Hey look - it's just about the end of January!

I'm enjoying having some time off.  After yesterday flying by so quickly, I still can't get my head around the fact that it's Monday tomorrow, and my birthday in just a couple of days, but I'm glad I've got this week off.  It's a nice feeling.  :-)

Today's picture is of a box.  But not just any old box, this is the box my new camera arrived in!  I asked Will to take out the camera while I was away yesterday and hide it.  It's already gift wrapped, but hey - it's nice to feel like it's a surprise.  Leelu's now enjoying this box very much, so it's served a dual function.  Impressive.

I finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire today, not long before my dad arrived.  I'm enjoying reading this series again.  Going back and reading them as an adult (kind of) means I'm picking up a lot more than I did first time round.  I'm seeing more connections and feeling more, if that makes sense.  I understand a lot better the implications of the events, what it truly meant to have war descend again in the wizarding world and appreciate that, while not for everyone, they really are good books.

Dad was up doing some repairs for us (thanks dad!) and helped me score off another item from my list by teaching me what all the bits under the car bonnet are for.  So now, at least, I'm unlikely to nearly break the car again by putting screen wash in the brake fluid......

Finally, with a little bit of shopping, I bought myself a new make-up bag.  It's pink (unusual for me!) and polka dot.  How nice.

I'm sure this doesn't make for entertaining reading - unless you really like polka dots - but sadly, the list is bringing me far more entertainment than you!  Reading these books, watching these films and doing these things are much more fun for me than they are for you to read about.  Sorry about that.

Nearly a month is over and I can without doubt say I have done more this month than in any other, with perhaps the one exception of the month my dissertation was due.  That is what this whole project was about.  Not really for entertainment or for enrichment - though those are certainly welcome by-products - but so that I might be able to look back and know that this year, I can truly say I've made the most of my time.  That makes me happy.  And really, isn't being happy what it's all about?

A lovely day

Ok, so since last time, all I've really done is read books and visited people.  So I've scored off Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (still my favourite of the series, she peaked at 3 and 4 in my opinion), and am half-way through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

My picture from yesterday was a lovely treat Will gave me for my pudding; nommy nommy caramel bunnies!

Today though, was a very special picture.  Today, I met Harvey.  He is just 14 days old, and is the new-born son of my cousin and his girlfriend - the first baby out of our generation, as it were.  He's the first baby I've ever met.  That sounds weird, but I'd never seen a baby in real life younger than 12 months.

I got to cuddle him for ages and it was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  Babies are so little!  People say that all the time, but things like their ears and fingers - I couldn't get over that people come in that small a version.  It was lovely to meet Harvey and it's kind of awesome knowing I'm going to see him grow up.  Pretty cool, huh?

The day that never was AND "Step away from the pizza!"

Today, I was excited.  Why?  Because I got to order my camera!  Mum and dad transferred me the money so that I could get it delivered here in time for my birthday.  Gleefully, I set to and plugged my order (and gift-wrapping request) into Amazon.  

Duly ordered, I got ready to head into town and complete a few other list items including Buy a hot water bottle and Get a proper make-up bag, at Boots.  With card in hand, off I went.  Except, the day that I'd planned never was.

*Sad face*

Apparently, the bank thought my spending this morning was unusual thus activating their fraud detection system.  My card and accounts were frozen.  In a word, I was @!£k&*.  It's all sorted now because of course I didn't steal my own card and yes, I'm very glad RBS are protecting my interests and my money.  I'm rescheduling those purchases for Wednesday as I'll be in town getting my hair cut.  (Fancy!)

It ended up that the only things I was able to do today was take my photo and get Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban from the library. 

My photo is shot from my bedroom window.  The depth of colour doesn't show here as well as it did in person, but it was pretty stunning with the sun shining on the tree and brickwork, making it bright and golden, contrasted with the black sky behind.  Awesomeness.  I hope my new camera can do shots like that justice!

