I just can't stop listening to this

Adele's cover of the Raconteurs' Many Shades of Black.

It is so beautiful. Her voice just does something to the song.

I have had it on repeate for about the last 24hrs. It makes me happy. And a little sad at the same time.

1998? 2008?

Its that {modern}age old problem of the facebook profile picture.

It has been brought to my attention that one of the boys I went to school with has put a picture of himself at about 16 as his profile pic. Now, he’s obviously gone to a lot of effort for this - he must have dug this out and scanned it in as people just didn't have their pictures on CD back then. Not in 1997. Well. Not in Rotherham anyway. So this must be how he’d like to be seen.

I feel quite sorry for him. He was a good looking guy at school. But now. Umm. Not so much. He has suffered the fate that so many of the pretty boys at school seem to have suffered – beer, takeaways and not a lot of exercise! I will admit that when he added me as a friend I only accepted because I didn’t know which one he was in the group shot, and I was intrigued {and I did delete him in one of my culls a few days later after a discussion with the lovely lady who brought this to my attention!} So maybe thats one of the reasons he has it. But it looks like he's a bit desperate to be someone he used to be - hey?

On the other hand, I wouldn’t want a picture of me in the days of the comprehensive school on the internet for all the nesquik chocolate milk in France. I am much happier with my portraits these days than in my angst ridden teens. But I do still tend to find a nice, distant, or blurry drunken shot as my profile pic works wonders for disguising the double chin and raising the self esteem!

I am back at work after 6 days off, i have been here nearly 2 hrs and done nothing because no-one has the time to tell me what has happened with my clients whilst i have been off.

So, i am writing this post about the things i did when i was off and hoping to go somewhere but mostly ended up doing things for other people;

*like take people to ikea {I did get bought lunch, and an ice cream for my troubles though!}
*and take my nan to the bingo and the supermarket, and clean her house,
*and look after my brothers dog {which I do like doing really} and pick up his drycleaning {which I am not so keen on – esp when I have to pay – cough up little bro!}
*and water plants and harvest runner beans {Seriously. They grew in the garden and that long one IS actually ONE bean}
*and wash cars that aren’t mine, but I have been borrowing,
*and work my second job, so people could go to the full days worth of festivalness at Leeds.

I did get to catch up with friends, and eat copious amounts of star mix, and get the gossip on cute boys they have met. And I watched a show on how rope is made. {Much more interesting than you would think. Especially to a nautical geek like me.}

And i did get to see The Killers. Which was ace. As you know. And still makes me smile.

And i didn't drink!

And then, yesterday, on my last day of freedom, i tried to tidy the house as the rents are home tomorrow {aghhhhhhh} but i kept getting distracted by phone calls from vodafone asking me if i would like TV on my phone. Seriously. WHO wants TV on their mobile phone? eh? And the car garage with all sorts of news about my new car, and my nan asking if i could go over and go for a pub lunch {i declined on account of the special k i had lined up for that meal but did go and take her some strawberries, i am not ALL bad} and the brother asking to borrow more things i hold dear and know will get returned broken.......and by day time tv - the hills on mtv download {**guilty pleasure/geek alert**} and neighbours and home and away and various shows on E4 {yup – I could be a student again!} and by all the food that ever was but isn't Special K and therefore doesn't fit in my diet, and the delights of nesquik chocolate milk - oh my - now thats something special and i am pretty sure not part of the special K diet but worth the slip-up! And by reading many blogs, and checking out explore on flickr, and a thousand other things that weren't anything to do with cleaning

So I still have a lot to do tonight.
I don’t intend to switch on the TV. Or the computer. Or eat anything thats not cereal. But I know I will. Some things are just better than cleaning.

Smile like you mean it!

I put in officially the shortest festival attendance EVER this weekend!

The Killers played Leeds sunday evening, and although we said we weren't getting tickets, pretty much everyone i know managed to get themselves there, so not having a ticket, and the fact i was working that day, wasn't going to stop me.

