(Just Like) Starting Over

So I'm back. It's been a while and, to be honest, there were times when I didn't know if I'd ever blog here again. It wasn't that I didn't want to, I love my blog and really enjoy being able to express myself in a space that's all my own, it was more that I felt embarrassed to. Embarrassed due to all the false starts I've had over the last few years; ashamed of all the promises to start blogging again, made and then broken. I didn't know if I (or anyone else) would be able to take me seriously if I came back to blogging here. So I considered starting over again somewhere new. Maybe I'd change the name of my blog, or even move away from Blogger altogether, heading for new pastures where I could leave the past behind. But when I stopped to think about it, there didn't really seem much point. As I said earlier on, I love my current blog. The layout and design, whilst nothing special or fancy, still felt very me and when I looked back on previous posts I realised that I still wanted to be putting out the same kind of content. There hadn't been a change in the genre of my blog, and my blogging "voice" seemed consistently the same. I came to feel strongly that if I did make the break away from Julie's Jottings, I'd be doing it just for the sake of it and, really, what would be the point of that?

So I'm staying put. Same girl, same blog, same kind of posts (for the most part anyway), but with a different attitude. Life's too short to be embarrassed about something as trivial as a blog, no matter how important it is to me personally. If people want to read, great. If they don't like what I write, or have lost patience with my stop-start blogging over the past few years, then that's fine too. I love my blog and want to write here, so I will. I'd love it if people read and enjoy my posts and if they feel moved to engage with me through commenting on, or following, my blog, then all the better. But if not, I'm still going to be here, writing all the same and posting regularly again. It'll be just like starting over!

'Til next time...

Baking with Julie: Rocky Road

One of the goals that I've set myself in my 30 before 30 is to bake at least twice a month, and this past Saturday gave me the opportunity to do just that. Not only had my family and I finally eaten our way through the numerous birthday cakes that were ever present during the second half of January (my dad, brother, youngest sister and I all celebrate our birthdays in the space of just one week!), but Saturday also brought with it the last night of the pantomime I was performing in, and last nights = after show parties! I knew it'd be a busy day, so decided to opt for something that required minimal time and effort and that was also a tried and tested favourite with friends and family alike: Rocky Road.

I know I wrote a post featuring a variation of the recipe back in 2010, but to be honest, I much prefer the classic version so feel it now deserves its turn in the spotlight. This particular recipe can be found here, and I follow it with just a few minor variations; replacing half of the plain chocolate with milk chocolate, using a couple of chopped up Mars bars (or own brand equivalents) instead of the chocolate chips and substituting digestive biscuits for the ginger biscuits that are suggested. Oh, and I pretty much doubled the recipe (except for the marshmallows where I used 1.5 times the suggested quantity), so the quantities given below are those that I actually used. It made nearly two full Swiss roll tins (around 44 good size pieces), but obviously you can cut bigger or smaller servings according to your own preference.

Rocky Road

Ingredients

• 200 g (7 oz) unsalted butter/margarine
• 200 g (7 oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces
• 200 g (7 oz) milk chocolate, broken into pieces
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• 200 g (7 oz) Maltesers
• 2 Mars bars, chopped
• 150 g (5 oz) mini marshmallows
• 400 g (14 oz) digestive biscuits, broken into pieces

Method

1. Grease and line two Swiss roll tins with baking parchment.
2. In a small pan, heat the butter/margarine, chocolate and golden syrup and stir together with a wooden spoon. Once melted together, leave to cool for 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, place the Maltesers, Mars bars, mini marshmallows and digestive biscuits and bind together with the melted chocolate sauce.
4. Pour into the lined tins and leave to set in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
5. Remove from the tins and slice into pieces.
6. Dust the rocky road with icing sugar to serve (if desired).

And there you have it! Apologies for the lack of photos, I keep forgetting that I now have a phone with a half decent camera lol! But I guess everyone knows what rocky road looks like eh!

And now it's over to you. If you've enjoyed this post or have any comments or any recipes of your own to share, please do! You know I always love to hear from you. 

'Til next time...

Snow and pantomimes and cocktails...oh my!!

