Monthly Musings: July

Look everyone! Monthly Musings are making a comeback and, whats more, they've had a bit of a revamp! Please contain your 'oohs' and 'aahs' as far as possible.

July has, for the most part, been a bit of a strain on my poor, fragile nerves because my parents decided to pull apart the kitchen and fit an entirely new one. In fairness, it was crying out for a makeover. Those counters were here when we moved in 14 years ago and they weren't even fashionable then (nor, if you ask me, were they ever).

But, as excited as I was at the promise of an oven that wouldn't burn all my cakes and a Tassimo machine for a never-ending supply of vanilla lattes available in the comfort of my own home, the dusk til dawn drilling, the dust, having to wash all the dishes in the bath and living off extremely questionable microwavable sausages and powdered soups eventually took its toll!

The main thing is I survived! And, beige diet and general kitchen drama aside, July has been a pretty good month!

Magical Moment

At 24 years old I'm still a festival novice. The mud, lack of running water and the whole sleeping on the floor thing really put me off. But this month I donned my wellies and obnoxiously large flower headband and attended the extremely exclusive Wellifest. Never seen it advertised in the Rolling Stones magazine? That's because it's a festival that my (extremely creative and slightly bonkers) cousin, Elinor, throws in her back garden every year. We had bands, we had hay bales, we had pulled pork, we even had an impromptu dance floor! And, amazingly, it didn't even rain...until everyone was a few cans of cider too many to notice.

I had such an amazing afternoon and took so well to the boho-chic festival style that I might even go to an actual festival next summer. You know, if I can get over my aversion to porta-loos by then.

#FAIL of the Month

The sheer amount of straw I managed to get in my Jack Daniels during Wellifest. I mean...how?!

This month I'm obsessed with...

Crips that aren't really crisps.

Since the kitchen has been off limits, I've been pretty much living on snack food (or at least that's my excuse). So imagine my delight when I came across a delicious alternative to crisps that I could exclaim, through a mouth full of crumbs, were in fact pretty good for me...well, better than ordinary crisps at least. This month I discovered a brand called Eat Real, which produces all kind of gluten free, vegetarian and vegan friendly crisps made from lentils, hummus, quinoa and veggies. My personal favourites are the Sour Cream and Chive Quinoa Chips. Nom!

Photo|EatReal.co.uk

If you're reading this and thinking, "quinoa crisps...really?!" then to you I say, "Yes! Really!"
They taste delicious, satisfy my midday cravings and have the same satisfying crunch as those deep-fried potato crisps without the guilt.

Book

This month I've been reading *The Count of Monte Cristo and, to be entirely honest, I think I'll still be reading The Count of Monte Cristo for a good few months to come. It's a impressive 1300 pages long, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's some kind of meandering Victorian novel that spends the first 500 pages setting the scene by describing the colour of the grass and the noise of the birds (though, in all honesty, I do enjoy those kinds of books too). It jumps pretty much straight into the action and it's fast pace, intriguing characters and the unexpected twists and turns of the plot have got me totally hooked.

Photo|BarnesandNoble.com

In case you're unfamiliar with the story, a young sailor named Dantes is accused of treason by his jealous acquaintances and is imprisoned for 21 years before he escapes and vows revenge on the men he thought were his friends. I'm only a third of the way through and I'm struggling to put it down!

Youtube Channel

 LeahXO

This month I was lucky enough to be part of a collaboration with a group of small Youtubers. I thoroughly enjoyed it since, not only was it a great way to find some new channels to binge-watch, but I got to meet some lovely new Youtube friends too!

So this month's Youtuber of the month simply has to be the lovely lady who organised the collaboration and got us all together. Leah's channel is all things makeup and beauty related. She has a really sweet personality and a Northern accent that makes me want to listen to her talk all day long. Is it just me or is listening to a Northern accent like cuddling up under a nice, warm blanket somehow? No? Just me? Ok.

Photo of the Month

Here's me living the life of a real-life fairy princess at Welliefest. I AM the Snapchat filter!

Instagram: @aimee_oddball

The soundtrack of my month was...

Miranda Lambert - Gunpowder and Lead

Not that I personally want to go out and shoot anyone (though there were a couple of times during traffic jams...). But there's nothing quite like a good old sassy country song to turn up nice and loud on a summer afternoon.

This month I discovered...

There are only 880 wild Mountain Gorillas left...in the whole world!

Photo|WWF.org

I've been on a bit of a Netflix documentary binge recently (there's only so much time you can waste re-watching That 70s Show after all) and last week I came across Virunga. It's a 2014 documentary film about the work of conservation workers in Virunga National Park, a 7,800 square kilometre World Heritage site in the Congo, which is home to lions, elephants, hippos (basically the entire cast of The Lion King) and 25% of the remaining Mountain Gorillas.

You see the gorillas, how adorable they are, how the conservation workers dote on them and literally give up their lives for them and you begin to think, "Well surely no one's so thoroughly evil to the core that they'd consider hurting these poor, beautiful little balls of fluff."

Cue the arrival of the British! (There's a reason all movie bad-guys have British accents.)

