Posts Tagged 2010
2010 in Summary
Posted by Violetsteel in Journal, LJXP on 23/01/2011
2010 was certainly a year of high highs and low lows for me.
January
We brought in 2010 in South Africa will all our friends and family @ Julian & Belinda’s house for a fantastic casino night.
A group of my friends, family and myself all got tattooed together. My Brother, Mum, Myself. Belinda & Sis-in-Law Haylie all had tattoos done by Gav at Electric Eye Tattoo in Umhlanga.
We chilled in the Sunshine and drank with loved ones before returning to England on 11th Jan.
Gig 1. My first gig of the year was Emily Autumn @ Wolverhampton Civic on 29th Jan. I went with my colleagues Gemma & Faye B. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it did go on for a bit too long.
Gemma and I had a disaster on the way and accidentally got on an express direct train to London! Thankfully the lovely staff arranged an emergency stop for us in Rugby to catch a train back to where we should have gone.
February
Gig 2. Rammstein! Pete and I went with my colleague Liam, we booked really late so ended up right near the back, but we still had an incredible time. Rammstein are amazing live. Breathtaking pyrotechnics and lighting. It was awesome.
March
I found out I was going to be an Aunty!!!
April
Pete Proposed! I woke up on Easter Sunday to a post-it clue on my iPhone that began an Easter egg hunt! The eggs got larger and larger finally led me to my engagement ring
While on a Company night out with Pete colleagues we spontaneously decided to do a reverse bungy. I’d had just the right amount of alcohol to overcome my panic attack inducing fear of heights, and I bloody loved it.
May
I bought my lovely little bike, which I named Ethel, for going to work on.
I voted in the General Election. The first time I have voted in my life.
I got an iPad. The most awesome device of 2010 by far. I love it!
June
My Aunty Sandra was diagnosed with cancer. & my Mum flew over to be with her for a while as she didn’t know how long her sister would have.
July
Becky, Jane & I took part in the Race for Life to raise money for cancer research. We did it in honour of those we knew affected by cancer. I did for my cousin Ange who passed in 2008 & now her Mum, my aunty Sandra diagnosed the month before.
August
My 30th Birthday! My parents flew over and surprised me for my birthday. It was the best surprise of my life, I’d had no idea they were coming thanks to Pete and my parents sneaky planning
Pete and Becky threw a party for me at a local Irish bar and it was the party of my life. So amazing!
We did some travelling with my parents and drove to Lincoln, York and Sheffield visiting places that we knew and used to live in. This was the pub my parents got engaged at in 1971.
Aunty Sandra passed away on 29th Aug. My parents were still here which I was grateful for; my Mum got to say goodbye to her sister and be here for the cremation.
Septemeber
My Aunty Tracey & Uncle Andy got married after being together for many years and having children. It was a gorgeous wedding and fantastic party afterwards!
My brother became a Father and I became an Aunty!! Little Macayla came into the world on 27th Sept happy & healthy
Certainly a highlight of the year
October
We saw Sean Locke @ Wolverhampton. I prefer him on telly to be honest. His live stand up show varied from hilarious to unfunny.
With the money I got from my 30th Birthday I expanded on my shoulder tattoo. My biggest tattoo so far and I couldn’t be happier with it. Done by Cesar @ Body Garden Tattoo in Birmingham.
We also saw Dara O’Briain in Stand Up @ The Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton. Truly hilarious throughout. I would definitely see him live again.
November
Not much happened, I had my should tattoo touched up, but that’s all that’s really note-worthy.
December
Gig 3. Becky, Pete and I went to see 30 Seconds to Mars. They were ok. I wouldn’t see them again. I think Jared came off a bit arrogant and over-did it on audience participation. I can too see you sing, not with Beautiful Lie all by myself. I’m still glad I went though, we had fun.
Gig 4. Faithless in Manchester with my Colleague Gazz and his wife Kerry. Generally this kind of music is not my normal cup of tea, but Faithless are fantastic live! I only recognised 3 songs but the entire gig was brilliant. Highly recommended.
Gig 5. The Pretty Reckless in The Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton. Probably my gig of the year. I danced and sung my heart out to every single song and they covered Audioslave, Muse and Oasis which I loved. They sounded amazing live, and Taylor is a pure sex kitten on stage. I loved every single minute of it.
We ended of the year with an amazing holiday to New York City to bring in the new year. We stayed in 2 hotels in central Manhattan and took in so many sights. I can now understand why those t-shirts that say I ♥ NY and can’t wait to go back one day.
Xmas in South Africa and the year ahead
Posted by Violetsteel in Journal on 26/01/2010
Long time no blog.
