Do what scares you

I mentioned in my New Years Resolutions that I was hoping to be able to drive this year and on Monday I had my first driving lesson ever and it really wasn't as bad as I had been anticipating all of these years. Despite struggling to come to grips with getting the bite of the clutch everything went smoothly and I even managed to drive around a culdisac without injuring anyone and I only bumped the curb once- not bad for a first lesson if I do say so myself.

In most areas of my life I am really rather an anxious person and so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was actually a relatively calm driver, my instructor even commented about this! My next lesson is on Tuesday and I cannot wait!

The message that I am trying to convey in the post is that I was absolutely petrified about the concept of learning to drive, so much so that I put it off for four years and when I actually did it, it wasn't as bad as I had made it out to be in my head. So if there is something that scares you or something that you have been putting off for a while (without a valid reason!) then I really recommend that you try it out and give it a go- what is the worst that could happen?! 

Its a new dawn, its a new day and I'm feeling good.... (Academic Resolutions for the New Term)

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This song has been on repeat on my iPod for the past week so I thought it was a rather apt title for this blog post! Apologies for how quiet it has been on the blog the past few weeks I have had dreaded exams and I suddenly realised that this year the marks I get actually count towards my final degree resulting in many a day spent in the library not venturing too far away from the free tea and coffee stand that our lovely students union was handing out around an exam time (it really was such a helpful and great idea!).

Today was my first day back in lectures and it honestly felt quite strange, I don't know how other universities work but due to the Christmas break and exam period it had been six weeks since I had set foot in a lecture theatre, never mind a 9am lecture! Luckily I managed to get up in time and was there armed and ready with my new notebook ready to get  the most out of this semesters modules.

My first Field Trip is tomorrow and I have a report on that worth 10 percent of the module so it does feel rather like I am being thrown in at the deep end, but at least I will no longer have an excuse to spend all of my nights making my way through all eight seasons of 'How I Met Your Mother', Netflix really is far too addictive!

I already posted my resolutions for 2014 here but at the start of a new term I also like to set myself some goals related solely to my academic studies so here they are:

1- Write up my lecture notes the same day or at the earliest possible opportunity

2- Attend all of my lectures, even the ones that I think I have covered before

3- Always do that little bit extra when it comes to coursework (doing this really paid off for me in a report I had before Christmas so I am definitely making this a priority)

4- Balance university work with general life and blogging

5- Try and utilise the Library and its resources at least once a week to keep on top of work.

Although these may seem like quite basic concepts that every university student should be doing sometimes it is easy to lose sight of goals like these when you become bogged down with lots of deadlines and endless midterm tests and exams.

I have a lot of ideas for blog posts and I am going to try and get as many of them done as I can during this term. I have had a few emails and comments requesting posts about how I stay organised at University and so I will definitely be including those in the next month or so! You never know this might be the term that I manage to overcome my anxiety and branch out into more fashion and beauty posts so keep your eyes peeled! If you have any requests for blog posts then comment here or email me and I will do my best to incorporate them into my blog schedule.

REVIEW: Hickory's Smokehouse in West Kirby

Last Tuesday we buried my Nan's ashes and then not wanting to end the day on a sad note we decided to go out for a meal somewhere, our initial choice was sadly closed and so we ended up at Hickory's Smokehouse in West Kirby an I am so glad we did!

 When you arrive they bring bags of popcorn to the table for you to nibble on whilst you try and decide which of the many tempting meals you want to try, it seriously took me a good 15 minutes to come up with just one (apparently ordering multiple is not socially acceptable) and I am already itching to go back so that I can try some more! 

My Dad opted for a cup of coffee and it looked so steaming and delicious that I just had to take a picture of it (he says it tasted good too!!) 

After having a sneaky look around at the other tables we opted not to go for starters because the portion sizes looked rather generous and instead we decided we would have main course and pudding (my favourite combination!) I got something called BBQ Chicken Skewers (I think!) and they were so good... I do admit it, I was licking my fingers by the end of it!

