THE END/THE BEGINNING

As of now there will be no more posts on this blog. 

Please proceed over to HERE and follow me!

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Danielle x

Numbers

4.8.15.16.23.42

Fans of the epic TV series 'Lost' will know all about these. And I'm obsessed with them.
I've now watched the full 6 series' twice after convincing my man that he needed to see them! I think and hope that he enjoyed the show as much as me. I would easily consider it to be the best TV show of all time. Ever.

I've probably well over thought it but I seem to think that all of the numbers, minus one, have a significant meaning to me. Maybe I'm just trying to hard and they aren't such significant things after all but I'll list them anyways.

4 - The 4th of September 2011 is the date that my love and I became 'official'.  <3

8 - It was the 8th month of 2011 when my life took a big change in direction, which was very much welcomed. I was freed from a bad past, started to see old friends more, made new friends and moved out of the run down town that I'd lived in all my life.

15 - Is the date in December that my Mammy was born. I know for a fact not all people would consider this but, since I have moved out especially, I'm quite close with my parents. (This is where my reasons start to lack slightly I guess ha)

16 - Jake's Birthday. <3

23 - This has (for as long as i can remember) been my favorite/lucky number. I'm in love with the Jimmy Eat World song and hope that when I reach that age I will be on the right track in life.

42 - This is where I am stumped. I assume that the number will mean something sooner or later, so I'll keep an eye out for it.

What do you think? Can anyone else relate to all the 'Lost Numbers'. Hurley thought the numbers were bad, I think different.... :)

Namaste!

My Big Fat Gypsy Blog Post

[To begin I must say that I am annoyed I haven't finished this or gotten it up sooner, but as I carry on writing   I thought I may as well post the first part...]

Something I've been meaning to write about for a while and something that I feel strongly about is the stigma surrounding the Gypsy Roma and Irish Traveler ethnicity.

To quote the all-knowing Wikipedia, 'The term gypsy more specifically refers to people of Romani origin, an ethnic group that can be traced to the Indian subcontinent, while Travelers are mainly of Irish or English origin. They are considered an ethnic group under British law.'

So technically the verbal abuse and social targeting that the Travelling community receive is a form of racism? And racism is apparently unacceptable, so how come its so natural for us 'Settled people' to stereotype all Gypsys and pigeon hole them as being a certain way, using derogatory terms such as 'Pikey' and the like to describe them.

Illegal immigrants and people who aren't originally from this country receive more respect and help from the governments than these communities that are born here but choose maintain a separate set of traditions.

Let’s look into the facts of their way of life-

Starting with their morals and the way in which they raise their children, one of the most important points that I admire. People who watch the popular television show 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' will be familiar with the tradition that woman marry young, usually as teenagers of around 16-17, with the majority of wives expected to be virgins at time of marriage. Most girls have a strict upbringing, being watched over closely by their Mother and Father and have to be chaperoned on any outings, especially with a man/future husband. Groups of sisters, cousins etc. stick together and have to accompany each other even if only taking a trip to the shop. Dropping out of public school before the end of primary school, girls start to help contribute in the home, learning to keep the family home clean and look after their younger siblings and family members in preparation for their marriage. Meanwhile the young boys learn the important knowledge and trades that they'll use to support a future wife.

As far as I'm concerned there is nothing wrong with any of the above stated. On the contrary, if anything I think people should take a leaf out of their book and strive to raise their children to have respect and know their place. The males and females are both aware of their social standings and ranking within the community, reminiscent of the 50s where the men were the bread winners and women filled the housewife roll.  I cannot really understand the problem people have with this, unlike feminists the travelers don’t protest and force their views on anyone else, do they?

To be continued…

Blogging Occasion.

