Missing the saxophone

I never thought I would say this but I miss playing the saxophone so much. I started playing the saxophone when I was 12 years old and stopped playing aged 17 after I got rubbish results in my first year of sixth-form. I stopped playing the piano and the saxophone as well as all the sports that I was involved in to concentrate on my studies. It has thankfully paid off and my grades are much higher now thanks to the amount of time I put into them but I miss actually being good at something. I managed to reach a Grade 7 and I am absolutely gutted that I didn't carry on till I achieved Grade 8 as it's the highest grade you can achieve. The sad thing is that I highly doubt I will pick it up again, after not playing for so long you forget so much of what you have learnt that is hard to go back.

I was in the habit of playing the saxophone every single day and whenever I hear or see a saxophone I wish that I had never given it up. Playing the saxophone has lead to so many great things and through it I have made some of the best friends ever through being in certain bands and I've had the chance to travel to various countries. I mean, how many people can say that they have played around Europe and played the saxophone at the main concert stage in DisneyLand Paris?! ... I can, whoop whoop!

Before a 'Thriller' performance - one of my favourite pictures ever! 

In Holland with my old school's jazz band

50 Shades of Grey

This evening I ventured off to the Odeon cinema to go and watch the highly anticipated film 50 Shades Of Grey with one of my best friends Beth. I am one of the view people who had not read the book previously so I had no idea what to expect at all.

Before watching the film I had seen and heard varying reports of how good/bad it was, from both the media and friends who had seen it. For some people exceeded expectations but for others it seemed to fall short of what they had expected. But in my personal opinion I can honestly say it is one of the best films I have watched in a long long time. The film absolutely blew my mind, I take my hat off to Sam Taylor-Johnson who has done a fabulous job directing. The film was so intense and I was glued to the screen from start to finish. What I thought was going to be a 2 hours full of sex was actually portrayed as more of a love story which pleasantly surprised me. Yes of course there were still some very erotic scenes but not much at all compared to what there has been hyped to be.

In my eyes the characters were cast perfectly. Dakota Johnson played Anastasia with just the right about of curiosity and her innocence was portrayed so well and no one can fault Jamie Dornan, he is just perfection all wrapped up! The music was also selected so well, I only saw the film earlier on today but already the Crazy In Love remix has been on repeat, who knew it could be so sexy and spine-tingling?!

The only disappointing part of the film for me was the ending, it just seems to stop. However, where there are sequels then you always going to be left with a cliff-hanger ending and I'm never happy with cliff-hangers haha. It has however definitely made me want to read the books to find out what happens next.

The film gets a 10/10 for me without a doubt and everyone who is old enough to go and watch the film really should do, I highly recommend it. I've already planned to go and watch it again and you girls can thank me after you've seen Jamie Dornan in it... wow!

Hurry up Summer

Sunbathing with Rob 

There are many reasons that I adore summer: the sun, BBQs, ice cream, holidays, no school and late nights are just a few of them. When it comes to the summer time and there is no school, everyone is happier and more relaxed with nothing to do but just chill.

I'm currently on the countdown to summer - well it's actually a countdown until my exams have finished (17th June - 113 days) but they are the same thing in my eyes. As soon as my exams are done then summer can officially begin. It's probably going to the longest summer ever as I don't even start university until the middle of September and I really want to pack as much in as possible to make it worthwhile.

If my work was a bit more flexible so I could take more time off and if I had more money then I would definitely have gone travelling. There are a couple of people I know who have been on gap years this year and have been to loads of places and it has made me so so jealous. I
 will get round to it one day! However, that plan has been scrapped and instead I will be doing a few more days of work at Primark so I can save up some money for university. I am also lucky enough to be going away to a few places as well: Malta and Cornwall with Rob and then Barcelona with my mum and my sister. It will be great to get out of Preston for a bit and enjoy some 'proper' sun.

Me and my cousin canoeing last year <3

I've also got some inspiration from films as well. You know in films where groups of friends have a massive BBQ and sit around a little camp fire just chatting and being relaxed together as a group? I definitely want to do this in the summer ahead. Rob's also agreed to be in charge of the BBQ so that's a bonus and one step forward in arranging it (as long as we don't die from food poisoning hehe)

Fingers crossed it will be the best summer of my life and I am determined to make it this way!
Now all I need is to get these exams out of the way and I can enjoy myself to the max.

Thought I would share a few snaps from last year's summer:

Enjoying the beach - one of my favourite things about summer

SWIMMING :D

In Salou about to go on Europe's highest rollercoaster yay!

Trying (and failing) to get a tan in my garden

Drunk people

I went on a night out last night with some friends from my sixth form and when looking round at other people in the nightclub I wondered: why do people get so drunk that they can't control themselves anymore? There were people doing the weirdest abnormal dances, standing in the middle of the floor by themselves in a whole different world, people falling over and people looking like they are going to throw up at any minute.

The idea of getting drunk has not once appealed to me, yes I have drunk alcohol before and got 'tipsy' but never got drunk enough to the extent that it has changed my personality or affected my control or judgment.

Last night I stuck to my usual lemonade (call me boring, I'm really not bothered) and I still had a lovely night and I have done at every party or night out without being under the influence of too much alcohol. I don't think you need alcohol at all to have a good time and I really do not understand people who just get drunk for the sake of being drunk. I honestly do not understand how not being yourself, falling over and making an absolute idiot of yourself appeals to anyone in the slightest.

I like being the sober one in a group and I am sure I always will do. I like being the one who can remember every single detail of the night out, knowing I will be able to get home safe and in one piece and knowing that the morning after I will be absolutely fine and totally hangover free.