And as for the pizza.... Well, that's what I had for tea.  Too much of it.  It was nommy though.  Hehe.

Reading at the speed of light

*deep breath*

Aaaaah...

I feel back to myself again!  I have ploughed my way through The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets since last time.

First, if you haven't read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, (a) where have you been?! and (b) go and read it right now.  If you read nothing else in 2011, read this book.  Surely, you realise this is high praise.  It's about a boy called Christopher Boone, who has Asperger's Syndrome.  Not only is it beautifully written, but it gives an insight into this disorder in a delicate and charming way.  Most of all though, it's a book you put down and say "Wow, I'm glad I read that".  Go!  Read!

As for the Harry Potter's, well, if you don't know what they're about you must have been under a rock or something.  I haven't read these two since I was 9 so it was good to go back and refresh my memory but they are so short!  My favourite of the series is book three, so I look forward to getting my teeth stuck into it again.  I haven't re-read any of the other books though and I think it'll be good to go back and reminisce, as it were.

Today, I also managed to tick off Take post cards in to work to decorate the office, and I have Million Dollar Baby from LoveFilm to watch today or tomorrow.  And of course, my photos:

The end of the trilogy

Although I was at work today, last night I finally completed Return of the King. 

You know, I read a lot.  Basically, if it stands still, I'll read it.  In fact the list was originally going to be a list of 100 books to read.  Ambitious, at around one book per three days.  I decided there was a lot more I needed to do, so the list expanded to films and "things" as well, but there's still a lot of books.

Usually, I read really fast.  I suppose as well that I've read the LOTR trilogy in not too long a time but as it did the first time, it made me struggle.  There are so many names (and so many things have multiple names!) and so much going on, I often find myself having to re-read paragraphs or even pages some times.  Not a big deal I know, but I'm used to sprinting through a book.  This was more like a slow jog with high heels on.

Nevertheless, I loved it just as much as I did the first time.  These books inspire me and give me that itch to keep writing.  I think it's something to do with the power of imagination.  I don't think mine is good enough to create a world like Middle Earth, but given the words and description I can just about make it.  Aah...

Finally, my 365 for today is Beno (Corbyn).  He doesn't like posing for the camera, but since I've got him back, I thought you might like to see this trouble maker - if you haven't already!

A Tale of Two Kitties

Once upon a time, there were two kitties; a brother and a sister called Corbyn and Leelu, who decided to take their pet humans for a trip to Edinburgh.  Corbyn and Leelu hated car journeys, but it seemed like the fastest way to travel - after all, it's not like they had all the time in the world for lazing and doing nothing.  Nevertheless, it wasn't a pleasant journey, and Leelu spent most of the time shouting at her pets to drive more carefully. 

Finally (after much shouting and direction from Leelu), they all finally arrived in Edinburgh.  Corbyn was not pleased with his pets at all, or the house they'd brought him too, so he decided to exact his revenge.  When his pets - Katy and Will - went out to the garden he slipped away, activating his ninja self and disappeared into the shadows.  Katy, Will and Leelu were very worried but although Corbyn heard them shout, he had no intention of humouring them just yet.

Will and Katy were upset their owner cat had disappeared.  Leelu was fed up with their fretting so she sent them out for the night.  She knew it was their fifth anniversary and - being the lovely owner she is - wanted them to enjoy it.  So, with Leelu's blessing, Katy and Will headed into town and got ready for a night on the town.  

They had a lovely night.  A leisurely meal with a lovely bottle of wine, followed by a film all topped off with lots of memories and chatting and laughing made it all a wonderful night. It meant Katy was able to tick off Stay in a hotel for a night from her list.  

After a little shopping the next morning they went back to the house where Leelu was staying to discover Corbyn was still out ninja-ing.  It was difficult to stop worrying, but they knew that Corbyn would only come back when he was good and ready.  So, instead, Katy and Will Learnt a new card game - rummy.  They did not too badly at it either! 

