Love, Hate...Tag!

Since my blog is fairly new, I have been trying to think of different posts that would let you guys know a little bit more about me. I’ve always thought the best blogs show the personality of the writer rather than just churning out facts so when the lovely Kate recently tagged me in the Love / Hate post I thought it would be the perfect opportunity!

For those that aren’t familiar with the concept of being tagged in a post (i.e. me before I was tagged…), it usually means that another blogger has answered a set of questions and are then asking for your answers to the same thing. In this case, it was to write about 10 things you love, 10 things you hate and then to tag 5 bloggers to take part.

So let’s get the grumpiness out of the way first, these are the things that pretty much ruin my day:

1. Grumpy Bus Drivers. As a 26 year old who has still not graduated from public transport slave to a car owner with the world at her fingertips, I currently get 4 buses a day for work. The individuals who are in control of my transportation have the power to make or break my day and half the time they don’t even seem to realise it. Now, I understand that my bus driver is not just a part of the bus, he or she is a person. I get that maybe they don’t want to be a bus driver. Or they might like driving but aren’t wild about people. I understand that they might be having a crappy day and can’t stand the bubbly blonde in bright yellow grinning manically at 7am… to be fair I can be pretty damn annoying. But honestly, manners cost nothing. Bus drivers that barely grunt if you are lucky let alone say hello, practically snatch your money from your hand and chuck your ticket back at you while all the time avoiding eye contact…no thank you. It instantly puts me in a foul mood. Plus don’t even get me started on the ones that seem to think you are single-handedly destroying the bus service by paying with a (shock, horror) £5 note rather than the exact £4.37 or whatever the extortionate price is this week.

2. Static Hair. You know when you’ve spent ages perfecting your makeup, your hair is all shiny and perfectly styled and all is looking on point...But then you make the school boy error of pulling on a dress over your head and when you pop out the other side you look like you’ve been hit with a bolt of electricity a la cartoon style? Yes…that…I hate that.

3. “I call a spade a spade”. That line…goodness me. What I find that line often translates to is in fact “I am a rude individual who gives no thought towards how I can affect others with my words”. Now honesty is a good thing in life and we all need that person who will give it to us straight when others are dancing around an uncomfortable subject. But some people just completely cross the line and need to rein in their spade calling abilities.

4. Weak carrier bags. Yeah I know, I’m really going for the hard hitting, deep subjects. Seriously though, there is nothing more irritating than trundling along with a bag full of shopping when without a seconds notice, the contents of said crappy bag start decorating the street. There is then the delightful game of dodge the stranger to pick up your stuff while typically everything seems to have a far better rolling ability than you ever thought possible. Add to that the use of paper bags on a rainy day. Yes we absolutely need to save the environment but when a shop assistant hands over a precariously packed paper bag when you both know it is torrential outside…it’s not going to end well.

5. No signal. Oh good lord the fear that those two words create. I’m sure this is probably thought of by some as the “problem with our generation” but I like to be connected to the world and I’m not ashamed of saying that. Especially now that I am blogging, this whole new type of interaction has opened up. Being online isn’t just about mindless scrolling and cat videos, though yes, that is certainly an enjoyable aspect. But it’s also about sharing your thoughts, the ability to contact people you might have never met or stay in touch with those half a world away, creating a space that is your own and being who you want to be without fear of judgement. So yes, I miss that little bundle of internetty goodness when it’s not available. However just to make things clear, no that does not mean I think it’s acceptable to ignore others to sit on your phone while people are talking to you / completely lose the concept of the “real world”.

6. When your shoes rub. Buying shoes is not something I overly obsess over but it is rather nice to add some exciting new footgear to your collection. However, with new shoes often comes that torturous period where the seemingly soft and inoffensive material decides to become as skin friendly as a cheese grater. Within half an hour of donning the beauties, no longer are you strutting your stuff like Paulo Nutini, instead you are tentatively limping around the place with a strained look plastered all over your face. Even worse than the new shoe pain is when good shoes turn bad. You have broken them in and they fit your foot like a glove so you think they are the perfect shoe choice for a day of wandering around a new city. Little did you know they were just luring you in with a false sense of security before viciously betraying you at your time of foot hugging need. Ouch.

7. Bananas. They are smelly and mushy and offensively yellow. They are the devil's fruit. Plus my sister hates them too…Need I say more?

8. The words “moist” and “succulent”. Honestly, shivers are running through me at the mere typing of these words. They are vile. I can’t even explain why but they are hideously sloppy sounding words that should just be struck from the dictionary and never uttered again by anyone. That includes you Mary Berry and your wet sponges.

9. My rubbish left knee. To be fair it is not entirely my knee’s fault that I hate it. When I was 16 I partially tore my cruciate ligament while playing an ill-fated game of basketball and it has never been the same since. At the not so basketball friendly height of 5 foot 2 and being the lazy, uncoordinated lump that I am, I should have known better than to attempt exercise really. At one point of the game a rather terrifying girl of much larger stature than myself barreled in to me and the knee, I learnt, was not a fan of bending sideways. Anyways, since then it has been a permanent pain in the back side. A little too much activity and it spontaneously turns purple! Thank the lord I had already graduated from snowplough to parallel turns when skiing otherwise I would be even grumpier with the knee than I am currently. Also, it likes to ache when the weather gets cold. Yes, I am a 90 year old woman, nice to meet you.

