Pleasing to a Mollbird

2012 Challenge: 366 Stupid Suggestions: 11 to 20

2012-02-18T10:00:00.000Z

Well hello. Another round of stupid suggestion catching up from me. Brace yourself.....

Disclaimer: mollbird takes no responsibility whatsoever if you're dumb enough to actually try any of these. Ever.

11. Experiment with espresso as a pre-bedtime tipple.

12. Two Words: SOUP SHOWER

13. Spend 26 days where you only eat food beginning with each subsequent letter of the alphabet. Brand names DO NOT count.

14. Get a facial tattoo on a whim.

15. Go on a reality TV show in order to gain credibility.

16. Run before you walk.

17. Make a friend a necklace made of sausages and be INCREDIBLY offended when they won't wear it.

18. Start a war.

19. Marry an inanimate object and then be unfaithful as it's not like they can do anything about it. However, bigamy crosses the line.

20. Bumholes on toast.

Wordless Wednesday: Tickled Panther

2012-02-15T13:00:00.000Z

Not for the prim and proper: mollbird does Valentine's

2012-02-14T21:00:00.002Z

In this place I do embrace my darker sense of humour,
It's Valentine's but could be worse,
I could have a Love Tumour.......

Other people's donations to the cause....

Roses are red, the grass it is wettish, I think I love you, because you have a foot fetish. @alicestronaut

Roses are Red, Giraffe's they have necks, OMG shit look velociraptor! Psych, surprise buttsecks. @bejesus

Roses are red, Violets are blue, Get me two girls and a cup-full of poo. @NobbyNobody

Roses are red, Violets are blue, Shit piss bum willy, Fuck arse tits poo. @ajholman

Roses are red, violets are floral, I shagged the queen up her arse in Balmoral. @mikeisbrill

And two of my own....

Roses are red, Violets are blue, I've taken to wanking, While thinking of you.

Roses are red, Violets are blue, Ultimately we all die alone.

You're welcome x

Music Monday: V V Brown "Shark in the Water"

2012-02-13T21:00:00.002Z

I like it.

2012 Challenge: 366 Stupid Suggestions

2012-02-09T11:00:00.002Z

Relatively self explanatory title there huh?

To slightly elaborate, back in the previous Team Gang meet up, you know, the one with all the questions, Alice, Ed and I set to with coming up with a few alternative new year's resolutions. I won't reveal theirs because I suspect that Ed will want to blog about doing a pooh in a litter tray......oh, sorry. Moving on, one of mine was to come up with a stupid suggestion for each day of 2012. Being a leap year that is 366 of them. I have no idea if I'm capable of this and have already fallen behind but I shall begin to make amends and catch up. Chocks away.....

Disclaimer: mollbird takes no responsibility whatsoever if you're dumb enough to actually try any of these. Ever.

1. Decide to have a New Year's Resolution to come up with 366 stupid suggestions.

2. Stop washing for a week to assess the impact on your popularity.

3. Spend 24 hours consuming only things considered condiments.

4. Carry an elaborate bunch of flowers around with you for a week. Do not give them to anyone and if asked who they are for, respond with only "aaaahhhhh".

5. For 24 hours end each spoken sentence spelling out the last word. W. O. R. D.

6. Wear a bumbag ("fanny pack") for a week. It must be both visible at all times and neon in colour.

7. Get a spray tan.

8. Buy a treadmill as a handy place to store your clothing.

9. Buy a tube of Anusol, wrap it elaborately and give to a friend as a gift in a public forum.

10. Tell your Mum she's "looking a bit lardy"

Always leave your audience wanting more. That's not a stupid suggestion, it's what I'm doing. What a tease.

Wordless Wednesday: Home Sweet Home

2012-02-08T11:00:00.001Z

Music Monday: Local Natives- Airplanes

2012-02-06T11:00:00.001Z

This pleases me greatly...

Good Reads Challenge 2012

2012-02-05T20:39:00.000Z

Ooooh I do like a book or two. Actually I like a lot more than that. I don't look as bookish as I do for no reason you know.

Last year I signed up for the Good Reads Challenge 2011 and failed at it quite spectacularly. I had aimed to read 50 books in one year and only actually signed up for it in March. WHAT. A. DUMBASS. I got to 20 books total, a bit of a piss poor effort on my part.

However, I'm having another crack at it because......well just because I want to. This year I'm setting a more realistic target of 30 books and yes, I am counting audio books because it's my challenge and I make the rules. At present I'm on 3 out of 30 and bang on track. As per usual, don't expect any highbrow, constructive or critical type reviews here, I'm just going to say if I liked them and why that is the case. Here's what I've read with my eyes and my ears so far....

With my eyes....

The Sinner by Tess Gerritsen

Pretty standard murder book type fare. Death. Autopsy. Bit of running around. Catch the bad guys. Job Done.

I like the fact that both main police type and coroner are both women but I'm not quite sure if I entirely like them as characters, not that they're not well written, just not my kind of people so much.

As some may already know, murder books are to me what Mills & Boon are to other ladies; filler.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

This isn't really my normal kind of book. It's distinctly feminine and given the book mentioned about which was full o' gore and that, you can see why I say this isn't really me. However, I bloody loved it. It was one of those touching stories about how a person's life can be completely changed completely as a result of a fortuitous misunderstanding.

It also pleases me greatly that this book was initially rejected by the publishers for being 'too fun'. Watson persevered, made a compromise with the publisher, wrote them a drama and they published Miss Pettigrew. It proved to be her most successful novel.

With my ears.....

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

I decided that I would start multi-tasking on my way too and from work and use it as a time for a bit of "self development" (awful phrase but it is what it is). I got this from Audible and am very glad that I did.

The main message of this book is to be authentic to yourself and to live and love with your whole heart. As I believe to be the case with any kind of self help type book, you will only ever get something out of it if you want to. Some of it was not relevant to me personally, particularly the sections on faith as I am not a Christian, however you need to be able to take a step back and see how that can apply to your situation. From this I took a valuable lesson in being able to see myself as enough and to stop putting pressure on myself to be what I think I should be in favour of simply embracing who I am.

I shall endeavour to keep you up to date on the pages I've been turning and.....the chapters I've been earring?......you get my drift.

Music Monday: The Head And The Heart

2012-01-30T21:54:00.000Z

Not my usual cup of tea but this band are just lovely. I can't seem to pick a favourite track from the album so I picked a random one to share with you.

Don't Question the Questioner

2012-01-22T21:50:00.001Z

You probably can't tell from where you're sitting but when it comes to stupid questions, I'm a pretty big deal. I take pride in my work but can't deny that I have a natural talent for this most vital (read: useless) of skills.

Last Saturday there was a Team Gang meet up in the clubhouse, which is more commonly referred to as the Prince Albert pub in Brighton, formed of Dotmund (code name Ed), Alicestronaut (Alice for short) and me. Alice and I came administratively prepared with pens, notebooks and ruthless efficiency. Ed just showed up.

With me I brought a list of finely crafted, well considered, expertly constructed stupid questions and here I will share with you the answered I collected (read: demanded) from both Edwardius and the Alice-a-tron.

1. Would you rather be a word or a sound?

Alice: she would be an onomatopoeic word in order to be both
(ahem, clever clogs!)

Ed: as a result of having a Y chromosome, he would be a sound so that he could be a fart. He did note that he was very impressed by Alice's answer.

2. Would you rather be bride's wedding veil or the mother of the bride's hat?

Alice: she would be the veil as she's not so keen on hats eg Carmen Miranda

Ed: he would be the veil because it is more glamorous
(the big jessie)

3. Would you rather be a fly on the wall or a wall that could talk?

Alice: she would rather be a wall that could talk, done. There was mention of the Shoe People

Ed: he would be a fly noting that the main decision here centres on the amount of things that you would hear vs the risk of swatage

4. Would you rather be only able to talk in metaphor or cliche?

Alice: metaphor because chiche people drive her nuts and there is more leeway with metaphor.
(Please note that Alice tried to QUESTION THE QUESTIONER at this stage, asking if simile would be an option. Me: NO)

Ed: cliche as it wouldn't represent an enormous change to his lifestyle

5. If you had to have a day made a national holiday in your honour, what would be the notable achievement that warranted that holiday?

Alice: saving a baby from a bear

Ed: breaking his neck which actually did happen in the real life on 15th July which is also St Swinthin's Day. If he can't have that he would like it to be for standing up to Nick Clegg on television at which point he would "bring him down to Chinatown".

6. Would you rather be stuck in a loveless marriage or stuck in a full port-a-loo?

Alice: the marriage because you might get on even if it was loveless.
(Please note that at this stage she did it AGAIN)

Ed: he leaned towards the port-a-loo option but it would be very limited with not much to do

7. Would you rather be a cold nose or a hot foot?

Alice: she would rather be a cold nose and went on to reveal that she gets hot feet when she drinks red wine and she doesn't like it.

Ed: as with Alice he opted for the cold nose as he prefers a cold extremity as it is easier to warm something that cool something down.

8. Would you rather be a bird with an ill-fitting cape that interfered with your wings or a cheetah wearing ill-fitting wellies?

Alice: she feels that it would be frustrating either way (which is sort of the point of the question). She opted to be a bird as it you were the cheetah you would get no dinner but if you were the bird you could always eat bread.

