Last Week's Shenanigans: My Holiday in Llangollen!

So as you can see I'm planning to format this blog a little differently from now on. I will no longer be doing daily posts, instead I'll have weekly updates so that things don't become too repetitive or boring. This post will cover my Holiday and just after I got back. I didn't get to deal with my holiday pictures yet, so I'll have to add those at some point!

Saturday 19th - So this was the day after we arrived in Llangollen (for which I did a daily post) and my first proper full day there. We decided to explore the surrounding area a bit and so went to Llangollen town. It was a lovely place with plenty of shops, a beautiful river and some wonderful views. We had a cup of tea, bought some fudge and then headed to a local aqueduct. It was gorgeous and we got to feed some ducks and go for a walk before heading back to the lodge. It was a good thing too, as not long after we returned, the dreaded storm hit. We watched Rise Of The Guardians (one of my favourite recent animated films) and then not long after, the power went. It stayed off for the rest of the evening so we decided to call it a night!

Sunday 20th - We went back to Llangollen and this time visited the Railway, a local, popular attraction. We stopped at three stations on the train all of which provided some nice views, though there wasn't a huge amount to see. We were also a little disappointed as we were led to believe that the train would also stop at Corwen, but instead it rested at the stop before for about an hour, then headed back. As we arrived back earlier than expected, we looked round Llangollen a little longer before heading back to the lodge. In the evening, we decided to walk and climb a nearby hill that had some Castle ruins at the top. It was an exhausting climb, but the views we got from there were just stunning.

 Monday 21st - On Monday, we drove out to Mount Snowdon! We decided not do attempt the six-hour climb, and cheated instead by taking the train. When we reached the summit, our hill walk from the day before rather paled in comparison, the view was gorgeous (if a little dizzying)! We didn't get to stay long though before the train back down. Mat and I bought some souvenirs, a Dragon ornament for him (red, of course) and a sheep for me! After ascending Mount Snowdon, we stopped at a couple of places to take pictures and have a picnic, then went to a nearby Forest for a walk. We were pretty lucky with the weather (storm aside) for the entire week, as the temperature just rose as the days went by. After our forest walk, we visited the Swallow Falls (stunning!) then headed back to the lodge to watch 'Shrek'.

 Tuesday 22nd - Tuesday was our 'go out and do lots' day. We stopped off in Llangollen first as there was a small market, and we wanted to have a look. I found the book stand very quickly, but nothing really caught my eye. We then went to 'The Original Butterfly Man', a company that makes those butterflies that you find on the walls of some houses. We didn't stop there long, but Mat's Mum did buy a couple. Next we went to a place called 'The Glassblobbery' and I liked this a lot more! The man that ran it was very friendly with a sense of humour, and even gave a glass blowing demonstration. As he asked us what he should make, and picked my suggestion of a fox, I bought it straight away. It was so expertly done and after it has been coloured, it's going to be sent to me! We also went to a nearby village (Bets-wy Coed) to look at the shops, a Chocolate House, and a Pottery. We stopped off at a beautiful place named 'Fairy Glen', and it was aptly named I can tell you. When we arrived back, we watched 'The Bee Movie'.

Wednesday 23rd - We dedicated this day to visit Manchester! Mat's family went off to the Old Trafford stadium (they are huge Manchester United fans), while Mat and I spent our day shopping at the 'Intu Trafford Centre'. It was such an amazing place, more like a Theme Park than a Shopping Centre. I bought some clothes from Next and H&M, but more importantly, I purchased some books! One fits into a Bookish Bingo category perfectly, 'Dancing In The Dark' by P.R. Prendergast (it had a beautiful cover, and only cost me £1!) and a signed edition of Jessie Burton's 'The Miniaturist' which looks amazing. We had lunch at Giraffe, and then returned to Llangollen to watch 'Epic', then play cards!

