What a year it’s been.

2012-2013

• Stayed single almost the whole year? I haven’t been single at all in 2012.
• Were involved in something you’ll never forget? Absolutely. The Great Birmingham Run was just a phenomenal experience.
• Tripped over a coffee table? No but I have fallen over a couple of sofas.
• Came close to losing your life? Nearly got hit by a bus, if that counts!
• Saw one of your favorite bands/artists live? I saw Idina Menzel live. Amazing moment!
• Did something you regret? I don’t think so. I’ve been trying to live without regrets and so far I think I’m doing pretty well.

2012: Friends and Enemies

• Did you meet any new friends this year? Yes! Going to uni has just been the most amazing experience because of all the people I’ve met here!
• Did you hate anyone? Nope, I’ve realized hate is just pointless. Kill ’em with kindness.
• Did you lose any friends? Again, I think this is the first year where I don’t think I’ve lost any friends, which is awesome!

2012: Your BIRTHDAY!

• Did you have a cake? Yes I did 🙂
• Did you get any presents? I did indeed.
• Did you get what you wished for last year? I don’t think I made a wish last year, but something amazing happened that day 🙂

2012: All about YOU

• Did you change at all this year? Quite a lot. I’ve become more comfortable with being myself, not putting up a front, and I’m quite proud to say that since I started uni, I’ve been very much “what you see is what you get”, and if people don’t like that, it’s not my problem. My confidence has also grown.
• Did you change your style? I wasn’t aware of ever really having a style, let alone changing it. I think this one goes hand in hand with the self-confidence thing in that I now actually own three dresses, something I didn’t own last year – and I’ve worn all three of them!
• Were you in school? Finished college and started university.
• Did you get good grades? I got an A and two Bs, I was pretty damn ecstatic!
• Did you drive? Once or twice 😛
• Did you own a car? Nope.
• Did anyone close to you give birth? Don’t think so.
• Did you go on any vacations? I went to Trecco Bay in Porthcawl and it was great 🙂
• Would you change anything about yourself now? Nope. I’m happy.
• Did you dye your hair? A fair few times, I think I’m closer to my natural colour now than I have been for a while, although it is a bit pink/purple at the moment.

2012: Wrap UP:

• Was 2012 a good year? It had it’s ups and downs, really.
• Do you think 2013 will top 2012? I think it will 🙂
• Best thing that happened in 2012? I have three top moments, and I can’t even arrange these three into an order of first, second and third. That feeling of success after getting into university, the complete overwhelming emotion I felt after crossing the finish line at the Great Birmingham Run, and getting engaged – all three were just perfect moments in 2012.

IN THE YEAR 2012 I CONFESS THAT I….

• Kissed in the snow? Don’t think so. .
• in the parking lot? at the beach ? in secret ? Yes to the car park, yes to the beach but I don’t think in secret 😛
• Had your heart broken? Nope.
• Painted a picture? No.
• Wrote a poem? Can’t remember if I’ve written any poetry this year.
• Ran a mile? I did a half marathon actually 😉
• Visited a foreign country? Not this year.
• Cut in a line of waiting people? Ooh no, I hate people who do that!
• Told someone you were busy when you weren’t? Probably at some point.
• Cooked a disastrous meal? Don’t think so! Survived three months at uni without burning the place down!
• Lied about how old you were? Maybe once or twice!
• Cried yourself to sleep? Nope.

IN 2012 I….

