Sarah blogs...

You are what you listen to...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 22:22:00 +0000

This is a quote I see many times on Pinterest, not always the same picture but the words are the same. I've thought more and more about music this year; how it affects my mood, how it can change that mood. Mostly it's been because I'm trying to do the 'tracks of my years' and it's taking me a long time. I've only just got to my teens in writing it all down!

There have been two other things that have put music into the forefront again. Two funerals this year (I realise a funeral is not a 'thing' it's more than that, I just can't type what I mean) have made me think about other people's music. I was asked to help sort the music for both, it felt weird for me to think about the choices because some of them didn't reflect their later years.

That's when I thought again about my music choices, there are some that horrify me and there's quite a lot I wouldn't want played at my funeral either. I can also understand why people say what music they want, even though I admit when people tell me I try to talk about something else because of the awkwardness.

I think music does reflect a lot of who you are. But it changes and grows, just like we do as people over the years. Some music will embarrass us and others will take you back to that first moment that you heard it with a big smile.

I also like that there's always something in a record collection that will surprise someone else. What would yours be?

Eton Mess!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 21:38:00 +0000

I've always been a big fan of Eton Mess, what's not to like? Strawberries, meringue and double cream... yum!

So even with the weather being particularly wet recently, I'm still bringing a touch of summer eating.

Eton Mess is super easy to make and I've seen many recipes about making the strawberries into more of a puree form. I prefer to cut them up into smaller chunks, rather than puree them. I also find it is very helpful to have plenty of strawberries and meringue to eat as you make it, trust me!

You can also add anything else that you want, Eton Mess can just be the base, maybe add some nuts or a strawberry sauce. Chocolate flake on top?

Whatever you decide. Enjoy!

I was sent a £3 voucher via the Tesco Orchard programme to spend on summer berries and cherries. I spent the whole £3 on that tray of strawberries and they were yum and perfect for making this mess haha!

Hello July!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 23:06:00 +0000

Half the year has gone, it doesn't seem possible! I also started writing this post on the 1st of July and now look when I'm pressing publish... oops!

I haven't written on here in quite a while now, the past few months I have wondered if I needed this space here and whether my blogging phase had passed. It turns out I still do.

The first half of 2015 has provided several low points; losing people close to me and dealing with that grief, anxiety flare-ups and that general doom of anyone who overthinks...

To prove to myself that this isn't some 'blog and run' type post I have scheduled posts for the next few weeks. I think more because the organised side of this brain wanted that all done before I wrote this one!

I am back and I'm hoping the rest of 2015 is eventful but for all the right reasons!

It's... THE ASHES!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 23:07:00 +0000

You might have noticed that I am a little sports crazy!

So anyway... THE ASHES starts tomorrow. Cricket time, the war between England and Australia. I absolutely cannot explain how much I love it. I shall be obsessed over the Summer and again later this year for the return down in Oz.

Here is a couple of videos that get me totally excited about The Ashes (hopefully they will for you too!)

Love it!

Isn't Bumble (David Lloyd) singing the best thing ever!?!

9 songs

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 00:23:00 +0000

I'm trying to compile some sort of Tracks of my Years piece. It's taking me sooooo long! Doesn't help that my Spotify favourites playlist is very close to one thousand songs. So I'm going to hit shuffle on my Spotify for a little series called "9 songs" and see if this helps me. You can also see my varied taste in music too :D

Moby - Honey

The Walkmen - The Rat

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

Alanis Morissette - Hand In My Pocket

Marilyn Manson - Personal Jesus

Pink - Please Don't Leave Me

The Bamboos - I Got Burned

ABBA - Lay All Your Love On Me

Tyler Hilton - Jenny

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5 films I have loved recently

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 00:06:00 +0000

I have had a bit of a 'movie time' recently, these are five that I have really enjoyed and I recommend them to you to see too. They are a bit of a mix of stuff though so you might not like them all.... I just have a varied taste!

American Sniper

After seeing the trailer I wasn't that sure I wanted to see it because there's a scene in it that's a bit too real for me. Yes, the trailer even made me weep a little. I know you want this sort of film to be real but yeah... ok I'll shut up now! But seriously, see it.

