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February Loot Crate unboxing and review

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As something new to my blog, I’ve decided to talk about the subscription boxes I get, review them and just generally have an excuse to geek out! If you don’t want any spoilers then do not read this post as it contains the contents of this month’s box, but I will tell you it’s a good one.

I’ve been getting Loot Crate since December, starting with the galaxy crate which I was really impressed with, particularly the Han Solo exclusive pop. I say exclusive, it really just had a Lootcrate sticker on and then got released later, but I can live with that. Last month we had the Invasion crate, which was ok but not really my thing. This month however we were promised some Deadpool and, you guys know I love Deadpool.

 

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My absolute favourite part of this crate was the official Marvel t-shirt. It’s soft and a great colour as well as a fab design. Great start to the crate, absolutely love it.

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This month’s pin, they’ve changed for 2016. Now going to proper metal pins. I’m not sure in the point of these pins, don’t get me wrong they’re cool but I don’t usually know what to do with them.

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Another awesome Deadpool part of the Crate. I loved this, it’s funny as well as being a really cool edition to the house. I’ve also never seen these before, it’s something fun and a little different.

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I don’t know what the deal with this is, because I’ve never watched the Walking Dead. I was torn between being grossed out and impressed by these, I’ve never heard of soap being in a subscription box but I like the idea.

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Lego type mystery pouches. These are kind of cool I have to admit, although I did give it to my boyfriend. I’m not a zombie girl.

This month’s crate was definitely worth the money and I am absolutely in love with the contents. Next month’s theme for the crate hasn’t been released yet but I’m hoping the standards keep up to what they have been for the last few months.

Great shout Loot Crate!

Harper Lee

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The literature world was shocked and saddened to hear the the great writer Harper Lee passed away today. We have truly lost a great talent, she’s a writer that had an idea and ran with it, the end result was educating millions about being a good person and created a literary legend in the character of Atticus Finch.

I first time I picked up the Pulitzer prize winner I was 15 and about to start the final year of my GCSEs. It had been around for a year before as my boyfriend studied for his, but I hadn’t read it because I had no idea what it was about. As soon as I opened that first page though, I was hooked. The book had such a profound effect on me, I truly believe it was what started my love for academics. I went on to pass my GCSE and went on to study a whole project on the African American woman, inspired by the mother figure of Calpurnia and the mistreatment of the African American community in To Kill a Mockingbird.

When Go Set a Watchman was released last year, I preordered, managed to leave work a little early and started as soon as I got home. While there were a lot of reviewers who hated it, I loved it. I loved the fact that it showed how people change and the people who you thought were heroes growing up were just ordinary people.

She rarely gave interviews and had only released those two books, but they were enough. Enough for us to see her wisdom and intelligence and continue to  Even though she kept to herself, she was an icon in literature.

Rest in Peace Harper Lee.

K.J Orr

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Sometimes in my life I get to meet some incredibly talented people. Tonight I got to go to a reading by KJ Orr, someone I am lucky enough to know. Katherine taught me when I was in Athens last year. I really learnt a lot from her and the others in the class and there’s just something about talking to her that makes me want to write. I came home from seeing her and listening to her read from her new book of short stories and just started writing myself.

We were told this book was going to be released last summer and I’ve been excited  to read it ever since, just because her passion for short stories was so evident even though she never showed us her work. I’ve listened to excerpts tonight and her writing is addictive. Of course I’ll be reading it and reviewing on this blog but if you’re looking for a new read you can buy it now, and I would definitely recommend it. Congratulation Katherine!!!

My Last Reading Week!

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Today marks the start of the last Reading Week (although now they call it Enrichment Week) I will have. Of course I’ll still have them while I’m a postgrad but I won’t have the free time I do now, because I’ll be working a full time job too. Dun, dun, duuuuuuuuuun. Now I’m in my third year I don’t have a choice but to use this week to get organised, productive and tick things off of my ever growing to do list. That said, I’m not allowed to go mad this week because of my recent diagnosis as well as having to deal with some spine pain.

It’s going to be good for me to have a week to go at things my own pace, do some things I enjoy and go and see my family at the end of it. I’ve already got more done over the weekend than I planned, simply because I was relaxed and just spent some time with myself, thinking about what I want and how I’m going to go about it. Being me, of course I have a to do list of all the things I want to do this week, which is mostly assignments I need to get cracking on or stuff I need to do around the house. I guess I really want to also take the time to take care of myself and make things easier in the long run. The more I get done this week, the less I have to worry about later on.

