20 Things About Me

I saw on Twitter today that everyone is tweeting '20 things about me' and, in a moment of wanting to blog but not knowing what to write, I thought I could have a go on here.

20 Things About Me

1. When I was nine years old I decided to be a journalist after watching Lois Lane go on many an adventure with Superman. I launched my own newspaper using a Word template and Clip Art on our first PC. It was called Boom!

2. I hate coffee but love lattes and for this reason, and this reason alone, bought myself a coffee machine.

3. When I was 19 I met and fell in love with my best friend. I knew after our first kiss that I would marry him... and I did.

4. Sometimes I wish I could go back to being 17 at college. They weren't necessarily the best days, but they were the most care-free days of my life and I had some amazing friends, which I didn't appreciate until we all went our separate ways.

5. I make my husband do the washing up every day... and then nag him when he leaves traces of sauce on the plates.

6. Throughout school, college and university I never revised for exams but always got good grades... I now fear that one day everyone will find out I actually don't know anything after all.

7. I've always had an independent, make it on my own streak. I left home at 17 and thought I was a grown up. Totally wasn't.

8. I still feel like I'm play-acting at being a grown up.

9. I love God and His Son, Jesus. Always have, always will (this should be number 1 on the list really).

10. I find it hard to trust God and have a habit of doing everything in my own strength. Then Bam! He does it all himself and saves the day. I am an idiot.

11. I feign an interest in football for the sake of my marriage, can hold a relatively intelligent conversation about it by just throwing in a few facts, nodding and smiling... but really I don't care.

12. I love weddings, totally think that my own was the best wedding ever and would do it again (to the same man!) given the chance.

13. I look at this wedding photo and am amazed at how young, innocent and child-like I looked. Full of hopes, dreams and anticipation for a perfect future. (Ha!). (I'm also amazed that it was nearly 5 years ago!)

14. I'm allergic to dairy products but crave cheese all the time. Yes, ALL the time!

15. My favourite meal is bangers and mash, but it has to be dished up a certain way - a bed of mash, at least 4 sausages stuck in the middle and then baked beans poured over the top.

16. I am a writer with constant writer's block. I haven't done any creative writing since I was 19 and do wonder whether I still can.

17. I have a tendency towards addictive behaviour - whether it be diet coke, starbucks, flowers or magazines - these are all things I feel like I have to buy even when I don't need, want or can't afford them.

18. Although I can be chatty and funny and confident, deep down I am an introvert. I prefer my own company, get overwhelmed by big social occasions or too many social occasions in a short space of time and frequently turn my phone off to shut the world out. Everyone feels sorry for me because my husband works on weekends, but it actually gives me head space so I don't mind it at all. These articles helped me to understand that I wasn't weird and that it's ok.

19. I am a control freak who needs to know what the plan is - not just for the next few weeks. I'm talking years! 

20. I have a lot of dreams and ambitions but no idea how to make them happen or how they fit in with each other.

There! There are loads more but maybe I'll do another one another time.

What are your 20 things? Why not blog about them and leave the link in the comments, would love to see!

2009 - a clean slate!

I am a big fan of new year. There's the anticipation of all that lies ahead, the year has gone, a new one has come, the world is my oyster and 2009 is the year that everything will be as it should be. Right? Ok, so one thing you will learn about me is I am ever-the-optimist. I approach life with a slight air of idealism, vague naivity and innocence. My husband thinks it's endearing... I like to view it as the secret to survival! :0)

Anyway, so this year is going to be the year that life reaches perfection and all falls into place. I've decided. And, my fellow bloggers, you guys get to watch it unfold on this little diary of mine. There will be a life overhaul, a strategic plan of action and constant reviews of my progress (or lack of it!).

So, before I inundate you with my grand plans and resolutions, let me tell you a bit about life as it stands.

I am 23 years old, I live in the wonderful city that is London which I love dearly. I'm a wannabe writer who currently travels 56 miles every day to write for a magazine which is not going to score me points on my CV, nor start up interesting conversations at dinner parties. I enjoy it a lot, yet it feels somewhat pointless in the grand scheme of my life.

I eat far too much junk, have no idea how to cook, and no inclination to learn. I do very little exercise, yet manage to maintain a reasonable figure... which somehow allows me to justify my unhealthy lifestyle and stops me from doing anything about it.

I have an amazing husband who keeps me grounded. We've been together four years, married for 16 months. I have an immovable faith in God and go to an incredible church, and yet I still sometimes feel lost in my spiritual journey, or as if I'm just floating by in a cloud of busy-ness.

I love to shop but can't really afford to. I still live with the financial legacy of my student overdraft and credit cards that are way beyond what I can afford. This is something that I aim to tackle - more on that later.

I have some great friends both from days gone by and from London, but I'm crap at keeping in touch, remembering birthdays and making visits. I never call when I say I will and I very rarely spontaneously meet people for coffee. I don't know why. I just don't.

If I had unlimited time and resources I would do a round-the-world trip to visit all my friends across the world, learn to sew, get a degree in business and while away my time in bookstores drinking chai tea. One day I'd like to write a book.

So, now that I've finished critiquing myself, it's time to change. Don't worry, I'm not depressed, I just understand my current limits and know this is not where I want to be. Where I want to be I'm not sure. But we'll take baby steps and see what happens. Looking forward to it!

So how to change? Well, instead of pinning up a long list of resolutions on my wall, I thought I would post my goals in bitesize chunks on here. Now I've never been one for making goals. I can't remember a time when I've set myself a target and actually bothered to achieve it. So this in itself is new territory!

So goals so far:
- Work out what my goals are
- Blog regularly enough for this to be worth it
- Achieve said goals little by little
- Live a better life