An Ode To A Sock

  Today I discovered my mother had thrown away one of my favourite socks. I was utterly heartbroken upon discovering this, especially as I was at work and therefore unable to save goodbye to my faithful companion. To make matters worse, my mum failed to throw away the matching pair, meaning I was send to work with 2 odd socks that had been haphazardly thrown together the night before. Now to me this makes no sense, as everybody knows socks need to be in twos, otherwise one gets lonely without the other, it's common sense really. So now my surviving sock is faced with spending the remainder of its life at the bottom of my drawer lonely and heartbroken at the sudden loss of its companion.

  Really, sometimes I wonder how my mum can sleep at night.

Last Calls

  This week is my last week at work before I go back to university, and oh wow am I looking forward to the 2 weeks of bliss that will ensue before the chaos that is university begins once again. As much as I've enjoyed what I'm doing and am going to miss the people I work with, I won't miss the rude customers, at times unbearable heat, or being permanently tired for that matter! 

  These 2 weeks off do create a new dilemma though, what on earth am I meant to do with myself for all this time before I move back? Thankfully Freshers week promised to snap up most of my attention for the 2nd week, but even with money in my pocket I'm hard pushed for ideas of how to spend my free time between now and then. 

  Ok that's a lie, there are plenty of things I would like to do, such as going to Thorpe Park, reading books, tea drinking, blogging, or even just going out for a run, but truth be told they require a lot of effort and anyone who knows me will know how much of a sloth I can be when I have nothing important to do...  

  Wow, just writing this is making me feel tired, looks like it's time for yet another cup of tea and a nap.

It's Scandaleyes All Right

I'm not a big make up person. Anybody who knows me will tell you when it comes to make up I like to keep it to the bare minimum. In fact, the only thing I like to make an effort with is my eyes, and even then this only started once I went to university and realised people actually care what you look like in public. 

Scandaleyes Show Off Mascara
 from Rimmel London, £6.99

When it comes to make up I tend to mainly focus on my eyes as that's how I often think my eyes are the most attractive part of me after my hair, but seeing as part of my work uniform is to wear hair up and hidden under a hat it kinda restricts what I have to work with to my eyes when it comes to the looks department. My daily (incredibly short) make up routine therefore only consists of mascara and 2 types of eyeliner, one for the eyelid and the other for the under eye. Hardly excessive wouldn't you agree?

Exaggerate Eyeliner Noir,
Rimmel London, £3.99

However, although I've said I don't put a lot of effort into it and don't resort to spending hours in front of the mirror perfecting it, my mum is very much against the idea of me wearing make up, partly because she feels I don't need it and also because let's face it, make up is expensive, especially for a student living on a budget. That aside, my mum has even compared me before to looking like Yzma from the Emporors New Groove, which is a little harsh if you ask me. Yes she may have ridiculously long eyelashes and be wearing a ton of eyeliner and even have the super slim body I envy, I don't look like a wrinkled old purple hag last time I checked ;) .

Soft Khol Kajal Eye Pencil Jet Black,
Rimmel London, £2.99

The downside of wearing make up for me though is ever since I started getting into it I've noticed a big difference in how I look with and without it, which has often lead to me now refusing to leave the house without wearing any, whereas in the past I've been quite happy to go out all natural and not care much what I looked like. When I was with my boyfriend last week and he was on Skype to his cousins, I kicked up a big fuss about being seen on webcam with no make up on because I was convinced I looked awful without it, only to be told I looked nice regardless. So this week I have pledged to put away the eye pencils and mascara brushes and go about my daily business to prove to myself it's ok to go against the flow and shun make up ;) . It's only Monday, but let's hope I can last the week! 

It's My Birthday!! (Kind Of)

  Well this is a bit of a belated post. Basically, it was my birthday on Thursday, and I celebrated my reaching the 20 year milestone in typical understated Nina-like fashion, by staying in bed for half of it and eating my feelings the other half. All in all, a pretty good day, although slightly marred by the absence of my family for the first time ever, which was kinda sad times. However, today certainly made up for it when my mum turned up in Birmingham to take me out for lunch and give me the best birthday present ever, aka a Kindle :D ! (More about that in my next post). Even though I'm going home next weekend it was so good to see her and really made my week, and for once even the weather seemed to agree :) .

