Kite Flying Fun!

Yesterday, Hollie, Tom and I took an adventure to Epsom Downs to fly Tom's kite and bask in the very rare sunshine here in normally rainy England. We set off just before 12PM and got to a very surprisingly empty Epsom Downs. Sunbathing is an amazing feeling knowing that you don't have anything to worry about or to dwell on your troubles.

Let's just say that I was not very good at flying the kite. I wasn't terrible but I definitely didn't have the natural knack for it coupled with the fact that I was scared of the wind blowing me off the ground, which was highly unlikely but I'm a pansy. I have a definite fear of falling on the floor or being dragged by something and flying a kite encompasses a little fear of both. We all had a go on the kite but I had much rather laid in the sunshine than do anything physical. 

My attire was not really cut out for a sunny day as well as a strenuous activity on your arms. For some crazy reason, I went out the house in jeans and a black top with a cardigan despite the fact I knew it was going to be 21 degrees.. Silly Nicole. The trouble with England is that when it looks like it's going to be sunny, it's cold and ends up raining. I have been living in Cardiff, Wales for 3 years and whenever it looks sunny there, it's always cold with the amount of the wind- hence the fact my mind is programmed to either always carry a coat or an umbrella. 

I had a great time and loved being outside in the sun realising that life isn't all doom and gloom. I also love hanging out with my friends and have been making the most of doing nothing. Friday night, we went out for dinner and yesterday morning, we were at Epsom Downs. Also, last night Hollie and Tom came round to keep me company at my sister's flat as I looked after Molly- film nights are always the ticket! I had a great time and Molly was a great hit with my friends. She really is the most adorable puppy ever and if you don't believe me, come meet her and tell me otherwise! I double dog dare you.

I love my friends and spending time with them in the beautiful sunshine is hopefully on the cards for a lot of the summer. I hope you all have had a great weekend!

xxx

P.s. This is a short video of Tom flying the kite yesterday! It's funny as hell and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed watching it.

Name Change?

I have been thinking recently that because I am no longer a student, my URL for this blog: studenttoaspiringwriter.blogspot.com is not really applicable anymore. This is leading me to wonder whether I need to change it to something else.

Since I started this blog, that has been the name URL of my blog "Thoughts from the Heart" and I don't think I will be able to think of anything else because it's so closely connected to what I know. I need some ideas on what I could rename my URL so that it reflects me as who I am now rather than who I was back in 2010, 3 years ago. Have any of you any ideas on what I could it to? And if you do have any ideas, please let me know.

Someone the other day said that I wasn't being truthful in my blog and I thought it was hilarious so I wanted to change it to reflect everything I am now in 2013. Love ya Thomas!

When I started in 2010, I gave up too easily after only a couple of blogs (you can check these early ones out on the dated bar to the right, just click 2010) but as of today, I have been blogging for 211 consecutive days- which equals 7 months! That to me is quite impressive and I am 100% dedicated to reaching a year of blogging everyday. This means that I want my URL to show that dedication and not just me being silly and aspiring to become a writer. 

I don't know, I need help. I need your suggestions- either in the comment box below OR via Twitter (@nicoley_ox) or if you know me in real life, send me a text.

I love you all, and you've been very much part of this blogging challenge as I have and so making a URL name between all of us would be pretty darn cool if you ask me :D

xxx

Wimbledon 2013

After having such a drama-filled day on Wednesday at Wimbledon with all the withdrawals and injuries, the chances of Andy Murray winning the championship have just ranked a little higher. I don't think I am going to be able to control my excitement when he next plays- I'm already talking to the TV at the moment let alone when he gets further in the competition. I watched last year and truth be told, I kinda fell in love with him. 

I know people say horrible things about him and don't like him because of a comment he made 10 years ago that segregated him from England and Britain, but the tears that fell when he lost last year showed how human he was. You can't deny that isn't someone who is trying his very best to reach his dreams and to some people, his personality might come off as arrogant and miserable but I see him as just one of us. He works so hard to try to reach his dream and at the end of the day, aren't we all trying hard to reach our dreams? Everyone has their own quirks to their personality but he works his butt off for his passion and dream and I can't hate him for that; I don't see who can.

Anyway, I love Wimbledon and I am blown away by all the twists and turns that are surprising every single one of us this year. I only really watch the men's tennis because I'm not the greatest fan of the sexual sounds that the women emit when they are hitting the ball. The very first surprise was when Darcis beat Nadal and I thought Murray's got this. And then on Wednesday Federer was knocked out and my heart swelled at the possibility that this year, Murray's tears would be joy and not devastation. 

