Commuting

Traffic.  How is it that you can be stuck in the largest traffic jam and then it all suddenly clears up and there are no cars on the road?  And then a bit further down the motorway the car in front of you brakes so fast you almost rear end it and there you are stuck in a jam again.  Can some one please explain to me how that actually happens?

I only have a 22 mile commute, most of which is on the motorway.  And its usually like that all the way home.  It's infuriating!

However driving, even with the recent hike in fuel prices, is still cheaper than getting the train- and I have to leave the house earlier to catch the train. I get that public transport is more eco-friendly but when it's cold and raining in the morning, you have to stand up all the way to work in a crowded carriage AND it's more expensive it's no wonder there are so many cars on the road creating traffic.  The government should be doing something to make public transport more affordable to commuters because it's going to take a lot for me to stop driving to work even with the traffic.

Do you have an annoying journey to work/university?

Alex x

Song of the Week #2

I've liked this song ever since I had in on my Walkman on a skiing trip when I was about 10.  I can picture listening to it right now as we drove up the mountain in the coach on the way to resort.  I didn't see the song video for many years after that and it didn't disappoint.  I think this is one of the best song videos ever made, especially the ending.....



Let me know your thoughts!

Alex x

Last Pepsi

I don't understand people who can't tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi.  To me they taste totally different and Pepsi is waaaay nicer.  I keep a multipack of Pepsi in my cupboard at work and tend to have a can in the afternoon.  Just living up to my 'you only live once' motto.  So this afternoon I reach into my cupboard and there's only one can left in the multipack.  I grab it and this is what I get....

It's all leaked out from a hole in the rim :( and that was my last one. And now I'm wondering what Pepsi will give me for free if I send the can in....

Have you ever sent back anything faulty and been sent something for free?

Alex x

Cupcakes

Sometime when Lea goes into town she comes back with a cakey surprise for me to take into work the next day and make all my colleagues jealous.  Yesterday she got me a strawberry dream which I ate for my lunch today and it was delicious :)

I have never actually been in this magical cupcake shop but they seem to have all sorts of strange flavours.  The last two she's given me were Sticky Toffee Pudding and Vanilla Cupcake Sundae:

If you're ever in Leeds or Harrogate I highly recommend a visit. Maybe one day I'll even go in myself! You can visit their website here.

What's the strangest cupcake you've ever had?

Alex x

20 Things I Love About Summer

1. BBQs

Meat tastes different when it’s been barbequed.  It has the taste of summer to it. My BBQ favourites are lime chicken, sausages and chicken and veg kebabs.

2. Sitting outside the pub

Spending all evening just watching the world go by with a bottle of wine or a few pints of Crabbies.

3. Summer playlist/ songs

I still listen to my summer playlist in winter to remind me of the summer, but my summer songs are constantly on in the car from the moment summer starts to show its face.

4. Shorts

I <3 wearing shorts.  They make me feel free.  I just searched through 4 years worth of photos and couldn't find a decent picture of me in shorts unfortunately!

5. Sun tans

It’s nice to get rid of that pasty whiteness of the winter and get a bit of colour on your skin!

6. Strawberries

Someone once said to me that they were allergic to strawberries. Then someone else said if they found out they were allergic to strawberries they’d throw themselves into a lake (in a bad way, not just for a swim).  I feel the same way.  Being allergic to strawberries would be disastrous.

7. Leaves on trees

The world looks bare in winter.  The first day the leaves start to come back out on the trees is one of the best days of the year.  The world becomes more colourful.

8. Day trips

My favourite day trip last year was a day in the Lake District with Lea where we ended up playing pitch and putt and then having a pub dinner.

9. Lighter nights

No one likes leaving work and it already being dark! Lighter nights make you feel like you have more time.

10. Haze

This is truly a summer phenomenon.  And that’s why I like it.

11. Less rain

I absolutely HATE the rain.  It just makes everything wet (might be an obvious point but it’s annoying!).

12. Salad

Salad doesn't feel right in the winter but I'd happily eat it all through summer. Tomato and mozzarella is my favourite summer salad. 

13. Smiles

There’s a happier vibe in the air in summer.  Everyone is more smiley and good natured all round :)

14. Holidays

Who doesn’t love holidays????

15. Smell of cut grass

It’s not a smell I absolutely LOVE, I mean I wouldn’t buy a candle that smelt of cut grass, but it is one of THE summer smells.

16. Sunshine and blue sky, with maybe the odd floating cloud

After the overcast winter days the blue sky is so clean and refreshing.  Not to mention that my favourite colour is blue. The odd floating cloud just adds a little more interest.

17. Picnics

The preparation and packing of the food, choosing wear to go and finding somewhere to sit- I love everything about picnics.

