I love...

... Random quotes. I've stolen all these from Pinterest, but I love them and they make me smile.


I also heard a quote somewhere that said, "why try and say something if someone can explain it so much better than you".


So this is what I am doing.


Using somebody else's words when mine don't seem to be enough.


Especially when it's something I am always thinking, and can't find the words to say.


Some quotes help kick my butt into gear.


And some just make me smile.

(The best thing about this post is that I put the pictures on my blog and added in the little sentances afterwards, not realising that the sentance completed what the picture was saying... I love it when life works out like that)

Audio Books Vs the Real Thing

I downloaded a few audiobook app's onto my iPhone, why have one when you can have a few and I must admit I did kinda cheat a little bit with The Picture of Dorian Grey. I stuck it on, for free, on my iPhone. I think because it's an old book it was a free one.


I do like audio book, mainly because I'm a bit lazy sometimes but I find it harder getting into an audio book than I do actually reading it myself, turning the pages or rather sliding my finger across my iPhone screen to turn the pages, for some reason makes it easier to trap me into the world of Dorian Grey. I guess it's for a few reasons really; mainly being that I kind of drift off into some sort of day dream when I'm listening to audio book and before I know it a few chapters have gone by and I'm completely lost with what is going on. Another thing with audio book is you may have to at some point pause it in the middle of a chapter, and when you come back to it you're kinda lost. Whereas, with a book you read to the end of the chapter (unless that's just me?).

On the other hand, audio book is handy. It doesn't have to be a big book, you just slip it in your pocket and you can listen to it on the move. Audio gives the characters a voice, so I guess you need to use less imagination; especially if the person doing the reading is absolutely fantastic... like Stephen Fry for the Harry Potter series. So, I can't really decide which is better but I do find that I haven't actually read a page of The Picture of Dorian Grey since this time last week and I've listened to more, but I haven't actually got a clue of what has happened in the last 4 chapters I've listened to.


Most of the recordings I listen to are LibriVox recordings. By normal people, or normal voices rather, not a computer. http://librivox.org/

On a different note, I had a driving lesson today and I honestly believe that the rain brings out all the idiots. Either that or the rain makes people forget how to drive. Oh, and I'm useless at reversing around a corner, but I'm working on it. Watch this space.

Denim Skirts and Leggings

This is what I am talking about. Maybe the skirt isn't as long as I would usually have it but nevermind it's not a picture of me anyway. I didn't really get the whole skirt and leggings thing before and I think I tried it once or twice at Uni but I didn't really like the way it looked so I gave it a miss for a while; that is, until today.

I bought a denim skirt the other week from a charity shop and it was so cheap I couldn't not buy it! And today I had leggings just lying around so I thought I'd give it a go. It must've looked okay because two people commented on how nice I looked today which was pretty cool. I did take a picture but I personally don't like it so I'm not going to show you it. But, if at first you don't like it, then try and try again... in a few months or so.

I hope everyone is having a lovely evening and a lovely week. The rain came down for a second there is still evidence of it on my window... not anywhere else but there is there!

My skirt is wider and longer than the one in the pic, but I still wore pumps, I need to get a different coloured t-shirt though because mine is black and I'm not supposed to wear black and my leggings are black, and I'm not supposed to wear black haha, but I think it's one of those outfits that pretty much goes with anything.

Five Fabulously Fun Days

I've been a terrible poster the last few days or so.

I blame it on being in Newcastle and Sunderland. I think I'm allergic to desk tops, or rather desktops that aren't mine (I'm fine using the desktop at work). I was going to post when I was up in the northern lands but I just didn't get round to it Thursday, Friday, Saturday... Oops. Apologies. I had an awesome time up in Newcastle and Sunderland though, and they are two new places I've been this year (about time my list got longer, it's been looking a bit shabby recently).

I've been relaying my five fabulously fun days to my mum and kept getting things mixed up in my brain but hopefully I'll remember stuff correctly on here; plus I have pictures to back up my brain. I never realised how handy it is to have a camera on your phone until I got the iPhone (all the cameras on my phones before this one have been poor so I haven't used them). But with the iPhone the pictures are just the right size for blogging with.