I've neglected the blog recently, through a combination of partial busyness, a somewhat lack of subject and mainly laziness.
Although now I have a cause for posting.
My gorgeous man and I have been together around half a year now. Already! Seems crazy, but I've never been happier. Anyway, today he is 24! Haha I tease him about being old but I forget that I'm growing up too...
I feel bad that today couldn't be more special but we'll make sure next year is better.
I pretty much just want to say how much he means to me and how much I love him. He treats me like his Princess and I've never been looked after so well.
I'll include the first ever photo of us together cause it makes me smile.
I love you Jake, Happy Birthday bubba. Xo

UFC 143

So ESPN had a free weekend this weekend :D !!
That meant I got to watch the UFC on an actual TV for a change, and thankfully because I had no internet access to be able to stream anyways. The only downfall of this was that I didn't get to see the preliminary fights, which judging by play by plays and peoples tweets, was a big miss.

The fights I did get to see were mainly good, lacking many big finishes though.
Starting with Ed Herman v Clifford Starks with the first and only submission of the main card, (my pick) Herman finished 1.43 into round 2 after just losing the first round to Starks after a great 5min exchange.

Next up (I was right again when) Renan Barao made good use of his jab and mixed it up with kicks for the full 15minutes to beat Scott Jorgensen to a unanimous decision.

Josh Koscheck v Mike Pierce was a pretty even fight ending in Koscheck edging the split decision (chalking up another victory for me) , leading to the fight I was most hyped for - Fabricio Werdum v Roy 'Big Country' Nelson. After seeing Werdum compete in the 2011 ADCC in Nottingham I decided Is be backing the Brazilian.
First thing to mention in this contest was the apparent change to Nelsons appearance. It was quite obvious that he has made an effort to slim down his famous 'physique' and I think it made a big difference as I predicted Werdum would have been a little more dominant. Excitingly I thought it was all over, super early into the 1st, when Werdum took it to the ground looking for the rear naked choke but Nelson managed an escape and got to his feet. At this point Nelsons face is attacked by some big knees, making it clear he can take more than take a hit but the fight is paused for a doctor to check the bloody mess.
The round restarts and Werdum again connects with another knee, then they drop to the ground with Nelson this time defending the BJJ champs arm bar attempt.
The fight makes it to the third where Big Country grabs a standing guillotine, though it isn't on tight and as Werdum stands up bringing the round to a close still landing the more substantial shots. Winner by Unanimous decision, Fabricio Werdum!

Finally Carlos Condit and Nick Diaz step up to compete for the interim welterweight belt.
Which also went the distance, unfortunatly with a very unpopular result. For the full 5 five minute rounds Condit backed up and ran away from Diaz constantly throwing ineffective leg kicks, a typical product of Greg Jacksons camp.
At the end of the fight Nick Diaz proclaimed to Joe Rogan that he 'doesn't need this shit' and declared his retirement from MMA.
A huge disappointment to a lot of MMA fans and fighters alike and defiantly a sign that the judging system needs to be revised.
BJ retires after being beat by Diaz, Diaz retires after being beat by Condit...will Condit retire after his likely defeat by GSP?

Animals > Humans.

Consider this an introduction to my newest family member; little miss Mousen Eskdale. :)

I have been an animal lover as long as I can remember and have up until now had 3 rabbits, 1 Guinea Pig and 8 hamsters (alongside numerous fish, even though they freak me the hell out).

They are defiantly considered a friend and family member by me. I talk more to pets than I do to people most of the time, as there is no worry of any sort of let down with a cute tiny fluff ball. 

Most of my babys have had, what I consider to be, cool names! :P And my new Syrian, Mousen, is no exception. Dubbed 'Moo' for short the name first came from her having markings similar to that of a cow, hence 'Moo', then it evolved to 'Mousen' and inside joke about a small place I drive past on the road up to my parents. 

