Blogging Vacation is Over!

Canterbury

"It's been a long, long time...."

Wow, this can't possibly be happening!!!! Kayla back to blogging!!

Yes! I have come out of my hibernation and am back to typing furiously about my not-so-exciting life!

I suppose you all deserve to know what has been going on my life. Well first off, I had been working 3 jobs. One of which with M&S, I happened to love. The others, bar-tending in a club and waitressing were quite stressful. Not so much of being afraid of making mistakes but of the owners.

Then in April '15 I left London and moved to Canterbury in Kent to start my nursing course.

It's only been a little over a month into my course and it's interesting in certain areas. Some of the basics are a little droll to hear but it has to be done.

I consider myself lucky to have the house-mates I have because I had a bad enough experience with College house-mates back in Ireland. I live with five girls and all of which have different personalities. Two of the girls I get on really well with. You'll find that we go to church together, sing in the Christian Union together and watch our favourite movies together. Homesickness doesn't seem to be a big deal as I've been living over here since 2013.
There are days when I'm awfully bored but there's always something new to look forward to. For instance I have my bestie Edel coming over in June. Lots to show her and also lots of movies to get through.

Canterbury is perfect for me, with its cafés, library's and parks. I love to walk in a unknown direction and get lost. I'll end up finding hidden gems, like craft shops or old, historic buildings.

My friend Claudia and I like to go for some tea and cake and have a long chat about our interests and stories.

This little park is one of the pretty places I get to stroll through while walking into town.

Canterbury is a very expensive city to live in however, so as a student I have to give myself a set budget per week on saving money. I admit that I take care of myself first because I'm the only love in my life, so a treat is allowed once a week, for example that could be going to the cinema or for a meal.

Getting back to blogging will be hard. If you could ever believe I have more free time now than I did when I was working, so perfect time to be getting back into it.

And another nice thing I get to do today is giving myself the time to catch up on everyones blogs... well the favourites that is, with a nice subway.

Lots of love,

Festive Feelings :: 12 :: Winter Sales & My Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope everyone has had a splendid day! And is continuing to do so.

One of my favourite things about Christmas is the sales... Haaaaa! So tomorrow it begins. I try to not buy much until after Christmas Day. Tomorrow though I'm more excited for the cinema, rather than the shopping, heehee.

Today started off very sweetly. I had such a good sleep, waking up at 9:30am to some glorious sunshine and a blue, clear sky and getting half dressed for mass. After mass, we opened our pressies, then some breakfast with some festive music. I got a new flavour of tea, a book and an amusing mustache stick from my lovely friend Peachy. Pressies like these always delight me, as it makes me happy knowing that the giver knows me so well. My Mum gave some cute outfits. I apologise for not taking any pictures as they are all in the wardrobe. She and dad got me a big Mac selection of makup and brushes. I was surprised, let me tell ya! My parents and I left our brother behind to go into town to have a drink in a pub. Surprisingly enough we found one that was still opened.

In the evening, after our dinner, which was steak, we all spoke to my grandparents, aunts and cousin in Scotland, on Skype. We all had a great laugh, telling each other about our gifts. And telling funny stories about our family members.

There was movies on all day, but I strangely enough didn't watch any. It came to the evening, and so it was time to lie out on the couch with my blanket and get started. Along with the dessert; sherry triffle, vienetta and tonnes of chocolate there was Coronation Street, Miranda and of course the exciting Downton Abbey Special. My dad laughed at me when I kept tearing up. It was perhaps my favourite part of the day. I wish that I knew some of the characters.

So the following pictures were all taken on my phone, so not so great quality, but I did promise a picture of my dress from Topshop.

Let me know how your day went. Did you have your family special moments?

Was the food as good as you thought it would be? Mmmm fooood, heehee. I myself am now gonna get some cocoa pops and watch my brother xmas pressie from moi, 'Guardians of the Galaxy', honestly it's a gift to me as well.

Thanks for keeping up with this little series of blogmas. Hope you enjoyed!

Festive Feelings :: 11 :: Spreading Magic on Christmas Eve!

It's Christmas Eve Babe!

Magic is all around us and Santa is on his way.

When there are more good moments on Christmas Eve, they really stand out, making it feel even more magical.

I see magic in where there is kindness shown by others, in the laughter that is made together while watching family movies and also in the shining stars. I've just stood outside the door with dad and it's such a beautiful night. Somewhere inside me, I tell myself that Santa is real, because the idea of magic is just amazing.

Isn't it a lovely feeling when you help an other person out. Whether they're stressed, or  upset, and even if you remind them to take a breath or let them know that you're there for them it really can make their day. Today at work, I could see the stress in peoples facing, trying to get those last minute purchases and I did pause before checking whether they were ok. But ya have to chance it! I'm glad I did. I did manage to make some people smile today. Strangely enough I got a hug from a random customer. Maaaaaaybe cos I was wearing my bear onesie at work, heehee. Lots of fun. Pathetically it was just my Manager and I that wore them. I had the hood up and everything at the tills. Then my family came and laughed when they saw me. Embarrassingly enough they took a picture!! As well as my mother asked for a further reduction on a rather cheap item of clothing! How awful, heehee!

I gave my bus ticket to someone at work and I was glad that they felt a little easier, especially as they're a student.

Spread the love, the joy, spread the magic. It's a beautiful, wonderful feeling not just for you, but even more so for that person.

Festive Feelings :: 10 :: Music Bringing Memories at Christmas Time!

Music makes everything even more special at Christmas.

I love how it brings memories of the times when I danced in the lounge area in my old house. Well it wasn't dancing, just spinning in circles to the music and had the heat from the range blaring at me.