  The only depressing thing about turning 20 though is I can no longer use the excuse of being a teenager whenever I throw a strop or feel a bit immature, suddenly everybody expects me to behave and have all these responsibilities and it's just like "umm.... No". Just because I've hit 20 doesn't mean I changed overnight, I'm still my fun-loving, troublesome, laid back and immature self, and at least for the time being that shall not change. What has changed though is my smiling. On my birthday I found myself cracking a smile as the sun shone through my window so I grabbed my camera and snapped it as evidence that it really is possible ;) 

 

The Morning After The Day Before

Yesterday along with the rest of Tumblr I went on a bit of a rampage about this whole Yahoo thing, and then I decided to try and stay positive in the face of annoying pop up ads, Tumblr becoming mainstream and someone potentially bursting my safe bubble. But it seems Tumblr shall not be silenced, it seems ever since this has emerged the bloggers that are usually dormant until 10pm have been woken from hibernation are are still going strong 24 hours later high on caffeine and gifs of cats, which are, quite frankly hilarious. Seems this debate won't be dying down anytime soon.

In other news, today I had my second exam, I'm officially over the halfway point and it feels so good. I won't go and say I smashed it because that's too optimistic, but I think it's safe to say I got the minimum pass. At least, I'd better have done. I didn't waste all that time yesterday procrastinating and watching Made In Chelsea in a bid to avoid revision only to do it all late last night and not pass this thing. Either way, my fingers are firmly crossed.

In the meantime, here's a picture of a horse eating grass. I can identify with it on a regular basis when I'm hungry and too lazy to move.

Tumblr Takeover

For any blogger living under a rock today Yahoo announced it was taking over Tumblr in a $1 billion deal. Aside from the shock that Yahoo even has that much money to burn, the reaction from Tumblrites including myself has pretty much been one of outrage ever since I logged on this morning. And forgetting for the moment that Yahoo even slated us in their own article as being whiny brats, what I hate most about it is I found Tumblr to be a safe space I can flee to, away from Facebook and Twitter etc. In a way this relates to my previous post on my issues on opening up and trusting others, as I use Tumblr to hide away from people I know so they can't see how I really feel, and in a way Tumblr has become my little protective bubble from the outside world as I can vent and express myself so freely on there. There are no censors on Tumblr, in a way it is the only place online where we can say whatever we want and nobody can judge us or tell us we're wrong. But with all the media exposure this takeover is bringing as well as Yahoos ghastly plan to make it more family friendly, it's going to become harder to express myself as more and more people will join who don't get what Tumblr is all about, and that scares me a lot. The people who read my Tumblr are like me, we all go through the same stuff and we support each other, and the last thing any of us want is to have others who don't see it that way to come along and make us feel self conscious. If this is the case and everything I'm worrying about happens, then that means this blog will become my last safe space, and if that happens I will still never be able to be as open here as I ever was on Tumblr, as I know a lot of people read my blog, including a lot of the people I have on Facebook etc... 

Healthy Living Will Be the Death of Me

Hi. I'm Nina, and I'm a recovering pizzaholic. 

Ok so that should be takeawayholic but oh well. Truth is, it has now been 2 weeks since my last take out, if we forget about the one I had last night due to having no food in the house, so technically my last needless take out. While I admit I've seen a big improvement such as getting up in the mornings and the weight loss, I am genuinely sick of what I've had to switch it for. Right now what with exams I am practically living off the dreaded green stuff (salad), Ryvita and noodles along with various vegetables. If you were to open my cupboards you'd probably find enough in there to start up a greengrocers. I actually feel like a rabbit eating this stuff. It's been so long since I had meat I've forgotten how good it tastes, and as for bread, I'm getting cravings just thinking about it. So it's official guys, vegetarianism is not for me!

