2013 resolutions

I often make new years resolutions yet to date I have never actually kept any of them! This year I figured putting them out there on my blog would mean it was easier for me to come back and revisit them and to make sure that I actually stick to them - I have this year made more attainable resolutions rather than the random ones of the years before.

1 - Begin a new degree.
I have alluded to this aim for the last couple of weeks, and after much soul searching and many, many, discussions with my nearest and dearest I have decided that 2013 will be the year that I begin a law degree. For a long time it was always my intention to train to be a barrister and with the help of the Open University I will be able to do just that whist working around my current job. I know this is a massive side step from the dancing, but it's something that I really feel I should do and now is the time to do it.

2 - Explore new places.
I love to travel, from picking somewhere to go, planning all the fun things to do there, packing, travelling, arriving and leaving, there is not one part that I don't love. 2013 is going to be the year to explore lots of new places - from day trips to local attractions to weekends away exploring the nooks and crannies of the UK - I cannot wait!!

3 - Believe in myself.
Admittedly this is one that I don't think will be very easy to achieve but it is one I am going to work on. By the end of next year I would like to believe that I can really achieve all the things I set out for myself in life.

4 - Keep blogging.
I had toyed with the idea of starting a blog for a while, now that I have I absolutely love it and I have no intention of giving it up! When I first started I honestly didn't think anyone would be interested in what I had to say - but according to my page views someone is reading :)

5 - Watch more live sport.
I adore sport, any sport so long as there is a competitive aspect (I am a lifelong supporter of Coventry City FC so am generally used to sporting disappointment). This year however I have attended next to no live sport, except for the hockey world cup which my fairy godfather was competing in. I fully intend to remedy this in 2013, starting with a trip to the Ricoh Arena to see Coventry triumphant (hopefully) in the semi finals of the Johnson Paint Trophy.

6 - Watch more theatre.
Musical Theatre is my true love, I can quite happily sit and watch people sing and dance about their lives all day every day (although for some reason I really dislike Glee) this year I have only been to the theatre twice and this is something that weights pretty heavy in my heart. My mom and I have agreed that in 2013 we will make more of an effort to go to the theatre together.

Mom and I

My mom is my best friend and Wednesday was just the tonic I needed. We spent the day enjoying the sights and sounds of Covent Garden, supplemented with a Pizza Express dinner, Browns Champagne cocktails and a trip to the theatre to see Shrek - a highly recommended show which had us both in hysterics from start to finish. It was exactly what the doctor ordered and I headed home to Canterbury feeling lighter and much more at ease than I have done for weeks. Below is a selection of photographs from our day.

Lunch - we have the same thing every time we go out!

Champagne Cocktails in Browns - the first my mom has ever had!

Random Covent Garden street performer

Rudolph by day

Christmas Tree

Mom and I

Shrek!!!

Rudolph by night

We both had an absolutely brilliant time and left to go home exhausted but happy.

Oh - FYI - Richard Blackwood was absolutely fantastic :)

Friday Letters #015

I love this series of posts, mainly because it gives me a chance every week to sit down and reflect on all the good things that have happened through the week and let go of the bad.

Dear Mom - Thank you so much for an amazing day in Covent Garden on Wednesday, who would've thought that a slow lunch, champagne cocktails, coffee and cake followed by Shrek would be so much fun. Was nice to just spend some time the 2 of us and I am looking forward to repeating it on Boxing Day xxx

Dear St Pancras Starbucks Staff - A huge thank you to these guys for sitting with me and calming me down during a panic attack, I can honestly say that I was overwhelmed by your kindness and concern x

Dear 2013 - I am so excited to welcome you in and an looking forward to all the fun things I have planned during your 12 months.

Dear Random Guys at St Pancras - Thank you for confronting the guy who purposely tripped me and for making sure I was ok and still had all my belongings with me.

Dear Self - You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, 2013 will be the year to build upon my self belief.

Dear Christmas - It really feels like you have snuck on me this year, I still have a ton of things to do before I am ready for you.

Dear Stuart - So we now have 3 whole weeks together before you disappear every Monday morning again. This is the longest we've had together since the end of August - Can't wait!! xxx

Enjoy your weekend guys and I hope you all have a great Christmas xxx

Grilled Grapefruit

The other evening I was sitting around contemplating what to have for dessert, I wanted something fruity and warm and available pretty much instantly. With only grapefruit in I had to experiment and came up with quite possibly my most favourite grapefruit recipe ever, one which I  have already used 3 times since discovering it!

Ingredients:
Grapefruit - cut in half
1/2 Teaspoon of Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

Method:
Take a sharp knife and take it around the edge of the grapefruit and the individual segments (this makes it easier to eat later)
Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the grapefruit
Place under the grill for approximately 5 minutes, or until the sugar has started to crystallise

Enjoy!

I love grapefruit served like this, and it has easily become on of my favourite desserts/breakfasts/random snack in the middle of the day! Plus eating grapefruit makes me feel healthy so I can pretend it compensates for all the chocolate and minced pies I'm eating - hey it is Christmas!!

2013 will mark a whole new journey for me, one that has been on my mind for many years but recent events have seen me take a giant step forward and look into starting a new degree, one that will see me ultimately change careers. I know how much of a challenge I am setting myself, and I am sure that there will be times when the mountain seems far too high to climb, so this poem will be the reminder that I can do it, that the pain, the hard work, the anti-social hours I'll keep, the inevitable tears and sleepless nights will all be worth it.

