Four Things

Hi Everyone,

I saw this tag on Chronically Vintage and decided I would give it a try. I don't usually do blog tags, but I haven't written a lot of blog posts so far this year and I thought it would be fun to do something different. The aim of the tag is to write down four things for each question, though there are some questions where I don't have four answers, so I will do the best I can.

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FOUR PLACES I'VE LIVED:

I have only lived in two different towns throughout my whole life, but if you want to get technical about it I have lived in four different houses during that time. I'm not going to tell you the names of the towns for privacy reasons, I'm just going to say that I lived in a small town in Central Queensland for a very short amount of time as an infant. My parents and I then moved to another small town in North Queensland where we have stayed ever since. I was actually born in the town where I currently live and so were many generations of my family. I think I would like to live here for the rest of my life and if I ever moved it would be to another small town nearby. For those who don't know, Queensland is a state in Australia.

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FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD:

Office Girl in a Fruit Shop:

I used to work in a small office in a Fruit Shop next to the highway. The shop was a mix between a grocery store, a takeaway store, a wholesaler for local farmers and a supplier to local restaurants. My job involved taking lots of different kinds of phone orders and entering them into the computer, as well as doing some typical business stuff (bank reconciliations etc).

Sales Assistant at a Department Store:

I used to work at the only department store in town. It's quite small compared to what a lot of other towns have. I used to do a bit of everything there. Mostly serving customers and tidying the clothes racks. Even though I'm not much of a people person, I used to like that I had to deal with people everyday, because it made me better at talking to people.

Office Girl for a Farm:

This is my current job and it was also my first full-time job. I really enjoy this job because I am always learning new things about an important industry and there are so many different aspects of my position. I answer the phone, enter spreadsheets, file things and handle the social media for the business. This is the first job I had since I got my license, so I get to run a few errands and things too. 

Trainee Sales Person at a Jewellery Shop:

This is the only other job I have had and I didn't have it for long so I am not sure if it even counts. I started a traineeship in the beginning of grade 11 in High school and it lasted about two months. The communication between the local High school and the business (the school organised the traineeship) was not too great and the business owner didn't realise what was involved.

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FOUR FOODS I DON'T EAT:

Most Fruit and Vegetables (Especially Green Ones) :

I know they are good for you and all, but I really don't like them. As I am getting older I am slowly trying more kinds of vegetables, but even then I only like them when they are cooked a certain way...

Sauce:

I don't like sauce on my food, with the exception of chocolate sauce on icecream and tomato paste that goes into pasta or onto a pizza.

Trifle:

I like custard, Jelly and Cake, but I don't like it together. I don't know why, but I don't really like a lot of foods where things are put together. I like them separate.

Gourmet Sausages:

I find a lot of gourmet sausages to be too spicy for me. 

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FOUR FOODS I LOVE TO EAT: 

Bacon:

Doesn't really need an explanation. If I could I would eat this for every meal. 

Caramel Tarts:

Just as long as the caramel is made with condensed milk (not sugar) and the cream on top is Mock Cream and not thickened cream. 

Hot Potato Chips:

A local take-away place makes the best Hot Chips ever.

Peanut Butter:

I'm not one of those people that can just eat it out of the jar, but I do love peanut butter on toast. I also really like these things you can make called "spiders" where you mix peanut butter with melted cooking chocolate and mix it with fried egg noodles. 

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FOUR MOVIES I HAVE WATCHED MORE THAN ONCE:

(Are you kidding me I can think of at least twenty!)

'Guys and Dolls'

This movie has a little bit of everything, Including musical numbers that will get stuck in your head for days after watching...

'Sabrina' (The Audrey Hepburn Version)

My favourite Audrey Hepburn movie. 

'Just Go With It'

This movie never fails to make me laugh. That scene with the sheep gets me every time. 

'Drive Me Crazy'

You know that teen movie with Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier with Britney Spears on the soundtrack... 

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FOUR TV SHOWS I WATCH:

(Again more than four, so I had to narrow it down)

'Charmed'

I have done several blog posts about my thoughts on this series and I have rewatched some of the episodes again.

'Gilmore Girls'

I did review/recommend this series on the blog as well, so I am guessing this is no surprise.

'So You Think You Can Dance' (America)

I love to dance (though I am no pro) and I used to take dance lessons for many years, so I enjoy watching this show. Unfortunately because I live in Aus, the show gets put on TV after people in the US have already seen it. The last season I went to watch was on Friday nights and because I was attempting to be social I ended up forgetting to tape it, so I have like half a season on my PVR

'30 Rock'

I'm a bit late to the 30 Rock bandwagon. I only just finished watching season one for the first time the other day and then rewatched all the episodes because I am waiting for the other seasons to come in the mail. 

