365 Challenge Day 30 - 30/01/2012

Little Things to Brighten the Day

I noticed this cute little fella on one of the shelves at work. I'm not sure where he came from, or who he belongs to but he did make me smile. Now it's no secret that giraffes are my favourite animal, but what you may not know is that giraffes are also an inside joke between my husband and I, and it all started with my engagement ring. So now I guess you'll know why this made my day. Anything that reminds me of my husband brightens my day.

Katie

365 Challenge Day 29 - 29/01/2012

Don't Eat Me Eat Broccoli 

We took the Millie Monster on a mammoth walk today. If I'm honest we didn't intend on walking her so far, we just ended up doing a few errands along the way. And by errands, I mean errand, and by errand I mean, we failed because no-one was home so we'll have to try again tomorrow. But if we look on the bright side we walked almost 4 miles. I feel like I'm training for the apocalypse. 

When we got home we relaxed for a bit, then Mike had to get ready for band practice, and I sat being a lazy bum browsing blogger and youtube until he returned home. Nothing new there then. After the boy got back I made broccoli soup, and let me tell you... eeeeewwwww! You try something new and healthy and it ends up down the drain. Enough said. 

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and a nice relaxing Sunday.

I'm a little shocked that it's almost February, can anyone else believe it? 

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 28 - 28/01/2012

Something Beginning With C

... cat. Our cat. Called Jake. Who should not be sat on the windowsill. But I challenge anyone to stop him. Plus if he enjoys watching the world go by then why should I spoil his fun?

Katie 

x

Sunday Snaps - Weekly Photo Dump # 2

/ Mike before band practice // posing in a concrete tube // our only Christmas item left over that I cannot let go of // filling up our tyres // my embarrassingly growing perfume collection // a french braid bun that didn't quite photograph // it's been a long time since we've taken our own couple picture // a little obsession // Mike + Park /

So these were actually the pictures from last week rather than this, but I don't know about anyone else but my week flew, before I knew it, it was Sunday again. I also found out that in a weeks time I have a week off work, which I am very excited about. I love work, but those stressful weeks make appreciate my  weeks off. I'm also getting rather excited for Valentines Day. I've got so many crafty ideas and thing to make for my wonderful husband. Plus it will be our first one as a married couple. Yay! 

Katie

x

365 Challenge Day 27 - 27/01/212

After an Exhaust-ing Day

I don't think that this picture needs further explanation, but for all those confused people out there, we're talking through a silencer of course. Oh I love my Dad. And what better way to spend a Friday evening? 

Katie

x

365 Challenge Day 26 - 26/01/2012

Better Than School Dinners

A far from nutritionally balanced dinner, but still super yummy. I tried the new Dolmio PastaVita, and though it was not the best food choice it was rather tasty and very filling, and at only 333 calories per pot not too high in calories either. It does worry me about the amount of preservative used to keep this little pot going to have such a long expiry date, but come on, what was healthy about my lunch? haha. 

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 25 - 25/01/2012

Organisation Crazy

I was forced to look at our finances due to our poorly car, and boy was I glad. It's about time too seen as one of my resolutions was to become more organised and up until now I haven't really looked into it. It turns out that giving up takeaways has saved us a fortune, and showed us the error of our ways. Typically each month we would eat our wages with nothing to show for it except for our fat bellies. Well 2012 has put a stop to all that and hopefully kick started a new respect for money. I'm super excited to save, and for once I'm looking forward to each pay day so I can see how much I can save rather than spend. My new flare for organisation has brought with it pretty coloured pens for each account and a pretty little diary, all of which I already had. Bonus.

Katie
x  

365 Challenge Day 24 - 24/01/2012

These Boots Are Made for Walking... But Not in the Rain

Home at last after a dreary, wet day. Both Michael and I had a day off work, and it was lovely to spend it together. It was a day full of errands, including doctors appointments, food shopping and trying to get our car fixed. We met up with my Mum on our travels and also took a trip to the library to pick up a few reads. I picked up a Sookie Stackhouse book that I am yet to read, and Dexter. Though it turns out that the Dexter book I chose is quite far along in the series so I cannot read it yet, which is a bit of a shame. 

