The last day of 27

Tomorrow is my 28th birthday. I used to celebrate birthdays (and I still do) but recently I've started really recognizing the fact that today is the last day I'll be 27. Ever. Never again in my life will I be 27 after today. And a year ago today it was the last day I would ever be 26. And a year from now will be the last day I will be 28. And so life will go on (hopefully). It's not so much that I lament growing older and adding another year onto my age. "How old are you?" "28" is not a conversation that depresses me, it's just that I am overly nostalgic about everything and the idea that I'll never again be 27 strikes me.

And everything strikes me these days. And breaks my heart.

And just because I think this is so darn cute:

My face thanks you both

Firstly, I'd like to say that I lost a follower.  It's not like it's a big deal, because I don't think I even know who's who of my followers...because we all choose names like "CarolinaGrown7" (that's mine...I think...not really sure...) and blogger won't let me click and see what their blogs are, just who else they follow. L.A.M.E. But anyway, it's still a little sad. Sorry, whomever you were.

Anyway, I just wanted to share what I did yesterday.
Nothing.
Well, not nothing. I did a lot of nothing productive.
Recently I have discovered the wonderful world of makeup.  Now, as a 27 year old woman (I still want to call myself a girl), I should know a thing or two about makeup by now, right? Nope.  All I've ever known about makeup is what the girl at the Clinique counter told me. And they all disagreed with whatever the last girl told me.
So anyway, my friend Kayla from SVU started a you tube channel and I LOVE it!

After watching her for a couple of months, I decided to branch out and see who else had things to say about makeup.  Now, let me mention that I'm picky about everything to do with entertainment.  Books. TV, movies, video games, etc. I'm so opinionated it's ridiculous, especially ridiculous in this case (did you know that it took me 3 tries to spell that word right...) because I don't know anything about makeup myself! So, I LOVE Kayla, but any time there was a "related link" below her video that You Tube thought I should like...I hated it. They were all flippy girls who looked like they've never seen the inside of a book (and I can't abide people who don't read, sorry) or...I don't know. Here, let me give you an example.

Don't even click on that link if you can help it...I mean, you can get the gist of her from the picture.
This girl makes me want to VOMIT! Ugh. And she embodies everything I dislike about the "makeup world" and this is how I see all of them.
Except for Kayla.
And this next girl.
Now, I saw this random link to another channel, and I decided to give it a try...And I fell in love with her channel!!!  Her name is Livie and she is from Wales. Okay, let's stop right there. I love EVERYONE British! Alright, that's not true, because I followed a link to another Brit from her page and I wasn't a fan, BUT, I do love this girl.
Here she is:

I love her so much that I literally spent all day yesterday watching her old videos. Yeah. She has 75 videos.  Okay, I didn't watch all of them.  Only like 85% of them.
And then I just wanted to watch more makeup videos so I rewatched some of Kayla's.
I'm such a loser.
But I know things now that I never knew before.
And thanks to Kayla, I have a new hair routine that allows my curls to be curls instead of non-curls.

Eyes, Time and Television

I was off today (woo hoo!) and Brandon had to work so consequently I was home alone. As I am most, if not all days I'm off because I can't remember the last time Brandon and I shared a day off.  But anyway, as I got out of bed I decided to have a no Eyes, no Time, no Television day.  Let me explain if your wondering how to exist without eyes and time.  For those of you who don't know me well, I'm a procrastinator down to the point where I will wear the same pair of contacts for a year and half because, for me, they're still functional.  Until one of them gets a hole, and even after knowing that, I still don't go to the eye doctor for a new prescription (contact RXs are only good for 2 years and mine expired 2 years ago) and continued to wear them and eventually it caught up with me and scratched my cornea.  Well, now I'm down to just my glasses, which in line with my procrastination, are 9 years old and suck. A lot. So I decided to go blind today.  I decided that I wasn't going to wear any corrective eye wear whatsoever.  And may I proudly say that I can successfully distinguish the difference between all four of my cats with completely terrible vision. I deserve a high five for that. So, no eyes.  Along with the no eyes, it makes it difficult to see the time on any clock that isn't on my phone, so I decided to intentionally not know what time it was, which worked almost flawlessly.  There were a couple of times when I saw the time (setting the timer on the oven, answering a phone call from Brandon, taking a picture with my phone) but for the most part I just went about my day with no knowledge of what time it was and it was so liberating!  The only real indication of time that I had was how dark it was outside. And I also decided to not watch any television whatsoever, which is usually all I do on my days off.  So what did I do?  I read.  A lot.  And I did chores, but they were limited a bit because of my severe lack of vision. And the fact that my SwifferVac only lasts for like 45 seconds before it dies - what's up with that?
I should try this again soon.  Maybe not the no eyes thing again, but the no tv, no time for sure.