I agree with the 'never work with children' quote but I think working with animals is brilliant! I've always tried to get some interesting photos of my hammies and even though they hardly stop moving when you get a great shot its so worth it! Ive also been explored on flickr for one of Scamp. :)  

Here are a couple of my hamster army past and present - 

                                   Minnie (Disney girl)                               Dusty (My rescue girl)

                                    Travis (Blink 182 boy) R.I.P           Scamp (Cheeky boy) R.I.P

                             Pepsi (Cola girl)  R.I.P                              Halo (Gamer girl) R.I.P

I also had a gorgeous tan and white smooth haired Syrian called baby bear who unfortunately passed away after only a fortnight of living with me due to breathing complications :(
This group of beauties are better friends than any person could ever be! Just wait until I win the lottery and buy my farm! :D

Pointless

I want to write a blog but I haven't really anything to say.
I'm not feeling great with myself lately but hopefully I'm gonna change it as soon as possible.
I know that if I had a job or something that meant I could afford to go to the gym, I'd be there all the time! Might go swimming next week or see if our local leisure centre has a sauna :)
Until then I'm gonna keep cracking up at the non-funny spelling mistakes on damnyouautocorrect.com

Goodnight x

UFC 142

Best, most exciting card this year! Okay, its only the first event this year so far...but so many quality finishes on one night was amazing.
With almost every fight ending in the first round there was no chance to take your eyes off the screen.

There was only one Facebook prelim last night, Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho, a great opening fight that went the distance ending in a unanimous decison for the Brazilian.
We then moved to FX for the preliminary card where the action was started straight off when Mike Pyle TKO'ed Ricardo Funch. Originally rocking Funch with a straight right, he followed it up with a brutal knee and following him to the ground, raining down punches, the ref jumps in 1.22 into the first round.
Another unanimous decision came for Yuri Alcantara after a nice bout with Michihiro Omigawa making good use of his judo. The end of the first round ends in confusion when it is unclear until the tape is played back whether Omigawa had tapped to the vicious arm bar Alacantara pulled on with just seconds left of the round, it is confirmed that there was no tap and the fight goes the distance.
 Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira, originally the Brit Rob Broughton vs. Ednaldo Oliveira, starts with an display of faints leading to a small exchange where Gonzaga grabs his chance to bring it to the ground. Here he wastes no time in making this the second 1st round finish of the card with a super fast rear naked choke! Awesome.
The last pre lim fight again goes the distance and ends in a unanimous decision defeat of Sam Stout for Thiago Tavares.

Main card time! And what I am sure many will regard as a definite contender for KO of the year.
Following an attack on Terry Etims legs, the first two rounds go to Edson Barbosa. No change in 3rd for Barbosa use of leg kicks and at 2.02  he lands a sweet spinning wheel kick square on Etims jaw knocking him out cold. Everyone goes crazy, including all of us twitter fans :P This fight also was awarded KO AND fight of the night.
Next up alot of controversy after the Erick Silva stoppage of Carlo Prater. Only 29 seconds in and the fight is stopped with Prater unable to escape the barrage of hammer fists but as Silva celebrates, ref Mario Yamasaki declares him disqualified for illegal punches to the back of the head. After many replays no one can see the apparent illegal blows, Joe Rogan especially found the result unjust as he 'interviewed' Yamasaki practically telling him he was wrong.
Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio, again, was a first round defeat. Palhares, the ADCC silver medal holder used, what could be said to be, his signature heel hook to finish Massenzio just over a minute into the fight securing himself the submission of the night bonus!
Jam packed full of action even before the co-main fight took place, the event kept up its string of outstanding fights when the legend that is Vitor Belfort makes this his first submission stoppage (in the UFC) since 1997,  rear naked choking Anthony Rumble Johnson, despite his failure to make weight. Coming in at 11lb over the weight limit, this isnt the first time Rumble has come in over and it has been reported that he has now been cut from the UFC roster for his continuous cutting issues.