What a busy weekend it's been! So busy that I'm really glad I booked today off to recover, especially as I've not been feeling 100% today. But along with the busyness, there's also been lots of fun with some of my favourite people so I'm really happy to be reliving the past three days through this post! Let's start off with Friday...

Friday
On Friday, I'd booked a half day at work so finished just after 2. I hurried home grateful that I wouldn't be commuting through the heavy snow that had been forecast for rush hour that evening. I then spent some time visiting some of my favourite websites before having a shower, grabbing some tea and then getting ready to make my way to the first performance of my drama group's pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. My mum and dad had got tickets for opening night so we all piled into their car and drove carefully through the heavy snow that had been falling for an hour or so. As always, the nerves were jangling and there was an adrenaline rush that could probably be felt by all the cast and crew, but I think it's safe to say that we all had a fantastic time on stage and the audience seemed to love it too! Then the show was over, and we left the warm and bright church hall and stepped into a veritable winter wonderland! The snow clearly hadn't stopped falling for the entire performance, and it lay thickly on each and every surface around us. The drive home was tough, even though we were only driving a very short distance. We were still in the grip of the snowstorm and even the major roads hadn't been treated, meaning the only way to position our car on the road was to look out for the tracks made by other drivers! I honestly can't ever remember driving in conditions like that before and  it was a bit worrying at times, especially when we could see cars skidding in front of us! Luckily we made it home safe and well, and I spent the rest of the evening warm near the fire :-)

Saturday
I had a lazy morning, before acting in my second performance of the weekend. After the show, I went round to the home of my friends The Performer and The Guitarist (both of whom were also involved in the panto), where we met up with a couple of others and then all headed off for a post birthday meal at one of my favourite restaurants: Pacifica Cantonese. Seriously, if you're ever in the Manchester area, I'd highly recommend it, even if you're not normally into Chinese food! The king do ribs and spicy Mongolian beef are to die for! After eating, I'd planned to go to the restaurant's upstairs cocktail bar for a few drinks, but it was booked for a private party so when my friends who'd just planned to have drinks with me had arrived too, we took the short walk to a pub known for its low prices. 2 pitchers of cosmopolitan for £10? Yes please! The night ended with a cold and rainy walk home in high heels...never the best idea! And judging from the blisters I had when I got home, I think my feet would agree with me!

Sunday
The first part of my day was basically the same as Saturday's (a lazy morning followed by the pantomime), then I grabbed a quick Subway sandwich with the Performer and the Guitarist, before the three of us were picked up by the Guitarist's brother and taken to the cinema where we watched Les Miserables. We opted to book in for Gold Class, which whilst being more expensive than your standard cinema experience, meant that we got leather reclining seats, free popcorn and access to our own private bar! Don't mind if I do! And as for the film itself? Well, as a fan of the musical, I was sure I'd love it and it's safe to say it didn't disappoint! I laughed, I cried (at least three times!) and was taken aback by the sheer spectacle on many an occasion. I'll definitely be seeing it again, and if Anne Hathaway doesn't win an Oscar for her role as Fantine, then there simply isn't any justice in the world ;-)!!

Monday
Basically the laziest of lazy days! :-) I watched Murder, She Wrote with a cup of tea, got dressed and took a brief walk before lunch, then spent the rest of the time either on the Internet, watching TV and/or eating! It's been a lovely way to round off my long weekend, although it's really making me not want to have to get up at  5:45 for work tomorrow :-( . Roll on 4 pm on Friday when my week's holiday from work begins!

And that's pretty much it! Hope you've enjoyed my weekend round up. What did you get up to? Was your weekend as busy as mine or much more chilled out? Let me know, it'd be great to hear from you!

'Til next time...

