Looking Lived In - Top 10 Things That Make Me Smile

I hope you're all having an *awesome* sunday - or whatever day of the week it is when you're reading this! We've had a quiet one here, I have done TONS of cooking in some attempt to ensure we eat something other than cereal, takeaway or chips. I have made a ginormous chicken + chorizo casserole and a `proper` bolognaise sauce that has been cooking for around 5 hours now mmmmmmm.

Today's top 10 was inspired by the utterly inspirational Bangs and A Bun blog and this post. I've been a bit wordier than her, but I've not written 50 things, just 10 :) Hope you enjoy! Oh and be sure to follow B&AB - she rocks.

Top 10 Things That Make Me Smile

1) Dogs
Just generally but most specifically when they chase rabbits in their sleep, wag their tails when they lie down, their sheer enjoyment for the most mundane of activities (an ear scratch, a cuddle, a random smell) but mostly for their general silliness - like these cute airedales!

2) General animal silliness
Animals can be pretty funny generally. Especially when they are small and excitable, such as in this video or this one of Cookie The Baby Penguin (the last 10 seconds are the cutest thing I have seen in my life, I defy you not to laugh let alone smile!)

3) Guys With Flowers

When you see guys walking along with huge bunches of flowers - especially on Mother's Day - it's really cute! 

4) Random Acts of Kindness
When people give up seats on public transport, give someone change for the bus, help someone across the road, carry heavy luggage and are just unexpectedly nice to a complete stranger, this makes me smile. Like the nice man at South Ken tube who carried my suitcase up the stairs for me :)

Fun with Climbing - A Guest Photo Essay from Gaz Parry

Hey everyone, happy weekend! Hope you're having a great one. If you didn't catch yesterday's interview it's here, and it was with SIX time British climbing champ, Gaz Parry! Amazingly Gaz kindly submitted to my request that he also do a photo essay. So here you go!

Great memories from competitions. My first international podium. 3rd at Birmingham in the World Cup and in front of a home crowd.

The first time I ever sport climbed abroad was here, Buoux in France. 15 years later I returned to climb this classic route, Chouca.

My first expedition took me to Greenland. We climbed the World’s highest sea cliff. The Devils Thumbnail 4490ft. Sadly my friend and team member Mathew was killed in an abseil accident.

Another expedition to Madagascar. This is climbing near Diego Saurez in the north of the island. An area called Montagne Francais in reference to Madagascars French Colonial past.

Madagascan children prepare the days rice at 6am in the Tsaranoro valley.

The last climb of my Madagascar trip. A first ascent of the hardest route at the time in Mada. Naufrages Du Rhum.

France again doing what I enjoy. Hanging out in holes in the Ariege valley of Southern France

My 2008 expedition took me to Pakistan in an attempt to climb Trango Tower. Bad weather meant we didn’t make the summit, but an amazing trip was had by all.

France again. This time Christmas Day near Briancon. Climbing in the morning and snowboarding in the afternoon. We were on our way to Spain.

Our new home in Spain, we came for a few months at the end of 2008, bought a house and are still here.

Outside our front door with Kate, Joseph the horse and Blackie the cat. We have another 3 cats and numerous dogs

 Sandi Sox. Our first dog and our absolute pride and joy. She was only with us for a year, the memories she left are amazing, sadly she died last month. It has been the saddest month of my life. We now have another Spanish Podengo. We rescued Morgana after she spent 8 years in the Kennels. She now lives happily in an armchair.

Thanks Gaz, that was awesome!

I'll be back tomorrow with my top 10 songs to write to and lots more stuff coming up in the week.

Thank you and goodnight

Stupidgirl has left the building

Fun with Brighton + Dogs - A late photo essay

It's been a few weeks since I've done a photo essay so I'm a bit rusty! Having said that I thought I'd take advantage of a a day trip to Brighton to see the parentals to practice my snapping. I also got to spend a little quality time with their pampered pooch Archie. (I did have some video of me talking absolute gibberish to Archie but after extensive consultation it was decided that it was not fit for public consumption.)


Anyway here are the picture of Brighton first:

I loved the patterns of the roof of the station, hence the pictures, and the shoes I saw about 2 foot apart from each other on the pavement - none of them matching! You can tell that Brighton is a student town :). The last picture was taken from the train on the way home with my blackberry.