Blogger Network Initiation

You know that warm fuzzy feeling of acceptance you get when a group accepts you as one of their own and you feel all happy and smiley? Well that was me this morning. There I was, bracing myself for a morning full of 10am lecture when suddenly a wild email appears and tells me that the EtailPR bloggers network has accepted my application to be an official blogger, yippee! For those of you who havn't noticed if you scroll down my page you will see I now even have a nice shiny new badge on the right hand side officially recognising me as an approved blogger. What does this mean I hear you ask? Well from time to time I will be writing posts for companies who send me sample products to try out and write about, it's a pretty sweet deal. They send me free stuff and I have to write about it, put it up here and job done, everyone's happy. So for those of you who read my blog make sure to check here regularly for new stuff and be sure to check out the things I'm writing about :) . On a side note, I wonder if my sister knows I expect her to be the one modelling any clothes I get asked to write about? Yeah, I should probably mention it to her... 

Illness and Instragram

No, the 2 are in no way related, but they both begin with "I" so I thought why not put them in the same post. My time here at home is fast coming to an end, tomorrow I pack up my things and head on back to Birmingham, which I'm kinda dreading but that's another post entirely. As a special treat, for my last week home I have been ill with the most awful cold, it was so bad I lost my voice at work and had people there in stitches with my inability to talk, thanks a lot guys much appreciated. Just to prove how ill I was, my mum bought take out pizza one night... I wasn't even hungry when I looked at it. I know, I'm shocked too. However, while lying on my sickbed I found a new way to pass the time was to finally cave and sign up for Instagram, and oh wow it's only been 2 days and I already love it so much! My mum isn't too impressed, apparently i've found one more way to become too attached to my phone, but I argue I have photos that need sharing with the world. But yeah, do follow me on Instagram at tiggerlily2305 . The more the merrier right?

Assembling The Minions

As I said yesterday, today was dedicated to my darling minions (college buddies) who I have not actually seen since before the summer. We had an amazing time, ate a ton of pizza and ice cream, played the obligatory several games of Sopio (all of which I lost) and then left Pizza Hut for Wetherspoons feeling like we'd accomplished something worthwhile. Seeing everybody again was amazing and I'm already missing them so much, it was a much overdue catch up! It was a little sad though because when we were all telling each other our news it was clear that we've all gone our separate ways and started doing our own thing, and after spending 2 years in each other pockets it's strange knowing that we're all moving on with our lives. Everything's changed and none of us are the same people we were when we left for uni, but today was so much like the good old days when we didn't have a care in the world and had no responsibilities etc. Even though college wasn't that long ago we've kinda progressed to adulthood so quickly it's scary, so today was a one off where we could all cut loose and behave like children again. That aside, today was the best day in forever and I can't wait to see them all again in the summer :) !

The Wonderful World Of Work

I've been at my new job for a week now. Everything hurts. I knew it would be intense but nothing could prepare me to have every muscle and bone in my body ache from running around for 9 hours at a stretch. On the upside though, I'm pretty sure this is a foolproof way to lose weight, so I think it's safe for me to go out tomorrow for pizza with college buddies. Moaning aside, even though I complain a lot and when I get home I feel like curling up and hibernating till summer, I actually enjoy my job and knowing there's money in it for me, getting my first paycheck is going to be like getting to the end of the rainbow and finding a huge pot of gold there, and if it doesn't feel as beautiful as the image in my head then I will make it so it is.

Duty Calls

Today I start my new job. It's nothing much exciting, I can't say I'm thrilled to be flipping burgers or whatever I'll be doing at McDonalds, but a job's a job right? Speaking of work, I need to be there in less than 2 hours now, yet I'm being my normal chilled back self and lying in bed with my trusty Lady Grey and my Macbook, which for future reference I shall refer to as Eowyn (you know, LOTR reference). It's less effort than getting up and getting ready. But I should probably go and do stuff, so I shall update you all later with my introduction into the world of work. Oh aren't you all such lucky people. In the meantime, think of and pity me while going about your mundane lives, in the knowledge that whatever you're doing in way more enjoyable.