Thursday 24th - Making the most of the good weather, we travelled to the North Coast of Wales. Our first stop was Conwy, a quaint little village that was full of shops, had a castle and a little port to visit. We then headed Llandudno, a wonderful seaside town with a beach and a pier. It was probably my favourite stop as there were plenty of little stalls and shops to look in, and a local Birds Trust had brought some beautiful Owls and Falcons along for the day, that the public could stroke and admire. I have never been so close to such beautiful creatures before and I was amazed. Our last stop saw us having an ice cream before heading back towards Llangollen. On our way, we quickly stopped at Valle Crucis Abbey for photos.

Friday 25th - The last full day of our holiday,we decided to have a lovely lay-in, before heading out to Llangollen for some last minute shopping and gift buying. Mat's family dropped us into town, and headed off to do other things. I bought Fudge for Dad, Tea for Mum and some scented candles for Bev! I also may have gone a little over the top in the book department. You see, Llangollen is home to a lovely bookshop and Cafe that just had a huge selection of titles and there was a sale on! From there, I purchased 'Interview With A Vampire' (Anne Rice) and 'Shiver' (Maggie Stiefvater). Mat also got a lovely leather-bound copy of Wuthering Heights, and three immaculate volumes of poetry. I also bought (from a Charity Shop called Hope House) Robin Hobb's entire Tawny Man Trilogy, which I thoroughly look forward to reading! Mat and I then went to the nearby river to feed the ducks and it was honestly so nice to just spend time with him for a while, messing about and having fun. Mat's family rejoined us in the afternoon and we played Crazy Golf before going back and packing ready for the next day.

Saturday 26th - Our holiday had come to an end, and we left pretty early in the morning. The journey back to Mat's actually went fairly quickly, which I was glad of because I hate long car journeys. We did a bit of suitcase swapping and unpacking, and then watched the Formula One before I drove home absolutely exhausted. When I got home, I chatted to my parents and sister about my holiday, and then we later sat down to play some cards. I'd missed them a lot, especially my sister, so it was nice to do something together! I was so shattered though, I didn't do an awful lot else!

Sunday 27th - Despite being my first day back in England,it was still a busy one! I finished 'Queen Of The Tearling', and reviewed it. I also went shopping in the morning with my sister, before heading to Mat's for food and a nice afternoon in. There was a music festival going on that we considered going to, but I'm glad we didn't because it poured it down! We then drove later, in the torrential rain, and Mat dropped me off for a buffet at for Imogen's birthday! I got her a copy of 'Divergent' and 'Daughter Of Smoke & Bone' (excellent choices, I'm sure you'll all agree) as a present and managed to catch up with a couple of friends I hadn't seen in a while! I had a really lovely time and my friend dropped me home which was nice of her.

Memes:
Top Ten Tuesday (Topic: Characters Picks For A Desert Island)
Life Of A Blogger (Topic: My Quirks)

Books Reviewed:
Queen Of The Tearling; Erika Johansen

Daily Shenanigans, 18/07/2014: Arriving in Llangollen!

Today turned out to be full of surprises!  First off, I got my post for Oh, The Books! sorted (I thought I had already sent it,  apparently not...) and it should be up at the beginning of October! I'm very excited about it. After that I finished packing and then rushed to Mat's house. We headed off for Wales at about 2 in the afternoon and didn't arrive till gone 8 because the traffic was quite frankly appalling. The weather however was glorious both on the way to and in Wales, we somehow missed the giant thunderstorms that have racked the country recently.  Upon arriving however was the biggest and best surprise of all. There is Wi-Fi! It's very slow and a bit temperamental but it means I'm not abandoning this blog completely over the next week! 

I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings but right now I'm tired and a bit iffy from the car journey!

Daily Shenanigans, 16/07/2014: Out and about!

Today actually turned out to be pretty busy for me. Mat came round pretty early this morning and we set about packing away our duplicate consoles, games, etc. to take into town and trade in. We actually ended up selling them for a pretty decent price which I was happy about! It was only after that that we realised just how much we had to do. We quickly drove to Mat's house to grab his Mini SD Card-Reader (my Mini SD Card is pretty knackered, which made me really sad) and a battery pack for one of the controllers (the one we gave in also turned out to be faulty). Then we drove to his friend George's house to sell a game, followed by another lady to sell another game, then back to town to hand in the aforementioned battery pack. After that, we went to the Designer Outlet to grab some lunch and do a spot of shopping for Hiking Boots in preparation for Wales, and something nice for Mat's Mum (it's her birthday tomorrow)!