The Equalizer

Everybody loves a Denzel Washington film. This is the film remake of the TV series of the same name from the 80's with Edward Woodward. There is talk of a sequel film too.

Big Hero 6

Oh how I love Baymax, this lovable marshmallow, huge robot. You'll laugh and cry.

You'll also never be able to do a "fist pump" handshake without... copying Baymax. I'm saying no more :D

Whiplash

I saw the trailer for this SO many times on various adverts on apps and blogs. I assumed because it was getting that push that it wasn't good, wrong! So very wrong. You'll understand why you need to be fit to be a drummer and you'll still want to be one!

The Best Of Me

All I will say, tissues! Two boxes.

Have you seen any of these? What else have you been watching?

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New stationery favourites

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 00:20:00 +0000

I got some lovely new stationery bits and bobs for Christmas and I will be doing a more in-depth look and reviews on everything. So this is just a little tease...

I've also been trying out the Moldiv app, see the fancy images above. Me likey (so far!)

Down the rabbit hole...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 24 Jan 2015 21:38:00 +0000

I went through a stage of collecting stamps... years ago though! Now it's very rare to get a letter in the post, let alone it having a stamp you'd want to collect and keep. I do look out for the collectible sets that the Royal Mail do and I noticed the Alice in Wonderland set.

I've always been a big fan of the book and there is still something so intriguing about falling down that rabbit hole like Alice did. Whilst I probably won't get the stamps because I actually really like the idea of getting the postcard set, so much so that I've ordered them right now. I haven't really thought about what I will do with them, I will keep them for a while because I've bought them for me. In saying that though, I am going to start writing snail mail letters so possibly over time they may get sent out in little packages like that I guess.

Do you collect stamps? Do you look out for the collectible sets?

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Let's get organised...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 23:43:00 +0000

With January quickly passing by, it has been on my to-do list to sort out my diary for 2015. I should have got it started long before now but here I am. One of the problems I find is that my diary always runs into the January so when it's half way through the month and I turn the page I realise... I NEED TO START MY NEW DIARY NOW! Yes, shouty letters. Sorry!

This is the mini Dodo diary that was given to me at Christmas from Mr and Mrs Santa. It's small enough to carry around in my bag but not too small that I can't write inside it.

I have used the Dodo diary refills in my planners for several years now so I'm very much a fan of their quirky layout and the fact they allow you to doodle freely. I sat with my Dodo diary this afternoon and went through last years diary and also through the dates on my phone. My diary is getting full!

Got a load of stationery posts yet to come, stay tuned!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through the link then I can put the little share of that money made into showing you more stationery that I have bought :D

October...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 23:15:00 +0000

It's pretty obvious now to look back and realise October was always going to be a sh*t month. See, it had normally been November that I struggled with. No particular reason but it was always tough. I'd always need extra time to meditate and generally I find myself more distracted or in a 'daydream state' in November.

The end of September was looking promising with me finding a good routine with meditation, I was running again and generally I felt good. Right at the end of September, I made the ultimate fail in running preparation and didn't warm up correctly so of course I got injured. I've only just started to get back into running again now, it felt like a massive step back from my restart. It did change my mood and generally I felt low in myself. The more I knew I couldn't run, the more I wanted to, the more it annoyed me.

Me... getting annoyed at not running? Weirdo.

From this start, October became all about putting out fires. Everything seemed to be coming at me and all I wanted to do was to get out and pound my feet along the street. I managed to ease myself back into bikram yoga again once my injury had eased slightly (I think I healed quicker because of stretching in the heat) and that helped a lot. It wasn't enough but it helped.

Turns out that October must have been my November this time around. It caught me off guard but maybe that's a better way to actually deal with it. The end of October saw moments that things might be changing for the better which gave me hope. The start of November has continued those moments too and it's of course better for me being able to get running again. Then there are the people who make it better just by not even knowing that they are doing it, that counts for a lot too.

