New Thing: Challenge # 10

Challenge 10 – Try 15 cheeses you’ve never tried before

I passed one! This is challenge number 10, and only the 3rd that I’ve passed. I’m not doing so well with the saving money bit, am I?

This one was kinda expensive. Not to mention it made me look like a right wally. I had to stand at the deli counter in Morrisons (twice, because they don’t have a huge selection to I had to go a second store) and ask for thin slices of various cheeses. I got some very odd looks. Mind you, so did Jen, cos she was there with me. She was a full participant on this challenge. So, here are the cheeses…

1) French Brie – ick ick ick. DO NOT LIKE.
2) Bavarian Smoked – this one wasn’t too bad. Kinda strong though.
3) Wensleydale & Cranberries – this one is nice. Very sweet from the cranberries.
4) White Stilton & Apricots – this one was ok, but I’m not actually that fond of apricots.
5) Applewood Smoked – I didn’t like this one at all, but Jen loved it. So did her housemate.
6) Murcia al Vino – This one was goat’s cheese. Its sub-name was “Drunken Goat”, but I didn’t like it in the slightest.
7) Red Hot Dutch - this one may have tasted nice, I couldn’t tell. I was too busy with my mouth being on fire. Very, very, VERY hot! Too hot.
8) Mexicana – this one is delicious. A little more spicy than I’m used to, but very very nice. So nice that I went and brought a load more.

Just a note here, that the next cheeses were tasted in the cinema. Lol. We went to see Alice in Wonderland and had been to Morrison’s just before to get the cheeses.

9) St Ager – I didn’t like this one in the slightest. It was gooey, and very gross. Jen loved it though.
10) White Cheshire – not bad, but kinda bland.
11) Gorgonzola – Ick! This one was very waxy and horrible.
12) Spanish Manchego – another one I didn’t like. It turns out I’m picky with cheeses.
13) Sandhams Crumbly Lancashire – like the White Cheshire, this was ok, but it didn’t really have a taste.
14) Blue Shropshire – this one was alright. Blue cheese tastes weird, but kinda nice.

It wasn’t until I got home last night that I realized I’d miscounted in the supermarket and was missing a cheese. So I decided that the cream cheese I brought the first time round that we decided needed to be disqualified for not being a cheese, would get a second chance.

15) Crema Bel Paese – mostly bland, but with an odd after taste. I’ve never been a fan of cream cheese though.

Current saved total: £15
Current donated total: £35

Jekyll and Hyde

So, things are kinda weird with Neil at the moment. He’s been episoding – which means that he doesn’t really care about much. When it’s really bad he doesn’t care about anything, not even me. He’s been bad all year. I’ve only seen him twice since I got back from America, and both times were in January. He even missed our anniversary. And that was not a good weekend in Casa de Cleo. It was downright ugly. And many many times I wondered why I put up with it. He asks me occasionally why I do. And I tell him the same thing. I love him. I love Neil very much. More than anything in the world, and I’m not going to run away from him because he’s ill. He puts up with my depressive episodes, so I’ll put up with his. Sure, Hyde-Neil is horrible to deal with. He vanishes for days at a time, and I worry that he’s dead. He says he’ll come down and then cancels last minute, over and over again. He doesn’t even really love me at his worst moments. But someday Jekyll-Neil will come back. The Neil who loves me and wants to be with me. I just have to wait until he comes back.

I miss him. Sex aside, I miss being held. I miss just curling up in his arms and watching a movie together. I even miss when we’re sat on opposite sides of the room getting on with our things. In that instance he’ll turn round occasionally and rub my foot, check I’m okay. I miss that. I miss just being near him. It’s really hard to deal with this. When things go wrong with my life; when my ankle puts me back in casualty, or when my sister goes nuts and throws furniture down the stairs at my mum, or when my best friend and I argue over religion. When these things happen and all I want is for my boyfriend to tell me that he’s there for me, and then he’s not… well it can feel like my heart has been ripped out and is smashed repeatedly into a wall.

And then there are occasions where I come home from a decent night out with Jen, but then when I settle in bed and I’m alone and all my thoughts start to catch up on me and the depression creeps in. When I’m lost and scared and really want to talk to my boyfriend, and there’s no answer from him. So instead of getting conversation and comfort from him, I end up chatting to three of my ex-boyfriends instead. That’s what happened last night. I felt so alone and confused about a lot of things, and I wanted nothing more than to just have a conversation with Neil. About anything. But he wasn’t available. So I spent hours text-chatting with my ex-boyfriends. How pathetic is that?

I’m confused about religion and have been for a long time. I don’t know what’s out there. But I regularly (as in every couple of hours) find myself praying desperately to God, to Vishnu, to Allah, to Jesus, to Zeus… to whatever deity that might be listening… that my Jekyll-Neil comes back soon.

Hey There Internet

I've been lacking in my blogging duties recently, but I have good reasons. Possibly. I have broadband now (finally!) but it's very intermittant and my darling techie boyfriend hasn't been down to fix it for me. And when I do have the internet, I'm normally too busy checking facebook and Ravelry and all my funnies and things to think about blogging.

But I'm here now. I'm here and I have news.

On Sunday I had the most surreal day of my life. I spent three hours at Mormon church - and boy do I have a lot to say about that, but that's for later - then I went to Morrison's and asked the woman behind the deli for thin slices of eight different cheeses. Then I brought a rabbit. Not in Morrisons. A real, life, pet rabbit.

Meet Sir Reginald Fortescue - aka Reggie.



Jen and I were looking in the Sentinel classifieds for another cat, and we saw an advert for angora rabbits. I decided I wanted a pet rabbit, and an angora one would have been a money-saving device cos, think of all the yarn. Turns out the guy had no angora ones left, but I did walk away with this delicious giant lionhead lop rabbit. Aren't those sideburns adorable?!

He's been here three days now, and we're just getting used to each other. I'm still in the process of litter training him, but rabbit poop is about the cutest poop in the whole world of poop, so it's not too bad. He and Alfie don't seem to hate each other either. They chase each other, but there's no snarling, no growling, no claws or teeth. It doesn't seem vicious, so for now I'm just assuming it's playing. They are capable of being near each other without fighting, so I'm not worried. I shall, of course, keep you all updated. This does mean some changing of my labels though.

In other news... Neil is being an arse, I've given up Slimming World but am working on just controlling the number of calories I intake a day, and I'm spiritually confused.

New Thing: Challenge # 9

Challenge 9 - set all the alarm clocks in a supermarket to go off at the same time

I tried to do this one, but they were all in bloody boxes!

Current saved total: £10
Current donated total: £35

New Thing: Challenge # 8

Challenge 8 - Colour an entire colouring book

I'm really not doing so well with the challenges. Maybe I should just go back to doing New Things. But I've started, so I'll finish. Even if I fail every single challenge between now and new year.

This one would have been reasonable, if the colouring book wasn't so dull. Mum picked them for me and Michaela - dinosaur ones. With wide wide spaces that needed filling and our coloured pencils just weren't doing the job. We tried looking for crayons, but couldn't find any anywhere.

But, the challenge went back into the box, and I have found new, more interesting colouring books.

Current saved total: £10
Current donated total: £30