Tick Tock...

Awake for the third night in a row at 4 am. I sense a pattern emerging:

 

Lie down and try to empty mind of all thoughts.

Gah! Itchy foot.

Listen to himself snoring happily, silently jealous!

Wonder if there's a new episode of Family Guy/American Dad/South Park etc. Go check.

End up on Wikipedia, crap!

Have song stuck in head, must find it on Youtube. It always seems to be an obscure song that I know four words to, and they may or may not be in the correct order. But I have the tune!

Look for headphones so I don't wake himself.

Can't find headphones, I'll keep the search tab open for later.

Too hot. Kick off duvet.

Too cold. Wrap half of self in duvet.

Have headache. Oh God, what if I've some obscure head related ailment?!

OK, shut up brain and let me sleep.

 4:30 am -  Urgh...

Pillow too warm, flip pillow to the 'cool' side, repeat.

Plan out tomorrow (today?) in head.

Try again to drop off to sleep.

Name of person/song/movie title etc. pops into head from earlier conversation when said information was relevant but evading memory.

I should write that down. No, don't turn the light on, it'll trick the brain into thinking it's time to get up.

Meh, I'll remember it later.

Give up on sleep attempt, stream episode of something nostalgic online.


8:00 am - Wake up with laptop beside me. Oops, you sleep on the floor Mr. Laptop.

Put laptop on floor, now back to sleep.


8:30 am - Still awake, feck!

Deep breaths!

Yesterday I wrote about having a daily treat, something small, doesn't have to cost a lot. Well, today I decided to get a pack of Maynards Sours (om nom nom!) I figured I'd veg in front of the TV, having a slurpy mange to myself.

I went down to the kitchen to feed the dog, at the regular time, schedule is key etc. The moment I walked in, I knew something was up. There was something in the air, something that I could sense.

GUILT!

The dog was in his bed and was looking sheepishly up at me. I checked his bed, he was lying on top of a bag of sweets, not the sour jellies. "Phew!" I thought, but then another thought slapped me right in the face...

You left them in the same place, and he got one of the bags!


I rushed to the spot where I had left them, no sweeties. Checked his bed, checked the floor, checked all the rooms downstairs. Then the stairs itself.

Niente.

Surely I would have heard him snacking upstairs? Better safe than sorry, I investigated all the rooms, no sour jellies, not even a granule of sugar.

A new thought struck, if I was a dog and I'd eaten something and wanted to hide the evidence, where would I put it? Think like a dog, walk a mile in someone else's footprints (paw prints?!) So off I went thinking to myself "Think like a dog", I went straight out to the garden, and there it was, or wasn't!

Oh it was a sweetie massacre! Not only had he eaten each and every one of the sweets, but he had shredded the bag too to cover his tracks.

Don't let that goofy expression fool you, he's a food thief!

I could practically taste them, but I was just too late. I marched back inside muttering to myself, think Joe Pesci's character in Home Alone and you're about there. Oh and the dog knew he was in the doghouse, metaphorically. We don't actually have a dog house for him, he sleeps inside, spoiled dog. And this is the thanks I get? Hmph.

At least he has good taste in sweets, the bugger!

Optimism is key!

I would like to be clear. I am not one of those people who read self-help books or preach about visualising success etc. However, in these times where doom and gloom reign, it is so important to remain optimistic.

I believe that happiness is a state of mind, if you surround yourself with happy people then it rubs off. Happiness is contagious and it is something that should spread. Try treat yourself to something small, at least once a day, it doesn't have to cost anything. Be it an extra hour in bed, watching a movie that you love or having a good laugh with friends, do it! Who cares about getting a few laughter lines? I'd welcome them over frown lines any day.

There are many things to worry about and get stressed over, but in the grand scheme of things, they are barely a blip in a happy lifetime. Focus on the times of fun and frivolity and let the good times roll!

Outdoors vs Television

Spring is here in full swing! The evenings are getting longer, the weather is (generally) better and now I have a dilemma.

I know I should be outdoors frolicking like a lamb and walking through country lanes sniffing wildflowers, but television has started getting interesting again! The guilt of sitting in watching TV when the daylight is knocking on the window is getting to me.