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FOUR CELEBRITY CRUSHES:

(I wish it said fictional)

Ian Somerhalder:

Unfortunately he is taken. He plays Damon Salvatore on Vampire Diaries. I'm a bit behind on the show, so no spoilers please.

Cary Grant:

I have seen four Cary Grant movies so far and enjoyed them all. 

Zac Efron: 

I was not a big 'High School Musical' fan, but I like some of the movies he has been in since.

Joseph Gordon Levitt:

I really liked him in '500 Days of Summer' and 'Inception'

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FOUR PET PEEVES:

Getting My Hopes Up To High:

Sometimes I think I expect too much. I try not to get my hopes up about things, but it's a bad habit that keeps resurfacing. 

People Who Don't Accept You For Who You Are:

I know I am not perfect and I probably need to make a few changes in my life every now and then, but I don't think that should include changing who I am. I have met too many people in life who can't accept that I am weird and that I don't want to conform to their standards. 

Eating In Front of Other People:

I'm not a fan of having other people watch me eat. It's just one of those things. I prefer to socialise over drinks or coffee or something. 

People Who Think They Are Superior:

If a person is not my boss, not a mentor of some kind or not my parent, than I don't think they have any business telling me how to live my life. I get really frustrated with some people who like to think they are superior to me for whatever reason. I have a lot of respect for the kind of person that has more knowledge or experience than me and still treats me with respect.

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FOUR THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:

Be Confident:

I doubt myself a lot. Doubting myself usually ends badly. 

Ditch Fear:

It is one of my New Years Resolution to be less fearful. I think ridiculous fears took up too much of my time in 2015.

Be Social:

I wish I could be more social. I don't know why, but I just find it so hard to initiate anything with other people. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I don't want to bother people. When I finally do get the opportunity to hang out with other people I don't say a real lot and it takes me a while to "Open Up" to them, so they usually assume I'm stuck-up or something. I usually don't bother, but sometimes when it's Saturday night and I remember that I am only 22 years old I wish that I was out and about somewhere with nice people...

Meet My Internet Friends:

I've never flown on a plane and I don't have a passport, so at the moment it's out of the question, but someday I'd like to go meet some of the lovely people I have met on the internet.

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FOUR SUBJECTS I STUDIED IN SCHOOL:

Visual Art:

This was an OP art class with a lot of theory work. It was probably my favourite class.

Creative Art:

This was the "fun" art class.

English:

The OP English class. I liked English class, but my grades were pretty mediocre. 

Accounting:

Probably one of the most useful subjects I learned.

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FOUR THINGS LOCATED NEAR ME RIGHT NOW:

Harry the Dog:

He sleeps on the lounge chair.

The Local Newspaper:

This one is from Wednesday.

My Mobile:

So I can use two devices at once...

My Laptop:

Typing with it right now.

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FOUR THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2016:

Another 'Bourne' Movie Coming Out:

It's supposed to have Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner in it.

My Sister is having a Baby:

I'm not much of a baby person, but I think it is still exciting. 

The Local Rock n Roll Festival:

I really enjoyed it last year.

Joining the Local Art Group:

I am hoping to get into doing more art stuff this year, and I might even enter some of my stuff in one of the art shows.

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Feel free to join in the tag if you'd like. 

Your Favourite Blogger,

Natalie

Top ten most intimidating books

From: http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/2011/04/julias-top-ten-tuesday-rewind.html

The aim was to make a book related top ten on any subject you liked. e.g Favourite books, childhood favourites, Book crushes etc.

Intimidating books: Books that i was unable to start, finish/understand.

1) Anything by Dickens:
The Problem with Charles Dickens's writing is that it is so overly descriptive that me, the reader gets bored, tired and confused as to what actually happened in between all of the adjectives and similes. My teacher in Year 11 tried to convince me that it was the writing style of the era, but I had since read 'Sense and Sensibility', 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Jane Eyre' and 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' with no problems what so ever. It was just my luck that we had to read 'Oliver Twist' and right a report on it. As much as I dislike Dickens from trying to read 'Bleak House' and from having to read 'Oliver Twist' i have heard that 'Little Dorrit' is pretty good, so I might give it a go one day.


2) Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Okay, so I have this special place in my heart for suicidal authors and had heard great reviews about this author, so I decided to read her book. I started the book twice within a week, gave up on it and then months later picked it up and made myself finish it. The whole "stream of conscience" writing a style made me go to sleep and while the imagery was just beautiful I felt like that was all there was to the book. It was like a multi-character monologue about the dresses and parties and flowers, then you have one man who was in love with his best friend and a woman who feels regret and some random politician who doesn't seem to have anything to do with the other characters at all who feels empty inside. And till this day I still have no idea as to what actually happened/what the point of this book was. 


