Balancing: The Impossible Task

I know I said my next posts were going to be stories from Austria, but at the moment the entire holiday has blurred into one, so I need to go through my notes, memories and photographs in order to put together something that isn’t completely inane. In the meantime, here are some thoughts on balancing in life.

We’re always told to have a balance in our lives. Eat a balanced diet, the ‘work/life’ balance, balance the books: all this is much easier said than done. It takes time and effort (and a hell of a lot of planning) to create order and structure into life, and I’m beginning to think it’s impossible to get it all right at the same time.

Today, for example, I’ve just got back from holiday and discovered that my bestie has broken up with her boyfriend. I’ve also just found out that my granddad is going to have major heart surgery over the weekend. I want to be there for my friend, and all the rest of my friends are going round to be with her this afternoon, but obviously heart surgery is risky and my granddad isn’t getting any younger. I know it’s an obvious choice – all my other friends are going to be with my bestie, so I need to go and spend time with my granddad, but that doesn’t make me feel any less awful that I can’t be there to support my friend.

It’s the same with work. As a student I already have to balance my course work with my social life. Throw a job into the mix too then everything becomes a whole lot more complicated. I need to work to earn money to pay the bills. I also need to work to socialise and spend time with my friends. I need time to socialise, but I don’t have time because I’m working (university or job). I also want to have a healthy, active lifestyle, but I want to go out and drink and dance too. It’s impossible to maintain both.

What has all this taught me? Balancing involves sacrifice, and a lot of the time working hard at one aspect of your life means feeling guilty about neglecting the other. Ultimately, you can only do what you think is for the best, and hope that the other people in your life will understand.

This might not be the most earth shattering revelation, but it’s an important one. Balance is good, but it’s not the easy option, and if you want to keep all the balls in the air you just might have to do some juggling. 

Holiday Make-up

Again, sorry for another boring post, but this is the make-up I took on holiday. It's basically just the same stuff I use everyday, but parred down a bit. A big palette with a lot of variety is pretty much my only suggestion on the make-up front.

Packing for Austria 2014

By the time you read this post I'll be in sunny Austria - and hopefully once I'm back there will be some lovely stories to tell.

I really enjoy watching videos showing what people pack for their holidays, so I've made my own version! It's only 19 seconds, and I'm sorry for the fluctuating lighting - apparently halfway through the camera decided it didn't need to use flash, when clearly it did!

My basic rules for packing is heavy stuff on the bottom, light stuff on the top. This suitcase has a wheely handle, which means there are gulleys down the middle. In order to maximise space, I've filled these with my pants and socks. The large Miss Selfridge bag contains my walking boots. I also packed some sandals, but I put those in later as I was still deciding what to wear for travelling when I packed the majority of my bag.

Sorry this isn't a super enthralling post, but I hope you'll stick around to hear my stories from Austria! I've also got a book review of We Were Liars lined up, so if you've read that let me know your thoughts!

Beauty: Top Ten Summer Essentials

1) Suncream, Sunscreen, Sunblock. Whatever you call it, you have to wear it. At least SPF 15, but preferably SPF 30. Most moisturisers and foundation will come with in-built SPF, but no higher than factor 15. As someone who’s Dad has suffered the effects of the sun in a very serious way (he was diagnosed with skin cancer 20 months ago and had to undergo surgery), I know first-hand how serious overexposure to the sun can be. Despite my love for lounging in the sun and getting a nice summer glow, if I know I’m going to be spending more than half an hour outside I’ll slather up (usually using it in place of my regular moisturiser). Plus, Emma Watson agrees with me, so I must be talking some sense.

2) Exfoliation. I know it’ll feel like you’re rubbing your tan off, but removing all the dead skin cells is actually the best way to maintain a summer glow. Also, you sweat a lot more in summer, which (whilst helpful for getting tanned quicker) also clogs up your pores. I'm currently looking for a cruelty free, micro bead free exfoliator, so any suggestions, tweet me or leave a comment!

3) Water. Sun dehydrates not only you but also your skin. And the general rule is, whats bad for your insides is bad for your outsides too, so too much sun + not enough water = heatstroke and dull skin. Drink up, your body will thank you for it.

4) MoonCup. As I said in my post about periods, I use a MoonCup when it gets to that time of the month. In summer it feels horrible to have a wedge of cotton on your crotch, not to mention the fact you can’t wear one with a bikini or when you go swimming. Although tampons are okay, being cotton you can’t really wear it in the sea (for absorbency reasons). The silicone MoonCup is (to my mind) the best alternative.