 A lot of my family opted for this which was the 'Hog Feast' and as we went on a Tuesday it was just a mere £10 for all of those ribs, buffalo wings, chips and coleslaw! Delicious!

I really liked the way that everything was presented, my BBQ sauce came in a cute little bucket that I was oh so tempted to try and sneak into my handbag! 

Then for the best bit, pudding! I got the American waffles which came with more popcorn, pecans, maple syrup and the most wonderful honeycomb ice cream!

They were so good I had to take a second picture of them!

Even scoops of ice cream were presented so well and tasted really good! 

I would definitely recommend this place to anyone in the area, I believe there is also one in Chester too, we were quite a large party of nine who showed up in the middle of a busy lunch time but the staff were so accommodating and friendly. It was a really enjoyable meal and it was nice not to feel like you were being rushed away from your table as you are in some places! 

The food was that nice I have already decided I want to go and try their breakfast menu for my birthday (which sadly is not until September!)

Has anyone else got a Hickorys by them??

Pinterest

I spend faaaaar too many hours on Pinterest looking at all sorts of random things! Unfortunately though I don't have many people to 'follow' on there and I would really like to see what kinds of things that other people pin on there! 

I think Pinterest is such a fantasy sometimes for me, I pin things I would like in my future house, clothes I would love to look good in, places I would like to go, food I would like to eat and so on. 

What sorts of things do you pin?! You can find my profile here and I would love it if you shared yours in the comments below! 

I'm taking part in Grab a Friend today!

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Welcome to the weekly blog hop , Grab A Friend 

Link up here , answer a question , grab a blogger and be friends!

Every week this hop is created with lots of love + fun . So be sure to share it to more and more people can catch up and our lovely little hop can be large with more friends ;)

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Want to co-host? Fill this form !
                           

               Blog  | Twitter  | GFC | BlogLovin                                Blog | Twitter | GFC | Bloglovin

Now the co-host

Loretta |  The University Project

          Blog // Bloglovin // Twitter

Diane | Vincristine

Blog // Bloglovin // Twitter

When you go to follow your hosts , leave the answer to make their day + a bloggy present .  We all would love to share love back { will follow you back} .

This hop is for finding new friends & bloggy mates . So be sure to go and find yourself one . Hop over to at least three of the blogs. I am so happy cheery to see you all linking up with us every Tuesday . Yip-yip , you're rocking . 

Be sure to grab a button or link back.

Q: which resolution tops in your new year resolutions?

Noor : 

Focusing on priorities . It makes me sound like Poppy in Sophie Kinsella's book , I've Got Your Number but booohoo , if you can't focus on something , you CAN'T do anything.

Areeba :
BLOGGING! Oh I'm kidding. I wouldn't mind it but let's get serious! All I want to write & research. I'd go for journalism. I can stick to this career for the rest of my life.

Loretta:
My top resolution is to spend more time in the library focussing on my university work this year.

Diana :
To blog more often! Since I'm finish with school, I wanna be more active in my blog and post more entries per week :D

Your turn to answer! You can either leave a comment or tweet us . You choose #DoItDoIt

Grab a friend is BACK after a month . Darn , it was long . So we're taking co-hosts again , just fill this form to get on the list again . Let's be friends , people!

Good Reads

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Ever since I can remember, I have had my nose stuck in a book and not much has changed! Whilst I don't have as much time as I would like to for recreational reading at University, I still manage to find myself with an ever growing pile of books on my bedside table and relish any time I do find for reading! In fact I am considering stopping my Netflix subscription for a month after exams to force myself to read more! 

Good Reads is a social network site type thing for those who like reading, you can say what books you are reading, would like to read, have read etc and share your opinions on books you have read.

If you are a reader then you can find my profile for Goodreads here! Please do come say hello and share what you are reading, I am always after a good book recommendation! 

Making the most out of a bad situation

So its minus degrees outside (yes I did say MINUS), what reason could you possibly have for going outside?! Maybe you're in labour or have some other form of medical emergency that requires you to go to the hospital, but wanting to blow bubbles?!- you'd have to be mad right... well actually no. 

