Further adventures...

So Christmas has been and gone.  I was spoiled with lots of lovely goodies including some of my favourites: books!

The lurgy keeps rearing it's ugly head and infecting us in waves.  It made January a lot more boring challenging than we'd have liked but we survived! (Ok it was only the fifth disease/flu/a cold/random viruses but it wasn't great.) Obviously the cats had to join in the fun for their annual boosters. Muwahahaha!

I've also had the pot removed from my thumb, been given some physiotherapy exercises and allowed to do a few more things.  Not skating yet, the doctor advised me to hang fire a little longer and be more careful. That's pretty tricky when learning how to skate for roller derby... so I'm listening and buying more protective pads soon.

I'm also looking forward to lots more baking, excursions, my 30th later in the year and a good friend's wedding.  It's going to be a great 2016!

Blog Everyday in May - day 16 for the love of books. #BEDM

Today's suggested post idea was date night but that isn't a thing me and my boyfriend really do.  Sometimes we both sit in the study with our computers and chat when the toddler is in bed or watch a film together but we don't tend to schedule romance.  What I prefer is thoughtful gestures like when he brings a book back from the library which he knows I want to read.

Image from: http://www.stephen-baxter.com/books.html

For this reason I was thrilled to see a copy of The Long Mars on the kitchen table on Thursday.  I must say that I've only just started it but have enjoyed what I have read. I like how the climax of the last book has been dealt with and the new story is being introduced.

Recently I have been reading a mixture of fiction and non-fiction but have found the fiction far more enjoyable.  (Then again most of the non-fiction books and blogs I have been reading have been related to childcare so I guess it's understandable that they would mainly be less fun.)  Before reading this book I read Stardust by Neil Gaiman and Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

I digress... myself and my partner both enjoy reading.  We don't always enjoy the same books and authors, he won't entertain the idea of reading Harry Potter and I'm not sold on the Foundation series.  While I like to read a reasonably eclectic mix of books, he tends to stick with science fiction.  We do enjoy some of the same authors like Jasper Fforde and Terry Pratchett so it's great to be able to share these books and discuss them together.  Often I think that a well chosen book from the library is better than a bouquet of flowers and lasts slightly longer. Then again I have hay fever and flowers make me sneeze so maybe romance is lost on me!

Basically I love reading as does my partner and I think that as the toddler is very interested in books, he may enjoy reading too. When he's old enough to obviously... I think there is little better than opening the pages of a book and diving into the world contained within.

Blog Everyday in May: day 2 - adventure. #BEDM

When I was a child I loved the idea of adventure and excitement possibly due to living in the suburb of a town sandwiched between two cities. Nothing interesting seemed to happen there so I liked to dream about dinosaurs, time travel and swashbuckling heroes.  I went through phases of idolising King Arthur, Marty McFly, Indiana Jones, Robin Hood and Peter Pan... I'm not sure why but I never imagined being a princess or bride or anything.

Later I started reading and hoped foolishly to get to Narnia one day... then I enjoyed the escapades of the Famous Five and Secret Seven before moving on to Harry Potter, The Dark is Rising and the Earth Sea Quartet.

Now I'm older I realise that maybe being in a fantasy novel might not be the best idea I've ever had, especially not Game of Thrones or Gormenghast! These days with the help of a little film called UP I realise that there isn't just one type of adventure.

I would love to have a grand adventure exploring the world and experiencing different sights and cultures.  This is not a dream I plan to give up on but it may not be possible to travel the world for a few more years... I may have to stick to the corner of the northern hemisphere with occasional excursions to the south of Spain and parts of the British Isles.

 The other adventure I have is the big adventure of buying a house with my partner Paul and living in it with our cats while trying to raise our son.

I guess it's easy to think of travelling as being the epic scary adventure and general day to day life as being humdrum but life isn't that simple... you get challenging situations everywhere in Sheffield or Shanghai!  For now my planned adventures miniature steam trains, farms, polling stations, public transport and Ryanair.

What are you adventure plans?

Collecting - Blog Everyday in May.

I don't know why but I have got into my head that a collection is when you have three or more of something.  If that's the definition of a collection then I have a few collections and my criticism of someone showing me their sword collection, which consisted of one sword still stands...  I seem to have accumulated a fair few shoes, badges, baking goods and cookbooks.

The two things I seem to have accumulated the most of are cds....

...and of course books!

 I sometimes wonder if I'm a hoarder but I then again there are a few things I actively collect like the Walking Dead graphic novels.

As well as band t-shirts, roller derby bout programmes for bouts I've seen and pieces of fabric I am sure I'll make something with one day.  They may not be the most conventional of collections but they're my collections and I think they are one of those things that make up a little part of who I am.

Book Love - Blog Every Day in May.

Sometimes I go through phases of not reading many books and I forget how much pleasure I get out of them... but actually books are a bit like my kryptonite.  I have happy memories of climbing up a tree at Padgate cricket club and sitting in it for hours reading my book whilst my Dad played cricket.  I was also one of those who got in trouble for finishing the book we were reading in English too early, reading other books in boring classes and staying up too late reading by the light of the street light outside my bedroom window.  I guess you could say I'm a bit of a book worm...

