951. Name one thing that is beautiful about your body My skin.
952. Name one thing that is ugly about your body Tummy.
953. Name one thing that is beautiful about your mind I’m intelligent.
954. Name one thing that is ugly about your mind It’s beats me up often.
955. Who was the last person you were rude to? Don’t remember.
956.Are your elbows soft? Yes.
957. Are you ticklish? Yes but because my boyfriend tickles me a lot I’m starting to build some kind of resistance to it, lol.
958. Are you awkward or graceful? Bit of both.
959. Do you wear glasses/contacts? Neither.
960. If you wear contacts what’s the longest you have ever left them in your eyes? n/a
961. What’s going on where you are right now? My dad just got home.
962. What is your favorite thing to touch? This is the sort of question one has to be careful when answering since almost anything could end up sounding very rude, even if you didn’t intend it to! I think both my cats, Molly and Lola, would be up there in the faves because they’re both soft and snuggle back!
963. What is your favorite kind of incense? I don’t really use incense. Most of them are too overpowering for me.
964. What relaxes you? Reading, watching TV/films, certain things online (like blogs), cuddles, showers, baths, a nice cup of tea.
965. How much time have you wasted? Quite a bit, but we wont think about it for it is frightening.
966. How do you afford your rock and roll lifestyle? When I get a rock and roll lifestyle I’ll let you know!
967. What does teen spirit smell like? Sweat? All I can think of is sweat. And bubblegum.
968. Do you mostly listen or hear? Both, depending on what it is.
969. Look or see? See above.
970. Do you comprehend all the things you read? No.
971. Is it necessary to be repetitive in order to be creative? I have no idea; whatever works for you.
972. Do you control your attitude or does it control you? You control it, but it often doesn’t feel that way.
973. Are your relationships mostly passion or conversation? For the first time I feel like it’s a really good balance.
974. Do you do what needs to be done regardless of the consequences? No, not always. I’m the sort of person that likes to consider consequences.
975. Is money how you keep score? No, I don’t keep score at all.
976. Who can you do everything or nothing with and still have the best time? My boyfriend, my cousin/best friend.
977. Just because you’re angry does that give you the right to be cruel? Hell no.
978. What is maturity and where does it come from? I think maturity is kind of like wisdom and it just comes with life experience. Generally I consider a mature person to realise that there are responsibilities and obligations in life, that everything we do has a consequence. Maturity does not equal the inability to have fun, however.
979. Who is the maturest person you know? I can’t be bothered answering this. lol
980. Who is the most immature person you know? Well my niece. Because she’s one.
981. If there was a fire and you could only rescue one thing from your room (all people and pets have escaped on their own, even goldfish) what would it be? I find this question distressing.
982. If you could, what 3 albums would you force everyone to remove from his or her CD collections? None. I don’t care about others’ music taste.
983. Does Marilyn Manson scare you or bore you? He bores me. Thank God Dita von Teese removed herself from that….thing.
984. What do you think of the Insane Clown Posse? I’m not that familiar with them.
985. What’s the best movie about high school? I’ll just say The Breakfast Club because I’m particularly fond of it.
986. Do you like Michael Jackson better in the 80′s 90′s or today? 80s.
987. Is choosing a different store to shop in from most people really making a statement? Not particularly, no.
988. What’s the riskiest thing you’ve ever done? No comment.
989. Have you ever ridden in a car while the driver had been drinking? Not with anyone over the limit.
990. Who needs to get a life? People who right into gossip magazines about celeb gossip stores as if those stories are true. Seriously, wtf?
991. Do write on yourself with milky pens? What the hell are milky pens?
992. What should be different about high school curriculum? More life skills.
993. Right now are you exactly the way you want to be? No.
994. Who can save you from yourself? Myself.
995. Are you a responsible person? Pretty much. Very Mother Goosey.
996. “It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.” — Oscar Wilde
Do you agree?
Lol, I’m not sure, but I do think he has a point.
997. How many greatest hits albums do you own? Probably 5 or so.
998. Are you at risk for a.i.d.s.? Well, I suppose we all are as long as we’re having sex, but I think my chances of being exposed to HIV are very, very slim.
999. Do you want to have it all? Well, yeah.
1000. Do you collect green pictures of dead presidents? No, I do not collect American money.

