I'm Going to Australia!!!

As you read this I may even be in Australia, I haven't decided when I'm going to post this but I'M GOING TO AUSTRALIA!!!

My best friend is currently living over there and I miss her like crazy so we decided I would go over and visit and it was the best of both worlds because I get to see Australia too!

Australia is somewhere that I have always wanted to go (it might even be on my bucket list that I posted on here ageeeeees ago) and I am so excited that I am finally getting to go. I'm only going to be there for 3 weeks which, in Australia other-side-of-the-world terms, is not very long. I would've loved to be able to go for longer but I have work and things to think about and there's only so much holiday a girl can take.

I've been trying to make sure that I've got everything done and that I'm prepared over the past few weeks, because I'm that last minute kinda girl and can I tell you how difficult all of these things you have to organise are?

I've never travelled without my family abroad, never mind alone so I've never had to be the one to organise all the flights and travel insurance and visas and money and the list just goes on.

I also have the irrational worry that I'm going to run out of money or something whilst I'm over there even though I know I have plenty saved up but, again, that's something I've never had to worry about because when you're going on holiday with your mum you can always just be a pain and borrow money from them... Sorry mum...

 

Also, the flight. It's long. Obviously, because I'm going to the other side of the world but yeah. I don't mind it, the idea of a long flight doesn't bother me, the only thing I'm worried about is getting bored and because I'm not flying with any family or friends I'm not going to have anyone to annoy with my boredom.

Anyway, Australia has somehow brought me back into the blogosphere and made me want to blog lots (especially about the things I do over there) so hopefully I can keep on top of this and actually post these things. I actually have a lot of blog posts saved up in my drafts because I wrote lots of things that I never posted for one reason or another (that's a story for another blog post though).

So yeah. I'm going to Aus. That's what I was trying to tell you. Expect more blog posts. Hopefully (I'll try me best, promise!).

Katie x

My Favourite Place

I have many favourite places in this world but one of them is a big love of mine in Nottingham: Rufford Park. 

Whenever I feel stressed or anxious about anything, or even if I just need some fresh air, I love to go there. 

It's one of the most beautiful places all around the year. When the lake's frosted over in the winter and your breath is clouding the air in front of you, or when the sun is beating down in Summer and making the lake glisten over every inch; it's always stunning.

If you ever come to Nottingham I recommend you put at the top of your 'Must Visit' list. Although I love places like Sherwood Forest too, it's just the constant calm of Rufford Park that attracts me to it. You have more room to think than you'll ever need, and you can walk forever and always find something new to see every time.

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

The Christmas Tag

I've seen this tag on quite a few blogs lately and I love seeing everyone's responses so I thought why not do it myself and get into the Christmas spirit!

1.

What is your favourite Christmas movie/s?

This could be a never-ending list if I'm not careful, but I'd say my all time favourite has to be The Santa Clause; it's hilarious! When I first watched it I was probably only about four or five and my brother used to constantly tease me that he was going to go and knock Santa off the roof so that he could become him. It's one of those movies that I have to watch every Christmas time when I want to get all festive = I find the best way to do it is to have a marathon with all three movies, one after the other.

2.

Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Always on Christmas day. I've heard of the tradition of opening them on Christmas Eve but I don't know anyone who does. It wouldn't feel like Christmas day to me if we didn't spend the morning opening presents.

3.

Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

Christmas is, and always has been, one of my favourite times of year yet I can't actually think of a specific memory. I think it's because every Christmas is as brilliant and amazing as the last! I just love that it's the one time of year that my whole family come together at my grandma's house and we always have a great day.

4.

Favourite festive food?

Pigs in blankets, without a doubt. It's the only time of year we eat them and, oh my god, what kind of Christmas dinner would it be without them?!

5.

Favourite Christmas gift?

This is going to sound really weird to anyone who doesn't know me but a Ted Baker pen that my mum got me for Christmas last year. I only ever use it when I'm writing stories and it's probably one of my most prized possessions, I can't explain how upset I'd be if I lost it.