Of course, there might be some non course reading involved this week too…

Sunday Seven: 7 ways to show you love someone all year round – 14th Feb 2015

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Love it or hate it Valentine’s day is everywhere. As you all know I am in a relationship but I’m not about to assault you with something mushy and OH MY GOD HE IS SO AMAZING LOOK AT ALL MY GIFTS.  That kind of thing irritates the hell out of me. Of course we did the big valentine’s thing in the beginning roses and chocolate and all that but we’re both of the mind that Valentine’s is one day of the year, what about the rest of them? Being in a relationship is about loving each other every day, one day of presents does not make a successful relationship, well none that I know about anyway.

So for today’s Sunday Seven I’m going to talk about the day to day things that really matter. It’s not about big bouquets, teddies and chocolate. Although I love these things too, why buy them when they’re on mark up? We want to move into a bigger flat, not waste money because we’re told me should. So, here are this week’s seven.

1.Asking how someone’s day was

This is really important. Someone wanting to know what you’ve been up to and what’s going on in your life is just so nice. It’s also nice to have someone to talk things over with if you’re in a dilemma over something. Two minds are better than one.

2. Taking care of someone when they’re sick

In the past year I’ve really took a battering with my health. Firstly with my spine and last month when I was sick. I don’t think I can ever explain how grateful I was to have Ali around for both. He had to put up with a lot, helping me walk, pushing my wheelchair, seeing me in so much pain, getting me painkillers, helping me in and out of the bath and even flying to a different country with me. Even now I still need a little help sometimes when it’s cold or my back goes into spasm. All of that love and care means more to me than anything he could buy.

3.  Little Surprises

I always pick up a chocolate bar here, a cake there, a book or shirt that was in the sale. I like seeing his face when I treat him to something unexpected. I feel the same when he asks if I want to just grab a burger while we’re out. It’s a nice and simple way of showing you care for someone. There’s other more boring things like tidying their desk or leaving a plate of food for when they come home, or even a little note that can make all the difference.

4. Being there when they’ve had a rough day

Being able just have a hug or getting something off your chest when you’ve had a rough day makes me calm down. I also think more logically when I’m talking it through.

5. Being honest

I may not always like it but he’s always honest. If I’m in the wrong or if something’s a stupid idea he’ll tell me straight up.

6. Doing things you might not want to do because it makes them happy

For some girls it’s sports, for some it’s big family dinners and for me it’s listening about video games where I have no idea what’s going on. Harder to try and be interested at 2am.

7. Food

They once said that food was a way to a man’s heart, turns out it’s also the way to a woman’s. Cooking or getting a take away is always a winner. Always.

Remembering the good.

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If you haven’t guessed already I love pictures like the one above. I love words and slogans and nice backgrounds. I guess it’s because sometimes I don’t have the image that says what I want to say or sometimes I don’t have the words to say how I feel. It’s because of that I use Pinterest a lot because sometimes the words I need are already there. I don’t use the quote I picked today because I think I’m this brave, strong person. I’ve always said I’ve simply got on with my life the best I can.

I’ve thought a lot about the accident in the past few days, about my spine. This isn’t because I’ve had a lot of time on my hands, more because I’ve been in pain again and there’s nothing more frustrating. When my doctors say the scans look normal and my physio says there’s not much he can do and yet I’m still in pain a lot of the time. When I’m in the awkward part where I still can’t walk too far or stand up for long periods of time and have to explain that I’m recovering from a spine injury. When I have to call venues and explain why I need a seat and they have to decide if I’m ‘disabled enough’, because I’m not officially registered as disabled but at the same time I’m still struggling so much. Don’t get me wrong I do not want another label at all, but sometimes it’s what other people want so I can get the help I need at concert venues for example.

So while I was feeling pretty down about this yesterday, I had a conversation with Ali about how I was feeling and why. He reminded me that while the accident was shitty, awful and did change a lot of my life, a lot of positives came out of it too. I was reminded of these again when I went to see Joe tonight.

