A blog about my actual life!

Hey everyone!

So it's high time I wrote a blog about my actual life! I hope you enjoyed/found challenging the Psalm 119 blog. I know I did. I'm sad it's over, but it's not really over. The things I've learned will stay with me. I'd like to blog through something else next, maybe one of the gospels? But it's quite a bit commitment, and this term I'll have a dissertation to write! Argh! So anyway, here's what's been going on while I've been busy blogging about other things.

So, the last blog I wrote was about my dinner party. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago, but I guess it was a while. Quite a lot has happened since then. Actually, not that much, but what has happened has been pretty significant! About the time I wrote the last one, I was filling in epic application forms for a position with UCCF: The Christian Unions, which would be a one-year voluntary (i.e. I won't get paid) position on a 'discipleship training programme' working with Christian Unions at universities. About a month ago, I suppose, I had an interview for the job. It was quite an epic thing, being an hour long, but weirdly, I really enjoyed it! Are you supposed to enjoy interviews? Well, I did. Anyway, so I have recently got the letter through to say that I got the job! Hooray! So, as of September, I'll be the new Relay worker for Norwich, so I get to stay in the city and at UEA too! I'm really excited about it! If you want to find out more about what Relay is, go here http://www.uccf.org.uk/relay/what-is-relay.htm.

It's been Christmas, of course, so that occurred. I was still at uni when my parents put their decorations up, but luckily I got to decorate the church I go to at uni, with some of my friends. Unfortunately I was in an awful mood for the whole last week (or maybe last 2 weeks) of term... so I apologise to everyone I came into contact with... especially Connie and Laurence, who I fear got the full brunt of the thing. Christmas in the Wood household was relaxing and quiet. One set of my grandparents came for the day with their dog Molly, we ate waay too much food, as anybody would, played some games and did some jigsaw puzzles.

Over the holiday period, my parents and I played nine games of Monopoly. Yes, nine. Mum made a score sheet, and if you win a game, you get three points, if you come second you get 2 points, and if you lose you get one point (for good sportsmanship, I suppose) and the winner would be crowned Monopoly champion. I won, of course. My Dad, who is obsessed with Monopoly and always always wins, didn't win a single game. We're hoping it's out of his system now. I think he mentioned something about burning it... (not really).

I've done lots of loserish, crafty things, like cross stitch and paint by numbers, in order to relieve the immense stress I felt at the end of term. I also made loads of cards and finished up my scrap book, so now I need to get a new one, I suppose.

New Year's Eve was fun, we had a party at our church. I went up in the afternoon to help stack the chairs away, and I ended up learning to waltz! There's a lovely man at church, who is 86 I believe, but he doesn't seem any older than 60! He has more energy than me, in fact, most of the time! He led some dancing, and was said teacher of the waltz. Very patient, as some of you may have noticed, I'm not that coordinated... and perhaps a bit clumsy...

The other significant thing is... I cut my hair! Well, I didn't, the hairdresser did. My hair used to reach to the underwire of my bra (sorry for being graphic!) but now it skims my collarbones. I had it cut like Emma from Glee... ( http://prommafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/emma-glee.jpg ) if you don't know what she looks like. I really like it. I feel like a grown up now! Which I have to become at some point, I suppose.

I think that's most of what's been occurring in my life, and anyway I have to go and put on some makeup now, because I'm going out with my grandma in a bit. I'm very excited about tomorrow because I'm going to Essex for Beccy's birthday, so I get to see lots of my girlies :) We're going to go out in Essex I think, and then on Saturday I'm going straight back to Norwich, which is great because I miss all my friends sooo much.

So, hope you all had a great Christmas, and wishing you all many blessings in 2011!

High expectations and grated fingers

There's an Angela Carter novel called Wise Children and all the way through her main characters say that they should "hope for the best and expect the worst." I am very good at hoping for the best, however I am also the kind f person that always expects the best also, much to my detriment. From grades to hairstyles, if things aren't the best that they can be it bothers me more than I care to admit.

So, last night I held my first ever grown-up dinner party. My grandma had sent me some money in the post in order to buy ingredients to cook my housemates and a few friends a nice meal. So I decided to host a fully-fledged, fifties-style, candlelit dinner party.

I started cooking at 11am and just kept going with the cooking, cleaning, and finishing touches until the guests arrived at 7. There were seven of us. I'd prepared carrot and coriander soup, followed by garlic chicken and roasted vegetables, then chocolate mousse served in teacups. I'd deliberately chosen food that would require very little attention once my guests had arrived so that I could do most of the cooking beforehand and enjoy the company of my friends in a relaxed environment.