6.

Favourite Christmas scent?

I love the smell of mulled wine and cinnamon candles that you can usually only find at Christmas time, mmm, yep, they're the best.

7.

Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?

I don't actually think we do... My mum and I tend to snuggle up and watch a Christmas movie whilst we wait for me stepdad to finish work, does that count?

8.

What tops your tree?

Well this one depends. I normally help decorate the tree at my mum's house and at my grandma and grandad's house and then I live between the two. If we're going to go with my mum then it's been a star for the past several years. If we're going with my grandparents, my grandma always has an angel topping the tree, always. 

9.

As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?

I honestly don't think there was one... Apart from a giraffe. Every year that would go on my list, even though I knew it would never happen - Santa was always very thoughtful though and got me something giraffe-related, whether it be a cuddly toy or clothes or something else! Other than that I don't think there was anything I asked for and every year woke up hoping and half-expecting it to be the year. I was more likely to ask for more books than Santa could carry, I did circle half the Argos catalogue after all, as well as spend my nights making a list of all the books I hoped to read!

10.

What's the best part about Christmas for you?

Definitely Christmas day with my whole family. I normally open presents with my mum on Christmas morning and then my grandad will come and pick me up just before 12 and I'll go and help my grandma set up for the rest of the family coming in the afternoon and then we spend the entire night laughing and eating. It's the best time of year for us.

I'm in the festive spirit now, I think I'm going to have to go and have a Christmas movie marathon now! 

Here are a few of my favourite Christmas tags that I've read so far:

Be Beautiful
MakeupSavvy
Chloe's Way
Peaches and Smoke

Enjoy!

Katie x

Cliftmas & Home Time!

I'm finally home!

I finished uni for Christmas last Thursday and it is definitely a welcome break. I still have work to do over the holidays but it feels good to have an official break and get home to my family. 

Friday was the official 'Last Day of Term', so there was a lot happening on campus, all known as Cliftmas! We got our picture taken with Santa, because who wouldn't? It's not like any of us are nearly twenty... It was an awesome night full of Christmas music and a hell of a lot of dancing and singing. It's safe to say, I had no voice the next morning.

I was living in an empty flat after that though and it felt really strange - I was the only one left at our uni flat out of a flat with eight people in it. It was weird not hearing other people in the flat and going into a completely empty and silent kitchen, I missed my friends too much over that weekend! Luckily one of my friends was still in the flat below me so we had a nice little dinner date and relaxed with Christmas movies for the night in our Christmassy-decorated flat.

I've eventually made it home though! I've seen all of my little ones and I've eaten lots of food, so Christmas can officially get started now!

Katie x

November Round-Up!

Heyyyy!

We're officially at the end of another month! Which, although might be a little sad, the end of this month means only one thing - tomorrow we can officially start the countdown to Christmas and no one can tell us off for it! Woop, woop!

It's been quite the busy month for me; I started blogging again (hurrah!), I've been to two bonfire shows/ firework displays, I met my new little nephew for the first time, we decorated our flat, I saw the lights switch on in Nottingham for the first time ever, I went to Lancaster, ate pancakes, and Starbucks finally brought back their red cups!

And that's just everything I can remember off the top of my head and isn't including the boring things like uni work that I've had to do tons of this month - it's been a bit hectic. 

It's been a month full of awesome sauce stuff but I cannot wait for next month and the arrival of Santa - Christmas is always a much bigger event and a lot more special when there are so many little ones in the family! I'm so excited!

Katie x

The Amazing Spiderman 2 and An Emotional Wreck

Oh lord, I'm a teary mess.

I just watched The Amazing Spiderman 2 for the first time and, oh my god, I'm an emotional mess surrounded by a mass of tissues and tears. I actually don't know what to do with myself right now. Don't worry, I'm not going to give you any spoilers or tell you anything but, had I realised the things that happened in it, I wouldn't have chosen tonight to watch it. I would've probably put it off for, oh, I don't know, the rest of my life!