5) Waterproof mascara. If you are one of those people who likes to wear make-up at the beach (and I am), then waterproof mascara and/or eyeliner is a must. I’m currently on the lookout for a good, cheap, cruelty free brand, so if you have any suggestions, let me know (either tweet me @VickiMaitland or leave a comment).

6) Loose, comfortable, long clothing. As much as I’ve banged on about spending time in the sun, sometimes it’s nice to cover up for a day or two. Primark currently have a great range of loose culottes and trousers, which are both flattering and refreshing. Tops which cover up your shoulders are great as well, as it’s your shoulders which catch the sun the most. Maxi dresses are great to transition from day to evening. Comfortable sandals are also a must. Personally, I always avoid sandals which go between your toes, as they always rub, especially in the sand.

7) Sunglasses. When you pick ones, make sure you find ones which have a high UVA/B rating. If your skin can get burnt, so can your eyes!

8) Hat. I always get headaches if I’m out in the sun too long, so a nice little sunhat solves the problem. It also avoids the terrible parting burn. I’ve got a cute boating hat from Accessorise which I’ve had for the last couple of years.

9) Swimsuit. Whether it’s a bikini, tank-ini or all-in-one, so long as you feel comfortable in it, wear it. If you’re holidaying abroad, it’s often best to check that they allow your choice, as some countries don’t like bikinis, and others insist on the infamous budgie smugglers for men.

10) Moisturiser/ After Sun. After a long day outside, and a good exfoliation, you’ll want to soothe your skin with moisturiser or (if you didn’t apply enough suncream) after sun. Look for something with aloe vera in it to be extra soothing. I use Superdrug Vitamin E moisturiser.

#reviewsdaytuesday: The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

I read these books at the start of the month when I didn’t have any internet, and they pretty much saved me from madness. Set in a new world, we join Todd, the last boy in Prentisstown, when he is one month away from becoming a man. Prentisstown is a place where all the men can hear each other’s thoughts (which they call noise) and there are no women. As I’m reviewing the series as a whole, I can’t promise there won’t be spoilers for each book, but I won’t spoil the ending of the series as a whole.

I know its the wrong book, but I've lent The Knife Of Never Letting Go out to the fella!

I loved the two main characters in this book. Todd is headstrong, confused and trying to do the right thing: the perfect teenager. Viola (the girl Todd meets in the opening chapters of The Knife of Never Letting Go) is powerful, protective and wise. Both of them felt very full as characters, and very believable, and I enjoyed hearing from both their perspectives in the latter books. There were so many memorable moments in the series (Todd? Todd? – my heart broke), and all the big revelation moments were perfectly delivered.

This being said, there were some moments (particularly as the second and third books progressed) that I felt weren’t necessary. The amount of times Aaron comes back in the first book is a perfect example of this. Aaron feels very two dimensional as a villain. He lacks and explanation for his acts, and I feel like Ness perhaps overused his role in the opening book as the driving force of evil – he was coming back from the dead in impossible ways. This overusing of an evil is the biggest flaw in all of Ness’s work that I’ve read (particularly in his standalone More Than This). I believe the terror can be driven from within the main characters as well as from the outside, and in the first book I don’t know whether this was explored as much as it could have been.

As a series, Chaos Walking is an investigation into the concept of privacy and power (and the connections between them). Prentisstown is a settling in chaos, where men’s thoughts spread out from them uncontrollably, where they couldn’t handle the silence of women and so went to war. This is thrown into sharp relief when Todd and Viola end up in Farbranch, where women rule and men follow. Again this is contrasted with New Prentisstown, where power lies in the control of noise (and, latterly, the conflict between this and the ultimate absorption into noise). For the most part I found this compelling and engaging, however I wish the area of conflict arose earlier in The Ask and The Answer, rather than mainly in Of Monsters and Men. As a book, The Ask and The Answer is a bit of a filler in the series – a transition between the chase of the middle and the war of the end – although, when I was reading it, it never felt that way.

I also really enjoyed the dialogue around manliness and men in the books. In Prentisstown, you have to murder in order to become a man. In contrast, Ben says that war makes monsters of men. The conflict between men and women is an integral part of the series, vying for power in almost every circumstance, and in many ways this conflict represents the conflict between silence and noise; the private and the public; truth and lies.