I am not really into sport but I could watch tennis all day, if it was played by people I knew. I love how close it can be and the pure power behind the players. Most of my days are spent watching tennis and I make my family watch it too whether they like it or not. The best thing about not being at uni is that I'm in most of the day and get to keep the remote so they really have no choice. I know I shouldn't be counting my chickens before they hatch with Murray as there are loads more rounds (3rd and 4th round, quarters, semis and then the final) but I like to hope that he can fly through those without any ease and reach the final. I'm hoping for us to reclaim the title. The last British male tennis player to win Wimbledon was Fred Perry way back in 1936- that's an incredible 77 years ago. It's our time.

It's Murray's time.

Are any of you guys watching Wimbledon? If so, who are you rooting for? Do you like Murray? Let me know, I'm intrigued to find out why people hate Murray so much.

I love you all! Enjoy Wimbledon as much as I am.

Nicole

xxx

Throwback Thursday #6

I once again forgot about Throwback Thursday. The problem is, my days are slowly merging into one big long day and I never know whether it's Monday, Wednesday or Thursday etc. But thankfully, at the last minute, I was able to remember the day and bring you this wonderful, probably not going to be wonderful at all, blog.

This is a picture of my lovely Mum when she was younger. Let me first start by drawing your attention to the state of the art television set that was available back in the 90s. Wasn't it just beautiful? I don't think at that time anyone would've imagined how much televisions would have changed in the future. It looks like something from the stone age... Also, I wanted to point out the fetching 90s floral curtains and carpet. I'm not sure where the 90s got their fashion sense from but I'm mighty glad that it's no longer that garish anymore. Although, I do miss those days.

Right off track as usual, the story that is connected to this picture is that years ago, when we were all in primary school, my Mum used to have to make 6 Easter bonnets for the Easter bonnet parade that happened every year. She used to stay up so late, spending hours putting on little eggs and chicks on the bonnet so we could wear it to the parade. I would remember watching her and then I got bored but she continued and in the morning, she had always produced amazing bonnets. I loved them. As I look back on it now though, I realise how much effort she went to and in reality, we only wore them for about 20 minutes max. Plus, we never wore the same bonnet twice, and so every year she would remake them all, slightly different. It was such dedication and I'm so thankful for how much she cared and the time she put in for us. It truly is amazing.

 This is a picture of all of us kids with my great grandmother. Once again, I love how smiley we all are in this picture. I think I'm reaching for something or someone, but knowing me, I'm probably just being a little bit special... This is a rare occasion because me and my sister are not wearing the exact same as my other 3 sisters and my brother for that matter. I wonder why we got to wear something different but probably won't ever know why. I love how I also look out for whether we're wearing matching clothes- you can tell we matched a lot as children.

This is the final picture of this Throwback Thursday of me and my brother with his blonde hair on one of those stupid kid rides that you pay a pound for and it ends up just rocking forward and back- a waste of money if you ask me! This was on one of our great camping trips. I also realise that I'm probably about 3 or 4 in this picture and I still have a dummy... I also realise that I probably didn't give up that dummy for some time. I can only imagine what sort of child I was and given how stubborn I am now, I was probably more stubborn as a child who wants everything her way.

 I'm also a little jealous that my brother got to drive when I was older and clearly going to be a better driver. I bet because he was younger, my Mum put him in front when in fact I should've been driving. I'm not bitter, I promise!

That wraps up my Throwback Thursday this week. Next week because I found a couple of my old phones, I am hoping to do a Throwback Thursday Phone Edition if I can remember. In fact, I might be sneaky and write it now so I don't forgot ;) That should be exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing how many of you remember or had the phones I did.

Love you all, have a great day!

xxx

If you have missed any of the other Throwback Thursdays and want to read all the stories I have divulged, click here to check them out:
Throwback Thursday #1
Throwback Thursday #2
Throwback Thursday #3
Throwback Thursday #4
Throwback Thursday #5

3 Months

Look for me when the tide is high,

And the gulls are wheeling overhead.

When the autumn wind sweeps the cloudy sky,

And one by one the leaves are shed.

Look for me when the trees are bare,

And the stars are bright in the frosty sky.

When the morning mist hangs on the air,

And shorter darker days pass by.

I am there, where the river flows,

And salmon leap to a silver moon.

Where the insects hum and the tall grass grows,

And sunlight warms the afternoon.

I am there in the busy street,

I take you hand in the city square.

In the market room where the people meet,

In your quiet room - I am there.

I am the love you cannot see,

And all I ask is - look for me.

~ Iris Hesselden

I'm always looking for you Grandad. I hope you're somewhere around looking down on us all and smiling with Nan. I can't believe it's already been three months when it just feels like yesterday. Everyone hates you not being here and we know that if all our tears could build steps, you and Nan would be right back where you belong in a heartbeat- beside us.

xxx

Virgin Media Fail!