Once again, I have come to my little space here with no clue what to write about. All I know is I need to write about something if I'm going to stop the inevitable flood in my bedroom from the amount of tears that are leaking from my eyes.

I love my Marvel movies, as I'm sure you all know if you've read some of my other blog posts, but that one I was not expecting. Confession time: I've never actually fully watched or read any other Spiderman based thing until The Amazing Spiderman series came out, then I started watching them (not going to lie, it probably had a lot to do with Andrew Garfield... And even a little bit to do with Emma Stone - she is one amazing actress). Anyway, because of that, I had no idea about what happens in them. I've googled it now but I so wish I had done that before I started watching them, then I could have at least prepared myself a little and had more tissues and chocolate on standby!

I'm trying to decide between FRIENDS and Only Fools And Horses now as to which is going to cheer me up more so that I can actually get some sleep... I planned on a relatively early night tonight too - guess that's not happening.

Well, this has not quite turned out to be the rom-com movie night I had planned. I think I might start googling what happens in movies before I watch them now. I can't handle surprises like that. I feel like I need a lot of hugs; my flatmates are lucky they're asleep or I would have probably gone and asked them for hugs, I need them that much right now...

Night guys...

Katie x

Another Real University

Hello!

About six months ago, maybe longer, I wrote a blog post about what university was really like (HERE - you should probably read this before reading anymore of this post), from a current students perspective. Well, since then, I have moved into a new flat, I live with new people and my view has changed a bit. 

I still think people are given the completely wrong image going into university for the first time - Freshers week is exactly how it sounds: great but messy. Other than that, everything's different after that first week. Obviously I'm in my second year now, so things are different for me just in light of that. I'm living with different people to last year who are also in their second/third years, so we're all a bit more mature and focused this year... just a bit though!

I love my flatmates this year. Let me just put that point out there. Last year, I got dealt a rather horrible hand of flatmates that consisted of a lot of bitchy girls and a guy who liked to hoover at four 'o' clock in the morning whilst playing extremely rubbish music at ungodly hours. This year I stayed in university halls but moved flats with one of my flatmates from last year (one of the nice ones) moving to the same block as me... if that makes sense. As in, I'm on the same campus but I moved to a different flat in a different block that was especially for returners (second years and above) and everyone in the flat is so nice; it's a massive shock to the system after last year. 

So let's have a run down of this years flatmates: The guy who's kind of old-fashioned but unbelievably kind - he came and retrieved a daddy-long-legs from my room at 5am one day because my friend and I were freaking out (I don't do creepy-crawlies! Complete aside here but did you know daddy long legs would be the most poisonous insect if they had the brain to use the poison? Nope? There's something to terrify you further then!). Anyway, back to flatmates; then there's the one I'm going to refer to as the musician because he is an amazing guitar player, like seriously - wow, and no he didn't pay me to say that! There's the loveliest Londoner you will ever meet as well as her being the one who exaggerates everything she's already exaggerated but it just makes her even funnier. There's the kind of quiet girl but has one hell of a partying streak in her (not that that's a bad thing). There's the guy I can't actually tell you anything about because the only word he's ever said to me, and most other people in the flat, is "hi". I can't forget the dude who I've never seen in anything but pyjamas and, finally, there's the quiet guy of the flat who is probably one of the loveliest people I've ever come across in life.

Added to my flatmates this year is the one guy I got on with really well in my flat last year - he lives in the flat below me, along with a girl I've grown really close to this year; the amount of deep talks we have at stupid times in the morning are ridiculous, but also great at the same time. I say she lives in the flat below me but the majority of the time she lives up here and occasionally goes to sleep in her bed downstairs - she's probably slept on my floor more times than her bed!