At night time though, Will and Katy couldn't sleep.  For some reason, Leelu kept running up and down their bed, purring and meowing, getting frustrated they couldn't understand her simple message.  An hour she kept telling them, but they still didn't get it.  Eventually though it clicked.  Corbyn had come out of ninja-ness and was wanting fed.  Obviously his silly pets didn't quite understand so he'd asked Leelu to tell them what for.  Finally, though, Katy pulled herself out of bed and let Corbyn in.

Having had enough of adventures, Corbyn and Leelu decided the time for adventures was over.  It was time to go home.  So they told their pets to pack up and to drive them back to their normal house.  At least pets are good for somethings.  It was a relief to get back to their familiar home.  The cat flap, the bed, the Poang chair and bean bag.  The food.  The giraffe.  

Home.  They were glad to be back.  That tale had ended, with another one ready to begin.  

The End

An exciting weekend

Well, today's post might be the last for the weekend, because in about two hours we're off to Edinburgh for the weekend because it's our fifth anniversary.  Can't quite believe it! That means tonight, I will have ticked off stay a night in a hotel.  Hurrah!  I've had some other good ticks in the last day or so.  I watched The Green Mile and My Neighbour Tortoro and finished The Two Towers.

I hadn't seen either of those films before and loved both.  I'm not going to lie - I was in tears at the end of The Green Mile.  I don't want to spoil it for anyone whose not seen it, but I would absolutely recommend it.  But accompanied by a box of tissues.  As for My Neighbour Tortoro, it was one of the Studio Ghibli films I hadn't seen.  It was a lovely story.  The kind of film I'd watch when I was off ill to cheer me up.  I have also added "Tortoro plushie" to my Christmas list.  Mwahahaha.  (And sorry if I'm spell Tortoro wrong, spelling isn't always my strong point).

Here's yesterday's pictures.  (Today's will be taken tonight, if that makes sense).  This is Corbyn, our other cat, who is a fat little ninja.  See, this picture - fat, unassuming, meowing.  (Moustache!)

In this photo, he's warping into his ninja self, and moving so fast he blurs.  Cool, eh?  He's an awesome cat.

Photo's and addresses

I was off ill today :-( I'm hoping just resting as much as possible will help my body fight off being ill - I really want to be well this weekend!

Since last time I wrote, I've finally got all those addresses into my address book so I am glad to have been able to finally score it off.  As I said last time too, I've changed some elements of my list.  First off, books in the Harry Potter series and Dark Materials trilogy have been listed serparately.  I decided to do this because I don't know when I'll read these and if say, I missed one, I wouldn't get a tick.  I felt it makes for a more accurate percentage too.  One item has also been removed "Have a girly weekend with a friend I haven't seen in a while".  The reason I took this off is twofold: financial and also because my wonderful friend who I'd like to do this with isn't going to be home this year.  I'd rather save that trip for when she gets home!

We got The Green Mile and My Neighbour Tortoro from LoveFilm in the post too, so I'll be getting ticked off soon.  Other than that, all I have for you today are my selection of photos.  From yesterday:

This is the ice on my windscreen - it was crazy!  Then, today and sunset over the city:

Sleeeeeepy

It's Monday (again, sigh) and I am still very tired thanks to the cats who are becoming too well-practised in torture methods.  Leelu made a break for it today and I did my best to catch her but she was too quick.  Fingers crossed that might satisfy her for a wee while....

Yesterday, I happily finished The Fellowship of the Ring and started on the next one, The Two Towers.  It's good to go back and read it with a bit more appreciation.  Although at points the books and films are quite different (e.g. Tom Bombadil doesn't get a mention in the films), I think they did the absolute best they could have in transforming a classic series into a new medium.  I am really enjoying the books again though. They're not nearly as long as I remembered...