Here is a Christmas meme that I snagged from Holly.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I have always loved wrapping paper. I used to wrap up random things when I was little in any paper I could find and everyone would wonder where their stuff had gone. Perhaps I should become a professional gift wrapper? This is not to say that I don’t have love for gift bags, but if I use them it’s more for birthdays or other super-special occasions.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
We always have a real tree. When I was little we used to get a random wonky pine branch off one of the pine trees on my grandparents farm, but last year we bought a pine grown specially for Christmas and we’re doing the same this year. I can see the appeal of artificial trees, but I prefer the real thing.

3. When do you put up the tree?
There isn’t a specific day that we put it up. Generally it’s early/mid December.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Usually early January.

5. Do you like eggnog?
I’ve never had it and it’s not particularly popular in New Zealand. It seems like the sort of thing one has during winter and it’s obviously summer here in the southern hemisphere. Maybe I’ll make some this year just to see?

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
I don’t remember, though I know I was unbelievably chuffed when I got a green Baby-G watch, because Baby Spice wore a Baby-G watch, too!

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Most people this year have been a bit difficult to think of gifts for, actually. I’m on a tight budget so it doesn’t leave me much room to work with, but fortunately I know what I’m getting almost everyone now. Just something else for the boyfriend, but I’ve no idea what, yet.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
My mum, as usual.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
No, the focus of Christmas for my family has no connection with the reason behind Christmas.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail, though I’m not sending many out this year. Just a few to close friends and the rest will be given along with presents.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I can’t really think of anything. For the most part people are good about picking the right stuff to give me!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Nightmare Before Christmas and Love Actually.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Around November. I’m about 1/3 done.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Nope.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Dessert! And Christmas breakfast usually involves lots of yummy fruit, croissants, cheeses, and cranberry sauce. I think it’s actually my favourite meal.

16. Lights on the tree?
Our lights are still packed away and I don’t think we’ll be getting them out before this Christmas! We’ll forgo the lights.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Santa Baby.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
From 2001-2007 we travelled for Christmas, but now we live in Auckland again so no need to.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
No. I could have copied Holly’s answer, but that would be cheating. I do know Rudolph though.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star. I wanted to find a pretty angel or something but haven’t been able to this year (so far, there is still time!).

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning with my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, then again at lunch with extended family.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
The commercialisation of everything and that stores seem to be decorating and displaying Christmas stuff earlier and earlier, then there is the general business of the shops and stuff.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
It varies, but I adore silver and frosty blue decorations. The only reason I would get an artificial tree is so I can get a black one and decorate it in silver and frosty blue!

24. Favorite memory of Christmas?
I don’t have one in particular; I just love being with my family. I must say though, Christmases have been even better since more nieces and nephews have come along. I think kids add a special kind of magic to it.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
A new cell phone, a 2010 planner, about 5 different calenders I fell in love with the other week, a million pairs of shoes, a house of my own, pretty much everything from Vivien of Holloway… But I’m actually only asking for the first two.

For the first time ever, I have created a holiday theme for my blog. I’m pleased as punch with it, quite frankly, considering I only decided I wanted to have a Christmas theme yesterday afternoon and worked on it until 10pm last night and then a bit this morning. Usually it takes me over a week to finalise a design because I tweak them so much!

Anyway, it features a wonderful illustration by Martine Lemmens and so far there is only one glitch (with the navigation appearance) which I will fix later today because I’m going out soon.

Happy December, everyone!