I posted on a website I've recently discovered for Jane Austen addicts in order to glean some wisdom from those older and wiser than myself. The response was fantastic, really reassuring and encouraging. They all said, though, not to panic. That was the utmost piece of advice. I thought it a strange one. I'm a good cook, I love having my friends round, and I was very much looking forward to putting on a nice dress. Panic seemed like the last emotion that would be fluttering around me.

I had visions of a soiree that was the cross between a banquet at Pemberley and a home-cooked meal by a housewife wearing pearls in the 50's. (Think that episode of Gilmore Girls where Rory cooks for Dean). With immense struggle and numerous complaints from (actually, very understanding) housemates we moved our dining table from the kitchen to the lounge, squeezed every chair in the house around it, held another cutlery amnesty, borrowed wine glasses from here there and everywhere, lit candles and fretted about not having a centrepiece. I put on perhaps my favourite dress (although it fitted much better last time I wore it!), and donned my finest hostess smile to await my guests.

I insisted on taking their coats and pouring their wine. I wouldn't let the men in the kitchen. And I played soothing, dinner party music. I was excited. I had fantasies of a handsome man sweeping me off my feet when I stepped into the kitchen, holding me close and telling me what a fantastic wife I would be one day. If only I had one of those frilly aprons you tie around your waist.

So, the starter went OK, except for my blender isn't that good, so it still had a few lumps of carrots in. I put the main course in just before my guests arrived so that it would be cooking while we sipped our soup ever so delicately and talked of peonies and Picasso. However, by the time we'd finished the starter the food was as far from cooked as the conversation was from Picasso. And I'd forgotten the garnish.

I think the oven can't cope with that amount of food in it, because it was cooking so slowly. To cut a long story short, the vegetables had to be cooked for two hours and we couldn't tell what was a potato and what was a lemon by the end of it. The chicken was more or less cremated, I'm pretty sure, and peas were flying everywhere. And my guests had started on the After Eights due to hunger shakes. They all made yummy noises, though, and were very appreciative. And seeing as I don't have a dog, I'm pretty sure they ate it all.

Now, after a near breakdown in the kitchen previous to this, I was starting to feel a lot calmer now that the main course was over. Nothing could go wrong with my dessert because I'd prepared it hours ago and it didn't require any other cooking. In fact, it didn't require any cooking at all, because it turns out that mousse is just chocolate whipped up with raw eggs, essentially. A very complicated chocolate whipped up with raw eggs, though. Anyway, I'd tasted some previously to make sure it was OK, and I new for a fact that it was delicious.

All that remained to do was to grate some chocolate to sprinkle delicately over it for that extra touch. Tip: always avoid extra touches. I was happily grating some chocolate, with considerable force, when -bam- in goes part of my finger. Well, not part of my finger. But I did grate it, and it did hurt quite a lot, and there was a considerable amount of blood. I'm not good with blood, so of course I overreacted, and presumed I was dying and made quite a fuss.

With some help from my friends the mousse got on the table, by which time everybody was playing poker for After Eights, and we finished off the dinner part of the evening. It was now pretty late.

After this, things got better. We started playing Articulate and I think I actually smiled.

Lessons I have learned from this:

1. Keep it simple. If you are good at cooking chilli con carne, just cook chilli con carne.

2. Don't try to live above your station. If you're a student, act like one.

3. Hope for the best. Expect the worst.

English Summertime

So my plan of blogging about the week every Sunday afternoon definitely failed... by 24 hours. But here I am nevertheless. If anybody was biting their nails in anticipation of this, then I'm sorry. And I recommend Barry M base coat and nail hardener.
I've been in a perpetual bad mood, it seems, all week, so I apologise to my housemates and, for that matter, anybody that I've come across.

This has been my first week of 'yes to everything' (our catchphrase for post-exam fun), although it's been more like 'yes to some things, but other things I just can't be bothered to do'. However, stuff has occurred; mostly sunbathing because we have had some scorching weather (hooray!), watching bad films, reading trashy novels, shopping and the like. Oh, and barbecues... there have been so many barbecues this week!

Tuesday was the CU (Christian Union) BBQ... in the rain, sadly, where I nearly believed that Jesus had a twin brother called Nesus...

