"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." -Aristotle

Monday 27 February 2012

rainy day ramblings

Well, aside from my birthday, I suppose there hasn't been much of anything new going on... still working, and enjoying free time when I have it, although my days off always seem to go by too fast, without enough time to do everything that I'd like. Really, I don't know how some people can get bored when they have a weekend or time off from work. I could always find about 101 things I enjoy doing at any time, and happily pass the day while doing them.

Anyways, my birthday was good. Adam got me a new mp3 player I'd been wanting, and the family came round, got a nice bit of birthday money from everyone, and then a fondue pot and chocolates from Simon and Lisa when we all went out on Saturday night. Had a bit too much wine though I think, since I had a headache all day yesterday, but it was a good night out. Friday I went shopping and found a new top and a really great pair of shoes. It's not often I find a pair of shoes that are comfy enough, look awesome, and even come in a half-size, so that in itself made it a successful shopping trip. I still have more birthday money I can spend, but I think that'll wait for a day when it's not raining and I feel like being out and about. With my luck, there doesn't seem to be many days like that coinciding with my days off from work, but we'll see, I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later. And if not, it's more spending money for when we go to London in April, which I'm really looking forward to.

Well, I think I'm going to go spend the rest of this rainy afternoon curled up with my Kindle, and then soaking in a hot bath, and nibbling on some of my chocolates that I still have from Valentines Day and my birthday. Definitely a good day to be able to stay indoors, and plenty here to keep me occupied for the rest of the day :)

Thursday 16 February 2012

new things

My new discovery this week has been the website called Pinterest. What it is, is when you sign up, you install a "pin it" button onto your browser, which lets you pin any photos you find online onto your pinterest boards, to share pictures of things you like with other friends or people with similar interests. And of course, I have millions of things I like, so I could really spend all day online posting pins, hehe :) it's so much fun! Not that I needed another website to become addicted to, but I just couldn't resist it anymore ;)

Well, I've been back to work this past week after my time off. Some people are leaving, so I guess that will mean some new people will be joining us soon, maybe. Hopefully things will take a more positive turn.

Other things that have taken my free time have been updating the music on my Windows Media Player, and putting some songs on my phone to listen to. I'd prefer to have an MP3 player so that I'm not draining my phone's battery and spare memory too much more, but my birthday is next week so you never know. I've also started watching the first season of Lost Girl on the SyFy channel with Adam. I thought it was a bit cheesy at first, but it's growing on me, and I've started looking forward to watching an episode or two on most evenings before bed. Other than that, it's been a bit of the usual... reading, playing Skyrim, keeping up with our laundry pile, which I'm convinced is refilling itself automatically every time I've finished putting a washing on. Which reminds me, I'd better go put a washing on pretty soon...

I'll close this with some words of wisdom from Mr. Albert Einstein:  “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” In other words, we all have things that we're good at, but if you judge someone by the things they aren't good at, you're overlooking the best of that person. Be good to each other, and remember that we're all human, and deserve kindness.

Monday 6 February 2012

SuperBowl Champions, again! :D

Wow, what a game last night! My boys always take it down to the wire and leave me a nervous wreck in the last few minutes, LOL, but we did it, we're the SuperBowl champions again! Didn't that take us all back to four years ago, the last few minutes were uncannily like the way they won then too, the Giants down by just a few points in the last minutes of the game, pulling off that last touchdown, and then that last push from the defense to hold off Brady and his gang for one more drive before it's all over. I must say, these two teams are amazingly well-matched, and I think they could play each other on any given Sunday, with any result. But the Giants got the big result when we needed it last night, and now there's much to celebrate! What an amazing feeling it was to see them do it again! Hats off to the Patriots for playing an amazing game and making us give it our all to win this one. Maybe we'll meet again for a third time in a future SuperBowl... but for now, enjoy the victory, Big Blue and all the Giants fans out there, this moment is ours! :D

Thursday 2 February 2012

exploring my inner fashionista

Ok, I know no one could mistake me for a fashionista, and I'm not usually into some "girly" things like shopping all the time and owning loads of shoes and handbags. But now and then, I do get that bug to want to go out and try to find some nice things for myself. But the problem is, I'm totally picky. It has to be the right color, the right print, the right style, look at least semi-flattering on my chubbyish figure, and also be a good enough bargain, as I refuse to spend loads of money for a new outfit.

