Blogtober Day 31 - Halloween!

I do enjoy Halloween. I love horror movies, the spooky side of life and cheesy decorations. :D This year I haven't really done much - just painted my nails:

The first picture was stage one of the initial attempt which I then had to remove for an interview (it went well and I should hear in just over a week).

This was this mornings attempt two. Practice will make perfect I think. Believe it or not my right hand came out better despite me being right handed. Must be residual traces of my childhood ambidextrous-ness coming out - I really need to practice that in case I break my arm or something.

Also meet Ethel. Ethel is my Halloween stuffed cat that I bought at the PDSA when I was volunteering there. It was probably Halloween 2012, I also bought a mug but I don't have a picture of that. She got the name Ethel from the Worst Witch books. The main villain girl is called Ethel Hallow and of course Hallow is the first half of Halloween but I didn't think that made a good name so I stuck with Ethel :)

Blogtober Day 30 - What Is On Your Christmas List?

Books as always. My Amazon fiction wishlist: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/1X21OFANT5ETE/ref=topnav_lists_1

A new phone. Ideally I'd like an iPhone 6 or a Samsung Galaxy S5 or something along those lines but I'm not in a financial position to have a contract at the moment (providing I get accepted at all) and they're too expensive to buy outright so I'm thinking the Motorola Moto G:

It would suit my needs for now and is better than my old phone (HTC Salsa) which is the main thing.

A Tesco Hudl 2 in Purple. I'd like a tablet for browsing in the evening and watching the odd video but I don't want anything too expensive and I like the look of the Hudl 2. The screen size is good too. 8.3 inches so bigger than the normal 7 but not so big as the clumsy looking 10's.

An iPod Classic. Sadly due to production being ceased it's looking highly likely that I'll have to buy used. I just wish I'd had the money to buy one sooner.

A Kindle so I can save what's remaining of my bookcase space for books by authors I already own. I also want a chance to read the classics but their charity condition is often not too favourable so to own them all for free on the Kindle is a big draw.

Lastly a Windows 7 Laptop. No image because it's not something that's brand specific, just needs to be 15.6 inch screen, at least 500GB hard drive and running Windows 7. I did debate being less picky and opting for Windows 8 but I've used 7 and am familiar with it, also I've heard from friends problems with updates trying to wreck the hard drive which means constant back-ups are necessary.

Speaking of back-ups a 1TB (minimum) external hard drive would be nice for said back-ups. Also at the moment where my PC's hard drive is tiny I have files spread over a couple of memory sticks which isn't very practical. A hard drive is easier to grab in the event of a house fire.

Blogtober Day 29 - Year In Review So Far.

So far this year has been like any other with a noticeable exception. I'll do a timeline sort of thing.

January: I had been volunteering at Oxfam with mum since November and it was fine. She had been ordered by the job centre to find voluntary work, I happened to be there and got suckered into joining too. We did Saturday afternoons. The normal job centre hassles.
February: Still at Oxfam. Did a course which I hated. The tutor said some rather out of line things regarding my weight, how close I am to mum and making assumptions about my mental health.
March: Mum got her job at Co-op so we both left Oxfam. I had to do organised work experience with the job centre so I started volunteering as Sue Ryder.
April: The car failed it's MOT so we had to scrap it.
May: Nothing of note that I can remember. Interviews, job centre hassle. The usual.
June: Did a course on Business Admin. It involved an interview at the end but despite the assumption of a lot of people on the course not having previous experience lack of experience was given as one of their reasons for not hiring me. I didn't mind too much as it was zero hours contract as and when you're needed and thanks to travel I was pretty much limited to two locations.
July: Left Sue Ryder. Someone mum knows sold us a car.
August: I had my 24th birthday. The job centre started talking about threats of full-time work experience at a city farm in Bristol.which I really enjoyerd.
September: I had a taster shift at Waitrose for something called Feeding Britain's Future which I really enjoyed, seeing behind the scenes etc. My job centre adviser thought it was a proper job interview though *rollseyes*. He did get me an interview with Churchill Cleaning Services which has lead to my job at the primary school down the road. The people I work with are nice and the job itself is fine, it's just 10 hours is not enough.
October: Nothing major so far this month. I am in the process of arranging an interview for later this week and I'm currently on half term so no work. There are a couple of other things in the works which I don't want to discuss in too much detail yet.