Ed: he would be the cheetah to avoid the issue of falling. He also noted an appreciation of the depth of the question

(thanks very much)

9. Simon & Garfunkel inspired- would you rather be a hammer or a nail?

Alice: she opted to be the hammer as she likes to feel constructive, it is her favourite feeling

Ed: he would like to be a hammer as he wants to hit stuff

10. Would you rather have an overwhelming crush you could do nothing about or be emotionally dead on the inside?

Alice: the crush because she's been through it before and even when you do you don't even have to meet them (for example it is was a famous personage) so no problem.

Ed: he echoed Alice's answer but also added that he is already dead on the inside as he is just an internet character

(if anyone is keeping count of any kind of score then he loses a point for contradiction himself. In question 1 he specifically mentioned having a Y chromosome and therefore is a human)

11. Would you rather type the entire works of Shakespeare with your nose or read all of Twilight while sitting naked in a glass box in the middle of a roundabout?

Alice: she opted for the nasal Bard-based activity as she would like the challenge, particularly if allowed to blog about her progress

Ed: he also opted for the Shakespeare one as he quite adamantly does not want to read Twilight.

(I really can't argue with that logic)

12. Would you rather be forced to spend your life gathering a poo collection or on one occasion have to throw your own poo at your Mum?

Alice: she would throw the pooh at her Mum any day as her Mum wouldn't mind.

Ed: as above but in the knowledge that she would ring her special bell and make him clean it up anyway.

13. Would you rather eat a roll of sellotape or a plank of wood?

Alice: she opted for the sellotape as it seems more doable as you could make it into small balls and then swallow them. The wood gives concerns about splinters in the gums.

Ed: he opted for the wood as it is natural. The sellotape may well be tastier but the wood would be better for you.

14. Would you rather be a deaf rabbit living beside a motorway or a blind bird living beside an airport?

Alice: she feels that there would perhaps be a better life expectancy for the bird but ultimately opted for the bunny because it's cuter.

Ed: he likes bunnies more than bird and being blind near and airport would be "not good".

(Both expressed that an appreciation of the countryside was an influencing factor in their decision to be a bunny. I worry about this Team Gang meeting, why are they both saying "bunny"?! I was the youngest person there and clearly said "rabbit")

15. Would you rather be a hitman prone to tearful emotional outbursts or an agony aunt with a heart of stone that drives people to suicide?

Alice: she chose the hitman option as "it would be fun to be me with a gun".

Ed:he chose to be the agony aunt, "send me your problems and I will destroy you".

(I'm a little bit frightened. I wasn't then because I was drunk but in hindsight, I probably should have feared for my life)

16. Would you rather be a phoenix or a cat? (lives issue)

Alice: the phoenix as then you get eternal life and also could use your feathers for pens.

Ed: the cat as while a phoenix rises, it has no choice about burning. Cats have a choice about their method of death.
(Variety is the spice of life)

(There followed some discussions about Ed wanting to do a pooh in a litter tray. This has been added to his list of things to achieve this year)

You might not be impressed by the sheer genius of these questions but it's OK, I'm more than impressed enough with myself for coming up with them. I should certainly enjoy it if you would like to come up with your own answers and would gladly publish them as a post if you get in touch.

Stupid Facebook

2012-01-15T13:00:00.003Z

Soap box alert. I'm going to get a bit ranty.

Yes I am on Facebook and yes I do have a business page on Facebook (one of the the main reasons I don't just get rid of my account), but I've got some big problems with that particular social networking site and the way in which people use it. And this is my blog so you can be damned sure that I'm about to launch in an unapologetic, self indulgent rant about it just.......about.......now!

My main problem is that I think it promotes an unforgivably lazy attitude to friendship. People seem to forego actually talking about thier lives with one another in favour of watching it play out on a stupid website. I don't like beginning to tell someone what I've been up to since I last saw them only for them to cut in and say "oh yeah, I saw that on your facebook status" or some other such mouth fart of an acknowledgement.

Remember back in the day when you used to actually post out invitations if you were having a party? You'd write out one per person, put them in an envelope and then post them. By snail mail!! Well how lucky are we to have all of these other mediums that allow us to connect directly to the people we care about? Text and email do still exist and function nicely. Yet still we put the least possible effort into it and do everything in group batches taking about 30 seconds. Is friendship really worth so little now? And worse still is the people we don't bother with because they don't use this website. I didn't realise that you could only be friends if it was convenient and easy. LAZY LAZY LAZY.

As a Facebook user I do recognise that there are some merits to it. I've been able to contact some old school friends that I might not have been able to under different circumstances. Though having said that, in so many cases it's a case of an initial "hello" followed by little more than stalking or ignoring. Is it really worth it for that? It's not really connecting is it? I also use it to promote my business, though this hasn't resulted in any sales at all thus far.

My other issue is that it's almost like we're just assimilating with the interweb. You're not a person anymore, you're a page with a series of preferences, clicking a number of buttons and displaying a stream of yourself. I'm sorry but I couldn't give a flying hoo hah which if the people I know "like" Vaseline or Evian water or the cold side of the pillow.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is don't forget that people are actual flesh and blood and not just data because if you do forget and then one day there's a power cut, everyone would just disappear.

Filmy Friday: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

2012-01-13T13:00:00.002Z

Well it's been a while since I got my film natter on so I'm going to power on through and hit you right in the face (metaphorically speaking, there will be now actual bodily harm and therefore no need to call the Policing types) with a big fat recommendation.

I won't tease and withhold the name, and indeed haven't since it's in the title, but I bloody loved Tucker & Dale vs. Evil!

I saw it on New Years Day with my good chum Vin. I suspect he has a mild 'mancrush' on Alan Tudyk from when he appeared in the 2002/03 TV series Firefly. It also features Tyler Labine who I first saw in the 2005/06 TV series Invasion.

Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil

So, it's described as a comedy horror, a genre that I'll back as it was certainly sufficiently gory and made me laugh out loud (one doesn't "LOL"). The basic gist of the story is that a group of young un's go to the lake for Spring Break at the same time as a pair of hillbillies head to their dilapidated cabin beside the same lake. Then through a series of assumptions the college kids decide that Tucker and Dale are chainsaw wielding murderous types and comedy and horror in equal measure ensue.

It's very obviously a critique of judging people by their appearances alone which I'll happily agree to be a fully valid moral. I'd also say it was a critique of the generic college kid based horror film that we've got more of enough of now thank you very much Hollywood. And now with the whole 3D thing, we'll get a whole lot more.

I heartily recommend this film. Perhaps not if you're having your dinner or are a bit squeamish or are one of those "highbrow" types, but all other varieties of human of the appropriate watching age, watch it with your eyes (listening with your ears would also be advantageous).

Over and out, roger dodger, ten four, bye etc

2012

2012-01-09T17:00:00.005Z

OOOOOONNNNNNEEEEE

HHHHHUUUUUNNNNNDDDDDRRRRREEEEEDDDDD

PPPPPOOOOOSSSSSTTTTTSSSSS!

So yeah like, I've totally gone and written 100 posts. If the pen is mighter than the sword, well then my laptop keyboard must be at least as mighty as a vegetable peeler or similar. Go me.

Carry on....

This year feels big and bright and shiny in my mind. Admittedly I spent the first week of it being professionally quite grumpy but oddly even that felt positive as outside of work I was fine and that's a bit of a breakthrough for me as I'm crap at compartmentalising when I need to....but obviously not as crap anymore.

This year I turn 30. It's weird as I still feel like I'm about 15. 29 is a very strange year as although I'm fine with the prospect of being 30, finishing my 20s seems like a completely separate thing. I feel like my 30s will be like the decade in which I come into my own so maybe I'm treating this year as laying the foundations for that...hence the weirdness. Plus I have to acknowledge that I've been through a lot in the last few months so am bound to feel a bit strange.

I'm refusing to put loads of pressure on myself with my aims for the year. A number of people close to me have pointed out that I put too much pressure on myself so I approach these aims from a healthy and forgiving mindset. But here are my 12 aims for 2012-

1. Take steps towards beating depression (or at least giving it a good kick in the balls to make it my bitch).

2. Run a marathon

3. Read 30 books. These 30 must include some that fall into genre's I wouldn't normally read like (gulp) romance, sci-fi and biography. I'm a fiction girl all the way.

4. Have fun

5. Put a bit more effort into my business, mollbird

6. Work harder on my blog

7. Continue to work on accepting myself and associated learning.

8. I say this one with a great deal of nervous energy......try stand up comedy.....I actually feel sick.

9. Look after myself.

10. Think less and do more

11. Relax

12. Get another one of my dodgy tattoos sorted out.

And there you have it. What do you think, doable? What are your aims for 2012?

Toodle pip and that

Further radio silence and I made it: stuff and that

2012-01-08T17:00:00.005Z

Hello! Cheerful Fresh Annum and all that jazz. 2012 ey?! Who'd a thunk?

So once again I've had a somewhat extended absence form the blogging world. I touched on it briefly in a previous post and from there life got a bit more confuddled. 2011 was a very difficult year for me. Overall it was roughly 50% good and 50% bad but it was definitely 100% "character building" ie bloody hard work. I changed my whole life at a point when I probably wasn't ready for it but it really did have to be done. The upshot of that was realising that for quite some time I had been holding back a whole bunch of stuff that all crashed in on me at once and left me somewhat defeated for a while there. I already suffered from depression but managed it very well. I then couldn't manage it very well. But following a couple of months of adjusting pharmaceutically, learning what I needed and getting a bit of perspective, I'm certainly on the up! Woo and indeed, hoo!