After finishing all that, we could finally come home and relax. I continued reading while Mat played Devil May Cry on my PS3, and we both recovered from our pretty busy day. Tomorrow I have some bits and bobs to do (mostly packing), but I'll be posting my Life Of A Blogger post, reading 'Dragon's Curse' and doing a few blog bits and bobs too. For now though, sleep time.

Daily Shenanigans, 09/07/2014: The beach again!

Today has been such a nice day off, I spent the whole of it with Mat which I don't feel like I've done properly in ages. We did quite a bit too, so it was a lot of fun! Firstly, I drove to his and we made our way to Tesco. I actually ended up buying a new camera today (as well as chocolate and doughnuts) so it was well worth the trip! After getting some fuel, we then went to mine for lunch, before heading to town to sort out some more bits and bobs. I ended up closing a really old bank account of mine and so I'm completely sorted now with my finance sorting. We had to pick up some more boxes of Mat's contact lenses and that marked the end of our town trip! This afternoon into early evening was spent at Hythe beach again. It was a little windy but really lovely. We had chips and I managed to read a little more of my book. I also tested out my new camera. It's great! After that, we then headed back to Mat's and spent the evening in playing Xbox Games and generally relaxing.

I'm pretty close to finishing 'Lord Of The Flies' so I should have a review up tomorrow, along with my Life Of A Blogger post for this week. I do also have work tomorrow, but my shift is not so long this time.

Daily Shenanigans, 06/07/2014: Barclaycard Presents: British Summertime!

I am buzzing so much right now. I woke up pretty early this morning in order to get ready for what turned out to be an amazing day out in London's Hyde Park! I've never really been to a Festival before but this was an awesome first ever one! Mat picked up George (including Bev, we went as a group of four) and then came over to ours. It was really good not only to be off out to listen to lots of good music, but also to spend a day with some of my favourite people! The line-up included:

• Diversity
• Scouting For Girls
• The Vamps
• Backstreet Boys
• McBusted

When we got to the venue, we actually managed to secure a pretty good spot at the railings (so right at the front of the General Admission area) and stayed there for pretty much the whole thing. I have a couple of pictures included but my sister will be posting some really good ones on her blog tomorrow, so I'd advise checking those out. Much better quality! The acts/bands that we saw were pretty good, McBusted were an obvious highlight for me. I also really enjoyed watching Scouting For Girls! It was really good to see McBusted again, they played the same set but in a totally different environment and I'm so lucky that I've got to see them twice. The others really enjoyed themselves too, though the beautiful hot weather we were having lasted until the second to last act, then it chucked it down. It even hailed! Currently, I can't feel my feet or keep my eyes open, so I'm off to bed!

Tomorrow I plan to sleep a lot and really catch up on my reading. Maybe I'll even finish another book! I might see Mat but I have a feeling he'll be far too tired!

Daily Shenanigans, 05/07/2014: Rain, rain, go away!

I had a really good day today! I did wake up with a bit of a sniffle, and I wasn't sure if I was ill or had hay-fever, and though this has lasted throughout the day, it hasn't bothered me all that much. I spent the morning doing as much of my 'Six Degrees Of Separation' post as I could and I really enjoyed this challenge, as I do every month! I had to go into work this afternoon and I wasn't quite so tired today which was good. Work itself was pretty nice, everyone seemed to be in a very good mood today! After work I came home, had dinner, finished and posted my post and then headed to meet Mat from work. I stayed at his house for a couple of hours and it was a really nice end to the day.

I am so excited for tomorrow because I'm going to Hyde Park for 'Barclaycard: BST' and it's going to be so much fun! Plenty of pictures will be taken so I'll include some in my post tomorrow! It rained today so I really hope it doesn't tomorrow. I probably won't find time to do much reading though. 

Daily Shenanigans, 04/07/2014: I cannot keep my eyes open!