A company called SOCO International barges in and starts exploring for oil (which is totally against international law). Throw in a rebel army, some tanks, a French journalist and a member of the Belgian Royal Family who is prepared to lay down his life to protect the park and you've got yourself one heck of a documentary. It will have you screaming at the TV and despairing at the greed and selfishness of the human race (even more-so than you do when you're fighting your way through the January sales).

Definitely go and check it out!

(Affiliate links marked with *)

Monthly Musings: September!

Do you ever have one of those months that just feels like a brick in the face? That was how September was for me. Don't get me wrong, it was a great month. My birthday is in September and I got a new job, I finally managed to catch up on Game of Thrones (although I have no idea what I'm meant to do with my life until the next season comes out!) and the weather was uncharacteristically pleasant.   

But boy was it intense! One minute it was the first week of the month and I was happily knocking back Jack Daniels and blowing out birthday candles and now all of a sudden it's October and I've somehow become a sleep-deprived business woman who can barely account for the last three weeks of her life. 

But, whether I can make sense of it or not, September is over and it's time for some monthly musings!

Obsession of the month...

This month I have been obsessively listening to Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor's new song, 'Marvin Gaye'. On repeat. Sometimes for hours on end. Of the 73 million views the video has had on Youtube, 10,000 or so of them are probably mine. Yes I'm aware that I could just download the song on Itunes, but that would be far too logical. That's simply not how I roll.

Accomplishment of the month...

This month my greatest accomplishment was getting myself a fancy new grown up job, which involves wearing blouses, pretending I know how to use an Ipad, and occasionally popping into London and getting utterly lost on the Tube. I never thought I'd end up in the corporate world (being more into rainbows and smiles than pie charts and firm handshakes) but I guess that's the beauty of my bizarre little life. There is absolutely no knowing where I'll end up next.

Thing I am most ashamed of this month...

As part of my fancy new job I got a fancy new company car. The low point of the month was definitely getting stuck outside Dominos Pizza for 15 minutes because I couldn't work out how to put the car into reverse. #epicfail

Book of the month...

The book I've been slowly but surely working my way through this month (and will no doubt be working my way through for a good few months to come) is Middlemarch by George Eliot. Now don't get me wrong, I love Victorian novels. I don't mind getting entangled in the enormous descriptive passages or trying to keep tabs on the seemingly never-ending cast of characters (yes, Dickens, that one was aimed at you). But so far Middelmarch hasn't really grabbed my attention and the next 636 are looking pretty daunting right now. Wish me luck.

Youtuber of the month...

I've been subscribed to Stepanka for a long time now, but for the last few weeks I've been binge-watching her videos like some kind of weird stalker. Maybe I find comfort in knowing there's someone out there who seems to end up in as many random and bizarre circumstances as I do. But if you enjoy my weird and wonderful annecdotes then you'll probably love her channel.

Things ticked off The 2015 List...

An accurate depiction of how I currently look/feel

This month I continued the theme of accomplishing absolutely nothing on The 2015 List. I'm nothing if not consistent after all.

Next month I will aim to...

Fit in some time to sleep! This month has been so hectic that the bags under my eyes have become a permanent feature, so deeply engrained that there's not enough concealer in the world to help me. Trust me, I've already gone through a whole bottle!

Please Prewarn Obama, I'm Going to the USA

Hand me my cowboy boots and a map to the Jack Daniel's distillery, I'm going to the USA! Yes, for those of you who missed the announcement in my latest Monthly Musings post, I've gone and gotten myself a job as a summer camp counsellor in New England. I also have 30 days of bonus travel time once camp is over so I can run wild in America, binging on Cap'n Crunch cereal and slowly working my way ever-closer to the South, which, as we all know, is the capital of big hair, hoop-skirts and whisky and therefore, my mother-ship.

In six worryingly short weeks I'll be heading out to camp with an ample supply of enthusiasm and excitement (and a suitcase stuffed with Disney princess t-shirts) to undertake my new role as...director of arts and crafts. Yes, it's my job to come up with all the arts and crafts projects, write up the itinerary, buy the supplies and to ensure that fabulous keepsakes are made, fun is had, and no one burns off their fingerprints using the glue-gun. No pressure.

I have to admit, when I was first contacted by the camp I was a little concerned. You see, it's an all boys sports camp. In fact there isn't a single female in any of their photos or videos...at all...anywhere. Naturally I was initially a little hesitant as a) I'm a girl and b) I am the least athletic person in the greater South Wales area. My friend, Beth, tried to be helpful by pointing out that with such a skewed male to female ratio at least there would be a good chance of me finding romance. I quickly pointed out that, while there will be an ample supply of testosterone, the vast majority of guys there will be aged 8-15. Not exactly marriage material.

But anxiety has melted away into excitement. After all, surely no one is going to expect me to be any good at catching a ball while I'm in the arts and crafts room...right?