Student Living Is Good For You

When I packed my bags in September and was sent on my way to beautiful Birmingham, the one thing everyone told me was that I'd fall victim to a number of unforgivable habits. I'd live solely on pizza and takeouts rather than traipse to the local supermarket to buy healthy food (well that's true), I'd forget the meaning of the word "study" (also true), and when I did study I would be pulling all nighters in the library surviving on Red Bull and coffee (wow this is getting spooky) and I'd waste all my free time online doing pointless things (so true). But all these eerily true predictions pale in comparison to that dreaded moment where you realise your regular sleeping pattern is now set to sleeping all day and being up all night, and until now I saw this as a curse I would be subjected to for the rest of my uni days. However, being home and having a bunch of free time and stuff I took it upon myself to read the news online, yes, you heard me correctly. I read the news. And I happened upon a little report that said new research suggests that those like moi who sleep late and get up later go on to make more money than all you mere mortals. So yeah, think on that one people, you may laugh now but 10 years down the line while you're getting your 8 hours a night remember that you'll probably end up working for me. Don't be hating now. 

Out of Touch

Talking to my flatmates and friends today has really made me see how out of touch I am with what's been going on. So I am officially making it my mission to spend as much time with them as possible before I get bored and wander off back to my room. At least this way I won't have to keep asking people to repeat themselves when I don't understand what they're talking about. Seriously though, I've reached a point where I can no longer remember who's friends with who and who's dating who and what plans are for the coming week, this is serious stuff people!

Which Direction?

A lot of people have been asking the same question regarding this blog "What's it all about?". Well, I'm going to treat this blog a lot like my Tumblr, as in, there will be regular posts of things I find that make me laugh, but this blog is more about me and the happenings of my daily mundane life. So, that clears that up I guess, happy reading people

Dissension Amongst The Minions

Today for the first time in forever on a day off I was enticed out of the den I call my room into the living room after hearing murmurings of mutiny amongst the minions (flatmates), as I had apparently "not been seen in forever" After being made to feel guilty for a good 10 minutes I caved and dutifully carried my laptop into the living room before setting up camp on the sofa so I could be seen to be "sociable". Needless to say when my flatmates ran out to Asda for an hour and came back they were stunned to still find me there, albeit in exactly the same spot, but in my eyes that's progress, and a new record. So after 2 solid hours of human interaction I slunk off and have now holed myself back up in my den where I can now alternately hibernate and blog as I see fit. Talk about student living at its finest

You Know It's Bad When You Start Talking About The Weather

For anybody who hasn't quite worked this out yet I live in lovely Birmingham in the UK. it's a real change from what I'm used to home in Hertfordshire. Everything's different, people talk funny, there's no grass and the weather plays up like there's no tomorrow. For the past few days we've been experiencing a cold snap like most of the country, only it's so erratic it can be sunny with blue skies one moment, and then within 30 seconds it becomes freezing and starts snowing like crazy. It would be so amusing to watch if it weren't so frustrating about deciding what to wear, maybe I should start carrying 2 outfits around with me and just change according to the weather. Just so you can get an idea of what I'm on about, here are 2 photos I took about a minute apart, and before you ask, that building would be a bus depot, because I have an absolutely lovely view from my student accommodation, not.

 

Me, Myself, and a bit of Twitter promoting on the side

For those of you who pay no attention to sideinfos or get bored and don't get far enough on this page, I thought I'd take the trouble to put up my bio in a post, because I'm feeling nice and all that.

Nina's my name, I'm 19 going on 20, (i know, old right) and I'm currently learning me some of that Psychology stuff at Birmingham City Uni, which means I get to live in the greatest city ever in my humble opinion.

Anything else we should know about you I hear you ask? Well I'm a Christian and have been for nearly 2 years now, I love horses and spend my free time (which is always) reading and trawling the internet for some hilarious stuff to share with you guys, and I'm currently having the time of my life!

Got any burning questions? Well post them up here or tweet me @Tiggerlily2305 . Shameless Twitter promoting, I really have no shame. But really... do it.