I loved this series, and I almost read a book a day. They are easy reads with a lot of depth of thought in them. They have a strict moral code which is figured out by Todd as the books develop, which is perfect for a YA read. There are so many wonderful, well thought out, characters in this series which I haven't even mentioned here: Manchee, Wilf, Hildy, Davy, Lee, 1017. All of these characters add so much more to the books and I don't know what the series would be without them.

I cannot more highly recommend this series.

Respect for Manual Labourers

Over the past couple of days I’ve been helping the fella out weeding a sugar beet field. After day one (four hours of work), I was feeling tentatively optimistic about the whole situation. My lower back was aching a bit, and I felt very aware of closing my hand in a way I’m not normally. But I went to bed feeling mostly okay. Waking up the next morning, however, was painful.

It wasn’t helped by the fact the alarm went off at 5am. We were up and in the field by 5:45. Although it was a lot cooler than the day before, it was also a lot damper, so by 8am my glove was soaked through, my hands were wrinkled and pruney, and my shorts were sticking to my legs. The sun got out hotter, and I dried off. I was tired by the end of it, but I felt like I could have done another hour of work if I’d needed to.

By the time we’d got back to his and had a shower, it was a different story all together.

My back was seizing up, my hands, wrists and elbows ached, but nothing was as bad as my legs. My hamstrings hurt with every step. I went home (rather than going to the beach with him and some mates) and slept on the sofa for three hours (a feat for me as I find it really hard to nap).

The next day (after a somewhat disturbed sleep due to the crazy thunderstorms) I went to the city with my family. Big mistake. Walking hurt. A lot. So much so that I felt physically sick as I sat in the car on the way home. Once home I napped again, this time only for an hour and a half. I couldn’t believe I was still so physically exhausted. I went round a mates in the late afternoon, and was amazed about how awake the fella was.

It’s now two days after my last day of weeding, and although my legs still hurt they are a lot better than yesterday. I’m expected to do another (albeit shorter) shift in the fields tomorrow, and I’m not looking forward to it.

What has all this taught me? I always knew manual labour was hard, but, rather naively, I forgot about the after effects of it. It turns out that the work itself isn’t so bad – the morning after is a different story! Part of me thinks that if I’d carried on and worked the next day I wouldn’t have been so bad, but truth be told I am grateful for the rest, and have buckets of respect for manual labourers who work five or six days a week.

On Having the Painters In

Having the painters in, shark week, Aunty Flo is paying a visit, all of these are euphemisms for ‘that time of the month’ – periods. For those of you who don't have periods, don’t stop reading, this is must know information. Obviously, the discussion below will contain references to blood, so if that is something you are really uncomfortable with, why not pop over here. 

For those who don’t know (and worryingly whilst education in the UK is pretty good about the menstrual cycle worldwide it’s not so sharp), for just under one week every single month the majority of women in the world aged between about 11 and 50 will have their period (where the lining of the uterus (which has been building in preparation for a baby) is shed through the vagina). I say the majority, as there are some women who will never experience a period, or who experience periods for a little bit and then never again, and there are also some men who experience periods.

Sometimes a period will come and go no problem, other times it will feel like your uterus is trying to forcibly remove itself from your abdomen. Menstrual cramps are essentially like birthing cramps, and can sometimes be painful enough to cause vomiting (one girl even mistook appendicitis for menstrual cramps). Obviously, this can make it very difficult for some women to live a normal life, particularly as most societies try their best to avoid the topic of periods (which is why I want to write a bit about them today). I'm quite lucky in that I very rarely experience cramps, but I almost always feel bloated during my period, and the weeks before and after I usually have either a vastly increased or vastly decreased eating-drive (ie, not hunger, but I either feel the need to eat a lot more or a lot less than I would normally).

Some contraception’s can help regulate periods – for example, contraceptive pills can make periods lighter and maintain the monthly cycle, and for some people the implant can stop periods almost all together. For me, my periods were almost always irregular (meaning a worrying couple of weeks around the time my period was due whilst I waited for the tell-tale blood spotting) and lengthy, so a more regular and lighter cycle was an appealing option, and it’s what I now have.

There are also various different methods of keeping clean during that time of the month. The most popular by far are sanitary towels (a nappy-like material that sticks to the crotch of your pants – they come in various absorbency levels and should be changed at least every eight hours) or tampons (a cotton stick which sits at the back of the vagina with a small string attached to it to help it get pulled out – and no, as one boy asked me back in high school, it doesn’t feel like you’re walking around with a penis in you).