At the beginning of October I couldn't see the wood for the trees but right now I really can see. Amazing what a month can do.

Back to school...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 20:41:00 +0000

I had noticed over the last couple of days that a few bloggers had been going with the 'back to school' theme, even if they were not actually going back to school. As someone who had lost their way with exactly what I was doing with my little space on the interweb, I decided to jump on this theme as a new starting block for me too.

Whilst many do see the start of a year to be about resolutions and goals, I have to confess that it's September that gives me more of a focus. I might have left school years ago (more than I care to count) but some habits cannot be broken. Here are my 'back to school resolutions'

To blog more - quite simply I will be updating this blog more. For someone who ALWAYS has something to say it has been weird that I've felt disconnected from this blog. It's mine. It's helped me through some pretty tough times and I do miss it. I can't promise I'll be here each week but you will definitely see me here at least once a month.

Get organised - I've felt recently that I'm not as organised as I could be. I have felt sometimes like I'm treading water a bit and really it's just a fluke that stuff is getting things done - sorry Dad, I will get better at GTD. I have got my work schedule under control now it's just everything else that I need/want to fit in, all starting with home. I've started on a new system in the last week, which is partly why I'm here writing this now as it was in my schedule. So that has worked! I'm trialling out a few methods which I'll share on here once I've got into a more regular swing with it all.

Run it - I'm back running again. It hurts a lot and people seem to focus more on why it might be hurting me (running style) than actually congratulating me for getting running again. My knee feels good and I hope that I can keep this up through the colder months... the rain and the dark nights do not become my best running friend. I'll get there. I've organised a running plan, mixed with some yoga and also a little bit of weight training which I've never really done before. I haven't made a weekly plan but a monthly one as my schedule and life get pretty busy at times so I have instead scheduled a number of times I need to workout across the month. I've always worked to a weekly plan before so even that is making me feel a little at sea.

Coping with my anxiety better - It's never going to go completely, it's always there. Sometimes it might go for a while but it always comes back. I am getting better at dealing with it when it's here and that's something that can always continue to be improved on.

Bake more - Quite simply I want to bake more. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a hot water crust pastry until last week's Bake Off - I have much to learn apparently!

Learn a new language - I've been promising to do this for years but I have scheduled time to do it this time around.

The thing is a lot of my life comes down to being organised. I'm not saying I'm prepared for everything but I do work better with a bit of structure. Maybe that's why I did enjoy school, the routine of it all.

I wouldn't want to go back. I'm happy in the here and now.

The BIG Thirty

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 20:10:00 +0000

This year sees my brother turn 'the BIG thirty' and whilst 30th birthday's are special ones, this one is even more special. My brother Jonathan has Down's Syndrome and he could not be more excited about his birthday, mainly because everyone keeps asking him what he wants to do. The majority of his answers are food related, BBQ's are a popular favourite with his birthday being around the August bank holiday. Also he LOVES them and would be quite happy to have one when it snows...

There are no real plans set yet but every week the list of ideas grow. Just today I thought about two more ideas, it's quite clear that his birthday might be celebrated for the entire year! Which actually is pretty much deserved.

At school I had to do a project for English class and I picked my brother as my project choice. Whether this was coerced by the school to help others learn about Down's Syndrome as my brother was at the same school as me or maybe it was my own idea, I don't know. I suspect it might have been a bit of a mix of the two. I don't remember my parents telling me that Jonathan had Downs, they must have done at some point! But I don't remember it at all.

Investigating Down's Syndrome for this project I remember confused me and it was through this that I found the most devastating piece of information.

The average person with Down's Syndrome will have a life expectancy into their mid-twenties.

I didn't cry. I didn't ask my parents about it. I just accepted it. It sounds heartless the way that I have written it but there wasn't a thing that I could do to change it. In a way, I guess I accepted it. Like I accepted he was slower to learn things than I was; slower to crawl, to walk, to talk.

I never thought about that sentence until a few weeks ago, just after my birthday when I suddenly had a flashback to that moment. It was almost a celebration of the fact he was still here, he had beaten those odds that years ago seemed like his fate. Advances in technology and advancements in care have seen the average expectancy rise up to the 60's and beyond.