18. Driving with the windows down

I got to do this for the first time this year on my way home yesterday. Having the windows down is the next best thing to having a convertible: P

19. Bare feet on grass

The feel of grass on bare soles is welcome after the claustrophobia or shoes and socks.  Flip flops also float my boat.

 20. Sleeping on top of the covers

Again I like this because there's a feeling of freedom. 

What do you like about summer?  Have I missed anything super amazing off?

Alex x

Spring Has Arrived!

This morning when I left for work it was cold, and foggy and there was condensation on my car.  When I arrived at wok an hour later it was still pretty cold.  So when I left the office to go for my lunch I assumed it was still coat weather.  I was wrong! It's such nice warm weather outside I had to carry my coat.  Everyone in town had big smiles on their faces and there was a happy vibe in the air.  I'm so glad the spring has finally arrived :)

I couldn't decide what to have for my lunch so I got a sandwich and chips- my motto is you only live once so why waste it being health conscious. I even bought Lea a little spring present (oh she's so lucky to have me).  I can't say what I got her though because she'll read this and it'll ruin the surprise.

I hope the sun is shining where you are :)

Alex x

Last Nights Photos

Last night I went out and took some photos.  Here are a selection:

Canon EOS 1100D, ISO 100, f/1, 20", 18mm 

Canon EOS 1100D, ISO 100, f/1, 20", 42mm

Canon EOS 1100D, ISO 3200, f/5, 1/8", 42mm

Canon EOS 1100D, ISO 2500, f/3.5, 1/30", 18mm

Canon EOS 1100D, ISO 1000, f/3.5, 1/40", 18mm

Canon EOS 1100D, ISO 3200, f/3.5, 1/15", 18mm

Which is your favourite?

Alex x

Everyone Should Get A Deck Chair

Last week Lea and I went to Ikea as she'd got the itch to redecorate our room. We've so far had it red and pink themed, and as a treat to me for putting up with the pink this time she went with blue.  So she bought some new bedding and a few other bits and bobs.  We got to the checkout and she decided that she'd quite like a get a chair for our room that she could sit in to read.  I didn't fancy traipsing a lllll the way back through Ikea to look at the chairs so she went off to look in the reduced price section and I loitered.  

Whilst I was loitering I spotted a nice looking deck chair which I promptly sat in. Once I'd sat in I didn't want to move, it was so nice and comfy! Well I fell in love with it and decided that this was the chair that we needed for our room. So when Lea came back I informed her of my decision and was met with a 'have you gone crazy' look.  

As if often in Ikea there was no visible price for the deck chair so I hauled it over to one of the price checkers.  To my delight it was only £20.  This completely sold it to me. I got Lea to sit it in and try it out and in the end she gave way.  

Now the deck chair is all set up in our room.  Lea's away for the weekend so I'm sat in it surfing the internet and watching TV with a Crabbies.  Just need to decide what to have for my dinner now!

Alex x

Do You Believe In....

Love at first sight?  I was a complete sceptic until I met Lea… 

I’d been single for a good few months and had enjoyed living the singe life for a while.  I wasn’t really on the look out for a girlfriend but I was starting to miss the perks of being in a relationship.

Being a student I didn’t often go out at the weekend as week nights were much cheaper.  On the Saturday in question I’d fallen asleep on the sofa whilst my housemates were watching XFactor.  When I woke up I decided we all needed to go on a night out and so out we went to our usual club where we pretty much knew everyone at least by sight- the gay community can be kind of small sometimes.

One of my mates had a friend up for the weekend who wasn’t a student and didn’t have a driving license so instead had some other form of ID.  The bouncer on the door was being pretty arsey about it and wasn’t going to let him in.  I asked to speak to the manager and she OK’d the ID. If she’d have had a problem with the ID I wouldn’t have gone into the club.

I’d been in there half an hour and was just dancing with my friends when there was a tap on my shoulder.  I turned round to see some guy wanting to say something to me.  He asked me if I was single so I said yes (he was obviously gay also so wasn’t asking me for himself!).  He pointed at this girl who had the stunning prettiest eyes and we had an instant connection. 

Maybe it wasn’t love at the VERY first sight but it was love that night.  We went outside and talked and talked and talked until my housemates were going back home. Now I don’t know what I was thinking, I gave her my number but didn’t take hers?! All the way home and that night I couldn't get her out of my head. t was kicking myself thinking what if she doesn’t get in contact.  Fortunately she did and the rest is history.  That was almost 1 ½ years ago and now I can’t imagine not knowing Lea.

Have any of you had any similar experiences?  What do you think about love at first sight?

Alex x

The Apprentice- Episode 1

So the new series of the apprentice started last night.  I've been an avid follower of the show since it first started so I was looking forward to the new series, and the first episode certainly didn't disappoint. 

It started off in the usual way with the candidates all power walking over a bridge...