Looking in my wardrobe makes it obvious that it could use a bit of an overhaul. Most of my time is spent either at work, where I wear my grubby uniform, or lounging around the house, where a pullover top and pj pants will do just fine, or even just running out to do some errands, where I can trade said pj pants for a pair of jeans and be on my way. But for times when Adam and I go to the pub, or go for a night out somewhere, sometimes I struggle with finding something smart to wear. Even something smart-casual to wear can be a challenge on some occasions. Again, the struggle comes in that when I have to choose comfort or fashion, I want to lean towards comfort. If I put on something that won't be warm enough, I'll be cold and miserable while we're out. Or if I put on shoes that may be even slightly impractical, my feet will be uncomfortable. But then when I dress down and go for comfort, I end up feeling scruffy next to other girls who have on super-shoes and cool outfits. It is nice now and then to dress well and feel good about yourself. I just like to be able to find a happy medium, where I can look nice and still be comfortable enough.

So with all these factors, it can make it hard for me to find much when I go shopping. Yesterday I was wandering around Asda, and noticed a lot of cute styles. But the patterns on the tops tended to be either flowery or really bold, loud patterns, which really aren't me. What happened to solid colors, or subtle patterns? And then the few things I did try on looked nicer on the racks than they did when I put them on. Shame too, because for those prices I could've picked quite a few things if they had suited me well enough.

I think part of what's gotten me in the shopping mood is reading chick-lit again. Too much talk of shopping, nights out, fabulous clothes, shoes and handbags. It just brings out my inner girly-side, I guess, haha. But I do have some time off work this week, and a bit of money I can afford to spend, so I think one or two more trips planned out to the shops are in order. Hopefully this time they'll be more successful, and I'll actually find a few things that fit all my criteria.

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Things I love

1. Randomness. Hence this post, random things that come to mind, in random order :) (leaving out all the obvious ones like my husband and family and friends)

2. Grocery Shopping. That may sound silly, but I have to admit, I love food, I love when I can find bargains, and sometimes I love trying new things. Morrisons can be a whole world full of those opportunities on some days, haha :) and it's fun when I can go by myself and not have Adam there to tell me how we don't need this or that. I get his voice in my head though while I'm shopping, and sometimes I listen, but mostly I just mentally tell him to shut up and then buy it anyway, LOL ;)

3. Sillyness. As you may have guessed from #2

4. Reading. Well, duh, I've talked about my love of books before, but really, no matter what else is going on in my life, there always has to be time for reading. I've been on a historical fiction kick for awhile, which makes history fascinating to me in a way that it never was in school. Currently though, I think I'm heading towards a chick lit kick for a wee while. Which brings me to #5...

5. Chick-lit. Ok, it's silly, it's "junk for your brain," but hey, sometimes we need a little of that. It's also quirky, clever in it's own way, hilarious in dialogue and in the character's observations, and gives me a chance to connect with my girly side.

6. Yogurt. A perfect compromise when I want something sweet, but want to feel a bit better about my snacking habits.

7. Addictive games. Skyrim, I can't get enough of you. Also the little ones on my phone... Restaurant Story, gin rummy, dropwords, 3D bowling, bejeweled, mahjongg. Plenty to keep me busy for way more time than I even have for game playing in an average day.

8. Wine. Just a glass or two with a meal now and then is lovely. Although I still don't understand why Adam thinks that if you open a bottle of red, you have to finish it within a day or it'll "turn to vinegar." I've never had that problem, and my mom and I would always open a bottle, drink half and save the rest for another time. It may lose a bit of flavor by the time you open it again, but it's never gone bad.

And there's loads more I could list, but these are just the ones at the front of my mind today. Save the rest for another day then :)