QOTD:8th March

So today is International Women's Day and so today I thought I'd share a couple of quotes about women that I like:

QOTD: 7th March 2012

QOTD: 6th March

I like this quote as I think too many people take the litthe things for granted when in fact as it says life is about the little things.

"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it"

For those of you who weren’t already aware, today (1^st March) is World Book Day. As I am a bit of a reading fanatic (I love nothing more than snuggling up in bed with a good book and being transported to another world- whether it is London in the 1800s or some foreign land) I thought I would share with you some of my book like/dislikes along with some of my thoughts on books I am reading or have read

Current book I am reading:

The book I am currently reading is One Day by David Nicholls. I really wanted to see the film after I saw it advertised and a friend recommended reading the book. I have yet to see the film as I like to read the book first. I enjoy using my imagination to create the characters rather than be given someone else’s creation and trying to make them fit the character (I up to this day still think Emma Watson was not my Hermione in Harry Potter) I’m about halfway through the book now and so far am thoroughly impressed. I’ve struggled to put it down and find myself nearly missing my bus stop and staying up till the early hours reading it. I’d definitely recommend you reading it if you haven’t already.

The book I have just finished reading

The book I’ve just finished reading is Belle by Lesley Pearce. I’d never heard of this author before reading the book but I now really want to read more of her books and I have a few others on my shelf ready to read. Briefly the story is about Belle, a brothel owner’s daughter, witnessing the murder of one of the girls and being kidnapped in the process. It follows the story of what happens to Belle after her kidnapping.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found it easy to relate to all the characters from the poor victim Belle to the torn Etienne. I don’t want to give too much away but all I would say is it is definitely worth a read.

My Favourite Children’s book

From a young age I’ve loved to read and one of my favourite childhood authors is Roald Dahl. Therefore I think my favourite childhood book was either Matilda or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I cannot pick between the two... I’ve tried many times. I love the way Roald Dahl writes, he uses some of the craziest ideas but makes them relatable. I think his style of writing helps to create a fanatical world that you want to be in (I know I wanted to go to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and try some of his treats).

My favourite book

Another difficult choice for me and I did think long and hard for this one. I think one of my favourite books is the Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I must admit this was one film I saw before the book, only because I didn’t want to wait to have read the book to see the film however I do believe that the book is better than the film. Although it can at first seem disjointed and confusing as it jumps from time, I thoroughly enjoyed the read. I found the characters of Clare and Henry really relatable and could easily empathise with them both. Definitely a worthy read.

The Book I feel is overhyped

One book I feel is overhyped is The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I know most people go on about how amazing the book is and that it is one of the best books they’ve ever read, but I personally found the book overhyped. I found I couldn’t get into the book at all. Even after numerous attempts it wasn’t a book that I couldn’t put down and in fact at times I was reluctant to pick up. This probably explains why I gave up reading it halfway through in favour of something else.

My favourite autobiography

I think my favourite autobiography is Russell Brand’s My Booky Wook. I did read this book quite a while ago however I haven’t yet to find an autobiography that I found as funny but also wanted to read more of (saying that I have heard great things about James Corden’s book and really want to read that when I have a chance). I think Russell’s book will appeal more to people who do find his humour funny as I know a few people who read it and didn’t like the book as much as I did.

 What are your favourite books? I'd love some more reccomendations of books to add to my reading lists

QOTD: 23rd February

Watch out world!! I'm on the road!

So this week has been an exciting week for me, mainly due to one thing... I HAVE FINALLY PASSED MY DRIVING TEST

This was test number 3 for me and I was so nervous I honestly couldn't stop shaking. I'm really surprised I passed my test what with me stalling once, being in the wrong lane for a roundabout and trying a couple of times to pull away in 2nd or 3rd gear, in fact when the examiner said I'd passed my reaction was "You are kidding right?!"

Anyway now I have passed my test I now need to decide whether to spend some of my savings (which I am currently saving for the money for my postgraduate course) to buy a car myself a car and make a use of my new found freedom or to wait and save. I know that I'm hating having to get up early and get the bus to work now I know I can drive.


I guess I wish a new car and insurance wasn't so bloody expensive so I can justify dipping into a bit of my savings but at the moment I'll be eating into a large chunk of it... I guess at the moment I'll just have to bite the bullet and get back in the queue for the bus stop.

The Great iPhone Debate

So the time has come again...the time I've actually been waiting for for about 2 years now. The time I can upgrade my phone on my phone contract. I'm usually pretty good at upgrading my phone, already knowing which phone I want however this time I am stuck.

There is one thing for sure and that is that it is definitely time for my Blackberry to say goodbye and be banished to a place that's very far away. I'm sick of the dodgy signal, the internet that is slower than a snail and BBM which to be completely honest isn't all it's cracked up to be.
But then there is the dilemma, what phone shall replace my Blackberry and become the new object of obsession for me.

