Big January Giveaway!

Happy New Year one and all! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are ready to tackle 2017.

I want this year to be an amazing one for all of us so, to kick things off with a bang, I'm hosting a Big January Giveaway on my Youtube channel! I thought it would be a great way to lift those January blues and to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to subscribe to my channel.

My 2016: I Got Old, Made some Bizarre Life Choices and Drank Tequila.

Congratulations world! We made it through the madness that was 2016! We survived a year in which Britain left the EU, Harambe the gorilla was killed in cold blood, and Donald Trump was voted president of the United States. It all kind of feels like a bad (and totally ridiculous) dream, doesn't it?

While 2016 might not have been the best year for the world as a whole, on a personal level I had a pretty good year. So, as is traditional, I'm going to sum up my entire year in a nice bite-sized blog post for you!

Monthly Musings: January

"...the cuddly dressing gown with bunny ears on the hood..."

January is already drawing to a close and, one month into 2015, I'm not entirely convinced that I've made the best start on my New Year's Resolutions. I've spent a worrying amount of time curled up in front of Judge Judy in the cuddly dressing gown with bunny ears on the hood that I had for Christmas. Actually, Judge Judy has severely eaten into the time I'd planned to spend exercising, going new places and generally transforming myself into a well-rounded grown-up. Oh well. Maybe next month.

To ensure that the months don't slip away from me as quickly as they did last year and to try and encourage myself to stick to those pesky resolutions, I've decided to start writing monthly recaps. I'll write about my favourite things from the month, high points, low points, random annecdotes and whatever else seems relevant at the time. I know, super organised and well thought out, right?

So here's an insight into my January!

Obsession of the month...

This month I embarked on a worrying relationship with detox water. For Christmas I had a detox water bottle, which has a little inner section to fill with fruits and veggies so that the water gets infused with all sorts of goodness and tastiness. It was meant to be a part of my healthy new lifestyle, which ultimately backfired when my mother threatened to confiscate the bottle for fear that I would accidentally drown myself in citrus flavoured water. In fairness, I can see how 4 litres a day could be considered excessive.

Accomplishment of the month...

Finally locating my missing passport. For three weeks I tore through the house, pulling out draws, toppling furniture...I even ventured into the attic! But at last I found my passport, buried in a forgotten bag of toiletries I never got around to unpacking after moving back home. Clearly I should have known to check for vital documents in amongst my moisturisers. 

Thing I am most ashamed of this month...

Last week I ate half a loaf of white bread. All to myself. In one afternoon.
(Bonus shame points - I have a gluten intolerance, therefore making the white bread consumption twice as bad because I'm meant to avoid it like the plague.)

Book of the month...

Bridget Jones's Diary.
Although not as good as the film, (which could be because I am biased towards anything that has Hugh Grant's sexy voice in it) the book did have me laughing out loud. That said, I did not enjoy the record of her daily weigh-ins, which were a constant reminder that even Bridget Jones is skinnier than me. I know she's a fictional character, but it was a kick in the teeth all the same.

Youtuber of the month...

Kendall Rae
I enjoy her humour, random outbursts, and the fact that just as many bizarre and humiliating things seem to happen to her as they do to me.

Things ticked off The 2015 List...

...None. I really need to work on that.

Next month I will aim to...

Spend less time in my bunny dressing gown (even though it is the most amazing piece of clothing I own and it should be socially acceptable for me to wear it out in public), watching Judge Judy and eating Nutella out of the jar. Instead I will seize the day! I'm not entirely sure what that comprises of yet...

My New Year's Resolutions (with the best of intentions)

Last year my New Year's resolution was 'to be better'. I'm not sure that I ever truly understood what I really meant by that other than that I wanted to improve every aspect of my life in one fair swoop. I had a vague idea that it would include everything from getting up earlier to reading more, dabbling in the Welsh language to becoming some kind of vegetable-loving, meditating, eco-friendly woman of the world who also puts time and effort into getting her hair to lie flat and wears good shoes.

