ABC

I've seen this here list of ABC questions circulating round the blogiverse for the last week, and in a moment of lacking inspiration and an uneventful afternoon, I decide to jump on the band wagon.


Age: The ripe old age of 21.
Bed size: King. And even so we'd like bigger.
Chore you hate: Cleaning the bathroom. I'll relatively willingly do any.other.chore, but cleaning the bathroom? No thanks.
Dogs: Never had one. My parents always told us that my Dad was allergic to cats & dogs...I don't actually think that he is though. Cheeky parentals. I've only ever had four fish. Maud, Minnie, Peter Pan & Captain Hook. But I fed them too much and they died. Tragic story.
Essential start of your day: Washing my face. The day hasn't started until I have a clean face.
Favorite color: PURPLE! Close second, yellow.
Gold or silver: Invent a time machine & ask me that question two years ago and I would have silver without even thinking about it. Now though...most of my jewellery is gold. Go figure.
Height: 5'9 or 5"10...I'm not sure. Above average anyway.
Instruments I play (or have played): I used to have piano lesson when I was about 8 years old. But i hated practicing and my piano teacher's house smelled weird, so I begged my Mom to let me stop. She let me quit but said I would regret it. Whaddayaknow. I do regret it.
Job title: I'm a part time nanny and a full time teaching student.
Kids: No. I do want some though, but not soon.
Live: Currently.... Leeds. But born and raised in Sheffield.
Mom's name: Caroline.
Nickname: Tuts, Chuch (those two are parents only nicknames...sometimes Ross winds me up by calling me Tuts), Becks, Beady, honeypie, any other ridiculous pet name
Overnight hospital stays: Not yet. I've never even broken a bone.
Pet peeve: People who leave a trail of stuff behind them everywhere that they go. JUST TIDY UP AFTER YOURSELVES!
Quote from a movie: Not an inspirational one, just a hilarious one. From 'The Ringer' "Oh my stars, for the love of Liza!"
Right or left handed: Right.
Siblings: Just two younger brudders. Richard & Sam.
Time you wake up: Depends on the day. 6:20 if I'm working, 7:20 if I have a 9am lecture, any time on a Saturday and 8:30 on a Sunday.
Underwear: I don't exactly know what this question means. Yes, I wear underwear. And it always matches.
Vegetables you dislike: Aubergine.
What makes you run late: When Ross sleeps in because he thinks he doesn't take as long as me to get ready, but then he gets up and takes AGES. This is also a pet peeve.
X-rays you've had done: Never had one. Oh, I have, on my teeth.
Yummy food you make: Errrr....courgette enchiladas, sausage and tomato casserole and stuffed peppers. They are my favourites.
Zoo animal: Flamingos. Anything that is naturally that colour gets my vote.

A continual search for balance

In the past I have fallen into one of two categories.

1). Insanely, possibly even manically busy.

Sometimes I give myself lists of jobs that I have to do, that day.

I choose to say 'give myself jobs' rather than just work through a list of stuff that I have to do, because like I already said, when I'm busy, I get manic/insane.

If I have an essay to write, I'll make a list of everything that I need to do to get it done.

Just usual stuff like...

- make a note of which books I need from the library

- get said books from the library

- find quotes/things to cite

- etc, etc.

And then I'll add on stuff like...

- do the food shopping

- clean the bathroom

- put on a load of white washing

- empty the bin

- etc, etc.

Stuff that I could deffo put off doing whilst I spend time working on my essay.

But I add it on anyway.

And if I don't get everything on my list done that day, I feel like I've let myself down.

The second category that I often fall into is

2). Completely lazy bum.

This is pretty self explanatory, but I mean to the extreme.

I'll sleep long past the time that Ross has gotten up and gone to work and then when I do get up, I'll just transfer myself from the bed to the sofa and catch up on Come Dine With Me.

All day.

And then it'll get to the end of the day and I'll realise that I've literally done nothing more than vegetate on the sofa and I'll feel terrible.