At the moment I have narrowed it down to either the iPhone 4S or the Samsung Galaxy SII but then that is as far as I have got. This is where the questions have started. Do I actually need an iPhone when I already own the iPod touch? Is it better to get the Samsung which seems to cost the same but is cheaper to insure? Does the Samsung Galaxy SII really match up to the iPhone?

So I turned to the internet...which proved fruitless...every comparison I found came to the same conclusion- We'll let you decide. I'm sorry but how is that supposed to help me?! I want a comparison that comes to a conclusion not some cop-out where they don't say which one will suit my needs.


Having made a temporary decision to go for the iPhone 4S I looked online to see if I could find a better deal than Orange were quoting me (600 mins, unlimited texts and unlimited internet for £36 a month as well as £100 for the phone itself). Anyway I found plenty of deals offering me to same but with the phone for free so I did the thing I usually do and phoned Orange to see if they can match it. What did I find?

Probably the most unhelpful bit of advice I could get. After telling them that I had found 10 deals online with the above offer of the phone for free on the Orange network but through a company willing to give me the phone for free, the reply I got was "no we can't match it". This I found quite unacceptable... not only did they not try to offer me anything different but when I asked why they gave me some excuse about how apparently it's a standard fee charged by Apple and Orange and that they are instead going to stop selling the iPhone as they cannot beat the online companies. This I could accept but then they were shocked that I wanted to cancel my contract...well you're not giving me the better deal so yes I will be cancelling.

Since then I have been plagued with missed calls from Orange operators probably trying to find out why I've cancelled my contract however as I work most days between the hours of 9-5 and that's the only time they ring I have yet to speak to them.

So I need some opinions...is the iPhone really worth the hassle? Should I just bite the bullet and pay the £100 to Orange? Should I get the iPhone from Orange even though they won't sell them anymore (as if anything goes wrong and they don't sell it they won't be able to replace it). Any opinions would be welcome.

QOTD: Thursday 2nd February

QOTD: 29th January

QOTD: 17th January

"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future."

Oscar Wilde

A New Year and a New Me...again

Right so 2012 is now 16 days in and it's happened again. I have made the decision that this year I shall try and change myself to create a new me. I know, I know I've probably said this every year for about 5 years, kidding myself that this year will be different...this year I am going to stick to it.

2011 for me wasn't a particularly bad year..in fact I did a lot of things and achieved a lot that I am proud of, namely my degree and I've decided this year my goal is going to be about creating a new me.

My first step to make this completely different from this year is that I am not going on a diet...A diet is not the way forward... you end up denying yourself all the things you enjoy like chocolate and takeaway and eventually you end up getting so bored of eating salad that you cave and break your diet. I have therefore decided I'm just going to eat healthily. I am using January as my month to begin changing how I eat, by still allowing my body to eat some of what I like (there is absolutely no way I am going cold turkey and just cutting out chocolate and desserts- that would end up with immediate failure) and looking at portion sizes. Thgen as the months go on it should be easier to begin cutting down on things and begin to lose some weight.

So to go alongside my healthy eating I am going to begin an exercise regime...well not a regime as such but I really do need to do a bit more exercise. Since finishing uni and not using the gym as much I've really slipped. The gym round here is so expensive and with working all the hours god sends I don't have time to commit to a gym membership as such. So I am going to just walk more and give some exercise DVDs a go.I've already got a few of the 10 minute solution DVDs which I shall use and I did buy Zumba for the Wii, however as I am not the most co-ordinated of people I decided I'd stick mainly to the 10 minute DVDs and then try some new.

I also have a goal for this year. I want to lose about a stone and a half to 2 stone for my friend's wedding in October... so any tips you have for me would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to keep you updated about how I get on as I go.

This new me will not only be about losing weight and becoming more healthy but I'm also going to give the new me a go in other ways. I'm going to change my appearance I think...maybe a new haircut... maybe some new clothes but also I'm going to have a new attitude. I am going to be more positive and instead of having such a defeated I can't do this attitude I'm going to have an 'I CAN' attitude.

Do you have any tips on how I can stick to my plan? Have you managed to create a new you? I'd love to hear your stories

QOTD: 16th January

This is one of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite Disney films:

"Life's not a spectator sport. If watchin' is all you're gonna do, then you're gonna watch your life go by without ya. "

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Quote of The Day

Right so I have decided to start a new feature on the blog which is a Quote of The Day (QOTD) feature. I've always liked reading an inspirational or funny quote and I thoguht it would be something I could share with everyone.

I love the film 'A Cinderella Story' and I love this quote. It reminds me that you cannot let worries stop you from achieving your dreams.

