My something crazy

So I'm finally home for Easter! I almost didn't (stupid snow). I decided that this Easter I needed to get my arse in gear, I'm back at work so I'm not staying in bed all day every day, just the occasional day, but I wanted something to motivate me to get out and about.

I'm not really an overly active person, I dislike 'the outside'. My dog and shopping are the main reasons for my venturing 'outside' for leisure related purposes. By 'outside' I mean venturing anywhere by choice where there is a chance of be getting wet or cold. I've decided that since I'm a geographer I really should be more of the outdoors type so this was my first step to becoming more active and I have big plans for a whole new active/outdoors me this summer, however I am still waiting for summer to come along so those plans are on hold..

So I did something crazy. Something totally out of character. I joined the gym. 

For the next few weeks I shall be hitting the gym 2/3 times a week, currently I'm full of enthusiasm however I'm not expecting it to last so my plan to keep myself motivated is...

• Go with friends
• Carry my gym stuff in my bag all the time
• Tell everyone that I will be going to the gym so I feel obliged to go

Any other tips to keep me motivated would be much appreciated!

Keep it scrimpy.
Laura.

Why I fell in love with Bangor- The open days

One of the first sets of posts I did was about how to choose a university that is right for you but it recently struck me that I never said why I chose Bangor. So this is my story... Part 1

Warning this is quite a wordy/rambling post

Bangor was always on my list of unis to apply to. I love Wales, I spent most of my summers in the area as a kid, my grandparents had a caravan in Towyn. Anyway, I knew I wouldn't get the grades to go to Cardiff and Aber was too far away from home and it didn't really appeal to me on the open day so that just left Bangor really. Being from a small town I'm not really into the whole big city thing, I visited Leeds and while the shopping was amazing I missed grass and trees. So eventually I applied to Bangor, Chester, Sheffield Hallam, Plymouth and University of Nottingham. I got offers back from all 5. I picked Bangor as my first choice and Plymouth as my second only because it was my lowest offer. I don't think I would have gone to uni if I hadn't got in here.

For Bangor I attended one UCAS open day and one of the Senergy open days then I visited a few more times on my own.

UCAS open day 

The first open day I came to was a UCAS open day where the whole uni was open to any prospective students, I booked my place very early on and came along with my dad. The weather was amazing, Bangor seems to have a habit of whipping out the good weather just in time for an open day. We packed a little picnic in the car and set off nice and early, wouldn't want to be late now would we?

When we arrived I remember thinking how organised everything was, the whole town was sign posted, we were told where to park. My dad didn't put the handbrake on enough, when we got back to the car it had rolled out of it's space, lucky it didn't hit anyone. Anyway, my Dad's driving skills aside, we were then placed on a bus and were taken up to main arts where we got talked at by someone important about finance or something, I was just amazed by the room we were in (PJ hall) it is true what they say it is like Hogwarts!

After our talk we went off to a Halls tour, again a coach was very kindly provided! Compared to what I had already seen from other unis this was luxury (the halls not the coach). We decided to ditch the group here and walk back to Thoday since the weather was so good (where we found the car half escaped from the parking space).

Next we had a Senergy talk, now this was the bit I was most excited about I finally got to meet my lecturers and maybe even some people who would be on my course (although if I did I don't remember). Things are a bit fuzzy now but I remember Graham attempting to be funny but I think I was a little overwhelmed by the day so it all went over my head slightly, plus he does tell awful jokes anyway, the kind your dad thinks are funny. I also remember being terrified of Sian (how very wrong first impressions can be) and I remember thinking Lynda was brilliant because she was a northerner. At one point Senergy supplied us with lunch which was very welcome! Trust me it's worth coming to an open day just for the BBQ chicken sandwiches. We then split into our course groups which meant as a Geographer I had another hour of talks (bad jokes) from Graham and the team. You get used to his jokes, nowadays we almost find them funny...almost.