So that's my little bit of looking back but now I'm all about the looking forward. 2012 will be a good year, I face it more with certainty than hope which feels like a much stronger footing. My next post will be my 100th on this here blog and I'm going to share with you what I want to achieve with the year.

And now on the the 'I made it' bit. I've still been pottering away while I've been blog-absent. I actually can't just sit and watch TV, I have to be doing something at the same time which is actually really handy for making new stock for mollbird. Here's a new brooch that popped into the shop a little while ago but I forgot to share with you.

Buttony Blue with White Mega Spot Brooch

Quite some time ago I whipped myself up a little pouch to carry around the USB cable for my "smart" phone as the stupid thing loses it's battery power faster than British television loses it's dignity (pretty bloody fast). It's been spotted by a few people who did that weird "eeee, that's a good idea" high pitched type voice. You get enough of them and you think that maybe they might be right so I've obviously made a ridiculous number of them and will now start chucking them int' shop.

Flippin' Useful USB Cable Pouch & Flippin' Useful Earphone Pouch

And believe me when I say that there's plenty more where they came from....

So yup, moving on, moving forwards, just moving.

Wordless Wednesday: I wonder what he's looking at....

2011-12-21T13:00:00.000Z

Music Monday: Harry Nilsson 'Put the Lime in the Coconut'

2011-12-19T13:00:00.001Z

I flippin' love this song as it's entirely bonkers-mad!

<p>&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;And &amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;</p>

And here's the original video for an extra layer of loopy.

Wordless Wednesday: a secret ninja told me I was....

2011-12-14T09:00:00.000Z

Wordless Wednesday: a man at my feet

2011-11-30T20:00:00.001Z

5 things

2011-11-25T12:00:00.002Z

This has been a weekius horribiliobilius. It's not just me that says so, lots of people have claimed the same within my earshot. I'd go so far to say that it's been a crappy month, it has for me anyway. but, in the spirit of onwards and upwards, here's a pointless list of 5 things that I like this week, the silver lining if you will-

1. McVities Hobnobs- This week I have discovered the Dark Chocolate variety and found the optimum number to eat to be 4.

2. The Black Keys- I'd gladly have them sit in the corner of my room and sing to me day and night.

3. Twitter- Connecting with people I admire on a relatively silly level makes me very happy sometimes.

4. New hair- Got it cut at the weekend, usually a traumatic experience (still was, hit on the head with the hairdryer 5 times) but I look gooderer.

5. Making- it always makes me feel better and after a tough yesterday I knocked together a new little denim skirt out of a pair of blokes jeans. Even embroidered some little grey hearts on the back pockets.

There you go. Pointless but true.

Running without being chased: an update

2011-11-21T19:29:00.000Z

A while ago I wrote about me and running. It's a thing that I do now. Some days I don't even recognise myself as I've never shown this level of commitment to anything let alone something exercise based.

As I said previously, I was steadily plugging away with interval training and was signed up to do a half marathon in late October. Well I only went and bloody did it didn't I!

The race I chose was the White Night Half Marathon for the British Heart Foundation. I chose it mostly because the timing was right but also because I saw some of the nutcases with head torches running past my flat last year and I like a bit of loonishness.

Excuse the dodgy photos, apart from MY MEDAL they're the only evidence I have. Note the before and after and the fact that I managed to stay standing.

I started a midnight on 29th October and the race took me 3 hours and 5 minutes which is ages but not long enough for you to watch the film Titanic which is my benchmark for things that take way too long. It would have been a bit quicker if there hadn't been a puddle incident which made it necessary to stop and wring out my socks. It certainly seemed like it was mostly up hill yet I found myself really enjoying it. Honestly, I'm not sure why, it might have been the funny caffeine energy blocks, it might have been amusement that it was me doing a sporty thing but I did it and I'm really proud of myself.

I'd also like some extra gold stars, for running it and then walking home afterwards. I was obviously a bit ruined the next day and found it difficult to stay awake (I blame the caffeine lumps mostly) but during one of my more lucid moments I signed up for another one. This is an odd thing that I'm happy to cling to. Running is something entirely for me (though I did manage to raise over £200 for the BHF, go team) and for it I can bypass lack of motivation and somehow get on with it anyway. I like that I've surprised myself and want to keep doing that so I will.

Music Monday: Sleigh Bells

2011-11-21T13:00:00.002Z

As a frequent runner (writing that feels so very strange still) I listen to quite a bit of music while I'm out and about but finding the right thing can be half the battle. I find that a poorly selected playlist has the potential to completely ruin what could have been a decent little poddle along. A recent find that entirely fits the bill is Sleigh Bells. I bloody love them! And here is the video for my favourite track on the album.....though I'm quite indecisive so I'm liable to change my mind on my next listen! Enjoy.

Music Monday: Man Man

2011-11-14T13:00:00.000Z

Silence isn't my friend at the moment so I've been hungrily searching for music to keep my ears occupied. At the weekend I found Man Man and loved them instantly. They have an entirely acceptable level of odd as does the video below. Enjoy!

On Remembrance Day

2011-11-13T19:00:00.000Z

I’m an army brat. That being, my Dad is in the army. He signed up when he was 18 and the commitment was for him to stay in until he reached 55. He then renewed that and signed up to 65. To me this seemed like complete madness and I couldn’t imagine knowing what I wanted to do for that length of time.

It’s an unusual life, that of being an officers child, particularly as my brothers and I were somewhat rare in that we weren’t shipped off to boarding school. As the only daughter I think there has been an element of protecting me from the realities of what his career could have meant. I wasn’t really allowed to watch war films when I was younger and have never really understood what he was actually doing when he was at work.

Why he signed up is something that I’d never really known previously. He’s not particularly from a military background and certainly isn’t what I would term a ‘typical officer’. It’s only been quite recently that I happened to ask. He told me that he joined the army and became an officer because he wanted to “try and change it from the inside”. I was proud of my Dad already as he works really hard, has achieved a lot, has dealt with some really difficult situations and still managed to maintain an awesome sense of humour throughout it all.

So on Remembrance Day (11th November for those that might not know, and also observed on the nearest Sunday) I don’t only think of the soldiers that have been so brave in giving their lives for their country, I also think of the families that they’ve left behind and also of how lucky I am to have my Dad. It could have been so different.

And in response to the people that boycotted Remembrance Day as they don’t believe in the wars that have been fought; remember that it’s the politicians that decide where the troops are sent and this day is certainly not about politicians.

I remember and I’m grateful.

Fireworks and that

2011-11-07T22:00:00.000Z

Now I'm usually a bit rubbish as getting pictures of fireworks but this year I think I've made up for the previous ones. I had a cracking view of the display at the Hove Cricket Ground and being in a top floor flat seemed to do the trick from a mollbird photography point of view.

Pretty happy with that little set even if I do say so myself.

Filmy Friday: Horror in the Cinema

2011-11-04T19:00:00.001Z

I do like a good horror film. I think it hails back to my days as a childthing when I simply could not get enough Point Horror books (with a heavy preference for R.L Stine). However, due to the fact that I’m prone to leaping sky high at everything and anything regardless of actually being scared and even if I know it’s coming, horror in the cinema is sometimes not the wisest of options for me.

Regardless, last Thursday I had a bit of a cinema date and we opted to see Paranormal Activity 3. Paranormal Activity (the first one) was the first horror film I remembered seeing in the cinema in....well for as long as I could remember. It wasn’t the most pleasant cinema going experience as it was absolutely packed with a high percentage of idiots. However, during a moment of high tension a glorious question rang out from a man in the audience: “Shit! Why the hell did I come and see this film?!” The comic timing was perfect. I did like the film but wasn’t blown away by it, probably because the tension got the better of me and I had my eyes hidden at the scariest bit of the film. Wimp.

I saw Paranormal Activity 2 in the comfort of my own home and there is a lot to be said for seeing handheld shot films on a smaller screen in the dark. It’s much easier to become absorbed in the story and is somehow generally more convincing. Plus then you get the twitchy fun of being convinced there are monsters under your bed and that every single noise is clearly some kind of ghoul.

The reports about the 3^rd instalment in the series had been good and a trip to the cinema was needed so off we toddled. There was a Pepsi spilling incident leading to a popcorn dropping catastrophe before we’d got past the adverts. Sometimes it’s hard being clumsy. One of the best things about seeing something a bit scary in the cinema is watching the members of the audience that don’t make it. I find it hilarious. This time there was a couple that left within the first 20 minutes and knowing you could carry on where others couldn’t, well it makes you a cinema-going hero!

As for the film, I actually really liked it. Mostly I admire the fact that throughout the three films the production values have been admirably consistent. So often with series of films you find that the minute they become successful, they pump in extra cash at the expense of all charm. This film and those before were all low budget and had an almost ‘where’s Wally’ quality that had you starring at the screen trying to spot what was amiss. I don’t want to ruin it so I won’t but I thought the ending was great and an excellent way to bring the three films as a whole together.

I’m not sure if there should be a number 4 or not. I sort of think no as the 3 films do make a nice whole. However, I’m so curious as to what has happened with the characters that I’d still go see if there was a 4^th.

So in summary, it were good.

Wordless Wednesday: I went to the bar for a pint and some nuts.....hang on.

2011-11-02T20:00:00.001Z

My Life: Where have I been?!