It wouldn't be a lie! The day after I finished my degree in English Literature and Creative Writing I wound down from dissertation writing and my essays by reading Filth by Irvine Welsh.  Now me and Paul have our own house we've filled it with our books. There are a few in the bedroom.

Some in the living room.

The obligatory cookbook horde in the kitchen, as well as the master bookshelf in the study.

We won't mention the book in my handbag, the few that live under the bed or the last ten or fifteen in a box in the wardrobe I need to find a proper home for.  That would be foolish wouldn't it?  Whilst thinking about this blog post I also started to think about which books I read over and over but to be honest I don't tend to do that unless I'm studying a book.  There is one exception though the book Adverbs that my friend Amy bought me for my 21st birthday.

This is a beautifully written but confusing book full of the stories of different peoples lives who may or may not know and effect each other.  Each time I read it I discover a new element or notice something that I hadn't seen on previous readings, this is why I keep coming back to it.

Another book I have fond memories of is The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, which I received from Paul on my 21st birthday.

I got this book on my birthday and then took it with me to read on my way to Glastonbury and accidentally spilt tea all over it! It was a bit damaged but still readable.

Another book I love is The Little Prince.

It's only a short book but a lovely one, I think I may re-read it after I've finished reading my Game of Thrones book.  I also adore Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World but I believe that this may be residing in the wardrobe at present.  It was a key book for sparking my interest in philosophy.

My friend Heather has also bought me some lovely books over the years, the most recent one was the Adventuress which is a gorgeous book by Audrey Niffenegger.

I also received a very nice Ukulele book called Ukulele Crazy from my friend Emma recently which re-ignited my interest in learning to play the Ukulele.

I could go on about books forever and a day but I sadly have other plans; however, should you ever want to get on my good side I can always be buttered up with a good book!  I'm partial to a bit of Terry Pratchett, Angela Carter, Phillip Pullman, Jasper Fforde, Anais Nin, Paul Magrs, JK Rowling, Malorie Blackman, Irvine Welsh or Quirk Classics...

Blogging break.

It may or may not have escaped your attention that I've only managed to post one blog this year despite it already being more than a quarter of the way in. I started off this year full of good intentions and plans but somewhere in January I found the desire to blog wane.  Maybe it was because I was feeling a bit tired or maybe it was because I was focused on writing my novel...  Then near the end of January I found out that I was pregnant and my writing fell behind in my list of priorities along with my dancing, writing and gig going as I started to feel sick. Which isn't fun!

So this year has been a quieter one than I had initially expected so far I've only been to two gigs; however, I've seen my first intraleague roller derby bout and finished my first home made dress.  (Well my Mum did the lions share but I helped!)

The dress me and my Mum made!

I've also had the honour of attending the first few League of Witty One Liners film nights/ premiers at the Red Deer.  I've also enjoyed a few family parties, as well as drinks and meals with friends. As well as that I've also been getting quite addicted to George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire aka A Game of Thrones and am currently enjoying reading the first part of a Dance with Dragons.

 My team at work also tried to sell a few of our excess books for charity...

Sometimes I think these books breed overnight! I'm not entirely sure how we ended up with so many! I have also recently enjoyed reading Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter's Long Earth and am looking forward to reading the sequel when it is released even if it is slightly different to what I've been reading recently.

 

I've also spent a bit of time the other week relaxing and trying to sort out my house on a little holiday from work and I had a little go at twiddling on my Ukulele.  Then when I got back from work I was lucky enough to receive this book from my friend Emma!

It was a great surprise to come back to!  I'm taking this as a sign that I ought to practice more and not just because I've been thinking about playing my uke more either...

One of the main reasons the blog has suffered for the last few month is that I've been coming to terms with my lack of energy and strange lack of appetite.  Struggling to eat or want to make food it completely alien to me as I'm sure you can imagine! Nevertheless I'm hoping to find a few more things to post about until my will to cook new recipes returns. Thanks for sticking with me!

Happy Birthday You'll Get What You're Given!

Today marks a year since I posted my first blog post as You'll Get What You're Given!

One of my aims with this blog was to try a new recipe every week for a year and frankly I didn't manage that.  Not even close! Although I like to cook, sometimes life gets in the way and I end up falling back on take aways or tried and tested recipes.

That's not to say that the idea has been a failure the 52 recipe challenge has made me try recipes I might not have otherwise tried and experimented with new dishes.

Some were delicious and worked well, others were disastrous!

But if I never tried to make these things I would never know how to avoid these errors!

So whilst the 52 recipe challenge hasn't gone entirely to plan I think that's ok.

It's been a funny year, since I began to write this blog I bought a house, moved in, tried to write a novel... I've written 54,275 words so far. (No, you can't read it I'm afraid it's for my eyes only!)

My job situation changed from commuting to work, then getting made redundant and having the opportunity to find a lovely job nearer to home.

I've had a few recipes in Now Then magazine and review the odd thing or two for Tweeted Review.

Sometimes I also like to write odd blog posts on this about books I read, what I've been to see or have tried to do. I'm planning on keeping writing this blog about food, music, books and whatever I think is of interest, so here's to another year!