I'm writing this post a little earlier tonight than usual guys, I seriously am struggling to keep my eyes open. It is really hot today and I suspect this has something to do with this overly drowsy feeling. I woke this morning actually feeling pretty refreshed, finished 'Divergent', spent half an hour getting over how good it was then had a bath. I had work this afternoon and so I had to get ready for that too. Work itself wasn't too bad, it was a really quiet day though. That meant that the shift went ultra slowly. I did finally get home though and haven't done an awful lot this evening other than watch some videos and be hit by a sudden tidal wave of sleepiness. My next read will be Eli Horowitz's 'The Silent History' and I'm looking forward to it! 

Tomorrow I have work again (another reason for an early night) but I do have a post that needs posting. Being the first Saturday, I'll be taking part in the Six Degrees Of Separation challenge again! Hooray! I hope to find time to make good progress with my next read, and I'll be seeing Mat too. What a busy day!

Daily Shenanigans, 03/07/2014: A trip to the beach!

I have had a pretty awesome day today guys! The first thing I did this morning was write my 'Life Of A Blogger' post on the topic of family which was a fun start to the day. Mat came round not long after and we chilled out and had lunch together before heading to town to sort a few bits out. The most exciting part of my day was this afternoon however, when we decided to go to the beach. The weather today was absolutely beautiful so we didn't want to waste the opportunity. It was such a lovely way to spend the afternoon, I got a little reading done and we bought ice cream! When we returned home I watched the last two episodes of Game Of Thrones Season 2 and I really want to get onto Season 3 because I'm still hooked! 

Tomorrow I should post a review of 'Divergent' because I'm very nearly done! I also have work which is less fun...

Daily Shenanigans, 25/06/2014: Stifling hot day!

The weather today was so warm, and I'm normally a fan of hot days. But today was just unbearable! It was not only stifling hot, but I suffer from terrible hay-fever and today was the worst I'd had it for a long time. I ended up grumpy, tired and feeling pretty ill. I did manage to get a good amount of Gaiman's book read though I'd hoped to finish and review it today! Nevertheless, I'm glad I managed to get anything done at all. Mat is staying with a friend at the moment so he's been pretty unresponsive to my messages. I don't mind, but it's left me feeling a bit lost and lonely this evening, I'm so happy I'm seeing him tomorrow! I did however start getting excited about my fast approaching holiday in Wales with Mat and his family. I am really looking forward to spending some time away from Ashford/Canterbury and actually getting a decent break. Hopefully the weather stays decent!

Tomorrow I'll be posting my Life Of A Blogger post and I should finish reading 'The Graveyard Book' so I'll be reviewing that too. I also have a few appointments in town and am, as I have said, seeing Mat! My day tomorrow will actually be pretty busy, a friend of mine  at work is taking us all out for dinner tomorrow evening. I hope I'm in a better mood!

Daily Shenanigans, 24/06/2014: Battling the Headache!

When I went to bed last night, I had such a good feeling about all the good things I would accomplish today. Then when I woke up this morning I had another of my headaches from hell. I only seem to get them when the air is particularly humid, as if it's about to storm, so I figure they're a result of weird air pressure. They're so painful though I was convinced I would get very little done. How wrong I was! Firstly, I completed my 'Top Ten Tuesday' post. Today's topic was so fun, I really love being involved in this meme! After that, I finished the last few chapters of 'The Bees' and my goodness, it was such a good book. I'm so glad I read it, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I got time to make a fairly decent start on my first ever Neil Gaiman read ('The Graveyard Book'), and I'm enjoying it a lot! It fits in with a couple of challenges, and it has been recommended to me a fair amount. I can't wait to work my way through it. 

Other than being extremely productive I haven't done an awful lot. I sent off my interview questions (first ever set) for an author, in preparation for a blog tour post in July! I'm just shocked I've managed to be so productive, despite feeling pretty wretched today. Tomorrow I'll hopefully have another review up (I am storming through books all of a sudden) but I also have work so we'll see how far I get. After 'The Graveyard Book', I'm reading 'Paper Towns', another John Green book which I'm really excited about.