My 30 before 30

For me, yesterday was a very special day...it was my 29th Birthday! Even though I must admit to feeling daunted by the fact that I've reached the last year of my twenties and am now less than a year away from the big 3-0, there was still a certain magic as I spent the day with my family and some of my closest friends and felt almost overwhelmed by all the wonderful cards, presents and birthday messages that I received. I am certainly a very lucky lady! And maybe everyone feels the same way about their birthday, but I also think I'm especially lucky to have mine in January. "Why?", you may ask. Well, for one, it adds a little extra sparkle to what can often be a cold, dark and depressing month and gives me something not too distant to look forward to once the Christmas and New Year festivities are over. Secondly, and this is something that has seemed to become more and more relevant the older I get, it gives me a chance to reaffirm and reevaluate my new year's goals and resolutions as I start a new year of my own. So, with this in mind, I've taken the opportunity to come up with possibly my most ambitious goals list to date: 30 before 30. As with all my previous lists, there's a mix of items on there. Some fun, others more serious. Some will hopefully be things I can tick off rather quickly, whereas I know that others could take all year and may not even be completed at all. But I do know that I'll give everything my best shot and am looking forward to attempting every one of my 30! So without further ado, here's my list: 

My 30 before 30

1. Get a new job
2. Create a monthly budget and stick to it
3. Save at least a fifth of my monthly salary
4. Lose at least 2 stones (28 lbs)
5. Exercise for at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week
6. Complete Couch to 5 K
7. Have a ruthless clear out of my wardrobes and drawers
8. Declutter my bedroom and keep it tidy
9. Read at least 24 new books (2 per month)
10. Bake at least twice a month
11. Try 10 new recipes
12. Learn a new skill and/or develop an existing one
13. Go on holiday somewhere new
14. Exfoliate weekly
15. Give myself a DIY pedicure every week
16. Grow my nails
17. Moisturise my problem areas (elbows, feet and knees) every day
18. Find a facial skincare routine that works for me and stick to it
19. Find and purchase the perfect pair of skinny jeans
20. Organise at least 5 social events for me and my friends
21. Watch at least 10 new (to me) films (to include at least 1 Tarantino...I don't think I've ever actually seen any of his films, to the shock of some of my friends!)
22. Be a better blogger (specifically blog at least 3 times a week, comment/reply to comments more often and try to become more active in the blogosphere by participating in blogger link ups, tags etc)
23. Take and share more photos
24. Start taking part in quizzes again
25. Go for afternoon tea
26. Watch an open air film/concert (or both)
27. Be a better friend
28. Be a better family member (sister/daughter/niece)
29. Declutter my email inboxes, unsubscribe from any spam and maybe even deactivate old accounts.
30. Do more and talk, procrastinate and worry about things less!!

So there we have it! And now it's over to you! Do you make birthday goals lists, and if so, do they work for you? Are you still a big kid when it comes to birthdays or have they lost their magic over time? If there's anything at all you want to say, feel free!

'Til next time...

Happenings

Hello all! Well it's been about 6 weeks since I last blogged, and lots has happened in that time, both good and bad, happy and sad (but mainly positive, I'm pleased to report) :-). Here's a potted summary of what I've been up to:

Since the last time I blogged, I have been:

• Remembering my Grandad; not only on those obvious occasions like his funeral or his birthday, which was last Tuesday, but also at random moments too. We're all generally coping really well, but I think there will always be those times where something triggers a flood of memories, and those are the times we'll be smiling through our tears, knowing that we were lucky to have had such a wonderful man in our lives for so long.

• Singing, dancing and acting up a storm with my drama buddies at our stage society. Not only are we deep into rehearsals for our forthcoming pantomime, "Jack and the Beanstalk" (I'm playing the Queen and am also a performance director), but we also put on a charity show to raise money for a local hospice and the Salvation Army in memory of one of our best loved members who sadly died of cancer earlier this year. As well as ourselves, a cheerleading troupe, 2 bands and a male vocalist also took part and the show was a massive success. We performed to packed out houses on both nights (particularly on the Saturday performance, which was sold out!) and the whole thing felt like a really fitting tribute to a wonderful lady's memory.

• Spending quality time with my friends: I've met up with my best friend from school and been introduced to her gorgeous baby daughter for the first time, I've been to the greyhound racing and for an amazing Chinese meal to celebrate two different friends' birthdays and also enjoyed meals out just because I could. As always, being around my friends has been fantastic and I'm excited that there are more events coming up. Lion King, Manchester's Christmas Markets...I can't wait!