Most women use one or both of these options. The advantages of towels are that you can clearly see when you need to change it (ie, if you’ve got a heavy flow and need to change it every three to six hours rather than every eight), however depending on absorbency it can be quite thick and bulky. Plus, if it has wings (which wrap around the underside of the crotch of your pants to help stop leaking) then when you take off your trousers it is obvious you are wearing one. The advantage of tampons are that they are almost completely unnoticeable (both to other people and the wearer), although once again if you need to change them more regularly you have to guess when you need to change it. Both tampons and towels are disposable, so they have a lot of plastic waste, and tampons in particular have a greater risk of toxic shock (a result of the sterilisation process and the fact they sit against the cervix, holding any bacteria there as well).

However, there are other options. My personal choice is the Mooncup (although there are other similar options available). It’s a small, silicone cup which sits low down in the vagina (reducing the chance of toxic shock). Again it’s an eight hour change cycle, but because it forms a suction with the vagina you don’t need to worry about it leaking. When you do need to change it, you simply tip the contents down the toilet, rinse it out with a light soap, and re-insert. If you’re in public toilets where it’s not entirely appropriate to walk around with a bloody cup in your hands, you can just wipe it out with toilet paper then rinse it at the next opportunity. Once you notice your cup is empty at the end of the week, you sterilise it by boiling it in water for ten minutes, then it’s ready to use next month! A more comprehensive video about this can be found here.

Obviously, this isn’t an option for everybody – you need to have a certain degree of comfort with your body and blood, but everyone I know who uses it love it. It reduces waste and, although it’s a bigger one off payment, overall it’s a lot cheaper than buying tampons or towels as it lasts up to two years. As well as this, in the UK female sanitary products are classed as ‘luxury items’ meaning they are susceptible to tax, and if you want to join the petition to stop taxing periods, you can sign here.

So, there you have it. I’m fed up of living in a society where the subject of periods is avoided and seen as disgusting, when for most women it is one of the most regular experiences they will have for the majority of their life. I’ve given you my recommendations, and if you do want to try out a Moon Cup, you can buy one here (although I do suggest you check out the other alternatives to find out which is best for you). Let me know your experiences, both with periods and talking about them. You can comment below or tweet me @VickiMaitland.

Keeping My Make-up Tidy

At uni, I’m pretty organised with my make-up, but at home things tend to get a little messier. I think its probably because at home I’ve got lots of surfaces to spread out over, so things quickly become a bit of a mess.

At uni, all my daily make-up goes in this box, which sits on the floor in front of my mirror. I’ve decided that since this works well for uni, why not try it out here too!

I start off by wiping out the box, as it’s collected some dust/hair/general make-up mess during its time at uni. The first thing I put in it is my foundations. It looks like I’ve got a lot, but I only ever really use the M&S Limited Collection one. The others are older and aren’t such a good match for my skin tone (especially the Maybelline one, which I got for prom 4 years(!) ago but is quite good as a contouring foundation). My loose powder sits on the bottom, as I very rarely use it in the summer.

Next I add in my eye-shadows. I’ve got quite a few palettes which I use regularly, and almost all of them were gifts. The only one I’ve bought for myself is the large ELF one which sits on the top. I’m planning on doing a review of all the ELF products I’ve bought, as I use them almost every day. My favourite collection of shadows sits underneath it – it’s an Estee Lauder set which came with a make-up box my mum got given a few years back. I’m desperate to find good duplicates for these shadows (in particular the ginger shade) as its not a cruelty free brand.

I use the lid of the box as an area for all my hair bits and bobs. I clamp all my hair ties together with a big hair grip to stop me from losing them. I also use a ramekin to collect all my Kirby grips/ bobby pins together. You can either buy ramekins, or I just recycled mine from a ready-made dessert that I bought. I’ve also got a small pot of black rubber hair ties, which are great for braided hairstyles.

As I cleaned up the side, I added the random loose tubs of make-up, including my ELF cream eyeliner. I’ve popped a travel make-up bag of lippies on the top of it all.

I’ve stored all my make-up brushes (as well as my mascara, liquid eyeliner and concealer) in a mug which my sister got me for my Birthday. My moisturisers, deodorant and hair mousse are sat on a little cut-glass tray which I got as a gift at least ten years ago! I’ve popped my jewellery boxes one on top of the other, and I’ve got my little travel make-up bag propped up against the wall, with a spare pair of tweezers and my travel make-up brushes.                                                   

Fingers crossed, everything will be kept nice and tidy from now on!