Today, I've been boring and not done anything other than buy myself a pretty mug to use at work (one more easy tick).  I do, as well, have my two 365's to show you.  When Will looked at my blog, he didn't say much other than "Katy, your photo's are awful, you clearly don't know how to use the camera".  I did explain it was a bit unfortunate that the instruction booklet had long-since gone AWOL so he gave me a mini tutorial.  I'm still pretty rubbish at photo's.  Haha!  You have to look at them :-p

This is my coca-cola glass, courtesy of McDonald's last year, and I like the colour. 

These are my points.  I did ballet for a long time and would love to go back to it (but I will need to be a bit skinnier, because leotards are revealing).  Points are difficult though.  And they hurt.  But they look like proper ballet shoes... and make me happy.  That's why I love them as decoration.

Finally, maybe tomorrow, when I can be bothered (soon, promise) there will be a little revision to the list.  All we be explained in time.  When I'm a little less tired. 

Kerching!

Today, I'm am juuuust over two weeks of to-do listing.  Has it been exciting for you?  No, me neither.  It's going to get better though - promise!

I got to score off three things today, which made me a very happy person.  First, a weight-related goal.  As of today, I have officially lost 5% of myself.  Still a way to go (another three 5%'s) but it's closer than I was and I'm excited because not only do I get to strike it off my blog list, I also got two stickers!!!!  I love stickers.  It was a good day.

Secondly, I out-smarted myself and completed two items with one purchase - "Buy and address book" and "Buy and fill a birthday calender".  Check out this bad boy:

That's right - address book and birthday calender in one book!  That, I feel, takes to-do listing to a whole new sophisticated level.

I have also done the required work towards longer-term goals, such as reading more of The Fellowship of the Ring.  I imagine I'll finish it tonight as I've only 50 pages to go, but I don't want to go ticking anything off prematurely.  It's not a good precedent to set.  I also took my 365 photo.  Now, before you judge me - I don't like it either.  It didn't turn out at all how I wanted it to.  First, I'll show you the photo then explain.

This is Corbyn's (my other cat's) fur.  Due to the colour of his fur, in the light it looks super shiny and glossy.  I'd invisiged a square shot with a nice textured look and gradient of light; demonstrating how handsome he really is.  As you can see, it turned out nothing like that.  I could have chosen something else for my 365, but by this point I'd taken close to 40 photos (all equally bad) so I couldn't really be bothered, but it also serves as a measure of my improvement (that I hope will appear... sometime).

Finally, I am pleased to inform you that with today's stellar items I have now ticked off 20 list items!  Go me!

A little monotony

Today has been some monotonous listing, but listing that needs done nonetheless.  First off, clearing out the cutlery drawer.  This is what it looks like now:

It may not look very tidy, but trust me, this is a huge improvement on something that's been bugging me for ages!  My other item was figuring out all my direct debits.  This is a useful thing to have, given my small funds and need to carefully budget.  With my love of all things organised, I made a spreadsheet so I can refer to it whenever.  Bravo!

I'm nearly finished Fellowship of the Ring, and am hoping I can tick that off tomorrow.  We'll see what else I can do!  I weigh in tomorrow and am hoping to have moved closer to my 5% because, well, I love earning ticks.  :-)

And also, just in case you were wondering.... Those cookies from yesterday were delicious!

Om nom nom

It's been a relatively quiet day today, which is quite nice to be honest.  Leelu went back to the vet and got her bandage off, which she is very pleased about.  Her stitches are in for another week though so she still can't go outside till next Thursday, but having air at the wound will help more.  Plus, it keeps her happier because she doesn't have a sweaty foot anymore.  She spent at least an hour cleaning it, and now you wouldn't really know the difference.

I've done easy, relaxing things today.  I made some chocolate chip cookies, which are both towards my item of "Cook something from every recipe book you own" and my 365:

Other than that, I've played a little WoW and done some more sewing but really, it's just been a lovely day to reeeeelaaaaax.  I keep being pleasantly surprised by the fact that it's only Thursday, not Friday.  It feels like I've gained a whole extra day!  