Like I've let myself down.

Now, I realise that these are two pretty extreme situations and even though I do find myself in either one of them fairly regularly, my life isn't like that all time.

What makes me happiest is when I have a balance between the two.

So after some subconscious doing and some very conscious thinking, I came up with a list of things.

A list of things that if I just complete each day, I can feel like I've achieved something. 

If I have nothing to do one day, I can make sure I do these things and the day isn't wasted.

If I have loads to do each day, I can just quickly work through this list and then anything else that I manage to do is a bonus.

Either way its win/win.

So because I'm in a giving mood today, here's my list.

1). Wash my face. 

(It probably seems like a weird thing to have one my list, but if I'm feeling particularly lazy in the morning, I skip this off and if I've had a hectic day I go to bed without doing it.)

2). Say a prayer of gratitude.

3). Search for truth. 

4). Go to bed with a sink empty of dirty dishes.

5). Take a photograph. 

One at least, more if I get the chance.

6). Spend some time outside.

Even just taking out the rubbish counts, because I've found if I literally stay inside all day I start to get cabin fever. A little bit.

7). Make dinner

8). Spend some time with Ross.

The ultimate to do list

There are lots of people in this world that make lists.

I am one of them.

Shopping lists, meal lists, job lists, packing lists, presents lists...

Basically all kinds of lists.

A while back, I saw this film called 'The Bucket List'.

I really liked the idea of an extreme to do list of stuff I want to do before I'm right said Fred.

(That's Cockney rhyming slang for dead by the way.)

So seeing as this is my list, I'm going to add, change or maybe even completely remove items at will.

Life is ever changing, so my list will be the same.

1. Ride in a hot air balloon.

2. Witness a birth. (My own children won't count)

3. Take a photography class.

4. Go back to Rome with a fully charged camera and take photos of all the places Ross & I visited on our honeymoon.

5. Memorise a poem.

6. Throw a surprise birthday party.

7. Blow my first months wages from my first teaching job on something memorable.

8. Have my girls to sleep over once every year and review/make predictions.

9. Be an extra in TV programme/film.

10. Be in the audience of a TV programme.

11. Go on Oblivion and keep my eyes open and hands in the air for the entire ride.

12. Read the Bible all the way through.

13. Attend a session of General Conference in person.

14. Read 50 books in a year.

15. Give blood.

16. See the cherry blossoms in Japan.

17. Try real sushi.

18. Go for afternoon tea in a posh hotel in London.

19. See Wicked. Again.

20. Go vegan for a week.

21. Turn up at an airport, book a ticket for the first plane that's leaving and go on an adventure.

22. Take a photo everyday for a year.

23. Make ice cream from scratch.

24. Only consume orange food for one day.

25. Develop a party trick.

26. Ride a mechanical rodeo bull.

27. Attend a major sporting event.

28. Buy a house.

29. Fly somewhere in first class.

30. Get a pedicure.

31. Give up fizzy drinks for a year.

32. Try lobster.

33. Watch a firework display without covering my ears.

34. Go to the cinema at midnight to see a film as it comes out.

35. Go to carnival.

36. Go to a music festival.

37. Eat gelato in Rome.

38. Learn to say hello in 50 languages.

39. Learn to play an entire song on the piano.

40. Go to a belly dancing class.

41. Fire a gun.

42. See the Northern Lights.

43. Give £500 to charity all in one go.

44. Visit the British Museum & the Tate Gallery.

45. Learn to play chess.

46. Beat Ross in a game of chess.

47. Become an early riser.

48. Meet a member of the Royal family.

49. Shop at Harrods.

50. Take up pilates.

51. Send a letter to someone who has inspired me.

52. Wear a different coloured nail varnish everyday for a month.

53. Be a mentor to someone.

54. Win something.

55. Learn how to make an origami crane.

56. See the Mona Lisa.

57. Keep adding to this list.