I don’t know if I’m just feeling homesick today, but I seem to be a bit depressed. I was just thinking that I kinda feel like my life is on hold and what a boring place this town is to live in. I was even thinking I miss living in London, and I haven’t felt that way since I left there 10 years ago. Hmmmm. I remember feeling a bit depressed at home the other night too and missing my friends and sunshine in South Africa. Normally I only feel this way in winter, so it seems a bit late in the year to be seasonal affective disorder.
April Outings
April was a busy month for us. After having a very quiet start to the year it almost seemed hectic. We were away from home for 3 of the weekends of April, and of course it was filled with a lot of bank holiday and therefore long weekends. It was fantastic. Sunday the 17th Pete had a Nin-jutsu grading that he had to go to Brighton for, and I took the opportunity to visit my dear friend, Beth, who lives there. We decided to head down the night before and booked a last minute hotel in Lindfield to save us the long drive down very early on Sunday morning. Pete dropped me off at the famous Pier and went off to Nin-jutsu, and I hooked up for a wonderful day with Beth. We walked around the pier and then Beth showed me around the gorgeous gardens around the palace and then treated me to the tour inside. It’s so incredibly breathtaking. If you are ever there, I urge you to visit. I’ve never been in such awe of interiors, especially the dining room. The entire palace is decorated in intricate oriental design and details. Hundreds of dragons, everywhere!
We then wandered around the bohemian shops of the lanes and I took the opportunity to have my sternum microdermal done at Punktured. We had lunch, mango beer and had a great time catching up and chilling out. Great fun 🙂
The following weekend was Easter weekend and Becky and I road tripped up to the Scottish border to Berwick upon Tweed to stay with her sister (my cousin) and her family for the weekend. My Mum was born there and I’ve never been before, so it was great to finally go up. We were there for 2 night and got too see the lovely town, have a night on the piss, and spend a sunny day on the gorgeous beach taking in the stunning scenery and coastline. Such a beautiful place.
The last weekend was also a long weekend because of the Royal Wedding, and the May Day bank holiday. We watched the Royal wedding on Friday which I loved! Saturday Gemma and Neil joined us for some drinks, then Sunday we went up to Whitchurch to see Bergitte & Steve. We helped them out in the garden a bit, braai’ed in the evening and spent the night over. It was fantastic!
Pete and I also managed to find a few Geocaches while we were out and also stopped to walk around some WW2 Bunker ruins in Prees Higher Heath, which I’ve been wanting to do for ages.
So after the flurry of activity that was April, we’ve had a pretty relaxing May. Mostly staying at home. I’ve managed to get some important things done though. Plans have been made for Pete’s 30th next month, nothing I can mention though; and I’ve made a start of getting our wedding “Save The Date” cards sent out. I think I’m realising I need to start pulling my finger out and get going with plans for the wedding now though. Even though it’s over a year away, the more I can get done now, the less there will be to worry about later.
April was a busy month for us. After having a very quiet start to the year it almost seemed hectic. We were away from home for 3 of the weekends of April, and of course it was filled with a lot of bank holiday and therefore long weekends. It was fantastic. Sunday the 17th Pete had a Ninjutsu grading that he had to go to Brighton for, and I took the opportunity to visit my dear friend, Beth, who lives there. We decided to head down the night before and booked a <<<<last minute hotel>>>> in Lindfield to save us the long drive down very early on Sunday morning. Pete dropped me off at the famous Pier and went off to Ninjutsu, and I hooked up for a wonderful day with Beth. We walked around the pier and then Beth showed me around the gorgeous gardens around the palace and then treated me to the tour inside. It's so incredibly breathtaking. If you are ever there, I urge you to visit. I've never been in such awe of interiors, especially the dining room. The entire palace is decorated in intricate oriental design and details. Hundreds of dragons, everywhere! We then wandered around the bohemian shops of the lanes and I took the opportunity to have my <<<sternum microdermal>>> done at Punktured. We had lunch, mango beer and had a great time catching up and chilling out. Great fun :) The following weekend was Easter weekend and Becky and I road tripped up to the Scottish border to <<<Berwick upon Tweed>>> to stay with her sister (my cousin) and her family for the weekend. My Mum was born there and I've never been before, so it was great to finally go up. We were there for 2 night and got too see the lovely town, have a night on the piss, and spend a sunny day on the gorgeous <<<beach>>> taking in the stunning scenery and coastline. Such a beautiful place. The last weekend was also a long weekend because of the Royal Wedding, and the May Day bank holiday. We watched the Royal wedding on Friday which I loved! Saturday Gemma and Neil joined us for some drinks, then Sunday we went up to <<<Whitchurch>>> to see Bergitte & Steve. We helped them out in the garden a bit, braai'ed in the evening and spent the night over. It was fantastic! Pete and I also managed to find a few <<<Geocaches>>> while we were out and also stopped to walk around some <<<ruins>>>, which I've been wanting to do for ages. So after the flurry of activity that was April, we've had a pretty relaxing May. Mostly staying at home. I've managed to get some important things done though. Plans have been made for Pete's 30th next month, nothing I can mention though; and I've made a start of getting our wedding "Save The Date" cards sent out. I think I'm realising I need to start pulling my finger out and get going with plans for the wedding now though. Even though it's over a year away, the more I can get done now, the less there will be to worry about later.