So out of my eight flatmates this year, I can't say I actually don't get on with any of them and I definitely don't dislike any of them. There are obviously a couple who I don't know extremely well for one reason or another but I'm pretty sure that if I knew them better they'd probably be really nice.

The weird thing about my flat this year is how I'd go out of my way for most of them and vice versa. Whereas, last year, nobody wanted to help anyone (aside from the guy who's still here this year - let's pretend he wasn't a part of the flat last year) because they were too busy trying to be better than each other and it's that kind of bitchiness I hate, so I'm glad there doesn't seem to be any of that this year.

I've mentioned in many previous posts that I don't generally drink much and I mentioned in the other post that I didn't go out much because I never wanted to. Wow, how that has changed this year. I think I've been out more times since the end of September than I've ever been out - which probably has a lot to do with my flatmates, because they're all genuinely nice people; I feel safer and I know I'll have a good time without them walking off and leaving me or anything like that (which, on one of the few occasions that I did go out last year, I experienced that - it wasn't nice). I'm still of the opinion that if you don't want to go out or you don't want to drink you shouldn't though. I've maybe started doing more of both this year but only because I know I'm safe, I'm going to enjoy it and I know my limits. But there have been plenty of occasions where other people have been going out and asked me if I was coming and I've said no because I haven't felt up for it or I simply couldn't be bothered.

Not going to lie, the whole lecture/seminar side of life hasn't changed much since last year; I still think the same things. Very few of them are genuinely interesting for the whole two hours or however long they last but you should probably still make sure you go to them - especially if it's a year that actually counts towards your final degree...

I still miss home a lot and I have been back a few times since I got here but it's not as bad as last year and I think that's simply down to the fact that I have some great friends this year and we're like a little family away from home. It's super cute. We even take turns in cooking etc. so we don't have to each cook every night - we have this thing figured out! I still live the furthest away out of everyone in my flat but that was pretty much inevitable, it's not too bad though, after doing them for over a year, I've gotten used to the long train journeys!

So this is the new kind of university that I've discovered this year. It's still not everything people make it out to be when you hear about it in sixth form and college but if it starts off bad, it can get better :)

There's still a bit of this year to go, seen as when I wrote about this last year it was near the end of the final term and I'm only just nearing the end of my first one when I'm writing this, but this has been a better start to my second year than I ever could have imagined.  

A few of my favourite pictures with my flatmates (and friends) so
far this year :)

Katie x

Nottingham Christmas Light Switch On 2014!

Hello!

It was the Christmas Light Switch On here in Nottingham last Friday (21st November) and, although we got well and truly soaked, it was awesome sauce!

They have a little Winter Wonderland spread throughout the streets of the city centre and it all looks so pretty! It was unbelievably busy on Friday night so I didn't get the best look around at it but I've been since then to have a little nosy and there is so much delicious-smelling food everywhere, my mouth was watering the whole time I was walking around the market stalls. They have some lovely little unique stalls too with quirky things that would make great gifts, in my opinion. 

They had a fireworks display when the lights got turned on, leaving the sky a sparkly (and smoky) scene; it was beautiful.

My friend and I even went as far as going on the carousel... Yes, we are nearly twenty and it's perfectly okay to still want to go on the carousel! I got hot mini doughnuts too because who doesn't want hot mini doughnuts? They remind me of being by the seaside with my brother in Blackpool - we love our hot mini doughnuts, hence why I took pictures to taunt him with via Snapchat.

The tree in the centre is massive - something like 60 feet I think they said! Whatever the case, it's huge. And it's in the middle of an outdoor ice rink, in case I didn't mention that, not that I'll be going on the ice considering I can barely walk without falling over every five seconds, god knows what I'd be like on ice!

We had a great time anyway, even if we did get soaked - a message from my friend (who was more soaked than me by the end of the night, definitely an achievement): don't go out on a rainy night in a dress and tights and boots with holes in; it's never going to end well.

