The big 3-0 #5 week 3

Another week has gone by which means there are another 7 photos uploaded to the number 5 item on my list. This week has been pretty awesome. I have spent a lot of time with a lot of people that are special to me and it just makes me realise how bloody awesome my life is. We all grumble about money and the weather etc. but really all you need is to surround yourself with good people with kind hearts and you're winning at life.

 

 

Sunday 23rd June- I threw a massive barbecue for my husbands birthday. It was cold and it rained on and off because I planned it in advance - which is against the first rule of barbecue etiquette. It was an incredible day with our closest friends. We ate loads of food, I faffed around the kitchen as a perfect host does and my husband dropped my rabbit shaped strawberry jelly on the kitchen floor. One of our friends bought me this beautiful bouquet of red roses.

 

 

 Monday 24th June- Progress picture of list #2, my driving instructor was incredibly patient and enthusiastic about my list and we had an in-depth conversation about apps whilst we waited for this picture to upload (don't worry I was parked)
 

 Tuesday 25th June- One of my best friends gave me this card at the barbecue on Sunday, it seemed rude not to take a picture, not only for the wonderful thoughtfulness of this gift but also for the incredible doodles she did!

 Wednesday 26th June- My husband and a friend of ours went to Cardiff Bay for dinner. It was such a beautiful evening down there. The angle of this picture looks like the woman's shoving her fingers in the guys mouth, she's supposed to be pointing out to sea.

 Thursday 27th June- I was invited to my friend Zoe's house for dinner. Zoe is a vegan and has just become such an incredible cook. We absolutely gorged ourselves on two different types of curry, rice, bhaji, the lot!. Zoe even made an apple and raspberry crumble for dessert to go with the vegan ice cream. I really admire Zoe's passion for her vegan-ism. We've been friends for well over a decade and I just couldn't imagine not having her in my life. Zoe is also an amazing hairdresser. She has such an artistic flair for it, I wouldn't trust anyone else with my hair. (If you're Cardiff based, she works in Kamigata Salon, book in you won't be disappointed). Liz - who was also present at the dinner - is another incredible friend. She has started a cake business and her cakes are the best I have ever had (and I eat a lot of cake!) I'm so proud of her and all her hard work she's ploughed in to the business and she's getting a really good buzz surrounding her now. Booboo Bakes are the way forward for any cake desires you may have (www.booboobakescakes.co.uk). I love these two girls and I am just so grateful to them and everything they do for me.

 Friday 28th June- One of my favourite things to do, curl up with my girls in bed and read them their bedtime stories, this is my eldest.

Saturday 29th June- Seeing as it was such a warm evening last night I took my eldest girl for a little walk around the park to find something to take a picture of. Couldn't find a better subject if I tried!

There we have it, June's almost over. I'm hoping the weather just gets better and we can have a proper summer, then again I have go dancing in the rain on my list.

The big 3-0 #5 week 2

Second week in and this particular task is already grating on me. I've had a particularly hectic week and after finally crashing on my sofa already half asleep, my alarm keeps tormenting me with the stupid 19.55pm alert I've set to make sure I don't forget to be all snap happy. If I am already like this on the second week what will I be like towards the end of the year? Here's the week of photographs for you to gander. 

 

Sunday 16th June- After visiting the Hummingbird Bakery in London, my husband got himself a whoopee pie, I got jealous when I inhaled my cupcake and he was still eating his so I whipped up a batch of chocolate ones. Bang-a-rang!

 

Monday 17th June- I concocted a washing line list of my 30 before 30 and hung it up in our kitchen, once I've completed a task the card will be removed. A nice reminder to my progress

Tuesday 18th June- Storm clouds brewing in the night sky, sometimes the best things are just right outside your window

Wednesday 19th June- My alarm went off at 19.55, then my phone died. I had one outlet to plug my phone in and get some juice into it. This was the most interesting thing I could find to photograph in about thirty seconds preparation seeing as my phone charger cable is about 2cm long!

Thursday 20th June- Celebrating my husband's birthday with some yummy crumby cake

Friday 21st June- Found a battered copy of Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt. On inspection of scratches our Joker canvas just caught in the reflection. Thought it looked awesome.

Saturday 22nd June- With how tired I was my normal staircase became the stairway to heaven!

So there it is, second week done and dusted. Looking forward to what I can find next week.

The big 3-0 #5- Week 1

When I wrote this list, taking a picture every day at 8pm seemed like an amazing idea.

