iPod today: Jessie – just coz I like it (and it’s my baby’s name)

I’m venturing out of my comfort zone again and it is making me odd…

I am not keen on self-help books I think they are a bit strange actually but here is a popular one that’s quite well known I think, called ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway.’

I have only ever read the title of this book so I can’t tell you anything about the advice the book offers but I think that title says it all really, and it’s a pretty good title to live by.

I am afraid of some things, I’ve mentioned the dentist before, and there are other things that scare me but I think facing them is the only way to go.

Change, going into something new and trying things that you aren’t really sure you can do are all really scary. But I always give myself a little pep talk; I ask ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ I could get laughed at? People could tell me, I’m stupid? I could feel embarrassed? These are all stupid reasons to be afraid!

So even when my legs are shaking and my stomach churning I just go a head and do it anyway because most of the time it all works out fine and the times it doesn’t work out the fall out wasn’t nearly half as bad as I imagined it would be.

I thought I would give you all an update on my tattoo removal. I’ve had my second treatment now and I am pleased. I think it is fading at least I hope so!

Here is the latest picture. The black around the top of the cloud is nearly gone now so that’s good.

For more posts on my tattoo see here: http://beforecharlees30.blogspot.com/2011/04/dreaded-tattoo.html

iPod today: Jessie J – Do it like a dude (my daughter loves her and seems to have gotten me hooked)

I am wondering when it is a good time to admit defeat and give up.

I have been trying to get my cousin to spend some time with me and his friends for months. I have taken to calling him at work every morning. I drop in and see him at work whenever I can and I organised a night out with him to see people he hasn’t seen for well over a year and do some catching up. I gave him six weeks notice that this would happen. I checked with him several times at least once a week and in the week leading up to the night every day. His responses went from ‘I’ll defiantly be there’ to ‘well I’m going to try’ until the actual day where he didn’t answer the phone or respond to text messages.

Obviously he didn’t show up. It makes me sad because he never used to be the type of person to let you down and if he said he would be somewhere he would be there.

His other friends have long since given up. They usually tell me they might drop him a text now and then but never invite him as they know he won’t come.

I am not writing this post (just) to moan, seriously when do you admit defeat and say: ok it’s your god given right to stay alone and friendless? I mean is it worth calling someone everyday, inviting them to things they will never come to? Or perhaps sometimes you have to just accept these things and move on….

Sorry it’s time for another list, I am a listaholic I think I’ve mentioned this before…

Sometimes I get a bit frustrated, not a lot, just sometimes. Overall I am a happy person most of the time things don’t worry me and if they do worry me I figure out how to change them.

So I thought I would share with you my happy list. These are the things I need to make me happy everyday and most of the time I have a full list (or at least I’m taking steps to correct any problems.)

1. Home- Comfortable house. When the house is too messy makes me crazy but I can live with a little mess

2. Relationships - My family and friends are fine and I am seeing them enough

3. Health - I am generally healthy, I’m very lucky in this aspect, I have a few problems with my health but nothing that really affects my life.

4. Love – loving someone and being loved back makes everything better J

5. Work – We spend so much time at work that if it doesn’t make you happy then you really should take steps to change it

6. Education – I realise this might not be on everyone’s list but I like to always be learning something.

7. Goals – everyone needs a goal, it is better to be an attainable goal as otherwise that could lead to frustration. But having reachable goals makes me happy.

Happy Thursday xx

I did this yesterday, it has been on my list for a while and yesterday I finally did it.

I used www.conversationexchange.com I found a lovely young woman who is learning English, she was willing to swap her Spanish for my English and it went really well!

I’d always been a bit sceptical about these kind of things I know everyone goes on about how easy it is to meet people on the internet. But I am not looking for new friends and I’m certainly not looking for a new partner! I just want someone to practice with.

I was nervous at first and didn’t know what to say but after we started chatting it came a lot easier and I went away feeling a lot more confident with my language skills.

So if anyone is considering doing this I really would recommend it. It is a lot easier than you would imagine!

