New Year's Resolutions Anyone?

Another year gone, another year ahead - best wishes for 2014!! But before that, it's that time again - yes, for new year's resolutions! 

I myself am guilty of hardly ever not always sticking to my resolutions, but this year will be different because I'm now an adult (!) so hopefully a lot better at seeing things through to the end. 

So here we go, with my list of 2014 resolutions!!

#1: Obviously, join a club/team and get some actual exercise done. This one is probably on everyone’s list after wolfing all those Christmas chocolates! Two benefits to this one – I’ll get fit and I’ll make new friends, which is another one on my list.

#2: Oh, look, here it is – Expand my social circle and get to know more people. My thinking is new year, why not make some new friends to go with it, right?

#3: Cherish my old friends. By this time next year, we’ll all have gone our separate ways – university, travelling, working – and there’s no guarantee that we’ll be as close then as we are now, so it’s important that I spend time with them now at least. But hopefully, we’ll still be thick as thieves.

 

#4: Dedicate more time to blogging! There we go, I didn’t forget you guys! I resolve to do at least one blog-post a week about interesting things so you guys don’t get bored. I love to write, so blogging is the ideal pastime for me – all I have to do now is put aside a little time each week for the blogosphere.

#5: Discover more blog/bloggers. My knowledge of good blogs is, alas, rather limited, so this year, I’m hoping to discover more fellow bloggers, because as much as I love writing, I love reading about others a teensy bit more.

Aha, this is where my old friend comes in...

#6: No more procrastinating! I’ve built up a bit of a reputation for being a master procrastinator, which, I’ve got to admit, doesn’t sit with me very well. I’m going to make more to-do lists, and get things done before they start piling up. Like my Papa says, don’t leave till tomorrow what you can do today.

#7: Be more confident and independent and less indecisive. I’ve got this thing where I still view myself as a kid, even though I’m now officially an adult (eek!!) so this year, I will start acting appropriately by taking control of my life and being more independent.

#8: Finish editing my first book, Project GAIA. This year, I promise to finish editing the book and attempt to have it published by December. (This probably goes hand in hand with me not doing the procrastinating thing anymore.)

#9: Be more positive. This is a very general one, but a very important one too. It’s a V.I.R. (very important resolution.) I don’t mean be mindlessly optimistic, but look on the bright side of things. Try to see the funny side of a situation and don’t take life so seriously!

#10: Be more organised. Yeah, this is always on my list, but this year, I will be more organised and I will get my homework in on time and stop losing important pieces of paperwork.

I think my overall resolution would be to take control of my life and make it what I want. I’m stepping into adulthood in the light of a new year, and I’m going to get off to a great start and hit the road running. 

Eeek!! Milestone 18 Reached!!

For those of you who know me personally know that it was my 18th! (For everyone else, I turned 18 yesterday :3) Happy birthday to me!

"I'm wishing on a cupcake..."

Amidst the balloons, party popper confetti, ribbons and general excitement a thought occured to me - I've finally reached adulthood. It's a weird one because I don't feel like an adult; I'm still in school, still living at home with Mum and Dad (shoutout to you guys for being the best and making my 18th one to remember!) and I still rely on them for a lot of things. But at the same time, I feel like I should change my attitude towards life and just existing. 

There's a reason why 18 is traditionally the coming-of-age age; it's the age of maturity and responsibility. I don't want to be all drab and dreary and preach about being a completely boring and sensible adult at age 18 - you've got your 40s for that ;) Yeah, you can go out and party and legally drink etc, etc, because that's a part of growing up too.

But maybe you could stop and think for a second. Maybe you've spent (a portion of) the past 18 years moaning at your parents because they made you do the chores or didn't let you go to that party of the century. Or maybe you've spent that time being annoyed because they wouldn't buy you the adorable shoes/jacket/PlayStation/(insert desirable object here) that you wanted. 

But did you ever take the time to be reasonable and understand it from their point of view? Perhaps there was an actual reason for them denying you something so trivial? The reason I'm going on about this is because this is what occured to me yesterday. I realized how utterly selfish I have been, not ever considering or appreciating the little things my parents have done for me -and that's without weighing in all the huge things like putting up with me for my whole life and bringing me up and being there for me without fail whenever I needed them.

I decided to make this post to kinda raise awareness, I guess, and about "18th Birthday Resolutions" (like New Year's Resolutions but with awesome sauce and stuff :3) 

So be more mature and consider the reasons why.

Be more grateful for what you have and stop taking things for granted.

Step up, to your duties and be responsible for your actions as an adult because you're not a kid anymore. With great power comes great responsibility and all that jazz.

Confront your problems and clear the air instead of letting stuff fester - you're an adult now, so act like one.

What on earth did I just watch??!

Bonjourno Prepsters!

I spent last weekend watching the Twilight saga - as you can already tell, it was a very slow weekend. I mainly watched them to placate my sisters, who haven't seen the films before. I had been hoping to spare them the horrors of an awful storyline, atrocious acting, and even worse special effects, but they insisted. Let it be said that I tried. 

 

Now, I have to admit, I didn't mind the first four films too much - yes, Kristen Stewart's character makes me want to tear my eyeballs out of their sockets and blend them (I still cannot fathom why Stephanie Meyer would write someone so unlikeable as a heroine!) 