• Working on a new project at work: I've recently accepted the offer of moving on to a new team at work, which has been ring fenced to deal with a particular project. Whilst some aspects of my role have remained exactly the same and I've stayed with my current manager, which I'm delighted about, I've now got a whole new challenge to tackle and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in. Plus being on this team = better hours, which I love. No more early mornings or late nights for me :-)

• Shopping: Both for me and other people, for Christmas, birthdays or just for now, online or at the shops... there's hardly been a week gone by lately when I haven't been shopping. Regular readers of my blog will know that it's one of my favourite pastimes, and I'm only sorry that I haven't got a better camera so that I could post pictures of what I've bought on here!

• Rekindling my love of reading (no pun intended!):  Although I bought a Kindle back in the summer, I've especially started getting back into reading in the last couple of months or so and it's really become one of the highlights of my daily commute. Plus the free and low cost books in the Kindle store mean that I've been broadening my reading horizons and trying books that I may not have considered before. Expect a full post on this soon! :-)

Anyway, that's all from me for now. How's life been treating you over the past few weeks? Anything exciting to report? Tell me all...your comments brighten my day :-)

'Til next time...

Resurfacing

I don't really know where to begin with this post, or even what I want to say. Maybe I want to explain my absence from my blog over the last three or so weeks and just explain a little of what has been going on with me. To be honest, lots of the things are the same as normal: not knowing what to write, being busy doing other things, forgetting to blog or just not being in the mood. But there's been another thing too. A much bigger thing. Something that I'm not really sure how to say and something that I'm not even sure if I want to talk about at all. So I think I'm just going to come out and say it; My Grandad died on 22nd September, and it was a huge shock to the system. Whilst he was elderly and had become very frail and immobile in recent months, he hadn't really been ill as such, so the news of his death came as a very unwelcome surprise. And now we're just working on coming to terms with it all; on adjusting to the fact that one of the loveliest people in our lives isn't going to be around any more. Most of the time, things feel perfectly normal (something which I'm sometimes racked with guilt about), though I'm not quite sure that we've come to terms with it yet. They always say the funeral helps bring closure, but as my Grandad's isn't till next week, it's almost like we're in limbo at the moment, unable to come to terms with what's happened and unable to move on. At the same time though, the selfish part of me doesn't want to accept it. I don't want to be at the funeral, because that means it's real. That he's gone and that I'll never see him on this earth again. But accept it I must, because it's real and deep down, I know it's probably for the best.

And I think I'll leave the emotional bit there before I upset myself and maybe scare you off. Sorry for being so personal and maybe sharing a little too much; I just wanted to explain the reason I'd disappeared especially when I kept promising to blog more regularly. I am still planning to post more frequently, but am just struggling with writing happier posts at the moment. I'd really love to share what I'm looking forward to in October, and have seen another great idea for a post in the blogosphere, but I just feel incredibly shallow in even contemplating these things. I am still going to be around though, reading all my favourite blogs and commenting on your posts, but probably just not posting myself for a while. I'm resurfacing slowly it seems.

'Til next time...
Julie

Summer To Do List: The Update

Hello! Well, it's September and even though I'm no longer working in the education sector and haven't  been a student for over 5 years now, the month still feels like the herald of a new year to me. It's a time for making plans and setting goals; for reviewing the past as well as dreaming about the future and planning for it. So with this in mind, what better to do than to review my Summer To Do list that I set out in this post. I thought the easiest way to do this would simply be to replicate the list in full and then add my annotations alongside (bold will indicate anything I've definitely done/not done and italics refer to any works in progress).