Relax
I often take creative iPhone photos take and edited with one of the few iPhone photography apps I use. This was taken with camera+ and then edited with Instagram.
Sternum Microdermal
So I finally bit the bullet and had my Sternum Microdermal done!
My friend Beth lives near Brighton and she had previously mentioned a studio called Punktured. I’d looked them up online a while ago and was very happy with what I saw, and most pleased that they do microdermals using the punch method as this was my preferred method. Circumstances had it that I was able to visit her today (I live 3 hrs away) and decided to take the opportunity and inquire about getting it done. After a bit of a chat I decided to go ahead and they had time to do it right then.
J did it for me and the procedure itself was smooth and quick. She marked me up, erased, remarked and showed me. I asked for it to be moved a smidge to the right, which she happily did, and I gave the final approval to go ahead. She had me sit on the chair and then lowered me into a reclined position. She explained she was going to have a quick feel of the tissue in the area, which was very brief, then got the punch and asked if I was ready. She had the skin pinched and had me do the usual deep breath and punched on my slow exhale. The punch itself was fairly similar to getting pierced, a very quick pain but over as soon as it’s started. She held gauze on the new hole for a few seconds and dabbed the blood away. She told me she would do some gentle testing with the jewelry (she had in one of those purpose-made microdermal holders) to find the best position for the foot, and this was quick and I hardly felt it. She asked it I was ready for insertion and again had me take a deep breath. On my exhale she inserted the jewelry, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. I felt a very intense pain that radiated out to my armpits and lots of pressure, but again it was over as soon as it started and I didn’t even really have time to wince. A split second and it was in, and I think she may have put mild pressure of it for a few seconds immediately after to eased that brief sharp pain. She announced I was done and let me chill for a bit before slowly tilting the chair up again. After checking it out and grinning madly for a bit I thanked J and tipped her which she seemed genuinely flattered about.
The entire procedure from marking to “Ok Gina, you are done!” took exactly 5 minutes, I know from the photos’ EXIF data 😉 and I would do it again at this wonderful shop without hesitation. Seriously, if you ever in the area just pop in even if only to say “Hi!” to the friendly staff. I’ve been to numerous piercing studios and this is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The staff were happy to chat and answered all my questions before hand, and once I committed and had signed the forms they make a point of using your first name, which I found to be a warming, friendly and personal touch that made me feel like I was their main focus while I was in their services and that they actually cared about me. I wasn’t rushed at all after the procedure and could take all the time I liked gathering myself and coo’ing over my new jewelry, and had a bit of chatter and a good laugh with J afterwards. All round fantastic! I’m very very happy with it 🙂
List
Clear spare desk & re-arrange lounge?
Share daily list publicly
link about.me page
Start getting addresses together to post “Save the Date” cards.
recreate intro page to violetsteel.com , reupload old version of website and link.
Journal about lists
Start 30 day song challenge
Sort contacts on iPhone
Paint nails
bring comedy to work for Malc
Lists, lists, lists
Most people don’t know but I’m a list freak. I make lists of everything because I know if I don’t write it down I’ll forget, and even if it’s unimportant, knowing I’ve forgotten something will irritate me and play of my mind for hours, which is very counter-productive. Notepad is almost always open on my PC at work (where I’m writing this now actually), and I have multiple places I keep notes for various purposes. (See below.)