Don't worry - I'm planning on being much more productive tomorrow :-)

Two things with more to come

Do you know, part of me can't believe we're already almost halfway through the first month of the year, but the other half is bewildered by the fact it's only the 12th.  I feel I've done more than would fit in 12 days - that's not even a fortnight!

Today, I managed to score off two things.  Given it was a work day today, I feel that's not too bad!  First, I got MBM's birthday letter posted (thank you Will for posting it while I was at work).  Mhairi, if you read this, I hope you like it!  And don't open it till your birthday!!  

Today was also concluded my week abstaining from Facebook.  It wasn't particularly difficult, it was more that when I was bored it was one less thing I could do to fill some time.  I've scored it off a lot sooner than I thought I would though, so more power to me, eh?  Lol.

My 365 today is of my Links of London charm bracelet:

The mortar board is to celebrate my graduation last June, the shooting star to commemorate achieving a 1st, the W for my lovely boy and the heart was a gift from my mum and dad.  I also have a ladybird charm on a necklace, which is to remind me of my bestest friend, the lovely Mhairi.  :-)

I'm hoping to get some more things done tomorrow, including taking Leelu back to the vet!  I am pleased to announce though that the following items are planned for the very near future:

• Spend a night in a hotel - 21st Jan for Will and I's 5-year anniversary
• Get a haircut - my birthday present to myself on the 2nd of Feb
• Have a massage - a birthday present from Will, on the 3rd of Feb
• Learn how to make cocktails and have a cocktail night - the 5th of Feb with my lovely girlfriends from work

This, plus any random things/books/films I can fit in between should mean I can get a lot done in the next few weeks!

One of them days

It's becoming apparent that on days I'm working, I'm not going to get very much else done!  So, I have my 365's to show you from yesterday and today:

From yesterday, this is a handstitched owl from the awesome pencil case my lovely friend Em got me for my birthday.  As a side note, you can check out her blog - 365 moments, 2011 in my blogroll.

This is a picture of a Kimmi doll I have.  There's lots of different types you can have and I absolutely love them.

Other than these, I've not much else to update you on.  I have one more day of work, so hopefully after that I might become a productive lister once again!

Snow day

It snowed all last night!  Not as much as the last time where we got about 6" in an hour or so, but enough to make everything look all white and quite pretty.  I did want some pictures of the snow, but forgot and only remembered when it had gotten dark.  So, today's (poor quality) 365 photo is of my boy and my sick cat.  I seriously can't wait to get a new camera....

As for list-doing, I didn't score anything off today.  Seeing as I did four yesterday though, I'm not too worried.  I did quite a bit of working towards various other bigger items though, including learning some more German, which has just got way harder, played some WoW (I'm still the same level but now have lots more achievements), read some more of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, booked my massage and put all the films from my list that we don't have in our collection on to the borrowing list on LoveFilm.  So when you look at it that way, it's actually quite a lot of things.

I'm back to work tomorrow and Leelu is back to the vet.  From tonight we're trying to get ourselves into a better sleeping pattern, so as long as Leelu doesn't wake us up all night, we might do okay.  Fingers crossed work will be busy because otherwise I'll get bored.  We'll see.  

Here's to a good day tomorrow.  And more listing!

Productivity in the face of exhaustion

Today, I am exhausted.  Leelu is of course very sore after having part of her paw cut off.  We understand this and feel very sorry for her.  However, Leelu doesn't like to suffer alone.  In fact, she sleeps all day and come the night time, she wants us to know how she's feeling.  So she yowls and yowls and yowls and yowls.  She yowls so much I've no idea how she has any voice left.  I was in bed by midnight and Will was with her till a little bit later so she was quiet, but after he came to bed, we were up at least once an hour.  