We ended up at two garages in an attempt to fix our car (I feel like I need a name for her) after the first one quoted us £140 but said that he didn't really want to do it. Quite odd, and extremely poor customer service, but I guess that they don't deserve our hard earned cash. The second garage was slightly more expensive at £160 but at least they were polite. So it looks like it's going to be an expensive job. But on the plus side since our New Years Resolutions of eating better, which turned into a no takeaways rule we seem to have more money left at the end of each month, (though there hasn't even been one yet, but you know what I mean. haha) so we now have a little bit of emergency money... for once.

Now Millie's outside having a toilet break before bed, Michael's drifting off in front of the TV, and my boots are drying out under the radiator ready for our walk tomorrow. I'm really enjoying this photo challenge, and though some days can be difficult and slightly dull, I'm loving that it's turning into my online diary that will hopefully give me great memories in the future.

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 23 - 23/01/2012

It's Best to be an Ostrich

Our little Gizmo. This over excited puppy loves nothing more to play fetch, and I'm more than willing to oblige especially when he looks like this. We had to be taxied around today by my Mum because of our poorly car, which is why we ended up seeing one of my favourite furry creatures. He even met me from work, bless him. 

From one puppy story to another, we found some shoes for Millie. They just require a bit of DIY and we're all set. And yes before you ask, they are very embarrassing, but if they prevent our Millie from getting glass in her feet then it's got to be worth it. 

Katie 

x

Oh and if you're wondering about the ostrich, Mike and I were talking about life and I meant optimist. 

365 Challenge Day 22 - 22/01/2012

I See Trouble Ahead

I received a wonderful phone call from my husband about half a hour after I was expecting him to arrive home from work, informing me that our poor little vehicle had lost all will to live. He couldn't even make it over a hill, and stuck in the middle of nowhere I was his last hope. Well unfortunately I was of no use to him at all so I told him to call my parents who quickly rose to the challenge and picked me up for a long and boring wait. I put my culinary skills to use and made Michael a packed lunch complete with homemade sandwiches, crisp, and some fizzy pop that I quickly bought from the shop on the way. That was after I threw a little fit that Mike had taken the last of my change out of my purse, typical man. Tut tut.

We then sat and waited for the AA, (who are amazing by the way, they've got me out of quite a few pickles in my time, you may or not remember this one) who came to the rescue and towed us home. Mike had a mini lesson in how to be towed safely, and to say that I was slightly over excited to be towed was a bit of an understatement. I was over the moon. See you've got to make the best out of a bad situation, see the silver lining and all that jazz. 

Now we've got to wait until Tuesday when we can take our little run around to the garage to get her fixed. Hopefully it won't be too expensive, though I'm not counting on it. How was your Sunday? A little less eventful I hope. 

Katie

x

P.S. We finally got home at midnight, and we still had to take Millie out for a walk. I'm not breaking my New Years Resolutions for no-one. We also had to drop off a photograph at my Nanna's, who stayed up for us. And let me tell you, she looks adorable in her dressing gown. I love my Nanna! 

365 Challenge Day 21 - 21/01/2012

Sock it to Me Millie

What a lovely Saturday. Don't get me wrong work was not amazing, but it was far from bad, and I only left 10 minutes late which was a record for me. haha. On the way home I stopped off at my Nanna's to drop of some photographs. I only intended staying for a bit, but ended up staying until I had to set of to meet Mike from work. I love going to my Nanna's, so much so that I never want to leave. I could sit and watching TV with her forever. 

After meeting Mike from work we attempted to take Millie for a walk, but noticed that her foot was still bleeding from her injury last night. After cleaning her up we decided to attempt dressing it with a clean sock. haha. It worked a treat, and I think that Millie secretly enjoyed wearing it. We ended up walking another two miles, and she didn't even limp once. I think she's finally on the mend.

Katie

x

365 Challenge Day 20 - 20/01/2012

Feeling Deflated

Today I noticed that our front tyre was looking rather flat. At first I thought both Mike and I had been a little neglectful of our run around, and failed to pump up our tyres. That was until Michael went to fill them up, only to inform me that someone had stollen our dust cap. People, seriously. I can only assume that it was kids using it for their bikes, but come on. I do think it's quite amusing, but out of all the things to steal, our dust caps had to be one of them. Off to the car shop it is to pick up a handy pack of them to keep in my car at all times. We also had a mini contest on who could guess the actual PSI, I guessed 12, Mike guessed 14. I lost. It was 16. (it should be 32) haha. Who else plays mini guessing games? 