Daily Shenanigans, 23/06/2014: Lots of reading progress!

I have had such a productive day. As you all know I finished 'One Hundred Years Of Solitude' yesterday and posted the review this morning. Well today I've read all but the last few chapters of 'The Bees' by Laline Paull and again, the review will be up tomorrow. I can't believe how much I've read today! It's not even as if I haven't had other things to do, as I spent a good majority of the day with Mat. We spent half the day at his house, and half at mine. The weather was really hot (almost stiflingly so) so it was good to get out of the house for a bit. I also took a break from reading after Mat had gone to play The Sims 3 for a few hours so I've definitely been doing other things today.

Tomorrow I would have been working, but I've swapped my shift to Wednesday and so instead, I'll be doing even more reading as well as posting my Top Ten Tuesday. I have plenty to be getting on with in terms of preparation for future posts too, so hopefully tomorrow will serve as a really productive blog day.

Daily Shenanigans, 12/06/2014: Father's Day Shopping!

I spent quite a lot of time getting things done today! Firstly, Mat came round so that we could both go into town and to the Opticians. My prescription has stayed the same (hooray!) but I decided to get myself a pair of prescription sunglasses so that I can drive better when it's ultra sunny! As well as this, I had a quick scout around town and bought some Father's Day (this Sunday for us Brits) bits and bobs! When I got home, I got straight to work in catching up with my Bloglovin' feed, sending a variety of emails, and writing my 'Life Of A Blogger' post! This week's topic was really fun! I did also read a bit more 'Game Of Thrones' so that was good. I went to Sainsburys with my sister in the evening to get some more bits and found myself splashing out on some room spray (I have a bit of a thing for scents), a Writing Magazine, and some Logic Puzzles.

Tomorrow I'm seeing a friend of mine for most of the day so I won't have much time to myself. I'll also be going to my sister's Photography Exhibition in the evening, how exciting!

Daily Shenanigans, 09/06/2014: Guest post!

So, I've ended up being a very busy bee today actually! I'll start off by saying that the weather was tremendously hot, though it has rained quite a lot and we've even had a Thunder Storm this evening. Hopefully the air will be a little less humid now! I started the morning off playing a little bit of The Sims 3 and reading a rather hefty portion of 'Stolen Songbird'. I am enjoying this book so much and I can't wait to finish and review it for you guys! Mat came over about mid-morning and has spent quite a lot of it fussing over me on account of my hurting foot after yesterday's little trip down the stairs (...that was a terrible pun, my apologies). I also finally got round to posting a separate page for reviews, so they can be found more easily. I am glad I have the time to be improving upon my blog in the way that I want to at last! Mat and I did pop into town today to do a few bits and bobs, but other than that it has been very much a day of relaxation. While in town, I did buy Season 2 of 'Game Of Thrones' on Blu-Ray and we watched a couple of episodes today. I am thoroughly addicted to that series.

After Mat left, I began to work on a post that I've been keeping secret up until now. The lovely ladies over on Oh, The Books! have recently put out a call for all newbie bloggers (if your blog has started in the last six months) to write a guest post for them to put on their own blog (click here if you're interested). It's a wonderful idea and though it took me a while to pluck up the courage to say I would do it, I'm glad I have volunteered. I've started on the post today. It isn't quite finished, and I haven't been given a set date for when it will go up but I shall keep you all updated as I know more! I'm extremely excited! 

Tomorrow I will try and finish it, and then send it onto them. I shall also be posting my 'Top Ten Tuesday' list and hopefully reviewing my current read too. Busy, busy!

Daily Shenanigans, 19/05/2014: The end is nigh!

I've had an epiphany. After this Friday, I will be free from Uni. No more deadlines, no more essays, no more assessments. I'll be able to do so much more of the stuff that I want to do (i.e. really going to town on turning this blog into the place I want it to be). I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am about that. But first, I have to get past the few days leading up to and including Friday. So I've changed a few plans and really worked hard to schedule exactly what I want to do for them so that I'm prepared and don't encounter any last minute panics or too much stressing out! In terms of blogging and reading, I'm not going away. I am posting my Top Ten Tuesday tomorrow and my next read will be 'The Three' by Sarah Lotz. Yes I know I said I would be reading 'A Red Tale' by Nicola Mar next but I really want to get through this one and post it before the release date which is this Thursday. I'm not going to pressure myself (my Uni work must come first) but I definitely won't be able to do it if I read 'A Red Tale' in between. That's next on the list though!