2011-11-01T20:07:00.000Z

I’ve not actually been anywhere really but I’ve clearly not really been here. The last time I wrote anything properly was as a guest post for the lovely Fran of Skulls & Ponies. I wrote about balancing life and crafting......the irony of the ensuing bout of blog silence is not lost on me.

Life got in the way and as seems to be the case when you are a growed up, the first thing to be sacrificed is the thing that you seem to enjoy the most, the thing that relaxes you. In my case that was the creative exploits that I value so much and this blog, where I attempt to document those exploits.

Mental health and relationships played a big part in the past few weeks. Suffice it to say it’s been quite tough, but onwards and upwards to a happier and healthier place. Then there was also house hunting and moving and unpacking. And on top of that, I was having to do a lot of running as I had my first proper race type thing on 29^th October with the White Night Half Marathon (a big fat post on that one coming shortly). I feel like I’ve lived a few years in the past couple of weeks.

But now I have a lovely new home, the race is done (though there are more to come), the emotional turmoil has been addressed and now for making my life be the way that I want it to be.

So all in all... life man, life!

Wordless Wednesday: Colourful legs

2011-10-19T19:05:00.000+01:00

Wordless Wednesday: Good pubs have...

2011-10-12T22:00:00.000+01:00

I am 29 years old

2011-10-05T20:00:00.000+01:00

Today I turned 29 years old. I'm not sure what to say about that really. It's true, time does speed up the older you get as I don't feel like taht much of it has passed since I was still in school. Or maybe it's just that life still feels like school sometimes.

Anywho, here's some things I did in my 28th year. It was certainly one of the busier ones-

I opening the mollbird Folksy shop

I took a professional leap of faith and quit the education industry

I took up running properly

I lost 3 stone in weight

I had a lady housemate

I moved home

I lived with my boyfriend

I read loads and then it tailed off a bit and now it's audiobooks all the way

I made a hard choice

I quietly grew up quite a lot

I laughed a lot

I cried some

I got a lot more grey hairs

I got a bit addicted to buying dresses on eBay

I stopped being freaked out by children

I moved on

and it doesn't look like things are going to slow down for this one either.

In a while I'll reveal what's on the 'things to do before I'm 30' list. Just need to think them up first.

Not Filmy Friday: Laughed at him

2011-09-30T19:00:00.000+01:00

I don't really have anything filmic to share this week. I'm a little bitter about it actually as I have seen some good stuff, both film and TV, but the screen was tainted for me temporarily by watching a TV series called Happy Town. I'll leave it there for fear of going 'ranty'.

Yesterday evening I went to see a bit of comedy. Brighton is great for comedy and I'm lucky enough to be able to go to Komedia quite regularly. Usually I go for Krater Comedy Club on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday but this time I went for Comic Boom as the headline act is a friend of a friend and also particularly funny, terrifyingly funny. His name is Nick Helm and here is a bit of him doing the thing that he does....

I've seen him a few times and he's always awesome. Last night was no exception, there's a poor man names Tarquin who may never be the same again.

The support acts were all great too, my favourite of which was Pat Cahill and his song Tumour Dog; "this dog is not in any immediate pain". I laughed so hard I couldn't keep one of my eyes open.

I love seeing comedy; scientific or not, laughter is the best medicine for me.

Apologies for my absence of late: life dudes, life.

My Life: Deep in thought

2011-09-22T20:15:00.000+01:00

I've been a bit deep in thought recently. About all sorts of things. I blame the running.

And the perfect accompaniment to having a bit of a think is something you can stare at, summit soothin', and for me that's the sky and a good bit of cloud. The sky this evening was beautiful before it rapidly got dark.

I feel like I might have grown up quite a lot over the past few months, I've certainly been through quite a lot of changes. I've moved (and will again soon), made myself exercise more than I thought I could, been unemployed and then employed, I've blogged loads for no particular reason other than feeling like it, I've shrunk considerably, I've worn dresses, I've got me knees out and that's the outside stuff. On the inside I've 'thought long and hard' about what it is to be me. I've tried to be as objective as I can. I came to a conclusion that yes, I am socially awkward (this is not new) and that it's much less painful to say that when you feel that as it softens the blow of the experience as a whole and is practically a disclaimer if you do anything weird. So it's what I'm doing and actually I feel better and it sort of makes other people that were quietly feeling the same, feel a bit better to. Win win.

And that's what I've been mulling over.

A cloud...

Wordless Wednesday: A satisfying wapple

2011-09-21T23:28:00.000+01:00

Filmy Friday: X-Men: First Class

2011-09-16T22:00:00.000+01:00

Generally I’m not one for prequels. In all honesty I get just a little bit of dread from them. I can’t stand knowing what’s going to happen, it’s the same issue that I have with non-fiction. I love stories and crave the escapism that they offer, my imagination is my holiday, but I find that prequels (and non-fiction) have a kind of grounding effect on me. Don’t like it. So it was with a great deal of trepidation that I agreed to watch X-Men: First Class with my Vinod.

Comic book films is a genre that are distinctly of my generation, I was 17 when X-Men (2000) came out and in hindsight you can see that of all of the films, it has a sense of being the youngest. As the films have gone on the characters have developed, matured and improved. Being objective it’s almost like the films have grown up with the generation that originally started watching them. I say that in the wake of watching X-Men: First Class (2011) which is a prequel to all of the other films, as it was an infinitely more mature film than any of the others. I’m very nearly 29 (how?!) and arguably a “bit old to be watching comic book movies” yet I was still very convinced by this film, misgivings about prequels aside. The X-Men franchise has grown up and so have I and I think that’s why it works.

Michael Fassbender as the younger Magneto was a great choice and the story of his childhood coming out of Nazi Germany was compelling viewing. James McAvoy as Charles Xavier was also great though I have a few issues with some of the scripting choices (use of the word “groovy” is upsetting). The way that the film uses historically accurate events as a backdrop was very clever and they have woven fact and fiction to great effect. Kevin Bacon is a particularly effective villain but then he’s a particularly effective ‘most things’.

So in summary, I liked it. The film takes you from a beginning to a specific point in the story with enough surprises and quality plot lines to sistract you from the fact that you know where you’re going. It also leaves you with the requisite number of questions... as is the norm with a comic book franchise film.

As you know, I don’t do ratings so I’d say that I appreciated this film as much as I would appreciate a fresh donut.

I love this: Folksy Artiness Picks

2011-09-16T19:30:00.000+01:00

I've been hunting for a new home for a while now while I lodge with the manfriend with my world in a big cupboard. It would be very nice to have access to my stuff. It would be very nice to know where things are. But mostly it would be very nice to build my own little nest and make all nice. Homeware would have been an obvious thing to have been browsing but I'm not one for pining and got distracted by some really great artwork!

Set of Nine 4x4" Mini Prints - Floral

I love this set of mini prints by Cassia Beck

Embroidered Picture Fantasy Lighthouse

This peice of embroidery art by BooBooCraft is gorgeous and very impressive!

City Killaz - 4 x Piece Hand painted Cute, Creature Graffiti Canvas Art

And this set of canvases by Creature Emporium are simply awesome.

Unfortunately I got a bit of 'twitterflack' this week for comments I made in support of Folksy. I'd say them again too.

I made it: Spotty White with Black Mega Spot Brooch

2011-09-15T20:00:00.001+01:00

Spotty White with Blck Mega Spot Brooch

Now available in the mollbird Folksy shop.

Wordless Wednesday: Up up and away...

2011-09-14T22:07:00.001+01:00

Hot hot hot

2011-09-10T15:00:00.000+01:00

I was having a bit of a blog read and saw this incredible video over on Crafterholic. Isn't nature terrifying and amazing all at once. I tend to sit in open mouthed awe when I watch nature in full swing. It's a fascinating world we live in and I think that sometimes we get so caught up in the human stuff that we forget to notice what we're surrounded by.

Filmy Friday: The Resident

2011-09-09T19:00:00.001+01:00

Since last Friday I have seen a few more horror/thriller type films than has been the norm of late. That’s not a bad thing. I loved horror films when I was younger, probably because they didn’t seem quite as ridiculous to me back then as they do now.

My preference is for the more psychological type thriller. What isn’t handed to you on a plate is always infinitely more effective in scaring the bejesus out of you or making you jump. Not that it takes a great deal to make me jump, I’m sort of known for that.

Recently I watched a new film; The Resident starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilary Swank. It was creepy. Unfortunately I don’t think it was creepy in a particularly satisfying way, just more of an unpleasant way. I spent a significant proportion of the film waiting for a twist that didn’t come. It didn’t really seem like the kind of film that should have that prominent a selection of actors. In short, I didn’t really like it much.

It did have some merits; Jeffrey Dean Morgan delivered a sufficiently unpleasant performance, I should imagine he struggled looking in the mirror for a little while after shooting that film. It was also visually well put together. I wasn’t mad keen on Hilary Swank’s character (she seemed a bit dim) but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good performance. You might like it more than I did.

But the aspect of this film that is driving me slightly round the bend is that it really reminds me of another film I saw a bunch of years ago and I cannot figure out what that film was. It was about a woman living in an apartment in which the landlord had built tunnels all the way around the internal walls. I think there may also have been a triangular stained glass window with a picture of a eye which was prominent. Any ideas? Now that was a film that satisfied me in the way I’d hoped The Resident would have, but alas no.

