The West End cast included Carley Stenson, Natalie Casey, Ben Freeman and (to our surprise) Peter Davison and they were all fantastic. I’ll admit I’ve never been to the theatre and not enjoyed it (well…maybe once to see a university production of a Gilbert and Sullivan production *yawn*) but this was really awesome. Exceptionally cheesy, remaining fairly faithful to the storyline of the movie and with a whole lot of pink it was a great evening! The show only has a few more weeks in the West End so I urge to you go see it if you can! Alternatively there’s also the touring cast making their way round the country so if it comes to your city and you’re not sure whether or not you should see it – you should! It’s even coming to Aberdeen so I’ll be booking tickets for my niece and I to go see it as soon as I can afford it!

When you first enter through the Cromwell Road entrance (the main one) you are greeted by the wonderful Dippy, a 26 meter long cast replica of a real Diplodocus skeleton (which I have just discovered while googling shares the same birthday as me after being unveiled on the 12th May 1905! Obviously I’m not quite THAT old), and an overwhelming sense of where to start. There are four zones: blue, green, red and orange as well as other temporary exhibition areas.

Wanting to see the T-Rex we of course opted to start with the blue zone where all the dinosaur artefacts were stored. It was a great mix of fossils, hands on activities and animatronics which would make this the perfect place to take school-age children (in fact there was more than one school trip in progress when we were there for which I declared my jealousy at the culture London children are exposed to at such a young age.) We then continued through the blue zone to see the stuffed mammals which was extremely fascinating if not a little bit creepy at the same time. (I was introduced to a creature that looks like a very large rat that appears to walk on two long and thin legs and which Matt and I have affectionately named Leg Mouse forever more.) It was interesting to note as well the that the museum no longer collects new specimens for this particular collection.

Leg Mouse

I was also excited to find that the museum has pencils and paper on hand so that you can draw things as and when inspiration strikes. I took five minutes out to compose this amazingly accurate drawing of a dodo:

The viewing area above the main mammal gallery goes all the way around the room allowing you to see the life-size blue whale model from above as well as below – I actually couldn’t believe that there was a room big enough to house not only that but also another 100 or so animals. My favourite thing was probably the school of dolphins they had hanging from the roof although I was disappointed to see a lack of pink ones!

At this point we paused for a cup of tea and planned what to do in our last hour or two.  We thought we had covered the majority of the blue area but we were very wrong indeed! Matt wanted to see the Creepy Crawlies (yeah I don’t get it either!) whilst I was intrigued by the are on the map marked The Vault thankfully they were close enough together that we could do them both before we had to vacate the premises. The Vault is in the upper part of the museum and the main staircase was just as impressive as the rest of the place complete with a statue of Darwin halfway up! The Vault was… well… a vault! This was where all the precious items were kept including the latrobe nugget, a Mars meteorite and my personal favourite, The Aurora Pyramid of Hope. A collection of 295 naturally coloured diamonds some of which even glow in the dark!

Diamonds are a girls best friend

With not long to spare I grudgingly left the room with the pretty gems to go and look at bugs… no really. After that amazing display I was treated to a visit to No 1 Crawley House. All joking aside it was just as fascinating as the rest of the museum just with the added “benefit” of my skin crawling most of the time!! (Especially when we were inside Crawley House and they had a fake wasp’s byke (I’m allergic to wasp stings!) Unsurprisingly I don’t have many pictures from this area so here’s a pretty one of a caterpillar and a butterfly.

And then, alas, it was time to leave but not before making my donation to the renovations of the Central Hall by making Dippy roar!

If you’re in London I cannot recommend this museum enough but do make sure that you set aside plenty of time and I’m pretty sure its possible to get lost in there for a week and still not see all of it! I’d say we did around a quarter of it in the time that we were there so at least two full days are required. I can’t wait to go back an explore the red and orange zones!

Assets
Flat (valued at) – £80,000.00
Assets total – £80,000.00

Debts
C/C #1 – £667.44
C/C #2 – £500.00
C/C #3 - £0.00
Loan from Dad – £25,000.00
Mortgage – £37,176.12
Debt total – (£63,343.56)

Total: £4487.95 + £80,000.00 – £63,343.56 = £21,144.39

Increase\Decrease on January = -£1,594.24

Once again this is not an accurate reflection of my NET worth as of 1st February but rather right now. This is because idiot that I am was convinced that I had lost (or had stolen) my wallet. Somehow after travelling over 2000 miles (plenty of posts to come about my adventures!) I was unable to go from the shopping centre to my flat just 300 feet away. I was gutted as it I had only just put my driver’s licence back in my wallet that morning after being away AND I had almost £40 in cash when I am usually the queen of not carrying any money around with me at all. Rage.