I'm hoping this blog will be uploaded given the fact I am currently emailing this to Blogger from my phone using its 3G. Since about 3 today; Virgin Media has been down leaving us with no phone, TV or Internet. Now I wasn't worried about tha until it started getting later and later and I knew that I needed to post a blog. Therefore, I apologise for this blog but at least it is a blog... Right?

I can continue my number of consecutive blogs, and that's the main thing. Until tomorrow :) love you all xxx

Motivational Monday #10

I have officially been doing this weekly segment for 10 weeks now and you have had 10 glorious Motivational Mondays that I hope make you feel inspired but I'm sure they just make you feel bad... Sometimes, they make me feel bad because I know that what I'm saying is true, it's just hard to actually do it. That's the thing about life, nothing we want is easy and it sucks BALLS! Anyway, now we've reached a nice whole number of 10, do you want me to continue with this segment and see how far my motivation can take us or is there any other segment that you want me to do on Monday's instead? Let me know belowwww.

 We all hurt one another across the lifespan of our life and friendships. It's inevitable that at one moment in our life, we are going to do something to a friend or loved one that will hurt them to the very core and although we apologise and we move on, there is always a grudge left behind whereby the person who got hurt doesn't forget the pain they were put through. Such grudges can last a lifetime or they can be nipped in the bud. The truth is as humans, we like to think that we would never cause someone else such pain and misery but the fact is, we normally do. For some reason, we take some moral high ground after someone hurts us and we deem them unforgivable. 

Everyone does it. I've held grudges for most of my life. We can't help it. When someone hurt us, it's hard to let that hurt go and the more you hold onto it, the bigger your grudge is going to get. I've lost plenty of good friends by holding grudges and I've definitely regretted it. But there comes a time in your life where you can just look back on whatever it is you're holding your grudge for and just think that it's not worth it. It's not worth all the negative things that you pump round your head late at night ultimately making you feel bad nor is a grudge healthy to the soul.

People are going to hurt others, intentionally or unintentionally; that's just the way we were made. But there's a difference in the way that you deal with it all. You can sit around and harbour negative feelings about someone that hurt you in the past slowly venting and damaging  your own personality and what you stand for or you can take someone at face value, accept their apology and move on. Everyone deserves a second chance, and if they mean that much to you, they deserve a third chance too. I'm not saying that you should go around and take the hurt that someone might dish out to you but we all are going to make mistakes. If it's out of their character to hurt you, let the grudge go. If they're a bitch and constantly hurt you, then I say cut them out of your life.

Know when to hold a grudge against a friend and when to hold their hand. Nine times out of ten, whatever they did was a mistake and they regret it; don't punish them further for a mistake that could've easily been made by you or me. We have to show love and compassion to receive it back to us. Let's love and not hate!

That wraps up my 10th Motivational Monday in a row. Again, let me know if you want this to continue or if you just don't care...

I'm going to bake some cakes now because I feel like it and I haven't for a long while. Love to you all, catch you tomorrow. Ta'ra

xxx

Previous Motivational Monday:
Motivational Monday #1
Motivational Monday #2
Motivational Monday #3
Motivational Monday #4
Motivational Monday #5
Motivational Monday #6
Motivational Monday #7
Motivational Monday #8
Motivational Monday #9

Clean Up Service

I hate the thought of cleaning up and so when I went and got my stuff from my Cardiff house yesterday, I helpfully didn't think about how much stuff I would have to sort out once I got home. Out of sight, out of mind was the mentality I possessed yesterday as I placed box after box in my room at 11PM last night. Thankfully, I was able to shut my eyes and go to sleep forgetting all about the amount of possessions I had to find a home for in the morning.

Unfortunately for me, going to sleep requires a waking up and there wasn't a clean up team that had come in and done all my cleaning for me overnight. I really wish at this moment of time that we had little gnomes that went around cleaning up houses- how much easier would that be for us all? I started the process of chucking out all the old things I didn't want to make room for the things I did need. I said goodbye to all my work over the last three years knowing that thankfully, I didn't have to resit any of my exams. 

It has taken me hours just to clear some space and now as I take a break, there still isn't enough room. Does anyone have a spare Tardis for me to store my possessions? At the moment, I have 3 bin bags full of rubbish to get rid of and 3 big bags of clothes that I need to put somewhere. Unfortunately, I share a room with my sister who unhelpfully did not sort out the chest of drawers of her stuff that she had put in mine over the last 2 years and so now I have no space for my clothes... It frustrates me to the high heavens that she didn't even bother to try and make it a shared room again as if I would be okay with just having my bed in the room. Some room that is...

