D is for Diet (groan)

Urgh, I hate that feeling when you realise you need to lose some weight again. While I'm job hunting I'm really struggling to be active so it feels like an even harder battle than it has been before. After some half hearted attempts at Weight Watchers in recent months I've decided to try the Fast Diet. I remember watching the Dr Michael Mosley Horizon program last year and was intrigued by it, but not so fed up with not fitting into all my clothes back then. Basically you fast (500 calories for women, 600 for men) for 2 non-consecutive days a week and eat 'normally' for the other 5. 

It appeals to me so much, not only because of the science behind it, but also the fact that you don't have the same guilt associated with conventional diets. If I 'fail' one day and eat something I shouldn't I generally feel guilty but also give up with the diet for the rest of the day because I've already messed up. I'm hoping this fast diet will enable me to stop some of my unhealthy attitudes around food and dieting. 

I've already successfully managed to get through 2 fast days, and they weren't that bad. I kept thinking that as long as I could get through the day I could then have whatever I want the next day (well, within reason), and that is very helpful for me. I'm lucky because I'm not out at work at the moment - I don't know how well I'd cope with only 500 calories then, but I suspect you get used to eating less overall and it becomes easier. If I can just get exercising regularly again then I hope that 2 stone will be gone before long. (Fingers crossed).

Here's a little interview with Michael Mosley if you're interested in finding out more.

B is for Blogging

When I first started this blog back in 2008 it was supposed to be all about my sewing and my Etsy plush creations. I didn't really want to share any of my personal life, and I wouldn't have dreamed of posting a photo of myself online. Five years on and my banner has a big photo of me (albeit slightly hiding) and my posts often mention things about my life and the photos I take rather than any sewing at all. I've changed a lot since I wrote that humble little opening post and my blog has changed too. For one, it looks a lot smarter than it did (which isn't difficult), but it still isn't the beautiful, interesting popular site I dream of.

So why not? Well it's probably due to laziness and procrastination. I have a vision but I can't quite work out where to begin and how to achieve it, so nothing much happens at all. Well I want that to change. I'm hoping this A-Z challenge will help me to work out what people want to read about how I can improve it - any tips or comments would be really welcome! (And if anyone else shares my woes).

For now I would like to share a link to some of the blogs that inspire me and look so effortless and perfect (not that I'm even the tiniest bit jealous)..........

♥ Little Chief Honeybee

♥ A Beautiful Mess

♥ Deliciously Organised

♥ Deer Little Fawn

R is for ...Refreshers

Just a little moan today about my childhood, and probably all time, favourite sweets; Refreshers. I could, and have many times, munched my way through a whole packet in about 5 minutes. I've tried endless variations on ways to devour them too - sucking, licking, crunching, I've tried them all (ahem). I've even managed to suck right through the middle to turn them into whole Refreshers 'polos'. 

However, there seems to be an issue of late with my favourite sugar snack, and that involves the word 'natural' which now appears on the beautiful multicolour packet of dreams. Natural flavourings only is great for things like yoghurt or fruit drinks, but is it really necessary to change the amazing taste of these incredibly unique and special sweets in order to make them natural? They are pink, green, yellow and orange fizzy discs - that is not remotely natural. It is not as if anyone consumes these as a part of their daily diet is it? I just don't see why sugary, yes-they-rot-your-teeth-but occasionally-as-a-treat-is-OK sweets need to be made from natural colours and flavourings. If it could be done with no compromise on taste I would support it fully, but they are just not the same.

I'm going to see if I can get my hands on any black market unnatural Refreshers. I'll be the one hanging round street corners asking if you've got any sweets.

Q is for ...Quixotic

Q always causes problems. In scrabble it's the annoyance of needing a U to make a word. Unless you're one of those irritating people that scour the official Scrabble dictionary to come up with stupid words that noone has ever heard of (if you are one of those people, you might like to look here!). 

The only thing I've bought lately that starts with a Q is the album Quixotic by Martina Topley-Bird. By choosing this as my daily post, I am giving those aforementioned Scrabble enthusiasts a new killer word - Q and X means a pretty big score - imagine that on a triple word-er!  The album itself, incidentally is really good, but hard to describe. I suggest you have a listen to some tracks on her myspace page and make up your own mind. 

So, what the hell does quixotic mean anyway? Well,  According to dictionary.com it has 3 meanings, so we can take our pick;

1. resembling or befitting Don Quixote
2. extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical or impracticable
3. impulsive and often rashly unpredictable

I like number 3 best. I wonder if I can get quixotic into a sentence today...........