And then making strange comments about their business acumen...

 

The teams were formed and told to come up with names...

 

 

And don't you think the eye-shadow you've got on is already zany enough?

The teams cracked on with making their products although the boys DIY skills were pretty terrible...

Next came the embarrassing sales techniques....

 

Although in the end the boys won, which led to...

The girls were very dissapointed with the result...

 Once in the boardroom they all pleaded not to be fired.  Bilyana led with a sob story...

And just as Lord Sugar was about to say 'Katie you're fired' Bilyana the idiot piped up yet again which led to....

Katie was particularly grateful for Bilyana's loose tongue...

 

To be continued....

Alex x

Angry Birds Space

I first got hooked on angry birds a couple of years ago whilst revising for my final exams at university.  Lets just say not much revision actually got done.  Thankfully I still managed to graduate :P

Angry Birds have been due a whole new game for a while now and the space revamp is certainly different.  Rovio have been building up to this release for a number of weeks now (including posting a video of a NASA astronaut launching stuffed birds around a space station) so my expectations have been high.  It's like learning how to play angry birds all over again for the first time. The normal rules of physics that the previous games are based on don't apply, now gravity fields of different space bodies have to be taken into account too. 

It's well worth the £0.69/ $0.99.  It's a good job my boss isn't in today because this is going to keep me entertained for quite a while....

Alex x

Song of the Week #1

Let me know your thoughts!

Alex x

Bruschetta

I Love Bruschetta.

I'm not a dessert person, I'm a starter person.  I've got the most savoury tooth around.  Bruschetta is my ABSOLUTE favourite starter. I've tried the bruschetta in many a restaurant, in the UK and abroad.  I've also made it myself.  But no bruschetta compares to the one served in Pizza Express.

Pizza Express Bruschetta

Somehow they've got the perfect balance of flavours and it tastes like heaven. Now most places put mozzarella on their bruschetta but not Pizza Express.  They keep it simple with just pesto, tomatoes, onions and olive oil.  I wish I could put my finger on what it was that made this recipe stand out from the others.  I wish I could recreate this recipe myself because just thinking about it make my mouth water.  And I'd be in major debt if every time I thought about it I went to Pizza Express..... although I may fall for my weakness tonight.

Has anyone else got an absolute favourite dish that stand out in one particular restaurant?

Alex x

Experimenting With Light

One of my favourite types of photography is experimenting with light.  Here are some of the pictures I have taken to date.

Alex x

Shredded Cabbage and Bacon

Our dinner for tonight is going to be pork chops (soaked in apple juice for a couple of hours and then put in the over for 40mins in the apple juice), mashed potato and shredded cabbage and bacon.  I found the cabbage and bacon recipe online one day as I had a cabbage that needed using.  I find this recipe extremely moreish and most of the time when I do make it I end up having to make some more later on that night.  I thought I would share this recipe with you:

Ingredients- Serves 2-3

450g shredded cabbage

50g shredded bacon

50g shredded smoked pancetta

1 medium onion cut into large pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic

Salt and pepper

Directions

1.    Fry the bacon, onion and smoked pancetta together in olive oil on a medium to high temperature for 5    minutes

2.    Add the crushed garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes

3.    Stir in the shredded cabbage

4.    Keep stirring (so it cooks evenly) for 10 minutes

5.    Season with some salt and pepper

It’s worth a try I promise!

Alex x

Coco

Our rabbit Coco is scared of the wooden floor in our bedroom, which is great because it means she stays on the rug.  We tried our hardest to house train her but nothing so far has worked.  She's recently taken to jumping on the bed and there has been a couple of accidents. Our other rabbit Flossy is not scared of the floor at all and she'll roam everywhere so Lea recently built them a little pen out of cardboard boxes so we don't need to keep an eye on them every minute that they're out.  Coco however still tries in vain to jump out and onto the bed.  This ended in tears today as she got stuck on the top of the pen.  I managed to take a quick picture on my phone...

It's not great quality but shows the ridiculousness.  She was stuck there for 20 odd seconds poor thing!

Alex x

My Mother

My mother is one of a kind.  When I say she’s one of a kind it’s hard to explain.  She is extremely opinionated and always right, so if you wanted to change her opinion on something it would be impossible, and yet she’s exceptionally clever.  She recently retired and had to give her work iPad back.  That night she called me and this is how the conversation went:

Mum: ‘I’ve been crying.  I’m in mourning’

Me: ‘What on earth are you talking about’

Mum: ‘My iPad- I had to give it back’

Me: ‘Well why don’t you just buy a new one then’

Mum: ‘It won’t be the same.  I feel like part of me has died.  I’m going to have to wear black for the foreseeable future’

Me: ‘But if you buy a new one it’ll be exactly the same because the back up of your old one will go onto it’

Mum: ‘It just won’t be the same.  I’ll know it’s not the same iPad.  Can we stop talking about it or I’ll cry again’

And the problem is she’s being deadly serious.  She will have actually cried over giving her iPad back….  So now she’s bought the new one and it got delivered today.  Seems she’s having technical issues with it as she’s rang me at work twice already today to ask me what to do.  Surely it can’t be that hard to follow the simple instructions Apple give you? My advice quite the panicking and wait until my brother got home because what good could I do from 80 miles away?  