Disclaimer: This is not my room!

Anyway, before I start getting too annoyed and freaking out, I am looking for anyone who would want to help me out with my room. Ha, I can hope someone would want to help me out- unlikely! I can't be bothered to go back and do it. I should've stayed in Cardiff.

*sulk*

Bye guys!

xxx

No More Cardiff

After much time playing Tetris with the various amounts of stuff I have accumulated over 3 years, we finally got my bedroom cleared out and placed in the car. We left this morning at 10:30 with the knowledge that we were embarking upon a great mission packing up my life for the final time. As we crossed the bridge, it dawned on me that there was no more Cardiff for me aside from Graduation Day. It's sad and I didn't quite realise until my whole room was cleared out like the shell I had arrived to.

Disclaimer: Not my car...

We hoovered and steam cleaned all the floors and then went for a lovely meal halfway through just to make the journey worth it. There would not have been a journey home if we hadn't fed my Dad. He drove 3 hours on the way there and then 3 hours on the way back whilst me and my Mum dozed off a little in the back. I felt back but unfortunately, I can't drive; not without joking with my Dad that I would drive home. Rather surprisingly, he said I could because it wasn't his car but he would've never let me get behind the wheel in a millions of years.

This is it. I am now done with Cardiff and my university experience has ended. I will no longer be a resident there, nor will I be living on my own anymore. I can't help but have the memories of University roll over me constantly as I slowly but surely remember the small things that I have forgotten. I really will miss Cardiff and although at times, I have resented living so far away, it has changed me in ways that I couldn't imagine. I grew up there and learnt so many new things that I can't help but keep a special place for it in my heart.

It's done. 

xxx

Longest Day of the Year

Today, Friday 21st June 2013, is the longest day of the year as some would like to call it summer solstice. It means that we are already in the middle of summer with very little sunshine to have shown for it. The other thing it means is that from today, the days will slowly start to get shorter and shorter in preparation of winter. Deep joy. Just as summer starts, it goes again. And when I say "just as summer starts" it is very loosely used. The fact is, we have, and have had, about a week of brilliant sunshine and then it goes back to dull, miserable cloud and rain... Tell me again why we all stay in England and not flock to the Caribbean?

Today, the sun rose at 4:52AM - the earliest it had risen the whole year and the earliest it will ever rise again until next year. The day marks when the sun is at the highest peak in the sky. We have to wait until winter solstice for the days to gradually get longer again. And when is this I hear you ask? Well, the official day of winter solstice is 21st December. A whole 6 months to wait... And even then we'll probably still be blanketed under a sheet of cloud and drenched with drizzle...

For many, the summer solstice is not complete without a trip to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, the historic landmark, to watch the sunrise as it makes it way up the sky. It has been a tradition that has dated way back to a time that none of us could probably imagine- immemorial. I have never been but I know that my cousin is a very religious solstice goer and has been to many summer and winter solstices in her time. I think I should put it on my bucket list because who doesn't want to see a beautiful sunrise?

Have any of you celebrated summer solstice or even winter solstice by going to Stonehenge? If you have let me know in the comments what the atmosphere was like. I'm very intrigued by this custom.

Hopefully, the sun might actually make an appearance today and if not today, sometime in the very near future because I know that I am not the only one that is sick and tired of waking up in the morning to such an abysmal sight. I don't want sticky, humid crap with a layer of cloud overhead. I want brilliant blue skies with glorious, warming sunshine so that I can lay in the garden and sunbathe whilst telling my Dad that he *must* do a BBQ.

One can hope and wish.

It's Friday, get out there and do something fun with your evening. It's officially the weekend and let me know what your plans are! Mine are unexciting and involve moving my entire life from Cardiff back to London... Fun.

Love you all lots, and I will talk to you tomorrow, as always,

Nicole

xxxx

Throwback Thursday #5

More pictures of Nicole and her family from the past are divulged here!

Starting with the very first picture, I just wanted to let you guys know, if you didn't already, that there were six of us as children with only two of my parents. This meant that there was not enough arms to carry us out when we were younger. You always see those children who have fallen asleep on the chairs in the club on a night on their camping holiday. Our old stomping ground was Haven and we always used to push two chairs together and lay on the top with our head on one and our legs on the other. I can only imagine what we looked like given the fact there were 6 of us. The only problem was that my Mum and Dad only had space to carry two of us at a time meaning that there was either 2 children left alone or my Dad had to do 3 trips to get us all home.

This is turning into a fairly long story when it wasn't meant to be. Cutting it a little shorter, my Dad used to carry us out of the clubs every night because we had fallen asleep. Like so...