So what did I do today? Well I reviewed Terri Bruce's 'Thereafter' this morning, a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I then went to work in the afternoon which was really busy! The sun shone brightly today and I was glad of the hot weather. It makes a change from cold and miserable. I went to Mat's this evening which was really nice. He's going back to London tomorrow after work, and I won't see him till Friday now, so we made the most of a few hours together. Tomorrow morning I'll be doing some work towards my Uni project, as well as reading some of the aforementioned book and posting. Then I'll be off to see a friend of mine who is again helping me with my work and I plan to really be productive!

Daily Shenanigans, 14/05/2014: Back to work!

Today hasn't been overly exciting, certainly not compared to yesterday. I spent the morning doing a bit of tidying before heading off to work for the afternoon. The shift actually went pretty quickly, though I missed out on a lot of gorgeous weather because of it! I actually got to drive to and from Canterbury today because Phoebe the Fiat is finally back from her time away at the Garage! she's running really well now and I hadn't realised how much I'd missed driving until I was back behind the wheel once more. After work I quickly had dinner, got changed, then headed to Mat's for the evening (I was also dropping Phoebe round, he needs the car tomorrow). I spent the evening relaxing and finishing Cuckoo Song which felt like a huge weight off my mind. I am completely aware of how neglectful I have been with my reading and it has taken me ten days to get through this book! The review is up now and I am reading Terri Bruce's 'Thereafter' next, followed by Nicola Mar's 'A Red Tale'. Progress at last!

Tomorrow I am going to see my lovely friend who has been doing all the art for my Multimedia Project and hopefully put all that to bed once and for all! Then I'm off to the cinema with Mat in the evening to watch 'Godzilla'. Should be interesting! I also must do my Life Of A Blogger post, and get round to the tag questions that the lovely Val from Innocent Smiley Reviews posted absolutely ages ago for me and others to answer! 

Daily Shenanigans, 14/04/2014: Banner Making!

Had a pretty work-filled day, so this won't be a long post. I've had a busy day, I drove to Uni to get a few things done, then had work! The weather was gorgeous though still a bit cold. I would really like the sun to actually be warm now, but it's a step in the right direction! The day went really quickly and nothing overly exciting happened, other than the fact that I've booked a Recording Studio out to record some dialogue for my Multimedia project on Wednesday! Exciting stuff! I saw Mat this evening for a couple of hours to drop the car round, and that was nice. He made me tea and let me rest because I've been feeling really tired as of late.

Currently, I'm in the process of trying to make my blog a bit more interesting. This includes making a banner for my blog! I thought it was done, put it on the blog, and didn't really like it, so it's a work in progress but I want to be really happy with it before I use it! I would also love to make some mini banners for my common posts, so things like my Daily Shenanigans, or Weekly Wishlists, just to spice them up a bit. Whether I'll have the time (or the patience) remains to be seen though!

Tomorrow will be another day at Uni. I'll be going by train which means more reading time (I'm making my way through 'A Certain Slant Of Light') and obviously I'll be posting my Top Ten Tuesday and hopefully a review for 'The Fault In Our Stars'. I have yet to find out what Myra wants to do about that!

Daily Shenanigans, 13/04/2014: Tea, Chocolate and the Olivier Awards!

I have had a really good day today again, and quite a hectic one actually. My Dad bought a new Motorbike, and managed to sell his old one, all in the same day! The new one looks very nice, I don't know much about bikes but it's very cool and sporty looking! The weather was so lovely today that I actually myself went out for a drive with my sister, I really hope the weather stays like this, it's getting so hot now and beginning to feel like actual Summer! . We went to get a few bits at Tesco (which is incidentally where Mat works) and said hello to him as a surprise! Those bits included some more books which was really rather naughty of me because I have such a shelf space crisis at the moment. The two reads I picked up today were 'Half Bad' by Sally Green, and 'Mother, Mother' by Koren Zailckas. I've heard really good things about 'Half Bad' and 'Mother, Mother' I keep seeing in basically every book shop I walk into.