Summer To Do List

• Declutter my room (including my wardrobe) and donate as many unwanted items as I can to the charity shop (Work in progress: I've filled some bags but these haven't yet left the house! I also know that there's a lot more tidying still to be done)
• Go on a shopping trip to fill in any gaps in my wardrobe (and maybe treat myself too!) (Done on numerous occasions...however as I've not fully decluttered yet, I'm aware that there still might be more gaps to fill.)
• Spend some time thinking about what my dream job would be (in terms of the skills I'd . use/ my motivation for working) and searching for job opportunities that match well with this (Work in progress: I've got a vague idea of what I'd like to be doing and sometimes look at opportunities which meet my criteria but I want/need this to be much more systematic).
• Declutter my email inboxes: delete all non-vital emails and unsubscribe from all my spam (Work in progress: Another one I've started, but something that will take a lot of work to get on top of. One of my email accounts in particular is so cluttered that I can foresee it taking a whole day...one for a rainy day methinks!)
• Get to know my city a little better by visiting new places and/or revisiting old ones with a fresh eye (Not yet, am going to try and dedicate some time to this during my next 4 day weekend which is approximately 2 months away)
• Spend some quality time with my family: maybe museum trips with Amy, bowling with all my siblings, DVD nights with my mum and sisters etc (Work in progress: During my summer holiday I went to the cinema and baked with Amy and watched Bridesmaids with my mum, Amy and K (my other sister), but didn't really do as much as I would have liked to have done. I'm making an effort to keep spending more time with everyone and am sure that I'll keep everything updated on here too!!)
• Be a better blogger: read and comment more on the blogs in my reader and post on a more regular basis (Work in progress: I'm decidedly patchy with this at best, but am sure that as I meet more of my goals, I will have more to write about and so will visit Blogger much more frequently. Also on days where I don't have time/inspiration to write, I am making more of an effort to check in with the blogs I follow.)
• Buy a Kindle (Purchased 07/07/2012)
• Read more frequently (either real or e-books) (Work in progress: Whilst I was off I demolished the first 2 books in a certain trilogy, but since going back to work the rate at which I'm getting through books has slowed dramatically and far too often I'm falling back into my old habits of only reading on the commute to/from work.)
• Get back into the baking habit by baking at least once a fortnight  (Fail so far: I did bake whilst I was off on my summer break (rocky road and gingerbread if you're interested!) but nothing since. With the start of autumn however, I'll definitely be looking for seasonal inspiration, so foresee quite a bit of baking ahead!)
• Be more active (Exercise for at least 30 minutes 5 times a week) (Work in progress: I've finally joined the gym and am currently attending 2-3 times a week, but I've not really been that active on days that I don't go.)
• Join the gym (Done: See above!)
• Snack more healthily (Eat chocolate and crisps 2/3 times a week only, and cut down on the amount of biscuits I eat as well as eating more fruit, nuts, cereal etc) and drink more water (Fail: For someone like myself who is an emotional eater and also uses food as a reward, this is something that I really struggle with so will definitely be one of my priorities over the coming months.)
• Stop putting off my dental and doctor's check ups and book the appointments!! (Both booked 09/07/2012)
• Stop biting my nails (Fail: Another annoying habit that is proving really hard to break lol!)
• Book in at the hairdressers (Done: I actually did this during my summer break so will have to arrange another appointment very soon.)
• Give myself a DIY pedicure (Fail: Hopefully I will find time to do this during the longer autumn nights that are quickly creeping up.)
• Exfoliate at least once a week (So far, my efforts at exfoliation have been few and far between but am sure that this will be quite an easy addition to my weekly routine.)
• Drink a Starbucks frappuccino (Done, and more than once I think!)
• Go for drinks in a beer garden/outside at a friend's (Despite the generally disappointing weather, this has been something I've managed at least once this summer.
• Recreate my own version of last years Ben and Jerry's festival with friends (Nope: Team the aforementioned atrocious weather with a large group of friends all with different plans and priorities, and it makes it very difficult to organise any outdoor activities. Maybe I'll just wait to see if the real thing comes around again next year.)

So there we have it, and to be honest, I'm quite happy with the progress I've made. I know that in my original post I did say that I wanted everything to be at least a work in progress by the start of September, but of those goals which I haven't yet started working towards, there are only perhaps one or two that I doubt my ability to be able to make any real headway with in the near future. And similarly, with those which are already in progress, I believe that I can also see these through to completion in the next few months.

So where does that leave me for now? Well, as I said at the start of my post, for me September has always been a time for making a new start; for looking back at the past, learning from it and moving on into the future. And so that means another to do list. Some items from last time will remain, whilst new ones will be added and completed ones removed, but the aim will remain the same: to make changes that will ultimately make me a happier and more fulfilled individual. And what could be better than that?

So how about you? Are you a list maker? Do you find them useful or ultimately just a paper exercise with little meaning? Tell me all, you know I always love to hear what you have to say!

'Til next time...