Finally here are a few cheeky snaps of Archie with his bone:

I'll be back tomorrow with WoTW (Method) and an interview on friday! Thanks so much for all your funny comments + tweets on my Top 10 Embarrassing tracks post yesterday - I listened to them all day today!

Thank you and good night

Stupidgirl has left the building

PS Well done if you spotted the sneaky picture of St Pauls in amongst the Brighton snaps :)

Putting the Cool in UnCool - Top 10 Embarrassing Tracks on my iPod

So, as punishment for not posting my top 10 childhood memories last night - and generally failing to post at all this weekend - tonight I am owning up to the most embarrasing `choons` on my ipod. In some cases it's not just a track, it's an entire album or body of work that I own by a particular artist. In fact I'm cringing just thinking about some of the er, gems that I willingly parted with hard earned cash for (yes, thank you iTunes). Remember people, drinking and internet shopping is *not* a good combination. It's a little like drunk texting - the next morning when you see what you did, you'll be all about `wtf did I buy that song for` what what what. And then repeat all over again next time you get home drunk. Please say it's not just me.


I'd better crack on with the list then - but just for my amusement, at the end is a list of songs that stupid tweeties that I follow, claimed to own. Oh yes, public humiliation time plus I have actual karaoke video of some of these tweeties!


***Disclaimer: I am having some weird-ass problem with flash player not working on my laptop so I've not put any links in to youtube videos so that you can experience the full wonder of these songs for yourselves. Sorry. However, on second thought, maybe that's a good thing?***


Top Ten Most Embarrassing Tracks on my iPod


1. Enya
Oh yes, you heard right, that's Enya. And there's a reason why I've not listed a track. And that's because I own not one, but TWO whole Enya albums. Seriously. In my defence, her Orinoco Flow goodness clearly takes me to my happy place because this is what I have to listen to, to get my head in the correct gear for writing my *novel*. Srsly. Once I've gone through both albums then - and only then - can i move onto something that one might actually hear in public. So that's Enya - I thought I'd start with a classic. And for those who care, my favourite track is either `Only Time` from the album `A Day Without Rain`. I also love `Ebudae` from Paint The Sky With Star.


2. I'm With You - Avril Lavigne
Er, yeah no I don't have a logical reason for owning this really. I just like it. I have no idea why because Avril's faux sk8ter grrrrl shtick really gets on my nerves, plus she like, totally, rilly can not sing whatsoever. Nope. I know that her whiny patheticness on this track should also grate like her false black talons down a skate ramp but oddly it doesn't. I don't know - any of you guys like it? Is it true that she's really a trained ballet dancer? Also weird and slightly creepy factoid for you, I used to work with a guy who had the *biggest* crush on her - this was about six years ago and he was in his 30's so I do find it slightly pedo-ish. He even went to her gigs. Weird right? Much weirder than me liking this track.


3. Rockstar - Nickleback
Okay, I'm sorry but I really shouldn't have to defend this one, I know that Chad Kroeger and his MOR cronies are just cringe-tastic in the rawking out stakes butbutbutbutbut this song just makes me happy AND when I decided to quit a job around four years ago, this was the song that kept me going even when I thought I was making a fucking HUGE mistake and shite-ing up my career. But I didn't shite it up. And this song is the soundtrack to that time of my life. Plus it has some awesome cameos including one from Kid Rock (yes I know, he's a complete douche but still - anything is better than the Chad-man). Another random factoid for you - which is so incredibly tangential but here goes...when I was around 16 and on a family holiday in South Caroline some total rich redneck boy cracked on to me and he was called Chad. I didn't reallise until that point that anyone outside of SVH was called that! 


4. Self Control *and* Gloria - Laura Brannigan
Oh I see you, you're sitting there going, WTF?? I have *never* heard these songs ever. But actually you have, oh yes. They are total 80's cheese-tastic classics and you will find that you even know the lyrics, particularly to Gloria "Calling Gloriaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and erm, it was also on the er, Flashdance soundtrack.  I have to say I prefer the synth pop of Self Control with the best drum machine possibly ever until Vanilla Ice came along. It just makes me dance. I have no shame clearly - even as I write this I am listening to "you take my self, you take my self control" and erm, sofa dancing. So yes, I'm shameless for sure. And lacking in cool. But more importantly fact fans Laura Brannigan was a back up singer for Leonard Cohen and also had songs featured in Grand Theft Auto...or something. So listen and enjoy tweeps.