Personally the fight I was least interested in was the main event and featherweight title fight between  José Aldo  vs. Chad Mendes in which Aldo retained his belt. KO by knee joining the evenings 1st round finishes and celebrating by running into the crowd! ( Much to the horror of the security. I'm sure he can take care of himself lol)

Overall defiantly a hard card to follow you should agree. Just wish I could of afforded to be there live.
 Now to look forward to seeing Bang KO Neer on the 20th! Woo!!

The World Is Definatly Gonna End This Year!

Once again, its very late and Ive messed up my sleeping pattern more. Not that I cant get up if I need to obviously.
My handsome mans new shoesies are arriving tomorrow/this morning hopefully and as we never hear the door, were staying up in the hope they come at a reasonable hour.

Anyways, I gathered I hadnt written a post in a while and thought an update was in need before my usual post UFC blog on Sunday.
Since last time Ive had another photoshoot, a newborn shoot, for my clients mentioned a couple posts back. Also still on the hunt for a full time 'day job' until I can get enough bookings to make a proper living out of (if ever) or my dreams come true and my exciting emails are put into action again. This time Ill keep all hush about that though as not to jinx things!

Oh! And the hugest change lately...
The other day marked my 1 year anniversary of being a full UK driving licence holder...and the 11th marked the day I had to declare my car off road and decide to sell it.  :'(
Im not in the position right now to be able to afford the madness of the amount of money insurance costs for a 21 year old female. I am so extremly grateful for all the help my Dad and Mam have given me the past few months, especially with the car, without which making it to photoshoots in Berwick would of been potentially problematic (sneeky HP quote hiding in there for any super fans like me lol). But yeah. Im car-less. Its been a little weird so far but Ill get used to it I guess.

Other than all that nothing too exciting going on in Blyth. But apparently at 3.13 on yesterday there was a suspected 'Sonic Boom' which of course everyone is claiming to be an earthquake and that the world is deffo gonna end now. Gotta trust those Myans!

...Im off to play Runescape. Peace.

Cliche 'New Year' Post.

New years resolutions and all that jazz.
First of which is to take more bloody photos haha. So saying that I've started two new projects...Eyes and Feet. Doesn't sound too exciting but my Mam of all people will defiantly agree I've always had a fascination with feet and the different shoes people wear.
It started out that I was planning to do trio photos of each person, their Eyes, Hands and Feet but found when doing my self portraits that hands are awkward to photograph.
Here's my eye and foot self portraits anyways...

More to come!

Oh and if anyone would be so kind as to act as Guinea pig for me feel free to drop round the flat, preferably between the hours of 5pm and 7am as I'm currently nocturnal.

:D

UFC 141

Overall, yet again, another super exciting card!
This is the very first full live event that I've watched in the comfort of my very own flat :) but that didn't take away how agitated I get when watching.
In terms of my picks, things didn't go so good, starting off with the Facebook prelims...
I picked Manny, purely I guess because I liked him from TUF 5 and the fights I've seen of his have been good to watch, and unfortunately he lost (what I believe to be) a pretty close decision.
Next up was Efrain Escudero and Jacob Volkmann when yet again my pick lost! Lay on his back for most the fight only showing any slight dominance when he managed to get Volkmann in a guillotine in the final minutes of the last round which was somehow superbly defended. 2-0 to Jake in our personal betting stakes haha!
Bringing it back for me in the third fight of the night was Dong Hyun Kim with his unanimous decision over Sean Pierson who he really should of finished after having him super rocked with a front kick late into the second round.
Here was our break in the nights fights as we didn't get to view either of the Spike prelims of Anthony Njokuani vs. Danny Castillo or Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao, the latter of which I was really looking forward to with Ross being a fellow North Easterner (and the only Makam I'll ever support in anything! lol). After reading the Sherdog live play by plays I'm looking forward to getting to watch both fights in the near future.