We then wandered back up to the main arts building where we got totally lost and ended up in some kind of meeting that we were sure we weren't supposed to be in, then people offered us food so we stayed. Next thing I know some guy is talking to me in Welsh, at least I think it was welsh, I hope it was since I said to the man, in the way all English people do when confronted with a foreign language, 'WE...DON'T...SPEAK...WELSH' he kind of looked at me and nodded then carried on anyway, you can imagine the look on our faces, we just slowly backed out of the room. I seriously hope I never meet this person again, or if I do I hope they don't recognize me.

After that humiliation we decided to call it a day. Since it was such a nice sunny day we called in at Llandudno where we had a picnic on the beach, which was a bad bad move, my dad had his sandwich stolen. I then watched him wrestle a seagull for a pork pie, you don't get between a stokie and a pork pie. Ever. We ended up having a picnic on Llandudno high street which wasn't quite a classy as we had pictured when we set out for a seaside picnic.

After a long but exciting day, it was time for home.

Senergy open day

Well somehow after the last open day I came back for another. Well played Senergy.

I only sat through half of this one (Graham's jokes had got worse). I thought I should come back and see Bangor again before  I made my final choice, although I was already 99.99% sure that Bangor was going to be my first choice plus there was promise of more of those BBQ chicken sandwiches. This time I made the journey to Bangor by rail just to test out the facilities as this would be my main way of getting home. By now I could already find my way to Thoday building so off we trotted from the station. When we turned up the weather wasn't as brilliant but it was nice to see Bangor looking not so glamorous and still loving it. Turns out  most of the talks and stuff were roughly the same as on the UCAS open day. We had a general welcome talk, a quick tour of the facilities and then a chat about finances followed by a free lunch (the best kind). Then we split into subject specific talks a.k.a 3/4 of an hour of Graham comedy gold. Then a GIS practical but I didn't really fancy the GIS practical .So at the half time break I asked Graham for the reading list so I could nerd it up over summer. Then we legged it to the high street for some quality shopping time. A girl has to road test all aspects of student life right?

Somehow between an escaping car, bad jokes (and a few almost funny ones), free food and a fight with a seagull I had fallen in love with Bangor and even as a write this post now, the wind is howling and it's bloody freezing but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Keep it scrimpy.
Laura.

p.s If you are reading this Graham, your jokes/funny stories aren't that bad, we actually quite like them they make lectures that little bit brighter.

International Happiness day.

So yesterday was the first ever international happiness day, launched by the UN in order to encourage governments to consider the emotional well being of their citizens. I would never know about these things if it wasn't for twitter.

I did attempt to start this blog post yesterday but I wasn't a very happy bunny yesterday, plus I had a report to write which was the reason I wasn't a happy bunny. So in an attempt to spread some happiness, here are some of the smaller things in life that make me smile, because why should we only be happy on one day?

My dog, well any dog really. I'm off home on Saturday for Easter and the plan is to have a whole three weeks of quality Laura-Lucky time. I keep a photo of her next to my bed, she makes me smile everyday (Yes I'm a soppy git!).

This little lady is in for some serious snuggles!

Food. My life is a constant battle between wanting more food and not wanting to get fat. Everything about food is amazing cooking, eating, maybe not the washing up but still. A proper Sunday lunch will always put a smile on my face, and a cheese board with warm bread and a baked camembert ooooh....

This was possibly the best meal I have eaten since coming to uni, possibly ever. I make mean roasties and oh my god my gravy is positively orgasmic! 

A good brew. I can't make a decent brew for shit, unless you are a builder, I make a good builders brew. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do next year without Giselle making brews for me 24/7. Can you make tea in bulk then re heat as needed?

Handing in work- The moment I put my report in the hand in box today it felt like a massive weight had been lifted, I can now finally look forwards to going home and enjoying the much needed break. The sound it make when it hits the bottom of the box it's like ' BOOM! HELL YEA GIRL YOU FINALLY DID IT! YOU GO GIRLFRIEND!' Well maybe it isn't exactly like that but it is in my head.

Being a massive geography nerd- Oh how my love my nerdy side! I was a little too enthusiastic about a 2 hour lecture on the Nitrogen cycle the other day but I don't even care I loved it (Judge me all you like I really don't care). Coasts, rivers and ecosystems are the main 'branches' of geography I get a little too excited about. I get a little too hyped up about a few case studies as well, my personal fave is The Holderness coast.