3)Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte'
I Loooved 'Jane Eyre', but before I read it I attempted to read her sister's novel 'Wuthering Heights'. I got about three pages through and started again. It was so confusing. It started with conversations. You can't just start a book with pages and pages of conversation. I might however, attempt it again. 


4)The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams
I finished this book recently and was annoyed at how many big words the author used. I know that the character was very smart and that the story was in first person, but I basically needed a dictionary by my side. I did to some point understand what happened in the book, but I didn't get why. I think that if there is a message in the story it must be too high academically for me to grip.


5)The Wicked Lovely Series
I started reading this series on wattpad and the whole time I didn't really get the gist of what was going on. I think it started without enough explanation at the begining or somethingand I just couldn't catch on. I know that most of you book bloggers out there will be laughing at this, but I gave up. I know that a lot of people love these novels, so like many of the others on this list, I may try to read them again.


6)Sixty Lights by Gail Jones
I bought this book online because it was by an Australian author, it had a pretty cover, it was a historical novel and had a catchy title. When I finally got around to reading it, I couldn't keep interested in it. Like the wicked lovely series I may try to read this book again. I guess if I own it, I put in more effort to get my moneys worth.


7) The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
My local library has this book and each time I walk past it and pick it up before putting it back on the shelf. I have no idea what it's about except that it's gothic and has pretty name and cover, but each time i pick it up I  notice how many pages it has and I think that I won't beable to finish it before my books are due back.


8) The Mortal Instruments Series
They do look really interesting and I'm not worried that they would be too hard to read, it's just that they are a series and I wouldn't be able to get much other reading done as well as the fact that I can't afford to rush out and buy the series and I don't have room to store them. Mabye if the library has them I might give them a go.


9) Any Biography
Autobiography's are fine. I can read many memoirs, first person books etc. I just really dislike the fact that some of these biographers know so much about these people and sometimes write about them when they are not allowed to. Plus all the gossip and Obsession that the writer has with the person gets a bit tiring. I sometimes feel like the author writes things about themselves because they think that you actually care.


10) Anything by Anne Rice
Anything by Anne Rice (or Virginia Andrews for that matter) is bound to be a bit creepy. I get spooked easily, what more can I say.

week 1: journal prompts tag (from titancia. )

So, seeing as I am keeping my real life and online life, separate and secretive (by not showing my face), I thought it was only fair to reveal a bit of my inner self to you. When I saw titancia's awesome journal prompts  I thought that it was a great opportunity to do so.

1. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens might make Julie Andrews happy, but what are three simple things that make you happy?

Fried Bacon, A Familiar song, A Copy of Frankie Magazine

2. Where are five places you would like to visit, anywhere in the world?

 Versailles, Charlotte Bronte's House, The School where they made "The Breakfast Club" Movie, Any gothic church in Europe, The House where they made "The Sound of Music"

3. What are your favorite genres of books to read?

Light Gothic Fiction (eg "The Distant Hours" by Kate Morton or "Jane Eyre"), Historical Fiction, Y.A. Fantasy from a female perspective, Magical Realism (aka Alice Hoffman)

4. If you could go on a ten minute shopping spree through a craft store, what would you throw into your cart?

Craft Store? We don't have one of those where i live, but if we did i'd get: a ball of black crochet cotton (can't seem to find that stuff anywhere these days), A Jar of buttons, Some white lace trim, A Bodice Pattern and an Overlocker. 

5. Pretend you live in a society where you remain nameless until you’re old enough to choose your own name. What do you think you would have wanted to be called when you were five? Twelve? As an adult?

I don't know what I wanted to be called when i was twelve, but I do remember having an argument with my parents about wishing my name was Barbie when i was like seven. If that had of happened I think I would have definitely regretted it later in life.

6. What are three collections you would like to start but haven’t, or can’t, due to money/space requirements? (For example, a collection of space ships would be awesome, but they wouldn’t fit in your backyard that easily!)The first collection would be the different editions of my favourite books. So for example Every edition (That I like the look of) of Jane Eyre and The Bell Jar. The second collection would be of my favourite vintage cars, which is impossible because I can only drive an Automatic and most old cars are Manual. The third would have to be a collection of Marie Antoinette style shoes. 
7.  If you had a set of triplets, what would you name them and why?

Uigene, Edith and Violet. I love these names because they are old-fashioned and don't seem to get  used very often. 

Here is the link to Titancia's blog post: http://parcelsofextraordinaryfancy.blogspot.com/2011/03/little-prompting.html