Anyway, as it turns out I did make it home with it after all as I JUST found it this very evening. After searching high and low on the Tuesday night before calling to cancel all my cards, getting enraged at the cost of a replacement Cineworld Unlimited card (ten quid for a piece of plastic!!) and mourning the loss of the business cards for Matt and my friend Karen, I discovered it safe and sound. Underneath my pillows. On the opposite side of the bed from where I usually sleep… I have no clue whatsoever how it got there I am just seriously happy to have it back again!

So there’s my excuse and quite a good one if I do say so myself! I also have an excuse for the rather shocking dip in NET worth this month.. I forgot to factor in interest when calculating my mortgage balance each month so with my January statement coming through I’ve had to amend this in one fell swoop rather than gradually. Rookie mistake if I do say so myself but I think I’ll keep calculating as I have been doing and just take the hit in my mental number on a yearly basis.

As for my excuse as to why I still haven’t set up a budget… well I don’t have one. I think I’ve made enough excuses for now and instead will get to work with writing some nice posts about my fabulous trip!

Just before I went away I settled down to watch my 101st movie since starting the 101 challenge. I settled for The Notebook seeing as I was in a sufficiently slushy mood to actually sit and watch it all the way through. It is a heartbreaking tale but one that is done so beautifully that you really get caught up in it even though you kind of know how its going to turn out in the end. Strangely enough I didn’t cry though. I used to cry at all sorts even if I really didn’t want to but now it takes a lot more for me to start leaking than it used to. If you haven’t seen it and you like a good romance I highly recommend it.

The other 100 movies I’ve seen over the last 18 months are listed below. I think I’ll keep up the list for a while even if just to keep track of those I’ve seen with my Unlimited Card.

1. Inception
2. The A-Team
3. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
4. The Town
5. Despicable Me
6. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
7. Eat, Pray, Love
8. Back To The Future
9. Life as we know it
10. Daddy Day Camp
11. Surf’s Up
12. Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang
13. The Social Network
14. Ice Age
15. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One
16. Jurassic Park
17. Star Wars: A New Hope
18. Labyrinth
19. The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
20. Oceans Twelve
21. The Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian
22. Burlesque
23. Tron Legacy
24. Animals United
25. The Green Hornet
26. First Daughter
27. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
28. Tangled
29. Gnomeo and Juliet
30. True Grit
31. Black Swan
32. Paul
33. I am Number Four
34. Battle: Los Angeles
35. No Strings Attached
36. Unknown
37. Limitless
38. The Lincoln Lawyer
39. Galaxy Quest
40. Sucker Punch
41. Source Code
42. Tomorrow, when the war began
43. Hop
44. Airplane
45. Your Highness
46. Arthur
47. Red Riding Hood
48. Thor
49. Water for Elephants
50. Attack the Block
51. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
52. X-Men: The Last Stand
53. X-Men: First Class (x2)
54. Senna
55. Green Lantern
56. Cube
57. Bridesmaids
58. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
59. Drive Angry
60. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two
61. Cars 2
62. Captain America
63. Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones
64. Super 8
65. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
66. Clueless
67. Cowboys & Aliens
68. One Day
69. The Prince & Me 4: The Elephant Adventure
70. Just Friends
71. A Cinderella Story
72. Superhero Movie
73. Lost In Translation
74. Pretty Little Devils
75. Fright Night 3D
76. Richie Rich
77. The Lake House
78. Friends with Benefits
79. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
80. The Change Up
81. The Three Musketeers
82. Lion King 3D
83. Footloose
84. Contagion
85. Tin Tin 3D (+ 2D)
86. In Time
87. Tower Heist
88. Happy Feet
89. My Week with Marilyn
90. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One
91. Arthur Christmas
92. Puss in Boots
93. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
94. New Years Eve
95. Twilight
96. Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
97. Another Cinderella Story
98. Dawn of the Dead
99. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (American Version)
100. The Artist
101. The Notebook

One slight problem, the original frame price was £255 (not including lenses which were to be £112 extra!) – luck have it though there was a half-price sale on so that took them down to £127.50 + the £112 for frames but not 100% convinced I decided to wait and take a look online. I am so very glad that I did as I found the amazing fashioneyewear.co.uk which had the exact same frames for £159.10. Oh and a £10 off discount code for new customers bringing the final cost of these stunners to £149.10 over half what they would have cost someone who bought them for the original price direct from the optician and a good £100 saving over the sales price. Ok so I have to wait between 10 and 14 days for delivery but I haven’t worn glasses in over three years so what’s another week to wait?