This was taken on holiday a few years ago when I dragged my Mother on a tour of the Holderness coast!

 I know I'm not alone on this one either, Richard is exactly the same with anything Tesco, although he is just obsessed.

Ducks- I think it's how they waddle, they just make me chuckle every time. And rubber ducks! They are fantastic!

Here are Jack and Jill before our trip to Italy. 

So what makes you guys smile?

Keep it scrimpy (and smiley).
Laura.

Bangor- The Good, the bad and the ugly

So if you're thinking of coming to Bangor everyone will be telling you why it's so amazing and while Bangor is amazing there are a few gory details I wouldn't want to gloss over, so here it is the good the bad and the ugly of Bangor.

The good

1. It's the perfect location for a geographer!- I really couldn't ask for much more, I'm a very lucky lady to be here. 
2. The people- I have met some of the nicest most amazing wonderful people since I arrived here in Bangor.
3. The views- Most people know I'm not much of and outdoor person but even I have to admit that some of the views around here are amazing.
4. It's not too close or too far from home- It's brilliant here, I can jump on the train and be home in 2 hours but at the same time it's too far for my mum to be turning up every weekend and cramping my style.
5. Lecturers are really friendly- Remember the mean girls quote 'Oh, I love seeing teachers outside of school. It's like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs' ? It really isn't like that at uni, it's almost like lecturers are people too. They are all really friendly and approachable, despite some first impressions.
6. It's not too big- It's really easy to find your way around very quickly and it's quite hard to get lost in Bangor. It's not a big scary city full of high rise concrete monsters and killer pigeons. 
7. Clubs and societies are free to join- There are very few unis that offer this, it was part of the student union's deal with the uni when they raised fees to £9,000. So it's a great place to try out a sport you have always fancied. 
8. Locals- No matter what anyone tells you in freshers week 99% of the locals are very friendly towards the student population.
9. Easy to get to- There are regular trains from London, Birmingham, Holyhead, Crewe and Chester. Ferries from Holyhead to Dublin ferries take from 2-3 hours and by road the A55 links the whole of the North Wales coast allowing travel from Chester in just over an hour
10. Main arts does look slightly like Hogwarts- A must for any Harry Potter fan

The bad

1. No primark!- I'm a primark addict, what can I say, I love a bargain. We are also missing a Wilko, oh how I miss wilko. At least we have my beloved Poundland.  
2. Bitch Hill- It's called bitch hill for a reason. I hate it, some days I can power up it no problem, others all I have to do is look at it and I need a nap.
3. We don't have a 24 hour library- This is being addressed by the current student union president so hopefully soon we will. Although we do have a 24 hour computer lab we are still missing the 24 hour library.
4. The road layout- It's awful, basically Bangor is a massive one way system. If you are planning on bringing your car to uni and you haven't been driving for that long or you are lacking confidence I would recommend you try and get up here over summer once you have your exam results and book a driving lesson with a local instructor. There are plenty of instructors who will happily do refresher courses or just one off lessons if it is your first time driving in Bangor. 
5. Internet on a wire- What is this the 90s? - Luckily they are currently installing WiFi in halls ready for September. It's been a pain in the ass this year as there is only one internet point in the kitchen so it's rubbish for when you want to do group work or revision. 
6. 'Locals'- There are always a few locals who aren't so lovely. The first night I got here we ran into a group of locals a few years older than us who were damn right rude to us. Considering it was my first night here I was sufficiently scared. That has been my only bad experience of locals everything else has been entirely positive.
7. Pontio - It was supposed to have opened in January, they started building just before christmas, now they are saying it will be finished in 2014. The plan is the building will be a world class arts and innovation centre. It might be world class but they are taking their bloody time about it!