• Broke a promise? No.
• Lied? No major lies I don’t think. Little white ones don’t count.
• Disappointed someone close? Probably! I have a habit of doing that…
• Hid a secret? Don’t think so.
• Pretended to be happy? Doesn’t everyone occasionally?
• Slept under the stars? No! I really want to!
• Met someone who changed your life? I’ve met a lot of awesome people this year, whether they’ll change my life remains to be seen 😉
• Changed your outlook on life? I’ve met some people who make you realize that there are truly good people in the world, and that crap happens to good people. I’ve met others who make me loathe humanity and fear for the future.
• Sat home all day doing nothing? Spent a few months stuck at home doing nothing with a kidney infection. It was horrible.
• Lost something expensive? Nope!
• Learned something new about yourself? I learned that I may not be fast, or a particularly good runner, but by god it doesn’t matter if my feet are about to fall off and I have tendonitis, I will keep walking if it’s for a good cause!
• Tried something you normally wouldn’t try and liked it? Jaegerbombs 😉 hah I’m kidding, I’m not a huge fan of them. Drunk karaoke.
• Made a change in your life? I’m bettering myself by going to uni 🙂
• Found out who your true friends were? Haven’t had one of those moments this year I don’t think.
• Met great people? YES!!!
• Stayed up til sunrise? Are you kidding? I love sleep too much!
• Cried over the silliest thing? The Snowman and the Snowdog the other night. Oh the feels 😥
• Had friends who were drifting away from you? Don’t think so.
• Spent most of your money on food? Nope, majority goes on accommodation.
• Gotten sick? Oh yes 😦
• Liked more than 5 people at the same time? No, because I’m not a whoo-er.
• Became closer with a lot of people? Yes 🙂

 

We did it!!!

It took us 4 hours 31 minutes and 33 seconds.

We were the very last to cross the finish line.

At one point, we were told we were “out of the race”.

 

BUT WE DID IT! Yes, yesterday we ran (or walked) a half marathon, raising around £400 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital in the process. Who cares if I ended up with tendonitis and blisters (and my fiance, annoyingly, is aching but has the acting skills to pretend he isn’t)? It’s all for a good cause, and we had a pretty good time too! Crossing the finish line was an intensely emotional experience, especially because as we crossed, the announcer called out our names and said we were doing it for a great reason. We crossed holding a Welsh flag with “For Owain” on it, and I’m not sure there’s ever been a better birthday present that could be given than to raise £400 for the hospital who made the last days of his life comfortable.

You can still sponsor us at www.justgiving.com/madison-matthews or www.justgiving.com/dafydd-williams09, please do so!!!

It’s a miserable day.

So outside the rain is falling, the sky is murky and there’s a very miserable atmosphere. Inside, things aren’t much better. I’m feeling miserable today because I don’t feel well, I’m tired and I’m missing Daf very much. Friday feels like ages away and there’s so much to do until then that it all feels a little overwhelming. We’ve started getting information about our modules and while I’m glad there’s no exams this year, the amount of coursework and practical work makes it sound like a lot. I’m used to coursework – when you do three essay subjects for A Level, you can’t really get away from having to write loads of essays – but I feel like I’m out of practice. Also, it’s like going from GCSE to A-Level – I guess you’re writing at a whole new level now, needing to use a more complicated vocabulary, etc. This time it’s even more complicated – we have to do “Harvard referencing”, whatever that is (I know what referencing is, but not sure what’s special about the Harvard variety), so at the moment it’s all a bit overwhelming and I’m just hoping I can cope.

Had some information about the Great Birmingham Run on the 21st October; found out that the day after I have lectures from 11am-5pm, which could be interesting when all I’m sure I’ll want to do is have a foot massage and then curl up in bed and sleep for a week. I’m still feeling fairly confident that I can do it. Without having a car handy, I’ve had to walk absolutely everywhere – the only place I’ve gone by bus has been home, which is two hours away by bus so I think you can forgive me for not walking that. I’ve also been going swimming once a week, which seems to be improving my stamina and helping me tone up a bit.

So, it’s still quite a busy time for me. I finished “Where She Went” and I will review it soon, but it might have to wait until the weekend.

I did it!

Yes, I was a big brave girl and I got my tattoo on Friday! It barely hurt, so if you’re considering getting a tattoo but you’re worried about the pain, don’t be! It’s uncomfortable, sure, but if you’ve got a good tattoo artist, they’ll know how to distract you. I was also allowed to have my Mom and sister to sit with me and make me laugh and keep me calm as I had it done. I absolutely love how it looks and so far it’s been pretty easy to take care of. In fact, I’m already planning my next one!

Fundraising is going well; this weekend I’ve managed to get over £50 in sponsors and I’m hoping for more in the coming weeks 🙂 training is going alright but I’m having a weekend off whilst I let my arm recover from being inked, tomorrow I have a blood test but after that I’m going to really immerse myself in the training and work on my distance ability. Speed doesn’t matter to me; it’s more a case of as long as I finish before they’ve all gone home, I’ll be happy!