Clearly this was not a good resolution. It was way too vague and ridiculous. I couldn't keep up with all the different aspects of it, partially because they changed from one day to the next. This year I'm going to set myself a list of clear cut, attainable goals with the best of intentions (which, as we know, the road to Hell is paved with) and I'm sharing them with you guys so that I'll feel more obligated to actually get up and do them.

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.

The Beacon in Wales: Part 1.

It's 2014! In the immortal words of Abba, 'happy New Year! May we all have our hopes, our will to try. If we don't we may as well lay down and die.' Uplifting.

"I spent the countdown to 2014 with the Beacon."

Usually I'm not a big fan of New Year, partly because it's the most expensive night out of the year and partly because it is the official marker for when I have to stop stuffing my face with leftover Christmas chocolate. But I spent the countdown to 2014 with the Beacon and a room full of people over the age of 50, which, weird as it may have been, was pretty fantastic.

Yes, the Beacon came to stay with me in my parents' house over New Year, and yes, there was drama before he even managed to step foot in the country. He was meant to fly into Bristol on the 30th, which was also his birthday, but due to delays he missed his connection and ended up stranded in Amsterdam overnight. I'm sure there are worse places for a man to spend his birthday. ("Birthday or not, no prostitutes sweetie.") I'd booked us a hotel in Bristol as his birthday present and, after eventually deciding better of turning up by myself and getting hammered in the room by myself, I spent my evening pouting under a blanket. The only plus side was that my mother felt sorry for me and bought me a pizza.

Since the last time I was home, my 2001 Ford KA has gotten mysteriously moldy on the inside, and hopping into it at 6:15am to drive to the airport before the sun was up or I had mustered the strength to apply mascara was a challenge. But I stuck to the usual early morning driving routine. Stick Collin the SAT-NAV on and argue with him the entire way between singing at the top of my voice to keep myself awake. And despite the fact that the weather was practically apocalyptic, I made it.

I decided to take the Beacon into Cardiff so he could see the capital city of Wales. In fact, I generously gave him a scenic tour because I got lost trying to find a car park and we drove around in circles for over an hour. He only found the Millennium Stadium impressive the first 2 times we drove past it. That said, he was very excited when he spotted Glam, having watched the entire second season of MTV's The Valleys. When we finally parked, I was in charge of choosing somewhere to eat lunch so naturally we ended up in that traditional Welsh institution...T.G.I Friday's. The Beacon soon got over his initial objections after knocking back a few house cocktails. In fact he ended up completely hammered, mumbling about how creepy the dolls in the Disney Store were. It wasn't even midday at this point.

We had booked to spend New Year in Bryn Meadows, a posh hotel in Caerphilly with a golf course, a spa, a pool, a bed big enough for the Beacon to escape from my cwtches during the night, and a TV in the bathroom. It was beautiful! And so, after getting out of the torrential rain, and dumping our bags down we did what any star-crossed lovers kept apart by the British Channel would do when finally alone. We napped until it was time to get ready for the New Year party.

After surveying our fellow guests and feeling an initial concern that we would be the only people under the age of 60, we made our way through the free champagne and canapes. The Beacon had no idea what the word canape meant and even if he had he couldn't understand a word any of the waitresses said anyway.
"Would you like a canape?"
"Sorry, what was that?"
"Do you want any canapes?"
"Wait...what?"
"Do you want canapes?"
"I'm sorry..."
"Canapes!" I broke in. "It's tiny food!"

Looking back, the canapes were probably a bad idea considering they were followed up by a 7 course meal. In the end it was almost painful.

1. Salmon with little pieces of bread and salad.

"They were in fact sugar cubes."