Talking of books: a progress update on 'The Fault In Our Stars'. I've finished the book! I won't say much, I'll save it for the review because Myra won't finish until tomorrow and I need time to recover/gather my thoughts/stop crying. The review itself will be up either tomorrow or Tuesday, depending on what we decide to do! Next on the TBR list is 'A Certain Slant Of Light'. I'm really excited about this one, I'm on a real roll with books at the moment and don't want it to stop. Incidentally, I'll be reading 'The Hunger Games' after that, which I'm desperately excited about. I love the films so much, it has basically become a crime that I haven't read a single one of the trilogy yet!

Right now, I'm sat in my room with some chocolate, tea and the Olivier Awards on TV. I'm a little sad because none of the shows/actors/actresses that I wanted to win actually won, but the ones who did win deserved it so I'm happy too. Plus, the intermittent performances were great! It's finishing now and I have work tomorrow, so I think I should probably get to bed and get some sleep. My whole day will pretty much be in Canterbury, so my weekend of relaxation is sadly over. I will be seeing Mat though, which is a bonus! 

Daily Shenanigans, 14/03/2014: Gridlock!

Well, my ideas for today's particular post have been a little ruined I'm afraid. I knew that I wouldn't have much to say, but I did plan on going to the Cinema today to watch 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' with Mat! Unfortunately, the traffic on our journey was total chaos and we spent a good ten minutes sat totally still waiting to pull out of a packed roundabout exit. After realising we had five minutes till the film started, we thought it best to just go home. We plan to go tomorrow instead, which I'm very much looking forward to, but it means that I can't talk about it today! Darn!

So this morning I did quite a bit more blog planning as it happens. I have a really busy week coming up (I've mentioned this so many times) and so I want to be sure that blog-wise, everything can still go to schedule and I will have no problems writing posts as well as getting all my assignments over and done with! I also did a massive amount of reading this morning, which I'm very chuffed about. The book today was 'Daughter Of Smoke & Bone' (I'm switching between my two current reads to try and make more progress) and just like 'The Snow Child', I am loving this book! It's so hard to put them down! I can't wait to review them both, and share my thoughts on them!

The afternoon was spent helping my Dad do a bit of tidying, but mainly dedicated to Uni coursework. I really want to get it all done this weekend if I can because then I only have to worry about my practical assignments next week (which are ridiculously stressful by themselves). I think though, if I set my mind to it, I can achieve this and actually next week will probably be okay in the end. Once it's over I am literally going to jump for joy. Literally. I then picked Mat up from the station and we drove quickly to get some fuel and drop his stuff at his house before coming back to mine. I'll take this opportunity to mention that today was absolutely gorgeous! Okay, so it was a bit nippy but the sun was actually really bright and I wore a sleeveless top for the first time in ages! I'm so glad that Summer is reminding me that it's on its way!

Mat and I spent the rest of the evening chilling at mine. You already know that we planned to go out but were prevented from doing so. It was nice to just spend a bit of time chilling out though if I'm honest, so I didn't mind too much! I definitely still want to see the film though. I'm actually going to be staying at his tomorrow so I will most likely write tomorrow's post from his place! Exciting stuff!

Daily Shenanigans, 05/03/2014: Story Writing.

Well today has felt pretty long and busy, despite the fact that really, it hasn't been. I got into Uni for my lecture at 10 o'clock, and found out that all Tech Slots have been cancelled meaning that programming will have to be done during Tech Week. This is very annoying, but nothing can be done so I guess I'll just have to cope with it. I don't think my mood has been helped by the fact that yesterday's headache never really went away. Also, we discussed our portfolios and I feel a lot better now that I understand what they involve. I was really stressed about this one because I didn't understand what I was supposed to do, but I'm feeling a lot better about it now!