So with a bit of planning he should be in for the best 30th birthday ever. That's my plan!

*The above song was the first song that my Mum heard after my parents were told that Jonathan had Down's Syndrome. Always such a beautiful song with special meanings for us :-)

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The Overthinker

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 21:18:00 +0000

Yep that's me. If there was an award for overthinking, I'd win it.

I can go from thinking about something quite small and turning into this massive problem that escalates quickly. It's a cruel trick that my brain can play on me and sometimes it can leave me feeling powerless to stop. I can't say that these tips always help me as sometimes I do still struggle to get through the overthinking times but when I'm more in control, these help:-

Breathe

Obviously! But I take a really big deep breath and instantly I feel calmer.

Brain Dump

I write everything down that's in my head, absolutely clear everything down onto paper. It's amazing (and terrifying) sometimes to see what I keep stored up in there. Quite a lot of stuff becomes insignificant when I read it back to myself. Some of the bigger things take more than that and normally I have to break up what it is into smaller manageable chunks. Sometimes the bigger things are actually the easier ones to sort. It's the ones that keep coming back that can make you feel like you're in a circle of worry. Reassurance that everything will be good again helps.

Distract Myself

Family time, checking social media, playing Candy Crush, baking, reading, writing, going for a walk.

Distracting myself is fairly easy but it's hard when I've stopped doing whatever I was doing, to not go then back to overthinking. My brain seems to think it's allowed that time and now it's back to thinking. No. Stop it!

One thing I do a lot to distract myself is to watch the TV show Grey's Anatomy, no matter what you have on your mind there's always someone that has more worries than you. Believe me.

Zzz's

I don't tend to think a lot at night time so I don't find getting to sleep a problem. I actually find I'm more tired because of the overthinking that I am glad to get into bed. I have noticed that overthinking steals my dreams and I like my dreams. It's like my brain uses up all the power doing the wrong thing. Sarah wants her dreams back!

Gym It

Exercise is good for keeping the mind quieter. Concentrating on my heart rate and not falling off the treadmill helps ;-)

I like the new you...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 23:08:00 +0000

On my instagram there are over 250 photos and before this month the only photo of me on there was my profile photo. The standard photo that I had used across social networks for years. I've never been a "selfie" person and there are probably under ten photos of myself that I really like in the whole world. My definition of really like is that my Mum has some hung up in her house and they don't make me cringe or make me want to turn them over out of sight.

Now on my instagram there are three "selfie" photos of me all tagged with that and self confidence because I feel more confident in myself. It's not that I was surrounded by negativity or that I felt down about myself but I guess getting confidence from an unexpected source made me look at things differently. The main change is believing in myself more.

I didn't mind that my most popular photos on instagram were ones of food or Old Trafford. Both beautiful things in their own right though ;-)

With posting my face on instagram I felt safe, I chose not to post the link on twitter because my instagram has less followers and yes I was worried. My selfies didn't freak people out, actually people were really supportive and I have noticed an uptake in people joining in with the selfie craze. Yay!

I did stupidly forget that I had set up a widget thingamajig to post my instagram feed into my blog sidebar*. Sarah, you twonk!!! My little blog averages 15k views in a month so my 'be discreet selfie' was actually not so discreet. I did wonder how so many people were mentioning my photos in blog comments or on twitter. Oops. So, yes hi - that is me.

*You can only see the sidebar using the web version of my blog. There should be a link down at the bottom somewhere to switch to web version. Maybe. Well there should be one!

My Sarah selfies won't stop but they will feature amongst the food and football pictures this time. 2014 is all about feeling more confident in who I am and right now I'm feeling good. You can follow me on instagram here. Now one of my selfies has even made it to my twitter profile picture!

I've featured this song countless times on my blog as "my song" and I know I share it with my best mate Sam too. That song that makes you feel great about yourself, gives you inspiration and makes you smile.