There we have it, my year so far. Started the same as any other, voluntary work, worry that things will never change, but now I have a job and things are starting to look up a bit - finally! :D

Blogtober Day 28 - Favourite Music.

My Chemical Romance. The band that got me through the hard times. In particular 'Welcome To The Black Parade'. The creativity of the video, the lyrics. It just means everything to me.

Fall Out Boy. As previously mentioned another of my favourite bands. The first album of theirs I bought was Infinity On High and 'Hum Hallelujah' is one of my favourite songs on the album.

Mika. A bit different to a lot of my music tastes which tends more towards the rock side but ever since he started I have loved Mika's music. 'Blame It On The Girls' is probably one of my favourites and the video is really cool and quirky too.

It wouldn't be a music list without The Cure. I've loved them even before I knew what Goth was. I remember I found a cassette of Disintegration in a charity shop and loved it immediately but my favourite has always been the classic 'Friday I'm In Love'.

As mentioned on the movie post Labyrinth is my all-time favourite film so for the incredible David Bowie what could I pick other than a song from the movie? 'Dance Magic' never fails to put a smile on my face and I often find myself humming or singing it in the shower.

There's so many other artists I could list considering how big a part of my life music is but I'll keep it to a list of 5. Maybe I'll start up a Music Monday feature or something? It's something to think about anyway.

Slightly frustrated today though as I was going to do a cool orange and black spiderweb design on my nails for Halloween but it's looking like I've got an interview Thursday evening so there's not much point adding the webs to my orange. I have taken a photo of the orange though which I'll try and post for Halloween and maybe I'll try and do a Photoshop of what it would have looked like.

Blogtober Day 27 - Favourite YouTubers.

I don't really watch YouTube that much. I mostly use it for music videos. I do have a couple of channels that I follow though.

Firstly have my current favourite video 'Save Rock and Roll' by Fall Out Boy featuring Elton John. I've listened to the album via YouTube and it's epic! Fall Out Boy are definitely one of my favourite bands.

Simon's Cat! The illustrations are so cute and I love that there's no words, only sounds. This is Scaredy Cat the 2014 Halloween video.

Laci Green is a really interesting person and of all her videos the ones on feminism are definitely the most important for clearing up misconceptions.

Scarlet Saint is the only 'lifestyle' blogger I follow (the whole thing lately around Zoella confuses me because I have no clue who she is). I first became aware of her when BBC3 did the documentary 'Diaries of a Broken Mind' about teenage mental health. Scarlet has problems with anxiety and dermatillomania (me too but I think to a lesser extent) and I immediately found her really interesting and relateable. I even watch her haul videos just because I find her style really open and friendly. I decided to showcase her video on Bisexuality myths and facts here because although I am gay rather than bisexual it's something I care about as evidenced by this post here.

Blogtober Day 24 - Where Do You Hope To Be In 10 Years?

1. Be in a job that I love.
2. Retrain for said job if necessary.
3. Be in a loving relationship.
4. Have moved house - possibly to one I've bought.
5. Published at least one book.
6. Made my way through at least part of my bucket list.

A short and sweet post today. Looking at the subject list I won't be back until Day 27 so I'll see you then.