5. Baby I Don't Care - Transvision Vamp
As the song says "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" yes, to you, if you don't like this one. I know I'm hitting you up with the 80's cheese big style tonight - and there's more to come, but there's something about this track that just screams big hair, bad eyeliner, blusher stripes and er, FUN. Unfortunately wikipedia has just informed me that TV are in fact `alt rock` and therefore might be cool - woops. Also one of the guys in the band ended up in Bush. With these facts I am spoiling you fact fans. oh yes. Still, the song KICKS ASS


6. St Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) - John Parr
I have absolutely NO IDEA wtf this song has to do with the phenomenon that is St Elmo's Fire but obviously this song is from the movie of the same name and nothing to do with sea-faring legends. Anyway this `choon` reminds me of a very bad (and by that I mean EXCELLENT) club I went to at university that most memorably stank of feet for some reason. It had a regular 80's night and I remember dancing my little stilleto clad feet off to this one (most likely on a podium as well, clutching an `alco-pop` in one hand, a man-boy in the other). I hadn't thought of this song in ages until a rather horrendously awful dance version of it cropped up in my Body Combat class (also worth pointing out that we had to shadow box to a house version of Smells Like Teen Spirit - KC would have been spinning in his grave).


7. The Best of Belinda - Belinda Carlisle
So yes, I think you might have realised that I'm a bit of an 80's freakazoid. Sorry but I love Ms Carlisle. I quite frequently listen to this whole album on the way to work in the morning. If you get the Northern Line in from Sarf London around 8:30 and you can hear a tinny version of "oooooh heaven is a place on earth" emanating from a girl with pink headphones it'll most likely be me. I fear I've not really embarrassed myself enough on this post so without further ado I shall say that although HIAPOE  is my fave BC track, I also love I Get Weak and Runaway Horses. It really doesn't get much more cringe-worthy than lyrics such as "I'm in love/I'm in deep" and er "Suddenly all of my fences have broken/I'm cutting the reins of my life"


8. If I Could Turn Back Time - Cher
Okay firstly, the video for this is just fucking genius. Even Lady Gaga + La Aguilera combined into some giant lady monster would baulk at the idea of wearing a lace thonged body and straddling a cannon whilst singing to a ship full of sailors (seamen if you like). I like most of Cher's oeuvre anyway (plus with straight hair I get told I look like her) - who wouldn't love such politically correctly entitled songs such as `Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves` oh yes, but IICTBT is just classic - the guitar intro, the famillar Cher wails and the obligatory key change just before the end of the track. You know you love it.


9. Leaving On A Jet Plane - John Denver
You can blame Glee for this one - had it in my head ever since the end of the last series. Yes it's cheesy, yes it's a bit nerdy. But I like it. Live with it.


10. Escape - Enrique Iglesias
Okay no, this is not here because I fancy Enrique. Well....not *just* because I fancy Enrique. Okay time for another embarrassing story. This song came out around the time I got together with husbando. I liked him for a long time before he realised/liked me. So the lyrics "You can run, you can hide but you can't escape my love" as well as sounding just a tad stalkerish summed up how I felt. Anyway the video always made me smile because it had someone we each fancied in me - Enrique, husbando - Anna Kornikova. It's a naff song but I likes it alright.


So that's it for the embarrassing songs hair-shirt type post. I hope you've all been thoroughly amused but also enjoyed some, if not all of the songs!! I hope you'll share your cringiest tracks on the comments section - some that have been mentioned to me (Admitted?) are Barry Manilow, PJ + Duncan, various Disney soundtracks, Mc Hammer,Vanilla Ice....you guys are way worse than me.


Finally, here's a sneak preview of someone I'll be introducing to you tomorrow:

This little rascal is Archie! And he's my parents doggy with whom I had lots of fun down in Brighton on saturday. Pictures *and* video footage to follow tomorrow, plus I'll be back on Wednesday with WoTW (Method) and an interview with a fabulous accessory designer as well - 'citing stuff.


Thank you and good night


Stupidgirl has left the building