The ugly

1. The chemistry tower- It really is an eyesore although I have heard whispers here and there that it is soon to be demolished, we shall see.
2. Dean Street- It doesn't look as bad as the chemistry tower but it isn't exactly good looking
3. Brambell Building- It's the home of Biology and while it isn't quite as bad as the Chemistry tower it's still ugly.
4. Our kitchen- The kitchens themselves are actually very nice although some of my flatmates seem to think it's okay to never wash up and just generally dump all their shit in there. It is not okay. Don't have a messy kitchen or people like me get angry and upset.
5. The weather- It's grey, cold, miserable and dull. Oh and wet, always wet.

Okay so I couldn't think of anymore bad or ugly things. So in conclusion Bangor isn't really all that bad, in fact I'm quite fond of it now.

So to any Bangor students out there, what do you think? Would add anything to these lists?

Keep it Scrimpy.

Laura.

Valentines Day gift swap. 1 Month on...

Remember this time last month? Some of you were all loved up having romantic evenings with your loved ones and I was watching Marley and Me crying into my Ben and Jerry's.

Well it wasn't all tears this valentines day, I threw myself fully into a gift swap organised by the lovely Sadie from Ladie Sadie  (check out her blog, it's a great read). Mysteriously I was paired with Lora from Lora Loves ....

Lora's blog Lora Loves is a beauty/fashion/food/lifestyle blog, basically this girl does everything! We are both relatively new to the blogging world so we both thought this would be a great opportunity to get to know some bloggers, plus this ticks off one of my new years resolutions, to be more involved in the blogging world.

So here is what I sent.
Check out Lora's post for much better photos

I borrowed this photo from Lora

The tin was filled with lots of heart shaped sweets that I had made. again a photo borrowed from Lora

One of the things I learnt about Lora was that she LOVES making lists so when I saw this I had to buy it.

This is probably the best thing I sent. I have one of my own that my mum put together before I came to uni and I just love them. I added a few recipes of my own and my flatmates donated a few as well.

I also sent Lora a copy of my favourite book 'The art of racing in the rain' . I cried and laughed then cried again when reading this book. I hope she loves it as much as I did.

What I received 

Lora was a little late posting hers to me so it arrived a little after valentines day (I thought I would wait a month simply because it's a nice round number). Oh and I'm sorry for the terrible photos I was a little too impatient.

After much anticipation this I finally picked this up from the mail room and inside...

The basic element of most student drinking games

For when I attempt to bake

This note pad has come in so useful, now I can write lists and look stylish!

p.s How cool are my pjama bottoms!?

I use these all the time and ran out just a few days before I was sent these, I'm sure Lora is psychic 

I love this, even though we aren't allowed candles in halls I have it hung up on my wall, I might even get one of those electric candles to put in it.

Now this I needed last weekend, far too much wine and Chinese food, I slept on the bathroom floor. Never again. EVER!

Lora used this text book in her first year of uni, it was really nice of her to pass it down to me.

You can never have too many mugs at uni, they are always going missing (getting broke) or not being washed up by someone! 

Nail polish is always a winner. Suprisingly in my collection of over 50 I didn't have a neon pink. Well now I do!

I was so excited to get these, I have never used any of the models own stuff before and I have been meaning to try some lip stain products for a while now (see told you Lora was psychic) 

These are just so sweet! I only really wear mascara on special occasions and my old one was getting a little past its best so now I have a replacement! The two lip balms never leave my handbag, I love the Vaseline one.

And Finally this little guys, everyone knows of my duck obsession and since I ran out of room on my window sill and long time ago this tiny little guy just about fits in the gaps.

 So a month later and I'm still loved up with my prezzies and Ben and Jerry's.

A massive thank you to Sadie for organizing the gift swap and Lora for sending me such lovely gifts

Keep it scrimpy.
Laura.

Charity football match. Match report my style!

I went to my first football match today. It wasn't anything high flying or classy but surprisingly it was quite enjoyable. For someone like me who doesn't really do 'outside' unless there is some kind of shopping involved or I'm walking my dog, sitting in a field watching the Senergy (School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography) Student team slaughter the Staff team 5-2 was a very new experience.

I'm not quite sure how the staff lost by so much, their keeper was as tall as the goal. Must have been either amazing playing on the student behalf or slightly sloppy playing on the staff behalf. I shall let you guess which.