On a brighter note we walked Millie over two miles, but to bring it down to an almost depressing level again she managed to cut her paw on some broken glass. Around our area there is broken glass on almost every street corner, and it's so hard to avoid. It's getting to the point that my Mum and I have discussed getting/making Millie some doggy shoes to protect her delicate paws. I'm not 100% on the idea, but I've got to do something about it. How do you feel about doggy footwear? Both the practical type and the "fashion."

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 19 - 19/01/2012

The Other Woman

After work I placed an order for a McMike Muffin, so we headed to Asda to pick up the all important ingredients where Mike got up close and personal with one on the mannequins. He's never been that happy with me. haha. I think I've got a slight bit of competition. By the way the McMike Muffin was amazing. Nom Nom.

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 18 - 18/01/2012

Manic Wednesday?

Today started off pretty average, in fact quite enjoyable (I tried out my new face products and loved them) until I got in my car and headed off to work, only to be stuck in over an hours worth of unexpected traffic. Nightmare. Late for work.... again. Things brightened up when after work I finally had my hair cut. Yes, granted I did only have about an inch cut off, but it's such a relief to finally be free of my awful split ends. And finally the best, but most addictive part of my day... we picked up the new Rayman. Oh, what memories. I love this game. I'm not very good at it, which equals serious concentration face, but I still love it. Many fun (and wasted) hours ahead. 

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 17 - 17/01/2012

Relaxing With Fairies

Another frosty and cold night, but we held by our promise and took our Millie out for a walk. We walked just over 2 miles which felt amazing, and managed to do it at a quicker speed than usual, getting home in a little over 40 minutes. Bonus. But what's the best thing about getting home after a late night walk? Changing into PJ's, light a candle, putting on a brew and relaxing with the fairy lights. Ahh bliss. 

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 16 - 16/01/2012

Winter Wonderland

Today was a crisp, cold winters day, but because of my New Years Resolution of walking Millie every day, we ventured out. And I'm so glad that we did. Though it was cold, we wrapped up super warm and headed out to a not so local lake. It had been years since I'd been, in fact the last time was on Millie 13th week birthday - the first day she could actually go for a walk, and I've never seen anything so beautiful. The lake was half frozen over, the ducks were casually swimming around, 'ducking' and diving, and the frost covered the grass with a white crisp glaze. It makes my New Years Resolution well worth while, to know that instead of hiding away inside from the cold, we braved the weather and spectated nature at it's best. Most of all, Millie loved it. Though she has developed an awful habit of barking at young children, which we need to drill out of her pretty soon. I'm not sure where it's come from, and though I know that she would never hurt a soul, it's still heartbreaking to see such fear on a little child's face.

Not so much of a 'Blue Monday' for me. How did you spend the "most depressing day of the year?"

Katie

x

P.S I don't know about you, but I feel the need to add speech bubbles with almost every picture off Millie. She just seems so full of attitude. Bless her. haha.

365 Challenge Day 15 - 15/01/2012

Sunday Shopping

Amongst other things Michael gave me a £20 gift card to spend in The Body Shop. Now I love the body shop but sometimes I get slightly overwhelmed with all the different items. Plus my options are dramatically limited due to my allergies to both Aloe Vera and Tea Tree. Why do companies put these ingredients in almost everything? Anyway I did manage to find a few items that I immediately fell in love with. Seaweed Skin Essentials Started Kit - £10 // Papaya Shower Gel - £2 // Warm Shimmer Cube Palette - £16. I am most especially looking forward to using the Seaweed kit, so I'll keep you updated on what I think. They also had a buy 1 get 50% off offer on selected ranges so I managed to get the starter kit for only £5. Though I do wish that I could have used my gift card online because of their amazing deals but you can't win 'em all.

No trip to town would be complete without popping into The Works. Their 3 books for £5 offer is irresistible and I never fail to walk out with something. As you can tell, I am partial to a bit of teen fiction.

After town we nipped to a local 2 for £10 restaurant where we proceeded to eat until it felt like our stomachs could explode. Very yummy, very cheap, but very filling. 

How was your Sunday? Lovely and relaxing, or busy, busy, busy? 

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 14 - 14/01/2012

Movie Night

What better way to spend a Saturday evening than movie night in with the husband? We've had a LoveFilm subscription for a good few months now. Though the majority of times we are useless with it, keeping the same movie for weeks on end, but this time we received Inception which I have been super excited to watch. Que, pizza, popcorn and lots and lots of chocolate. And because of the takeaway ban all this was purchased from Asda for under £10. Bonus. 

