Christmas

Christmas is almost upon us folks! If you haven't got your presents bought and your cake soaking in brandy its time to go turbo! I always say Christmas is about enjoying a break with the people who are most special to you and eating good food and its true! Making festive happy memories are sooo much better than getting something you won't use this time next year (not that I'm not looking forward to unwrapping my prezzies on christmas day!) But it really is about the fun not the objects, in my family we spend more time and money on making the best food ever and making sure it lasts all week, and on getting a cracking new board game that we can all row over, than unwrapping and unwrapping!

However, there are several other really important things that are not to be forgotten in the run up! Christmas is a sacred time of year for me, truly its my favourite, and so this time is crucial for getting into the spirit!

So, I'm going to do an ultimate guide to all of the things that you NEED during this week, starting with... drum roll please... the films!

(X factor voice) In no particular order:

1. Miracle on 34th Street:

Last christmas this film had both myself and my dad weeping into each other's shoulders like mentalists but its an absolute MUST for Christmas. Plus the late Richard Attenborough plays a Chris Kringle that's so realistic I refuse to accept any one else. Seriously, watch this film. Bring tissues.

2. Fred Claus:

Who doesn't love a bit of Vince Vaughn? If you've never seen this film go and get it right.now. Its hilarious and always makes me cry (although anything christmas related always does) and its seriously special. There is a scene when Fred gets all of the Elves dancing in the workshop to Elvis' Rubbernecking' (Click it and see for yourself...)

3. Elf:

Everyone in the English speaking world knows about Elf. If you don't I'm pretty sure you've heard the lines: 'SANNNTTAAAA! I know him!' and if not, maybe: 'You sit on a throne of lies...' No? Well, go and watch this film, you'll never look at chewing gum on the pavement in the same way again... Plus the mail room scene.

4. The Grinch:

It pains me to say that my own best friend refuses to watch this film when its literally one of my absolute favourites but there you have it... My mum read the Dr Seuss story to me and my brother when we were younger and the phrase 'Roast Beast' is one we use to refer to our turkey every year. The Grinch is a little bit like all of us, and who couldn't love a little bit of Whobilation?!

5. The Holiday:

This film is one of my favourite films of all time that ever existed. I watch it every single year, more than once, and I seriously cannot overstate how fabbo it is! One day when I'm rich and famous I'm going to buy the cottage that's in it. And until then, I'll be content to gaze at it longingly every time I watch this film.

Seriously look at this cottage, I dreaaaaaammm about it!

Also, it will impart some fabulous life lessons!

With a cast made up of Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Jude Law, how can any one say no?

6. Home Alone 1 & 2:

Ive combined both 1 and 2 together because you can't watch just one or the other at christmas... It HAS to be both, several times, every day until the New Year is upon us and it becomes socially unacceptable. These are two of the best films of ALL TIME. Truly, truly, christmas is not complete without Kevin Mcallister's genius tricks, and Fuller not going easy on the Pepsi and wetting the bed...

There are loads of others... Love Actually (THE BEST FILM EVER!) Bridget Jones, A Christmas Carol, The Polar Express, ALL OF THE HARRY POTTER FILMS ALL YEAR ROUND EVERY SINGLE DAY EVERY SINGLE SECOND, The Hogfather, all of the crappy christmas films that are on the telly, and millions of others! Christmas is incomplete without these films, and, at the risk of sounding melodramatic, it should be made law that all of them are watched in plenty of time to help even the Scroogiest of Scrooge's feel the Christmas magic!

So, moving on... 

Next up we have a list of songs that should never be ignored, no matter how many times you've had to listen to them before. I'm twenty and I know every single word to all of the following songs, and I say 'shame on you' if you're the same age as me and don't!

1. Boney M, Mary's Boy Child: I dare you to not sing along, I DARE you.

2. East 17, Stay: If you've never sung this on a karaoke machine something has gone wrong.

3. Wizzard, I Wish It Could be Christmas Everyday: Need I say any more?

4. Slade, Merry Christmas: One year in Primary school I sang this song at the end of my Christmas production every single night for about a week. To this day I more scream the lyrics than sing them.

5. The Pogues ft Kirsty MacColl, Fairytale of New York: If any song encapsulates the beauty of New York at Christmas time, it is this. I.Love.This.Song.

6. Wham, Last Christmas: Can't beat a bit of old George, and its my best friend's favourite so...!

7. Jingle Bell Rock: Any bloody version will do.

7. ANYTHING BY FRANK SINATRA

8. If you don't have even one measly little Christmas album floating about (shame on you once more), you should go on Spotify and have a look at the playlists on there.

9. Apologies to all of his fans but... Avoid, and I repeat, AVOID Michael stupid-arse Buble. What a name. I ask you.


Next on the Christmas agenda... FOOD!