N is for...Nails

On 31st Dec 2011 I gave up a habit of a lifetime (literally), when I stopped biting my nails. I was so ashamed of having ugly, chewed and sore nails, that I somehow managed to give up. I have had a few struggles and currently 2 nails are lower than the others, but I'm pretty sure they will catch up without me chewing them again.  It might not last forever, but while it does I am enjoying using nail varnish. I've been searching the net for some easy, but fancy, nail designs I could try out myself. There are a fair few tutorials out there, which is great for me because I've never had nails to do anything with before, so am a bit clueless. Follow the links on these photos to see the tutorials on the various sites - they are so creative and well worth a look!

Source: daintysquid.blogspot.com via Allie on Pinterest

Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Zoe on Pinterest

Source: tinytangerines.com via Diana on Pinterest

Source: chloesnails.blogspot.com via Maureen on Pinterest

I is for ... Iwako Erasers

They aren't just any ordinary erasers - these ones come in very cute, intricate designs; including animals, food and even transport! They are Japanese, but a great shop to buy them from in the UK is Fun Art Online. They aren't the cheapest erasers I've ever bought, but I think I'll get my moneys worth by using them as photo props. I already used my little cows for the Project 52 theme of 'variety', and I know they will feature a lot more in the next few months. 

You can also get these fab little tins to store them in!

Fancy a biccie with your tea?!

H is for ...the Happiness Project

A short mention today of the great book by Gretchen Rubin called The Happiness Project, where she devoted a year of her life to trying to make herself happier. I can see how it could split readers because the author took a very systematic, rational approach to happiness, whereas many people think happiness is not something that can be worked on in this way. I like organisation and structure so I really enjoyed it. I tried to create a Happiness Project plan of my own, but due to things being a bit all over the place this last 6 months, it hasn't really panned out yet. Hopefully when I've got things a bit more settled in my everyday life then I will be able to work out a plan to stick to. So, it's not for everyone, but if you like this sort of approach then give it a read!!

G is for... Goodreads.com

I can't remember how I discovered goodreads.com, but I will definitely be using it from now on. Goodreads is a site where users can record the books they've read, and give them ratings and reviews. This information is catalogued in a social networking kind of way, so that you can add friends and see what others are reading. Once you have added and rated 20 books, goodreads uses an algorithm to recommend further books you might enjoy - genius!

Even if you simply use it to keep a private record of your reading, I think goodreads is brilliant for everyone. And it is totally free. You can also add a 'currently reading' badge to your blog (like I have in my sidebar), and one showing a list of your favourite books, so your followers can join in too. I'm currently reading Catch 22, and it is a very different book to anything else I've read, but enjoyable so far. Add me on goodreads and you can find out what I thought of it once I've finished!!!

E is for... Easter and Eggs

Not very original I know, but I have some nice little Easter and egg themed photos for you today. I admit I was scratching around for items to photograph because I didn't have time to do any Easter baking yet, but enjoy what I did manage to find:

And even Blythe wanted to get in the Easter bunny spirit:

D is for...Doctors

That's the BBC TV show, not actual healthcare practitioners (although I'm sure they all deserve a mention too). It is one of my guilty pleasures that I like to watch the daytime soap opera Doctors. I record it. Everyday. There, I said it.

For those of you who have never seen an epsiode, Doctors is set in a health centre in the fictional town of Letherbridge. I don't think this town is overly representative of the UK population, as there are only ever 1 or 2 patients in the waiting room at once, and you can get an appointment just by walking in on the off chance. The doctors themselves live fascinating lives and they frequently become personally involved in their patient's lives too - they even have time to drop everything in the middle of a working day to make house calls and generally save the day. 

I'm not selling it to you yet? How about I tell you that since I have been an obsessed avid viewer (less than a year), storylines have included; murder, attempted murder, being caught smoking tarragon, squatters, running a brothel (of sorts), domestic violence by a woman, and a man who thought his ventriloquist dummy was talking to him. I have to say, the funniest episode was about a chimney sweep with a phobia of soot! You see, it is brilliant!

I struggled to find a short clip on You Tube so this is the best I could find, just to give you a taster:

This will probably only make sense to other Doctors fans out there, but I have to mention that my favourite characters are Zara (I love the way she is sarcastic, sharp and bitchy) and Imogen (she likes art and photography). The best storyline was Harrison killing Lauren then trying to get away with it, and the most annoying was Akono staying with Mrs Tembe. 

C is for...Cameras

Today's topic just had to be cameras. There was no other option. Cameras are like shoes - a girl can never have too many. I can't anyway. So I thought I'd share a selection of cute or unusual cameras I've spotted whilst trawling the net.