I seem to be one of these types of people that blogs most when things are rough. When things are good I generally feel I have nothing to report. Journaling for me has always generally centered around emotion rather than day-to-day activities. But I digress…
Holiday in South Africa – 23 Dec – 11 Jan
Pete and I spent 3 weeks in South Africa over the Christmas period. It was truly wonderful. Pete and I each spent it with our respective parents but did see each other regularly and stayed over at the others house from time to time. For me most of my time was spent relaxing in the sun shine, spending time with my dog Misha, and going out shoppping and having breakfast with my folks, Mark & Haylie. We also spent a lot of time with out friends Julian & Belinda and Lara & Ash & their kids.
Christmas Eve we spent with Pete’s parents and some of their friends and other relatives. Then Christmas Day we spent at my house with my family. for New year’s Eve we went to a house party at Julian & Belinda’s house. They threw a party with the theme Casino Royale and had set up Gambling tables for Roulette, Black Jack & Poker. Having never gambled before it was quite a learning experience and LOADS of fun. Everyone dressed very smart with lots of ”bling” and costume. Pete took a twist on the theme and dressed as Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, complete with broken cigarette in a holder. It was excellent.
It was also Belinda’s 30th on the 4th Jan and a bunch of us went to get tattoos. I had my tattoos done first and had my power button done on my wrist and also had a blue swallow I’d had drawn for me years ago, on my left shoulder. My brother, Mark, liked the power button idea and decided to get the same thing so we would have matching tattoos. My swallow came out fantastically and I can’t wait
to expand on it. Unfortunately the power button scabbed really heavily and I caught it twice so a lot of the ink has come out and it’ll require a touch up. Mark had puppy paw print going up the inside of his left arm, the power button and his old monkey tattoo reworked as it was looking shit. Belinda went last, she had a dreadful fairy on her shoulder covered up with flowers and green swirls. It came out really good and she’s also going to have more work done on it when it’s healed up. My Mum and Paula (B’s friend from Denmark) also hoped to get inked, but we ran out of time. We had been there the whole day already and only left at 8pm. My Mum decided she really wanted something on her wrist though so we booked in for the next day and Haylie decided she would bite the bullet and go for one too despite her fears. So we went back the next day and my Mum had a flower done on her wrist in black and grey, and Haylie had a rose on her chest. My Dad is still too chicken ![]()
Much sun-tanning was done, good food eaten, alcohol drank, and time with friends and family was very special. At the end of the holiday Pete and I both didn’t want to leave and realised how much we miss everyone back home and the lifestyle we left behind. Last time we were there in Oct ’07 I felt relieved to be returning to the UK and leave behind the dangers of South Africa, despite missing family and friends so much. This time however we’ve seen a lot of improvement in the place and didn’t feel at risk like before. There’s still a lot that would have to improve before we considered going back though, and the money issue would still remain. You just can’t afford the same things in South Africa that we can afford here. We’d have to be earning huge to afford the same living standards. Our holiday made me VERY homesick though. I miss being so close to my parents and brother, and my folks aren’t getting any younger. We had to force my Dad to go to the doctors on my last day there as he was having dizzy spells. Luckily it was only blood pressure and now he on pills for it, but it made me realise that as they get older more issues start arising and I don’t want to be so far away should anything happen.
Outings:
I’m going to see Emilie Autumn on friday 29th Jan. I’m not sure what to expect from the show, but I’m sure I’ll have fun anyway. I’m going with 2 work colleagues, Faye B who is based in my office, and Gemma who works from our sister company. I haven’t actually met Gemma yet, but I know we have similar taste in music and get along well over the phone and email so it should be fine. Then next week wednesday, Pete myself and Liam are going to see RAMMSTEIN! Sweeet. We have really shitty seats at the back because we booked so late, but who the fuck cares, it’s Rammstein!
My Goals for 2010:
Clear some of my debt
Loose Weight (I started this last year with success, but after looking at holiday photos I’m even more motivated)
Body Modification:
My lobes are definitely still staying at 0g/8mm. I’ve accumulated a formidable jewellery collection, that would scare me if I worked out how much it is worth. (Could this be a contributing factor to my overdraft? most definitely!)
Stretch my 2nd lobe piercings to 10g.
I definitely want to expand on my swallow tattoo, and maybe grow it into a shoulder/back piece.
More piercings? who knows. Maybe a sternum microdermal, but nothing else on the books at the moment.
Things on my mind currently:
Unfulfilled dreams are still in the forefront of my mind. Those being the dreams dependant on Pete. So fucking frustrating but there’s nothing I can do about it.
































