In Defence of The Kardashians (or why trash TV isn’t always trash)

I’ll admit it, I love Keeping Up With The Kardashians. There. I said it. I am not an unintelligent person: I go to University; I get pretty decent grades. I also tune in every week (or every two weeks as it is now, E!) to find out exactly what’s going on in their strange world. Despite the fact it’s always a few months old because I live in the UK and all the stories are over the media anyway.

A lot of people I know hate the show. My mum cannot stand their whiney voices (admittedly, they are pretty whiney). The fella thinks it's flat out rubbish. Most of my best friends don’t understand how I can even watch it, let alone say out loud that I ENJOY WATCHING KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS.

But, I do.

I don’t think it’s a show which has great artistic merit or layers of subtlety or is in any way, shape or form intelligent, thought provoking programming. So why do I watch it?

A lot of it has to do with switching off. I do a degree which requires a lot of self-motivation, concentration and focus. When watching The Kardashians or Made in Chelsea or The Hills I can forget all that, let my brain switch off for an hour and join someone else’s life. In many ways, its like going onto YouTube and watching your favourite vlogger talk about their day.

‘But reality TV is all constructed and edited!’ I hear you cry, ‘They’re not real people in real situations!’

YouTube is just as constructed and edited as any reality TV show. The only difference is that the content creators are also the main stars in YouTube, whereas the editing team is very different from the actual people in reality TV. At worst this means you’re going to get a biased view on a situation which doesn’t reflect the views of the people in it. At best, a better edited, more dynamic programme. That isn’t to discredit the editors on YouTube, many of them are very talented, but you are only getting their input into the process, rather than a whole team of people.

I also think in a reality TV show you are more aware of the ‘fake’ in the show. On YouTube, they are ‘normal’ people, so it’s easy to take for granted that everything they say/do is fact. I know on shows like The Hills and Made In Chelsea, scenes are staged, but more often than not the are only staged to replay a scene which happened off cameras. These are still people’s lives. The Kardashians appears to be the least staged of them all, and Kris Jenner is a producer on the show – the family has control over what gets filmed, what doesn’t and what gets put on the show. Their family, their name, is a business. They know this, and they use it. They are business people. The product their selling just happens to be their lives.

And people like me want to buy it.

In its essence, reality TV (particularly when it’s showcasing the wealthy end of society) is escapism. It allows people to pretend that they are part of a different life, and as much as that life can be aspirational it can also be laughable. I love laughing at the people on Made In Chelsea, because their lives are so wildly different from my own that they seem ridiculous. The Kardashians think nothing of renting out whole theme parks for birthdays! They get private jets at the drop of a hat! And they get excited about being ‘crazy rich’ from a painting! It’s madness and its entertainment.

So, say what you like about trash TV, but I love it – and don’t you dare say a word against the Kardashian family!

June Wrap-Up and July TBR

 The month of June sped past this year – helped along I’m sure by the week long read-your-bookshelf-a-thon. I read some great books this June, many of which I’ve got in a pile to-be-reviewed, but I’ll give a brief gloss over of my thoughts here.

Johnathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach – a poetic fable about accepting your dreams and ignoring others who try to stop you from living them. A short a sweet read, it took me around half an hour to read.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith – Not as good as NW, which will forever be my favourite Smith book, but a good read none the less. The voice of her characters are always so engaging, and I love the identity conflicts in this book.

Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – I read this book in practically one sitting. Fantastical, a little bit magical, wonderful. I highly recommend it.

On Beauty by Zadie Smith – I’ll be reviewing this in tandem with White Teeth as I feel they largely express the same kinds of issues, and for me were pretty much on a par as a reading experience (although I think I prefer White Teeth, the jury is still out).

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – What a book. If you haven’t, read it. Just, read it. Okay?

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce – It took me a while to get into this book, but it does become quite a sweet read (which is what I wanted from it). Think it could have done with a bit of an edit either end and a bolster in the middle, but that might just be me.

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann – I could see what this book was trying to do, but I’m not convinced it ever really got there. It was a decent read, but didn’t fill me with vigour.

The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp by Eva Rice – I enjoyed reading this book, set predominantly in the early sixties it’s a sweet coming of age story. Tara was a very well written character, but I feel there were a couple of things which ended up largely unanswered towards the end of the book. But it was a sweet way to finish the months reading.

So that is it for June! 7 books read, I’m more than pleased with that!

It’s already a week and a half into July, so Ill jot down the books I’ve already read as well as the ones I’d like to read.

Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness – I read these books almost one a day. Fantastically gripping trilogy.

More Than This by Patrick Ness ­– Another wonderful book, although I felt in places it was too much of a parody of itself that it started to get slightly ridiculous.