Katie x

Music Crush #12

Hello!

I'm back to struggling away with my indecisiveness, not knowing what songs to choose!

After a long debate, I've finally chosen though...

Dun, dun, duhhhn!

Imagine Dragons

~~~

Demons

I loved this song a few months ago and then I kind of forgot about it for a while and then my friend, who has a radio show on Bailrigg FM from 1 to 2pm on a Monday (if you want to check it out, then there's a cheeky, little plug!), played it on the show and I became obsessed again - so there's a long story as to how this became the Music Crush of this week!

The lyrics in this song are absolutely A-MAZ-ING but, rather unlike me, I'm not going to go on a ramble about how much I love certain lyrics because I love the whole song. Dan Reynolds, the lead vocalist in the band has an awesome voice too, he can reach notes that even I can't... Or not tunefully anyway...

I don't really know what else to say about this song, I think it's something you need to listen to yourself so you can fall head over heels with it!

Katie x

Completely unrelated side-note here (and the same one that was on my last blog post) but, if anyone could complete THIS survey for me that would be amazingly helpful - it's for a uni thing and I hope to get a placement at the end of it, so any and all feedback is welcome! It should only take you a couple of minutes. Thank youuuu! (Here's another link, in case the other one doesn't work :) https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CVG5YBB )

Snapchat's Issues

Hello!

I never used to be that into Snapchat. When it first came out, I got it because everyone said it was great but I didn't really get the allure to it so I gave up, keeping it just so I could receive other people's Snapchats. However, since coming back to uni, I have become a bit of a Snapchat addict - but only on a night out.

For those of you who don't know what Snapchat is (where have you been for the last two years?!), it's an app you can get on your phone, where you take a picture and you can send it to a friend for anything up to 10 seconds, then after that it's never to be seen again. They have a bit on it now called "My Story" too, which is what I make the most use of, anything you add to it will stay there for 24 hours then disappear, again never to be seen afterwards. 

Well this comes in very handy if you're going on a night out with your friends because, not only does it document your night to all of your other friends who aren't there, it allows you to look at all the photos you took the next day - including the really awful ones that you wish no one had ever seen. 

I have previously mentioned that I'm not much of a drinker when it comes to alcohol but that seems to have changed slightly this year. I still don't drink to the point where I can't remember anything or I start throwing up everywhere - I know my limits, don't worry! I definitely drink more this year though and sometimes you forget the little things in the moment. For example, one of the first nights my flatmates and I went out on in Refreshers Week, a random guy came up to us as we were trying to take a selfie and said he wanted to be in it - to get rid of him we took the selfie with him, posted it to Snapchat and that was that. The next morning, when we were looking through our stories, we found that picture and burst into laughter remembering it, because it was such a small moment we'd forgotten it even existed. 

But, as good as Snapchat is, there are still a few problems with it:

1.

Screenshot.

I mentioned earlier the picture can only be viewed for 10 seconds if you send it directly to the person, well that's true, unless they screenshot it. Yep, that's possible. The worst thing? I'm one of those people. I screenshot all of the disgusting-triple-chins-hilarious selfies that my best friend sends me because duh! So when anyone does it to me, I can't even complain at them.

2.

Butter Fingers.

The problem you come across not necessarily when you've had something alcoholic to drink, you just need to be clumsy like me, where you send the picture to the wrong person. I have done this too many times for it to be acceptable. The amount of ugly selfies my brother has accidentally received because my fingers have slipped at the last minute. It's a horrifying moment when you watch it send and know there's nothing you can do about it. My brother's the loving kind of person that will probably use it against me in years to come...

3.

Lighting.

The quality of Snapchat photos is not the best on a good day but when you're in a nightclub with flashing lights everywhere and it's a bit darker than your average room, it doesn't help. Needless to say, you're often left looking like a creepy stalker that's all dark in the back corner of the picture or you're bright white and every flaw you have is emphasised - this is usually what happens to all of mine. Just my luck.