I have been neglecting the blog this month, lots has been going on and I have been so busy!  But I promise to be back to regular blogging soon. I have a few posts I want to share with you but they deserve my full attention so I will save them for you until I can do them justice.

In the mean time this YouTube video is strangely captivating. A man was stuck in a lift for 41 hours. I started watching it thinking I would turn it off after a quick glance but I found myself rooting for him to be ok… Maybe I’m just odd

On my iPod this morning: Live and Let Die – Guns and Roses, coz I’m feeling a bit rocky

I have exams next week!!! AGGGHHHH!!!! I am confident I know the work I am happy enough that I can get through and I know that I  have really strong coursework that will pull me through to a good grade even if I suck quite badly but I’m still nervous.

I have other nerve inducing stuff next week as well but I can’t talk about that.

The one thing I must remember to take to the exam with me (besides pens, passport, exam notice…) I must take tissues, there is nothing worse than sneezing and sniffing without a tissue when you need to concentrate.

So because I have exam revision brain, not blogging brain, I can not produce a very interesting blog post. Instead I would like to give you this funny video:

Star Wars according to a three year old

I had to blog about my award today so couldn’t really go into my song choice this morning. A while ago now (over a year actually) I hadn’t been driving very long and I didn’t have a Tom Tom. I used to get lost very easily. I had set routes I knew and if I strayed off these, at any point, I would find myself totally lost.

One night I was driving to my mum's at about 9pm to pick up my daughter. I knew the route and drove there often, they lived in a complicated system of one way roads and when I got to my turning, the road was closed. I drove on to the next road, also closed and then after that there were no left turns. I was completely lost. I drove on and on and on trying to turn around but each road led on to another road and I started to panic.

I ended up in central London and couldn’t find anywhere to stop. My phone battery was nearly dead and I had no money on me. I drove on and on. I eventually came to a police woman who was closing a road. She was very harassed and busy. I asked her for help and she barked directions at me and pointed vaguely behind me, I was now holding up traffic so I carried on….

After I’d been driving around for a few hours I started going a bit mad I followed taxis and buses hoping they would lead me somewhere I recognised or at least somewhere I could get help, I’d killed my phone trying to get some directions. After midnight (yes I’d been driving that long) the roads emptied and I stopped in the road and tried to figure out what to do. I found a bit of change in the ash tray of my car (thank god I don’t smoke!) I jumped out of the car and went to a phone box. I haven’t used one in years but my god they eat money fast. I had just enough time to call the blokie and tell him the name of the road I was currently sitting in the middle of. He got out of bed and drove into London, he found me and I followed his car home.

I can’t tell you the relief of turning into a road I recognised. I am always grateful for being rescued in the middle of the night and even more grateful that Christmas when I was given a Tom Tom.

Anyway all this leads to the explanation for my song choice. When I got out of the car to be hugged by my rescuer he said ‘You went all Fleetwood Mac didn’t you?’ and this song still makes me smile.

‘You can go your own, go your own way…’

Today on the iPod: Go your own way by Fleetwood Mac, there is reason for this but that’s another post altogether….

Bad Blogger! I received my first blog award a while ago but didn’t collect it! (To be honest it scared me a bit I thought I might have to do something complicated….)

I have been given this award by both Christy http://christykatemckenzie.blogspot.com/ & Lisa http://lisachickos.blogspot.com Thank you so much, you lovely people you!

Right so the rules are:

1. Thank and link the Person who nominated you

2. Share seven random facts about yourself.

3. Recommend 15 deserving blogs. (15!)

4. Contact those blogs to let them know.

I’ve done the first one above, so now to share some facts….errmmm…OK

1. I am allergic to EVERYTHING, well maybe not everything but pretty close, I sneeze, swell and stop breathing at lots of things

2. I have a really good memory for things written down, I can drag my way through a text book and then remember all of it, but I forget things I’ve seen. Which means I’m happy to re-watch the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory nearly straight away even when blokie moans that we have only just seen it.

3. I have four uncles & 12 aunts (double that really if you’re counting spouses and great aunts and uncles) plus about a zillion cousins.

