Have we missed our callings as celebrity lookalikes...?!

Probably not. Apparently, according to this website, my friend Heather and I bear remarkable resemblances to Mandy Moore and Kelly Clarkson. I can't quite see it myself, but the morph thing is pretty cool.

Katie/Kelly

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Heather/Mandy

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On a completely different note, I would also like to apologise to all cookie workers around the country. Awhile ago, I wrote a blog post questioning the importance of receipts at a well known chain of cookie stores. Well, it turns out that post is easily accessible via Google, and as a result someone commented on it stating exactly why they make you wait ages for a receipt you don't want.

Fairy nuff.

Elephants and Other Thoughts

I wish I was an elephant,

All big and fat and round

And wander through the jungle

Just elephin' around.

- Rumble in the Jungle

1) Now, John may be better at languages than me (as in he is fluent in five languages and I'm fluent in one) and he may know more about where countries are located (and which places just sound like countries but actually aren't). I even discovered the other day that he can do this*:



(That isn't actually John, obviously)

But when it comes to making elephants out of modelling materials, I think it's obvious who's the expert. After all, I DID do a degree in it (That's not completely true. I actually have a BA in Primary Education... just in case people get their hopes up that a BA in Elephant Art actually exists- although how cool would that be?!) Anyway, using Stacey's playdough gift, this is my creation:


He even has wrinkles! I then introduced him to Wilbur (My Slovakian Elephant- you'd be surprised just how many there are in Bratislava) who I'm pretty sure was fooled into thinking that he was the real thing:


You can tell by the expression on his face... I think I've proved my point.

2) Yesterday, I did something I have never done before. I went to see a film at the cinema... for the second time. And I made three observations:

- If you want someone to get emotionally involved in a film that you really like (in this case, P.S. I Love You) don't let them sit next to Ben. This is Ben:

I should have known better.

- Toffee Crisp Popcorn is my new favourite thing... whoever thought of that idea was a GENIUS.

Yep, it really is 'Five Star Munch'.

- If you agree to share popcorn with somebody, it's probably not the best idea to sit two seats away from them. Apparently it's a little inconsiderate to the person sat inbetween them.


That is all.



* I really, really want to be able to make the water drop sound. So much so that I looked at a tutorial on YouTube... but I still can't do it. And I've been flicking the side of my face so much that my cheek is sore. I've put the tutorial video in the right hand side, see if you can do it (it's only 3 minutes long...) Good luck!

23

Yesterday, I turned 23. The big one... (Yes, it has not yet been widely recognised that 23 has replaced 21 as the most important birthday). To celebrate this, I've had a bit of a birthday week. Had a murder mystery party, had a 'surprise' party at school (the organisation skills of seven year olds are so under rated), and am in the middle of the best birthday weekend to date. In the last 24 hours I have eaten no less than three consecutive three course meals (with a fourth tomorrow) and seen the show Wicked, which was AMAZING. It was probably unwise to eat a banoffee pie, popcorn, munchies and ice-cream all within two hours, but it was my birthday treat. I also managed to bump into Stacey in Leicester Square, which was rather random (Stacey and I have the good fortune of sharing a birthday, although her milestone wasn't as important as mine...)

I think people were a little worried that I might start acting my age, as they bought me presents such as these:

A bendy belles Jess, courtesy of Chris. She really is as bendy as her name!

A Hot Hugs cow, part of a present from Ben and Rich. Does exactly what it says on the box.

My very own Mike Wazowski. If you don't know who he is, then you don't deserve to be told... (John bought presents for me in the hope that I wouldn't want any of them, so he would then be allowed to keep them... this was one such gift. Needless to say, he went home disappointed).

I'd just like to make a special mention to Heather's mum, who made me the most delicious, chocolatey birthday cake I've ever encounterd. Here it is:

Finally, for those who haven't seen it, I'll leave you with a little taster from Wicked:

I would like to draw your attention to three things...

1) Charlotte Still now has a blog. And her first post is really rather good (there are lots of big words in it that only students truly know how to use...) Check out the link on the right hand side of this blog.

2) While you're looking on the right hand side of the blog, have a look at the two songs I have added... one of which is from Avenue Q, and the other is just a personal favourite. Enjoy...

3) I'm not going to talk about last night, as I think there are others who can sum it up better than I can. Also, I can't be bothered. Thirdly, I don't have any good photos. But I DID want to get this Human Pyramid of Dreams in before anybody else (even though it's not my photo...):

It was my party, so I think that's allowed... Impressive, don't you think?

Some Thoughts Before New Year

I was browsing some of my previous posts when I came across the one celebrating my half birthday in blogging. In it, I listed three things to achieve over the next six months. It's occurred to me that none of them are real goals, and I need some purpose (a bit like the guy in Avenue Q... by the way, I will have achieved the second ambition on my list by January- for those of you who care). Anyway, here are one or two New Year's resolutions that I am hoping to stick to in 2008:

- STOP PROCRASTINATING

“Don't wait. The time will never be just right.”- Napoleon Hill

Procrastination is a serious problem with me. I will do anything to avoid what should be done, no matter how important or trivial. I'm gonna sort that out.