Books, episode 2

Brandon and I went to a new friend's house yesterday and we played a game called "Celestial Companions" (or something like that) and it's pretty much like the Newlywed Game.  One of the questions said "Which does your wife have the most of: Books, Shoes, Friends or {enter the 4th option here which I can't remember}?" and it made me laugh.  Brandon answered correctly, obviously, and I made the comment that I probably have more books than the other three things combined.
It's so true.
I love books.  I don't just mean reading books, although I do love that, but the fell and smell of books as well.  When Brandon and I moved to Roanoke last October I knew that we weren't going to stay in that house for more than a year; I hated it from the first week we were there.  As a result, I never unpacked a large majority of our books because I knew I was just going to have to pack them back up again.  That meant that about 75% of my books were boxed up for over a year.  When we moved out of that dreadful place and down to Burgaw, I unpacked them all and took pleasure in piling them up into categories, sorting them by publication date and then placing them onto the shelves.  After putting them onto the shelves I would just run my hands along the spines and simply enjoy the fact that I had my books back.
Imagine, having more shoes than books. Who needs that many shoes?  I'd rather have a good story any day.
As to friends...well, I can't exactly box them up and move them with me wherever I go. Although there are some that I'd like to.  Two specifically that I can think of.

A few things

I can't in good conscience post on both of my other blogs (and start a new travel blog) and not post on this one.
I haven't figured out what I'm going to talk about yet.
I thought about doing one of those "30 day journal prompts" or something where I go on and on for pages and pages about things that no one else wants to read about.  But I don't want to do that.
I guess I'll just do a little something about what I'm into right now. Not that you want to read about that either.

British television
I'm always into British television.  Luthor, Doctor Who, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (the British one, the American one is rubbish...but I still watch that one too), Sherlock, Downton Abbey, a little Top Gear, Rosemary and Thyme (if you haven't seen it, look it up! it's ridiculously awful and amazing. Whole thing's on Netflix Instant) the Graham Norton Show, etc etc etc.  I am sure there are plenty more shows that I can't watch because I'm on this side of the Pond, but these are just a few that I can watch and do.  I watch some online and I watch a lot of BBC America (which played "the Patriot" the other day, and that made me laugh).  Pretty much the only two stations that I ever really watch on television are Food Network and BBC America. Okay, three, occasionally the Travel Channel.

Unpacking my house
I wouldn't exactly say that I'm "into" doing this, but as it's a necessary thing to do, I'm doing it. I must say, I am enjoying finally being down in Burgaw again.

J.K. Rowling's new book A Casual Vacancy
It's p.r.e.t.t.y. good.  It's all a bit strange, not that it's a strange novel, but... let me see if I can explain without breaking down the storyline.  It has a plot, for sure, but it's more about character development than anything else.  She really dives into the lives of these people and shows their personalities with such a rawness that is amazing. But at the same time, I am sucked into the plot. Love it.

Thinking about buying an RV and going RVing
I want to see America. And I think that doing that in an RV sounds pretty fun. I mean, it's a car and a bedroom and a kitchen and a bathroom all rolled into one! Plus a living room.  Who wouldn't love that??  But as we don't even own a house yet, it's not likely that we will own a RV any time soon, but by golly I am certainly allowed to daydream about it.  I even have some trips planned out. 

Blogging
I haven't really blogged since February, and I've gotten re-energized about doing it.  I go through phases, so I'm sure that this phase will end as well, but as for right now, I'm into making things current.

And, as I write that last section, I've lost my groove for this post.
The end.

My new love

I have discovered my new love: Downton Abbey.
It's a Masterpiece Theater show that comes on PBS and It. Is. Amazing. I can't even put into words how much I love this show.
I already have a love of history and the romantic eras of the past (please do not try to disillusion me by informing me of the realities of using the bathroom, what people really ate, the stark differences between the classes and how women dealt with their periods, I don't care). I think it would be wonderful to live in this time, right before WWI, before the world took a turn and became ugly. I will have to suffice with dreaming of living in that time, obviously, and I am okay with that, as I do enjoy my IPhone and pre-lit Christmas trees. But I love reading books about this time (Kate Morton) and really love watching good British television about this time. Any time between the Georgian era up until WWI just captures my attention more than others, and I can't get enough of it.
I won't go into detail about the plot of this show - but we'll just say it's an "Upstairs/Downstairs" show about an aristocratic family and their staff, and it is so well written and captivating that I can't remember the last time I thought a show was this good. Um, don't tell the part of my brain that is in love with "Bones" that I said that.
For those of you who are interested, the first season of Downton Abbey is on Netflix Instant play, and the 2nd season is airing right now on PBS.

I must say...

...I love my new iPhone. Which I am using to post this post. Free Blogger app!