When camp is over and I've had my fair share of s'mores and poster paint, I have a month of travelling ahead of me. I'm hoping to make some friends at camp to travel with (hopefully they'll have a better sense of direction than I do), but I do worry that no one will want to visit the bizarre places I plan on going to. I'm sure most people will want to go to New York and Washington D.C, but I'm looking more towards the witch museum in Salem and Bourbon Street in New Orleans. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

All I really know for sure is I'm jetting off to America next month and I still don't have a thing to wear!

To hear more about my upcoming American adventure you can watch my video on it!

I May be a Freak, but I'm a Freak with Snazzy Pens: Cult Pens Review

I'm a freak. There are a great many layers to my weirdness and a whole array of kinks and quirks that contribute to my overall uniqueness, but essentially what it all boils down to is that I am a fairly quirky human being. I keep a box of buttons, organised by colour, I have over 150 Disney songs on my Ipod and I have a paralysing fear of cows (they just have such a menacing look about them!).

Another one of my odd traits is my obsession with stationary. I mean, is it really normal to have so many feelings about post-it notes and page dividers? And surely most people wouldn't include a label maker on their list of desert island must-haves, right? But I have a deep-rooted love for anything that can organise, colour-code or sub-divide any aspect of my life and there's simply nothing I can do about it.

So, when I decided to undertake a new project last weekend, I'm sure you'll now understand why said project simply could not go ahead until I'd ordered myself a new packet of fineliners. Fineliners were, after all, the only thing that kept me sane throughout the torturous months spent drafting my dissertation. Actually, Jack Daniels may have played a part too, but mostly it was down to having all of my spider diagrams colour-coded and cute-looking.

And now we finally arrive at the point of this post. On my search for the best value packet of fineliners I could get my hands on, I came across I website called Cult Pens and, if you're a freak like me then you need this website in your life.

They have every type of pen you could possibly need in your life as well as some other stationary-type bits and bobs and they had the best price I could find for those fineliners I so desperately needed. Not only that, but shipping was free and crazy fast (I placed my order Wednesday evening and here we are on Friday and I already have them). And not only that, but my parcel also contained some sneaky surprises. I got some complimentary Staedtler pencils to go with my Staedtler pens and...a packet of Haribo!

As if I wasn't excited enough about the fineliners, they go and throw in some scrumptious sweeties as well!

So I know the vast majority of you will think this post, along with my enthusiasm for colour co-ordination, is very strange and/or unnecessary, but when I find a product or a company that impresses me, I like to share it with you guys. Sometimes that may be a new App or a restaurant and sometimes it's a shop that specialises in pens. That's the beauty of this blog. You really never know what you're going to get...

Also, Cult Pens in no way paid me or offered me a lifetime supply of free pens or anything in exchange for this post (trust me, if I had a lifetime supply of pens coming my way, you'd all know about it). In fact, they have no idea I'm even writing this and, in all probability, will also think I'm a freak for my excessive pen enthusiasm.

But that's fine. Because I am a freak.

Bethan's Birthday Bowling Bonanza (and other B words)

This week my friend, Bethan, turned 23. The same Bethan I travelled Europe with. The Bethan who got head-butted by a horse in Berlin, forced a drunken Irish man to take off his top and bench-press a keg in a nightclub in Prague, and is always my first choice for karaoke partner. Yes, that's the one.

To celebrate we went bowling. It's difficult to say which of us is the worst at bowling. Bushell seems to score quite highly. but that's only because we keep the rails up and he ricochets the balls off them. Hayleigh is particularly good at aiming her ball at small spaces where there are no pins to knock down. For my part, I repeatedly start off well, all strikes and spares, only to totally lose all control of my arms during the second half of the game, sending the bowling balls off in weird directions and eventually coming last out of everyone.

Actually, as far as the first game goes, I blame my failure purely on the garlic bread I was eating. I was too afraid to set it down when my turn came around in case one of my friends ate it or hid it somewhere weird so I took it along with me.  Unfortunately my brain couldn't grasp the idea that my right hand needed to release what it was holding (the bowling ball) whilst my left hand needed to keep a firm grip on what it was holding (the garlic bread) so I ended up throwing them both.

Naturally, as it was a celebratory occasion, we had some drinks. We each had one free drink as part of our package (along with chicken nuggets, burgers, fries, and all kind of glorious junk food) and, when I went to the bar to get my second I asked the barman, "What would be the difference between a Bells and a Jack Daniels?" (Look at me, being all frugal!)
The barman misunderstood, thinking I meant, what's the difference between these two different kinds of whiskeys. Really? I was wearing a Jack Daniels t-shirt and cowboy boots. This girl knows her whisky!
"No," I said. "I mean, the difference in price."

I did not add, "Anyone with taste-buds would know Bells is a scotch, while Jack Daniels is a Tennessee sour mash, most comparable to a bourbon."
As it turns out they were the same price (when does that ever happen?) so no prizes for guessing which I opted for.

When bowling was over (needless to say I lost both games) we went on an adventure. Or rather, we almost went on an adventure. We drove out to an old abandoned police station, sat in the cars discussing whether or not to go in, and eventually decided it was way too scary and drove away again.