I got there at 8.30, blagged my way in - with a little sweet talking and some small white lies - and at 9 i was not only avec backstage wrist band, but being driven to the main stage on one of those cool buggy things they use to get about festivals. I found Sarah and Ryan, we got our spot {a little way from the stage - but in view of all the big screens, with room to dance, and not near the man in a bra!} and spent the evening listening to Las Vegas' finest. Brandon, how we love thee {well, sarah and i - ryan, not so much - not in that way anyway!}.

They even started with For Reasons Unknown.

Needless to say, they were AMAZING!

I am so glad i made the effort and it was great to spend the evening dancing in a big field with Sarah!


{p.s. that singing in the background isn't me. its some drunken girls behind me. and the jumping. well. i couldn't resist!}

4 days down.......

And i have already come up against some non-drinking obstacles.

Yesterday, just as i was finished with my Quik working i got a phone call from the young lady who got me so hideously drunk Wednesday. She was at the pub, already a little tipsy and demanding I go out.

Whilst I managed to swerve that one, I was describing my abstinence to Hev at work earlier in the day {and in Sarah's absence} and I realised if I try and aim for the end of September, I will be completely sober for Sarah’s birthday. I know this wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, but I have been saving a really expensive bottle of champagne for the night, and I would hate to miss out on at least one glass! {don’t worry, it was a gift for my help on the big food and drink even I did earlier this year! – I haven’t gone mad and bought expensive plonk!}

We did also put our time in the little shop to good use and started making a list of the things we need for this party – it didn’t end at invites!

1. Polaroid film. Triumph – I managed to get 50 instax mini shots for £15 on t’ebay.
2. A nice book in which to stick said Polaroid.
3. A sharpie and some glue. To write on and stick the Polaroid in the book.
4. Onion Chutney – as the base of THE tastiest pizzas {butternut squash, spinach, ricotta and pine-nuts, with a red onion chutney base – ummmmm}
5. Sparklers – what else would a roof terrace be for?
6. Sparklers in the shape of 3’s and 0’s for on top of the cakes.
7. A Pavolva. She doesn’t want a traditional cake. Pavolva is where this girl wants to be.
8. Loads of 120 colour film for le Holga
9. Drinks - Spirits – vodka, rum, gin, tequila, Jager {?}. Beers – we will have boys there. And the necessary mixers.
10. Bacon – for the sarnies the next morning.
11. Great i-pod mixes for dancing all night.
12. Dancing shoes……..
13. And a theme. Yes. We need a theme. We still don’t have one. It is a whole month away though.

Giving Up?

After another week day hangover i have decided that i am going to have some time off alcohol.

I am going to try and stay away from the evil stuff until the end of september, if i can. A month and a half. It wont be easy.

Lucie announced she is leaving me and moving to Manchester, admittedly to live with her boyfriend, but leaving none the less. So we naturally had to celebrate{?} it. With too much Vodka and a bit of Jager, and some Wine and Rum.

It does mean i will be sober for her leaving do. And a bank holiday.

Yikes!

Jolly Roger

You know you have the best friends when you come home to this little package.
A Jolly Good Roger card with a wonderful note to cheer me up, and the cutest nautical themed bracelet - check it out with the little seahorse, and the shells.
Awwwwww. I love Lizzie.

It even had a recipe for 'A Jolly Good Roger' cocktail;
2oz lemon juice
1oz dark rum
1oz banana liqueur

*fill a mixing glass with ice adding all ingrediants
*shake well and strain into a martini glass and add ice.

Sugar Rushes

My favourite cup cake maker – the wonderful Becky, from Sugar Rush Bakery {and receptionist extraordinaire} – started a new blog last week.

Having been one of her LWP cake testers I know just how yummy those Black Forest cakes she’s showing off are. In my mind they might have just about beaten the Lemon Meringue cakes to the title of my favourites. But it’s a close call.

I am definitely putting an order in for some special cakes for the upcoming 30th birthday celebrations i am organising.

I am pretty excited to see the shots of her little brothers train style cup cake tower. And also the Holga shots she took the other week. I love that I have 120 enthusiasts around me.