Running without being chased

2011-09-08T19:53:00.001+01:00

In May 2010 I signed up for the Brighton Marathon.

I was overweight and was rubbish at dieting. Frankly it’s a bit of a stereotypical story of setting ridiculous goals and doing stupid things only to get nowhere. I was unhappy because I simply felt like I took up too much room. It was also during a time when things weren’t going so well and when life is like that you really do want to feel as small as possible to try and hide away from it all. So I guess I couldn’t hide so I had to run...

Running wasn’t exactly an obvious choice. I’d tried running as an exercise option previously and found it to be a curiously vicious form of torture. Not to mention I have Joint Hypermobility and occasionally suffer with “dodgy hips” as a result. So why do it? It was a control thing I think. I couldn’t make anything else go right in my life at that time so I thought I’d try to trick myself into getting thinner and healthier by setting up a goal where weight loss would be a kind of by-product. The marathon was there as an option so I signed up.

If you’d like a bit of context about the last time I did any kind of running event, might I draw your attention to my Virgin Money Giving page for a fuller explanation and the chance to sponsor me for the midnight half marathon I’m doing for the British heart Foundation in late October, no pressure though as I know pennies are valuable and I’m grateful enough to you for reading this!

I didn’t exactly get off to a flying start but I’d opted for interval training to help get my fitness levels up. I did some reading and this seemed to be the fastest yet most sensible way to go about it. I’d found some training programmes in Zest magazine so got cracking. I was genuinely doing really well, progressing through the weeks of the program at a good pace. Then something weird happened to my Achilles tendon and it was game over. Being hyper mobile sometimes seems to mean that any kind of muscular or tendon type injury takes a lot longer to come good and then strengthening it again takes longer still. I was out of my trainers for 3 months and by that point it was February so I knew that the 2011 marathon was out of the question so woefully I deferred my place.

I didn’t bloody give up though! I’ve said I was going to do things in the past and then fallen so short of doing them. I was determined that it wasn’t going to happen again so I deferred my place, went to Brighton Jog Shop and got sorted with better trainers and then slowly but steadily got going again with the training. Now it took on a new angle as I turn 30 in October 2012 so this has gone on THE LIST. It's the only thing on it at the moment though.

The day of Brighton Marathon 2011 was quite a miserable one for me. For that day I felt like such a loser though I shouldn’t have as it didn’t achieve anything. Then I went running that evening. And I’m still running. And running and running and running etc

Marathon day is 15^th April 2012. At the moment I’m still doing intervals but covering 5.5 miles 3 times a week which aint bad.

So there you have it. That’s what’s with the running.

Wordless Wednesday: The way we were

2011-09-07T13:00:00.001+01:00

I made it: Pooh to You Toilet Roll Cover

2011-09-06T21:00:00.000+01:00

What can I say, it's my art....

Pooh to You Toilet Roll Cover

Available now in the mollbird Folksy shop.

Music Monday: Run Along Song

2011-09-05T19:01:00.000+01:00

Right. Running. I'm way overdue a full and proper explanation of why I keep menioning it. I will try very hard to do that this week to give the references a bit o' context. But that isn't what I want to do now. So I won't.

When it comes to running I'm pretty sure your trainers are regarded as the most important thing. Fair enough, it's pretty obvious why and I agree and wish that mine were more attractive and less like a pair of icebergs with laces. Then there are many schools of thought that would say that as a woman, I should probably say that my sports bra is the second most important thing. Balls to that! My boobage has never, and likely will never, bothered me during a run nearly as much as a poorly chosen tune has. In my little world it's the music I'm listening to that comes in at number two. And I say that even though I am prone to boob-punching myself every once in a while while I'm pounding the streets in my Brooks Addictions.

Recently I've found myself getting a bit nostalgic in the music I'm listening to which could be dangerous as I seem to have reconnected with myself at aged roughly 15. Eek.

I've been listening to various tracks off the Godzilla soundtrack which I was unapologetically obsessed with in my mid teens. And then ......Skunk Anansie. I listened to Post Orgasmic Chill on loop as I stripped wood chip wallpaper off my bedroom walls using a set square and a safety pin. I remember a friend at school breaking my heart when she took another friend to see them live. She said she didn't know I liked them but she'd borrowed my CD for the whole of the summer holidays! Oh the injustice!

And this is the track that seems to be best for running and the one that is bringing back memories that I'm so happy to be able to laugh about now.

What I wore: Sunny Saturday

2011-09-04T12:00:00.001+01:00

Yesterday was a lovely sunny day so we.....did laundry. Really rivetting stuff. However, I made it a little bit more fun by wearing a summer frock that I've neither worn nor been able to fit into for some time so felt mildly glamorous. Vin took a cheeky picture of me while I was gawping at a strange man who seemed to be folding his items as he put them in the washing machine.

Dress: Primark

Belt: Primark

Necklace: ebay

Glasses: goggles4u

And then just to illustrate my point that the sun was indeed shining in Hove yesterday...

All beamy and nice.

I'm so happy that it's moving into Autumn. On the first day of September I stepped out of my front door into hazy sunshine as a few leaves gracefully fell from a tree. I can't wait for the cooler weather, I'm a cardigan type.

Happy Sunday all.

Filmy Friday (belated...again): One to tell the grandkids

2011-09-03T13:00:00.000+01:00

Once upon a time I got pepper sprayed...

I find that I tend to have an above average number of odd experiences with seriously weird people. I don't generally mind so much as it makes life interesting. I do draw the line when things are actually painful though as it's really not all that funny.

I was in my first year of uni, living in halls that were conveniently close to 2 cinemas. Twas evening time and we were a little under the influence and decided to go to the cinema. Our film of choice; Dreamcatcher.

At the time the cinemas were running the Animatrix shorts before the feature. We’d navigated ourselves through the ticket booths with limited giggling, made it to our seats and were quietly sitting there watching like good little children. Half way through the short two “gentlemen” came and sat in the row behind us; one immediately behind me and the other next to him. They sat for a few moments and the all of a sudden my friends and I started to feel strange. We looked at each other and all found that our eyes and throats were burning. It was horrible. Then the blokes behind it legged it as we staggered out behind them.

They ran through the foyer and straight out the cinema while the stereotypes of ushers stood there open mouthed. We stood coughing our guts up for a few minutes while we realised what had happened. That the man behind me had set off the can of pepper spray for whatever bizarre reason. Then the awkward moment when we realised the staff weren’t going to do anything.

So having missed the rest of the Animatrix film we went back into the cinema screen. Most of the people had been unaffected by the pepper spray so had no idea what was going on. We didn’t want to sit back where we had been which resulted in seeing one of the worst films I’ve ever seen while sitting on the front row (probably the worst seat ever).

Unsurprisingly Dreamcatcher is in my least favourite films. Bottom 3 in fact. And that’s not just because of the cinema experience, it’s because I really didn’t like the film.

I made it: Spot and Stripe and Bobble Too Toilet Roll Cover

2011-09-01T21:00:00.000+01:00

There's been a lot of brooches so the silly has been building up in me for a while now. Clearly it's escaped in the creation of this little beauty! I made a significant chunk of it on crafty night at my friend Dr Oyle's (code name Debbie) lovely flat. Fun times :)

Spot and Stripe and Bobble Too Toilet Roll Cover

Available now in the mollbird Folksy shop.

Wordless Wednesday: It's a one of them

2011-08-31T21:37:00.000+01:00

Out and about: Stop and smell the roses

2011-08-30T21:25:00.000+01:00

I didn't. I mean I didn't stop and smell the roses. I've got hayfever, that would be taking my life (read sinuses) into my own hands. I did however embrace the metaphor and on my walk home from work today took pictures of pretty flowers. Aw.

Window shopping: Dawanda

2011-08-29T12:00:00.000+01:00

Well it's Monday but it feels like a Sunday due to being a Bank Holiday. Hurrah for the extra day off! Yesterday we had a friend around to visit so I'm getting my dose of online window shopping today. This time I've been browsing on Dawanda and I've found some loverly things that I want very hard.

The Invaders - American Apparel - Women Tee

by Engram Clothing

vestido navy margarita

by ARTE - SANIAS

Miss seefaring - flared skirt

by Ave evA

Womens Howling on the Wind Slouch Sweater

by Bonbi Forest

ZIG ZAG cardigan vest in grey and red

by Oveja Negra

The migratory belt buckle in burnt yellow

by Flight path designs

Charming leather shoes for handmade

by House shoes

My Life: A tale of the brain

2011-08-28T21:00:00.001+01:00

Man alive being human can be hard. Everyone has those times when they’re just not ‘in the zone’ so to speak. You know those times when life is a bit of a bitch; you trip over every crooked paving stone, you get caught in the rain, your clothes don’t fit, you’re sweaty when you need to be calm or you just can’t pick the right words. These are the times that you have to have to make the good times good. You need the rough to appreciate the smooth. Such is the balance of life. This much I know.

Unfortunately I know some other stuff too, some stuff I could live without. I guess your ‘normal’ type feels as I mention above when it’s justified: when bad things happen, you feel bad. One follows the other and it’s like they cancel each other out and restore the balance I mentioned before. Not everyone is like that though. Some people take a nosedive into that sad place for no reason and without being able to control it. There’s no explanation and it doesn’t make sense but it certainly does happen. That’s how things are for me.

