful things ever. I didn't want to move after it, it was so stunning. Also the fact that they did this so that everyone, even the fans that were stood at the back of the venue or had seats back there, could get a chance to see them properly and they wouldn't just be little pin-pricks in the distance was such a lovely thing to think about.

The whole show was all about the fans and you could tell that, from their energy on stage, their banter with each other, the dedications of their songs, their enthusiasm, the way they got the crowd involved. At one point a fan standing even fainted and they made sure that security got to her and helped her before they continued with the show, which I thought was lovely, not many bands/singers would have that kind of concern for their fans. It was all pretty amazing. 

One thing they'd stopped doing for a while in this tour but did was the 'phone an ex' game. I'd heard of this but I wasn't sure they ever actually did it but, apparently, on their previous tours they would get a member of the audience to phone an ex and they would then sing to them down the phone - it was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time and definitely added something a bit different and unique to their show!

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this concert at all, it was one of the best I've been to and my feet were killing me afterwards but I guess that just means I had one hell of a good time!

Katie x

Music Crush #18

Heyyyy!

This weeks Music Crush was not difficult for me (for once) because I've been obsessing over this song for weeks now!

Ellie Goulding

~~~

Love Me Like You Do

What is there not to love about this song?

Nothing (just in case you weren't sure).

Everything about it is brilliant, from the beat to the sensual sound (if that doesn't sound cheesy), to the way it literally makes you want to have someone who can dance with you like she does in the video.

There is not a single part of this song that doesn't leave me wanting to listen to it one more time for the six-hundredth time.

There isn't much I can say about this song, you just need to listen to it and hear it for yourself to know why I am so crazy in love with it. 

Talking of being crazy in love, this song is from the Fifty Shades of Grey Soundtrack (smooth trasistion, huh?!), where Beyonce has a new version of Crazy in Love which is also pretty awesome, similarly as awesome is Earned It by The Weeknd, as well as music from Sia and loads of other amazingly talented people that I can't stop listening to. No matter what you think of the Fifty Shades movie, there is no denying that they have produced one fantastic soundtrack for it!

Katie x

An Original Obsession

Hello!

I've found a new obsession. Yep. You heard right. A. New. Obsession. It was once Suits (it still kind of is) but now I have a new one that may even have more of a hold on me than Suits. You did read that right. I am hooked on this TV show - I even dreamed about it the other night! I've watched a lot of television shows since Suits but I've never loved any enough to tell you guys about them. Until now.

So I should probably tell you what this show is before I ramble on about it...

The Originals

It's a spin-off from The Vampire Diaries, which is a show I went off a long time ago; after about season 3/4 I think I stopped watching, I thought it was starting to get a bit repetitive but, oh my god, I'm addicted to The Originals, more so than I ever was to The Vampire Diaries. 

It's definitely a lot more of an adult show than it's parent show but I think that makes it a lot better. Obviously it's still gory and bloody - they're vampires, what do you expect? - but it seems to do it in a less teenager-angst way. 

Not going to lie, I have a bit of a thing for Klaus and Elijah too. It's the best of both worlds; Klaus, a bad boy; Elijah, a noble bad boy in a suit. You can guess which one I favour, I'm sure.

I have avoided this show since I first heard about it because I'd gone off The Vampire Diaries and I thought it was basically just going to be the same thing but with different characters. It's not. Not at all. Not in the slightest. It's just not. It's completely different, the characters are more mature, and played by some brilliantly skilled actors may I add, the story lines are bigger and, I would say more talented and gripping but maybe that's all down to the actors.

I was never a massive fan of when Klaus and Elijah and Rebeckah and the rest of the Original family came into The Vampire Diaries but that was because very little was known about them apart from how much they were hated and feared, but this spin-off lets you further into their lives and I have fallen completely head over heels in love with the characters.

Joseph Morgan, who plays Klaus' character, and Daniel Gillies, who plays Elijah's character, are two amazingly gifted actors. For me, they make the whole show. They're not just two stone-hearted, thousand year old vampires who like to kill people for fun, they actually show a lot of emotion and go through some difficult battles throughout the first season. They don't just randomly kill people either, I'll throw that out there now. Hayley, who is played by Phoebe Tonkins, is also brilliant. She's a strong, independent character who you get the feeling can cope completely fine on her own and doesn't need other people to do everything for her - she doesn't rely on the men of the show, basically. The first few episodes I watched, although I was gripped, I did get the horrible feeling it was going to be a love triangle - which I really hate - but it turned in a completely different, unexpected direction and nowhere near a love triangle. It does have a little bit of chemistry and spice in there too, which I love - I'm such a hopeless romantic.

Elijah is without doubt my favourite character, it's something to do with his whole demure and the kind of person he's portrayed as, constantly standing by his brother even after all the horrible things his brother has done to him. The way he's always the protector. And the fact he nearly always wears a crisp suit helps too... I do love Klaus too though, with his whole mysterious character and hidden emotions, he has that cheeky smirk as well, no one can hate that. I'll stop swooning over the actors now. Sorry.

The whole show is simply fantastic.

The season finale is one of the best I've ever watched too, and I've watched a lot of television shows. It's heart-breaking whilst hopeful at the same time. I don't want to give anything away but it's possibly the best episode I've ever watched on any TV show.

I've just started re-watching season 1 on Netflix as I die slowly waiting for season 2 to be released. I'm that addicted that I'm struggling to live without the show in my life - I managed to watch the whole first season in three days... I have no life. 

I have no idea what else to say about this show apart from how frickin' brilliant it is. Everyone needs to watch this because I personally guarantee that you will fall in love - not just with Elijah (or Klaus, if you prefer).

Katie x

Music Crush #17

I'm sure past Music Crushes have made my love for all things acoustic obvious and that's the main reason I love this week's song. The tune is constantly stuck in my head on repeat (in a good way) making me want to listen to it again, and again, and again.

This Wild Life