For one, she overreacts to everything. There are seriously too many occasions to pinpoint, but I’m pretty sure that if any self-respecting girl’s boyfriend left her, she wouldn't take that as a cue to start cliff diving, or riding a motorcycle. Cut your hair, get a new wardrobe – better yet, get a new boyfriend instead of moping around for months in front of your window watching the seasons change. You’re seventeen, not seventy!

The fact that she runs off to different states and countries without telling her dad also strikes me as ludicrous. Any father in his right mind would have locked his daughter up and/or forbidden her from hanging out with the undead boyfriend. Charlie doesn't really seem that fazed by the fact that he has a lunatic for a daughter, or the fact that she can’t tell him exactly what happened to her after she got back from her honeymoon. Does that seem a little weird to anyone else, or is it just me?

For another thing – why the hell would you date a vampire – especially one as weird-looking as Edward Cullen? I don’t know whether Bella needs glasses or if she’s seeing something completely different to the rest of us, because, let me assure you (with 20/20 vision) he is not good looking. In any way, shape or form. You know, if turning into a vampire is supposed to make you super attractive to your prey, he must have been ridiculously ugly beforehand.

Joke: Why does Edward always look constipated? He's just not a super-pooper!

Moving on to R Patz's character, Edward, who looks constipated almost all the time, and if it's not that, he's smiling like a serial killer. I get that he’s supposed to be broody and all that, but come on – you've had like a hundred years to get over the fact that you’re an undead, day-walking, creature of the night - smile a little! Or at least stop making it so obvious that you're a gosh darned vampire!

The whole saga could have been over and done with, in a couple of hours if Bella had just fallen in love with Carlisle. It probably would have made a lot more sense too, because he is waaay more attractive and charismatic than Edward. Again, I reiterate – what does anyone see in Edward??

I think the only thing that made the films bearable were Jasper's accent, Emmett's muscles, Carlisle’s dimples and Jacob just as a whole. In fact the film would have been better if she had just picked Jacob over Edward, because, to be honest, Renesmee got the better deal there.

Special effects-wise, the first four were tolerable – although every time I see Edward and Bella float out the window onto the tree, I have to fill my mouth with popcorn to stop from laughing aloud. 

He looks like a monkey...just a lot less cute

Overall, the effects weren't mindblowing or anything in the first films, but, you know, I could live with them. However, when I saw the fifth film, I literally choked on my salty popcorn (much more tasty than sweet popcorn, I might add). First off – what on earth is wrong with Renesmee’s face? I don’t understand why the director found it necessary to computer-generate her face. I just found it so weird and it kinda ruined the film for me - she looks like a demon baby!

Why didn't they just use a real baby?!

But it’s not all Renesmee’s fault – the vampire running scenes were hilarious! I watched the fifth film about a year after the rest, but I still don’t remember the running vampires ever looking that stupid.

Seriously??

Another part that was pretty stupid was the whole Bella-wakes-up-and-has-to-adjust-to-being-a-vampire idea. I just literally – I can’t even. I would have fired her on the spot for the crappy job she did. She brought a whole new meaning to the term "wooden acting".

However, credit where credit’s due – I honestly freaked out when Carlisle and Jasper die – and then undie. Literally my heart stopped – I was like OMGEEEEEEEZ they did not just kill off my two favourite characters!! So props to the directors for that scene, but overall I give it a Mouldy Banana rating of 1. I felt that it was a little pointless having a fifth film, because they could have concisely fit it into the fourth. I can’t believe they created a whole 115 min film with so little detail in the scenes. 

Comeback Kid-slash-Christmas-slash-I'm going to be 18-slash-eek!

First things first, I guess I owe whatever few readers I have left an apology for leaving you hanging for so long without any posts. Very sorry about that.

Now for the good stuff! It's (nearly) Christmaaaaas!!! Cue a blogpost full of absolutely gorgeous pictures I've nabbed from the good people at Pinterest (follow me: anaaam).

And I'm not ashamed to admit that I started listening to Christmas music about a week after Halloween ;)

Just because I like Snoopy

Well, December isn't only exciting for Christmas - it also happens to be my birthday month!! And it's an extra special birthday becaaause - I'm going to be eighteen!!! 

This sounds like a good mantra for us all

I don't know exactly why I'm more excited about this birthday than any other one in my whole life, but I just have this awesome feeling that me being 18 is one of the best things that's gonna happen to me :D Yeah, I know I sound sad, but hey - I'm the birthday girl (okaaay - in a week's time I'm the birthday girl) and I'll be an adult so:

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen"

Anyways, my birthday is on the Sunday, so even though I can't technically do anything for my birthday in school, I think I'll just pretend it's my birthday on the Monday and force people to do stuff for me, like sing "Happy Birthday" to me as I enter the room and release doves when I go out into the playground - the usual. 

I'm struggling to come up with interesting things to do for my birthday!! Aaaah help! I was planning to go sightseeing/shopping in London with some friends, but I'm having to postpone that till January now :(

Maybe I'll just spend the day having a LOTR marathon and swoon over Legolas - that could potentially be a fun-filled birthday *very sarcastic face* 

OMG this cheered me up a ridiculous amount - maybe my birthday will be a good one after all :)

Any suggestions for a fun way to spend my eighteenth?