The weather was absolutely beautiful today, and I'm really glad I chose to take the train. I got a lot of reading done in the process. Walking back to the station to go home, I walked through town and couldn't get over the lovely weather that has suddenly hit. It was a little nippy, but the sun was out and I had forgotten what that even looked like! I walked into a couple of charity shops and Waterstones, and I'm very proud of myself because I didn't buy anything! Go me! I wanted to though, the temptation was very great. I did buy another pancake though, the kind that you find in the UK (so Crêpes). Mine was smothered in Nutella, and needless to say, was delicious. I have been eyeing up that food stall for weeks and I finally took the opportunity today.

When I got home, I chose to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening writing. I have now completed the first draft for a Prologue/First Chapter of that idea that's been running through my head over and over. It isn't perfect but I feel like I have written what I need to, now I just need to tidy it up. I'm very excited so far about it, and I'm considering, when it has been developed a bit, putting an excerpt on here for you guys to read. I would certainly appreciate the feedback! I don't have a title for it yet, it's in really early stages of development and I really need to flesh out the concept and plot-line I'm going for here. But nonetheless, I'm pleased so far.

Not an awful lot else happened, I'm going to bed a bit earlier tonight (not much) so I can do a bit of reading and then catch up on some sleep. I need to do some Portfolio work tomorrow for Multimedia, but hopefully I can also finish and write a review for 'Wolves'. The pace of the story is really picking up now and I finally seem to be catching up with it a bit. I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the finished thing.

Daily Shenanigans, 21/02/2014: Spring Cleaning Part II.

I really went to town on my room this morning folks! I realise that cleaning may not be the most interesting of topics to blog about, but if you could have seen my room before today, you would know that this is a momentous occasion for me. The task is by no means finished, but it's well on its way. I managed to put away the huge pile of books by my bed. They now live in my newly sorted bookshelf (and already fill it up! Oops!), I've got rid of the various bags that littered my carpet. You can actually see the carpet now! I've hoovered and finally put away about three weeks worth of freshly cleaned clothes. Goodness, just typing about this is depressing because I'm quickly realising how much of a slob I am! What's left to do? Dusting, clearing my desk, clearing my bedside table, organising my paperwork, a lot basically. But I'm very proud of my progress!

Right now let's talk about something more interesting. I saw Mat again today and I got home from his about an hour ago. I've been seeing him a lot recently (he's coming over again after he's worked tomorrow) but it is so nice to be able to spend this much time with him and to be honest, I'm making the most of it before he goes back to Uni. We generally messed around on games, which we do a lot. It was a bit sunnier today, and we toyed with the idea of going out somewhere but it is still very cold and it's a good thing we didn't because it did actually rain later anyway. I tried not to be on my blog too much because I feel like I'm messing around on it a lot while I'm around him, it was nice to do a few more things together today!

On another note, four of my six books that I ordered from The Works arrived today! I reckon the other two will arrive tomorrow, and then I probably won't get to do much in the way of book shopping for a while because I have so many to read! I'm considering doing a book haul at the end of each month perhaps to show you all what's been added to my bookshelf each month. Obviously if I do, February's would be pretty big as I have a lot of books that I bought/borrowed/won this month! Also, I found this pretty neat idea online and was considering buying a subscription. Book Riot offer a lovely quarterly package (so every three months) for a $50 subscription fee (about £30). I thought the idea was sweet and found a monthly one at The Willoughby Book Club for £39.99 (I love the idea, they offer lots of different subscription types but I would go for the Bespoke Subscription as it's a mixed bag rather than genre specific). It would help to keep my bookshelves fresh but the price is just keeping me from committing at the moment. I think they would make a really cool gift idea though!

Other than that I haven't much else to talk about. There hasn't been time for me today to sort out anything blog related or go challenge hunting like I said I would yesterday, but that's okay. I think also that I'm going to start an end of week 'Wishlist' for cool gift ideas that I see while I'm browsing the internet (I see so many things and I really need to share them, sorry)! They won't just be book related but will probably include books that I'm pretty desperate to read along with a few other, probably quite geeky random things that caught my eye. The first of those should be up this Sunday.