Main event time! Full of surprises and somewhat disappointment.
Jim Hettes proved himself to be a one to watch in 2012 and had my eyes glued to the screen. Not only does he have awesome judo and ground skills but I think he proved his UFC.com pie chart rating of 1% Striking very wrong. With a domination of Nam Phan that I'm sure not many people expected, especially not me, I take my hat of to the young up and comer! I would very much like to follow his future after such an brilliant fight and  listening to his post fight interview with Ariel Helwani in which he seems like such a humble, down to earth guy.

Not much to say for the next fight. I thought Matyushenko stood an okay chance after his quick KO of Jason Brilz in his last fight, but it wasn't to be when the vet was ground and pounded until the ref stepped in at the end of the 1st.
Getting closer to the main event and another surprising yet exciting bout when Johnny Hendricks knocked out Jon Fitch with one punch 12 seconds in! Being a fan of both I didn't know what to do, so I cried haha. Gutted for Fitch, but chuffed for Hendricks...not sure if he quite deserves the title shot hes asked for just yet though.
Now, a fight everyone was hyped for. You know when the 'Diaz' name is involved its going to be a brawl and Nate didn't disappoint. 3 rounds of back and forth slugging with Cowboy Cerrone making good use of his leg kicks although he failed to take the top position after sweeping Nate's legs which could of secured him more points. The official fight of the night and another of my picked making me happy! War Diaz!


This is it. The painful part to type so I'll not write much. Overeem's debut fight in the UFC and he defeated Brock. I though Brock would of managed to take him down and ground and pound but nope :/ Anyways, before the post fight interview with Joe Rogan I called that he was gonna announce his retirement. Which he did. Fair enough he may not be the most amazing fighter ever, but I find that alot of the unnecessary hate against him is because of his WWE background and I cried again to see another guy I like leave the UFC roster this year. At least we got MIGUEL TORRES back eh?!


Happy New Year all, roll on UFC Rio in two weeks! Yey!

Better Late Than Never.

I keep putting this off and putting it off but I guess I'll just quickly post up a few photos and have it over and done with. The Holidays post!

Jake and I went to spend the holidays at my parents. It was gonna be my first Christmas in my own house but with feeling down lately and it being the first year without my Granda, I wanted to be at their house to help make things more normal for my Nana...and for the food I guess 'cause I'd of never managed to cook anything :/
Anyways, its practically tradition that we spend every Christmas Eve at our good friends, The Boyds, house to track 'Santa' with the bairns with the online tracker, Norad and sprinkle out the Reindeer food up the road :) I'd left it a surprise to them that I was still coming this year and wish I could of taken a photo of the expression on Hazels face when she answered the door! I was so happy that everyone was excited to see me.

Here are my three (not so) little 'siblings' Katie, Holly and Matt while we were out doing the Reindeer's food trail!
And the Christmassy cupcakes I baked everyone...

We spent thee day at my parents obviously, had a lie in as always haha and picked up my Nana and Molly the dog. It was very weird without my Granda. I cant imagine how hard it must of been for my Mam and my Nana but I think everyone did very well to keep it as normal as possible.

Of course the many animals are never left out and Molly, Bunny, Scamp, Dusty and Minnie all opened their presents too. Bunny seemed to take a shine to Jake even though hes not an animal fan, while she was in the house getting cuddles and carrots and even tried on his hat! :)

This year just didn't feel the same for some reason. It made me think why I actually celebrate the 'Birth of Christ' when I'm an Atheist, like a vast amount of others around the world, its rather hypocritical. 

Hoping to post some better, more interesting and less depressing blogs in the weeks to come - Super hyped for UFC 141 at the weekend! Expect a post around about then I guess...

Oh! And I best not forget. A huge congratulations to my clients, Kim and Scott, mentioned in the previous post who safely delivered a baby girl yesterday morning! Cannot wait to photograph, what will be, the smallest I've worked with yet! 

Hope everyone had a safe and happy winter break. Keep an eye out for my UFC 141 post. 

Baby Fever!

I know soo many people right now that I went to school with and stuff who are expecting or have just become new parents. 