Blogtober Day 22 - Your Favourite Places To Shop/Wishlist

Wishlist

Dr Martens Aimilie boot in red http://www.drmartens.com/uk/Womens/Womens-Boots/Dr-Martens-Aimilie-Shoe/p/15313601

TUK Galaxy Boot http://www.tukshoes.com/galaxy-print-combat-boot-t2205

Scaramanga Leather Flight Bag http://www.scaramangashop.co.uk/leather-satchels-bags/leather-satchels-and-bags/for-women/leather-travel-bags-and-holdalls/vintage-leather-flight-bag-1/prod_18.html

Black Milk Patronus Leggings http://blackmilkclothing.com/products/patronus-leggings#

Simply Be Grid Midi Dress http://www.simplybe.co.uk/shop/simply-be-grid-midi-dress/sl544/product/details/show.action?pdBoUid=1297#colour:Black,size:

Modcloth Cinch I've Been Loving You Coat http://www.modcloth.com/shop/coats/cinch-ive-been-loving-you-coat

Voodoo Vixen Retro Penny Dress http://www.simplybe.co.uk/shop/voodoo-vixen-retro-penny-dress/lc011/product/details/show.action?pdBoUid=1326#colour:Green,size:

Rainbow Swirl Tie Dye Rayon Skirt with Smocked Waist https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/53959800/rainbow-swirl-tie-dye-rayon-skirt-with?ref=shop_home_active

Blogtober Day 21 - The One Thing You Can't Live Without.

As pathetic as it probably is I would say a desktop computer with internet. You can do so much on it, write, browse, draw, communicate with people, even read with the Kindle desktop app (which I don't have - too much eye strain). I love the computer I have now although it's about 6 years old now - I got it for my 18th birthday and I'm now 24. I desperately need to upgrade but first I need an external hard drive for all my files, some of my older stuff and my downloaded music is scattered between a couple of memory sticks but they're nowhere near big enough.

At the moment I have a Dell tower (as pictured), an Acer monitor (tiny), a Logitech keyboard and a Mikomi mouse and speakers. I would like a tower with a bigger memory maybe a TB as opposed to the current 138GB (as far as I can tell) and 4 or 8 RAM versus the current 2. I'd also like a bigger screen and my speakers are old and pretty rubbish.

Blogtober Day 20 - A Letter To Your Younger Self.

Dear 10 year old Stefanie,

You may think things are a bit rubbish at the moment, your best friend moved away, you broke up with your other best friend, you're scared about Secondary School but don't worry.

You will make good friends in the future and eventually in the years to come one of them will be your girlfriend. Yep, you're gay. Really you/we are a bit of an idiot not to have figured it out sooner what with liking unavailable guys and being friends with the weird guys - believe me they are weird, but also kinda awesome. One guy you never thought you'd be friends with because he's *gasp* disabled but you are totally compatible and even have a crush on the same actress from Home and Away - Tammin Sursok. We spend hours Googling pictures of her in a bikini rather than doing our Travel and Tourism coursework - hence why we fail XD

Tammin Sursok

School is generally a bit rubbish. You have a few issues with bullies. One of those is actually your 'friend'. She's a manipulative bitch. The other girl in the trio you're still friends with, she's alright and mum likes her. Your mum has very good instincts regarding your friends, you should listen to her. The saddest thing about the bullying is that you miss a lot of school, get behind and fail some exams meaning everything is delayed by 2 years while you pass them. You wanted to do A-Levels and then go on to do more at college and maybe even University. As it turns out you manage no A-Levels and only a year at college and you're still bitter and annoyed about it. You could have been doing so much more. *Sigh* that's the way it is sometimes.

Despite your fears about it you are never bullied for being gay although that rumour about your mum is slightly gross, weird and frustrating. It's always been the fat. You're still fat but it's not a big deal anymore. Overall what I'm trying to say is you end up feeling better about a lot of stuff. Sure life didn't turn out how you expected but it's not necessarily bad, just difficult sometimes. You aren't suicidal anymore - yeah that happened around age 14/15? The thoughts do pop up occasionally but you are stronger and you deal with it better.

Keep your chin up kid.

Sincerely,

24 year old Stefanie

Blogtober Day 19 (Late) - Your Dream Destinations.

South Wales
I want to move there someday and live on a farm in the countryside. The one pictured looks rather perfect. I'd also like to learn Welsh at some point, I loathe people who move to a different country without learning the local language

Australia

I'd possibly consider moving there if it wasn't so hot. That and the fact that I don't have any in-demand skills/jobs according to the Australian government i.e. I'm not a Doctor, Nurse, teacher, architect, plumber etc. I'm a retail flunky who is currently a cleaner.