Katie

x

P.S Please ignore the awful iphone quality picture. Sometimes you've just gotta use what you've got. 

365 Challenge Day 13 - 13/01/2012

Water Fight

After a long and very cold walk with Millie we came home to find an empty water bowl. Upon filling it to quench a tired dogs thirst, Jake came out and took stand. Poor Millie had to wait patiently until our demanding cat had his turn first. In the end I had to pick Jake up so Millie could get a drink. And I know what your thinking. Why don't they just have a bowl each? Because they still share the same one. Animals.

Katie

x

365 Challenge Day 12 - 12/01/2012

Fan Girl Moment

I'm a huge fan of The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins. In fact one of my first posts on this blog was a 'review' on the books. So you can understand my excitement when I found these beauties in Asda today...

Well I was clearly excited enough to take a picture of them. How gorgeous are these new covers?! I don't know about you, but I now feel the need to own these. Which is completely unnecessary, as I already own my own copies but they are just so pretty. I just don't think I could justify spending almost £15 on books that I already own just because they are pretty. But that doesn't stop you going out an buying them, especially if you haven't already read this trilogy. Which you need to! Go, go, go...

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 11 - 11/01/2012

New Loves

I ended the day with a lovely relaxing shower. I would have preferred a lovely relaxing bath but I'm afraid that I would have fallen asleep in it. I absolutely cannot wait until Saturday, when I have 3 days off from work, and not because I dislike my job, but because it has drained me both physically and emotionally recently. But while where on the subject of showers I thought I'd show you a few of my new shower loves...

V05 gloss me smoothly shampoo and conditioner - my hair has never been so soft and smooth since using this. 

Lush Each Peach Massage Bar - this works wonders on dry skin, and or eczema. 

Lush soap which Mike likes to call Patrick Star Fish as we cannot remember the actual name - this smells incredible. It definitely focuses more on cleaning power rather than moisturising, but it's still lovely. 

What are your favourite shower treats?

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 10 - 10/01/2011

Harry as Larry 

For some reason I don't seem to watch much television anymore, *cough* youtube addiction *cough* but boy am I grateful for SkyPlus. Now I'm one of those people that completely forget about a series for months and then one day finds it and watches none stop, and it's happened again. Originally I watched the pilot episode of Ringer staring Sarah Michelle Gellar, when it first came out, and was immediately hooked. Then somehow I forgot all about it. Sunday I re-found this love and watched 2 episodes, and tonight after work guess what I did?! Yup, watched 2 more episodes. Now I'm a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, so when Sarah Michelle Gellar brings out anything new I'm straight in there, and disappointed the majority of the time, but luckily Ringer is not one of those times. Yes, granted, the pilot episode was a little touch and go at times, but now I'm hooked and cannot get enough of it. Plus it's great because I've got all the episodes recored = no suspense. Yay! 

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 9 - 09/01/2012

Other People's Animals 

After work, and a slight emotional breakdown that we will not mention, Michael and I stopped off at my Mum's. What better way to be greeted than by this pair of cuties? I love these two so much. They are both Jack Russell and Border Terrier crossbreed, but look completely different, and have totally different personalities. Jaspa (the scruffy bugger) is my favourite... but shhhh don't tell anyone.

Katie

x

Challenge 365 Day 8 - 08/01/2012

Mucky Pup 

We treated Millie to what we though was a super long walk today. Turns out that we walked further yesterday, but at least today she was off lead which meant she could run. We popped her in the car and drove her 10 minutes down the road to a lovely local park. I love walking through the woods, through fields and along country paths, and I always use Millie as an excuse to explore somewhere new. Why not, eh? And as we've been having such "glorious weather" in England recently Millie came home brown and covered in mud, so was immediately given a bath once we got home. Now she smells fresh and clean once again. My turn next... 

Katie

x

Sunday Snaps - Weekly Photo Dump # 1

Millie caught all comfy on our dirty washing. Nice. // Millie didn't want to play fetch but Mike found a new friend // the chaos cause every time I make a new youtube video // all ready and set for our daily evening walk with the hound // the best start to the year // the best breakfast of all time, eggs, bacon and sausage in a muffin. Yum yum. // posing for photos... as you do // I have no idea how she can sleep like this, but she does. // too wide to fit through these, bless him.