901. Would you rather have a candle scented like blueberries and creme or butterscotch pecan pie? Blueberries and creme.
902. Which ones are fruits and which are vegetables:
Banana Fruit.
Cucumber Technically a fruit.
Tomato Technically a fruit.
AppleFruit.
Carrot Vegetable.
Eggplant Technically a fruit.
Cherry Fruit.
Pumpkin Technically a fruit.
903. Does it annoy you when people talk loudly on their cell phones in public? Sometimes, especially if it’s graphic.
904. Is love a commitment to one person, or can you love more than one person at the same time? I think people are perfectly capable of loving, and being in committed relationships with, more than one person at the same time, but that’s not how I roll.
905. Cover or original:
Smooth Criminal; is it better by Michael Jackson or Alien Ant Farm? MJ.
Blue Monday better by Orgy or New Order Haven’t heard it.
I Want Candy; Is it better by Aaron Carter or Bow Wow Wow? Didn’t someone else do it before Aaron and Bow Wow?
Love Song; Is it better by 311 or The Cure? The Cure.
It’s My Life; Is it better by No Doubt or The Talking Heads? Haven’t heard the Talking Heads version and I’m ok with the No Doubt one.
906. What is the most uncomfortable feeling? The gut-wrenching moments in life. And period pain.
907. Do you like Maroon 5? I quite like their first album.
908. Would you ever go on a blind date TV show? No way.
909. How much of your wardrobe is dry clean only? None of it, really. Some of it is handwash-very-carefully-or-the-sky-will-fall-on-your-head though.
910. Who’s arms would you like to crawl into? My boyfriend, Josh’s. He’s got the best arms in the whole while world.
911. What the hell is your problem? Well today I think it’s anaemia and having Aunt Flo show up in full force. Hey there blood loss and hormones, you rule. Oh, and the fact I’m not filthy rich so I can’t buy my own house and decorate it to a perfectly vintage standard of awesome, and buy lots of dresses.
912. Look around you. What is the most beautiful thing you can see? Photos of the people I care about.
913. What is the most beautiful thing you can’t see? There isn’t really a most beautiful, because there are lots of things I find beautiful. I shall say my cats, though, ’cause they are beautiful and amazing.
914. Take a deep breath. Yawn deeply. Do you appreciate the things most people take for granted, like breathing? I do try to.
915. Do you appreciate breathing more when you have a cold and you’re all congested and can’t breathe right? To be honest, not really. I’m too busy being sick to give a crap.
916. Is congestion a positive thing because it helps you to appreciate breathing? No.
917. How is your life like a work of art? Because sometimes I look like something out of a Picasso painting? And sometimes my life doesn’t make much sense, a bit like a Dali painting. Mostly life’s just beautiful like everything da Vinci did.
918. Do you feel that your life influences and is influenced by many other lives? Of course; people are all entwined whether we like it or not, and thus we cannot help but influence each other even in very minute ways. Freedom from that is unattainable.
919. Has a smile ever made all the difference in the world to you? Yes, most definitely.
920. Have you ever looked at a tree and considered how the roots could be miles long, trailing and entwining with other roots underground, all of them holding the soil together? Yep. Trees are damn cool, really.
921. Do you notice the little things in life? Nowhere near enough as I should.
922. Do you feel, as Jung did, that deep down, underneath our individual personalities we are all the same? Possibly.
923. Do you feel a great oneness with the universe? Nope. Should I? Do I need to?
924. When was the last time you decided to really enjoy yourself? I don’t really decide it, I just do manage to really enjoy myself most of the time.
925. When was the last time you set your self free and acted without caring at all what someone else thought? Hmm, little while ago.
926. Have you ever held someone and appreciated how delicate and fragile all life is and felt that they were even more precious and beautiful because one day they would die..and so will you? Yes.
927. In ten years someone else might own your house and the room you are sitting in now. Someone else might be standing right next to where you are sitting now. So that means you could be standing right next to someone but you can’t see him or her because they are ten years away.

Ever look at life like that? Sometimes.
928. When was the last time you:
Soaked in a bubble bath MONTHS ago.
Read a good book outside Friday.
Held someone’s hand This morning I held my niece’s.
Felt truly joyful Yesterday.
929. What do you bring to this world that no one else can? Myself.
930. Do you feel that you are part of every living thing in this world and that all those things are part of you? Yes, when you considering atoms and how they are always around.
931. Are you more afraid of death or not completely living? Not completely living. If I feel like I have really lived my life, death will not scare me.
932. What was the last thing you wanted to do but didn’t or couldn’t do? Go see my guy.
933. Why don’t you try and do that thing now? Because I do not have my driver licence so therefore I cannot go to his house.
934. What is the most wonderful thing happening right now in the world? Somewhere a much adored and wanted baby was just born.
935. Name 7 things going on around you that you normally wouldn’t notice:
1. There is a bug crawling in the corner of my room.
2. Plane overhead.
3. Traffic noise.
4. Chickens are finally quiet.
5. Tiny bug on my window.
6. Can’t see
7. anything else
936. Name three things you hate
1. Excessive rain.
2. Feeling exhausted.
3. Not having my driver licence and a car.
937. Name one GOOD thing about each of those 3 things you hate.
The ground and plants get watered, the water tank filled; I might actually sleep tonight; I can’t crash and die in my own car.
938. What do you tend to see in black and white, rather than in shades of gray? Not much, except for everything when I’m angry. Actually no, here’s some things: racism is always awful and NEVER justified, and the same goes for any sort of abuse.
939. Admit three things you do that you are ashamed of but shouldn’t be. I am not ashamed of anything I do.
940. What qualities make a person “good” in your eyes? I guess just being generally kind, considerate and appreciative of others.
941. Do you have any of these qualities? All of them, the extent to which I have any or all can vary.
942. Are you willing to do what it takes to achieve what you want to? Yes, I think so, once I know what it takes and what I need to do.
943. Name one bad quality about someone you love. No thank you.
944. Name one good quality about someone you hate. I don’t actually hate anyone.
945. Are you pro life or pro choice and why? Pro choice. Because I believe every woman should have the right to choose whether she wants to have a child and she should have legal access to safe medical treatment and counselling should she opt for an abortion.
946. If you are pro life write a reason someone might be pro choice. If you are pro choice write a reason someone might be pro life. Someone might be pro life because they consider abortions to be murder and that murder is wrong.
947. Can you see the beauty in?
A bumble bee:
A man skating:
A woman combing her hair:
A box of tissues:
Yourself naked:
Light: Yes to all.
948. What are you most afraid of? Not reaching my goals.
949. Whose life would you REALLY NOT want to ever have? A high profile celebrity’s
Why? No privacy.
950. Can you come up with a reason why you might want their life? Money.