When a 7 year old asked his mum if they could go outside and blow bubbles during one of America's biggest freezes ever, you would think that they were a little strange, that is until you see the results of their bubble blowing here.

The images they captured were simply magnificent and I can only imagine the fun and excitement they had waiting to see how each new bubble would freeze! This afternoon will surely create a lifetime of fond memories for the mother and son.

 It would have been so easy for them to wrap up in a blanket in front of the fire and feel sorry for themselves due to the treacherous conditions outside but instead they made the most of a bad situation and created such spectacular images that I can't stop looking at them!

Filofax Apex Giveaway Winner!

This was my first ever giveaway and picking the winner really was rather exciting! 

The winner was Sara and I have sent her a tweet and will email her shortly with the news, if for some reason I cannot get in touch with Sara by the end of this week then I will draw another winner using the rafflecopter giveaway thingy! 

I hope all of you lovely people who followed me in order to enter the giveaway stick with my blog and enjoy what I have been posting lately. Sorry to those of you who didn't win, if I ever become Prime Minister I will give everyone a Filofax :P 

xo

Everybody needs somebody sometimes

I don't know if it is just me but I find that being a girl in today's society there is the need to appear as though you can cope on your own and you definitely don't need the support of a man, thats so 1930s darling.

However due to life events recently it has made me realise that its okay to need a hug or have your day completely brightened by a text from that special some one. I find it really difficult to understand those people that take their loved ones for granted and I really do not know what I would do without the support I get from my amazing friends and family. 

So many of us suffer in silence because we don't want to make it seem like we cannot cope and we are not held together and on top of our lives. I also think that this is a very British thing. Really though the only people that we are harming by keeping quiet is ourselves, like the old saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved. 

If you do just one thing today then tell someone if you're worried about something and need a shoulder to lean on. Remember guys you can always email me, I love giving advice and helping people with their problems! 

New Year's Resolutions

Just when you thought that you were finally free from all of those 'new year, new me' statuses cramming up your news feed I am here (all be it a little late) with mine! Due to the passing of my much beloved Nan, I took the start of January off as a hiatus from blogging and so now that I'm back I am playing catch up! The funeral is on Thursday and after that normal service will hopefully be resumed around here on The University Project!

Every year I say that I am going to eat healthier and try and shift a few pounds (as do most of the female population) but I am absolutely awful at sticking to it so this year I am simply opting for drinking more water and hoping once I've sorted that I can add in a few more baby steps and gradually become healthier, I am also aiming to plan my meals more this semester so hopefully I can stick to this! 

I am really bad at getting myself overly stressed about situations and especially in relation to University work so this year I am going to try and reduce the amount I stress out about deadlines! I am aiming to come up with a Library schedule as I find that I am much more productive there and feel much better after having spent a few hours doing my work in the confines of the Library walls.

This year I want to start taking better care of my skin and body in general! Since being a student I have been opting for the cheapest options possible and I feel that my skin has suffered because of this, as well as my hair. I got the Soap and Glory Yule Monty set for Christmas so that is a step in the right direction but if anybody has any suggestions for products for dry/sensitive/red skin then PLEASE send them my way, they will be most appreciated! 

Develop and maintain a budget! I am really good at coming up with budgets, however I am not so good at actually sticking to them! I am starting to use the cash envelope system for budgeting that I have seen more and more recently on blogs and I will post an update about how I am getting on with this after I have used it for a bit longer. Do any of you use this budgeting method? I am becoming increasingly more aware about how difficult it is for graduates to find a job and so I want to have saved up some money as a safety net for when I graduate myself. 

Appreciate my boyfriend more. Having been together for over two years now I sometimes feel like I take our relationship for granted, but I can't picture my life without him now (cheese alert!) and so I am going to try and be a better girlfriend this year! The same is true for my family and friends, losing my Nan has made me realise how many awesome people I have in my life. 

Learn to drive. This is something that I have been saying I will do for a good 18 months now and I have still not had a single driving lesson! So this year I am determined to start driving lessons, take and pass my theory test and be on my way to passing my driving test by this time next year. 

What resolutions have you made this year?