It's been a great first week to the New Year. Tiring, granted, but so much fun. I've also kept up with the new years resolutions, and I must say that I'm rather proud.

Walking Millie every day - check, and loving it might I add.

Reading more without a challenge - check, not quite finished my first book of the year but I'm not being too hard on myself.

Challenge 365 Photo Challenge - Every day you should have seen my photo, or photos as I cannot resist uploading more than one. Plus I'm doing it vloggers style to relieve some of the pressure, but updating the day after.

Being more organised - Ahh, not quite. haha.

Eating better - this resolution has slightly morphed since I set it, and has turned into a no takeaway rule, which then improves better eating by default.

Workout more - I've been loving walking the dog, and with the 1.5 mile average per day, I've been succeeding on the workout front as well.

How have your resolutions been going? 

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 7 - 07/01/2012

Finally the weekend

Finally it's Saturday which means a day off tomorrow. Whoop whoop. Most of all I cannot wait for a lie in. Ahh. 

Tonight I really struggled with my resolutions. Mainly walking Millie and no takeaways, but I'm proud to admit that I stuck to them. I love walking Millie, but sometimes I'm just so tired that I don't want to leave the house to freeze in the cold. Once I'm out I'm fine, it's just getting out. I love that both Michael and I share this time. No matter how tough the day is, or how little time we've spent together, there's that one hour at the end of each day where we spend quality time together to talk. I love it. 

I've been using the RunKeeper application to track our progress, which tracks how far you've walked, how long it takes, the average time per mile, and the date and time. It also links with GPS to show the actual route using google maps. To be honest it's blooming amazing. Yes sometimes it experiences slight glitches, like on the 3rd where we walked 9.5 miles in only 40minutes, but for a free application it aint half bad. Most of all this little application is keeping me motivated, and what could be better than that? 

Katie

x

365 Challenge day 6 - 06/01/2012

Friday Fiction

It's been one hell of a week, and unfortunately it's not quite over as I have to work tomorrow (or today as you will read it.) I've left work late every night this week, and by at least one hour each time. Nightmare. But I am proud to say that I'm now well ahead, which hopefully will lead to a much more relaxed week next week. And hopefully a few evenings where I don't fall asleep on the sofa for 30 minutes when I get home due to exhaustion, only to have to wake up to pick the husband up from work. So, just what the doctor ordered, a nice relaxing hour before I have to set off for Michael. 

Katie

x

P.S I also managed to catch the pilot episode of 'New Girl' staring Zooey Deschanel, and I must say that I'm in love, and I've developed a new girl crush. Zooey Deschanel will always be one of those women that every man wants and every woman wants to be. Plus she rocks the geek frames. 

365 Challenge Day 5 - 05/01/2012

Braving Lush

For Christmas Mike treated me to some Lush bits and bats, and oh how I love Lush products. I just really dislike shopping in there myself. I hate being pestered while I'm shopping. I just like to be left to my own devices without every member of staff asking me if I need any help, no matter how nice those people are. So Mike took it on the chin and braved Lush just for me, and what's better is that he picked some amazing bits. The only problem is that they smell too good to move out of the living room. Every now and then I get this amazing whiff of Lush-ness. 

Katie 

x

365 Challenge Day 4 - 04/01/2012

Tiny Bit Addictive

I downloaded the Tiny Tower app yesterday, which as it happens, was a really bad decision. It turns out to be highly addictive. Who'd have known? I love it. It's all I've done recently. On the way to work - checking on my tower. Walking to the car - checking on my tower. On my break - checking my on tower. Any imaginable gap in free time I'm checking on my tower. I've killed my phone battery twice already, which is annoying... but so worth it. haha. 

I do love iphone apps, another favourite of mine being Diner Dash. Ahhh. I long love affair from me. In fact it was the first application I downloaded on my iphone when I got it almost 2 years ago now, and I still love. Probably not wise to ask, but do you have any favourite must have iphone applications? 

Today was my first day back to work after a lovely three day break over the new year. It was a little odd to go back to work after the new year. I'm not sure why, but I just felt like for some reason everything should have changed. And of course nothing had, and if I'm honest I'm kinda glad. I really do love my job. Though at times it can be stressful and frustrating, I'm good at it. And no that's not me being big headed, it's me just acknowledging my own achievements. I have a scarily amazing memory at work which makes my job a hell of a lot easier. [I say 'at work' because work Katie and home Katie are two very different people.] I'm highly motivated and I find my job so easy... a little too easy at times which is also slightly frustrating, but I guess if you find a job that you're good at your one step closer to finding a job that you love. 