If you want your own Instagram widget for your blog like mine, use http://snapwidget.com/

Curbed

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 21:04:00 +0000

I shouldn't even be drawing attention to this but today I almost had my first panic attack of 2014. No, it's not a celebration.

I have written before about how I deal with my panics and I have written the odd blog about them since but I've never kept count of them. I vaguely know that the last one I had was around October time, when none of my little tricks stopped it from overcoming me.

Today was different although I had missed all the warning signs. It wasn't until my hands went numb and my breathing had started to get faster that I knew. I concentrated on getting my breathing back to normal and it didn't take hold. As I sat and waited for everything to return back to how it was, I cried.

I don't expect my panics to go away, even though I am better at controlling them. But I always have that feeling that maybe with each new year that starts they will have gone away. It's just not that simple, I know things are never that easy. For a while today I thought I was useless, yep that's right, useless. That's not a mindset I really believe, it's another trick from the panics.

I need to get back into the routine of meditating every day, writing my thoughts down and getting fitter physically too. I know that I have the right determination to see through this again in 2014 and ongoing. My support network only gets stronger and I have a lot to be positive about.

I'll just keep on curbing the panics. That's all that I can do. It's not a sign of being weak and I know that I am stronger for every single thing that has happened to me.

My Favourite Music, TV, Films and Sporting Moments of 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 19:59:00 +0000

I always love a good round-up post, if not for you all to read and see what I have enjoyed throughout the year but also for me to look back on year after year. I have decided to my Top 3 in each category, so Music will be both singles and albums and then there is TV, Film and Sporting Moments.

Music

Singles/Songs

Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams - Get Lucky

Probably the song of most people's year. It's a little earworm, be warned!

New Kids On The Block - Remix (I like the)

Another earworm. This also became my own signature tune... it always makes me feel happy when I hear it, motivates me when I'm exercising and generally makes me dance around like a loon.

One Republic - Counting Stars

All of my Top 3 are total earworms. This is another. As expected!

Albums

Arctic Monkeys - AM

Only came out in September but is my most played album on iTunes for the whole year!

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

I really love this album. It's one of my favourite choices for a lazy Sunday morning.

Kings of Leon - Mechanical Bull

Because I love them. That's why.

Television

Breaking Bad

2013 will always be the year for Breaking Bad for me and for a lot of people. The show came to an end this year which is why it will be in many Top of 2013 lists but I also caught up with the entire show in 2013. I watch too much TV as it is and when everyone was raving about the final series I decided I really needed to catch up. So I did. If you haven't seen it then like everyone else will tell you - you must see it!

Game of Thrones

Having read the books I knew that the Red Wedding episode would be the most talked about TV moment of the year - it was! Even though I was prepared for what was to happen, I still needed about half a box of tissues (no exaggeration) and the series as a whole is still one that I long to see back on my TV screen.

Arrow/The Walking Dead

How can I choose? Don't make me!!!

These four programmes would sum up 2013 for me. Getting addicted to Breaking Bad, crying through expected scenes in Game of Thrones and then enjoying the action in both Arrow and The Walking Dead.

Films

The Class of 92

Rush

The Place Beyond the Pines

Sporting Moments

All Manchester United related.

Robin van Persie v Aston Villa

The hat trick.

That pass from Rooney.

That last goal from RVP.

I still remember this was our moment, we won the title in this game. We were better than every other team in the League. We had bought van Persie and he had rewarded us with some beautiful moments through the 2012-13 season. No matter if that final goal had won us nothing, I will never tire of watching it. Beautiful!

He's not bad either ;-)

Sir Alex retiring

The man who to me WAS Manchester United. He was all I knew. He was our manager for 26 years and with title 20 won, the news we knew would come eventually, came.

There are many photos from his last game at Old Trafford and our last ever away game at West Brom but it is this image that always makes me cry. Walking away from the camera and away from the pitch...

I always want him to turn back around and come back!

Januzaj, Januzaj, Januzaj!

He had been promoted to the first team under Sir Alex in the 2012/13 season but it was David Moyes that gave him his first competitive debut in the Community Shield in August when he replaced van Persie. A Premier League debut came against Wigan a month later. It was the game against Sunderland when we were losing that it was his time, he scored two goals and took United from a losing position to a winning one at the age of 18!