The game was in aid of Comic relief and has so far raised a massive £147, well done to everyone involved, if you haven't donated yet please do!

So we headed down to the football fields loaded with picnic blankets a chippy lunch and some snacks. Richard and Chris also had pompoms to cheer everyone on.

The match itself...

Well it was a football match, what can I really say? There were 11 people on each team and they kicked a ball about for a bit. Ran up and down the pitch. Occasionally someone fell over. Occasionally someone was pushed over. The students scored a lot. Staff didn't score much. The ref was sporting rather snazzy tiger onesie and bright pink hot pants.

I might just leave the football commentary to someone who understands the offside rule.
On a lighter note, here are some photos of the day.

The ones in the fluorescent jackets are the student team 

Even I noticed a few dirty tackles, someone obviously wasn't happy with their last essay grades.

Seems Keeper Graham Bird found time to relax between letting in those 5 goals.

Literally seconds before the first of the many student goals

There seemed to be a few disagreements in the Staff team. See here, Davey Jones being put in his place by Keeper Graham Bird ( if you can call him that after letting in 5 goals).

Here we all are sat on out tiny picnic blankets from poundland (where else!?)

Student team manager Tomos is definitely the next Alex Ferguson, he had the chewing gum and everything! 

Oh look another Student Team goal.

I think watching all that running up and down has worn me out! I'm off for a nap!

Keep it scrimpy.
Laura.

Lookachu.

So some of you might have noticed I'm in love with all things vintage at the moment. More specifically I'm in love with Lookachu, the latest vintage/retro edition to Upper Bangor, located right next door to the Greek, anyone in Bangor really should pop in.

Run by the lovely Jackie I seriously can't keep myself out of this shop. Everything about it is beautiful Even the shop feels vintage.

I love how there are little cubby holes all around the place with new things just waiting to be discovered

And how cute are these vintage suitcases?! Filled with all sorts of little gems

I really do love the layout of this shop, I love a good rummage around but at the same time everything is so easy to find. Brilliant!

One thing I first noticed when I went into the shop was how cute the lamps were, then I realized how It was done, so simple yet so effective! 

I have had quite a few stunning purchases from Lookachu...

 This beautiful 90s dress that I also wore last week for '90s Night'

 This amazing velvet blazer and a men's shirt.

I have had so many compliments about the blazer, it fits me perfectly, I'm in love!

Recently I have indulged in some denim, I was so close to buying some dungarees apparently they shall be making a comeback this summer!

 I ended up with this denim top and a denim jacket after trying on a good 80% of the shop. I paired it with a maxi dress and turned it into a crop top, it also looks good with a dipped hem skirt.

Then this beauty popped up, this photo doesn't do it enough justice, the back has a really cute bow on and it fits like a dream!

(I had to stand on my bed to take all of these photos due to the length of the outfits)

Just when you thought this shop couldn't get any better it does! Not only do they sell Vintage/Retro clothes they also offer...

• Air brush tattoos
• Hair braids
• Hair extensions 
• Wigs 

As I said earlier, this place is really worth visiting, if you have never been to a vintage store before then this is a really good place to start, it's small (but still has a massive choice) and welcoming. If you ask nicely you might even get your own personal shopper (aka Jackie will pick out some nice things for you).

Opening hours...

Monday-CLOSED

Tuesday- 11am-5.30pm

Wednesday-11am-5.30pm

Thursday-11am-7pm

Friday-11am-5.30pm

Saturday-11am-5.30pm

Sunday-CLOSED

Address...

14 Holyhead Road

Upper Bangor

Bangor

Gwynedd

Do let me know if you pop by.

Keep it scrimpy.
Laura.

p.s don't worry about seeing the same thing every time you go in, stock is rotated weekly!

International women's day- Women who inspire me.

International women's day is a day when the whole world comes together to inspire and celebrate the achievements of women all around the world. While there is still so much work to be done before women are truly equal (check out this post from Sara over at Pretty in Pink) and I personally doubt if we will ever get there, I want to use this blog post to look at the positives and share with you some of the amazing and inspirational women who have impacted upon my life...