It Couldn’t Be Done

BY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done

      But he with a chuckle replied

That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one

      Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

      On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

      That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;

      At least no one ever has done it;”

But he took off his coat and he took off his hat

      And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

      Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

      That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

      There are thousands to prophesy failure,

There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

      The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,

      Just take off your coat and go to it;

Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing

      That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

Friday Letters #014

This has been a topsy turvy sort of week full of every emotion from being deliriously happy to bone crushingly sad and everything in between. It has been a week for remembering friends who have passed and celebrating Christmas with the children I teach. This weekend will see a Christmas party with my Saturday class and a long overdue cinema date with Stuart before spending Sunday relaxing and catching up on all the TV we have saved on our sky planner - cannot wait!

Dear Stuart - Thank you for being 100% behind my new crazy idea, I love that I can always rely on your support and encouragement and hopefully all this hard work will be worth it when I can the people who need it most xxx

Dear Glasses - You are me new best friend! No headaches now for over a week and that's all down to you :)

Dear J - I'm so proud of the way you handled yesterday, after everything you have been through yesterday you showed just how much you have matured and grown up. Love you xxx

Dear C - I love how our games of word are getting so competitive now even if you are having 'help' from someone else!! Love you xxx

Dear Christmas Spirit - WHERE ARE YOU?!! The house is decorated, I've enjoyed mulled wine and spent this last week playing Christmas songs, please turn up soon.

Dear Snow - Please come back again next Friday when I am free to enjoy you.

Dear Body - I promise to give you lots of rest over Christmas and fill you with yummy food, please don't give up on me now.

I hope you all enjoy your weekends :) xxx

Distance

No post today although I spotted this slogan on pinterest which spoke to me so I thought I would put it up here as a constant reminder to myself to keep on forging forward after the last couple of months.

Fudge

I don't really have a sweet tooth but Stuart definitely does - one of his weaknesses is fudge so I thought I would give making it a go. This recipe was ridiculously easy and tasted delicious - it's definitely one I intend to make again and would make a wonderful gift for someone.

Ingredients:
400g Dark or Milk Chocolate
397g Condensed Milk
25g Butter
100g Icing Sugar

Recipe:
Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a non stick saucepan with the milk and butter.
Melt the ingredients together until they are smooth and silky, stirring occasionally.
Sieve in the Icing sugar and make sure that it is mixed together thoroughly .
Press the mixture into a lined tin, smoothing over the top with the back of a spoon.
Chill in the fridge for an hour until set.
Cut into squares.

Enjoy!!

I pressed some mini marshmallows into the fudge once it was smoothed over in the tin. I think you could also try dried fruit/nuts/silver balls - Anything that takes your fancy really!!

All that glitters

I have wanted a sequinned skirt for as long as I can remember, I have flirted with the idea of getting one, even getting so far as trying a couple on but I have always backed out of the purchase at the last minute, mostly for fear of looking like a fool! A couple of weeks ago I thought that maybe pairing a sequinned skirt with a plain black jumper would make the skirt more wearable during my everyday life, so again I went out on the search for the perfect skirt - this time I found it and quickly purchased it before I could change my mind! Let me know what you think of it :)

Skirt: Republic £25, Jumper: H&M £17

The pictures were taken on a ridiculously cold day so please excuse the very forced smile you can see!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

This year the Christmas spirit seems to have by passed me, I just don't seem to be able to get into the Christmassy mood at all. I have walked around the Christmas market, listened to Christmas songs,  thought about what presents I want to buy people, even woken up to a snowy winters wonderland but I still don't feel very excited. I think part of my problem is that Stuart and I decided not to have a real tree this year - this is the first time in my whole life that I've not had a Christmas tree - we just don't have the room in our house for a Christmas tree without some major rearranging of our lounge. I have spent many weeks thinking about an alternative idea and had been yet to find something I loved, until this weekend. Some of the girls I teach were dancing at a lights switch on and right next to the area they were performing was a florist with some amazing branches outside, with the briefest of glances at each other Stuart and I were in agreement and they were very quickly purchased :) Saturday evening saw us arrange them in a vase with some twinkling lights at the bottom and we decorated them with a couple of purple baubles (so as to match the lounge) and finally my Christmas spirt woke up!! There is just something about sitting in a lounge lit only by twinkling lights and candles which makes me so ridiculously happy, this week will see me purchase and write our Christmas cards ready to be posted or hand delivered the week after. 

An assortment of decorations around our lounge at the minute.

Alternative tree. Although the branches aren't as white as they seem in this picture, they are more subtle with a hint of glitter!

Friday Letters #013

It's the end of a fairly mixed week for me, one which has seen me not write a single blog post until today. I'm not entirely sure why, I know what I want to blog about but I have no motivation to actually sit and type anything, I'm really hoping that by Sunday night I'll be ready to sit down and do a weeks worth of blogging :)

Dear Glasses - Well so far you seem to be working, yesterday was the first headache free day since September. Remembering to wear you will be difficult but I'm going to do my best to remember.

Dear Mom - Thank you for the chat last night, you had me in hysterics! xxx

Dear Snow - I love you and you make me feel so happy and Christmassy, but could you possibly not come back until I've finished work?

Dear Transport - WHY is it that one tiny bit of snow and the whole train system shuts down?

Dear Stuart - Hopefully you'll get snow soon and not boring old sleet! xxx

Dear Body - You only have next week left and then I promise to let you relax, sleep in and not keep making you do Grade 6 ballet every day!!

Dear Christmas - Why do I feel no Christmas spirit yet?! Very excited to spend some time with my family but as yet I'm not looking forward to Christmas at all.

This weekend is a busy one for me - I have a Glee club tomorrow morning and then some of the girls I teach Jazz to are dancing at the switching on of the lights in the local area.