Adnan Januzaj is one of the greatest moments for me because I loved watching him in the reserves and to see him finally 'make it' makes me beam with pride. He's what United is all about, pure class.

Those are my highlights of 2013

Here's to more memories in 2014. Happy New Year and thanks for reading this and my blog in 2013 and I hope you'll be back in 2014 too ;-)

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Wishing you a...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 08:00:00 +0000

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The Friday File #54 - Jake Gyllenhaal

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 08:00:00 +0000

The first time I came across Jake was in the film Donnie Darko, woah did that film scare me - yikes! Other films that I have watched of his are; The Day After Tomorrow, Brokeback Mountain, Proof, Jarhead, Love and Other Drugs, Source Code and End of Watch. I haven't seen the film Prisoners that he starred in which was released this year but it is on my list. Also I am looking forward to his next film Nightcrawler.

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Music Monday: Chris De Burgh - A Spaceman Came Travelling

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 08:00:00 +0000

The countdown to Christmas is on!

And it went La La...

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The Friday File #53 - Ian Somerhalder

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Ah Ian Somerhalder, the guy everyone goes mad over in The Vampire Diaries TV series. Oh and the other one, plus some others. But I remember Somerhalder from his Lost days. I need to have another re-watch of that series, loved Lost.

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Music Randomness

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 22:07:00 +0000

So... I kinda forgot to write a Music Monday for this week. Did you notice? If not, ignore that I have reminded you that something was missing and start from the next sentence.

With Christmas just around the corner, you know it is - don't even pretend! My musical side takes a more Christmas route in the run up so I thought I would do a group post as there are one or two songs that are currently locked into my brain that need to be shared. Aren't you all lucky? Yes. Yes you are.

These are in no particular order at all

Everyday by Slade

It's that song from the Google Nexus advert and I can't say I've ever heard the song before... but it gets stuck in my head. Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!

It doesn't make me want to buy a Google Nexus tablet though...

Go Gentle by Robbie Williams

I used to really like him, now not so much. I really like this song written for his daughter but only when I hear it on the radio...

Only Time by Enya

I know exactly why this has been stuck in my head and I'll link the video at the bottom of this music list. I love a bit of Enya to relax the soul

Lose Yourself to Dance by Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams

I have been playing the new Daft Punk album again a lot recently and this is one of my favourites from it. Sure it is repetitive and catchy... that's why it's stuck in my head!

Of the Night by Bastille

Two of my favourite 90's songs (Rhythm of the Night by Corona and Rhythm is a Dancer by Snap!) are mashed together in a sombre tone. The 90's songs were big dance numbers and they have turned this into a more brooding song. I'm not sure if it is just because I know the lyrics still or if it's because I really love their version. At the moment it's another earworm.

See? All completely random. Like me ;-)

Lastly, here is the advert that is to blame for the Enya song being in my head. This is a real stunt by the way, he actually does this (and don't try this at home, nearest car park or anywhere else!)

Amazing, right with a little bit of OUCH!

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The Friday File #52 - Stuart Broad

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Stuart Broad is the man of the moment over here, he has taken six wickets already in the opening Ashes test in Australia. In Australia he is just known as the 27yo medium pace bowler after a little decision that happened in the Ashes series over here in the Summer. Basically some Australian press have banned his name and fans are booing him. SIX WICKETS! That booing is really working so far... ;-)

So anyway, Stuart Broad is a English cricketer and he is the captain of the Twenty20 team. And I love him. Based on my size, 5ft 3" and his 6ft 5" frame... this just would never work. A girl can dream though, right?

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For the love of F1

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 10:00:00 +0000

It is never wise to criticise a sport or those who have become successful because of that sport because you will always end up annoying someone. Still, here I am about to try to explain why F1 has left my heart this year and it is not Vettel's fault.