Canada

Now Canada is a place I'd consider emigrating to. The beautiful scenery, the weather, the people. It just seems like a really lovely place.

Switzerland

Another place with beautiful scenery that I'd love to visit. I think it's becoming clear that I am a sucker for good mountains.

Scotland

Wide-open countryside, beautiful lakes. More fab scenery. I have considered moving there but I want to stay within reach of Bristol and places I know which makes Wales the more logical choice.

Ireland

Another place with beautiful wide-open countryside and a bonus some of Game of Thrones was filmed there and that would be nice to see.

Blogtober Day 18 - Favourite TV Programmes.

For this post I thought it would just be easier to compile a pictorial list of cast photos. I'm sorry for some being out of date. In NCIS Ziva has left to be replaced by Eleanor. In Criminal Minds Alex has left to be replaced by Kate (newest series). In Grey's Anatomy Mark and Lexie were killed and Teddy left obviously replaced by the latest interns. NCIS: Los Angeles is incomplete excluding Eric, Nell and Hettie. Hawaii Five-0 is missing Jerry, Lou and Catherine though Catherine is absent for series 5. Witches of East End doesn't feature Dash, Killian or Frederick. Grimm's poster is an almost complete cast, only missing Adalind but the situation with Juliette has been solved.

Obviously this is an incomplete list of what I watch but this post is rather long as it is without adding others.

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Blogtober Day 17 (Late) - Your Favourite Films.

So I did decide to have a list of 5 but to showcase my favourites properly it's turned into 7.

Labyrinth

My favourite for many years. I love the music, the characters, the story, everything. The technology for the year was amazing, I've watched the behind the scenes stuff on my DVD and everything is so meticulous!

Frozen

Yup I'm well and truly on the bandwagon. I've watched this more in the short space of time I've owned it (within days of release, a rarity for me) than I've watched other Disney films I own e.g. Aladdin despite them being so much older. Everything gets to me. I'm teary at the intro music, I'm teary at 'Let It Go', I'm teary at the finale. So many tears and I never cry! I love it's story and it's message - it's not perfect by far, there needs to be more female roles (2 named females vs at least 5 males), the anatomy needs to be more real and there wasn't enough time dedicated to the parents, their mother in particular was very flat. BUT I love that it focused on siblings rather than boyfriends, they mocked the 'marrying men you've just met' storyline, Hans' direction surprises me everytime and they feature active consent with the kiss at the end!

Harry Potter Series

I can't believe I almost forgot Harry Potter! A book and film series I've grown up with being almost the same age as the actors. I'm 24, Dan's 25, Rupert's 26 and Emma's 24. The first book was released in June 1997, 2 months before I turned 7, the first film in November 2001 when I was 11. It's such a solid part of my history. I re-read the books and re-watch the films at least once and year and my books need replacing as they're falling apart. I can imagine the earlier films needing replacing soon as well due to skipping.

Avatar

I don't care about it's similarities to Pocahontas or Dances With Wolves or whatever, almost every film in existence can be compared to another if you try hard enough. I love the design of the movie, everything is so detailed, I love the characters, they're all well-rounded and the women are bad-ass as fuck! The main thing I love is that the love story develops naturally over what appears to be several months, Neytiri hates Jake at first because he's 'fake' but she ends up saving his human life when he's in danger and that really touched me as a sign of how much she loves him. Jake is also respectful and wants to learn their ways despite his orders. I can't wait for them to hurry up with the sequels!

Final Destination Series

I love this series! The gore, the unrealistic nature of some of the deaths, it's brilliant! I also think what they did with the 5th film was genius! I like my horror gory rather than suspenseful, hence why I love this and the Saw series but couldn't even sit through 10 minutes of Paranormal Activity (that and I detest found footage films).