But, creepy-horror-movie-type moment aside, it was a really fun evening. The only thing that could have possibly made it better is karaoke (although I don't know many places that combine bowling and karaoke). So happy birthday Bethan! Here's hoping you don't get too drunk this weekend.

Random Facts About my Random Life: 24 Questions Tag

It's no secret that I love tag questions. It's probably mostly to do with the fact that like to read about all of the bizarre and pointless details of other people's lives. Well, it's been a while since I did my last tag and I thought it was about time for me to bombard you with a new series of weird and wonderful facts about me!

1. Do you have a middle name?
I do. It's Rebecca. For some reason I struggled to spell that for years when I was in primary school. I was convinced it was Rebbeca. Even now I'm not entirely sure it looks right...

2. What was your favourite subject in school?
English. Shocker! I'm pretty sure I came out of the womb with a love of literature! I was 11 years old when I decided I wanted to do an English degree at university, a decision I only questioned once when I was choosing my A Levels and I briefly toyed with the idea of going in for medicine. But, when I realised real life was nothing like Scrubs, I quickly reverted to the original plan.

3. What's your favourite drink?
Jack Daniels and Diet Coke hands down. The only thing that can improve Jack Daniels in my opinion is drinking it whilst wearing cowboy boots. 

4. What's your favourite song at the moment?
Good Girl by Carrie Underwood.

5. What would you name your children?

The truth is, I have an absolutely epic girl's name picked out already (which may or may not make me crazy seeing as I don't even have a boyfriend) but that is top secret information. Haven't you people seen that episode of Sex and the City where that awful woman steals Charlotte's baby name? I'm not even sure I'll tell the baby's father until after it's born just in case!

6. Do you participate in any sports?
I'm a cheerleader. My toe-touches are appalling, but I love it!

7. What's your favourite book?
Gone with the Wind. Scarlett O'Hara is the ultimate heroine. She'd make a terrible friend though...

8. What's your favourite colour?
Pink!

9. What's your favourite animal?
I'm not much of a pet person (apart from bunnies. Bunnies are awesome and my bunny was the best bunny of them all!) but I love tigers, giraffes and elephants. We saw the baby elephant at West Midlands Safari Park last summer and he was adorable! No word of a lie, he knew he was the star of the show. He stood in front of each car in turn and waggled his ears at them. I thought my brain was going to explode from cuteness overload.

10. What's your favourite perfume?
Right now I love Heat by Beyonce, but, in all honesty, I'll wear whatever I'm given for Christmas (providing it doesn't smell like mildew or onions or something).

11. What's your favourite holiday?
Christmas is probably my favourite because I love the build up. Putting up the tree, shopping for gifts, eating my weight in chocolate coins and that kind of thing. But I also really love Halloween. Some of my best memories are of Halloween and, honestly, there's nothing like the musty smell of the boxes of Halloween decorations when you take them down from the attic each year.

12. Have you graduated from High School?
No, I've just completed comprehensive school, which I don't really count as an achievement as such because it's required by law.

13. Have you been out of the country?
I'm very lucky. I've been to Greece more times than I care to count, Tenerife, Portugal, France...in fact, I travelled all over Europe in 2013 with my friends Hayleigh and Bethan. I've also been to South Africa twice and Florida, but I'm not nearly done exploring. There are plenty more countries for me to humiliate myself in!

14. Do you speak any other languages?
I should speak Welsh, partly because I was taught it from the age of 4 to the age of 16, and partly because there's something very sad about not being able to speak your national language. But compulsory Welsh lessons are very lax and, over time I've forgotten about 80% of what I learned at school. I still remember how to say a few key things like "I would like a cake" and "My belly hurts" so I guess that's something.

15. Do you have any siblings?
I have an older brother. And when I say older, I mean old. He's 37. Pretty soon he'll be balding and using a walking stick. (Love you, Rob!)

16. What's your favourite store?
Either Waterstones or The Range. I'm not even sure where the appeal lies in The Range because it's mostly full of Tupperware and wallpaper, but I just love it.

17. What's your favourite restaurant?
TGI Fridays. Those people put Jack Daniels on chicken and serve the best cosmopolitans. Enough said!

18. Do you like school?
I would give anything to go back to school (probably not comprehensive school because it was a shambles, but college or university). I miss learning things! I'm very concerned that my brain is slowly turning to mush. By next week I might not even remember how to read.

19. Who are some of your favourite YouTubers?
Linzy Rae
Leigh Ann Says
Kendall Rae
Can I count myself?


20. What's your favourite movie?
Beauty and the Beast. I feel no shame. It is amazing.

21. What are some of your favourite TV shows?
Toddlers and Tiaras, Say Yes to the Dress, American Horror Story, Desperate Housewives...again I feel no shame.

22. PC or Mac?
Oh how I wish I could afford a Mac! 

23. What phone do you have?
I have an iPhone 5. I'm pretty sure the contract is up though...

24. How tall are you?
5 4" (that could be pushing it).

So there you have it. Another 24 totally random facts about me!