2. Mushroom soup - this one sticks in my mind the most because once I'd eaten all of my croutons I took a handful from a bowl in the middle of the table. They were in fact sugar cubes. I made some very interesting faces during that discovery.
3. For some reason neither of us could remember what this was. Maybe we were so full at the end that we started repressing the memories.
4. Haggis with mashed swede and potato. This was my favourite course so it's a good thing I didn't ask the waitress what it was until I had finished it because there is no way I would have knowingly shoveled innards into my mouth.
5. Steak with side plates of vegetables and potatoes. By this point I was starting to feel overwhelmed.
6. Chocolate brownies with clotted cream.
6.5. Casual plate of chocolate covered fruit slices because obviously 7 courses wasn't enough and we needed this little extra in between.
7. The cheese platter. I couldn't even bring myself to look at it. I had been well and truly defeated by the sheer overwhelming amount of food.

As I had a feeling it would be slightly inappropriate to just collapse across the table in a food comma in such a classy establishment, I attempted to dance it off. Second bad idea of the night (well, third if you count the crouton/sugar cube fandango). A good life tip is to never follow up 7 courses of food with any kind of fast movements. Before we even reached 11pm the Beacon and I were sprawled out in the lobby while people 3 times our age who had clearly never heard of the likes of Robin Thicke, were up dancing to the greatest hits of 2013.

Unable to keep up with the pace of our fellow guests, we made friends with the staff. What I mean by that is that the teenage waitresses all but collapsed at the Beacon's feet and practically fell over each other to laugh at his jokes. The Beacon put it down to his 'charming' American accent. Clearly it had nothing to do with the fact that he's 6 foot tall, gorgeous, and was the only man in the room under the age of 40.

"No celebration is complete without a ridiculous hat."

And so I spent the first few minutes of 2014 dancing with the Beacon and pretending to know the words to Auld Lang Syne whilst wearing a ridiculous hat. No celebration is complete without a ridiculous hat. It was a far cry from the way I ushered in 2013, outside Shaun's father's house, banging a saucepan with a wooden spoon while Jordan David ran around the street in nothing but his boxers. Some might say that this New Year was a somewhat classier affair.

But by 12:30am the early morning, seemingly endless drive through Cardiff, devouring of somewhere in the region of 1 million calories, and dancing like loons to the Motown supermix, had left us exhausted. I am not even ashamed that the oldies were still shaking it out on the dance floor while I was in tucked up in my reindeer pjs. In honesty, I am slightly ashamed that, despite our early night, we still managed to sleep through our complimentary breakfast. Slightly ashamed, but in no way surprised.

From Caerphilly we headed to my hometown of Port Talbot, where by this point, the Beacon-related hype had spread so far around town, that I wouldn't have been too surprised if we had been greeted by the mayor. But before the Beacon could do his meet and greets with the ever-growing list of people desperate to catch a glimpse of this mysterious American, he had to meet my crazy family...

The Weirdness that was my 2013!

At the risk of sounding like someone's great aunt, time really does fly. I can't get my head around the fact that 2013 is about to come to an end. It has been a fantastic year for me! I'm partly sad to see the back of it, but partly excited to see what kinds of adventures 2014 will bring. 

My Year in Pictures!

 I thought I'd do a review of the year with a little questionnaire, all about my 2013.

What was your favourite memory of 2013?

How can I even choose? This year has been crammed full of great memories. Over 20 of us went on a family holiday to Greece this summer. A particular highlight was when my sister-in-law and I drunkenly hid behind a tree to make bird noises at the others, totally oblivious to the fact that everyone could blatantly see our heads over the branches. The joke was on us as they sat, silently judging us. But my absolute favourite part of the year was the Eurotrip I took with my friends, Hayleigh and Bethan. Midnight police raids, humans with gills, giant penises…and that was all before we made it as far as Germany. If you’re intrigued (which you should be) I blogged all about it back in September. Trust me, it’s dramatic.

 What was your most embarrassing moment?