By 5am I wasn't able to sleep any more through the noise.  I got up and tried to comfort her, showed her where the dirt box was, talked to her, cuddled her but to no avail.  We just tried to sleep, but it didn't work and we were still getting up what felt like every five minutes.  Will got up at 6am to sit with her so I could sleep for a while.  I got up at 9am to go to Weight Watchers and then take over.  (On that note, by the way, I am only 2lbs away from my 5% goal, which is an item on the list).

As long as someone is with her, she's been fine and to be honest we're both far too tired to actually do anything else.  Trying to figure out what I could score off whilst also staying very still and quiet for Leelu, I decided to watch the Die Hard quadrilogy and sew.  I've been able to score off all four films in just one day!  Score.  While normally I'd tell you about them to prove I watched them, I'm far too tired and if you really want to test me, you can always email/twitter me.  I sincerely hope you don't care that much!

Lastly, here is my 365.  This is sunset over the city.  Now, I'm going to go eat some deeeeeeeelicious steak pie that Will's made from scratch (what a legend) and drink some wine.  Yum.

Irony: I has it

You know how, yesterday, I was gloating about being super amazingly productive even though I wasn't feeling well?  And how I was really happy over the fact that Will and I were going to save £240 a year from cancelling the pet insurance?

It appears that being productive isn't always such a good thing.  There I was this morning, quietly minding my own business and checking my email when out the corner of my eye I see Leelu wonder in.  She jiggles about a little, making me look at her properly.  Then, I realise that she's covered in blood.  Obviously, I instantly panicked, shouted Will and got straight on the phone to the vet.  There was blood all over the floor and the carpet.  Little baby Leelu wasn't doing too good...

Having rushed into the vet, we're shown the injury.  She'd managed to cut the skin on her toe (for the third time) and all the skin was off of it.  She'd managed to nick the little artery in the process too.  Although it had started to clot, she'd lost quite a bit of blood and so was taken straight into surgery.

This is what she looks like now:

Poor little Leelu has had to have her toe amputated and, as you can see, is feeling very sorry for herself.  She's been stuck in the cone because her previous history is of tearing at her stitches and that costs even more money.

So, you see, sod's law definitely applies.  However, thankfully we haven't been made totally destitute.  As our last payment was the beginning of this month, we're still covered.  Needless to say, we're going to be renewing our pet insurance.  I did cancel it, but have been shown the error of my ways.  But as Will said, at least it gave me something to blog about.

My 365 for the day is of a pizza we made, totally from scratch.  Are you impressed?

It's pepperoni and was yummy!  This also falls under another item of 'make something from every cookbook you own'.  The recipe for this pizza is from "Jamie in America" and I'd really recommend it.  We added our own topping but still, I think this deserves a thumbs up!

Of course, through all the drama of the day, not much else has gotten done, but I have started reading Lord of the Rings as my next book.  I read it for the first time just after The Fellowship of the Ring came oout in cinemas, so it's been a while.  Other than that, I'm just looking after Leelu.  She's even more accident prone than me.

Soldiering on because I'm amazing

Today, I'm very proud that I managed to tick another two things off because I've really not been feeling too good.  I slept till 11am and right now it's only 8.45pm and I'm exhausted.  I hate being ill. 

Anyway, moaning over, I got one of the little, niggly things done today that I've been meaning to do for over a year!  What is the task I've procrastinated over so much?  Cancelling the pet insurance.  I couldn't find the policy information anywhere, but it was really easy and didn't even take five minutes on the phone.  Score!  That's saving us £20 a month; a whole £240 a year.  Now, that's certainly worthwhile thing to tick off.  

In other news, I also finished The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which is the first book I've been able to strike off.  I've meant to read this book since I first saw it in the library in my high school.  (That's nearly 10 years ago....)  I saw the film last year and must admit I couldn't help but think of Robert Downey Jr. when reading!  I have to say though, I'd expected it to be a bit dry, but I've really found it an entertaining book.  All Holmes' adventures are told by Watson in short stories so it's quite nice to be able to pick it up, read a wee story then pop it down again.  I really would recommend it.