Assets
Flat (valued at) – £80,000.00
Assets total – £80,000.00

Debts
C/C #1 – £772.09
C/C #2 – £492.50
Loan from Dad – £25,000.00
Mortgage – £36,150.98
Debt total – (£62,415.57)

Total: £5154.19 + £80,000.00 – £62,415.57= £22,738.63

Increase\Decrease on December = + £170.78
Increase\Decrease on 2011 = + £6,208.34

Since I was away spending a lovely few days in Ipswich over New Year this is only accurate as of about 5 minutes ago as opposed to first thing on the first of the month like it normally would!

I’ll be honest, every month I am shocked that I keep making gains no matter how small because truth be told I’m not exactly trying. However with the New Year has come the realisation that I need to not only pay my dad the interest that I owe him this year (we agreed on 1% below what my mortgage rate would be, so this year I’ll owe him £822.50) but I’d also like to pay back some of the capital. I like to make sure that I have a decent buffer in place of no less than £3600 emergency fund and with a couply of trips I have planned this year I don’t think I’ll be able to pay him back any more than an extra £1000 which means… I’m going to have to budget this year!

I kept saying it last year but this time I mean it, every penny will be accounted for! I also need to do some tidying up of accounts and just generally be more organised… wish me luck!

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,300 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

In 2011, there were 201 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 321 posts. There were 280 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 476mb. That’s about 5 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was March 16th with 152 views. The most popular post that day was Veggie for a week – Day one.

The top referring sites in 2011 were:

• twitter.com
• Google Reader
• facebook.com
• sheprimpsandpreens.blogspot.com
• tickateeboo.wordpress.com

Some visitors came searching, mostly for kaley cuoco, kaley cuoco fat, lose pounds save pennies, kaley cuoco hair, and babydoll cosplay.

These are the posts that got the most views in 2011. You can see all of the year’s most-viewed posts in your Site Stats.

• 1 Veggie for a week – Day one March 2011
• 2 Cos this Goose ain’t Gonna be FAT! Week 3 – Update November 2010
• 3 Cosplay Fever – 50′s Rose Tyler (Idiot’s Lantern Version) September 2011
• 4 Calendar Girls – HMT, Aberdeen September 2010
• 5 Cosplay Fever – Another Rose Tyler (Tooth & Claw Version) October 2011

It’s great to see two of my cosplay posts up there in the top 5! I’m not quite sure why my first veggie post was so fascinating to people but the other two posts clearly show the impact mentioning a gorgeous celebrity or two can have!

I’ve become a bit lax with posting in the last few months and I really am annoyed at myself about that. I do still love my little corner of the blogosphere but sometimes it’s just hard to find the inspiration as well as the time. I do hope to be back here a little more frequently than I have that’s for sure

Completed (21.5/101)

#9. Be vegetarian for a week – So much harder than I ever thought it would be!
#14. Make millionaires shortbread – Deliciouso!
#16. Detox for a whole weekend – wasn’t the most pleasant and probably wouldn’t do it again!
#18. Complete MCITP Windows 7 Exams  – Only counts as half as I still have another exam to go!
#30. Attend a film premiere – Deathly Hallows Part 2 Premiere, a day I will NEVER forget!
#36. Watch an ice-hockey match – Loved it, can’t believe I haven’t been back
#48. Take my niece to Disneyland Paris – A trip I’ll treasure forever
#62. Design (and wear) my own item of clothing - Don’t even care if I looked like a dork
#63. Get a caricature of myself – not my boobs OK?!
#66. Take a photo of the same place every month for a year – Nothing’s changed but the seasons
#68. Find a personally inspirational quote and work it into a piece of art or home décor – still inspired by my choice
#72. Buy flowers for someone – hope you liked them Sarah!
#73. Plant a tree – the lazy version
#75. Join the organ donor register – if you haven’t done it yet, why not?
#80. Give something away on Freecycle – would like to do it again, site a little complicated though
#82. Get on the property ladder – My own little den of tranquility
#83. Make 3 new friends – much, much more than 3
#85. Get a pen pal – Sorry I’m so rubbish Laura, promise I’ll write more in 2012
#86. Get rid of 101 things I do not need - Think I might need to declutter again already!!
#91. Make and bury a time capsule – this was so much fun and another great family memory <3
#93. Get a bike – yeah kinda only ridden it twice :/
#97. Get my teeth whitened – still happy with them… for now!