I’ve started reading Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman. I’ve read this book before and it didn’t do anything for me, but the fella loves the series so I figure I better give it another shot. It’s slightly the wrong time of year for this kind of book, but we’ll see where it takes me.

I’d like to read 1984 by George Orwell if I can this month. I got it for Dad for his birthday and he enjoyed it. Besides, it’s a classic, so I should probably give it a read.

Trouble by Non Pratt is also on my TBR pile this month. Hopefully I’ll get round to it, as by August I want to be reading books from my Uni required reading list.

I’ll leave it there for now. Have you read any of the books I’m planning on reading this month? What did you think of them? Tweet me @VickiMaitland or let me know in the comments what you thought!

Why I Love le Tour de France

It’s a funny one this. I don’t have any particular interest in cycling for almost 11 months of the year. I don’t follow the Giro d’Italia, or the Tour of Britain. I don’t mind going for a short cycle ride in the sun, but anything more than 10 miles is pushing it a bit for me, and you can say goodbye if there’s a breath of wind in the air. Yet every summer Tour fever hits, and it hits me hard.

I’ve been an avid fan for the last 5 years or so, so much so that I’m finally contemplating getting the ringtone. Like any sports fan, I’ve got my favourites. Andy Schleck has been my baby ever since he came second to the cheating rat that is Alberto Contador in 2010. I’ve got buckets of time for both Jens Voigt and Tommy Voeckler. Obviously, I’ve got to support the ever charming Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, and Mark Cavendish is so brilliant it’s hard not to be filled with passion for the sport every time Mark Renshaw launches the Manx Missile for the sprint for the line.

However, this year, four days into the three week long slog at the time of writing, I’ve already lost two of my favourites: Cavendish crashed out on stage one with a dislocated shoulder and subsequent ligament detachment, and Schleck didn’t start stage four after ligament damage on his knee following a crash on stage three. This is exactly what makes the sport so thrilling – these are men travelling for upwards of 150km a day, for three weeks straight, frequently travelling at speeds exceeding 30mph (reaching 60mph down the mountains), with only a thin skin of lycra to protect them. If you think about it, when motorcyclists travel at that speed they wear Kevlar and leather. When these boys crash, they feel every bit. In 2011, Johnny Hoogerland was forced off the road into a barbed wire fence, got back on the bike and carried on riding till the end of the stage. He started the next stage with 30 stitches.

These men are hard. They suffer agony every day, forcing their bodies up mountains with 25% gradients after 100’s of kilometres riding. They frequently finish stages with broken collar bones and, a couple of years back, Vinokourov walked on a broken femur after crashing down a hill.

Not only that, but for all the stories of doping, the majority of riders are respectful. In today’s stage (four) one of the lead men encountered a mechanical problem. Rather than racing ahead, Voeckler slowed up and allowed his competitor to catch up before continuing to race. Those team members who are not up for a jersey (yellow (highest placed rider), green (best sprinters), polka-dot (king of the mountains) or white (highest placed young rider)) sacrifice everything for those members of their team who are. It’s been said that Chris Froome could have won the yellow jersey in 2012 had he not been protecting and helping team leader Bradley Wiggins. And when a rider doesn’t respect the conventions of courtesy, they are looked down upon (for further reference, listen to Phill Liggett and Paul Sherwen’s commentary when Contador took the jump on Schleck when the later encountered a mechanical problem which ultimately cost him the tour (although the victory was awarded to him in 2012 when it came out that Contador had been doping).

If all of this hasn’t made you at least curious about the sport, I don’t know what else I can say. If it has wet your appetite, I recommend you tune in to ITV4 at 7pm for the daily highlights show. I can almost guarantee you’ll see a show you won’t forget in a hurry!

The One With The Lightning Storm...

Almost two weeks ago, my little corner of England was hit with a spate of small storms. In one such storm, there was a flash of light, followed by a power cut and the distinct smell of burning plastic coming from the BT modem. Thus, my family were plunged back into the early 90's - the world wide web a thing of the past, forced to rely on more traditional means of entertainment (my choice - the works of Patrick Ness (as per, reviews to follow)).

After multiple phone calls to BT (many of which were spent asking them to just send us out the box as we are perfectly capable of plugging something in), we finally have our internet back! Huzzah!

All of this is serving as an apology for the (almost) complete radio silence this blog has experienced over the past fortnight. I normally have at least a weeks worth of posts queued in advance, but, alas, the day the storm hit was also the day when I was going to copy and paste my posts from word document to blogger.