I have many favourite tunes, but 'The Fairytale of New York' will always be my favourite. I love the traditional Irish instruments in the song. Even though it has plenty of swear words, it for me shows honesty. No mushy stuff. There are lots of ups and downs at Christmas. Fights about the dinner arrangements.

'Rocking Around The Christmas Tree' brings back memories of my dad cooking in the kitchen. 'Driving Home For Christmas' is the song I have a brief flashback to when I was little, sitting in the car, looking out at the Christmas lights on the streets in Dublin.

Even with the most more newish songs, like Michael Bubles, 'Santa Clause is Coming to Town', his voice is replaced with my friend Edel. I can always hear her singing it, with the twists in the songs melody. Music makes me happier. There's no song that gives me bad memories, which is one of the things that I love about music.

Since I've been alone these past few days, I've been listening to my new album 'Christmas at Downton Abbey'. It's been lovely. My favourite is 'In The Bleak Midwinter' by a wonderful, joyful choir. It reminds me of the time when I sang in an all girl choir recital in a hotel back in Ireland. My Gran, brother, mum and dad were all sitting in the crowd. It has always been a favourite of mine, especially as it was the first time I sang in front of a big crowd.

Are there any songs that mean something special to you? Do you feel that they can provide you with happy memories of Christmas?

Festive Feelings :: 9 :: Culture & Religion

Today I spoke to a girl I work with about what Christmas means to her. And I asked how she celebrates it. She comes from Poland and from there, they have many traditions. For example, Christmas Eve is the time where they celebrate Christ. Christmas Day not so much. They lay straw under the table mat while they eat, in recognition of Jesus Christ in the manger. And when the first star appears, they can open their gifts. Her Christmas includes, making 12 meals, all vegetarian and also setting an extra dinner plate aside. It's a way of showing that everyone shouldn't alone at Christmas and that anyone is welcome into their home. At their meal, they all pass around bread, basically the same bread we have for holy communion. Everyone takes a piece and passes it on to the next person and makes a wish for that person. For example, wishing someone luck for their journey across seas.

These traditions sounded so beautiful to me, and I felt happier knowing more about other cultures out there and the way they celebrate this holiday.

I'm very careful over here in the UK, at work that is, in wishing someone a 'Merry Christmas'. That person may very well not celebrate Christmas. So I should respect that persons beliefs and opinions. My Manager doesn't celebrate Christmas which is funny and probably a little annoying for him in a way, because everyone has to wear their Christmas outfits to work this week, plus there's the whole Christmas album on repeat. And the whole time there's kids crying, wanting pressies. So my manager kinda wants to kick them when he sees them. Doesn't like Christmas or kids. This at this time of year is very amusing to me.

On another note, today someone asked me what I was wanting for Christmas. Simply nothing. I don't like the sentence, 'I want *insert* for Christmas'. People should not want but need, love, happiness and hope at Christmas.

I will celebrate it with the traditions I have grown up with. And yes, even if it seems a little repetitive I'm glad it remains so. It's a laugh at times, but also very sweet.

Please let me know how you celebrate at this time of year. Or what your main holiday is.

I'm very interested in knowing other cultures and religions.

Festive Feelings :: 8 :: Appreciating Your Friends & Family!

All year round we're busy bees, yet somehow at the busiest time of the year, we make the effort in telling the people that we care about how much they matter to us.

Christmas we know how hard it'll be in pushing ourselves to send pressies, cards, visiting the neighbors, meeting up with friends. We go out of our way because the rest of the year we don't have to explain ourselves. There are plenty of excuses!

I love Christmas for being the time to visit my family, neighbors and friends. Usually I visit my family in one day, travelling in the car with my mum. I give the Christmas cards to them and have a nice chat over tea and Christmas cake.

With friends it's a lot harder. Last year, I went for a meal with some of the old school friends and it was just lovely catching up on our lives. Sadly I won't meet them this year, but I hope they know that they're in my thoughts.

I managed to send each of them cards. Even though I'm in a different country, doesn't mean I can't send a simple card. What does it take? A short journey to the post office!!

Christmas is exciting for meeting people that you haven't seen in such a long period of time. It's an exciting time to get dressed up and show people that you don't just live in your work uniform, heeehee.

At least with these holidays, 'work' never has to be a subject on which to discuss. It's the time where you really want to forget about it. And pretend in a way that you're never going back.

The family aren't working, which means there doesn't have to be any stress in having to go to bed early. No one has to worry about there being any appointments. I myself have the pleasure in not having to wake up to the alarm!! Oh how that bugger annoys me! Seriously!

So remember your loved ones this Christmas. Ring them up and just talk about anything. Visit them by surprise with a bouquet of flowers and a card. You may just brighten their day. Give the time to show them that they're special to you.

Festive Feelings :: 7 :: What Truly Matters | Feeling Blessed!

So another thing that I LOVE about Christmas is feeling blessed and appreciative with what I have. It's a great time to reflect on my life and to know how lucky I am. So many people out there don't get to have dinner with their families or have the comfort of a warm home. Some people don't know what it's liked to be loved or to be even noticed.

I know at this time of year that my family are there for me. They know me so well.
I feel so lucky and proud of my family for looking out for one another. For the things that truly matter, we are loyal and protective of one another.

Christmas for me, is the time to thank God for everything he has given me. For the family and people that I have met along the way in my life, and for the lessons I have learnt that have helped me evolve. 

So be sure this Christmas to remember what this time of year really means. It's not just for gifts and leisure's you know!! Do a good deed and you will feel true happiness. Not happiness that you get from opening gifts, but a different happiness. Something that can last with you forever.