My Mum and Dad told us one time that someone came along and offered to carry two of us because they saw how many kids there were and limited amount of hands. I personally find this hilarious and would've loved to have seen the spectacle that we created in the club. Bless my parents for not waking us up and making us walk- I think I would've...

Second picture was taken at the memorial of Princess Diana's death. Outside Buckingham Palace, there was rows and rows of hundreds of flowers and my Mum and Dad had dragged all 6 of us to London that day amongst the crowds to lay flowers for her. Here you can see, a great trick of mine on my brother- the good old "what's this" trick and then flicking their nose when they look down. Love it!

 Aren't we adorable?

 And finally, a picture of us when we were a little bit older. This was when we were all at primary school and so greatly proud of ourselves for being valued members at the after school skipping club. We used to religiously go there and I would say that half of the club was made up of us Ryans. It was so much fun but a little sad now looking back at it. We enjoyed it nevertheless and thankfully it was one of the times that all dressing the same was a must. It wasn't just us that were dressed the same. Except the fact we wore lovely belly tops whilst others covered their modesty with big tops... Always the same.

I hope you enjoyed this section of Throwback Thursday and eagerly look forward to next week where I can share with you some more of my valued childhood photos that have a story or two attached to them.

Do you feel like you know me more? Or are simply a little perverted for eagerly waiting for pictures of a young Nicole? Either way, I hope you've enjoyed it!

Love you all lots, have a great day! 

Try and not melt in the horrid humidity.

xxx

For more:
Throwback Thursday #1
Throwback Thursday #2
Throwback Thursday #3
Throwback Thursday #4

No. It is easily one of the first words that children learn as they reach the tender age of language absorption, and some would argue it is a favourite word of the terrible twos. For many circumstances, it is the most prevalent utterance in their small yet impressive vocabulary with the force of an entire herd of elephants encompassed in a body as small as a mouse in comparison. But as the traces of innocence and lack of inhibition are slowly striped away from children as societal values and judgements cloud their free and unrestricted mind, the word no falls from their tongues to be replaced with an automatic and dishonest yes.

The detrimental effect on our confidence to utilise the word continues well into adulthood where for a plethora of reasons, we seldom employ it even when we want to with all our being. Our inhibitions are raised like the Great Wall of China and neither fly nor men can impetrate it to allow us to directly respond in an expression of honesty; no.

The inability and condemnation that one has when saying no is a symptom of something called “the disease to please,” which is so widespread it is practically an epidemic of the entire Earth. This disease causes us to constantly agree to things in order to please others even if for most accounts, the agreed generally displeases us. A sense of guilt settles over us when we do say no, that we largely retract our no to replace it with an instantaneous yes, turning our backs against our own body, mind and soul, not only to please others but to quiet the voice in our head that is chiming insecure words calling us a bad person for saying no. Saying no does a disservice to yourself, your confidence and also those you are saying yes to; obligations that you can’t fulfil only contributes to the level of stress squeezing the life out of your heart and disappointment in those around you.

Insecurity and self-consciousness is a propaganda that spreads faster than the news in Chinese Whispers and the second we catch the tail-end of an insult to our personality and self, it sticks with us until we are placed six feet under breathing our last breath.

The very self-condemning nature of humans baffles the majority of us and yet no one can escape the damaging words we tell ourselves late at night making us feel like Hitler after the Holocaust.

We’re the victim of our own self-depreciation and belittling ourselves so that we innately put others before ourselves, sometimes at our own expense…

"When you say yes to others, make sure you're not saying no to yourself." ~ Paulo Coelho

Graduation Dress

Now that the excitement of my birthday, my party and seeing The Lion King had dissolved and is over, there is just one thing left on my mind. Graduation! I can't wait but it means that I have to go through the whole rigmarole of trying to find the perfect dress for said occasion. I hate dresses, and I believe that none suit me. This ends up meaning that it takes me forever to find a dress that I like and in the process of trying to find a dress, I always get very annoyed and give up halfway through a shopping trip.

I'm not a girl that loves shopping..

And once again, I have an image in my head of the exact dress I want, and yet I still don't know what that is... It makes no sense but whenever I try and explain what I want, I can never explain. All I know is that I want a grown-up, sophisticated red dress.

I want a red dress because Cardiff's colour is red and the hood of the gown is going to be red and so I quite like the idea of it matching- sad I know. Anyway, I've been looking for a while but now that I have more free time, I am going to be ordering loads of dresses in hopes that I find the perfect one.