So there are a few of Snapchats issues. Luckily, to help combat the last one, they do have two filters now. Two. Wow. But yeah. I have a love-hate relationship with Snapchat and I doubt that's going to change anytime soon.

Katie x 

Completely unrelated side-note here but, if anyone could complete THIS survey for me that would be amazingly helpful - it's for a uni thing and I hope to get a placement at the end of it, so any and all feedback is welcome! Thank youuuu! (Here's another link, in case the other one doesn't work :) https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CVG5YBB )

I'm Back!

Hello!

Remember me? No? Didn't think so. Oops.

Long time no talk. This feels so weird to be writing on here again. I've missed it soooo much.

I've been gone for a very, very long time and I don't even have any excuses for that... I don't think "the dog ate my homework" excuse is going to quite cut it!

There has been so much happening since I was last on here, so I thought I'd update you on everything 'life'!

First of all, the last time I blogged was four days before Megan, Sophie and Daisy's little brother, named Oscar, was born and he is just adorable, I'm so proud to say I was there for the whole thing and was one of the first people to get to steal lots of cuddles from him - he's made me a very proud godmother, it'll also be a great story to tell all of his future girlfriends; you've been warned Little O!

I then realised I only had a few weeks until I was going back to uni and I wanted to dedicate as much of my time to my family as possible, which meant this little space taking a bit of a backseat, even more so when I got to uni and was landed with a lot of work to do. However, I did a blog post HERE, quite a while ago, about the realities of university and although I very much stand by what I wrote, things have definitely gotten a lot better for me this year in terms of my flatmates and friends but I might do a different, slightly-updated, blog post on another version of university I've found this year.

Now I'm trying to write it all down, I'm seriously forgetting half of the things I've done over the past few months - brain failure!

I moved into my new uni flat on the 19th September and pretty much all of my time since then has been consumed by some new and amazing friends that I've made, as well as the massive workload I've managed to accumulate lately, but seen as I'm going to do a different blog post on university happenings we'll skip to the latest events which is...

The welcoming of my new, beautiful little nephew to the world. Yep, that's right. Another little nephew to run me ragged and spoil tons! Harry Robert Murphy was born on the 28th October and I got a lovely text from my brother announcing he'd finally arrived, what made it even better was I was going home that coming weekend so I wouldn't have to wait the weeks to see him I originally thought I was going to have to - which reminds me, I also went to see Ben Montague and Shane Filan when they visited Carlisle, whilst I was home that weekend; they were both awesome!

I think that's pretty much everything... All of the main goings-on in my life anyway! I'll try not to leave it so long before my next blog post!

Katie x

Hair Problems

Hello!

Hair dye. Yep, we’re going there.

I’m nineteen years old and I have never once dyed my hair, I think I deserve a massive pat on the back for that, it's quite the achievement in my opinion! Every single one of my friends has dyed their hair at least once, most several, and I have not once given into the peer pressure! I’ve been getting really bored of my hair lately, though and I want to do something different with it. 

I’m against cutting it all off because, one; I’ve been growing it for a hell of a long time to get it to the length it’s at, and two; I’ll only like my short hair for a few months, max, and then I’ll want long hair again – something that I can’t just grow back at the click of my fingers.

I’ve tried fringes, no fringes, side fringes, all fringes and, again, I like them for a few months then I get bored of them too.

Then the other night I had a dream in which my hair was an ombré of my natural, dark brown colour and a honey blonde at the ends and it has made me seriously think about doing it. My problem? I’m not brave enough.

My hair is the one thing I love, and always have loved, about myself; I love the colour, I love it’s style (most of the time), it’s not really difficult to manage like some people’s, my hair has always been pretty nice to me and I’m scared, no, terrified, of ruining it.

I don’t want to do something as extreme as dye my hair and not like it, then not be able to get it back to my original colour and healthiness. I over-think, I know.

I’m so indecisive too, I can’t ever make a decision - I struggle to decide what I want for dinner every night! Even if I’m sure of which choice I want, I won’t make the decision in case someone else doesn’t agree!