4. I own an X-Pole which I haven’t used for ages but I will again soon

5. I started learning Spanish in November and according to my latest Linq test I now know 1,564 words and I feel confident that when I go on holiday I will be chatting to Spanish people (I don’t have a holiday booked or anything I’m just hoping I’ll go away some day soon)

6. I follow 126 blogs. 67 blogs on writing, reading and books in general, 27 on languages and linguists, 3 on Sex and the City, 1 on nail varnish, 2 on social networking, 1 blog on Friends (the TV show), 1 history blog, 2 on teaching, 4 blogs on soaps and crafts, 1 blog on movies, 1 on science, 1 on Ricky Gervais,  2 blogs on blogging and 13 blogs on random sweet nice things. I read these blogs on the train or just before I fall asleep. (in bed BTW not on the train)

7. I like fizzy drinks but only when they are flat, (I’m the crazy person that buys the bottle of coke and then shakes it up to get rid of the fizz…)

Ok that took longer than expected. Right deserving blogs.

1. Lisa http://lisachickos.blogspot.com
2. Christy http://christykatemckenzie.blogspot.com/
3. Helen http://helen1980-helen1980.blogspot.com/
4. JoAnn http://joannchaney.blogspot.com/
5. Steve http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/essexs/?rss=rss_2_0 Great undiscovered blog about learning to be a teacher
6. Eev http://eevs.blogspot.com/
7. Kristin http://french-word-a-day.typepad.com/motdujour/
8. Hichem http://www.transparent.com/french/
9. Suzy http://teachersuzy.blogspot.com/
10. Jennie http://ielanguages.com/blog/
11. Keith http://natural-language-acquisition.blogspot.com/
12. Stich & Winnie http://histoiresdelivres.over-blog.com/
13. Zara http://makingvideostherightway.blogspot.com/
14. Krissy http://krissybrady.blogspot.com/
15. Stephanie  http://stephaniemaddux.blogspot.com/

Please have a lookie at these lovely blogs because I do have VERY good taste!

I’m currently listening to: We are the Champions – because it’s on the radio but also because it is a good song when you need cheering up!

I’m not well L On top of having exams soon now I’m sick, plus the news reader on the radio keeps telling me I have e-coli. This is poop! So to cheer me up and you too, I hope, here is some nice stuff from around the web:

http://www.thatcardshop.co.uk/ because it is my favourite shop in the world and not just for the staff ;)

http://cas.uah.edu/whittena/serious/thankful.html - how to be thankful for rubbish things J and not a single mention of religion I like it!

This is Watermelon Pie and the recipe is here

Taken from: http://www.rennieellis.com.au/gallery/images/rennieellis_496_full.jpg

From: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/351/cache/eiffel-tower-lights_35198_990x742.jpg

Oh I love Paris I really want to go back…

From: http://www.mypicturemania.com/img/fun/gallery2010/gallery201038.jpg

I hope you are all having a lovely day!

I have this theory on being happy,  if there is something in your life you don’t like change it! That’s the whole theory really... perhaps I should make it a bit more poetic or interesting but anyway that’s it.

Lately in my life there have been certain things I want to change so I have devoted quite a bit of time to changing them. Now to effectively change them I can’t tell everyone about it but I am making progress!

I have had a reply from the                                and I am really excited about it all. It just shows you if you throw enough effort into something you can make it happen J

I can’t wait to tell you all about it but I think it might be awhile before I can oh well….

Today’s song on the way to work was Natasha Beddingfield Unwritten because it’s sunny and that felt like a sunny song.

Right, moving forward its June! Summer time, sunshine and ice cream and what not…

For June I will try and keep up with the things I have already started: the exercising and making sure my cousin comes out etc… but I need a new list so here it is:

• Sort out my personal draws at work
• Sort out the child’s junk
• Go and see my neighbour
• Replace all my light bulbs (even the lamps)
• Get the back gate fixed
• Go roller disco-ing
• Get my shoes heeled

This month is also exam month so I am not going to put too much pressure on myself with this month’s goals. I think I can manage quite a few if not all of these even with exams!

Wish me luck