DIY: Easy Peasy Valentine's Day Gift Tags

Just because I'm going to be spending Valentine's Day alone, pouring a combination of Jack Daniel's and Thornton's chocolates down my throat, does not mean that I can't get in on the festivities. Any excuse for a celebration (and/or copious amounts of chocolate).

So for the romantic, crafty, or extremely bored among you, I thought I'd share a really simple tutorial for these super cute handmade Valentine's Day gift tags. Even if your crafting skills are slim to none, these tags are really easy to do (and totally addictive to make).

New Year's Eve: A Family Affair

Happy 2015! Christmas officially feels as though it never happened. It came and went so quickly that I still have a bottle of Winter Jack out in the kitchen that I didn't even get a chance to open. My head is still spinning and there's nothing but a few leftover chocolates and a lingering feeling of exhaustion to suggest that Christmas ever happened at all.

And now suddenly it's 2015. I'm glad. 2014 was an odd year for me, almost like a stopgap, which went by in a blur of confusion and, as we went from November to December, I was happy to get the last few dregs of the year over and done with and start on a new one. I had my annual, "Next year I will sort out my life and transform myself into a wonderful, fully-functioning grown-up human being" pep talk and, after that, New Year's couldn't come quickly enough.

The Blur that was my 2014!

Generally speaking, 2014 has been a weird year for me. For a start, it went so quickly that my head is still spinning, but I have no real idea of what I've done in the last 12 months to show for it. In 2013 I took up blogging, had a bizarre overseas romance, partied with elves, went on more spontaneous nights out than any one person has a right to do in the course of a single year, and travelled Europe, just off the top of my head.

Happiness in Photographs...with Filters: 100 Days of Happy.

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the 100 Days of Happy Instagram challenge. Well, I decided to give it a go and, despite the fact that mine lasted more like 150 days due to my overwhelming forgetfulness and inability to count, I'm finally done. So, in celebration of my commitment to technology (you all know how much I hate it) and because nothing particularly exciting has been happening recently for me to write about (apart from that super exciting thing I can't share with you yet) I thought I'd do a recap of my 100 days of happiness. Some are fun, some are weird, some are tenuous, but here we go.


Day 1

Day 1: (even though I failed at 30 days of happy) New shoes. Because sometimes you need to feel like Barbie #100daysofhappy #shoes #pink

It all started with my pretty pink shoes. I saw them in Miss Selfridge and simply had to own them. I don't think I've actually worn them yet though...


Day 2

Day 2: My beloved Britney may be off the the scrap yard, but today I got an early graduation present #100daysofhappy

This weekend I surprised my parents by taking a train back home from Exeter and turning up on their doorstep. They, in turn, surprised me with the news that my beloved KA, Britney, was being scrapped because the mechanic couldn't even complete the MOT. Something about some part of the engine falling out...

Anyway, on Day 2 I picked up my new car, Tink. She's lime green. We go on epic adventures.

Day 12

Day 12: Hurray! Winning the lottery was a little bonus for this week #100daysofhappy

This was such a great day! My parents were away in Prague and, being the wonderful daughter I am, I cleared out all the kitchen draws. I found about a dozen old lottery tickets and, what do you know, three of them were winners! Naturally I kept the winnings as payment for cleaning the draws.


Day 23

Day 23: Free pizza! I got to sample the new Pizza Express menu today to write up a review. I am so full it hurts #100daysofhappy

This was the day Hayleigh and I went and stuffed our faces with free pizza so I could write up a review for Pizza Express. Yes, I'm more than happy to work in exchange for food.


Day 27

Day 27: And breathe! My mother won't allow celebratory champagne with lunch but it's a celebration nonetheless

After all the tears, the late nights, nightmares about Miss America and after spending so much time reading Gone with the Wind that I began to believe the Yankees really were coming, on Day 27 I finally handed in my dissertation. The title? From Hoop Skirts to Daisy Dukes: The Changing....umm...something about the Southern Belle. Clearly I've repressed all memories of it. 


Day 53

Day 53: "Nanna, auntie Aimee wants a whisky." How well trained these children are! #100daysofhappy #worldsbestaunt #alcohol #jackdaniels

As much as every day with my little munchkins is a happy day, it's quotes like this that make me realise how blessed I am to have such a cool niece and nephew. 


Day 65

Day 65: I may look anything but happy in this picture, but that's only because I was hungry. It's day 3 of the #clean9 and I've lost 9lbs already and feel great! That's something to smile over. (But I could do with a stack of pancakes right now) #100daysofhappy #weightloss

Yes I craved pancakes for the entire week and yes I was grumpy when everyone else was chomping on burgers and I had to sit there sipping on water, but I really did lose 9lbs in 9 days! That made me very happy.


Day 73

Day 73: I can't believe it, but the most amazing three year adventure has come to an end all too quickly and today I graduated. It was a fantastic day in spite of the ridiculous hat #100daysofhappy #graduation #hooray

Day 73 was my graduation day. I drank champagne, threw a stupid hat into the air, and hugged Floella Benjamin! And, on top of all that, my hair remained pretty much under control for the most part. Success! 