1. Travelling, Quizzing, Watching, Laughing, Sleeping
2. Walking, Picnicing, Shopping, Restauranting, Dancing
3. Lazying, Wandering, Day-Dreaming, Munching, Gawping
4. Chilling, Tubing, Following, Strutting, Collapsing
5. Singing, Chatting, Listening, Praying, Sharing

Busy 5 days if I must say so myself. I'm just glad I got some photographic proof of how much fun we had!


Wednesday I was travelling all the way up from Bradford to Newcastle. Adam picked me up and we went to meet his parents who were quizzing in the pub (I think it's a family tradition). One of the questions was something like 'Name top ten items in a woman's handbag' and apparently 'Phone' wasn't on it?? I mean what kind of joke is that?! Then we went watching a film it was 'The Hangover 1' which we were obviously laughing at, I was so tired so the best thing to do was to start sleeeping.


Thursday was fun. It was a beautiful day so we went walking up Penshaw Monument (I think that's what it is called). I got some cute pics of Adam and I up there but the steps were like a mountain to climb. His mum made us a gorgeous picnic so we went picnicing in style at Herrington Park, which is huge! Then we kinda went shopping, can't remember what we bought. We went restuaranting in Frankie and Benny's with one of Adam's friends, Lauren. I decided it'd be a good idea to go to the beach where we were dancing between the water and the sand. It was tons of fun.


Friday, Adam was at work and Emily had gone to uni so I was lazying around in bed for half the day and was left to wandering around Sunderland by myself until Emily'd finished uni. I found a good cafe called 'Esquires' and sat day-dreaming about life and random things in general that whiz around a woman's mind all day. Then Emily came to meet me and we went shopping. When Adam finished work I made a meal and we sat munching until we were ready to go out again. Adam got some vouchers for being a long-term employee and so we set off to him spending them, cut to me gawping at the gigantic size of The Metro Centre in Newcastle; biggest shopping centre in Europe, I mean there are like 4 'malls' in there. Crazy.


Saturday, Emily and I were chilling out in bed until about 1pm. We decided to go tubing to Newcastle, well it's the Metro but we went underground like the London tube. I ended up following Emily everywhere because I had no idea where to go, I was also following her around because she was trying to look for a shop which we didn't find it until we were on our way out of Newcastle haha. We went into Next and were strutting around in different pairs of heels that we couldn't afford even though they looked nice. After a long hard day of doing nothing we sat collapsing in a heap on Adam's parents gorgeous sofa.


Sunday, I went to church with Adam and I was singing hymns that for some reason I really haven't heard of before, I think through the whole service I knew 1 song. I got chatting to a really nice girl called Beth who knows Emily. Then I sat listening to Relief Society teacher (it was weird being in Relief Society) and listening to the beautiful Testimony's given in the Sacrament meeting where everyone was sharing what they loved about the gospel. Then when I got home I sat praying that Emily and Adam would get home okay, once I realised they'd stopped at a services on the way back because Adam was so tired. Really dangerous!


Sorry it's so long it just makes up for the past few days that I've missed.

Procrastination

Uhm....

Yeah, so if anyone has been actually reading this blog, or putting up with it, or randomly coming back to it now and again, I apologise for not posting since Wednesday.

There are a few excuses but none that would really warrant me not posting, so Ooops! I shall post properly tomorrow about my adventures over the last few days and why I haven't posted, but for now... it's nearly bedtime!

The Man Who Was Forever Young

The Picture of Dorian Gray

I have looked over this book a few times before and I have surpassed it for other's. Namingly 'My Sister's Keeper' or 'The Kommandants Girl', well romantic books, ones that you get lost in and don't know why because you already know how they are going to end. Well, today on the train ride over to Newcastle I finally sat down, or rather, opened the Kindle App on my phone and stared at 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and decided 'why not?'.

"I have grown to love secrecy. It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us. The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it."

At first I couldn't really get into it because there was a lot of noise on the train, weird people sat behind me with funny accents. They were talking about computer and nerdy stuff so I couldn't help bending my ear for a little while. But then all of a sudden it hit me. There are SO MANY quotes in that book that I would love to show you, quotes that I didn't even realise came from 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and I'm only on Chapter 4; or 3. I forget.

"Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one"

There is this one character, Lord Henry, that I am just mesmerized by, and see it's not even Dorian. This characters intellect, charm and wit makes for wonderful reading. When he talks it's like I'm reading a sonnet from Shakespeare. I love Oscar Wilde and have decided to read more of his work once I've finished with Dorian Gray. I mean I've heard of the book before, and I know the general jist of the man who couldn't look at his own portrait because it got older and if he did then he would become as old as the portrait, and consequently die. But, right now I am basking in the glory of the newness of the book. It's obviously set in Georgian times? I think well 1800's so Georgian/Victorian times; a period I love.

"Yes; horribly unjust of you. I make a great differencevbetween people. I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies. I have not got one who is a fool."

I can't wait to get deeper into this book. It was very easy to block out the world and escape in the pages, or rather the screen of my iPhone. I'm actually quite blown away by it. So, I shall keep you posted. I don't even know what it is that I like about the book besides one of the characters and the sonnet speeches. It could be the idea that there is something between the lines, something that has yet to be spoken. I love the innocent of Dorian Gray and how Lord Henry smashes his ideals to pieces with one quick sniping sentance.

"Poets are not so scrupulous as you are. They know how useful passion is for publication. Nowadays a broken heart will run to many editions."

It truly is a must read; and like I said, I'm only on Chapter 4. I just pray that Oscar Wildes' imagination won't let me down for the rest of the book!

Women's Wedges Wonder Woman!

Hmmm.

I am shopped out. But, I had a good shoe shop. Luckily today I started work early which meant I finished early, which meant I could go shopping. YAY! Which is weird. I'm not actually really one for clothes shopping. At least, I didn't think I was. I can't afford to shop anyway, only on a budget.

But today, my eyes were on the prize. Wedges! And what better place to go for shopping, in the middle of the afternoon when you live in Bradford and you have a bus pass... The White Rose Shopping Centre. For a few reasons really:

1. Bethany has never been there before... like ohh...emmm...duuurrr.
2. There are like, LOADS of clothes shops in there
3. It's obviously nicer than Bradford and more compact than Leeds.

One thing Bethany did mention about shopping for shoes was the fact that we could go into ANY shop that sold women's clothes & accessories and look at shoes. Usually we avoid topshop (we're not skinny rakes) and places like River Island etc.. but because we were shopping for shoes it didn't matter what size the clothes were because I was always going to be a size 6 and Bethany is always going to be a size 7/8 (She has weird feet). We started in Debenhams and I think we finished in River Island.

One word of warning for anyone buying shoes from Oasis in The White Rose and you DON'T have or want a store card... run. Run away now. Before you try and get accostered by the oh so lovely sales people in there. I am sure she meant well, like the shoes/wedges I tried on were gorgeous and I was so close to spending way more than I should on them but she kept pushing the stupid store card on me, which I was clearly trying to be nice about and said 'no', 'I'd just lose it' etc, I said all the excuses I could come up with, but she just wouldn't shut up. I mean she said "I'll just put these to one side for you to come back for later" uhm... if I had wanted to save them for later, I'd have asked you? I didn't say that to her though. Like I said, I'm sure she was a nice girl, but she was just being too pushy.


And I hate pushy.

I went for cream today and blue, I loved some blue ones in who knows what shop now, I think it was NewLook, who let me down in the shoe department today; it's not even half the size of the shoe area in Bradford, but I was generally going for cream. I eventually bought some from Garage that looked a lot like the ones I was going to buy from Oasis, only the ones in Garage were about £35 cheaper...


Then we meandered into Primark, accidentally. It's my fault, because I saw some jewellery I really liked and went and bought it and Bethany decided to wander upstairs so I followed. There's a lot of shoes in there. She tried some on, I tried some on. Then I bought... another pair. These ones are lower though, the wedges are quite high (for me), so they can be like my cool down pair for when I'm too tired of wearing the higher ones, they are brown.


When we got home, I tried them on with at least 4/5 outfits in my wardrobe, sad I know, but I just wanted to make sure they were right, and they look pretty nice, so I'm glad of my choices today.

Hope everyone is getting used to being back at work since the long weekend. Let me know what you think of my shoes.