Incidentally. The minute I figure out how to use the scanner at my parent’s house. I have some more Holga shots of my own to upload – Some great. Some not so great. Some that could have been bettered if I had taken the lens cap off, or remember to wind the film on for 3 frames in a row! They joy of Holga.

Hey big spender

This weekend I did something REALLY grown up.
I bought a car. Yes. You heard me. A car – A 1.4 VW Polo Match to be exact. Brand New. No previous owners. No miles on the clock {well, they said up to 50 for delivery} with air-con and alloy wheels and an ipod dock. In a shiny, metallic black. With room for lola rose and pals and all the shoes I ever need!
I get it delivered on September 1st. Or sometime close to September 1st. I am very excited.
But scared s**tless that I have made the wrong choice. Should I have gone for the Anthracite? Or the Blue?
Or something different altogether, like the Citroen C2?

Now would it be extravagant to go to Oslo next weekend?

DIY Bokeh

Originally uploaded by oh_gosh

The other night I tried out the DIY bokeh thing. Now I have the camera I wanted. I can start playing. Forgive me. I will be trying a lot of this out.

I have to say the hardest part was my unsteady hand trying to cut out a clean heart shape with the craft knife {I have no fiddy lens, so I am using my 75-200mm and making a really small hole as the aperture is about 4.8, not 1.4 or whatever is says in the tutorial!}

But this is my first attempt.
I kind of like it. Only I wish their were more lights round about my mum's house.

I wonder if it is too early to get in the loft and get the Christmas lights down.
Ummmm. I think it might be.

Another Friday. Another hangover.

Honestly I seem to have no stop button when it comes to half price cocktails.

Last night I met up with an old school friend, we cant have seen each other in about 4 years, but at uni we used to get together from time to time and remember the good ‘ol days when we were 17 and drinking too much, not listening to anything about Louis XIV or Sylvia Plath, and generally getting into a little bit of trouble. Only at uni we were 20, drinking WAY too much, not even going to the lectures to find out about the subjects and getting into a LOT of trouble.

But it was cool to see her again. We did the obligatory ‘what are you up to’ and the relationship re-caps, and even discussed the fb page for the school. But the best part was finding out the whole ‘where are they now’ thing about our class mates.

We went to quite a good, few £1000 a year school. All girls. Good exam results. Good reputation. So the floating about of careers I have done in the last few years {retail, recruitment *ugh*, media sale and now marketing} kind of made me feel a little bit like I failed, and maybe that cash would have been better spent on, oh I don’t know, holidays, bigger boats? Something useful. My best friend from school is a doctor. Like a proper, works in a hospital, saves people's lives doctor. But it would appear we know a whole load of people who have bumbled about as much as we have. We have friends who started of doing law, then changed to marketing {finished this degree} and is now half way through an interior design degree – but isn’t sure it’s what she ‘really’ wants to do, or a friend who works as an 18-30 rep {sleeping her way around Greece it would seem} or the friend who couldn’t decide what to do with her degree so is now a kept woman. And Nic, well, she is now a lawyer, but she’s been a sales rep, a recruitment consultant and might become a teacher?

It definitely made me feel better to know that it’s not just me who has no idea what to be when she grows up. Although working in the marketing department for a snowboarding brand would be pretty cool right now. Me thinks.

Finally

i got my canon 400d. And i am soooooo happy.

i got the camera with the 18-55mm lens, but as i stayed eos, i can also use the 2 lenses from my 1000f; 35-80mm and 75-300mm.

Predicably - i haven't put it down, and have been playing a LOT. {and making a lot of mistakes!} But here are a few examples;

{i am kind of sad to retire the 1000f - it's been a great little camera, but that sticking shutter just isn't helpful when trying to take pictures. but I am not abandoning film al together, i still have my beloved Holga and the instax mini polaroid, and i do plan to buy a new 1000F when i see on on t'ebay for a decent price}

expect to see a LOT of pictures from now on. I apologise if they suck!