Guess who's back, back again, Katie's back, Tell a friend

Hello! It's been a while hasn't it! I don't know why Eminem came to mind when writing the title but let's just go with it.

This is what my face looks like, remember?

We were almost in the 'new start/ new blog territory' but I meant what I said when I said this one was for keeps. Hah!
So instead I have gone for a new blog name instead as 'Good Morning Miss Magpie' was always a back up name as I really wanted 'Good Morning MR Magpie'... but alas somebody already had that name. Anyway I have transformed... like a caterpillar into a  butterfly into 'Ever Sew Pretty'. You like? I thought I was like dead clever for coming up with a name with a clever 'two meaning word'...... I wasn't. It turns out there are lots of 'sew blah blahs' around but nevermind I still like it. It is also the name of a new venture of mine into the world of self employment with regards to hopefully selling my handmade goods in exchange for a few pennies to help pay the bills. But hopefully more on that at a later date.

Anyway I thought I would kick start my return to the blogging world by totally jumping on to the bandwagon of the '25 facts about me' posts. I love reading posts like these because I am a nosy so and so.

Let's get cracking, and in no particular order we have........

1. 90% of the time when sitting I curl my toes (all but the big ones) under my feet. I don't know why. I just find it comfy and my toes naturally want to be curled up? Admittedly it makes them look like pigs trotters but  the toes go where the toes want.

2. I haven't been to the hairdressers in around 3 years. I cut my own hair which sometimes turns out alright and other times looks like my fringe has been attacked by a child playing with scissors. I had to stop myself from chopping off around 8 inches the other day as I had the urge to just hack into it but then decided I didn't want to do a 'Britney' and I would have almost certainly regretted it.

3. I am quite tall for a girl, coming in at 5ft9. I was the tallest at school until puberty kicked in for the boys and some of them shot up. However I never really felt like a giant until I went to uni; where it would seem I only befriended tiny friends.

4. I have been with Scott for just over 10 years and still cringe at the idea of referring to him as my 'boyfriend'. I feel like it's such a juvenile word and makes me feel about 13. So until he actually puts a ring on it, or if in fact he ever will (:oP) I just refer to him as Scott and people soon come to realise that we are a couple haha.

5. I don't like it when people call me 'Kate'. For some reason this was a very sore point when I was growing up and it used to really upset me, as it also did if people told me to 'shut up'... 'Don't call me SHUT UP' haha. I mean it doesn't make me cry if people take it upon themselves to shorten my already pretty short 5 letter name but it just doesn't feel right. My name isn't Kate, it's Katie.

6. I went to university in Bangor, a small 'city' in North Wales and for the most part absolutely loved it. I studied Sociology, a subject that I had previously never studied before but it was all a very last minute decision to go to uni and so I had to go through clearing which limited my choices greatly. However my intention was to initially study Sociology then switch to Psychology when people dropped out of the course freeing up some space. I didn't end up doing that as I found that I quite enjoyed Sociology. I totally blagged half of my degree, I don't even know anything about one of the founding fathers of Sociology as I didn't go to lectures that day but I still ended up doing alright.

7. I am a Brownie leader and go by the name 'Night Owl' on Thursday nights :)

8. I absolutely love Pepsi Max. Preferably in a can as opposed to a bottle. Hands down my favourite drink. Probs not the best but hey it is 'Maximum taste, no sugar' so surely can't be too bad ;)

9. I am not naturally a big talker. I don't fear silence. Scott talks enough for the both of us anyway.

10. I love dancing. As long as I can remember I have always had a good dance in my bedroom when nobody else is around. I love dancing games, I love watching people dance, I love dance scenes in films. I love dancing, end of.

11. I don't like 'The Big Bang Theory'. It doesn't make me laugh, I don't get it. Sometimes I think I am the only person who feels like this.

12. I pretty much fancy Tom Hardy in most if not all of the roles he has played. This includes 'Bronson' when he had that dodgy tash and shaved head, and 'Dark Knight Rises' with that half mask thing and silly voice.

IloveyouTomIDST

13. I LOVE GAMES. I don't just mean computer games, which I do love also. I mean board games, made up games, hide and seek, eye spy... the works really. The other week Scott and I played hide and seek but with a blindfold twist because our house isn't really big enough to have many, if any, good hiding places for fully grown beings. I was rubbish at it though because I couldn't help but laugh when he was near me, trying to feel around our furniture for where I might be. This also leads onto my next fact....

13. I am super competitive. However I pride myself on not being a sore loser either and put this entirely down to the fact that growing up my Dad never let me win anything. If I did win him at something it was due to me beating him rather than him deliberately losing. It made me appreciate the times I won and realise that it's OK not to win every time as long as you have fun playing the game.