From a few days ago.

It’s been a ridiculously long time since I’ve updated my list of 101 Things in 1001 Days, in fact I hadn’t even so much as glanced at the list since about May! Very slack of me but my excuse is that I’ve been very busy doing important things. Anyway, now I’m less busy doing important things, I thought I’d take a look at said list and to my surprise I’ve actually completed a few new things and some other things are in progress and some others require a general update. Hence the purpose of this post, obviously!

Develop more self-confidence – Completed
Ok, while technically this is the sort of thing that is continually in progress throughout life, for the purpose of this exercise I’m going to say I’ve completed it because, in comparison with this time last year, I have bucket loads more self-confidence. Hurrah!
Continue reading »

I babysat my niece today and before nap time (hers, not mine ) I grabbed my camera to take a few shots while we played. I’m slowly becoming more comfortable with the various manual settings on my camera, though by no means am I anything but amateur! Still fun to play though.

851. Have you ever seen the musical Annie? In movie form, yes.
852. Sheets: silk or satin? Cotton please. Silk and satin are ridiculously hot.
853. Bath: soap or bubbles? Bubbles.
854. Your best color: blue or red? My favourite of the two is blue, and I think I can wear both fairly well.
855. What’s your favorite candy? Gumi bears, black jelly beans, Fruit Bursts
856. Can you sing? Not really.
857. It’s the end of the world, as we know it. How do you feel? I feel fine.
858. You take your little sister (she’s 12) shopping for school clothes. Mom gave you the money to hold. She picks out a skimpy top emblazoned “Hottie” and hip-hugging pants that leave at least two inches of skin north and south of her navel exposed to the wind. She insists: If she doesn’t have these clothes, she’ll look awful, the other kids will tease her, and she’ll feel like a nerd.
Do you think she should or should not wear these clothes? Hell no, she’ll have plenty of time to look like a cheap hooker when she’s an adult!
Do you buy them for her? Nooooo! I will try and find her something trendy but appropriate for her age.
859. What do you think is the most annoying cliché? I can’t think of one right now.
860. What band is underground right now but will one day get really popular? I don’t really listen to that much underground music.
861. Of the following which word best describes you:
versatile (flexible): This one?
wonderful:
x-tra special:
your own best friend:
zany:
862. What does BYOB stand for? Bring Your Own Booze?
863. Who is sexiest:
Marilyn Monroe
James Dean He really was.
Elvis
Jim Morrison
Madonna
Cyndi Lauper
864. Do you always do what’s expected of you? No. I actually like avoiding it, providing the expected isn’t what I actually what for myself.
865. Do you believe everything you hear on the news? No way.
866. Would you prefer a $100.00 gift certificate to Hot Topic or Abercrombie & Fitch (assuming neither store gives change, so you’ll have to spend the whole thing)? I guess Hot Topic? We have neither store here, so I’m hoping the gift certificate also comes with an all-expenses-paid trip to the U.S.
867. Have you ever won a competition? Yar.
868. Who looks sloppier when they are over weight, guys or girls? Both can look sloppy, overweight or not!
869. At what age do you become all grown up? It’s different for everyone. I think it’s when you become fully independent, financially and emotionally.
870. Have you ever written graffiti on anything? Nope.
871. Can you remember what you wrote? n/a
872. Are you a force of nature? Of course.
873. What do you think of blue eye shadow? Depends how it’s done. It can look amazing when done right, or really….bad.
How about gold eye shadow? See above.
874. Would you ever wear any of the following Halloween costumes:
Flapper? Yes!
Hippie? Yes.
Disco dancer? Maybe. If I’m desperate.
875. Should birth control be taught in high school? Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yyyyeeeesssssss!!!!!! Yes.
How about in jr. high or elementary school? Based on the way things are going in Western societies, beginning in primary school might not be such a bad idea…