You can  sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/madison-matthews , or my fiance at http://www.justgiving.com/dafydd-williams09 . Please do sponsor us, BCH are trying to get a new children’s cancer unit and by donating just a few quid, you could be helping to make one of the scariest times a child can experience that little bit brighter.

http://www.bch.org.uk/cancer_appeal.php – information on the Children’s Cancer Centre appeal.

 

I LOVE THIS WEATHER!

At the moment, much of Britain is having a heatwave – well, what Britons would describe as a heatwave, whereas many other countries would see it as a chilly day. To be fair, it has been lovely and warm, I’ve been out in my training vest and shorts, getting some walking and jogging done ready for the half marathon in October (www.justgiving.com/madison-matthews), we’ve been out in the garden today and I’d imagine the beach has been packed. I didn’t dare venture down; the sight of tourist flesh overhanging too-tight budgie smugglers is vomit-inducing at the best of times, and I knew that the beach would be full of it today. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be going for another beach jog with my fiance (www.justgiving.com/dafydd-williams09), I’m really desperate to get this training going well because it’s a big thing now – information on the run and our fundraising is in the local newspaper, so people know about it and I have no excuse not to train! Fundraising is going well but we’re still shy of our target, so if anyone can donate, please do!

On another, slightly-related note to the fundraising, I’ve finally decided on my tattoo. It’s the logo of Birmingham Children’s Hospital. I know where I want it done (as in, on my body), just got to decide what shop to get it done at! I’m thinking probably a local one because I don’t fancy a long car ride back from the nearest city, seeing as the area I’m getting done is where the seatbelt strap goes in a car!

I haven’t gotten much writing done because it’s been so lovely outside, but I’m going to try and get a bit more done over the next few days. I don’t want to lose interest in this new project – ideally I’d love to get back to the old one and do some work on that, but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen. I’m considering starting over with this current one – the same basic plot, same characters, but a different format and just doing things a little bit differently. Stay tuned for more updates!

Also, you can buy Christopher Maine’s two books, Dragon Flight Renegade and Dragon Flight Wrath at amazon now, just search for the book titles and you’ll find them! You can also follow his blog at www.christophermaine.wordpress.com .

A most delightful week!

Today I returned from possibly the most exciting (and definitely the best!) week of my life. I went on holiday last Monday with my family and boyfriend – not too far away, just down to the south of Wales – and we had a blast! TripAdvisor is going to love me because I have so many places to review – I’ll post a link to my TripAdvisor later so that if any of you are considering a trip down to Swansea/Porthcawl/Cardiff way, you can see some of the attractions and restaurants I rate highly, as well as my review of the  park we stayed at.

Two exciting things occurred on holiday. The first is that I turned 18 on Friday, so legally I am an adult (and I returned home to find three birthday cards from the local council to prove it), although I refuse to acknowledge myself as a grown up. The second is that my boyfriend asked me to marry him, and I said yes! So, as you can imagine, it’s been a lovely and very exciting week, although I’m exhausted now and fairly glad to be home! My next two posts will be regarding my writing, which seems to be going pretty well, and the Bupa Great Birmingham Run – I’ve now set up my fundraising page and would appreciate it if you could read my story and find it in your hearts to sponsor me 🙂

My next venture…

Despite everything going on this summer – my holiday and the three week summer school – the wait for Results Day is going to be a nervous one, and I need something to keep me occupied. I finally found something – and it’s for a great cause! The event itself isn’t until the 21st October – a date which is incredibly special to me, for reasons I’ll divulge later on when everything’s confirmed – but it’s the Great Birmingham Run, which I hope to be running for Birmingham Children’s Hospital – again, I’ll divulge my reasons at a later date.

It’s a half-marathon, which is going to mean a lot of training for me. So, it’s time to kick these kidney problems in the butt once and for all and get started on some serious training. First things first is actually learning how to run – I mean, I can do it, but I tire out really easily and my ankles don’t seem to like it very much. After that, long distance running. Once I’ve mastered the actual art of running, the long-distance part shouldn’t be too hard. If there’s one thing I pride myself on in sporting terms, it’s my perseverance – unless I’m in absolute agony, I’ll keep going, especially when it’s for a good cause.

So, stay tuned for further information, I’ll keep you all posted and rest assured, I will be harassing you all to sponsor me in the near future 😉