14. I love snail mail. I love receiving things in the post and writing letters. I always had pen pals growing up and lately have really been wanting to put pen to paper and get writing to someone. Any takers? :)

15. I am such a wimp when it comes to driving. I don't mind tinkering around my local area, I just get myself worked up if I am going somewhere I have never been before and it involves being in or near a city. When I actually get going, I'm fine it's just getting going that seems to be the problem.

16. I have hitch hiker thumbs.

17. When I was growing up I had a favourite hand (the right) which got to do all the 'nice' jobs and wear rings and such, and then the other (the left) that had to do the 'nasty' jobs.... you know like.......... wiping your bum..... too much info?

18. I am really funny with the texture of food. To the point of it preventing me from eating some fruits just because I don't like how they feel in my mouth and don't even get me started on yogurts with fruit in...bleurgh.

19. I love breakfast cereal. I could have it for every meal some days. Most breakfast cereals are welcome to  my cereal meals but my favourites would probably be Bran Flakes and Golden Grahams and anything 'clustery', you know with the oaty chunky bits. The latter are really a treat though because they are so blummin' expensive!

20. It would seem that I have a really stretchy mouth. Errrrrm.. Please see exhibit A:

This is from a few years ago but I can confirm that my mouth is still that stretchy.

21. I really really dislike slugs. It's not a phobia, more of a hate towards them. I just think they are disgusting and a main reason for my hatred may be due to the fact that during the first night in our nice new house, I woke to find one having a slimy slug party ON MY FACE. Yes you read that right it was chilling out right on my cheek. It makes me feel sick just thinking about it. So they are most certainly not welcome here, spiders can crawl around to their hearts content but slugs can bugger right off.

22. I am quite scared of Doctors/ Nurses/ Hospitals. I get myself really worked up about it and find myself quite anxious just thinking about having to go. I don't really know the reason why but sometimes wonder if it is to do with having an operation when I was 5 and there being complications.

23. I can't wait to be a Mum.

24. When I was little I thought mirrors and puddles were like gateways to another world where another little girl like me, lived. I would sit and think/daydream stories and events that she was experiencing and want to travel through to her world because it sounded more fun.

25. I don't really drink. I decided that I didn't really like the way it made me feel any more and I used to get monster 'lose a day of your life to the toilet bowl' hangovers, so I just don't see the point. I'm not saying I will never have a drink again and the odd time I will have one or two but for the most part not a drinker.


There we go. Maybe next time I won't leave over 6 months between posts!
See you later alligators xx

Why I probably wouldn't survive a zombie attack

The other night I had such a vivid dream about a zombie attack that it made me feel like it was inevitably going to happen. This got me thinking about the reasons why I don't think I would survive if it did happen (morbid? me?).

1.       White girl can’t jump. Even if I put all of my energy and effort into jumping, I still can’t manage to get more height than 3 or 4 inches. This has been an ongoing joke with Scott, he finds it hilarious but it also means that should I ever have to jump a fence/car/obstacle whilst being chased, the likelihood of me being successful would not be high (like my jumping).

2.       I can’t run fast. Pretty self-explanatory really. My ‘jogging’ speed is the same as the other half’s leisurely stroll. So I’m not going anywhere in a rush on foot. This won’t be a problem as long as the zombies are old style zombie movie where they just kind of meander around as opposed to the ‘running at full speed’ type zombies of modern day.

3.       I am clumsy. See this post. I fall over, a lot. I can just see me tripping over something at a crucial point of escaping and becoming a gonna.

4.    My car rarely has a full tank of petrol in it. I'm not one of those people who keep it topped up 'just in case' (though I doubt their 'just in case' is a zombie attack).... it's regularly (right no in fact) got the red light flashing to tell me it's almost empty. This means should we have to jump in the car to escape/save family members/whatever then we won't get far without having to fill up. Which could prove to be tricky what with zombies literally biting at your ankles.

5.   I'm lazy and don't go food shopping regularly. I don't like food shopping even though I love food. This means that like today our cupboards are pretty bare and so should we need to barricade ourselves in our house there wouldn't be much to keep us going aside from the odd tin of tuna and baked beans.

6.   We live pretty much smack bang in the middle of England. This means there is no sea around for us to sail away into. You never see zombies swimming really so I think that would be a good escape route. That or a helicopter. We don't have a helicopter either.

7.   We don't have easy access to guns here. I don't know one person who owns a gun. It would have to be a more of a 'Shaun of the dead' approach to zombie killing, throwing random household items until we find something that works. I also don't own an axe, a sledgehammer or a samurai sword.

So if this does happen, I think I'm pretty screwed.