On another note the resolutions are going well. The weather has been awful in the UK recently, very cold and extremely windy, but Michael and I have still walked Millie every day so far, and I've noticed a huge difference in Millie's temperament already. She is so happy. And if I'm honest so are me and Mike. Plus I've managed to combine two resolutions in one - walking Millie every day, and working out. So far we've walked two 45 minute stretches and one 58 minute. Very proud. (though it is only day four. haha)

Speak Soon, 

Katie

x

365 Challenge Day 3 - 03/01/2012

Checking Off The To-Do List

Started the day off with a well rounded nutritious breakfast of Pop Tarts. Drove the husband to work where we found an awful leak in our car. Great. Though I did spend the whole journey 'splish splashing' around in the puddle in the footwell of the passenger seat. Not all bad then. Haha. I spotted chaos on the dual-carriage way, where a recycling box had escaped and was playing in the middle of the road. Tut Tut. Came home. Let Millie in. Lit a candle and sat relaxing with my blog, and I guess you guys.

I've got plenty to do. Sorting through all our Christmas presents. Washing. Cleaning. Sorting finances. Bathing the hound. Hopefully finishing my new book. [Wither by Lauren Destefano, incase you were wondering.] Filming a few YouTube videos. Reply to comments both on here and my YouTube channel. And I'm looking forward to each and every task. I love windy, cold, blustery and wet days for some reason they always make me so motivated.

Katie 

x

P.S - Check out those matching Christmas card Michael and I bought each other this year. We were meant to be. 

365 Challenge Day 2 - 02/01/2012

All Packed Up For Another Year

After getting home from walking Millie (keeping up with the resolutions - check) we decided to take down the Christmas tree and all the festive decorations. Though I love Christmas and all the wonderful decorations, I do love the day when we put them all away again. 

During the packing process I came across a few presents that Millie didn't get chance to open on Christmas Day, and I don't think she minded too much for getting them late. Plus it was a nice treat for her being so good on her walk. 

I then turned around to find the big kid playing with one of his present. Probably the best present he got this year, or at least most used, though I have to admit I do love it myself. And if you can't quite tell  from the picture it's a mini (size not the brand) remote control car.

Ahh it's so relaxing to blog in a decoration free zone. Our living room finally looks spacious and tidy once again. When are all your decorations coming down? 

Katie

x 

365 Challenge Day 1 - 01/01/2012

Monopoly Madness 

New Years Day was spent with family, and due to unexpected fatigue on New Years Eve, our yearly tradition of playing cards after dinner was broken in favour of Monopoly. You see every New Years Eve we play Monopoly with my parents. A once yearly occasions due to the length of the game and the fact that my Dad always cheats. But because both my Dad and I fell asleep on New Years Eve the tradition was broken, which left my Dad feeling a little gutted. Bless him. haha. 

Now we're not an over competitive family, but I do feel that Monopoly brings out the worst in people, and numerous times throughout the game I had to remind myself (and my husband) that it was only a game.

We may or may not have used my Dad's own tricks against him to let my Nanna win, who was left feeling rather confused by the end at having completed the game with more money than I've even seen anyone finish with.

I love these evenings with the family. They all really remind me of the great things I have in my life, and how at times I really take them for granted. Bring on the good times and remember that no matter how hard things get there's always some good in the world, and most of the time it's closer than you think.

Katie

x

Top 10 Books of 2011

Reading became such a huge part of my life in 2011, so where better to record my favourites than here? Now I've always been a big reader. I love books and spent many hours of my childhood mesmerised at how my Mum could loose herself within pages, and 2011 I decided that I needed to broaden what I read. Primarily I read Chick-Lits, but became bored with the similar stories, with each author bringing a similar idea to the table, so I decided to branch out into some different genres. I am so glad that I did, as this past year I've been able to absorb some amazing, incredible and such through provoking stories, and though my top ten list does include some chick-lits, I have found a new appreciation for them and found some truly amazing books.