Lucky for me I get to photograph the little cuties and hand them back after a few smiles, no poop or crying for me!! :P

Anyways, last week we took the hike up to Berwick (thankfully clear of snow) to attend two photo shoots and kill two birds with one stone by getting some visits in.

The first shoot of the trip was for a lad I used to work with and his partner doing portraits of their two month old little girl Laila. Here she is. Before and after!

The next day I had a pre-birth shoot for Kim and Scott who are expecting on Christmas Eve! Hopefully mini miss holds on over the festive season haha. They were both perfectly lovely and I really enjoyed this shoot. I can't wait to work with them again once baby arrives, so on for the little ones '1st Year' package and finally their wedding next October! 

They requested the photos stay private so here is just a small teaser of the Bump photo set.

Please feel free to check out my website for lots more examples of my work and price lists: The Photo Dojo!

I will defiantly update again over the holiday period with lots of photos!

Until then, take care and Merry Christmas to everyone :) 

Neglect!

It was all going so well with regular updates, but alas, life has gotten in the way yet again.
Ive been pretty busy the last week or so...I guess...ha. We spent a long weekend at my parents whilst I was in town for a couple of photoshoots (which my next proper blog will be about), to get glasses (photos also to follow) and made some personal calls for a change.
It was soo nice to see a friendly face and have just a normal chat. A visit to Gills is never short of smiles, even more so now with her beautiful little girl Grace around and I really enjoyed catching up :)

Upon our arrival home, the last of the Christmas preparations have been being made. Like every year I strive to achieve what I call 'Home Alone' worthy present wrapping and challenge anyone to a wrap off!
Other than that Ive been tring my best to introduce my man to the wonders of The Ultimate Fighter and Lost. In fact Im off to watch some more!

Watch this space for a new photography post in the next few days :D x

SAVE MIGUEL!

Another quick MMA realated blog entry, post UFC 140.(Yey, I got to watch it live! So good to have proper internet access again.)
Typing from my phone so I'll keep this short...

Overall a freakin well exciting card, with a (technically) new tie for fastest KO by Korean Zombie, a snapped arm for Nog and yet another win for Bones Jones.

Duane 'Bang' Ludwig will always hold the fastest KO for most people,  but that takes nothing away from Chan Sung Jung with his 7second stoppage, hes always exciting to watch and I  expected a good fight. I was chuffed for Little Nog too for his 1st round TKO of Tito (who I dislike with a passion) via body shots and was surprised that he made no excuses in the post fight interview...!
The night hit a downer with another of my least favorite fighters, Frank Mir, defeating Big Nog, it was sick to see his arm snap :( and to round off the evening Jon Jones remained undefeated to my mispleasure. Although, all props to Machida for having Bones rocked in the 1st and not tapping to the standing guillotine in the 2nd.

Moving on.
The more important reason for blogging tonight.
The fact of Miguel Torres being realesed from the UFC.
Disgraceful, plain and simple and on the UFCs behalf not Miguels. Anything said on twitter should be taken with a pinch of salt especially with jokes reapeated from else where. Fair enough the company had to cover their own backs but I cant help thinking theres something else to fuel his dissmissal when a week beforehand, Forrest Griffin got away with a pretty similar case.
Whatever happened its certain Torres will be a huge loss from the UFC and we can only hope he is given a second chance.
Enjoy this picture of Me and the man in question from the UK expo last year.:)
SAVE MIGUEL!!

The Happiest Place On Earth.

Disneyland. Full Stop.
I'd live there if I could. I've been feeling a little down lately, on and off and for no particular reason :(
I wish I could just fly away to Disneyland and get a big hug off Mickey!