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies

I was never a big middle earth fan when I was young. I never even heard of them until I was older and they announced the films, I don't remember what I thought then but I do remember I bought a film tie-in set of The Lord of the Rings trilogy which I tried reading but I could never finish the first book for some reason. I think I had some kind of mental block. Still I watched the trailers of The Fellowship of the Ring and thought it looked interesting so I watched it and the fantasy and drama of it all had me hooked! Move forward several years and they announced the Hobbit so I decided to give it a read and enjoyed it. I am now really enjoying the Hobbit films and will be sad to see it over (even if they are relying on the CGI a little bit much this time around) and I am finally reading the books and have made it to the third book - even if it is taking a while.

The X-Men Series

I'll tell you something: I have never read a comic book in my life. Before these films (and any other superhero films) I have no idea about who the characters are unless I Google or Wikipedia it. This doesn't bother me. I still love superhero films. I've seen all the X-Men ones apart from The Wolverine, the original Spiderman trilogy, the first two Dark Knight films, both Fantastic 4 films, the first Iron Man and I watch Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Arrow on TV and just started Gotham. Now I am by no means a die-hard fan, obviously there's a lot I'm missing: Thor, Captain America, Superman, the new Spiderman but that doesn't bother me, the ones I want to watch I will get around to eventually.

Blogtober Day 16 - Do You Have Any Hobbies?

Yes I have a few hobbies. All quiet ones due to being an introvert. Firstly I'm a writer. I have a multitude of novels in the works in my brain, it's just getting them down on paper that I struggle with XD

Secondly I'm an artist. Mostly of equines with the occasional human or other animal thrown in. I am not where I want to be artistically but that's primarily because I don't devote as much time to it as I could. This handsome fellow is Maksim. I did draw him, he's not my best or my worst.

My last main hobby and the one that I consistently devote the most time to is reading. I've always got at least 2 books on the go, usually 3, sometimes 4. Depending on the length and the story content I can read a book or several in a day. I don't limit myself to age, my main area is Young Adult e.g. Hunger Games but I also still have and read my childhood Animal Ark and Babysitters Club books and I also have books for adults like Jodi Piccoult and Stephen King and I also share my mum's books and will read them someday and that includes authors like Tess Gerritsen.

Someday I plan on taking photos of my bookshelves and showcasing on the blog. I did have pictures already but they've quickly become out of date thanks to new additions and re-arrangements. I am very fussy about how my books are arranged and it's very frustrating when publishers will release a book in a different style as in the last book of the Mortal Instruments series, it has to go on a separate shelf due to the massive size >.<

Blogtober Day 13 - My Favourite Blogs.

Now I read a lot of blogs. There are a load that I read daily or every couple of days (time and computer use allowing - I really need a laptop and/or a tablet. Preferably both, tablet for blogs and browsing, laptop for writing, blogging and browsing) and then there are some that I read when I remember and then there are others that I used to love but are never updated. Some of the blogs I read are fatshion, some are not, some are Goth/alternative, some are not, it's a variety. I need to fill out my blog list in the sidebar sometime. I also need to make a better background but Blogger's background file size limit is a pain in the ass. I created something I liked on PicMonkey but it was too big!

• Just Me Leah
• Natty Nikki
• The Ramblings of Mrs BeBe
• Becky Bedbug
• Gothy Two Shoes
• Blargle Fargle
• Pamper and Curves
• Toodaloo Katie
• A Daisy Chain Dream
• Lady Bits
• Dances With Fat
• Sugar Darling
• Polka Dots and Freckle Spots
• XL as Life
• A Dress is for Life
• Does My Blog Make Me Look Fat?
• Miss Lixxie Lou
• Big Fashionista
• Coffin Kitsch
• The Walrus Room
• Tutus and Tiny Hats
• Woosang Was Here
• Fuller Figure Fuller Bust
• The Everyday Goth
• GIY: Goth It Yourself
• Refashionista
• The Curious Professor Z

And more...

Blogtober Day 12 - What Are You Reading?