1. A turkey. Obviously. Although we call it Roast Beast.

2. Roast potatoes in goose fat. If you say 'ew' I'll hunt you down and force one upon you. Its like an angel weeping on your tongue.

3. Roasted veggies, man I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

4. PIGS IN BLANKETS YA!  (Click it, trust me.)

5. Yorkshire Puddings! Man oh man...

6. GRAVY, GRAVY, and more GRAVY.

7. A Christmas Cake, made with love, by me, weeks ago! (I'm so excited to see how it tastes!)

8. My mum's chocolate truffle torte. She only makes it once a year, and if you can't get your hands on any of my mum's, just have a look at Deliah's recipe. (If you didn't already know that woman is a big hit in my household.)

9. Mince Pies, all kinds, all day.

10. And then on Boxing day: BUBBLE AND SQUEAK!! And Buffet style food, and leftovers, and the chocolate from inside your stocking, and more cake, and of course... a turkey sandwich with a moist maker inside!

Welp...

I think that just about wraps up everything I love, apart from, the annual board game! Most families seem to end up ripping each other's hair out over Monopoly, but we've got The Logo Game this year. We won't play it until its actually Christmas, and I'm so excited its borderline pathetic! Plus my mum (with her Monica like tendencies) has compiled a load of quizzes for us all to do on Boxing Day. And you CANNOT forget a pair of cozy Christmas Pjs and a snuggy blanket to wear on Christmas Eve and Day.

I'm super excited for next week (you can probably tell), my grandma will be arriving on her sleigh on Christmas Eve, and I'll decorate my cake next week too! I'll make a post about my cake once it looks all fancy and less boring and maybe I'll even do a New Years Eve master post, if ya lucky!!

Anyways...

And a happy New Year!

The Rules For Being Amazing, by Robin Sharma

Risk more than is required. Learn more than is normal. Be strong. Show courage. Breathe. Excel. Love. Lead. Speak your truth. Live your values. Laugh. Cry. Innovate. Simplify. Adore mastery. Release mediocrity. Aim for genius. Stay humble. Be kinder than expected. Deliver more than is needed. Exude passion. Shatter your limits. Transcend your fears. Inspire others by your bigness. Dream big but start small. Act now. Don’t stop. Change the world.

                                                                                -

Something inside of me has completely snapped and it’s about bloody time. For practically my whole life I’ve been the doormat, I have an easy-going nature and people mistake that for stupidity a lot of the time. They think that because I wont mind if you bail on me at the last minute because you cant be bothered to get dressed that I wont care if you screw me over and treat me like crap. And what I’ve come to realise is that while being gentle and caring and easy-going are personality traits to treasure you have to grow a thick skin if you want to live the sort of life I’m striving for. Somewhere along the way I must have decided I’m worth something because I refuse to let people treat me like I’m not important.

I wouldn’t describe myself as someone who cares massively about what people think about me. I am a girl so there are plenty of times that I feel self-conscious, but I’ve never been afraid of making my hair bigger than a birds nest, or of wearing a crazy outfit that probably doesn’t match. Nor am I afraid to whack my hand in the air and tell people my opinion. But often the people closest to you are the ones who can put walls and barriers in your way, and most of the time they don’t realise they’re doing it. So this is my way of saying ‘get the fuck out of my way or I’ll trample on you.’

If I want to dye all my hair blue, or shave it all off, or tan myself orange, or walk around with face paint on, or have my body covered in skull tattoos, then I will. It’s my life and it’s my choice.

You’re free and you’re you, and no one, not your parents, or me or anyone can tell you what you can and can’t do. You’re one of a kind, there will never ever be another human being exactly the same as you and you should celebrate that. You have to keep pushing forwards because you’re an individual with your own ideas and opinions that are just as valid as anyone else’s. You’ve just got to keep going and not take any crap even when it’s easier to keep quiet.  And when people ask why you’re being defensive all of a sudden you explain kindly that you aren’t being defensive you’re simply not taking any of their shit, and that they don’t get to speak to you that way because you haven’t given them the right to, (even if you do feel like a psycho while telling them this).

What I’ve realised is that even people who are in positions of authority over you, your boss, your parents, a person who intimidates you, are all just human beings. And I think once you’ve realised that you’re truly free because no one will hold you back anymore, you empower yourself. If you act pathetic people will treat you accordingly, you have to go out there, hold your head high and show the world that you believe in yourself, that you have faith and that you are not to be messed around with. I’m tough and I’m strong and even though sometimes I’m panicky and scared, I’ll be buggered if I'll let it stop me from doing exactly what I want to do. Giving up is the saddest thing because even if it seems as if you’re fighting forever one day you’ll have won and it will be so worth it. Be the god of your world because you have the power to choose to do this or that, and no one else on this earth can make those choices for you. I believe we all have a purpose and a destiny, but we also have free will, and it’s our right to choose our lives, to fight for our paths and freedom and to make our lives what they are.