In Progress (17/101)

#2. Never have a negative NET worth – still managing
#3. Save £10 for each completed goal (£350/£,1000) – I’ll be honest, I don’t know the exact amount I have set aside but I’ll get on this ASAP in the new year
#4. Save £1 per day (£518/£1,001) – starting to mount up!
#5. Sell 25 things (4/25) – not sold anything at all this year… oops
#6. Weigh less than 130lbs - No idea how much I weigh right now but I know I put most of it back on
#18. Complete MCITP Windows 7 Exams – one down, one to go
#20. Read 101 books (18/101) – must find more time to read
#25. Watch 101 movies (97/101) – added 74 to the list this year, 45 at the cinema since I got my unlimited card and it’s still valid for a few months
#54. Keep a blog all the way through my 101 things challenge – still plugging away even if it’s not as often as I’d like
#57. Write a book – yeah so NaNoWriMo failed again this year but I KNOW there’s a book in me somewhere!
#65. Buy a camera and take lots of pictures with it – Have my camera, just need to remember the taking pictures part better!
#67. Make my niece a scrapbook – started the basics but not properly, need to make more time to craft in 2012
#74. Donate 101 items to charity (53/101) – yeah still need to get rid of more stuff
#78. Volunteer – still struggling to find opportunities that suit me and my lifestyle
#81. Get a promotion/new job – Um… yeah less said the better right?
#84. Meet 3 bloggers that I follow in real life (2/3) – which of you’s up next?!
#98. Watch every episode of Charmed, Buffy and Angel – Finished Charmed and have started Buffy courtesy of Lovefilm

Why have I (still in some cases!) not done these yet? (11/101)

#27. Go paintballing
#32. Go rock climbing
#33. Learn to snowboard
#34. Go scuba diving
#41. Go to a casino
#55. Keep a journal
#61. Upload a YouTube video
#87. Learn how to change a tyre
#88. Tie a note to a balloon and let it go
#90. Buy (and wear) a new pair of glasses
#92. Build a tree swing

Also in sight for 2012 (11/101)

#28. Go camping
#35. Crew at a Collectormania event
#37. Attend a murder mystery event
#45. See an F1 race live
#51. Watch the sunrise
#52. Watch the sunset
#53. Visit the Cairngorms
#60. Write and record a song
#94. Get a pet
#96. Pull an all nighter
#99. Sleep under the stars

And there we have it, my first full year as a 101er. Hopefully the next year will be just as productive! Hope you all have a wonderful new year no matter what your plans! Catch you on the flipside

2011 will forever be a year to remember for me. I bought a fricking flat for crying out loud. I OWN my own little safe haven that’s mine. Just mine. (OK so the bank own part of it and I owe my dad some money from the deposit but you know what I mean right?! ) A lot of 2011 was quite lonely for me but I used that to my advantage, to come out of my shell and met some fantastic people. I also met some of my heroes in the flesh that I probably wouldn’t have dreamt of meeting in 2010.

I completed 17 (and a half) of the challenges on my list – not a huge amount but enough to be proud of considering some of those were biggies like taking my niece to Disneyland and attending a film premiere while others were small like getting my teeth whitened and making millionaires shortbread. 17 things that I had never in my life done before and can now say that I have. (I’ll schedule another post for tomorrow with the full list of my accomplishments in 2011 like I did the same time last year)

Tomorrow I am headed south to spend a few days with Matt and some other con friends in Ipswich. It’s been two months since I’ve seen any of them so it’ll be nice to have a catch up. It’ll also be nice to have a break from… well, just about everything if I’m honest. I’ve been left in charge at work the last few weeks (still got next week as well) while my manager went back to Poland for the holidays and it’s been quite nice not spending my days filled with rage but I know that feeling won’t last forever so once I’m home there will still be a lot of things that I need to look at sorting out including finding a new job. preferably one that makes me happy. But that ladies and gents is in the future and not something I’m going to bother myself about for the next 4 days!