Then I realised I don't actually have a social life and I'm usually in my pyjama's covered in chocolate.

Yet, this week I had a mini break with my husband to the great city of London. Great - I thought - I'll be able to get some wonderful arty shots and look really cultured and cool.

At 8pm though we weren't really doing anything cultured. we did have the opportunity of spending some time with Mr Musa Okwonga. This guy was one of the most interesting people I have ever met. Much like London, he was a whirlwind. Fast paced chat flitting from football to twitter to music to poetry and back again like a verbal boomerang, he fascinated me from the first second we greeted each other and I'm still in awe of him.

So here's the first week's worth of pictures for you to peruse.

Sunday 9th June- My back garden, it was still warm and sunny, such a rarity in Britain!

 

 Monday 10th June- Dinner at Wagamama's with my friends. Demolished bowl of chilli and salt edamame beans.

 Tuesday 11th June- Being creative, made a pair of shorts out of some old jeans and started to make some denim bunting to use up the scrap material, recycling and crafting all in one evening!

 Wednesday 12th June- After a down pour, my petunia's looked so beautiful dappled with dewdrops

 Thursday 13th June- My husband and Musa, an incredible guy

 Friday 14th June- The wings at N1 In Angel, London. I interpreted this a completely different way to most I think. Angel wings are such a strong symbol of hope yet to me it made me feel incredibly sad. I think it's Mr Pretzels fault.

 Saturday 15th June- Home from an amazing trip, settling down with a cuppa tea and a Red velvet Hummingbird bakery cupcake. Perfection!

 

 

So, that's the first week down only 51 more to go. I'm hoping this task will make me find beauty in the ordinary, after all the world is what we make of it.

The big 3-0

Back in 1984 a man called Malcolm and a woman called Gaynor welcomed a baby girl in to the world. On that day they cuddled her and told her plans of how wonderful her life would be and what many adventures she would embark on, 29 years later, they are still waiting for that girl to pass her driving test!

As my birthday approached and I was being reminded that it was my last 20 birthday, I felt relatively calm. I feel quite old any way, I don't go out any more, I haven't drunk a drop of alcohol in four years due to the fear of having an 9 day hangover and I complain that the music on the radio is "just noise".

Yet, on Saturday, surrounded by my family, stuffing myself with my Mum's awesome bbq food a bit of a panic washed over me. I haven't actually done an awful lot with my life.

By the age of 22 I was married and had my first child. My wonderful husband and I have had another child since, obviously those are big events that I am immensely proud of and I never thought that I could love so much. My little family have given my all the happiness I will ever need so I am completely satisfied with that aspect of my life.

However, as I became a mother so young, I have also not had the time to do other care-free things that my friends have been able to do.

So I have made the inevitable "things to do" list. I actually got the idea from a friend, Andy, who is an amazing writer. He made a 30 before 30 list, I'm just totally copying him but the choices are my own. There are certain things that I would love to do but they are too difficult or expensive to do in the next year, the list is made up of things that are easily accessible (and cheap!)

Here it is...

1. Quit smoking
2. Pass my driving test
3. Join a dance class
4. Get over my fear of dogs
5. Take a photo of something at 8pm every day for a year
6. Solve a Rubik's cube
7. Go skinny dipping
8. No chocolate for a week
9. Watch the sun rise and set in the same place
10. 10 random acts of kindness
11. Beat Luke at Monopoly
12. Let my friends know I love them
13. Learn to surf
14. Volunteer in a soup kitchen/Samaritans
15. Learn how to cook rice
16. Watch all the Harry Potter movies in one sitting
17. Learn 6,7,8 times tables
18.Get a tattoo done without knowing what it is going to look like
19. Write and post 10 letters
20. Do the Glamorgan coast walk- Porthcawl to Barry Island
21. Go Horseback riding
22. Go dancing in the rain
23. Do something special for my Mum and Dad
24. Eat the rainbow in fruit
25. Paint the 'Welcome to Amity Island' billboard
26. Make Jam
27. Do yoga every day for the month of May
28. Raise money to get a memorial bench for my sister placed down Southerndown beach
29. Write an open letter to my sixteen year old self
30. Learn to say Hello in 30 different languages.

I have 363 days to go, I am already having palpitations about the thought of many a thing but that's the point isn't it. This time next year I could possibly have a willy tattooed on me somewhere...