Wednesday was Apprentice night, with chinese takeaway because we hadn't got our act together in time to actually do some shopping and make some amazing food. I'm getting a little obsessed with this Apprentice series now, it took me longer than usual because it's not the real thing, only Jr. Apprentice, but nevertheless, I am now hooked. I want Tim to win, I think he's secretly great. He's so cool, and has a great smile... and I have to remind myself that he's only seventeen... I don't want to get a reputation! (cough)
After The Apprentice we went into the city to watch a midnight viewing of Sex and the City 2... it was really good, actually. I've never watched the series, but I saw the first film last week, and I really enjoyed it. Oh my gosh, the fashion! It made me feel like I'm a bad person because I don't own those clothes. Actually, it's the shoes that I'm really covetous of... but move on, envy isn't attractive on me (or anyone). I really loved the way they contrasted what it is to be a woman in America with what it is in a Muslim country... although perhaps it was bordering on racist at times. Good female solidarity, good sense of overcoming adverse situations, amazing fashion, overall a pretty good film. Will most probably purchase the DVD. One of the girls moving in with us next year has the entire set of SATC, so I'll watch those come September. My friends tell me I'm just like Charlotte, but I like to see myself as a Carrie, the whole writer thing etc... but I'll have to watch it and see!

Thursday I had a goodbye breakfast with some amazing people, as the third years are sadly graduating and leaving us. Genuinely heartbreaking, but amazing toast. On campus in the afternoon there was loads of free fun stuff, with inflatable assault courses, climbing wall etc, and amazing sunshine. Of course, we just got a jug of sex on the beach and lounged in the square watching all the action, which was quite exhausting enough, thank you very much. Then we went to a party (and, of course, BBQ) at some friends' house. Loads of our friends played some live music too, which was awesome, including two who have just released a charity album, check them out here http://dukeandsaunders.bandcamp.com/ their songs are so funny!

Friday included more sunbathing, and our friend who is going to Thailand for four months came to cook us dinner. He made amazing white chocolate truffle cake, and couscous salad, and it was genuinely one of the best meals I've had for ages. Mega kudos to him. And we had a game of Risk; we played global conquest, expecting it to take until the small hours... when in fact he wiped all four of us out in an hour and a half. Just because he'd conquered Europe early... we shouldn't have underestimated it. Rooky mistake. I'm secretly a massive board game geek. Actually, not that secretly.

Saturday was walking in the park by myself, and generally being grumpy.

Sunday, after church, I had a picnic with some friends who are going back to New York at the end of the week, so that was a little emotional. There was a thunderstorm too, talk about pathetic fallacy. It was great though, I love thunderstorms. I made some awesome cupcakes too, with my new silicone cupcake moulds, heart shaped ones that I bought in Lakelands, I seriously recommend them, as they don't go all wibbly.

Tonight we're having a party, but you'll have to wait until my blog on Sunday to hear about that! I bet you're counting down the hours already.

This week I haven't done as much reading as I would have liked, the same as every week, really. I read some trashy novella called The List, by Aneva Stout, which was fairly rubbish, except that it was actually quite interesting, narratively, written entirely in the second person, and as a list. It reminded me of a short story I wrote last year... I might post it up here if I can find it. It was called 'How to Fall in Love', and was inspired by the story 'How to Become an Expatriot'... I can't remember who wrote that though, someone American. My memory stick died, though, so I've lost all my writing. However, I think this story is in a notebook I have at my parents' house.... I'll try and find it once I'm at home (at the end of this week! I can't believe it's almost summer already!).

I'm also reading One Hit Wonder by Lisa Jewell, which I assumed would be equally trashy, but it's actually well written, and I'm really enjoying it. Might check out her other book too, for a bit of holiday reading. Still reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, too, which I love, although makes me feel pretty unworthy, as a woman. And I'm scared about getting old by it, too. I'm turning 21 in September, and then I'd like to stop ageing please. I also started a Christian book called Where is God in a Messed up World? by Roger Carswell, which is all about suffering etc. so that's really helpful.

I've managed to do quite a lot of writing. I started a novel, set in my home town, and I finished the first chapter on that this week, and I've done the first page of the next chapter too, now, so that's great. I've got one of those gold-dust friends who has offered to proof-read it for me, also, hooray! Incidentally, it's his birthday today, so happy birthday! He won't read this, but maybe he'll feel blessed from the cyberspace good wishes going his way nonetheless. I'm also writing a Christian book, which I felt really called to write a week or two ago, and I've done the first chapter of that too, so quite a productive week on the writing front. Full steam ahead!