Writing is pretty cathartic for me anyway, and I feel like I’m clearing out my brain when I write things down. Especially when under stress. I journal most of the time when under stress of some form. It also ties in to my general hoarding habits. I digress. Lists yes…
I write lists on a daily basis. Be it ideas for food, things I’d like to get done of the weekend. entertainment recommended to me (my lists of books, TV shows, movies and music are extensive!) I list everything.
I’ve decided that in the quest to Get Things Done, I’m going to make some of my daily list keeping public. This will give you a glimpse of the ransom things that pop into my mind during the day, any maybe it’ll draw in further inspiration and ideas for me or start a conversation.
List keeping mediums:
Evernote: Brilliant as it synchronizes between by PC, iPhone and online. So I always have quick and easy access to it at work, at home or on the go. I initially came across it as an iPhone recommendation on lifehacker and once I got into it, it very quickly replaced all other note/list keeping apps and methods I’d tried. Best part is, it’s free, but I would definitely pay for it even if it wasn’t.
Things for iPhone: mostly for grocery shopping list and little things I want to get done the same day, or do for someone else. If something stays on there for an extended period, I’ll move it to Evernote (possibly never to be seen again, but then at least it is LISTED and SAFE! LOL!)
Notepad: (always open at work for throwing down ideas that fly into my brain)
Simplenote: I use for temporary lists that will eventually be removed quickly or transferred to Evernote.?
Do you keep lists?
xkcd: 28-Hour Day
Nail Varnish Review: Barry M – Nail Effects
I went out with my friend Amie on Friday night and she told me about this interesting sounding nail varnish that creates a great “crackled” effect with black polish, called Nail Effects by Barry M. She brought it around on Saturday, and I instantly knew I had to get some. Sunday I went to the large Boots store in my town but they were sold out. I got then to ring the branch on the high street to see if they had it, and they said they had plenty. When I got to the branch in town there were 3 ladies picking the same stuff off the shelf! Thankfully there were just 2 bottles left. I also bought a bunch of other “lighter” colours to use it on, as I tend to favour dark colours.
I opted for bright red. I used a base of Barry M – Bright Red & then topped that with Barry M – Red Glitter, for a striking sparkly red. link
Then the fun part. Nail Effects, is applied in one quick coat. It’s starts to dry and “shrink” almost immediately. It dries with a matte finish, so applied a top coat to smooth a little a restore shine.
I’m in love with this polish, the effect is wild and fun. I can’t wait to try it on silver and create a cow-print effect of white! On orange or gold you could create a leopard print effect. Lots of fun to be had!
To procreate or not to procreate? That is the question.
I’ve always thought I would have children (at age 28 to be precise!), but I sometimes wonder if I should rather go through life without having kids. I always thought being a mother was my _purpose_ in life. I’m not going to be famous, I’m not going to change the world, I’m just another little fish swimming in this vast ocean we call life. So is it so important that I bring more little fish into the already overcrowded world? Sure I could raise a future nobel peace prize winner, but the chances are slim.
But if I don’t procreate, THEN what will I do with my life?
Just one of the random thoughts that goes through my mind on any given day…
WordPress for iPad test
Since I haven’t blogged from my iPad since NYC, and with the WordPress app receiving a significant update, I thought it was well overdue I give it a go.
One of my main bug-bears with the previous version was it’s annoying knack of loosing drafts should you make the mistake of navigating away from it within the app. Infuriating! While on the plane to New York I wrote a long post about Christmas and the start of our travels, only to loose the entire thing. I still haven’t quite forgiven WordPress for that one. Subsequently all future holiday blogging was done in simplenote and blogged later. I’ll let you know how I get on with the new app…
The seasons are steadily shifting towards spring, and the daffodils have starting shooting up at work already. Such lovely flowers they are; hiding all winter and popping up anew every year in spring, letting us know summer is just around the corner. That and they always remind me of the original Alice in Wonderland movie which instantly makes me feel cheerier. So now it is light when I walk home, and hopefully soon it’ll be warm enough for me to ride Ethel to work again (I don’t like cycling on the cold, my eyeballs!), and the days long enough for me to cycle to the gym in the evenings.
Greenpois0n has finally been released for windows, meaning an untethered jailbreak for my iPhone and iPad. Yay! I haven’t played around with the jailbreak functionality of my iPad yet, and I’m kind of going through that, “OK, I’ve jailbroken, what’s next?” phase, but I know once I’ve hit YouTube and checked what other people are playing with I’ll start having fun.
Have you tried World of Goo for iPad yet? It’s a great game!