Of course, lastly, there was my 365 photo.  Today's photo is the view looking out my bedroom window, taken just as the sun was starting to come up over the tenements.

Give me your money!

As I said yesterday, today was a work day.  That meant a lot of my day was spent there and not doing other things.  However, upon checking my blog at lunch time on my phone, I realised I there was something I could do while I was there!  That is, make a sponsor form for me doing the MoonWalk and post it in the main office.  What do you know, I got straight to it and there we go - one more tick earned.

The rest of the day has been working towards some of the larger goals - getting a WoW character to level 85 (level 38 currently), sewing and the first day off Facebook, only six to go!  I also, of course, took my photos.  I've put in a whole series today because I loved them, when I took them.  

They're all of these lights we have up in the living room.

Except, when you move the camera during the exposure, you can get all sorts of funky images, like these:

Aren't they awesome?

I've also got sorted two more things that are to come off my list - a hair cut on my birthday (beginning of next month) and I'll be booking a hot stone massage shortly too as my birthday present from Will.  Fabulous, no?

I'm back on a roll.  Yeah baby!  Oh, and, to quote Bob Geldof - give me your fucking money!  Only joking :-)  If you'd like to sponsor me, you can do it at this address.  All the money I raise goes to cancer hospices and breast cancer research, and I am doing 26.2 miles to earn it!

Some days you get nothing done

Really, the idea of the list was to put all the things I keep procrastinating about into a format where they'd be unavoidable and I'd be forced to face down this list and tackle it head on.  It doesn't always mean, however, that I'll be productive every day.  Some days, you just need to sit and do nothing.

I didn't do exactly nothing, I did a whole lot of sewing as well as watching Beauty and the Beast and The Cat Returns.  I hadn't seen the former in years and years and it was amazing - it's still my absolute favourite Disney film.  I think perhaps I may watch it again pretty soon!  :-)  The latter was a Christmas gift from Emily and I love that too.  Studio Ghibli films are always fab and it's funny how accurate they've made all the cat noises!

I also took my photo, of course, and this time it's - somewhat ironically - a photo of a picture.

This is a print of a painting by Jolomó of a landscape scene on the Isle of Mull.  I love the colours in this piece.  It's just so warm and bright; it's like a therapy in and of itself.  I truly believe in the power of colour, it can make you feel warm, cold, tranquil, serene or agitated.  I hope to get more Jolomó prints in the future.

I'm back to work tomorrow and not too excited about it but hey... Perhaps there'll be something interesting happen to take my mind off it.

The nicest things

Today, I got to score off one of the nicest things off my list and one that I had been looking forward to for ages!  I wasn't sure when I'd be able to do it, but I heard a couple of days ago there'd be an opportunity for it today and I leapt at it - today I got to catch up with one of my best friends, Emily, in person for the first time in nearly a year!

There's something about catching up with friends that you've not seen for a while, that no matter how short a time it's for, it really picks you up.  Although you might be having a bit of a hard time in real life, things might not be going quite right, making that connection - or re-connection as it were - puts you back on your feet.  So thank you Em!  There's still a way to go for things to be 100%, but I feel so much better!  

After that lovely visit today, I worked a little towards several different items.  First, my 365.

This is Chilly the Penguin, my favourite Christmas decoration on our tree.  We're taking our tree down tomorrow and I wanted a little picture to remind me how much I love to put these decorations up.  And Chilly is always first to go on the tree! ^_^

I spent a couple of hours playing WoW levelling up a bit more and chilling out some; mindless entertainment can be a nice way to relax and forget about your troubles.  I did some more sewing too, while earning one more tick - watching Cars.  I hadn't planned to watch that today, but it was on the TV so I thought, why not?  And, of course, I should certainly say a big thank you to my lovely Will for sponsoring me for my MoonWalk marathon.  If you'd like to contribute - you can do so here, on my fundraising page.
 