Day 97

Day 97: World's coolest birthday present. Entrepreneur Barbie! She will sit on my desk to inspire me each morning. Yes, I'm 23. #100daysofhappy #barbie #grownup

A+ to one of my closest friends, Thorny, for paying attention to my ramblings about the release of Entrepreneur Barbie and getting me one for my birthday. I LOVE her! Don't tell me Barbie is a bad role model to girls. No other woman has been a doctor, astronaut, vet, politician, teacher, and entrepreneur, all whilst rocking killer shoes.


Day 100

Day 100 (finally!): At long last I have my official results from university. I have graduated with a 2:1 with honours! Better late than never #100daysofhappy

I wasn't exactly thrilled when I got a kidney infection back in January and had to miss my exam. It meant I had to defer it until August and haul my butt all the way back to Exeter to sit it during the summer after the lease on my house was up. Then I couldn't get my result the same time as everyone else, but at last, on Day 100, I could officially say I had a 2:1 from the University of Exeter. 


And so 100 days (or significantly more) have passed and I've had plenty to be happy about. True, I omitted some of the more mundane ones ("I'm happy about...my bed"), but I really liked this challenge. And it was nice to sit down and look through them all this evening. So if you haven't done it yet, maybe you could give it a go. 

And you should DEFINITELY follow me on Instagram. @aimee_oddball. 

My Birthday: Smiling, Laughing and, Eventually, Wailing

Fear not! I haven't abandoned you! I know I've been a terrible blogger for the past two months and I'm really sorry. I've recently had something really exciting going on which has been taking up all of my time. I can't wait to tell you all about it...but I can't for another few weeks. I know, I know, suspense is a killer.

What a can tell you about is my birthday party. I turned twenty three a fortnight ago (and yet the night before my birthday I got asked for my ID to prove I was sixteen so I could buy a lottery ticket) and, to celebrate the anniversary of my glorious birth, we had a BBQ. All themes were banned after the Wonderland Extravaganza I organised last year. Apparently my mother wasn't entirely on board with the amount of glue-gunning and googly eyes required to make our garden look like a Lewis Caroll novel.

But a theme emerged on its own and that theme was Jack Daniels. We had Jack Daniels chicken, Jack Daniels cupcakes, Jack Daniels bottles as ornaments and generally so much Jack Daniels that I spent the entire next day wondering whether or not I'd be able to survive the hangover.

But the BBQ was a success. My friend Beth from North Wales came to stay again. She is the perfect person to have around if you’re planning a party. No matter how many cupcakes need to be iced, no matter how stressed I am about the distinct lack of batteries for the fairy lights, no matter how challenging it is to choose the right pair of shoes, she is always able to keep a level head, sort everything out and stick Toddlers and Tiaras on to calm me down.

Everyone had a great time. Auntie Linda insisted on being the ‘quiz master’ despite the fact that the ‘riddles’ she was asking us were, in fact, jokes. Lauren managed to sneak at least three Jack Daniels cupcakes before I managed to explain to her they weren’t chocolate (and then possibly another two afterwards). And I got up on a chair and sang pretty much the entire Frozen soundtrack at the top of my lungs. At one point, during my somewhat overly enthusiastic rendition of Love is an Open Door, it was only my uncle’s quick reactions that stopped me falling off the chair. I didn’t miss a note despite the near death experience.

As the night progressed we ended up squashed into my Dad’s man cave (his shed decked out with all kinds of weird and wonderful man-type things). It was there that we had a sing-a-long to Les Miserables. It was well past midnight by this point so my sincerest apologies to my neighbours.

And then, when the last of my guests got up to leave, the vodka got the better of me and I burst into tears. There is a reason I don’t drink vodka. I’ve sat on a pavement crying into my handbag at the age of eighteen, wailed with strangers in the toilets of Wind Street on more than one occasion and bawled my way through many a walk home in Exeter and vodka is always to blame. It’s a real conflict of interests because I simply can’t rule Cosmopolitans out of my diet.

So, after a lot of singing, dancing laughing, drinking and, eventually, wailing, I headed to bed. And bed is where I stayed for the whole of the next day. Since then even the thought of alcohol turns my stomach. So, odds are, my twenty fourth birthday party will not be Jack Daniels themed. But, crying and vomiting aside, I had a really wonderful time. I only wish I’d eaten more burgers…

A Princess Perfect Frozen Party...and Some Woman in a Wig.

The Littlest Loon turned five last week and, as a family, Wellingtons are not known for throwing low key, run of the mill celebrations. I attempted to throw a small, casual gathering for my birthday last September and ended up with a full blown Alice in Wonderland extravaganza  ("I want it to feel like an opium trip...lots of clocks and giant mushrooms..."). So it seemed only natural that I would spend the weeks leading up to Lauren's birthday battling with the glue gun, brushing glitter out of my hair and running around town trying to find a life-sized Olaf balloon to put together a Frozen themed party fit for a princess.