A good place to find film cameras is lomography.com as they have loads of designs and colour options too. I particularly like the leopard print Diana mini, and the 'I love you' Fisheye no.2:

Source: uk.shop.lomography.com via Claire on Pinterest

Source: uk.shop.lomography.com via Claire on Pinterest

Another good place to discover new cameras and useful photography-related gear is the awesome photojojo.com. I've placed a couple of orders in the past and you get great service, fast shipping from the USA to UK and a free toy dinosaur with every package! What more could you want? The Holga twin lens with colour flash (and smiley face) is one of my faves.

Source: photojojo.com via Claire on Pinterest

If you don't mind ordering from Asia, eBay has some fab bargains on 35mm toy cameras too. I bought a purple Holga from Hong Kong and it arrived within a week! The Holga meow camera would be a fun addition to a camera collection, as it makes actual cat sounds when you press the shutter!!

Source: ebay.co.uk via Claire on Pinterest

Some other finds on eBay include another cat camera (although this one is digital), and the Pentax NB1000 Nanoblock camera - what could possibly be better than a 14MP digital camera with basically a Lego board attached to the front?! You can build anything you want on it! Lego Bench Monday would look great on there!

Source: ebay.co.uk via Claire on Pinterest

Source: ebay.co.uk via Claire on Pinterest

If factory produced cameras are not for you, how about making your own? You can actually build your own Holga from a DIY kit, or glue together your own paper pinhole camera!

Source: ebay.co.uk via Claire on Pinterest

Source: uk.shop.lomography.com via Claire on Pinterest

I've saved the most amazing until last........a Polaroid camera that is both instant AND digital!!!! This blows my little mind.

Source: photojojo.com via Claire on Pinterest

B is for.....Blythe and Basaak dolls

I've recently started playing with dolls again. That's not as weird as it sounds. Well, maybe it is, but lots of other people are partaking in this pastime too, and they are adult toys. No, not that sort of adult toys - they are just not really meant for children, more for adult collectors. Sounds like an excuse for grown up girls to play dress ups with their dollies again? Yes, it probably is. But what is wrong with that?!! I'm using mine for photography props, so it is art really.

I first saw Blythe dolls on Flickr last year and I found them intriguing to look at, if not a little ugly to be honest. I'm not sure why I suddenly wanted one, but back in January I started researching them online and discovered that they could be bought on eBay. The original Blythe dolls from 1972 fetch anything from £400 to well over £1000 (!!!), but the new versions are somewhat more affordable thankfully. 

So I bought my first Blythe - this custom beauty:

It was her eyeshadow that really sold her to me:

Once I'd started I felt compelled to buy more and maybe even think about customising one myself in the future, but even though they are much cheaper than the originals, they still aren't exactly on Barbie's price level, so I dug deeper and discovered Blythe clone dolls (Basaak and Blybe dolls). Now, they are a little controversial in the Blythe world because they are basically copycat dolls, but they also have fans in their own right, and they are much more affordable for people like me who don't have loads of cash to spend. 

I found a gorgeous custom Basaak doll on eBay and she came all the way from Thailand for me. 

Again, she has stunning eyeshadow! 

Once you have a good look at her you can see that she isn't of the same high quality as Blythe herself, but she is just as pretty in photos, and a nice addition to my growing collection. I think my Blythe is still a little wary of her though: 

A is for......Aquarium

This year I am taking part in the April A to Z blog challenge again, which I hope will be a great motivation to blog about different subjects, and to discover some new blogs to read too. Many participants tend to write posts on a theme, and mine is 'stuff I like'!!! I figured it should be pretty easy to stay motivated with the challenge if I'm writing about things I really enjoy.

This weekend I set up my second little aquarium. If you've read my blog before you'll know that the 4 little goldfish I bought back in January were my first pets EVER, and I am heading towards the big 3-0 so that is quite something. 

Well I heard about a fish tank for sale for a very good price and decided to get some neighbours for the goldfish. The tank turned out to be even better than I hoped and it even has a heater so I could buy tropical fish too. 

I know nothing about fish so I walked round the pet shop pointing out pretty fish I liked, and my expert boyfriend told me whether I could get them or not! My only stipulation for the tank was that I could buy the gorgeous rainbow ornament I saw last time we were fish shopping. I think the tank looks amazing now - the new fish have a funky, colourful home to swim around:

 

The angel fish were a definite for me as soon as I discovered that if you move your hand side to side in front of the tank they would all turn the same way, as if they were watching a tennis match! I definitely need to learn how to take some better fish photos, but these didn't come out too badly in the end: