Daily Shenanigans, 13/06/2014: Doing things differently!

Today ended up being quite different to my usual day since finishing Uni. I made a decision to give myself a break from being sat at my computer today, purely because I had a pretty terrible headache and I really wanted to get on with other things. This of course meant that I didn't do much in terms of my blog. I did however get much further into 'A Game Of Thrones', which I'm really enjoying. I definitely feel like watching the TV series has made me appreciate this book even more! Anyhow, I did a lot of tidying this morning as a sort of surprise for my Dad because I'm generally a pretty unproductive person when it comes to household chores. I really recognise this as a flaw within myself which I'm determined to address.

This afternoon, I continued to have an interesting day when my friend, Imogen, came to visit! We drank tea, caught up with each other's antics and she bought me a cute Totoro pillow which served as part of a very late birthday present (she'd accidentally had it delivered to her Uni address while living at home). I've included a picture because it's so soft and awesome and really wanted to show you guys! This was the same friend who bought me chocolates and a set of Lewis Carroll books a few weeks ago and it made me feel really grateful to have friends in my life who know me this well. Thank you Imogen! After dinner, Bev (my sister) had her photography exhibition which we went to have a look at. Going back to my old school was very surreal but it was nice to revisit everything and see how it has changed! The exhibition was great, there are a lot of talented photographers and artists about.

And so ends my day of doing things a bit differently. Tomorrow I'm seeing Mat and we may go to the cinema in the evening depending on timings and what is on. He'll be round in the afternoon so I'll be using the morning to hopefully really get into 'A Game Of Thrones' and finish some tasks that really need finishing!

Daily Shenanigans, 30/05/2014: May is almost over!

I can't believe how close the end of the month is! I have set myself a goal that I really have no choice but to complete. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I cannot stand not completing challenges that I have signed up to and I am in danger of doing that twice this month! I still have yet to read a Dystopian novel, and I have yet to read a novel for the 2014 Key Words challenge. Only one day of May remains and my chosen book that fits into both will be 'Shadow & Bone' by Leigh Bardugo (I do not have time to read 'Cinder' this month, which was my original Dystopian choice. I'm so mad!) This month should be the last month that this happens, as I have completely finished with Uni now and only plan to do a lot of working over the Summer, so I can easily fit in a lot of reading around that. I just wish I'd organised myself a little better this month! Straight after 'Shadow And Bone', I'm desperate to get back into a paperback book. I have had far too many kindle reads and I miss the feeling of physically turning pages (is this normal?) so I'll be reading a nice long book, 'The Luminaries' by Eleanor Catton. I am very excited to be reading this one and a huge thank you to my sister for letting me borrow it before she's even read it!

In terms of what I've actually done today rather than cry about May rapidly disappearing, I managed to finish 'A Red Tale' and posted the review this evening. I also went to work, and then after my shift, went to Mat's for the evening. we decided to watch 'Maleficent' on Sunday in 3D, so I very much look forward to that! We mostly chilled out, I read while he played Assassin's Creed and he also watched another episode of Game Of Thrones with me. That programme is so addictive and I'm getting excited watching the book creep up my TBR list towards the top. Not long now! Tomorrow I'll be working so posts might be a little late in the day again, but other than that reading is the only thing on my agenda. Wish me luck on completing 'Shadow & Bone' by the end of the day, I have really high hopes for this one!

Daily Shenanigans, 29/05/2014: Canterbury again?!

So even though I've actually really finished Uni now, I'm still finding myself in Canterbury more often than not! I woke up and spent a lot of the morning at Mat's which was fun. I got quite a lot of reading done too! After that, Mat and I went back to mine to get my sister and we drove her to Canterbury for her Driving Theory test! It meant a lot of waiting around but she did pass I'm pleased to say. I also popped into Uni to grab some recordings of my Uni project performance and I'm very pleased with how they've come out! After Bev's test, we headed back to Ashford to get ourselves something nice to eat, and then Mat and I headed out to watch his brother's performance as the March Hare in Alice In Wonderland. Incidentally, it was really good! In terms of blogging, I just about managed to find time to do my 'Life Of A Blogger' post, which was on the topic of Siblings. Because of this, we decided we would write joint posts which were a lot of fun to devise. Check both of those out if you're interested!

Tomorrow I'm in Canterbury again, I have work and then I'll be seeing Mat. Fingers crossed, if we have time, we'll be watching Maleficent!

Daily Shenanigans, 22/05/2014: Prop-Making.

A good majority of my day was spent being creative! To start with though, I had a bath and posted my Life Of A Blogger post, which was actually pretty difficult to write! I then continued making a prop for my show tomorrow. Next, my sister and I had stir fry for lunch which is something I have not had for ages. It was gorgeous! Then we headed into town to buy some more props and card/paper to make things with. My entire afternoon has been filled with cutting tings out, sticking things down, writing things out. I did enjoy myself though it got a bit boring after a while. As evening drew in, I quickly took the car out and picked Mat up from the station. He came home with me and spent the evening helping me get some more bits and pieces done ready for tomorrow. Strangely, I don't feel overly unnerved about my assessment, though I'm desperate for it to go right! Once it's over I will be very happy indeed! Right now I think it's a good idea I sleep. I'll be up early tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Daily Shenanigans, 17/05/2014: Playing with my new Samsung Tablet!

Having had such a busy last few days, I haven't had time to properly check out all the lovely presents everyone got me. But as I had a real day off today, I though I'd have a proper go of my new Tablet! Firstly though, I did get a lot of other things done too. I'm a good way through 'Thereafter' which I'm pleased about, and so far I'm enjoying it more than 'Hereafter'. I really want to finish it and get a review up tomorrow, so I'll read a bit more tonight before I sleep! As well as that, I played some more of 'Town Of Salem' (I am an addict) this time with my sister, which was fun! As for the Tablet, wow! I am so grateful to Mat for getting me such a lovely present, it is awesome! It will make things a little easier too for me, particularly blogging on the move as I'll no longer need to borrow other people's laptops or computers when I'm away from home just to post or check emails. It's a great investment into this blog, and generally a fantastic thing to have handy.

Speaking of Mat, I did end up seeing him today as I picked him up from work (he asked me to, even though it's a ten minute walk from his house. I call that laziness!) and we went to his house and watched Britain's Got Talent! I only saw him for a few hours but it was nice to spend some more time with him, and he bought me a case for my Tablet as an extra little birthday add-on, which was very sweet of him! Tomorrow's plan is to post my 'Weekly Wishlist', hopefully finish and review 'Thereafter', get a good way through 'A Red Tale' and sort out my mess of a room!

Daily Shenanigans, 16/05/2014: Road trip!

So today looked like it would be a little boring but turned out to be quite fun! I had a nice lay-in, though I continually woke up thinking it was much later than it was. When I finally got up, I had a bath and did a few bits and bobs before the afternoon. The original plan was to head to Canterbury alone and do some recording for my project. In the end, I took my sister with me who had just come out from an exam and it was a lot of fun! I managed to get all the recordings that needed doing done, then we took a little trip to the shops! It was really nice to spend time with Bev, we've both been really busy lately and it feels like we don't do all that much together anymore. I am still being good and sticking to my book buying ban, but I was tempted! This evening I've been playing a game with my friend that I am thoroughly addicted to (it's called Town Of Salem and it's online if anyone is interested).

Tomorrow, some Uni work and lots of reading! Mat is working all weekend so I'm pretty free!

Daily Shenanigans, 06/04/2014: A day with the Sister!

Well the day did not bode well for me in the beginning. I woke up with a splitting headache and feeling a bit sick. But, after taking something for it, I soon felt better. The rest of the day involved me doing a lot of blog commenting, internet browsing, writing my 'Weekly Wishlist' and reading (I'm halfway through this amazing book and I really don't want to stop)! I have really enjoyed this lovely day off, because it felt like the first day off that I've had to myself in ages despite the fact that it's the holidays now!

I actually spent quite a bit of time with my sister today which was really nice. We played a lot of games on her iPhone (including a rather hilarious rendition of Charades), watched the end of 'Hairspray' on TV and just generally chilled together quite a lot chatting and having fun. This to me was quite important, I feel like recently we haven't spent a lot of time together because we have such different schedules now! She started and finished 'The Fault In Our Stars' today, and has told me that after my next read, I need to read it. Therefore it has gone up the list and put my neatly devised schedule out of order but my impatience to read this book and talk about it with her is just too great!

Tomorrow I'm back to Uni, and then at work so a long and slightly less relaxing day ahead for me! Still, it needs to be done, and then I'll spend the rest of the time doing some bits and bobs. No car for me, so I'll be taking the train. Extra reading time, hooray!

Daily Shenanigans, 02/03/2014: Making progress!

Sundays are not normally known for being exciting. But this one was. Firstly, I won another Goodreads book. I'm getting quite good at this now, it's called 'The Ruby Slippers' by Keir Alexander. It really caught my eye when I entered for it and I'm really glad that I won it! I cannot wait till it arrives! I'm not making very good progress with 'Wolves' as it stands, but that's because I've been so busy today doing other things that I haven't had time to do any reading at all. Firstly, I wrote a January/February Wrap-Up Post for the 2014 'Real Book Challenge I've entered. I'm annoyed at myself for not doing it sooner but there you go, next time I will! Straight after, I wrote my 'Weekly Wishlist' (number 2). I do really enjoy doing these, they're something a bit different to do!

Right, so time for the really exciting stuff. I have finally finished my script for my Multimedia project. I feel like singing from the top of a mountain right now, I'm that excited and happy that it's done! It is my first script that is going to be performed to an actual audience and I just hope that everything will work out the way that I would like it to! As well as my own progress, I had a chat with my Music man and he's got some great ideas which I'm excited to hear, and my Art lady has sent me some more pictures. I won't share them all, but here are more complete versions of the environment shots I posted in an earlier post to give you an idea. What a talented lady!

I wish I could draw like this. All in all, a nice productive day. I've been spending a lot of time with my sister who helped me sort out the script properly and we even went on an 'Emergency' road trip to the petrol station for fuel (which I needed) and chocolate rations (to get us through the evening). I don't even mind that I have Uni followed by work tomorrow, or that it's tipping down with rain. Today has been so good that I feel a lot better and much less stressed than I did before. I think I will audition for the Musical on Tuesday, I feel like fate is trying to tell me something by offering the second open auditions.