30 Day Disney Challenge: Day 13 Your Favourite Villain Song

This one is easy: My favourite Villain song is Poor Unfortunate Souls from the Little Mermaid

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all my readers...

I apologise for lacks of posts over Christmas however with working over 80 hours these last 2 weeks and with having to do the family/friends stuff I have literally had no time whatsoever to myself, let alone being able to sit and write a blog post. However I think I'm going to make one of my new year resolutions to blog more so keep an eye out.

I hope you all had a wonderful time welcoming in the new year and that 2012 is a good year for you all

Where are you Christmas? Why can't I find you?

So most of you will notice I haven’t been posting as often as I really should and I want to apologise for that. Unfortunately working in retail means long days around Christmas and currently I am 40 hours down in my 60 hour week so as you can imagine I am currently working, getting in eating and going to bed.

Unfortunately working in retail seems to have another downside... I’ve lost my Christmas spirit! Well actually I can’t really say I have lost the spirit because this year I haven’t even had it in the first place. By this time I’m normally getting excited and being a bit like a kid in a candy shop about Christmas, counting down the days and singing Christmas carols however this year seems to be the opposite.

Unfortunately with Christmas preparations beginning in November for me I think to be honest Christmas is running pretty thin. Not to mention the fact that Christmas seems to make people go mental. I guess the expense of Christmas and the stress of trying to organise just one day gets to people but I honestly cannot count how many times I have been smacked into with shopping trolleys, moaned at and abused for merely doing my job. I understand the stress but this however does not put me in the finest mood when I’m tired and grouchy from not spending time with my own family.

I even thought that wrapping my presents would put me in a good mood as normally with a bit of Christmas music on I would begin to feel Christmassy however there was nothing...nada. It just seemed like another chore.

I’m guessing that as I get older, Christmas is losing its magic, and that instead this is how Christmas is going to feel all I can say is I really hope not and that instead I am going to go into work tomorrow or Christmas Eve and suddenly the moaning and depression won’t matter and I will once again be excited for Christmas.

30 Day Disney Challenge: Day 12: Your favourite love song

After watching the film last night with my little sister- as I hadn't watched it in ages and my little sister had never seen it I think this is defo my favourite love song currently

"Manners are like the shadows of virtues, they are the momentary display of those qualities which our fellow creatures love and respect." Sydney Smith

Right I’m going to have a bit of a rant today about something that has been bothering me for a while now...manners.

I’ve always been brought up with some what I consider basic manners. You know the kind of thing, treat others like you wish to be treated, always say please thank you and excuse me and to always respect your elders. In fact I’d consider them more common courtesy than manners but it seems to me today that some people are severely lacking.

Take the other day for example I was getting on the bus to work and because it was a quite busy time of day the bus was as expected really packed. Anyway an elderly gentleman in front of me who had two walking sticks for support and struggled with basic walking got on the bus before me. As I said it was busy and the bus seats were all full but there were a group of about 4 boys aged about 15 sat in the priority disabled seats, now in my eyes I think the elderly gentleman who could barely stand on his own let alone on a moving bus qualified for the seat but these boys just sat there laughing and staring at him whilst he struggled. If that was me I would have given up my seat straight away, it was obvious he was struggling and I’m sure those boys were more than capable of standing for a few minutes. I’ll admit I had to really  bite my tongue to prevent me shouting at them to give up their seat and were they dragged up (although luckily another passenger got in there before me and insisted the boys moved to let the poor gentleman sit down. Anyway it got me thinking, have manners really gone so far to the dogs?

Another example is saying please and thank you and treating others like you would wish to be treated but I have noticed especially now I’m back working full time in a shop just how many people seem to forget little things like saying please. Like people that come up to you and go “oi where’s the cream?” or some other request. Is it really hard to ask “Excuse me could you tell me where the cream is please?”?! And it’s just an observation but its normally younger people who seem to behave like this... I feel like an old woman going on like this but it’s really one of my pet hates.

Maybe as society progresses and the younger generation grow up there will begin to be no place for manners, in fact at the moment this certainly is the case, however I don’t think I want to live in a world where a bit of common courtesy is given to others.

What are your thoughts? Do you think some people nowadays are severely lacking in manners or do you think manners have no place in society anymore?

30 Day Disney Challenge: Day 11: Your Favourite Song

Having grown up with Disney I know many of the songs and have come to love them, therefore picking one has been extremely difficult. Therefore here are a selection of my favourite Disney Songs:

Hercules- Go the Distance

Pocohontas- Colour of The Wind

The Little Mermaid- Part of Your World

And for your own enjoyment I stumbled across this which I thought I'd throw in for good measure



30 Day Disney Challenge: Day 10- Your Favourite Original Character

My favourite Disney original character was quite difficult, obviously I love Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy. I think however that I will have to say my favourite original character is Pluto the Dog.