I am currently finally working my way through The Lord of the Rings. I had the trilogy for years and even almost finished the first book. I struggled with the second half for some reason. Then volunteering at a charity shop I saw the below 7 book set (apparently that was the way it was intended), the first book had been deemed too scruffy by my manager and had been chucked into the recycling bag, I saw it and asked if I could buy them and she let me have them for £1. Best bargain ever! I am on book 5 also known as The Return of the King part one.

Also because I am terrible for reading too many books at once I am also reading the Silver Sequence by Cliff McNish since I finally bought books 1 and 3 used off of Amazon. I am currently on book 2 - Silver City. As a side note this image is the wrong order it actually goes: The Silver Child, Silver City, Silver World.

I am also reading through the Gossip Girl books, I'm currently on book 8 Nothing Can Keep Us Together.

Blogtober Day 11 - A Day in My Life.

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12997963/?claim=z45cenkdck2">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a> First things first updated Bloglovin code since I changed my URL.

An average day in my life is get up bewtween 9-10am unless I need to go to Clevedon for an appointment in which case it's more likely to be 7am or earlier.

After I'm up I'll wash or shower - if I'm going out shopping or to Clevedon it'll be a shower but if I'm staying in until work then it'll be a wash.

Then after that if I'm going out or it's the weekend I'll have breakfast - cereal - if not then I won't because lunch'll be earlier.

Mid-morning between 10:30-11:30am I'll have a drink - hot chocolate - with a chocolate biscuit bar, they're cheap versions of Penguin bars from Tesco.

Lunch is about 12:30pm on a work day and between 1-1:30pm on a weekend. Sandwich, packet of crisps and homemade sponge cake.

At 2:30pm on a work day and 4pm on a weekend it's a cup of tea with a couple of biscuits.

Then at 3pm I shut down the PC if I'm on it and go and clean my teeth if I've forgotten to do them earlier. If they're already done then it's time to go and get dressed and get my stuff together to be out of the door by 3:15pm to start work at 3:30pm.

I work from 3:30-5:30pm though can often end up staying later. As an example this week my co-worker Amy is away so it's just me and Hazel my supervisor. She does the toilets and then has been helping me where she can but even then a lot needed doing Wednesday so I didn't leave until 6:30pm, still it's more wages when they arrive.

So I get home somewhere between 5:40-6pm and I say hello to mum and Tegan (the cat) before having a shower - my job is cleaning so I get pretty grubby and sweaty. Then tea is usually ready by 6:30pm. Wednesday wasn't an issue as mum was working til 9:45pm extended to 11pm so I had a sandwich for tea and we'd had cooked lunch.

Tea is eaten and cleared up by 8pm at the latest when we sit down on the sofa to watch telly. Around 10pm we'll have a chocolate snack and then we start getting ready for bed around 11:15pm and in bed at 11:30pm. Sometimes I'll watch something in my room so it will be 12:30am by the time I go to sleep.

And that is my day.

Blogtober Day 8 - What's In My Handbag?

I have a lot of bags. I kind of collect them. Maybe someday after I complete the long-promised Shoe series I will start one on my bags. I have different purposes for different ones and I often change bag. At the moment I have two main bags - one for work and one for going out e.g. to the Job Centre.

My Work Bag

My work bag is one I got from Claire's Accessories years ago - probably the Weymouth branch when I was on holiday. The contents are: Work tabard, phone, keys, notepad and pen, lip balm, hairband, glasses, tissues, hairbrush, bottle of water, umbrella and iPod with protective pouch - stops the earphones tangling.

My Everyday Bag

My current everyday bag is an owl satchel I got from Amazon and it contains: Umbrella, bottle of water, glasses, phone, keys, notepad and pen, lip balm, hairbrush, tissues, pot of Paracetamol, purse, iPod with protective pouch, whatever book I'm reading - currently The Silver Child by Cliff McNish - and often my Job Centre folder (not pictured).

Obviously there are things like my glasses, phone, keys and notepad and pen that get switched between bags but other things like tissues, umbrella, hairbrush and lip balm I have doubles of so I can keep one in each bag.