What is it with graduation that makes you feel nauseous thinking about the dress you will wear? I guess it has something to do with the fact it's the pinnacle of your University experience and you want to look amazing but I know we all put untold amounts of pressure on ourselves for one day that in hindsight, we'll probably regret anyway.

Nevermind. Happy shopping everyone!!

xxx

Motivational Monday #9

 I have a feeling this Motivational Monday is going to be very short and not necessarily live up to its name. The truth is, today I don't feel very motivated in myself and so it's a little hypocritical for me to bang on about being motivated and bettering yourself when the reality is that I've done nothing all day. Tell a lie, I've helped my Aunt and my Mum but that's it. I've sat around with a face like a slapped arse in the worst mood ever. Sometimes, you can't always be motivated and you can't always be happy. It's just fact.

But I know that instead of wallowing around in self-pity, I should be doing exactly what my picture says. I should be picking myself up, brushing everything off and trying to make my life a little bit brighter. I just don't feel very content at the moment and I don't know why but I'm just not very happy with my life. I know this is just one of those days and it's not a true reflection. I just have these days where I feel like not waking up at all.

Life sucks. It's true but you can't live your life with that mentality. I am going to pick myself up and carry on by plastering a smile on my face, and faking happiness until I make it.

I dwell on things too much and I hold onto things that can't ever happen. I just hate facing reality. It's a bad trait but there we go.

This is turning from Motivational Monday into Moany Monday. Oops...

I love you all, hope you've had a better Monday than me!

xxx

For more motivating Motivational Mondays; check out my archive here:

Motivational Monday #1
Motivational Monday #2
Motivational Monday #3
Motivational Monday #4
Motivational Monday #5
Motivational Monday #6
Motivational Monday #7
Motivational Monday #8

Roller Skating Party

Fun. Laughter. Smile. Alcohol. Pain.

We went to Vauxhall Roller Disco for my 21st birthday and before we even left, we had already started on the alcohol, which was an omen for how the rest of the night was going to go. We all got on the train rather loudly. You know that group of tipsy people that are so loud all the carriage can hear them? Yep, that was us last night. Then we made it to Vauxhall and my sister told the bouncer it was my birthday and he gave me a special ticket to get light up skates, which were awesome! 

The second the skates were on, the fear in people's eyes showed by not being able to stand up and skate. There were only a select few that were stable enough on their feet to go skating by themselves, but unfortunately, I was not one of them. I had to be escorted from the seating area to the bar in order to get myself another drink. The more people drunk, the more they loosened up and was able to risk going on the skating rink to roller skate.

People took turn in holding other's hands to skate round to make sure that everyone got the full experience of skating. The amount of drinks consumed meant that the guys were very happy to experiment with skating on their own, which in turn meant a lot of them were on their bums or backs the second they got to stand up. 

I did fall over twice on my bum that has left a sizeable bruise this morning. It hurts to sit down but it was such a good night! I had a great night and even though I couldn't skate, I was more than thankful for people that took me round holding my hand. All in all, I think it was a great experience and a perfect way to spend my 21st birthday. I've had all the experiences of getting wasted and not remembering the night but I wanted something a little different for this night and I did get that. I'm so glad everyone who came had a good night and enjoyed themselves too. 

I'm not sure roller skating will be on the cards anytime soon but it's an experience I've done and I won't forget in a hurry.

Love you all!

I shall put pictures up when I can get hold of them

Also, a massive Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there. A big special one to my wonderful Dad and my late Grandad. Two of the best men in my life. So lovely and funny with a whole lot of love to give! You're the best

xxx

The Lion King Review

I went and saw The Lion King yesterday night at the Lyceum Theatre and all I can say is wow. It was so spectacular and beyond everything I thought it was going to be. The Lion King is a definite, must-see. 

And if you don't believe me, you should book a ticket and see for yourself. It is sensational, and the story is told with such beauty and elegance that you completely forget about the Disney film adaption and you get pulled into a world of singing, dancing and extraordinary emotion. I can't tell you how many times I had a huge, wide smile on my face or the times when I had a tear in my eye. It pulls you completely into their world and the rest of reality disappears. 

The costumes were incredible and I can't believe how talented the people were to create such movements that were replicas of the exotic and wild animals they were portraying. They had a way of taking a small motion and making it so elegant and so real that it had the effect of a grand gesture rather than a simple tilt of their head. There was so much detail in all of the costumes and such care taken with choreographing every small dance routine that it all pulled together with brilliance.

The vocals of all the cast were extraordinary and I remember plenty of times when a song number gave me chills and goosebumps- the real indicator that their singing was incredible. I'm usually not a fan of child actors, but the children that played little Simba and Nala were adorable and so amazing that I fell in love with them. The little girl who portrayed little Nala had such a huge voice encompassed in her small body and it blew me away. I could seriously listen to her voice every single moment of the day!