The party itself was a roaring success. True, there was a brief period at the start when things looked a little rocky. Lauren worked out how to use the smoke machine and, within a few minutes, you couldn't see from one side of the room to the other. Then the smoke alarms went off and the rest of the building started to evacuate. Right in the midst of the piercing shrieks of the fire alarm, the Elsa impersonator turned up and added an entirely new dimension of weirdness to the scene. Her yellow wig was off centre and her black bra was on show. Overall, I'm not sure anyone was convinced she was really the Queen of Arendelle.

"I'm not sure anyone was convinced..."

But, once we'd deactivated the smoke alarms, opened all the doors and windows to let out the fog, and 'Elsa' had left the building, things really picked up. We had all the usual children's party games, pass the parcel and musical statues. Then we brought out the karaoke, which was simply adorable right up until the third or fourth time I had to listen to another rendition of Let it Go. There were happy children everywhere and, after the last little one headed off with their party cone and a big grin on her face, I was more than happy to take a deep breath, relax into a chair and have a Jack Daniels. Who would have thought organising a fifth birthday party could be so stressful?


Anyway, I thought I'd show you some of the little bits and pieces I put together for the party in case any of you are planning a Frozen themed party of your own and want a few ideas. Most of the decorations I made were put together with things I already had around the house so be creative. In this instance anything with glitter is probably going to work just fine. 

I rushed this sign yesterday morning right before we went to the party and it's taken me until just now to realise I'd spelled Arendelle wrong (I knew it didn't look right!). Luckily most of our guests can't read very well yet so I think it went undetected for the most part.  

 I loved these little jars! I made three of them and each was slightly different. They were very simple to make, although quite time consuming. I made some very small tissue pom poms (instructions can be found on Google), glued them to some ice blue straws and embellished them with glitter and sparkly ribbon. I cut some snowflakes out of plain white card (who knew snowflakes were so hard to draw?) and added some gems and glitter and stuck them to the straws too. I made the little snowmen out of little white pom poms and coloured wooden craft sticks. Then I added some ribbon and sparkles to glass jars, stuffed them with cotton wool and arranged the decorations inside. 

I wish we had a better picture of the snow doorway, but you get the idea. The kids loved it (although by the end of the party it looked less like a flurry and more like the aftermath of a blizzard). I just threaded cotton wool balls of various sizes onto fishing wire. With the glue gun I secured each ball with a dot of glue underneath so they wouldn't slide back down the wire. Then I attached each length of fishing wire to ribbon, which we then pinned to the door frame so guests had to walk through the snow to enter the party.

These little food signs were easy to make and really emphasized the theme. It's essentially folded card that looks fancy because I added glittery snowflakes and cut it with a craft scissors. Sometimes the simplest things look the most effective.

I piped faces and buttons onto these marshmallows with writing icing. I never want to see another marshmallow for as long as I live, but the kids really loved them.

 

The Sven cupcakes were a big hit! All I did was ice my cupcakes with chocolate butter-cream, use mini marshmallows for the noses, iced on the eyes and mouths with writing icing and used cut up Curly Wurlys for the antlers.

Then my sister-in-law amazed everyone by making a three tier birthday cake. True, it's got nothing on Cake Boss, but considering she just picked up some icing and thought, 'I think I'll make Lauren's cake myself' I think it's fabulous! I thought cupcakes were stressful, but this is something else entirely!

Needless to say, it's going to be a while before I can bring myself to watch Frozen again. I'm still finding glitter in my shoes and last night, after weeks of stressful planning and late night glue-gunning, I slept for a solid twelve hours without any party related nightmares for the first time in a while. But Princess Lauren had a fabulous time and overall I'd call it a success. 

Now to plan my birthday party for next weekend. I've been pre-warned by my mother that this year all themes are banned...

Clean 9 Part 2: The Final Results

So in case you hadn't heard, I'm halfway through my Forever Clean 9 cleanse. During the first half I endured two days without food, adjusted to the oh so distinctive taste of aloe vera gel and had some surprising results. If you haven't read that it's right here. Because who in their right mind reads the end of a story without the beginning?

This post is a continuation of the last one, documenting the highs, lows and totally random inner monologues of the second half of the cleanse. I'm allowed a six hundred calorie meal a day, which initially sounded like it would make a feast. In fact, it probably would do if I didn't insist on somehow squeezing white bread in there somehow. But I'm totally prepared to sacrifice some peppers and onions for a buttered roll. I am, after all, Queen of Carbs.

Day 5

9:26am: I no longer need to sleep for ten or so hours to feel well-rested. This morning I woke up at 8:15am (and, let's be honest, that's practically the middle of the night) wide-eyed and ready to take on the day. There was an internal struggle because I was loathed to leave the comfort of my bed at such an unreasonable hour, but, try as I might, I couldn't get back to sleep. This is a big deal for a girl who's been known to sleep for thirteen hours and still need an afternoon nap. 

For a good few years I've suffered from insomnia followed by extreme fatigue in a kind of malicious cycle. The result is I've spent much of my life either in bed snoozing during the daytime or in bed tossing and turning during the night-time. If the Clean 9 can put and end to all that it will have a huge impact on my life.