When I first started watching F1, it was Senna that caught my attention and as I have heard many times over the years "You started off seeing the best and now no one will compare". That could be true but there have been other times during the years since watching Senna that I have loved watching the sport. Mostly for the rivalries, I think one of my favourites was between Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher. I was a big Damon Hill fan and their rivalry was a really fierce one at times. But this was proper wheel-to-wheel racing, it had a real edge to it. It wasn't just that there wasn't things going on further down the grid, technology improvements had started but still cars would spin off and retire. There was definitely more excitement.

I'd also enjoyed the Mika Hakkinen years in the late 90's before Schumacher went on his major winning run through the early 2000's. From 2005 until Vettel's turn for a winning run in 2010 there were four winners; two titles for Alonso, one for Raikkonen, Hamilton and Button. For some reason I only have very vague memories from when Raikkonen won but I can remember when Button won like it was yesterday.

This season has been dull, sorry but it has. The fact that the only F1 highlight I have for the sport this year came from the Ron Howard film 'Rush' about the rivalry between Lauda and Hunt says it all.

F1 has become all about managing tyres rather than pure adrenaline racing. Next year sees the sport take on a whole load of rules changes that have baffled my brain. One of which being the fuel limit of 100kg per race, at the moment most cars use 160kg. Yes, energy efficient cars is all very well and good but they are already managing their tyres, so we could still see races end with cars coasting home. That's just not racing to me.

There has also been a lot of anti-Vettel behaviour over the recent years and more so in this season. I remember this happened with Schumacher but these days with social media everything is so instant. All it takes is for Vettel to win and for him to his No1 sign and just watch as the comments roar into social networks. I often wonder what Twitter would have thought about when Schumacher had crashed into Hill in the Australian Grand Prix in 1994? Schumacher is also not one of the most liked F1 drivers of the past, mainly because when he dominated the sport it became boring and predictable. Vettel is likely to continue in that vein I feel as pretty much like when Schumacher dominated the sport, you find one pro Vettel fan and one anti Vettel fan. It is pretty equal, even though it might not feel like it at the time. I hope the F1 bosses take on board that the booing wasn't just aimed at Vettel but on them too. Right now is not a good time to encourage new fans to get interested in the sport.

I am not the biggest Vettel fan and yes I have myself moaned a bit about how dominant he has been but I would never, ever boo him. My favourite F1 races involve rivalries, wheel-to-wheel racing and the added intrigue of a longer than usual pit stop (remember those, they are rare these days). Each F1 fan is different with what type of racing they prefer and I realise that I might have to stop being so stubborn about what I have previously enjoyed in F1. I hope that despite the brain baffling rule changes and also some team changes that the sport gets at least some of the aspects of it that I used to love back.

Less management. More racing.

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Music Monday: Elvis Presley - Always on my Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 08:00:00 +0000

I watched the countdown to the best Elvis song on ITV a week or so ago (voted for by the public from a list selected) and I had already picked my three favourites. My brother had also picked his favourite very quickly too, so quickly that I had barely had time to think about mine! I'm not a big Elvis fan... hang on, I need to explain this better.

I love his music but I don't really know the order in which songs were released. I have an idea but I would fail to get the songs in the right years or even close I think. I didn't really know who wrote his songs or anything like that but I have seen many videos over the years of him performing to know I would have enjoyed watching him. So... not a fan but the man was a musical genius. Yes. Just don't quiz me on him, ok?

Anyway, 'Always on my Mind' was voted No 1 and I know it has been covered since and each time a new added level has been put on, Willie Nelson's version can make me cry and the Pet Shop Boys can make me sing a long with their earworm version. As I said I know only little bits of Elvis' history really, I had no idea that this song was released when he was separating from his wife Priscilla. It added a new dimension to the song for me, raw emotion. I had no clue about the timing.

Yep. Weepy again.

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Music Monday: En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love)

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 08:00:00 +0000

I'm a bit of a one trick pony when it comes to En Vogue and this is their only song that I really love and actually really know. I know of a few others but this one has always stood out. I think more because I remember the video but also because it is really good to sing a long to in the car. That's how it has ended up here, more car singing from me.

Sorry... wailing!

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