When I lived at home I used to record some of the more ridiculous things she said.  I’m off to visit the parents this weekend as it’s my little bro’s birthday and Mother’s Day so I’m on a mission to try and record a few more ridiculous conversations for your entertainment. Wish me luck…..

Alex x

iPhone Games- Temple Run

You know it’s the end of the week when you call a client and say good afternoon when its 9 in the morning. I feel like a right idiot!

I love my iPhone. When my last one died on me I had to go out and buy another one straight away.   My favourite thing about them is the apps, especially the games. At the moment I’m hooked on Temple Run, basically a guy running through a temple, dodging obstacles and collecting coins.  The only problem is I’m HUGELY competitive and my girlfriend is beating me. I can’t even seem to beat my own high score and she just keeps getting better and better. Last night I was upstairs and she sent me a text from downstairs saying ‘look at my high score!’.  I’d like to say that if I was beating her I wouldn’t gloat so much but we know that’s not true. Any Temple Run addicts out there got any tips for me??  Or can anyone recommend any games that I might actually be better at?

Temple Run (image from www.tuaw.com)

Alex x

Tags: Get To Know Me

My girlfriend completed this tag on her blog (shebeginstosee.blogspot.com/) so I thought I’d do it too.  I’m quite unphotogenic but here’s a picture of me and Lea:

 

That's me on the left and Lea my fiancee on the right

1. Are you named after anyone?

No. My parents say that my middle name was from Helen of Troy but I’ve always thought that story to be a little far-fetched.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Ummm I’m not sure but probably not long ago, I’m a big cry baby when Lea and I have an argument- which thankfully isn’t too often!

3. Do you have kids?

One day, for now two rabbits and a fiancée is enough for me.

4. If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself?

I don’t see why not, I don’t think I’m hard to get along with?

5. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Far far too much, and then there’s the awkward moment when someone doesn’t get it…

6. Will you ever bunjee jump?

I don’t think so.  I’m not afraid of heights or of extreme sports but I have never wanted to bungee jump.  I think it’s the whole feet tied together thing that I’m not a fan of.

7. What's your favourite cereal?

I’m not a massive fan of cereal but recently I’ve been eating Cheerios before work to stop myself being incredibly hungry stuck in the morning traffic jams.

8. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Their eyes I think.  I’m a big fan of blue eyes.  Other than that probably their noses- the wide range of noses people have fascinates me.

9. What is your eye colour?

Browny hazel but I wish they were blue…

10. Scary movies or a happy ending?

Aaaalways a happy ending.  I can’t be doing with scary movies, why would you want to purposefully scare yourself? Happy movies are much nicer and don’t stop you from sleeping at night!

11. Favourite smell?

The smell of grass when it’s first cut after winter.  Bonfires and barbeques.  Beyonce’s Heat perfume that my girlfriend wears.  The list is quite endless.

12. Summer or Winter?

Summer every single time.  The winter is miserable and cold and dark and rainy.  Summer on the other hand (sometimes) is warm and light and the sun shines and you can sit outside at the pub all evening and have a BBQ on the beach.  Why wouldn’t you like summer?

13. Computer or TV?

TV’s gone downhill these days.  And anything you would watch on TV you can watch online so computer most definitely.

14. What's the furthest you've ever been from home?

India, but I want to go everywhere!

15. Do you have any special talents?

Oh god mmm, not that I can think of. That makes me sound boring. I can touch my nose with my tongue…. I’m a brilliant slacker/ procrastinator if you can count that as a talent :P

16. Where were you born?

Kendal, near the Lake District. Home of the god awful Kendal mint cake.

17. What are your hobbies?

My newest hobby is blogging.  Apart from that watching TV, reading, taking photos, skiing and my favourite hobby is spending time with my little family- Lea and the two rabbits.

18. Do you have any pets?

Two rabbits Coco and Flossy.  I adore them. 

19. Favourite Movie?

I like lots of films so pinning down a favourite one is hard.  I love Gladiator,  The Talented Mr Ripley and The Thomas Crown Affair. I have seen them all a gazillion times.  I love any good romcom though.

20. Do you have any siblings?

1 brother who is 6 ½ years younger than me.  We get on really well thankfully. Although he is going through his moody teenager years he’s still a good lad.

And those were 20 pointless facts about me!

Alex

x