5:10pm: Another day almost over with. I've felt great today and surprised myself by absolutely smashing a Jillian Michael's workout. I thought for sure I wouldn't stand a chance of getting through it seeing as I haven't been having many calories, but my energy levels are so high and I feel strong!
I'm not sure if Diet Cola can be included in my calorie count for tonight's dinner, but I'm taking a chance. I'm in the mood for a treat. I really haven't been very hungry for the past two days and my cravings have all but vanished. The only problem I'm having is with the maths involved in counting my calories.

5:15pm: I wish I was taking a shot of whisky rather than a shot of aloe vera...

6:28pm: I just made my yoghurt last twenty minutes. It was glorious.

Day 6

"This may be the worst day ever to be banned from drinking"

11:14pm: I feel great! I weighed again this morning and I haven't lost any more weight. Actually I've gained an inch around my waist since day three, which is really bizarre. But my hair is super soft and smooth and I just feel wonderful! I can officially give up on afternoon naps at this rate.

6:28pm: This may be the worst day ever to be banned from drinking and stuffing my face. A big group of us sat outside the cricket club and there was a BBQ and cheap alcohol. Oh, what I wouldn't have done for a glass of rose and a burger! Even worse, I'm going to a house party tonight and I am guaranteed to be the only sober person there. In fact, odds are I'm going to be the only one able to stand up straight.

1:06am: I am pouting. There were vodka jelly shots and scotch. 

Day 7

9:16am: My mother woke me up after only six hours of sleep. For the first time in I can't remember how long the sound of her bursting into my room to sit on the edge of my bed and ramble on about rubbish while I'm half awake didn't make me want to claw her eyes out. On the contrary, I woke in an excellent mood and actually sat up and took part in the conversation! I feel so well-rested and full of energy! And all this before my usual surfacing time of noon.

10:10pm: I never thought I'd be able to sit next to a packet of chocolate biscuits without pouncing on them. But that's what's happening right now. I'm barely hungry at all throughout the day and I'm so full of energy! It's like a constant caffeine high without the unpleasant crash or weird buzzing in my ears when I try to sleep at night. I'm getting a little bit bored of the monotony though. I mean, I love the convenience of not having to cook or wash any dishes, but it would be nice to think, "Oooh, I know what I fancy" and then go and actually eat it. But on the whole, it's going really well and the last week has gone by surprisingly quickly. 

Day 8

1:51pm: I'm starting to wonder what I'll eat when this is over. Initially, I had every intention of making my way through nine days worth of chocolate to make up for lost time, but I don't think I could manage that now. Even the idea of coming downstairs on Wednesday morning and eating breakfast seems a little strange. One thing's for sure. I will be having Jack Daniels. 

Day 9

8:13pm: What a day! I got up at the crack of dawn, went to a job interview, failed the job interview and was forced to drive home in the rain listening to country music in the knowledge that there was no glass of wine at home to comfort me when I got back because alcohol is still off limits. But the fact that I walked about twenty miles up and down a department store trying to sell make up no one wanted for no salary (crafty getting applicants to do the work for you) without collapsing on the floor shows me how far I've come. I feel like I'm finally functioning like a normal human being!

I weighed again this morning and I haven't lost any more weight. 9lbs in nine days is still pretty amazing though. 

Final Verdict

Gone are the days of gooey eyes, an itchy tongue (yes, tongue, I know that's weird) and cowering in the presence of plant-life. My hayfever cleared up entirely and only made a sneaky appearance when I forgot to take my bee pollen tablets one day. My eyes, nose and mouth are now all fully-functioning again and my face is not a swollen mess of despair.

I feel great! I can actually get out of bed in the mornings without sobbing quietly to myself. My mood has improved and the unexplainable fatigue I've been battling for years is a thing of the past. I've been awake for sixteen consecutive hours today and I only feel slightly tired. Before I'd struggle to make it past six hours. Seriously, I kid you not when I say I could easily take two naps in a day and still go to bed at 10pm.

And I lost 9lbs! That still amazes me. I've lost a little over five inches and I can fit into my denim shorts! I lot of people have warned me that I'm probably going to put all the weight back on again as soon as the cleanse is over, but the majority of people I've spoken to who did the Clean 9 never did. Since all the nasty toxins have been removed from the system the body no longer feels the need to store fat so quickly. So fingers crossed that that's true because I'd love to lose a few more pounds to squeeze into my cute little pink and cream dress for my birthday. Because it makes me feel like Barbie. And I love that!

I'm still no Victoria Secret model and I've still got a way to go, but that's a heck of an improvement in nine days!

Needless to say, I'm impressed. In fact, I haven't really shut up about it. So much so that I've convinced my mother and Hayleigh to give it a go. And now you should all give it a go. If I can do it (a girl who has been known to eat an entire large Dominos pizza and a side of cheesy garlic pizza bread in one sitting...with dessert) then anyone can. 

And if you're just dying to give this a go yourself now, you can get your Clean 9 pack here:
Forever Product Shop
And, if you do try it out, let me know how it goes and share your transformation pictures with me on instagram! I'm @aimee_oddball! 

 Now where's the cake?