Normal service will resume, and you can expect my next official post up on Thursday morning!

#reviewsdaytuesday: The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

(This post is a re-upload from my books only blog.)

I’ve heard this book recommended by several book-tubers and my goodness was it worth it! And, at only 215 pages long, it was the perfect way to ease me back into reading contemporary fiction after a semester of writing and eighteenth century novels!

The first thing to say about this book is it’s layout. I’ve never seen a book quite like this. Complied of a series of dictionary entries we see fragments of a relationship between two unnamed people displayed for us to collect together. This book is quite unlike anything I’ve read, some entries a word or sentence, others a page or two long, and completely out of any form of chronology, this is the kind of book that makes you work to find out the story, but it is so satisfying once you get into it. As it’s so short, I would recommend reading this in one sitting if you can, it shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours and it would allow you to retain as much of the story as possible so it’s easier to piece together. We never learn the whole story, which in some books can make for an uncomfortable reading experience, but in this story I really got the sense that Levithan knew exactly what happened and was simply choosing to show his audience the key moments.

If this isn’t enough to convince you to read this book, the maybe the language will. In places this book is like reading poetry, the language glistens and glides along the page as if every word was exactly constructed. The entry titles in this are a huge part of the narrative, and occasionally are more revealing than the entry itself. Simple but stunning.

I highly recommend this book for a young adult to adult audience (I picked it up in the adult section of Waterstones but it could belong in either). This book is also a very ‘writerly book’, so if you are interested in writing creative fiction, then it really gives a new and innovative way of telling a narrative and using language.

I gave this book 5/5 on Goodreads, and fully intend to read it again as soon as I have the chance. If you’re planning to read this book or have read it already let me know your thoughts on it!

Author: Levithan, David

Title: The Lover’s Dictionary

No. Pages: 215

Genre: YA/Adult

Publisher: Fourth Estate

Publication Date: 2012

My Rating: 5/5

University #4: Meal Ideas

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is think of something interesting and, most importantly, quick to eat. I'm literally just going to list everything I'm eating this week (or till my shop runs out), just to give you an idea of stuff to make. Most of this will be able to be cooked on the hob, as I know many students don't get a proper oven. I would let you know the cost of my shop, but my mum very kindly paid for this one, so I don’t know how much it came to. On average, I’ve spent about £10-15 a week on food over the year. This is just food though, and doesn’t include any (alcoholic) drink, toiletries etc.

Things to remember:

Always wipe down the surfaces before you start to cook! You’re in a shared kitchen, and will have no idea if the last person using it had raw meat or something you are allergic to.

Always clean up after yourself! Not only is this courteous for all your house/flatmates but it saves you a load of washing up later. Plus, it stops you from having to wash everything left out up in order to find your stuff. Keep on top of it right from the start and you’ll be onto a winner.

Shop Day:

Breakfast: Whatever you’ve got left over in your cupboards from your last shop.

Lunch: Tinned Mackerel on Toast with Lettuce, Apple. I like to use the Princes Mackerel if they are on offer because they give the best flavour variety, but if not anything in a nice tomato sauce will do. I shred some lettuce on the top for a fresher crunch. For dessert I had an apple.

Dinner: Chicken and Bacon Pasta in a Creamy Cheese Sauce with Peas and Broccoli. I make the sauce myself as it’s cheaper than buying a jar of it for one person. I also use frozen chicken – just make sure you defrost well it before you use it! – as it’s loads cheaper and lasts longer.

Day 2:

Breakfast: Fruit Juice and a Banana. I don’t normally have both fruit juice and a banana for breakfast as they’re both super sugary, but today I needed a quick boost to get me out the door.

Lunch: Poached Egg, Spinach and Sliced Tomato on Toast, Apple. This also tastes lovely with tomato ketchup if you can’t afford to buy fresh tomatoes every week (I can’t), or if you prefer fried egg and fried tomatoes it tastes lovey like that too!

Snacks: Malted Milk Biscuits. Love me some malted milks to dip into my herbal tea!

Dinner: Fajitas and Salad. I put chicken, peppers, onions and courgettes into my tortilla wrap, and had a side of shredded lettuce, red cabbage and grated carrots.

Day 3:

Breakfast: Fried Egg, Tomato and Bacon on Toast. I went out last night so this was a pretty heavy breakfast for me.

