The question game

I saw this on Rachel Denbow's blog http://racheldenbow.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-turn.html and thought I'd give it a shot since I'm not in the mood right now to go to sleep. :)

1.) When do you feel happiest?

When I'm with people I know and love (by people, I'm including my cat Clara, since she exhibits more intelligence and personality than some people do). Having good food and a cuppa tea doesn't hurt either ;)

2.) How do you take care of yourself?

Dunno...I eat a relatively balanced diet and on the whole prefer home-cooked and healthy food to greasy fast-food. While I enjoy my wine, I don't see the point in going out to get completely trashed and putting myself in potential danger as a result. I try to walk everywhere I go, which is easy when you can't drive. I love my sleep and try not to deprive myself too much of the 8 hours or so I need to function. Water and herbal teas make me happy and hydrated. I know I need to exercise and eat more to build up muscle since I'm underweight, and I'm planning to work on that :)

3.) Are you internally (by yourself) or externally (by others) motivated?
I'd say I'm more internally motivated than externally motivated, but I do feel that I get inspired by other people's work. At university, I have to motivate myself since I can't rely on others too much, apart from my few close friends! Chocolate and yummy food help keep me on track with my work. Each day seems to be a constant battle between my proactive side and my lazy side.


4.) What do you do for fun?
Cook food, try out new recipes, read books, writing, gardening, running, swimming, hanging out with my friends and family, making a fuss of my moggy, Clara.

5.) What intimidates you?
Exams, having too much to do without being able to look after myself, talking to men I find attractive since I turn to a blithering idiot and being in loud, cramped places that I can't walk out of.


6.) What is something you're proud of?
Not having attempted suicide in 5 years, surviving school, and getting into a good university (since some of my teachers were cynical that I'd make it, it makes me the more proud that I did it). I'm also very proud of my Mum and sisters for all that they're managed to achieve even though Dad died only two years ago. Hopefully in 5 years or so, I'll have more things to be proud of.

7.) Finish this sentence. I never... will get plastic surgery to enhance myself.

8.) Favourite vacation spot?
Australia. I've only been there once, but I loved it and cannot wait to visit this beautiful country again if I'm fortunate to get the chance.
In Britain, I'd say Cornwall and the Scottish Highlands are some of the best places for going on holiday.

9.) Today is a (rate from 1-10):
About a 4 or 5. I've had a pretty 'meh' day today, hopefully tomorrow will be better :)

10.) Finish this sentence. If you knew me really well you'd know...
That I love to eat frozen peas whilst they're still frozen...that's how I roll.

The daleks made me do it.

Rather than bore you with all the details of why I didn't post ages earlier when I had completed this project, I'm just going to say that the daleks abducted me and I've only recently been able to escape their wrath (and their plunger things) thanks to a certain 900-year old Gallfreyian. :)

Okay, I'm completely insane.

So, about six weeks ago, I finally got round to making my first page in my gorgeous new scrapbooking journal I brought way back in January. The subject? 2009. Yes, I really should have gotten this summary page done and dusted during New Year's and not in the middle of March, but there you go!

The flower detail on the journal was drawn freehand in pencil, then redone with silver and gold markers. I used the stencils I mentioned in the previous post for the text. The journal is just a sketchbook I brought from Hobbycraft :)

Last year, I became more involved in an online community I'm a proud member of, Immeritus. In March, I was lucky enough to meet up with two of the 'old' members Winky and Dragon in London, which made my month! And at around Christmas last year, I got a card from none other but Dragon, with this photo of us! Alright, it's not the most flattering one of me, but Dragon looks amazing in it!!

I fell in love with the lovely American stamps that were on the parcel from my Immy secret santa, so I just had to include them in my summary page ^-^!

Inside my little mini-book, I pritt-sticked in recipes for gingerbread and butter cookies that I received during the Immy Christmas card swap...I've tried out both of the recipes, and the results were well worth the effort!

The scalloping and letters were rather tricky to create, but eventually I managed to create an even looking border that I was and still am happy with!

I'm rather annoyed with myself for not including anything from my stay in the Netherlands with Saskia and my other lovely friends there...I feel like a total jerk for not adding in something, even a bus ticket or flight stub. Saskia, if you're reading this, I'm sorry, and will bring you lots of doughnuts with me next time I visit you!

Since I'm off university for the next three weeks and intend to as little work concerning my degree as possible (my exams are in June, after all), I'll try to post here more frequently before the revision beast attacks me once more. Love and cookies, Becca xxx

So, I eventually decide to post...university has been rather demanding since it began in mid-January, with assessments and lab work every week. I finally finished this calendar I was working on for my Nanny (a bit late, I know, but still!). Below are some photos I took of it...sorry about the poor quality, it was gone 11pm when I took these!

The second one is of me and my darling Dad on my 18th, and is one of the last photos I have of him. Unfortunately the texture of the papers I used hasn't shown up properly using my housemate's camera! :(

The two beautiful ladies with me in the third photo are my lovely sisters. We were holidaying in Tenerife when it was taken, hence the beach dresses! The fourth one is a photo my Mum also took in Tenerife, I just love the colour and shape of the flower, it's sooooooo pretty! I used these calligraphy stencils I brought in Hobbycraft ages ago as well as silver and gold marker pens for all the writing. I only sent this off today, so hopefully my Nan will love it! :D

I'd better go and eat dinner now,

Becca xxx

(I still haven't got the hang of making posts with a decent photo-text layout...can anyone help me? Pretty please?)