The whole story was executed beautifully and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole performance. In fact, I believe I told my Dad the second the curtains closed that I wanted to see it again straight-away. It was worth the wait and it was one of the perfect ways to celebrate my birthday and finishing my degree. Times haven't been easy recently but as my Mum said, its those kind of nights that just make you realise that life isn't always terrible and it makes the hard times more bearable. I loved it, and I couldn't recommend it any more. I place it in a special part of my heart and it will always rate highly on my experiences.

I'm not sure I could add in anymore adjectives but if I could, I would! You can really tell why it is so loved by everyone who goes and sees it. They deserve all the praise and awards that it receives because it really is remarkable.

Go see The Lion King. I love you and now I am excited for my roller disco party tonight! I can't wait and I hope I don't fall on my butt, but I know if I do- I'll let you know tomorrow.

Hope you all have a lovely, and sunny Saturday and I shall see you tomorrow, as always.

xxx

I'm So Excited!

Yesterday, I turned 21 and my excitement level was pretty high even the fact it is just another birthday. I came home to my Mum having blown up numerous balloons, 2 birthday cakes and a 21 in the form of candles. We never have candles on our birthdays and so I was so excited for this concept. Even though my sister had already taken a slice of cake before I even managed to get the candles in the cake, but that's beside the point. I had a wonderful day and I thoroughly enjoyed my 21st birthday.

But now, I'm even more excited. One, because my Uncle said he would go with me to see Les Miserable in theatre when I get the money. I loved the film and have been listening to the soundtrack ever seen I've seen it. I can't wait to actually see the theatre performance and know that it will be 10 times better than the Hollywood production. And two, I'm excited because tonight I am going to see The Lion King with my Mum and Dad. I've been wanting to see it for years and I finally get to see it and I am buzzing as you can tell by the amount of ands' I am cramming into one sentence. It's not like an English student to disobey the rules of sentence constructions, so when they do, you know there is a valid reason!

EEK!

I'm so excited and I have nothing else that I could possibly talk about because of my said excitement. I can't control it and I want it to be 7:30 already. 

I'll let you know how it is tomorrow, although I can already tell you now that I am going to absolutely love it. 

IT'S GOING TO BE SO GOOD!

Before I blow my top off, I'm going to love you and leave you with a message of Thank God it's Friday. I hope you all have wonderful plans for the weekend. Enjoy your freedom and I shall talk to you tomorrow.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Nicole

xxxx

21st Birthday Throwback Thursday #4

 IT'S MY 21ST BIRTHDAY!!

 It's also Thursday, which means it's Throwback Thursday. This falls on quite a good day because now I get to show you some more pictures of me when I was about a month old being able to look back on today knowing that it was 21 years ago to the very day that I was born.

I like looking back at these pictures, especially on my birthday because given how I am now, I could never imagine being that small and if I'm being honest, that cute! It's a crazy concept that I can imagine is even weirder for parents to see their baby grow from being tiny to a 21 year old.

From a little baby, to a toddler and to who I am now. It's been a long journey but a great one and now as I turn 21 today, I realise that my life is only just beginning. It's not that I'm getting old and my time is passing by in a flash, my life is only just beginning with the endless possibilities of what to do with my years stretching ahead of me. This isn't a day to mourn my past but rather an exciting time in my life to think about all the wonderful opportunities I will have in the future that will make me happy and that I will look back on with fond memories.

I can't believe I'm 21. It's an insane age and time is going quickly but I'm going to try and treasure each moment because life is too precious. Happy birthday to me! Hope everyone has a happy day :) Love you all xxx

If you missed any of the other editions of Throwback Thursday, you can go back and look here:

Throwback Thursday #1

Throwback Thursday #2

Throwback Thursday #3

Shopping Truths

I went shopping today for a dress for my birthday on Saturday. Shock horror, I found nothing... The idea of shopping is amazing. You think you'll go there, there will be exactly what you're looking for on the racks right in front of your face as in you walk into an almost empty, and cool shop... What you fail to tell your brain before going shopping is everything I am going to tell you now...

1. You go in with an exact idea of what you want.

You never find anything close to what you want. In fact, I'd go as far to say that what you want is exactly the opposite of everything that is currently in the shops at the moment. I can't help but have an idea of what I want when I go shopping but whenever I come home, I'm always disappointed because I can't find it. It's impossible.