But bear with me! We have a new season of the UK Apprentice, my favourite show Bones is back on after a mid season break (Thank the flying spaghetti monster for streaming!) I have a backlog of One Born Every Minute to catch up on and so many boxsets still to finish.

Isn't the couch potato eating crisps a form of cannibalism?

I am torn, do I sit in and watch the TV shows or enjoy the nice weather while we have it? Wouldn't it be better if television shows were amazingly fantastic during the winter and rubbish during the summer? I know it's all relative, I may love watching One Born Every Minute but Mr. Ree prefers to hide behind his laptop to deflect the sounds of screaming women and crying babies.

It's not even a case of being a couch potato as I'm kept going throughout the day, perhaps a couch potato lite? Or a couch crisp perhaps? Either way, I need to find a way to split myself in too or compromise, unless March starts becoming a little more rainy I should be out enjoying it. Yay for Sky Plus, keeps me in the loop until there's 1% of data left, le whoops!

I suppose I could watch TV outside on my laptop, but there's always a glare on the screen and for the amount of things I'd like to watch, I'd probably need an outdoor charger. Come on Dragon's Den!

Spring forward!

We are now entering Spring, the beautiful time of year when flowers are budding, baby lambs are born and so much of nature is regenerated into new life. I actually prefer Spring to Summer as a whole, although the Summer evenings are wonderful and laid back, something about Spring is so magical. The freshness in the air, it's almost like an air of excitement with everything buzzing with the anticipation of what's to come.

Hand in hand with all things fresh and spring like comes the spring cleaning! I cannot wait to start putting fresh flowers in my home again after the evenings of snugness and candles that Autumn and Winter bring. The pops of colour and the smell of fresh flowers is fabulous. There is something almost therapeutic about de-cluttering the house, cleaning it and leaving it smelling fresh and looking like a room from a magazine! I firmly believe that a bit of de-cluttering is good for the soul, although it can be pain in the arse getting the 'get up and go' notion to go do it, but it is worth it!

With the fresh spring afternoons, I've become inspired to bring the dog for a walk down the country roads, there are new smells that I can take in so one can only imagine what he can smell with his super sensitive dog nose! One of my most favourite things to do as a child was to go for a walk with my Grandad and sister, bringing his dogs through the woods, picking flowers and asking Grandad 101 questions about "What's this?" "Is this poisonous?" "Why are the dogs sniffing that tree?" One of our favourite spots was the Bluebell woods near his home, which blossomed beautifully in the Spring. I can still remember picking the flowers, smelling them and wondering why, if they were Bluebell flowers, why they didn't ring when I shook them. Ah childhood innocence!

Fussy, moi?

The wedding plans are in full swing, oh yes! The dress has been bought, photographer booked, we've almost settled on a venue, DJ sorted etc.

All was going swimmingly, until I started looking into getting  a videographer. "You'll regret not getting one." echoes in my mind from several wedding forums. So I start pricing around. On one particular site, they have 52 suppliers listed nationwide. I looked at each and every one of them and liked a grand total of 6. Showed them to my betrothed and we narrowed it down to two. TWO!

To be fair, both myself and himself are media trained in different fields, so this was bound to be a minefield from Day One, but we've seriously restricted ourselves here. But hey, it's "Our Special Day"*

What I found shocking was the difference in price, we saw some technically awful wedding video samples. White balance being off, out of focus shots, dirty lenses! Basic things people! And I will now sit on the inner Bridezilla.

Yet this doesn't reflect solely in the land of weddings. Shop around people,bargains are to be had. Check out sites like pigsback.com, livingsocial etc. You'd be surprised what's to be had if you're lucky.
 *Tongue firmly in cheek

And on this Hallmark day...

I've come across this video. Scary viewing really.

I was in town yesterday and couldn't believe the amount of people buying flowers, chocolates and of course, Valentine's day cards. I for one won't be celebrating V-day, if anything you should feel loved every day, not once a year in a flurry of heart shaped madness.

Plan of the day is to stay in, cook a nice steak for dinner and watch something like Hobo with a Shotgun.

Romantic dilemmas no more, don't overthink it. If you've a loved one in your life tell them you love them, spend time with your loved ones and don't buy into the materialism. Happy Hallmark day!