...yup, it's still an igloo!

Well, the boiler's been relit, but is making an ominous ticking noise whenever it's on, so the landlord's agent is sending someone to service it. Despite this inconvenience, I have made something cute out of some felt, thread and a button...

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet...it would look fantastic as a brooch, bag decoration or hair accessory, or as a journal decoration maybe? Sorry for the poor photography...I'm not much of a photographer, and had to use a housemate's camera since I'm a fool who left her camera charger at her Mum's house.

My other housemate returned yesterday evening from Canada with this

little critter for me as a late combined Christmas and birthday present!! He knows I'm a bit mountie-obsessed because of a certain "90s TV programme that involves a mountie in Chicago, and since I asked him to bring me back my own mountie, he did the next best thing without sparking a Canadian-British conflict and being convicted for kidnapping of a Canadian police officer. ^^

The final picture is a result of me being hungry and very bored of
revising plant anatomy for my exam. I have no excuse for this,
but who wouldn't want a potato smiling up at them if they're having a bad day?

Big love from Becca the human icecube xxx

Writings from the igloo...

Well, on Tuesday I braved the elements and travelled back to Canterbury for university, which begins again on the 18th, and now I'm stocked up on enough food to last me until my loan comes in (hurrah!). I've already being a complete muppet and let the gas meter run out (by accident, of course), so now we don't have heating until some time tomorrow when my other housemate returns from Canada, hence why the bungalow's an igloo as far as I'm concerned!

I've brought a new laptop from the insurance money today, and am trying to learn the ins and outs of windows 7...oddly enough, I miss windows vista.

I've finally decided to stop procastinating and put some photos from my Christmas break up, so voila, you lovely people get to witness my godawful photography skills first-hand! Yes, that homo sapien, dear readers, is who's lurking behind the laptop screen...consider yourselves warned. ;)

So, back home in Reading, we had snow twice during the holidays. To have snow at all in Southern England is rare enough, but to have more than a sprinkling of snow? It's pretty incredible and has a touch of the magical about it. When I was travelling back on the train from Chaucerland, I passed many fields and woodland areas covered in snow...it was as if Narnia had jumped out of the book and was all around me (That's if there were any trains in the land of Narnia)! The second bout of snow fell on the 6th, just before my 20th birthday, and we got over 6 inches (it was up to my knees in places!), so I had snow for my birthday, which was just about the best thing you can expect to happen if you have a Winter birthday! I took a couple of photos of our garden before me and my sisters donned old clothes and went boogie-boarding down the slope (we are poor girls who can't afford sledges, so we make do with boards that are meant for 'surfing' the shallows of the sea). My mum did record a video of us acting like 5 year olds, but unfortunately this was on her camera, which got stolen with the laptops, so you won't be able to witness an embarrassing family video.

Oh, and before I forget, here's a photo of the heart decoration I made, and one of this beautiful tree decoration my Mum received from some lovely people at her work.

I'm really happy with how the heart tree decoration turned out, even if it was made from a kit; I wish I have some more of the patterned fabric! I could have made a purse or something with material like that...oh well, I'll probably find some cute fabric to *squee* over before long!

The penguin tree decoration was given by my Immy secret santa...he's adorable even if it looks like he's indulged in a few too many herrings!

Looking at all these festive pictures makes me wish it was Christmastime again... if only it was! It seems too soon to be the start of term soon!

Back in the land of Chaucer and archbishops

Just a quick post to update on my current projects.
I'm currently making a calendar mostly from scratch for my nan, have completed 5/12 months so far! :) It involves pics of our family and pretty paper; I may post a few pages from it on here.
I haven't began my journal yet, which is a shame, since I need to do a summary post for last year, with some of its highlights! The cover's been decorated, so I'll post a picture of that up soon. I've also made this cute heart tree decoration (from a kit, so it's not original unfortunately!), and will upload pics of this, my journal cover and this cute penguin tree decoration tomorrow, when I'm hopefully getting my new laptop *happy dances*
On a completely irrelevant note, I watched Being Human and Glee on Monday night. George getting it on with a slutty vampire and cheating on Nina like that was a good plot point I guess, but it was rather out of character for him. And yes, I know he's all torn up inside and emo because he killed the 'big bad' of the first season, Herrick (who completely had it coming), but seriously, someone needs to slap George upside the head and knock some sense into him! I'd better stop before I blurt out any more spoilers...
After seeing the first two episodes of Glee, I cannot wait for more musical cheese!
It's still snowy and cold here...someone teleport me to Australia!
Sugah/Becky/Becca

Not festive pics, but an explanation

Yesterday, me, Mum and my sisters arrived home from a day visiting my nan and uncle to find out our house had been broken into. My laptop Toshiko, my sister's laptop and my mum's camera (and possibly some money) got stolen. All my photos that I've been meaning to post on here were on that laptop, as well as a lot of personal stuff. The insurance is going to take forever to sort out, so even though our belongings were covered by Mum's policy, it could be a month or two until I have a new one, so I won't really be able to post much on this blog for a while :(
The Christmas decorations have been taken down now, and the house looks so dull. I want to go do crafty stuff now to cheer me up.