Its true that one day you feel like you could spit fire, and the next you question your very existence, but you have to just believe in yourself, have faith and keep fighting for what you want to do, because what I’m starting to realise is no one else will do it for you. Never ever let someone make you feel embarrassed or small for having a point to make, or for standing up for yourself, never let anyone make you feel as if you’re overreacting. There’s no such thing, if you feel a certain way it’s a feeling, not an overreaction and it should be voiced. You’re not being over-defensive; you’re just not taking any shit. We can make it, we just have to keep pushing forwards, and prove to ourselves that we are important, we are people with feelings that are just as valid as anyone else’s and one day we’ll say ‘well shit, we made it’ and every ounce of self-doubt and weakness will have been worth it.

Find the anchor that gives you faith and enables you to believe in yourself and never let it go. Never stop fighting for what you want and need and be kind in the process.

“Millennials (also known as the Millennial Generation, or Generation Y) are the demographic cohort following Generation X.”

My name is Miranda Tempest, I'm twenty years old and I belong to Generation Y and I can’t make up my mind as to whether I’m happy about it or not… We are a generation who has witnessed first hand the vast difference between the ‘90s’ and the ‘Naughty’s.’ We watched as Take That, and The Spice Girls were replaced with One Direction and Little Mix (vom), as SEGA disappeared and IPhones appeared. We are the last generation to remember what a VCR is, and what it was like to get up early on a Saturday to watch our favourite cartoons. Only Generation Y knows the pain of realising they are not, in fact, going to Hogwarts when they turn eleven. We went through parties akin to that which we viewed on Skins, and messed ourselves up over absolutely nothing. We’re all crazy, self-indulgent, lazy young adults who refuse to grow up (with the exception of a special few), and we are the generation who will be starting our last year at University in September. We have one year left, it counts the most in terms of our grades, it will either make or break us, and we’re all scared shitless.

People always ask me what I want to do once I leave university; they have this glint in their eye that suggests they think I will be one of those eternal students. They know I don’t have a clue, and it seems everyone else around me knows precisely what they want to do. I have ideas, and passions, I’d like to go into publishing, and I’d love to travel around the world, but the likelihood of my plans actually panning out are probably fairly slim; such is life. Maybe the paralysing fear I feel about the prospect of leaving University is unique to me. I definitely don’t feel my age, I’m twenty years old and while my peers are out taking part in who knows what kinds of shenanigans, I’m sat at home in my Sainsbury's pyjama set watching SpongeBob Squarepants or reading Harry Potter. Seriously. So how on earth do all of these adults expect me to be able to honestly and confidently answer their questions about what I want to do in life after University?  

University has been an absolute rollercoaster ride from the get go, my first year was the most baffling, difficult, and amazing year of my life and while it may be fraught with regrets, I doubtless learned my fair share of lessons, not all of which I particularly wanted to learn. I escaped my second year with barely a hiccough and my best friends are my saving grace, I ended the year feeling shocked that so much time had gone by so quickly, and grateful for a rest… A rest that didn’t last so long… I have to find somewhere new to live, and am faced with the horrifying prospect of having to move back into halls, which I prefer to call a homeless shelter that charges extortionately high rent. Not to mention the mountain of books to read for my dissertation and modules in preparation for September, oh the horror! I wont lie and say the hundreds of things I have on my to-do list are robbing me of my midday lie-ins, I am a student after all, but I can’t deny that I’m woken at least once a week in the middle of the night anxious about my final year. Its difficult to put my finger on exactly what it is that is so frightening, is it the looming finish date? Or is it the feeling that everything is up in the air, that nothing is set in stone? There is certainly a feeling that dreams that I had wont be possible anymore, that places I wished to visit on my backpacking adventure are going to cost too much money, and the expectation to put a foot on the first rung of my career hangs over me like a cartoon rain cloud.

I’m babbling incessantly and I’m sure this is one of the most boring posts I’ve ever uploaded, but trying to assemble how I feel about entering my final year of University is not an easy task. How are a bunch of big kids supposed to pull themselves together enough to be able to organise their futures and actually get what they want out of it? How are we, Generation Y, supposedly the most screwed up generation, expected to orchestrate our hopes and dreams in a world where it’s too expensive to  eat let alone fulfil our fantasies? The answer continues to evade me but that isn’t stopping me from chasing desperately after it like a sleep-deprived student during finals. I suppose we just have to suck in a huge breath, hold it, and pray to almighty God that it all works out in the end.