Last night seeing people falling over, getting aggressive and violent, going home with randomers and being sick makes me realise how bad alcohol can actually be. I have nothing against people who drink to loosen up, gain a bit of confidence and have fun but why let it spoil your night throwing up and making decisions that you are instantly going to regret in the morning (that's if you can remember it of course).

So yeah, rant over, just stay safe guys because I love you all too much for anything to happen.

Moll xx

Exam countdown and Cumbria Uni

Oh help!

It was 3 months yesterday till my first exam of the year and I am bricking it. Knowing that these are my last exams and how well I do in these decides my whole future is terrifying. If I don't do well in these exams then I won't get into university and then it is much harder to be a teacher! HELP!

I have 7 exams to take this year: 3 in Business (1 is a resit from last year), 2 in Religious Studies and 2 in Psychology. I am only confident in one of my business papers and the rest I am rubbish at. However, my brain is finally getting itself into gear and getting motivated to do revision so that I can do well. I just wish I was one of those people that doesn't get distracted easily from schoolwork and can actually sit down at a desk all evening and do work or revision. My mind just wanders all the time and I find it so hard to concentrate so I have to take a lot of breaks so that my brain comes back re-focused.

I've made a resolution to use all but 1 of my free periods at school effectively. That one free lesson a week that I don't use effectively I want to just relax so I can work better for the rest of the time. My aim is by the end of the half term holiday to have drawn out a massive revision timetable and to stick to it properly up until my exams that start on the 18th May.

We have our second round of mock exams in 2 weeks and once these are over I will know where my weak points are and to make sure that I know which parts of the course I need to focus on most.

After a university applicant day yesterday at the University of Cumbria I am more determined than ever to do well. I got to go to my future uni (I hope, fingers crossed) for a day and have talks about what uni is like and what to expect. On top of that I got to go on a tour of the accommodation they have on offer as well as have a session led by lecturers which showed what the typical lecture/lesson would have been like for my course - Primary Education. And as well as that I got a free hoody too as I have already put it as my firm choice which was an added bonus!

I am so excited for university and I cannot wait for September to come at all. Now it's just time to get my head down and focus so that I ace these exams!

Surviving Indoor Skydiving!

My mum got me and Rob some tickets to try indoor skydiving as a Christmas present and I have to be honest I have been terrified from the moment I opened the envelope with the tickets inside. But yesterday the day finally arrived and off we headed to Airkik in Manchester. Indoor skydiving is something I have never shown an interest in or even wanted to do in my life, but my darling mother decided it would be a perfect present... hmmmm

After being so scared and nervous for 2 months I actually thoroughly enjoyed myself. Being lifted off your feet by 90mph winds and having no control over what your body was doing was actually surprisingly fun and I would definitely recommend it to anyone! (You're in completely safe hands I must add)

When actually flying you are given a 50 second flight time each, now this sounds like absolutely nothing but believe me time went so slowly and it felt like I was in the wind tunnel for ages. When I was in the wind tunnel all the nerves went and I had a lot of fun. An instructor is with you at all times to make sure that you are controlled and know what to do which put my mind at rest a lot. After me and Rob had each had our separate flights then we got to go in the wind tunnel together which was the best part. I had an amazing time even if I did look like an idiot in a jumpsuit, goggles and weird shaped helmet. I would thoroughly recommend to anyone, it's safe for anyone above 4 and is such a fantastic experience and I would definitely go again. Thank you to Airkik and our instructor Luca for the best time! And thank you to my mum for a present that I will never forget! 

Valentines Day weekend

For Valentine's Day this year Rob and I ventured off to a place called Grasmere in the Lake District for a weekend away and luckily for us both I had the Saturday off work so that we could spend longer there together. The hotel that we stayed in was absolutely beautiful and was called the Daffodil Hotel and Spa. The staff were absolutely lovely and the views from our room were insane!

Some of the views of the Lakes were amazing

We arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday and we spent the rest of the day just exploring the local area and getting our bearings. We also exchanged Valentine's present yet Rob refused to wear his t-shirt out :( The hotel restaurant was fully booked for tea as it was Valentine's Day so we went for a pub-meal in the neighboring village Ambleside.

His Valentine's present off me hahaha!!

Sunday we went into the centre of Grasmere in the morning and had a little look around the village.However, as it was winter and also a Sunday there wasn't much there but we went on a lovely walk around the lake and just chatted and relaxed. The weather was so nice and you wouldn't have thought that it was only February. It was lovely going in winter as it is much quieter and we could enjoy the walk more.

Rob on our walk around the Lake

The rest of Sunday was spent in a town called Windermere and we enjoyed a coffee break, a fish and chip dinner and a look around the shops. To finish Sunday off we went out for tea again at a pizza restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious but you know when there are certain people at a restaurant who just won't shut up and you can hear their voice constantly? ... we had one of those people sat right next to us and it was so annoying. It didn't spoil our meal or our evening though, we just laughed about it afterwards.

Monday was the day to go home :( But before we did that we decided to treat ourselves to a spa day at the hotel we stayed in. We bought some day passes to the spa and spent the morning relaxing in the pool and the sauna. The pool had jet machines which blasted water out and it was so nice to just sit and relax after a stressful term at school.

Spa time! 

Me and Rob have been on trips away before but they have always been so busy as we have been in cities with loads of things to do and we never really got much time to just relax. But going to the Lake District was perfect to just get some 'us time' and have a proper break from the stress at home.

Such as brill weekend <3

 2 months, 10 days and counting till our next weekend away, I can't wait!! :D

Moll xx