And to anyone out there that feels they don't have time to read, well you do. For years I'd only ever been able to read a maximum of 1 book a month, and by maximum I really mean MAXIMUM. The majority of times it would take me three to four months to finish a book no matter how amazing it was. But it turns out that you can read practically anywhere. By just reading a couple of pages here and there, it's surprising how quickly you can actually get through a book. One of my favourite places to read is actually on my break at work, much to some peoples' annoyance. I love to be able to detach myself from a stressful working day just for half an hour, into the pages of someones vivid imagination, and after I'm left feeling refreshed and ready to start again. 

So enough rambling, heres my top ten books/series I read in 2011:

In no particular order:
Blindness by José Saramago
The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 
Delirium by Lauren Oliver 
Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts
Divergent by Veronica Roth 
I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk 
Babyville by Jane Green 
Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

I rated all these books 5/5 stars and would happily read each one again. There are so many other books that I loved this year that this post was so difficult, but I think I've got it right. There were only a few books that I read this year that I truly hated but lets not mention them in this post. What books did you read and love this year? I love finding out about new books that I've never heard of. 

Happy Reading, 

Katie 

x

New Years Resolutions

First of all I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year! I hope that you all celebrated the New Year exactly how you wanted to and had a great night. For me and the husband it's a quite night in every time and we love it. But if you spent the night differently, I'd love to hear all about it, so leave a comment below if you want to share your new years story. But for now I'll get on with this post.

The 1st of January 2012 has already been and gone and was spent in the best way that I can imagine, with family. We had an amazing day filled with food, boardgames and plenty of laughter. I love New Years Day and most of all having the perfect opportunity to reflect over the past year. 2011 was a year full of emotions both good and bad, but when I look back, the good things always stand out the most, and that's the way I want to remember the year. So I thought I'd use this post as a way to look back over the year, and plan a few things that I'd like to achieve in 2012. 

Great moments of 2011:

Wedding Planning! here, here and here! 

Getting married! 

I completed my 50 book challenge with 1 hour 30 minutes to spare. 

I opened a youtube account for book reviews, hauls, etc. 

I started pole dancing for fitness but kinda lost my motivation after our wedding.

Baking and Making!
I gave up chocolate for the full 40 days and nights of lent! 

and probably tons of other things that made me super happy that have temporally slipped my memory.

My Resolutions for 2012

Walk Millie, our dog, every day.

This is a resolution more for Millie's happiness rather than ours. I want a happier, healthier dog and that means sacrificing a little part of my day, every day! This should come naturally but it's harder than it should be, and that's something I really want to change. 

Read more, but without a challenge!

Last year I competed the 50 book challenge that I started at the beginning of 2011, and though I am really proud, at times it really stressed me out. I became obsessed with my challenge and at times could think of little else. I also found that I didn't give myself much time to absorb one story before starting of the next. This year I'd like it to be a little more relaxed, which hopefully will give me more time for other things I love... like this poor, neglected blog. 

Complete the 365 photo challenge.

I found the 365 photo challenge mid way through 2011 and loved it. Though I wanted to start then, I put it off so I could start it on a fresh year, which for me is the best time to start a yearly challenge. Ultimately I want upload my daily picture, well daily, but I know that will not always be possible. So instead I will definitely take a picture daily, but at times I may have to skip a day and upload a few days in one.

Be more organised!

At work I am super organised. I can manage my work load to an extremely high standard, but at home I am useless and lazy. There are so many things I need/want to get done but always run out of time. So hopefully 2012 will be the year my life become a little bit more balanced. There are so many factors which fall into this resolution which will be listed below, but being more organised in general is probably the best way to start.

Eat better. 

A lot of the time my husband and I finish work very late and by the time we get home we are too tired to plan healthy food to eat, so we give in a eat takeaways. Not only is this extremely unhealthy, but it's also extremely expensive. My main goal is to plan our meals in advance so we can avoid the dreaded takeaways. Plus this way if we're both working late I can plan something super quick and easy to make.  

Workout more.

Currently I go through workout phases, and though I love to work out, and I love how my body feels after, I don't do it as often as I should. My goal is to workout at least 3 times a week. So far this resolution is rather unspecific (which isn't great as one of my resolutions is to be more organised, but it is only the 1st of January.) I know that I want to start swimming once a week, but the other two workouts are to be determined. 

That's it for my 2012 New Years Resolutions. There will probably be many more that I haven't mentioned, but I think if I make any more I will end up being overwhelmed and failing at them all. I am really excited to find out about what 2012 will bring, and I cannot wait to share my journey with this blog, after all that's why I created this blog in the first place.

Speak soon, 

Katie

x