Tomorrow is my last day off before getting back to work.  There'll probably some more working towards the long-term and maybe I might be able to find a little tick to earn... Wait and see!

Continuing the winning streak

To continue my winning streak, I decided to watch the third and final Lord of the Rings film tonight to earn myself another tick.  Hurrah!  Although I think the first is my favourite, I do like this film too.  Perhaps slightly pathetically, I always find a tear in my eye during the montage of all the torches being lit for help.  Not sure why; maybe it's the hope of someone coming to the rescue or the fear and anticipation of the battle to come but it happens every time!

I spent most of today at my family's.  We had a lovely meal prepared by my mum (well done mum!) then played a game called Pass the Bomb, a kind of trivia game.  These things are always funny because as a family we get very competitive for these games.  My cousin's girlfriend is awesome, she gets really into it!  We all do, to be honest, and end up lifting the roof with cheering and shouting.

I'd inteded us all playing that to be my photo for today, but I forgot to get my camera out, so instead today it's a progress picture of my sewing - the first commission I'm working on.

Still a long way to go but I think it's going to be lovely once I'm done.  It's a Japanese scene, with the blossom tree in the foreground, and a small town over a river in the background, with silhouetted mountains in the very background.  I'm looking forward to seeing it done.

The only other thing I've managed to do today is buy a diary.  A necessary thing though, especially as I go back to work on Wednesday.  

Today's got me a little nervous about this list project!  My attentions are turning to training for the marathon, which is a terrifying project, I'm not going to lie.  But, we can only keep going.  With plenty of training, I shall get there.  I have to, after all, to raise money for such a worthy cause.  I'm sure I'll feel raring to go again tomorrow - I have an exciting thing to tick off tomorrow!

Tip #1: Start off slowly

So, how was your new year?  Mine was excellent, after a shaky start.  Having bought tickets for a party, my family and I set off, enthusiastic and excited for the band, the booze and the rumoured hog roast that was going on.  At £12.50 a ticket, you got a tiny cup of mulled wine that was unpleasant to put it mildly, and entrance to a freezing barn conversion.  Now, don't get me wrong, this had all the elements of being great, but with poor organisation, a bit of greediness and no apparent forward planning, it didn't turn out so well.  

Being the adaptive family we are, we piled back into the cars at 11pm and made for the house, where an awesome house party ensued and we brought in the bells with drinks in our hands, and perhaps more importantly, warm.  It ended up being a really nice way to bring in the new year.

Of course, it also brought in the start of my project and I was eager to get going.  Then, of course, I fell asleep and got up around 11am.  Will and I lounged about, chatting away to my parents and my gran (when she wasn't on the phone) and gradually got our things together before leaving at around 2pm.

Now, I was all set for starting some of the bigger tasks on my list.  I did start one - my 365 photography project.  For those of you who don't know what that is, it's where you take a photo every day, usually around a theme.  My theme is to take pictures of things that have made me happy, and today's photo features my cat, Leelu.

Leelu's adorable at all times, but today she made us laugh by surfing a box off the top of our 6' high wardrobe, scattering all the bags that were in it, everything on our chest of drawers and our bedside table in the process.  Quite a feat!  

I managed to score off two films today as well (check me on a roll); I watched the first two Lord of the Rings films.  I haven't seen these films in years and I've got the extended editions, so they're pretty long but I'd almost forgotten how much I love them.  I get so caught up in the story and involved.  Not many films do that for me any more. 

I'm glad I started off with these two.  They're the kind of films that inspire, and they've made me feel ready to go on more of the list.  They haven't been the most difficult ticks to earn, but when you're in for the long haul it's best to start of slow.  The turtle wins the race, and all that.  Who knows what I'll get around to tomorrow.  I'll take it as it comes and just enjoy the few extra days I have off.

Happy new year!