  • I’ve got a new appreciation for my body when it’s healthy
  • I’ve gotten better at taking me time and not doing things I don’t want to do
  • I’ve learnt a lot about friendship
  • I’ve got a much better relationship with food, portion sizes and exercise
  • I met Alice, who has come to be a great friend and support to me, I would never have set foot in a gym if it wasn’t for the accident
  • My relationships gotten stronger
  • I have a new sense of understanding when it comes to physical disabilities
  • I got a job I love that I might not have applied for if I hadn’t been spending so much time online when I couldn’t move
  • I got a lot of reading done
  • As a result of the reading I finally embraced feminism and found a new passion

There’s a lot there and I think, as with anything that changes your life when you don’t expect it, there’s a lot to deal with. Sometimes I forget all the positives because I’m just having a down day, that’s all. I worried about writing tonight’s blog because I have had people in the past saying I think too much about my spine, that it takes over my life. Then I shook the thought off because of COURSE breaking your spine is going to have a huge impact on your life, it changes everything for at least the first year – two years after it happens. I no longer care about the ignorant or negative people who don’t try and understand or make throwaway comments because my spine and how I handle it is a part of my life. The good, the bad and the ugly.

STRESS and what you can do about it

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Today I woke up early with butterflies in my tummy to go to my doctors appointment. I’ve been so nervous about getting these test results back after being ill on and off for the past month.  The good news is that it’s none of the things they were testing for like Crohn’s, Celiac disease, Diabetes and general bowel disease. The not so good news is that my body isn’t dealing well with the stress that I’ve been under and it’s made me sick. I read somewhere once that we shouldn’t talk about stress, that it was a very british thing to say when we are and we shouldn’t do it. I thought about that for a long time and I think it’s part of the reason I don’t like telling people I’m stressed, I don’t want to seem like I’m whinging.

After hearing from the doctor what being stressed is doing to my health though (and this isn’t the first time), I realised this IS something that needs to be spoken about. Especially with students, I’m in my final year at university and the stress is unbelievable. There is so much pressure to do well, work out what I want to do, find jobs, apply for jobs,  socialise, enjoy all the ‘lasts’, apply for postgrad schemes. On top of all that I have my spine stuff and my mental health. As my mentor said to me, it’s no wonder that I’m getting stressed out at the moment.

So I did what I always do, I wrote a list of things to help me deal with stress and hopefully some of them can help you too

  • Write things down, what you need to do, things that are worrying you, things to look forward too. Everything is a lot better when you write it down. I usually do it in fun colours.
  • Be honest with the people around you.
  • Learn to say no, when things are too much or you don’t want to do them. Saying no is ok!
  • Listen to your body! That’s probably the most important
  • Find a stress reliever, I always feel better after a workout if my spine would let me I’d be in the gym every day.
  • Try and get a good nights sleep.
  • Whenever you can, be around people who make you feel good!
  • Treat yourself to something you want
  • Allow yourself to be a little selfish.

I plan on doing all of these on my week off to try and recharge my batteries and get ready for the final 6 weeks of lectures (!!).

Let me know what some of your stress busting tips are in the comments.

Deadpool

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Ever felt like Superheroes are just too, good? Well, meet Deadpool he’s super but he’s certainly not about to let anyone call him a hero. He swears, he has a fondness for knives and swords as well a great sense of humor. Hooked yet? You should me.

So to replace valentine’s day, Ali and I made a deal a few months ago that we won’t go to some super dull restaurant because that’s what couples are supposed to do, we’d go see Deadpool instead. That, my friends was the right choice and if I didn’t have uni I would have gone to the midnight showing last night. To put it simply, Deadpool is a masterpiece. I can honestly say that it’s one of the funniest films I’ve seen in my life, non stop laughing from the minute the screen comes up to the extra scene after the credits (yeah, stick around for that). I also have to say the marketing team have been genius with their campaign, absolutely genius.

I’m not someone who wants to spoil anything about the movie so this is going to be fairly short, because, depending on what trailer you watch there are different levels of knowledge before watching the film. I’ve added one at the bottom but there are others online, I’d seen them all before because I’ve been waiting to see it since the first one came out. I need to add here that while I LOVE comic books and have a good collection I’m still fairly new and had only read one Deadpool comic before going to the cinema today. From what I’ve heard it matches the comics really well and you can be sure as hell I’ll be going to pick up a few next week. Oh and Ryan Reynolds is absolutely brilliant, has great comedic timing and I couldn’t think of a better actor for Deadpool.

So there you have it, I am in love with this film and now I’ve seen it can’t wait to pick up some awesome merch and wait for the next Deadpool movie, because that’s happening you’ll be pleased to know. I’ve attached the trailer below, check it out, I doubt you’ll be dissapointed.

ALSO! If you like this trailer, make sure you look up the redband trailer, it’s a lot funnier, a lot more like the movie itself. It’s just freaking awesome.