Firstly my teachers, while I like to think all of my teachers (both male and female) have had some kind of impact on my life there are a few who have really changed me for the better.

Mrs Withers was my Geography teacher at GCSE and it is totally her fault that I am here at uni now studying geography and it's her fault I want be be a geography teacher. I just remember walking into her lessons and wanting to learn, her enthusiasm for the subject really captured my imagination and since then all I have wanted to do was teach geography. Here is a quote from my personal statement I sent to uni and it's true...

"I tell myself that if I can inspire just one student in the way she has inspired me I will retire happy"

Mrs Halsall was my A-level geography teacher (see a theme here), I just think she was brilliant, it probably helped that I was already sold on her subject but I just really enjoyed being in her lessons, I think her knowledge of the subject is what intrigued me, plus she was the kind of teacher you could have a laugh with which always helps

Mrs Brookshaw was my form tutor from year 9-11 then she had the misfortune to teach me politics for a year at A-level, she picked me up when I was at my lowest and got me through some really tough times throughout my times at school, I know I wouldn't be as strong as I am today if it weren't for her.

Mrs Riding was my form tutor throughout 6th form and also my biology teacher. She helped me face some demons during my time at 6th form and I'm glad she did, I couldn't have done it on my own. 

Mrs Barton is the most organised person I have ever met, she sits in the 6th form office all day organizing everything and everyone, I would't be at uni without here, seriously she corrected my UCAS form so many times. One day I shall be as organized as Mrs Barton, and on that day I shall take over the world!

I don't think people really appreciate what teachers do, yes then teach the curriculum but they do so much more. I think I appreciated them because when my parents split up home wasn't a very nice place to be so school was my escape and I was always aware of how much support the school gave me and I still am very grateful for that

Alex Rhead is the most amazing person I know, this lady has been dealt a rough hand over the past few years and yet she still has a smile on her face. She's like my little sister (she's three days older than me), I would do anything to protect her.

Jessica Livingstone; never have I met such a strong minded woman, she says what she thinks and doesn't really care, she will take on any man in an argument and totally slaughter him 99% of the time. Sometimes I think I should be more like her, maybe I shall... oh and to top if off she's gorgeous! 

Vivian Arrowsmith, to most she's just an average old lady, sat dwindling away in a care home but to me she is so much more, I learnt so much from this woman when I was growing up, we would have day trips to Chester, we walked the walls, toured the cathedral. She taught me a lot about birds from how to attract them to your garden (it isn't as simple and chucking some food out) to how to recognize their calls. I don't get on with my grandparents very well so she was always like my Gran, she would look after me during school holidays and it's only with her help we have Lucky now.

My mum, I suppose this one goes without saying really, but thanks mum, you're ace.

I could go on but to be honest I'm getting a little emotional, feel free to share stories of women who have inspired you.

Keep it scrimpy.
Laura.

Mothers day madness

Mothers day is very fast approaching and for the first time I won't be seeing my mum on mothers day (I went home the weekend just gone but she's on holiday). So I have been racking my brains to see what I can get for her. Usually I would make something but I would need to get it made AND posted in time, which isn't going to happen with all the work I have to do right now. So while trawling the internet I came across a few great deals I thought I would share with you.

iflorist.co.uk
They have some really beautiful bunches of flowers here for every occasion. You can select the delivery date, delivery is free if you select royal mail or you can select for them to be delivered over 'mothers day weekend' for free. The flowers I ordered came with a free box of expensive looking chocolates.
Prices range from £9.90-£30+
What really impressed me was that with the code CSDF5GBP you can get £5 off! 

The body shop

The body shop seem to always have some kind of voucher available somewhere. If your mum would like some classy smellys for mothers day then this is the place to shop! .This is what they have available currently.

40DEL-40% off AND free delivery when you spend over £5

OR

SAVE25-This gets you £25 off when you spend £50 (however delivery is £2.99)

 *Both codes are valid till Mon 11 Mar 2013.

Keep it scrimpy.

Laura.