2. It'll only take me an hour.

It ends up taking several hours and stretches closer to a day journey than it does an hour. You go from shop to shop trying to find that exact idea that you had and when you hit your limit of shopping, you think: "I'll just try here, then I go home." Then when you get to that shop, you spy another that might just have what you're looking for and if you don't check it you know that it will have it and you'll kick yourself, so you go in that shop and say the same line as before until you find yourself having gone in another 10 shops that has made you 10x pissed off from where you were before.

3. I'll keep to my budget.

You either spend nothing or you go way over your budget that you don't want to think about your next bank statement that will come through. I never have a shopping trip that is an in between where I pick up 2 things that I need. It's a case where I find nothing at all that I wanted or I buy 5 items that I didn't even go out for and therefore weren't in my budget at all. It's a cruel mistress that takes everything or gives nothing when you have everything to give.

4. You go out for a complete outfit.

You come home with underwear or shoes. Helpful.

5. It'll make you feel better after a bad day.

They say that shopping is the best therapy but the truth is you end up coming home feeling like crap either because you've spent too much and now feel guilty or you don't find anything you want and consequently feel crap. It's not fun and it makes you feel worse. In my case, I see all the beautiful items of clothing and have to leave them lonely in the shop because I can't afford to bring them home. Just don't do it is my thought. 

6. You buy everything you wanted to buy.

Best case scenario- the shopping trip goes exactly to plan, you find everything you wanted to buy and it was in budget. You bring them all home and excited take them out of the bag to realise that you no longer like them as much as you did when you were in the shop. In fact, you try them on again and you feel the crushing feeling that you hate it and will have to return them again. The excitement of trying new things on clouded your judgement and now you're left with clothes that you don't even want.

Basically, shopping sucks. We all do it and we all want to love it like they show in the films but the reality is that it's not fun and in the end, it all crumbles down to shredded ego and tears. As you can tell, I'm not the greatest fan of shopping but it has to be done ladies and we endure it like we endure  labour... Why do we want to constantly punish ourselves?

I hope you have enjoyed my shopping truths and if you nodded your head to at least 4 of these 6, then you know that they're truths. Let me know whether you agree with my truths or if you think of any more. Have a great day :D

xxx

Obsolete Words

As you all know, I'm a great fan of English and love all the stupid, little, annoying things that most people hate, i.e. the frustration of seeing someone with the wrong your/you're or there/their/they're or definitely/definately just to name a few. In fact, that has just given me a great idea for a future blog...

I really get distracted quite easily. Anyway, back to the premise of this blog. There are so many great words that are no longer used and I wanted to bring some of them to your attention just because they are so great and amazing that it is about time that we all knew about them and potentially implemented them into our everyday life.

1. Spermologer: A picker-up of rivia, of current news, a gossip monger, what we would today call a columnist.

2. Crapulous: To feel sick because of excessive drinking/eating. I definitely need to use this one after a night out!

3. Zafty: A person who is easily imposed upon.

4. Jargogle: To confuse or Bamboozle.

5. Twattle: To gossip or talk idly. I think this one could be easily slipped into general conversation without anyone really batting an eyelash. It's not too far out like the one before.

6. Kench: To laugh loudly.

7. Quagswagging: The action of shaking to and fro- this can be used as a verb as in to quagswag, which is a great rhyme and makes the word even better!

8. Hoddypeak: A fool or simpleton.

9. Cockalorum: A little man who has a high opinion of himself. This one is potentially my favourite of them all. I'm not sure whether that is because the word rolls so lovely off your tongue in an almost poetic sort of way or whether it's because we would simply call someone a cock for that definition- the very essence of a word shortening. Who knows? I just think it is a downright fabulous word.

10. Beef-witted: Stupid or imbecilic.

11. Fuzzle: To make drunk or to intoxicate  This definitely explains everything that you feel when you're drunk and is a great word!

12. Twitter-light: No this does not refer to the light that is constantly on whilst you're in bed late at night on Twitter, it is infact an alternative to twilight. Apparently, the great word blend occurred on this one to create the word twilight but I definitely enjoy the word twitter-light a little more. It also sounds a little poetic and romantic for describing the sun going down. I like it.

I'm a great believer of the language needing to evolve as words drop out of need and the new generations add their own idiosyncratic "footprint" on the language but I feel a little sadden having not known these words before because they are great! I love how poetic and rhythmic these words are. They sound so much more delightful than the current words we have in circulation. 

If you manage to get any of these words in everyday conversation I applaud you and want to know which, and how you did it. I also want to know, if you remember, the people's reactions to you saying the words, i.e. did they notice and comment or give you a funny look but not say anything?

I'm going to try and put some of them in my conversations in a small attempt to revive these old dinosaurs. Gotta love the English language.

I hope this hasn't be too English nerdy for you guys and if it has, I'm not apologising because I love it!

xxxx