876. Would you consider yourself a genius? No, I wouldn’t.
877. What did you think of the movie Solaris? Haven’t seen it.
878. Which is usually better movies or books? Books.
879. Do you think The Hobbit will be made into a movie? I thought it was being made into one? Either way, I don’t actually care.
880. Do you research which brands use sweatshops to make their clothing before you shop?Not as much as I should.
881. What gives you a magical feeling? Decorating for Christmas, mushy-gushy lovie moments, when I see a wonderful piece of art, random moments when I’m amongst nature.
882. Have you ever pulled apart a Christmas cracker? Of course!
883. Would you rather watch basketball or play basketball? Watch.
884. Do you think that everyone makes his or her own problems? I think to a degree, yes. We certainly often contribute to them, though there are obviously times where other people do things that affect us, which we can’t control.
885. Do you often consider how your actions will affect other people? Yes.
886. Are J-Lo and Ben Afleck interesting to you at all? Nope.
887. Do you use poor grammar or hate poor grammar? I’m definitely not a grammar genius, but I do hate the obviously really poor grammar.
888. Make up a tabloid headline: No.
889. Do you like to learn new things? Yes.
890. What’s more important, fame or personal accomplishment? Personal accomplishment.
891. Sweet dreams are made of this….
What are they made of? Rainbows and kitties and fairies and candy floss and fluffy clouds and GLITTER.
892. Two trailer park girls go round the outside…
Round the outside of what? Eminem’s trailer?
893. Are you wearing a piece of jewelry that means a lot to you right now? Yes, two pieces actually.
894. If someone was going to inscribe a message on a ring and give it to you what would you want it to say? I have no idea.
895. Guys who are losing their hair:
Should they shave their heads? Shave or trim to very short.
Get implants? If they really want to.
Or let it go? I don’t care, as long as they don’t do the comb-over.
896. Do rock stars work hard or lead the easy life? That kind of creativity doesn’t come easy, and neither does recording and album, promoting it and playing it live. There is often much travel involved and consequently relationships with people at home can suffer. I don’t think they have it easy at all. Maybe they have lots of money, but that doesn’t mean life is instantly amazing.
897. How much water do you drink every day? Not as much as I should.
898. Are you driven or kinda apathetic? Becoming more driven.
899. Who do you turn to when you are down? My mum and friends.
900. Would you ever wear seran-wrap? Possibly.

“Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That’s kinda cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us.”
— Neil deGrasse Tyson

A friend posted this quote in their LiveJournal and it resonated with me so I figured I’d pass it along.
Happy Friday, lovelies!

No, I’m not dead (sorry to disappoint anyone?), I just spent the last week with my boyfriend and, well, who wants to write blog posts when you can do stuff with your boyfriend instead? And by ‘stuff’ I mean movies, cooking, walking and swimming. I bet you thought I was being rude… Shame on you…

Now he’s gone home however, so I shall pay attention to blogging again.

Don’t you hate people like that, though? You know the ones: they’re involved with their friends, family, and activities until they get a boy- or girlfriend, and then they pretty much disappear off the face of the planet. You don’t hear from them again until a) their significant other goes away, b) they have a fight with their significant other, or c) they break up with/get dumped by their significant other. Doesn’t it make you want to pull their hair out and yell at them, or something?

I will not be one of those annoying people who abandons everything for her boyfriend. I promise! Just this last week was the exception because I was also bombarded with an awful Women’s Issue in which I felt as though my uterus was going to climb out of my abdomen and eat the nearest person (which consequently would have been my boyfriend). Not exactly conducive to writing, I tell you.