- Do something once a week that scares me

“Too often we are scared, scared of what we might not be able to do, scared of what people might think if we tried, we let our fears stand in the way of our hopes. Why? There's really no time to be afraid. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Everything!”- Unknown

I'm very much one for staying in my comfort zone. There's a 'Compare People' application on Facebook, where you rank your friends in certain categories. I came out as 56th Most Adventurous. Enough said.

This next quote pretty much sums up my other New Year's Resolutions:

“Do not worry; eat three square meals a day; say your prayers; keep your digestion good; exercise; go slow and easy. Maybe there are other things your special case requires to make you happy; but, my friend, these I recommend”- Abraham Lincoln

I like that one a lot. So that's pretty much it! Actually, there's one more quote that I came across which I could completely relate to, which I'll share with you now. Sometimes (just sometimes) I can be a bit of a drama queen. If something remotely out of the ordinary happens to me, I will dramatise it until it becomes a scene out of Hollyoaks. Yesterday, there was a power cut at the house I'm looking after, and I was on my own and it was pitch black and I couldn't find any candles. This quote summed me up:

“I have a huge, active imagination, and I think I'm really scared when I'm alone; because if I'm left to my own devices, I just turn into a madwoman.”- Clare Danes

Seriously, at one point I genuinely thought someone had snuck (is that a word?) into the house in the darkness and was hiding upstairs. So my final resolution is to stop making trivial things into such massive deals. Although it does make life more exciting...


Other stuff:

- The guys from Uni are coming to visit me today... I haven't seen them for a while and am very excited about it. I set myself a goal of catching up with as many old friends as possible this holiday, and so far I'm doing pretty well. Here is a photo of us from the summer (to balance out the scary candle man photo):

- We lost the traditional Boxing Day Chelmsford Vs. Hadleigh football match 1-0. But that's ok, because everybody knows we should have won. Again, it was really nice to catch up with people!

- The sleep paralysis has come back. I hadn't had an 'episode' since I posted about it on my blog, but today I couldn't wake up. I can't decide if I'm being a drama queen here or whether it's justified, so I'll leave it at that.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Now that my car is back in my driveway (albeit only for a week as its MOT is due... gulp) I have been able to once more enter into the spirit of Christmas. It left me for a couple of days, but is back now... partly because this whole weekend has been spent singing carols and spending time with old friends, and I know that tomorrow will be exactly the same. Some of us went to the Wickford Christmas Ball on Friday, and as you can see we had a lovely time:

However, one or two of us got a little bit over-excited when we found out that there was White Chocolate Dip...

Anyway, this second picture gave me inspiration for a final Christmas video. It was difficult to decide who to put in it, so in the end I figured I'd do one featuring guys from The Hadleigh Posse (yeh, we really are too cool for school). Everyone has just been round for Youth Fellowship and it's been really nice to catch up with people I don't get to spend as much time with as I'd like. It's one of my favourite things about this time of year! Right, enough babbling... this one is for Ben and Charlotte Still, Rich Wright and Chris Carter. Drumroll please...

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Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

ARGH!

This is my car:

Well, it's not actually a photo of my car (I couldn't find the cable to link the camera to the computer) but it illustrates the post nicely. And bears a rather striking resemblance to my car (it's a black KA... although not quite as shiny as this one...)

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is because I'm a little bit angry. I've had my car for over a year and a half and in that time it has had nothing wrong with it, bar a rather strange incident involving loads of grey fluff coming out the exhaust (that's a story for another time). A week or so ago, though, I noticed that one of my headlights was a little dimmer than the other. 'Never mind' I thought, 'I can still see where I'm going'. Then a few days ago, John helpfully/nervously pointed out that neither light was on, and I should probably get it sorted out.

So yesterday I went to the Castle Motor Company.

And there was my mistake.

I took my car in, the car mechanic fixed the headlights (which cost £50) and gave it a pre-MOT, and called me up to say it was ready. Just before I left the garage, he said 'Have you had any trouble with the clutch? Getting the car into reverse?' And I hadn't really. So he said 'It's fine, but it might start going soon...'

Then I left. Soon after, there I was on the London Road, trying to change gear. But the car wouldn't let me... it refused to go into any gear and the car was jumping about all over the place. Now, I'd just like to reiterate that I have never had any problems with my car before. So today Dad drove it back to the garage (we had to drive along the A13 in second gear, and even then it was touch and go) and the man was like 'Yep, you need a new clutch slave. It's all leaking' (at this point my dad wanted to turn to me and say 'Really? What did your last slave die of?' but fortunately restrained himself). Anyway, it turns out that it costs £350 to replace. And I couldn't take it anywhere else as... well, it wouldn'tve made the journey. I do think I've been had... but it would be very difficult to prove it!

So now I'm carless and penniless. It's a very sad situation to be in. And I'm sorry that this has been quite a boring post in comparison with recent ones, but I'm looking for sympathy.

Does anybody out there know anything about cars by the way?