A picture an hour (well almost!)

Hello! Well my grand blogging plan for this week failed miserably, but better late than never I suppose! Plus the fact that I haven't blogged means that I've still got a whole list of post ideas that I can use over the next few days instead :-). Always looking on the bright side eh! But enough of the waffling now, let's actually get on with the post instead. It's something a little different today as I've decided to do my first ever picture an hour. I've seen lots of these posts floating around the blogosphere and I always enjoy getting an insight into the writer's day. I love how even the everyday things can be beautiful and full of meaning; it's such a contrast to my usual perception of photos only being taken at big occasions and events. Plus, unlike some of my other  posts, this isn't writing heavy which is always a good thing! So here's my pictures, taken last Wednesday. Enjoy!

9 am

A brew, book and biscuits...the perfect way to come round of a morning :-)

10 am

Tea and toast in bed...I promise I did get up not long after this picture was taken!

11 am

A post shower selfie; this is the least scary looking one I got!

12 pm

My necklace...I'd only just got dressed so it felt appropriate to take a photo of something I was wearing!

1 pm

Reading and commenting on some of my favourite blogs...the perfect way to spend part of my afternoon :-)

2 pm

Yellow iris in my back garden. I spent ages trying to capture an image where you could see the bee that had landed on it too, but I don't think it really worked :-(

3 pm

Shopping! Well more like browsing in my case as I didn't actually buy anything but I still enjoyed visiting one of my favourite outlet shops.

4 pm

No picture this hour I'm afraid. I somehow didn't manage to get one in in time!

5 pm

Starting the mammoth task of clearing one of my email inboxes. Needless to say I didn't get very far!

6 pm

Writing my wish list from the new Avon brochure that had been delivered the night before. Expect a haul post when the order comes through!

7 pm

Love summer evenings...check out that beautiful mackerel sky!

8 pm

Getting ready for work, these are just some of the things you'll find in my bag on any work day.

9 pm

Playing Cluedo with some of the family, I really don't play enough board games.

10 pm

Almost bedtime, as I needed to be up at 5:45 the next day :-(.

And there you have it! Hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into my Wednesday off work. If you have, let me know! Or tell me what you've been up to lately. You know I love your comments!

'Til next time...

30 before 30: An Update

So do you remember my 30 before 30 list that I posted a few months back? Well, whether the answer's yes or no, I thought that now that I've started blogging again, it would be a perfect time to update you a little on my progress. So, just over four and a half months in, here's how I'm doing so far:

7.  Have a ruthless clear out of my wardrobes and drawers - I've made a start on this, having cleared out one chest of drawers so far and am going to be doing the rest over the summer, so I can make room for all the piles of clothes I've got mounting up, plus potentially a few new buys too.

9.  Read at least 24 new books (2 per month) - whilst this goal may now prove to be overly ambitious, unless I get a major spurt on for the rest of the year, I have read 3 new books since my 29th (Unsuitable Men by Pippa Wright, The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey and Death by Honeymoon by Jaden Skye) and have almost finished The Great Gatsby too. Over the past couple of weeks, I've definitely been getting the urge to read more too, so it'll be interesting to see how close I can get to my original target.

10. Bake at least twice a month - I'm pretty sure I haven't achieved this goal every month, although I haven't really been keeping track as well as I should, but know that I definitely did hit the target in May, as I made Nanaimo bars, chocolate chip cookies and gingerbread over the space of 2 weekends. Hopefully I can stay in the baking habit for the rest of the year now!

11. Try 10 new recipes - I'm on 2 so far; the Nanaimo bars and the chocolate chip cookies I made last month were both things I'd tried for the first time. Look out for the recipes soon!

21. Watch at least 10 new (to me) films (to include at least 1 Tarantino) - I think I'm definitely well on track with this one! :-) At the cinema, I've seen Django Unchained (so I can say I've watched a Tarantino too!), Lincoln, Les Miserables and Iron Man 3 and I know for a fact that there's a few more films that I definitely want to try and catch in the weeks and months ahead too. Add to that the films I've watched on DVD/Netflix (I definitely remember Taken and most of Star Trek), and I think I may even have to set a higher target!

24. Start taking part in quizzes again - I've been part of a quiz team on 2 occasions since I created my list, both times on charity quiz nights with work and I've really enjoyed it. My next step is definitely to find a quiz night that I can start taking part in with (some of) my friends.

And that's pretty much it so far. Well, apart from one other goal which was really my number one priority for the year, and is something that I'm over the moon to have achieved, especially so early on in the year. I am so pleased to say that I've been able to tick the following goal off my list:

1. Get a new job!! - I am so happy about the fact I've achieved this, I really can't quite put it into words! Whilst I'm still in my old job at the moment, come September I'll be taking up my new post as graduate library assistant at one of Manchester's universities. Taking the leap to work in libraries is something that I have been considering for years, off and on, and I am thrilled that I'll finally have the opportunity to make my dream a reality. Whilst I'll only be employed on a year's fixed term contract, the job offer was too good a prospect to dismiss and I'm so looking forward to what the new chapter (sorry - but that pun was totally intended! ;-) ) of my working life may hold.

Sorry, but I couldn't resist saving the best for last! And now that really is all for now, but I'd be thrilled to hear from any of you, as always. Anything big happening in your life at the mo? Any goals that you've recently made/met, be they big or small? If so, just let me know!

'Til next time...

(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...