10. Noisy eating. The fury that builds up inside me when a noisy eater is in my presence is unhealthy to say the least. A good ol’ crunch is fine but it’s the overly drooley sloshing sounds that simply turn my stomach. Plus it’s one of those things that once you have noticed, you simply cannot prevent your ears from hearing it any more.

Ok so that's the whingey part out of the way, I sound delightful right now I'm sure...On to the happy stuff! I'll assume that given the fact I have a blog all about it, you guys already know I'm a fan of all things beauty so I'll try to be a little more inventive!

1. Lets start with a bit of cheese to get the ball rolling on this love stuff. I consider myself to be a very lucky girl to have such wonderful family and friends. I come from the type of family that always hug and say I love you. The type that still all go on holiday with each other despite being all grown up, get drunk together and are generally just that family from the tv adverts that look annoyingly chummy. Yeah, we're them. Add to that some of the best friends anyone could wish for. I am not one who is surrounded by crowds of chums but the ones that I do have are the utmost amazing people you could ever imagine. I am so lucky that I even have one extremely special one that I have literally known since we were babies. She even comes complete with memories of both of us eating soap when we were little to try and get attention from our parents by looking a bit rabies-esque...how could you beat that? Honestly, you guys are the best.

2. Carrying on with this theme of serious sicklyness, next up is my fiancé. He started out as the boy who lived on the floor below me in university halls who played his music too loud. Little did I know, after wooing me with a homemade caesar salad and some questionable cat impressions (oh yeah, serious romance up in here) this boy would become my best friend and the love of my life. He's a mysterious, amusingly grouchy, gloriously bearded, manly man that I couldn't live without. Not to mention the fact that he is a world record breaking powerlifter...hello hunky.

3. Next up are my two Bengal cats, Diego and Django. Yes that's right, I've gone from cheese to crazy cat lady. If you aren't aware of the bengal breed, they are hybrids between domestic and Asian Leopard Cats and oh my god they are mental. If they aren't zooming around the house at warp speed, they are opening drawers, turning on taps or biting the fingers off of rubber gloves. They are also extremely loving and will literally headbutt you awake for cuddles.

4. Oh how I love doing nothing more than lying around in my pyjamas, snuggled up on the sofa with my boys and having a day filled with eating and film watching. This my friends is why I will always be on the chunky side of life.

5. In the words of Jesse from Breaking Bad, "Yeah Science!". Call me a geek, I do not care, I freaking love Science. From the latest findings in space to tech that detects brain tumors during surgery to reading what would happen if you put a nuclear bomb in a volcano...I'm all over it.

6. I've been lucky enough to have been going skiing since I was about 12 years old and I absolutely love it. It's not just the activity itself but the snow, the mountain air, that feeling of being on top of the world, it's just amazing. What makes it even more special for me is the fact that we've been skiing in the same resort in Bulgaria (Borovets!) right from the very start. So not only is it a great holiday but we now have a number of friends there which adds to how fantastic it is!

7. Tights. An odd one I know but whoever invented tights is a god. Sadly I am not blessed with the long, slim legs of Taylor but something far more tree trunk like. Given this, I'm not a fan of getting the pins out at all. However, I LOVE dresses...conundrum. Chuck in some tights and the problem is solved. Plus they can be used to add another element to your outfit since they come in such a range of colours and patterns.

8. My engagement ring. Yes I am having a materialistic moment but oh my goodness it is stunning. It's a faceted moonstone on a diamond encrusted band and I absolutely love the fact that I have never seen anyone else with something similar. It constantly changes colour from clear to milky to blue depending on how the light hits it which I find fascinating...I'll admit that I sometimes just sit there staring at it twinkling away. The main stone and the band were chosen separately and then my fiance had it all put together so it's such a personal item not to mention it obviously signifies something pretty special.

9. Adventure! There is nothing like discovering new places and experiences. Thanks to my travel happy mum and dad I had the opportunity to visit so many amazing places all across the world while I was growing up. It's definitely instilled in me that want to see as much of the world as possible! Before I went to university, I took a gap year and spent 8 months in Australia working in an Aboriginal boarding school and traveling along the East coast. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life and made me realise that it's always an amazing thing to push your boundaries and try new things in new places.

10. Diving. 71 percent of the Earth is covered in water and under the surface is a whole new world altogether. I find diving so calming. It's as if everything slows, it's just you and the gentle rhythm of your breathing. I got the chance to do my Open Water PADI certification on the Great Barrier Reef while staying on an uninhabited island which was an absolute dream. Two of my life goals are to  dive with whale sharks and great whites, though preferably a cage will be involved with the latter!

So that's it, now you know a little bit more about me! I know it was quite a ramble but hopefully it gives you a little insight into the writer behind the blog.

On to my final task, choosing five bloggers to give it a go. I'm going to nominate:

Pinja from Pinja K

Sarah from See The Stars

Jessica from Jess' Journal

Bethany from Polished Couture

Catherine from You Wish You

Hopefully none of you guys have done this before! Everyone make sure you visit the blogs above because they are great!