Picture is from Zombieland

Let's make a list

Well well well I seem to have been absent for a little while and I don't really know why. It was my birthday last week and then we went away last weekend as part of my birthday present from my Dad but I've been back a whole week so that's not really a valid excuse is it?
Anyway what better way to get back into the swing of it than to compile a list.
I love lists.
I can make a list out of pretty much anything.
I write 'to do' lists, 'don't forget' lists, meal lists, films I want to watch lists, various shopping lists. I then make a list from my list.
Oh yes I'm a double 'lister'; there's always a draft then a final cut. My other half always laughs at the fact that I make a shopping list, then have to make another one where I group the foods together into 'fruit and vegetables', 'dairy', 'meat', and 'other'. Writing this is making me take a long hard look at myself and wonder if I have a problem.

So here is my list on why I like writing lists:
- I like to pretend there is order in my life. If I'm honest I don't really follow the lists as enthusiastically as I write them. I enjoy the writing of the list far more than completing the list.
- I like to cross through things when I've done/got them. There's a sense of accomplishment that you can't get from just thinking 'yep done that', no I want a visual aid too.
- I LOVE writing lists if I've got a good pen. I don't mean an expensive pen just a 'good writer', you know the ones that feel good to write with, that are smooth and don't leave blobby ink marks. My pen of choice is usually a simple biro.
- I like to empty my brain onto paper, it helps me to see if there is anything missing/extra needed.

I could go on an on but I won't. I understand not everybody is as passionate about lists as I am but I'm sure some of you will be a fellow list maker. Come on, put your hands up :)

P.S. I'm also quite partial to filling in forms. Even if I don't need the things the form is for. I'm not painting a 'cool' picture of myself am I?!

7 Reasons why I don't like Facebook..... even though I still use Facebook

Everybody has Facebook nowadays. Parents (thankfully not mine), grandparents (again, not mine), Aunties, Uncles, long lost classmates, teachers, everybody has got into the Facebook action.
I first joined Facebook whilst I was at uni when my uni friends began telling me that 'Myspace was sooooooooooo dead'. When I first joined, you had to have a university email address, i.e. one that ended in .ac.uk here (obviously different for different countries) You could look at all the people's profiles who were in the same uni as you and then to see any others you had to be friends with them.

I don't think I can remember the point in time when Facebook blew up and everybody including people's pets started popping up, requesting to be friends and updating their profiles with pictures ('this is soooooo going to be my profile pic'), statuses and interests.

Anyway onto my 7 reasons of disliking Facebook:
*Before I start, this is only supposed to be light hearted and I'm sure to an extent I too am guilty of some of the following because I do still continue to use Facebook*

1. Pointless/too much information status updates - Guess what I don't care if your tea was really 'yummy' or if you're having a 'cheeky vino' after work. I also don't care for a minute by minute breakdown of the programme you are currently watching - if I wanted to know what's cracking off, I'd watch it myself.

2. People having 600 friends. 600? Really you have SIX HUNDRED friends? Whatever. Maybe it's me being insanely jealous that you can find 600 people who like you and want to be friends or maybe it's me being annoyed at listing somebody you met in a pub toilet, once, as a 'friend'. Either way, either way.

3. The 'Love my kids/ Love my wife/ Love my boyfriend/ Love my family' status updates. Wow you love your kids? No way, never would have thought that you would love your kids and I'm so glad you remind me and your other Facebook friends every other day. And really? You have the best boyfriend in the world because he put the toilet seat down/brought you a yogurt from the fridge/bought you some flowers? Wicked. I care.

4. People writing on the walls/photos/status updates of other people who are blatently in the same house/room as them. Open your mouths and talk to each other; you don't have to put on a show for us all.

5. Those 'woo it's the weekend' and 'can't believe it's Monday again' statuses - believe it or not I am aware of the days of the week and the order in which they fall. You don't need to remind me. I have lived through almost 26 years worth of weeks and was probably aware of the days contained in those weeks for at least 20 of those years.

6. The cryptic status updates. The 'I'm only going to give you a taster of something but don't want to go into detail about it on Facebook' status. The 'ask me a question about my status because I then want to announce that it's too personal for all to see' status. Get.a.life.

7. Game requests. No I don't want to send you a packet of seeds for your online farm. No. Just no.

As I say although these things do my head in; I still do use Facebook. I wrote my dissertation on Facebook - 10,000 words on it. In a way it's fascinating, but on the other hand it just annoys me. This means I have certain people on the 'show me less updates' option because I want to avoid the politics of friend culling. Oh it's all just too much isn't it :)

Anything that annoys you on Facebook?

How many times can I say Facebook in one blogpost? Facebook.
This is like my dissertation all over again.

Rant over.