I suffer from depression and anxiety. I am on medication for this. However aside from that I work fulltime, have my own small online shop selling things I make myself, I regularly write this blog, I’m training for a marathon which means I run about 15 miles a week, I’m healthy and I don’t think I inflict my problems on other people. So I want to be clear that I don’t wallow, I don’t use this as justification to not do things and I see a vast difference between sympathy and understanding, I don’t want any sympathy. I’ve spent a very long time feeling like I can’t talk about it because it makes people not like me. But more recently keeping it all in is making me angry and that’s not healthy so....screw it.

I’m reasonably good at being objective about my mental health situation. I can tie most of the issues I have to a cause. I just can’t seem to get those causes out of my system. Sometimes I can push all of this far enough down that it pretty much doesn’t exist. It just all tends to come back up to the surface when things aren’t going well and unfortunately I’ve been unlucky with a string of difficult jobs that have hit my confidence hard. I got tired of hearing myself talk about work being rubbish and I couldn’t constantly pretend to be happy so I effectively stepped out of what social life I had.

The problem I’m facing now is that having stepped out, it turns out I can’t step back in as easily. Aint that always the way?! I don’t have it in me to force the issue; the main problem I experience often is crippling social anxiety. I’m a nervous talker too, as in I talk too much, as a result I’m finding it hard to trust myself. It means that social events like parties are really difficult for me. But you can’t say you don’t like parties! That’s like saying you don’t like summer (forgive my sarcasm)! This is quite an isolating situation if I’m honest.

When you feel the way that I do today it’s tempting to point the finger at situations or words that have been said and highlight the moments that made you feel rubbish. But there’s never anything to be gained from something like that. All I really want is for it to feel ok being me and for anyone around me to agree with that. Think about it, that’s really not a big ask is it?

Better out than in...

Ps. Writing something a bit more personal was inspired by some recent posts I’ve read on Skulls & Ponies. As a result of reading them I felt I could speak up, so I did.

Filmy Friday (belated): Been cinema!

2011-08-28T17:50:00.000+01:00

Many apologies for the delay to this week’s Film Friday post. It’s Sunday but I’m at least writing about what I was doing on Friday to delay this. And I know that there’s been a Saturday but that was claimed by social awkwardness, an issue I’m going to brave a little later.

So, on Friday, I went cinema! Vin, our mate Chris and myself toddled on down to the Brighton Odeon to see Cowboys & Aliens. I had no expectations beyond it having Cowboys and Aliens in it so it’s pretty clear that I wouldn’t walk away disappointed. Gawd bless low expectations!

If you’re looking for something highbrow, something intellectual or something that will move you to tears; you probably shouldn’t see this film.

If you want to see running, jumping, shooting, slimy things, explosions, Harrison Ford being surly and lots of men with beards; you probably should see this film.

As a bonus, if you’ve got a thing about Daniel Craig; you should definitely see this film as his chaps where so tight I should imagine he had some circulatory issues by the time they finished shooting. If Olivia Wilde is your thing, don’t be fooled there were no boob shots.

This film is an entertainer. I hope that was Jon Favreau ‘s intention. If that’s what you’re into, go see!

Wordless Wednesday: Bit creepy...

2011-08-24T13:00:00.002+01:00

Out and about: More awesome graffiti art

2011-08-23T19:00:00.001+01:00

There is an ever increasing array of very impressive graffiti art in Brighton. Maybe this is a novel approach to beautifying areas of the city that the council can't currently afford to rebuild. It's been a while since I've seen a long stretch of plain fence. And I bloody love it! I think perhaps some research is called for as I'd love to know a bit more.

My new job is in an area particularly rich with it and while walking about in the rain, I stopped to quickly snap this dude. It's only afterwards that I've realized the joy that is fuzz cat.

What I wore: Facing a fear of reasonable proportions

2011-08-22T19:00:00.006+01:00

I hate having my photo taken. Loath might be closer to the truth. I've long since known that I don't see myself entirely accurately and that as a result am capable of being quite cruel to myself (on the inside like).

In recent months I took my health in both hands and gave it a good shake. I took up running and set myself a huge goal with it (marathon). I started dieting more sensibly and since April I've dropped about 2.5 stone (or 35lb).

I've still got a little bit more to do with the dieting but my logical brain tells me that having worked so hard and come so far, it must be ok for me to have my picture taken by now. Logic has very little to do with it which is why I had every intention of not posting these but I know that Vin would tell me off for not doing something out of sheer self conscious nonsense. So yesterday, when we were on our way home from a typically whimsical trip to the local supermarket (note heavy sarcasm, just to clarify), we took these.....

Dress: New Look

Tights: Peacocks (and then I cut the feet off)

Scarf: Stolen from Mum years ago

Necklace: Evolution

Shoes: New Look

Stupid expression: Home grown

There you go. Not much I can say without sounding barking mad. This was distinctly the better of the 2 that I would allow to me taken before being all girly and weird. Check out the expression on this beauty....

Like something out of the Muppets!

So is my fear conquered? Probably not. Now excuse me while I go for a bit of awkward squawking over there....

Window Shopping: Carrying the world

2011-08-21T15:00:00.001+01:00

I'm a big bag girl. I'm not ashamed. I carry a reasonable amount of stuff around with me. I just wish some of those things were a bit more attractive. So I've been having a bit of a window shop on Folksy this morning at some of the prettier versions of the things in my 'shoulder home'.

I have a really ugly purse. There's no other way to put it really. This one is just so pretty that I'm looking at mine with a whole new layer of resentment.

It's called Buttons & Ribbon Purse - GREEN by SewYou handmade and can be found here. Lovely.

My bag is ok. It's red and I like red but it's not hugely interesting. This bag on the other hand is freakin' awesome! Stationary is probably the root of all reasoning behind my administrative day job. Love the stuff! So this bad and the coloured pencils it features are so clearly a hit with me.

It's called Multi Coloured Ribbon Pencil Bag by Kadouda - Joanne Potter textile Artist and can be found here. Splendid.

My make up bag is distinctly grubby and entirely functional. This one really would make me smile.

It's called Letterpress Printed Canvas Make-up Pouch by Little Red Press and can be found here. Nice.

My keys need to be functional as I have to carry them while I run and I do that quite a lot at the moment. And so that is why what should be a nice keychain is a black elastic hair tie instead, *sigh*. These little hand keychains are brilliant though. Who knows, maybe post-marathon I might be able to have normal person keys!

It's called Felt Hand Keyring by My Art and Soul and can be found here. Thr red one is my favourite.

I have to carry a notebook around with me. At the moment the one I have is a really random elphant shaped one I found when I was moving. I get a bit embarressed using it in public as it's not the most stylish. This one however is so very stylish. I love pale blue and red together and do favour the alpaca, they're so comically demure an animal.

This is called Sparkly Red Alpaca Jotter by JesicasJotters, can be found here and is awesomes.

Now, I really should stop as I could go on forever, there are so many lovely things on Folksy.

Have a happy Sunday.

But just another thing.......

2011-08-19T20:00:00.001+01:00

Today it is my manfriends birthday. He is Vin. He is now 28. I love him dearly. And if anyone wondered, he's a 100% pudding head.

Happy birthday the Vinod. xxx

Check out his new blog, Kamikaze Lion.

I made it: Little Drip Mega Spot Brooch

2011-08-19T19:00:00.001+01:00

Little Drip Mega Spot Brooch

New in the mollbird shop on Folksy.

Filmy Friday: My top 5

2011-08-19T13:00:00.003+01:00

If asked I can very easily reel off my favourite 3 films, no more, no less. 3. It’s been that way for quite some time....specifically since 2006 as that’s the year that one of these films came out. However, I’m going to push myself. 5 is my favourite number and that’s what I’m shooting for.

So, after much consideration, not to mention study (both personal and academic), and in no particular order, my top 5 favourite films with a brief justification....

The film:

Stranger than Fiction (2006)

The reason:

I love stories about books, I don’t know why specifically but I love books about books and films about books so this one fits me perfectly.

I love Emma Thompson, she’s fantastically talented and always gives so much passion in her performances. She’s brilliant in this and such an oddly brilliant pairing with Queen Latifah.

I also love Maggie Gynelhall, she’s so distinctive is such a classic way and her character is a baker so......yeah, that’s awesome.

I had reservations about Will Ferrell I have to admit. Previously I didn’t think that his kind of humour could appeal to me, I’d stupidly taken loud to mean obvious which is wrong. His performance in this made me go back and watch some of his other things and I’m glad I was wrong.

The story is just brilliant.

It’s beautifully shot.

“I bought you flours”.

The film:

Amelie (2001)

The reason:

It’s just beautiful in every way.

Visually beautiful.

The story is beautiful.

The setting is beautiful.

The characters are beautiful.

And so on and so forth because I’d get gushy.

The film:

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)

The reason:

I love Marilyn Monroe, I even did my final year dissertation on her, and it’s because of this film. I saw it when I was but a child and it apparently grew into my brain somehow.

It’s Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe, I mean jeez!

I find the film really funny.

I see the story as empowering for women even if they are just looking for a rich husband. They’re doing what they want to do, that’s the important thing.

I love the bright colours and lavish costumes.

The film:

Garden State(2004)

The reason:

Visually great.

Natalie Portman is brilliant in everything, that much is a fact. In this she so natural and weird and it’s that quality that helps to propel the story.

Great soundtrack.

I got to see it for free while I was at uni and while I didn’t generally have a great time back then, I remember that as a good night.

The film:

Godzilla (1998)

The reason:

I’ve seen this film so very many times. It’s like a favourite jumper to me, I’ll always turn to it at some point.

It’s got a great big monster in it.

It’s funny.

It’s wonderfully awful.

It has a soundtrack which may have shaped my entire taste in music at one point in my life. I do find it strange how something can strike a chord with you at a formative age and then just stay with you from that point onwards. On reflection its probably an odd collection of music to feel connected to but hey, I was a teenager, cut me some slack.

The film:

How to Murder Your Wife (1965)

The reason:

This film to me was like ‘the one that got away’ for so long. I could remember some of the story but not which actors, having only seen it as a kid. I finally figured it out and am so glad I did as it’s a Jack Lemmon classic.

It’s very very funny.

It’s about a comic book artist that lives out his stories.

It’s got Terry-Thomas in it and he’s just so fabulously English. His voice is a sound from my childhood.

I love Jack Lemmon.

And there you have it. I make no apologies. What are your top 5? Do share!

An after thought:

Since I posted this it has been brought to my attention that I have indeed listed 6 films here rather than 5. Clearly this is really quite stupid of me. In order to get around this predicament without the awkward task of removing one, this is now a list of my top 5 films PLUS I redesignate Godzilla as my favourite documentary. PROBLEM SOLVED.

mollbird 22nd August 2011

Out and about: Proper multifunctional like.

2011-08-18T13:00:00.004+01:00

Yesterday as I was out and about on one of my many torturous runs. I really wasn't in the mood so quite surprised myself when I stopped to take these pictures of the sky. How could I not though? Multi-tasking my way.

Sometimes all you have to do to make yourself feel better is look up.

Wordless Wednesday: Everybody needs a trusty steed

2011-08-17T13:00:00.000+01:00

I made it: Buttony Pink Mega Spot Brooch

2011-08-15T19:00:00.002+01:00

Buttony Pink Mega Spot Brooch

Available now in the mollbird Folksy shop.

Window Shopping: Lazy Magpie

2011-08-14T19:00:00.001+01:00

I'm having a bit of a crisis of apparel at the moment due to having lost some weight and having limited funds twinned with not particularly liking current fashions. Right now I'm supposed to be turning some of my 'larger me' clothes into 'smaller me' clothes but for some reason, like a lazy magpie, I keep looking at pretty jewellery. Here are some favourites.

Filmy Friday: Are you ready?

2011-08-12T19:00:00.002+01:00

Well, are you? Are you ready for a zombie attack?!

I’ve regularly chatted this one through with my significant other as he’s very much the type to have a plan. I’m sort of half way there, it’s not the first thing I think about in a situation but it’s something that occurs to me relatively quickly. We came up with a theory the other evening that people that claim to not like zombie movies or any kind of horror/thriller, those people are best left out of your plan as they can’t handle it fictionally so they won’t be much use if it were a reality. Sorry if that’s you but if you watched some zombie films, I think you’d understand our choice.

I’m not a huge zombie movie nut; I don’t have any films of that ilk in my ‘top ten’. I do enjoy them though. Through my eyes these films are quite split into the low budget and the high budget. Generally I find the low budget ones the more gruesome in some ways. The acting and make up tend to compensate for any lack of special effects, they’re certainly not subtle but that’s part of their charm. The higher budget films obviously have more freedom as they are less restricted by funds and through CGI can create the impossible on screen. I’d love to say that I lean towards the older zombie films like George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead but I’m just not that much of a purist and so confess to preferring the newer takes. Some favourites include-

And more recently there has been some great zombie TV both home and abroad; Dead Set (written by Charlie Brooker, all hail Charlie Brooker) was great and at the moment I’m on my second run through of The Walking Dead, which is what I was going to talk about.

The Walking Dead surprised me on the first watch due to the impressive use of CGI and the great cinematography. The effects are subtle which is rare! But they use them to great effect. I’m just about managing to cope with the fact that Andrew Lincoln is playing an American sheriff too. On my second run through I started to think that I wasn’t altogether impressed with the quality of the acting but on reflection I think I was wrong in that. I think it’s actually that I don’t like the characters as people, which actually is more a mark of good acting as I certainly don’t like everyone in real life (I say this in the days following the riots in London). They get under your skin and irritate but that’s more than likely what would happen in that situation. I’m glad I’ve caught myself out on this one as at heart I really like this series and I recommend that you watch it too if you get the chance and are so inclined. I’m certainly looking forward to the second series which starts up in October in the US.

That’s it from me. Remember, be vigilant and be sure of your exit routes.

I made it: Hearty Blue with Pink Mega Spot Brooch

2011-08-11T19:00:00.002+01:00

Hearty Blue with Pink Mega Spot Brooch

Available now in the Mollbird Folksy shop.

Wordless Wednesday: I made you a mix tape

2011-08-10T13:00:00.001+01:00

I made it: Buttony Red Mega Spot Brooch

2011-08-09T21:00:00.002+01:00

Buttony Red Mega Spot Brooch

Available now in the Mollbird Folksy shop.

I made it: Dinky Frill Crochet Bracelet

2011-08-09T19:00:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I wrote about my reasoning behind starting my new job; I wanted to reclaim my free time for my creative pursuits. So, to christen the life shift I got a bit creative yesterday evening and came up with this, the Dinky Frill Crochet bracelet.

I've only recently tried using proper crochet thread as previously I've always used yarn. I did an experiment with some embroidery thread that went OK so thought I should experiment with this.

Working with a tiny little hook is a challenge but I have to say that I'm very pleased with how this came out. Horrible picture I'm afraid but I used my phone and it was dark, you can't win em' all. I might do a few more experiments and then maybe pop a few in my shop. I'm trying to resist splashing out on loads of different coloured threads as I'm saving up to move house again, but my my it's tempting.

Now must dash as I need to go running!

Out and about: First Day

2011-08-08T20:00:00.003+01:00

Today I started a new day job. Not only is it a new job for me but a new industry too. Since 2006 I had been working in or around education in various administrative roles. I'd been unhappy for a while and then had one of those dawning realisations that I'd been viewing things all wrong. Do you ever have those moments where you feel like you're remembering a different person as you can't quite understand your own thought patterns over something? In my mind I thought that education was somehow close to the creative industries and therefore an acceptable compromise of....something. But then it's not really is it?

So now I have a new approach; to reclaim my free time. I found that working in an industry that made me unhappy meant that it consumed my brain during my free time and really killed of all my creative thingies. So I took an admin job that doesn't involve youths or the need to complete a CRB check, and the rest of the time I'm a blogger, tweeter, maker and business woman.

And to try and consolidate that a bit I attempted to take some pictures on my way home. This one of the viaduct didn't come out amazingly but in this instance and given that I'm marking something new, it's the thought that counts. Another will be coming on Wednesday.

I love this: Music to my ears

2011-08-07T17:00:00.014+01:00

I'm a bit of a weird one with music. Music and book in unison actually. I seem to aimlessly drift from being obsessed with one then the other but don't seem to absorb huge quantities of them together.

At the moment I'm distinctly going through a music phase, most likely as I'm living with my manfriend at the moment and I don't tend to read much when I'm not in my own place. It probably doesn't help that I'm reading the third in the Millennium Trilogy at the moment, I mean have to seen the size of that tome? It's over 700 pages long. It's certainly not helping towards my Good Reads Reading Challenge. But I digress.....

So, as I'm not in a reading mood I'm most certainly in a music mood. I've been discovering bands that most have probably known about for many moons but are entirely new to me. And I've been doing this at quite a rate. At the moment I think that my top 3 new to my ears acts are......

3. Panda Bear
2. White Rabbits
1. Islands

And as White Rabbits are the only band I don't think I've mentioned in some form on t'internet, here's one of their very very good songs
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I made it: Squarey Yellow Mega Spot Brooch

2011-08-06T17:00:00.000+01:00

Squarey Yellow Mega Spot Brooch

Available now in the mollbird Folksy shop.

I made it: Spotty Grey with Red Mega Spot Brooch

2011-08-06T13:00:00.002+01:00

Spotty Grey with Red Mega Spot Brooch

Available now in the mollbird Folksy shop.

Filmy Friday: Do you love film?

2011-08-05T13:00:00.002+01:00

Well hello and welcome to my 3^rd Filmy Friday post. That’s a scientific pattern. I’m doing this regularly. Huzzah!

This week I thought I’d move slightly away from the screen in favour of some thoughts on Lovefilm, the DVD and game postal rental service.

I’ve been a member with Lovefilm since November 2007. That is quite some time actually! So I think that’s long enough to have formed an opinion. I’m sure that most people know what it is, they certainly advertise it enough, but just in case you’re not familiar; Lovefilm is an online DVD and game rental service via DVD-by-mail, they also stream films directly from their website. They been in business since 2002 and currently operate in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia. And I’ve just learnt that they’re an Amazon.com subsidiary.....which explains why you can often see the Lovefilm link on item pages on Amazon. On closer inspection it seems that Lovefilm also runs other rental sites on behalf of the other companies. They really have got this corner of the market nailed!

So, as a customer: They have a large collection of DVDs available to rent and a pleasing selection available to stream from the site. I had my reservations when I first signed up as I was used to renting DVDs from actual real life, walk-through-the-door, talk-to-humans, bricks-and-mortar video stores. Damn the recession and sending Choices out of business, though to be fair, it was around £4 a rental which is pricey to say the least. The main issue to get past when you switch from normal rentals to online rentals is that you don’t get the same option to pick a specific film and have it there and then. Lovefilm operates by you providing a list of films that you want to rent. You can traffic light prioritise these to try and have a little control over what you get. Lovefilm then send you whichever film they have available, particularly if you put it as a high priority. Now obviously this has some drawbacks. If you’re desperate to see something you could potentially have a bit of a painful wait. But the trade off on that is the mini-excitement you get when your DVD comes through the front door as you just don’t know what’s in there (though they do send you emails telling you what’s been dispatched). You then keep the DVD for as long as you like and then send it back in the supplied envelope when you’re done.

In the entire time that I’ve been with Lovefilm I have had 1 single DVD that didn’t play and 1 case of the DVD going AWOL (though I suspect my neighbours for this). The biggest problem is not losing the damned disk! I think this is pretty good going for a company that relies on snail mail. They also include vouchers in with the DVDs and they’re not entirely irrelevant, though I wish they’d give up sending me wine coupons. They also work to make their customers feel valued as loyalty pays off in the form of an occasional free rental. I currently have 1 freebie on its way here and another freebie to claim and that’s as well as the usual 1 disk I have at home. A minor criticism, though it isn’t really that, is the number of promotional type gift cards they send me in order to get me to rope in some of my nearest and dearest. These cards are always pretty swanky looking and the offer is usually for 2 free months but I do find that I end up with quite a few of them knocking around. The prices are reasonable and recently it seems that loyalty is rewarded through that too as I seem to have been awarded a nice little discount.

So I would certainly recommend the Lovefilm service. The availability of an online archive is invaluable for a crafty type and their method for the actual rentals is helping to make me more patient! The website also encourages you to open your mind to films that you might not have previously considered in order to keep your chose film list well stocked. A good choice for the filmic minded.

Ta ta

Wordless Wednesday: My lucky green ribbon

2011-08-03T13:00:00.001+01:00

I love this: Dot

2011-08-02T13:00:00.001+01:00

I love a bit of stop-motion animation and this is a beautiful example that I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

Out and about: Crafting in the park

2011-08-01T18:00:00.001+01:00

Afternoon,

I'm not normally an 'outdoorsy' type; I'm pale, I wear glasses, I've given in to my stereotype. However, I thought it was about time I tried harder so armed with some SPF 30 I ventured out into the world to do crafting in the outdoors. Here was my view of Hove Park.

The crafting wasn't entirely productive as it was a little bit breezy for the embroidery that I took with me. I did have a nice time though with my little picnic for one.

And while I sat enjoying the views I listened to some albums that I'd not heard before including Return to the Sea by Islands. Here's the song that prompted me to get the album, perfect park music.

My style: Pretty nails!

2011-07-31T13:00:00.000+01:00

I do love painting my nails and having painted nails in general. Any excuse to add a little bit of colour into my field of vision. I've never in my whole life had a professional manicure, not do I really want one as I enjoy painting them in my haphazzard way.

Usually I opt for cheaper nail varnish brands choosing to layer them up a bit in order to make them last longer. At the moment my favourites are the Collection 2000 Hot Looks Fast Dry range. They're less than £2 each and the colours are fun. Most importantly of all they have some seriously good names. I find nail varnishes without names supremely irritating to the point that I don't often use them. However, when a fried of mine moved to pastures altogether more Polish, I inherited all of her nail varnishes and in amongst them was a shade that was pleasing to me.

This is .....303 Bright Purple. That is.....an uninspiring name. But it's a nice colour and the nail varnish goes on very nicely. It advised applying a basecoat before the colour which I duely did. Then 2 coats of the purple followed by another coat of clear. After they had dried I think it was around 40 minutes before they already had some little chips around the tip of my nail which was really irritating! Read back, I put 4 coats into these bad boys! I hate having chipped nails but had to just leave them like that as I was dammed if I would remove the lot again.

Then I was having a bit of a blog read and came across this post by The Dianty Squid with a tutorial for simple triangles. I lacked the time or patience to do proper triangles so instead used her method with tape and just taped off the very tips at varying angles so I could paint over the chips and hopefully get a few more days out of the Barry M colour. So out came a trusty favourite in the Collection 2000 Hot Looks in Ninja (awesome name) and a role of sellotape.

So far the main thing I've learned is that sellotape is not the same thing as scotch tape! In the main it was ok but it pulled a big chunk of colour off 1 nail, you can kind of see it in this picture. I think some tape based investigation may be called for for the UK equivalent. But I got what I was after, a few more days of wear, and I thing they look wicked! I can't stop staring at them.

Green and purple reminds me of being in school....

Out and about: Infrequent paddler

2011-07-30T21:00:00.002+01:00

I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I don't spend all of my time on the beach taking cheesey holiday style snaps. However, we found ourselves back on the pebbles today to celebrate a friends birthday and I thought it was about time for my bi-annual paddle in the ocean. I think you can tell I'm' not much of a beach bunny by the colour of my ankles. I'm so pale I veer close to transparency in places.

I hope you had the weather of your preference today and enjoyed it fully.

Filmy Friday: Do you mind if we switch it off?

2011-07-29T13:00:00.001+01:00

Beware, if you’ve not seen Moulin Rouge or 2012, you might not want to read this.

Do you have any films that you will watch but that you have to turn off before you get to the end in order to have a positive viewing experience? I’ve got one, and someone I know has one and while that’s not a scientific pattern as you need 3 for that, it’s not something to be ignored in my view.

My friend switches off Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! (2001) before the end. Namely he has to stop before Nicole Kidman’s character pops her pretty little clogs. I guess not all of us are cut out for romantic tragedy.

I have this experience with Roland Emmerich’s 2012 (2009). I’m afraid that my objection relates to the over moralistic nature of the film. I love disaster films, really I do. And I love to see a happy ending where everyone ‘makes it out alive’. What I don’t like is the way that this film shamelessly pushes the preservation of the ideal family unit and kills off anyone that doesn’t fit in to that ideal in the midst of a natural disaster. And they kill them off when they don’t need to and it actually seems a bit ridiculous that they did. I can’t put my finger on exactly the message they send out with this but of the options, I object to em’ all! So, in order to not miss out on the good stuff in this film; the awesome CGI, John Cusack looking puzzled and Woody Harrelson being weird, I have to watch it up to the point where they reach the big metal boats and then switch off. In that last bit they bump off Amanda Peet’s new boyfriend (Cusack being the ex husband and male lead in this one) and the unfaithful girlfriend of a unpleasant Russian businessman. Now I could get really analytical and ‘soap boxy’ about the cultural and moral implications of the deaths of these characters but I think I’ll stop at saying that....it really riled me.

So, the switching it off thing: do you have any that you turn off? If so, do tell, I’d be most interested to know. It does have its benefits as there are some films that are so worth the experience even if you don’t like all of it. You don’t have to read every section of the newspaper so way watch every section of the film?! The important thing is that you are taking in creative works and appreciating them for their merits while accepting that most things in the world have some limitations and exceptions.

And that concludes my filmic musings this week.

I love this: randyotter's photostream

2011-07-27T19:17:00.001+01:00

randyotter's photostream on Flickr.

I can't get enough of these designs! I absolutely love them all. I urge you to check our randyotters photostream on Flickr. Hear that?! URGE.

Wordless Wednesday: A big red cab

2011-07-27T13:00:00.000+01:00

Out and about: We're not tourists. We live here.

2011-07-26T17:00:00.003+01:00

On Monday some of Vin's family came down to visit us in Brighton. He's had some relatives over from Canada, some of which he's never met before, and others that he's not seen for 14 years. And his parents.

As is the norm when we get visited, we took them to some of the tourist attractions in Brighton. It's funny how living in a tourist town you so often get blinded to the aspects that those that are not local get so excited about. I pretty much always forget about the Pier and the amusement arcades and rides it contains. It might have been chaotic and noisy but it was quite fun and Vin "nearly won me a cuddly Yoshi 3 times!".

Before the chaos began and while we were waiting for the relative types to arrive, we had a quick cheeky ice cream with some cheesy pier type photos....

Vin

Beach

Classic Vin expression of "what are you doing?"

And then after this we had a number of hours of shopping torture and said our goodbyes. I don't have a big family but Vin's is huge. At times I can get a little overwhelmed but it was really lovely to meet part of the Canada contingent.

Out and about: The awkward realities of watching busking

2011-07-26T13:00:00.007+01:00

My significant other is a musical type. He goes by the name of Vin. At the moment he and a gentleman by the name of Tom are working on a project together that should soon bud into a new band. They were both previously in Bear Pop, a thoroughly splendid example of rock and roll funtimes.

In the interim they grabbed a chance to do a bit of busking of a Sunday afternoon. I went along to watch and soon realised that it's actually quite awkward to try and watch busking. Particularly given that they were in the entrance to a little vintage farmers market in the Laines in Brighton, an area not known for its ample pavement space. Still, it was nice to see them do their thing and I took some photos and had a little wander while I watched.

Not the best picture in the world but here they are doing their thing. Free tea and cake as a reward!

Hot chocolate as my reward for showing up and being a good sport

I love some of the murals in Brighton and am so glad to see more of them popping up around the city. The art culture is one of the things that makes this town/city great and I'm ashamed to say that I don't take advantage of that nearly enough.

Anywho, that was my little Sunday adventure.