If I allowed myself to feel embarrassed I would have to immediately move to a cave, far from any kind of human contact. My life is just that full of socially awkward situations. I tend to scream at strangers quite often. I’m just so jumpy. If they happen to be on the other side of a door I open, or are within 3 feet of me when I turn around quickly, I scream in their faces. Loudly. And then scurry away with eyes diverted.

What were you most proud of completing?

My 3,000 word Acts of Writing essay. ‘Discuss the spaces in-between identity positions.’ I successfully managed to blag my way through 3,000 words of rubbish during one of the most awful weeks of my university life. For two whole days I didn’t leave my room and by the time I finally finished typing it up I had lost all feeling in my right leg because I’d been sitting down for so long.

What was the biggest risk you took?

Flying to Cologne to meet the Beacon for the first time. In part I was terrified of having a ‘Taken’ type scenario kick off (and it’s safe to say my Dad is no Liam Neeson), and in part I was worried that he would turn out to be a balding, 40 year old man instead of the good-looking guy I remembered. And then there was the risk that he wouldn’t like my shoes…

What was your worst habit this year?

Procrastinating! It is the curse of my life.

What do you wish you had done more of?

Reading for uni. I’m sure it would help with the exam I have next month.

What do you wish you had done less of?

Candy Crush Saga. Why do you plague me?

Have you positively influenced a child this year?

I got my niece a dress like the one she saw Eden Wood wearing in Toddlers and Tiaras…so probably not.

Did you suffer any illness or injury?

Amazingly no! (Although, let’s not tempt fate. The year isn’t over yet.) I am a doctor’s worst nightmare! Between allergies, low iron, and my general poor excuse for an immune system, I was pleasantly surprised to get through the year unscathed.

What was your favourite book?

Gone With the Wind. I’m just waiting for hoop skirts to come back in fashion.

What was your favourite film?

I really haven’t watched many new films this year. I think I only went to the cinema twice, once to see The Conjuring and once to see Disney’s Planes. I didn’t particularly like either of them, although I spent half of one crying into my popcorn and half of the other trying to get Lauren not to throw hers at me.

Describe your style for 2013 in one word.

...Aimee.

How old did you turn on your birthday and how did you celebrate?

I turned 22 and, to celebrate being a very grown up person, I had an Alice in Wonderland tea party. We had cocktails, tea cups, cupcakes, pink flamingos, playing cards, and all things quirky. I loved it!

What was a typical day in 2013?

When I’m in Exeter my average day starts at about noon. If I don’t need to go anywhere then I may or may not change out of my pjs, depending on how zealous I’m feeling. I will typically consume at least one Cup a Soup, crawl into Kirsty’s bed while she’s trying to work, avoid my own work at all costs, and bug the Beacon.

What were you doing most Saturday mornings this year?

Sleeping.

What were you doing at 3pm during the weekdays?

Sleeping.

What were you doing on Sunday evenings?

Napping.

How will you be spending New Year’s?

The Beacon is coming to Wales! I’m not sure if he fully understands what he has let himself in for, between my crazy family, the constant rain, overwhelming number of sheep, and indecipherable accents. But we will be spending New Year’s Eve at a golf club about an hour from where I live, where we will have a meal, entertainment, and copious amounts of alcohol. The next day I’ll be bringing him back to Port Talbot. Pity help him.

What are your New Year’s Resolutions for 2014?

I want to work on my blog next year. I’m finally ready to deal with my technophobia, which means I may also be experimenting with video blogs on Youtube…providing someone can show me how to make that be a thing. And to kick things off I’m going to attempt a January Instagram challenge. It will challenge my technophobia as well as my memory because I’m meant to post a different picture every day. Goodness knows how that will go. But I’d love some new followers (because it’s slightly sad if you’re uploading pictures purely for yourself).

My Instagram name thingy is aimee_oddball

What quote sums up your 2013?

“Guys, would you rather be a fish with lungs or a human with gills?” 

Happy New Year everyone! And if anyone does this New Year review post for yourselves I'd love to take a look. I promise I won't try and copy your answers or anything.