I also considered maybe just putting in a few, little mulberry/cranberry red streaks but, again, I’m not quite brave enough, although I think that wouldn’t be quite as drastic as going full on blonde at the tips of my hair… I think a dark red could easily be disguised to with my colour hair if I decided I didn't like it.

I don’t knowwwww… I probably won’t end up doing it but I’d like to think I might. I really do want to… We’ll see...

Katie x

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #8

Hello!

This week's quote is dedicated to my best friend; she's on holiday at the moment but I'm seriously missing her and I thought this quote described our friendship perfectly!

"The best friendships usually steal up on you, you don't remember their start point." - You Had Me At Hello (Mhairi McFarlane)

This is one of the truest quotes about friendship that I've ever heard... or read, actually (it's from a really great book, you should give it a read). I know that I certainly don't remember when my best friend and I became the best of friends. I do remember when we first met because it was over a skipping rope and she likes to constantly remind me of that story, but that's definitely not where we became friends!

I don't think I remember the start point to any of my best friendships, maybe it's just because the best ones have been around for that long I can't remember far enough back, or it's because the friendships happened that quickly that I just don't know how to pinpoint the start point.

I've definitely had my fair share of "bad" friendships because, as my best friend likes to constantly remind me, I'm a softy and let people off with things because its easier than arguing with them - I really don't get on well with confrontation, I'm too quiet and shy for all that!

I don't know what I'd do without my closest friend some days; she's always there for me and I think she knows more about me than I do! We both go to different universities too, which can take its toll on some friendships (I know it has on other friendships of mine), but we still text all the time, and skype; we even started sending each other actual written letters, I loved that, it was super cute - not enough people hand-write letters anymore! 

No matter how far away from each other we are, we still tell each other everything and any problems we have we always tell the other first. I know that if I'm feeling a bit down or something really bad has happened, she is going to be the one person who can pull me out of that and pick me up. 

Soooo, my best friend is this weeks mid week pick-me-up because she's always there to pick me up and I'll always be there to pick her up. Awww, all the feels and the mushiness (sorry!).

Katie x

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #7

Hello!

I know I say this a lot but I seriously LOVE writing these pick-me-up's - they just get me thinking, I hope they're as helpful and thought-provoking for you as they are for me!

I've been going to post this quote for quite a few weeks but every week there's been a different one that I thought went better with that week. Well not this week! This quote is finally going to get its time to shine!

"No Ragrets" - We're the Millers

This quote will make soooooo much more sense if you've seen the movie We're the Millers. If you haven't seen it though, then no, I haven't had some spelling problems of epic proportions! 

Without spoiling anything, in the movie, there's a boy with a tattoo that reads "No Ragrets". It's an ongoing joke between my friend and I now, whenever one of us does something stupid we'll say "NO RAGRETS" and the other will say "not even one letter?" and then we burst into laughter!

Basically, the whole point of this week's pick-me-up post is to say never regret anything. At that moment, it was what you wanted. There's no point in wasting your time regretting something that you can't change. Just move on, tomorrow's a new day and all that. If you're anything like my friend and I, you'll just cringe and then spend a lot of time laughing about it! I think that's the best thing you can do, too. Laugh about it! Make it into an ongoing inside joke, whether you're the only one that knows it or it's with a friend, just laugh! 

However, if you do have a tattoo that says "No Ragrets" then I might have a little word with the tattoo artist if I were you, or tell everyone you did it on purpose as a twist on the words; you have no regrets that's why you put an "A" in there to show that. Something like that!

Katie x

Have you read the previous Mid Week Pick-Me-Up's?

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #2

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #3

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #4

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #5

A Mid Week Pick-Me-Up #6