~~~

Pink Tie

I found this song when I was searching YouTube for some new acoustic music to listen to and an awesome playlist called "Sexy Ass Slow/Acoustic Songs" (yep, that was the actual name of the playlist), was where I found this song.

It's one of those songs that gets stuck in your head and, although it's quite chilled out, it's still got a good, non-depressing beat to it.

Definitely worth a listen! This is the version I found on YouTube and fell for, so here you go!

Katie x

The Gym Thing

Hi!

I'm sitting here, a bright red, sweaty mess having just gotten back from the gym and I thought now would be the perfect time to write a blog post... TMI?

Every time I go to the gym I have a bout of anxiousness before I go, worrying about all the issues I have with actually going to the public sweat box. 

I don't particularly care about losing weight, it would be an awesome bonus but that's not my main reason for going to the gym. I go to be fit and healthy. It usually makes me feel better about myself too if I'm having a shit day. However, I always worry about the kind of people that are already at the gym because, nine times out of ten, everyone I see at the gym looks like they're already as fit and healthy as they're going to get and they're just there to maintain it, which is fine, but I always worry about the fact that I'm not going to fit in (which is a stupid worry, may I add).

So before I go to the gym, everything bad that could possibly happen runs through my head.

1.

Everyone's going to be watching me... They're not, but that's what my brain convinces me is going to happen.

In reality, they're too busy getting on with their own workout (the whole reason everyone is there!) than bothering with me. As far as they're concerned, I'm just another person at the gym. I still have the same panic every time though.

2.

I'm going to go bright red and get horribly sweaty.

You have no idea how long it took me to convince myself that this is natural. Everyone gets sweaty and most people go bright red, whether it's their face, arms, legs, or all three - it happens. Apart from those few lucky people who appear normal throughout their entire workout; I envy these people. A lot. In my mind though, the redder and sweatier I am, the harder I'm working (because, trust me, I go fire engine red; it's not a flattering shade). It took me a long time to come to this realisation and it's gross, but true.

3.

Clumsiness.

I'm so clumsy it's unreal and I always have this little niggling feeling that something stupid is going to happen to me, like I'm going to fall off the treadmill, or my foot's going to slip on the cross-trainer. None of this has happened yet. I've kind of come round to the reality that it will one day but until that day I really need to stop worrying about it.

4.

All the different machines are scary.

Yes, I'm aware of how weird and slightly pathetic this sounds and maybe not all of them are scary but a lot of them can be. I usually stick to the cross-trainer, treadmill and rowing machine but sometimes I want to try something different and I'm too scared to, in case I have no idea what I'm doing when I get on it and look like an idiot. There are people at the gym who are trained and are supposed to help you with this kind of thing when you ask but I'm always too scared to ask them... Way to go, Katie.

5.

Weights.
I really, really, really want to get into using the weights because I'm not the strongest of people, I'm not weak either but it's something I should probably work on. There's normally a mass of guys with huge arms (HUGE) surrounding them though and that just puts me off because; one, I don't want to get in the middle of a group of guys just to use them; two, I'm not entirely sure how to use them and the last thing I want is them all watching me or, even worse, offering to help, my body can't deal with that kind of embarrassment. 

I'm not the biggest gym-goer and I'm not going to say "ooh, I love getting up everyday and going to the gym" because I don't. I love my bed and books too much. That bit in the movie Pitch Perfect, where Fat Amy does her horizontal running is perfect to me - why can't we just all do that all the time! However, once I get to the gym, I do genuinely enjoy it. It's something to do with serotonin levels being increased by exercise or something like that - my biology knowledge is not amazing but I'm pretty sure I learnt that at school once.

I'll get over my issues with the gym one day but until that day I'll carry on having my mini panic about those gym things before I go!

Katie x