Lunch: Almond Milk Porridge with Dates and Sultanas. This might sound like a bit of an odd lunch meal, but a bowl of porridge is great to set you up for the day, and I had a busy afternoon at work that I needed energy for. I use almond milk to cut down on my dairy intake, and because I prefer it to cow’s milk or soya. I throw in a handful of sultanas (cheaper than raisins) and quarter three or four dates. All of that goes in the microwave for 4 minutes, stirring halfway through. If I’m feeling indulgent, I’ll add a tea spoon of peanut butter and stir that in too!

Dinner: Vegetable Ragu and Pasta, Cookies. For my ragu, I added onion, garlic, red and yellow peppers, broccoli, aubergine, a grated carrot and courgette. I let that all cook before adding chopped tomatoes, and when it’s got five minutes to go I add on a handful of spinach to be wilting. I top it off with a sprinkle (or more) of extra mature cheese. I made cookies for the house – I do this on a semi regular basis and they never last more than 48 hours – using Hugh’s Ten Minute Cookie recipe (this does require an oven, however).

Day 4:

Breakfast: Banana and Fruit Juice.

Lunch: Lettuce, Red Cabbage, Cucumber, Tomato Salad with Lemon Juice Dressing. Squeezing a segment of lemon over a salad is one of my favourite ways to freshen up a meal.

Dinner: Ragu from last night. I portioned off my ragu as I made far too much last night and popped it in the microwave for a few moments.

Day 5:

Breakfast: Banana ‘Ice Cream’, Fruit Juice. I went out last night so wanted to restock my body full of vitamins. To make the ice cream I froze chopped banana and then blended it till it had a creamy consistency – perfect!

Lunch: Chicken Couscous, Aubergine Pizza. To make the couscous I melted a stock cube into it as it cooked – although it came out super salty so I would either suggest making a four person batch or breaking off half a stick cube and saving some for later). For the pizza, I sliced the aubergine into three, centimetre wide circles, baked them, then topped them with tomato puree and cheese, and waited till the cheese melted. Delicious.

Snack: Hummus with Carrots. The perfect savoury snack!

Dinner: Chickpea and Vegetable Balti with Pitta. I used the same mix of veg as it did in my ragu, but this time I also added a handful of sultana’s and some chopped apple and dates. I bought the Balti sauce to pour over it.

Day 6: (I spent the weekend at home, so this is the breakfast I had before I left on Friday, and the lunch etc I ate on the Monday I was back)

Breakfast: Bacon, Eggs and Tomato on Toast. It was mine and my housemates final meal, so we treated ourselves to a big full fry up.

Lunch: Chickpea and Vegetable Balti. I didn’t bother with the pitta this time as I had a decent sized portion left over and it is really filling on its own.

Dinner: Chicken and Vegetable Balti with Rice, Mini Milk. The Balti sauce came in a four person jar and since I opened it a few days ago it needed eating up. I used broccoli, carrots, peas, sultanas, apple and dates with the (frozen) chicken in this one to make it a bit different from before, and served it with rice (I added turmeric to the rice to make it more exciting). I had two mini milks at the end of this meal because I burnt my tongue tasting the food and they were super soothing.

Day 7:

Breakfast: Jam on Toast, Fruit Juice. Standard breakfast, I’d forgotten my housemate had bought some jam so I borrowed a bit of it for my toast.

Lunch: Chicken and Vegetable Balti with Rice, Mint Rocky Bar. I was unsure about re-heating frozen chicken after it’s been cooked and chilled, so I picked out all the chicken bits then stuck it in the microwave for a good zap. Rice has to be cooked through before eating if it’s been cooled. This was only a small serving, so I had a small chocolate bar to finish off the meal.

Snacks: Hummus and Carrots.

Dinner: Vegetable Fajitas, Mini Milk. I put onion, a whole (small) orange pepper, sliced courgette, sliced aubergine and broccoli in my tortillas, as well as a sprinkling of cheese. I finished off with a mini milk because it has been a beautifully sunny day and for sure ice cream weather.

At this point I’ve pretty much finished off my vegetables for the week. I did this semi -deliberately, as I’m going away till the weekend (it’s Tuesday now) and didn’t want to waste anything. All I have left are carrots, a chunk of cucumber and some red cabbage. If I wasn’t going away, I would have probably been able to eek out my veg for another two or three days.

*

I’m back from my week away. I spent one night at Uni, and have been living back at home ever since. I’ve still got some frozen and cupboard bits and bobs, but my fridge itself is mostly empty. I hope this gives you a reasonable idea of at least 7 days worth of meals. They are all quick, all super easy and all reasonably healthy.