Its been almost two years since my last visit which is now, regrettably, tainted but I still regard it as one of the best times of my life. I woke up super early everyday in the best of moods, enjoyed each day to the fullest and fell asleep at night with a smile on my face. There's no way you could be unhappy at Disneyland, unless you are a heartless cow, 'cause every tiny detail is superb. I just wish that a certain someone would want to come with me in the future and let me prove how magical the place is. It bugs me when people say they're 'too old' for Disney too, like I'm 21 and am currently sitting watching Dumbo, thoroughly enjoying it. Its also the only place in the world that I would ever be relatively happy in winter!

One thing that I am interested to find more out about is the speculation that Disney, especially the older original animated feature films are full of sexual and drug references. First mentioned by my other half, I have since Googled the apparent claims and think it ridiculous how far some people will go to try and degrade the Disney brand. It is even hinted that Walt Disney himself was apart of the Illuminati!
Lets start with Alice in Wonderland, one of the more believable allegations.

• She is 'Chasing the white Rabbit'.
• The Caterpillar smokes a hookah.
• Alice eats 'Mushroom' to grow larger and smaller.
• They are all 'Acidtripping' at the Mad Hatters tea party. 

I do agree the movie itself is quite trippy and things could easily be mistaken as drug references but I can't understand why the Disney corporation would knowingly include such things in their productions.
Next, Snow White.

• An alternative name for Cocaine.
• The names of the dwarfs can be side affects of drug use.

There are many other story's thrown about on the internet to say that movies such as 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Lion King', 'The Rescuers' and 'Aladdin' to name a few include sexual subliminal messages and promote violence.
I know none of what I have read effects my love for Disney, what do you think?
For a more in depth read check out this HubPage.

Catch you all later :) x

A Day In The Life Of A 'Housewife'.

People have always jumped to the conclusion that I'm anti-social, when in fact I just enjoy being alone.
I love being around others too, don't get me wrong, but when there's nothing in particular to do I'd rather be at home alone chilling out to some music and just pottering about, rather than trailing about aimlessly.
Today the Mr has gone for a skate again. :)
I love that he skates. And rather than me feeling lonely when he goes out, I appreciate it 'cause I get to do stuff like blog and workout like I did earlier and yesterday!
I am defiantly determined to get fit again like. In no way do I think I'm fat or any of that nonsense but I would like to tone up again and get back to a good fitness level and until I'm working again I can't afford a gym membership...hence resorting to my old Ministry of Sound Pump it Up workout DVD. :P Its actually pretty good though, always a good selection of tunes when MOS is involved and you can actually feel it the morning after. I attempted to start running again too but until I can improve my cardio that's out of the window! Might try again once winter buggers off. Trying to get back into a normal sleep pattern would also be good as I seem to be currently nocturnal.

Break in the blogging right now as Jakey has arrived home and I need to get back in the Kitchen!

Okay, tea out of the way and I'm back cuddled in the duvet on the sofa as boss man plays some more Fable.
Today we've been together 3 months! I'd never really be that arsed but I think its quite cool seeing how far we've come in such a short space of time. I feel like I'm constantly laughing and being silly! Like last night, we randomly had an ice fight in the kitchen after I cleared out the freezer, it was lots of fun. Stuff like that to mini photo shoots in the home studio and just laying on the sofa are the best things ever. Ive never been so happy and I hope things continue to look up.

Enough puke worthy rambling for today I guess, t'ra. x

A Product of the 'Home Studio'. :)

Suffering Withdrawls pt.2.

3am, slightly tired, watching the boss play Fable 2. Thought I'd take the chance to continue my MMA related ramble.

So yeah, November 12th should of been my second live event. UFC 138 Leben vs Munoz, in Birmingham. I even had a press pass believe it or not, to be a ringside photographer. I was the most excited I can ever remember being for anything (maybe barring Disneyland) thinking it could of been a foot in the door of the only career I'm actually interested in. But of course it wouldn't go straight forward for me! Nothing does. The long and short of it is I couldn't afford the travel and accomadation and therefore missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity. Nevermind.