I’m a Feminist.

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A lot of people may see the title of this post and think, so what? I’ve thought about writing this for a while and put it off for no reason other than I didn’t want to get this wrong. I am publicly declaring I am a feminist and anything I thought or wrote before is now over written. I’ve always been a feminist but I hadn’t always liked or used the word. I’ve been a feminist since I was a little girl where I’d shout GIRL POWER at everyone while wearing girl power temporary tattoos and would play armies at school and take charge. I’ve been a feminist since I got bored of barbie and used to sketch out my own dolls who could do anything and be anything. I’ve been a feminist since I was a passionate and angry teenager and later and excited 17 year old who saw a poster for the feminist society at university. Then something changed. I came to uni and got in an argument with a male feminist about how oppressed and angry I should feel. As a rule I hate being told what I should and shouldn’t do or feel, more people tried to fit me into a mold so I decided I didn’t want to be a feminist if that’s what people expected of me.

For a long time I, like a lot of young women, refused to call myself a feminist. I didn’t like the way the word had ugly connotations of man hating, being angry and not wanting to shave or wear a bra. I hate body hair on any human and I love a good bra. I’d say I was a humanist and other things like that, I got in arguments at uni and a lot of ‘feminists’ made me feel like I had to conform to their way of life. Fast forward to when I broke my spine and had a lot of spare time on my hands and something changed. I picked up a copy of How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran for my Writing Women class and it spoke to me. I suddenly felt like I belonged and I could be a feminist and still be myself.

I read and continue to read every book on feminism and strong women that I could get my hands on. I got more interested in politics and women in an international context. I was happy talking about feminism and debating with others. I wanted to be part of a great group of men and women who wanted positivity and empowerment. I’ve said too many that I feel feminism is something you need to discover for yourself and not just tell people WELL YOU ARE, that just pisses people off. I found, fell in love and embraced feminism. I love women like Roxanne Gay too who question what it means to be a feminist in her book ‘Bad Feminist’, because I don’t think there is one true way of being a feminist.

I’m all for women going out and getting a career but I’m also totally supportive of stay at home Mums. My first female role models who I spent time looking up to were my Mum, my Aunt and my Nanna all three are incredible, powerful, kick ass women and all three were stay at home Mums. I also admire working women too, I’ve learnt a lot from my boyfriend’s Mum, who’s always worked. They’re all different and all deserve to be respected for different things.

I also feel that a woman can do what they like with their bodies. I’m not against glamour modelling or the porn industry. Don’t get me wrong there are issues and that’s a whole new blog post but if women WANT to do that to their bodies then who is anyone else to dictate to them? Because to me feminism is all about having a choice.

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I could go on and say all the things we need to fight and put right in the world gender stereotypes, rape, female education around the world, the children debate, etc. I could write about all the men on Twitter, when I posted about equality, who told me I was wrong that the pay gap was a myth and feminism wasn’t needed anymore. I could apologise for being young and naive when I said I wasn’t a feminist. Really though, I just want to say that I’m a big fan of feminism and other women. I don’t want to get angry and compete with them or knock them for every little thing. I certainly don’t want to stand up and go well women are better and men suck, I love men!

I’m writing this because I felt like it was the right time for me to say. I’ve been thinking about feminism instead of sleeping and looking up more books to add to my collection. I know there are some fantastic women out there who I’ve yet to meet and I also know there are people who will judge me first on being a woman before anything else, but you know what I’m excited. I’m excited that I’m a part of this community and that we live in a time where there are so many people working for equality and hopefully less hatred.

So there you go, I’m a feminist, how about you?

Missing Motivation

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I don’t know if it’s just me, or if it’s third years in general but I’m starting to really struggle with my motivation. I’m not usually like this, I like to sit down and get stuff done and out of the way. For some reason, recently I sit down and just procrastinate, I just want to read books that aren’t related to my course and do anything but my uni work.

I have a lot of ideas and I’ve been getting bits done here and there but I need to start motivating myself again, getting some work done and my head back into everything. Part of me wonders if this is me trying to avoid the fact that these are some of the last assignments of my undergrad degree.  I’m not someone who’s counting down until I graduate, I love university and I love studying. Either way the assignments need to be done, luckily I have a week off of uni next week so hopefully I can sit down, get on and get it all done.

For now though, there’s no getting this brain to focus right now so there’s a book and an early night calling me.