The dissapointment just kept flooding in after that when BJ announced his retirement and Kurt lost his Bellator fight and announced his re-retirement. Yes, I am not ashamed to say I cried like a baby upon hearing both sets of news haha!

I suppose I should discuss some more optimistic things...

UFC 139.
There isn't much to say apart from what a freaking great card it was.
Henderson vs Shogun = Fight of the Year?! So glad I got to see this as I was at my parents and they still have ESPN from when Daddy ordered it for me before I moved out :P.

Last topic is that of UFC on Xbox live. I remember hearing about this months ago while being forced to watch the E3 conference. Upon reading up on it tonight I'm pretty stoked for it. Streaming of Pay per views means I don't need to fork out for Sky and ESPN, I'll get to keep up to date with pressers, weigh ins and countdowns again and the whole voting for your picks thing is right up my street. Heres hoping I can get it!!

Getting super tired now...maybe bed soon for this nocturnal lass :)
Sweetdreaming! x

Suffering Withdrawals.

From MMA. Not drugs.

I may not be the most clued up on the sport but I do consider myself quite a fan, especially for a girl!
I've become more and more interested in the ever growing sport for the last few years and am suffering due to lack of internet and ESPN in the new flat. I find myself stalking twitter (as I mainly only follow MMA fighters and the like) to get the goss.

Thinking back there was a time that I would never miss and event. Even if I had work at 9am and only got an hours sleep due to the time difference.
Its been over a year since my first event! October 16th 2010 saw the UFC's 9th visit to the UK with UFC 120: Bisping vs Akiyama and this time was the added bonus of the very first UK fan expo! I am very lucky to say I attended both the expo and the event and they were a few of the best days of my life.
Safe to say I forked out for the best seats - If I was travelling to the other end of the country I was gonna have the best view. And it was well worth it to have better seats than Dizzie Rascal and Katie Price & Alex Reid AND be sitting beside amazing fighters like Brad Pickett and even get to chat to them, pretty surreal! The whole atmosphere in the arena that night can not be replaced.
The expo was mental too. I got to stand in a real Octagon and meet my all time favorite fighter, Kurt Pellegrino, amoungst other legends like Wanderlei Silva and Stephan Bonnar who said I had a cute name :P
If that wasn't enough, being a fight club member meant early entry and prioity seats to the weigh ins which gave me a chance to get some amazing photos that have even been featured on a couple websites :)
I'll include some photographic evidence for the skeptics.

Thee Tickets.

Wanderlei Silva and I

Me in the Octagon!

Kurt Pellegrino and I <3

The actually view from my seat. (No zoom B] )

'Sexyama' on the scale.

Mike Pyle playing up to the Brits. (I cheered him on though!)

Thats probably enough writing for one post although I have alot more to say about certain people retiring ect. Might post from bed later depending on certain circumstances....

x

Blogging from the Beach!

You can eventually tell winter is coming (to quote A Game of Thrones) as our routinely visit to the beach is accompanied by hats and gloves this time around.
I should really of been born in Hawaii or something 'cause my body does not appreciate cold weather at all, but Ill always put up with it for a shell hunt :).

Yesterday was an aweful day weather wise too but thankfully I now live in a place that has things to do on a rainy day in the surrounding areas.
We visited Tynemouths Blue Reef Aquairum and were the only visitors there! Its common knowledge that Im just a big kid and enjoyed it the most :P
The last time I went there was with my friend Sophie while we were in Tynemouth for the 2008/09 boarding festival and its had an awesome addition since...
It now encorporates a small primate enclosure with totally cute Marmosettes!
Apart from that Im not a big fan of fish, they freak me out, but the seals were amazing. Theres an indented window type thing into their tank where I sat and they all came up swimming towards me - I thought it was well cool (Maybe got a bit too excited haha) .
The last thing we saw was the otters getting their tea and even though we were the only people there the guy still stood and talked to us about them. I enjoy daily facts.

'Till next time :) x