The greatest moments of 2014

It's New Year's Eve. Typically, I spend this time reflecting on the year, promising myself not to make the same mistakes I made yesteryear blah blah blah. But this year I thought instead of reflecting solely on my own experiences in the past 12 months that thinking about the 7 greatest moments of 2014 (in my terms. It is unlikely that any scientific breakthroughs will make my list and for that I apologise). So in no particular order ...

Wolf of Wall Street. What an amazing, sexually graphic film you wouldn't want to watch with your parents. A ''based on a true story'' film about the rise and ultimate demise of a lying, cheating stock broker featuring a lot of swearing, sex and drug use. This for me was my favourite film of 2014 and one I have watched over and over again. (If only for Leo). I personally believe he was robbed of that Oscar.

 The World Cup. Never ever a phrase I thought I would use in the same sentence as ''greatest moments'' but there's no denying I got pulled into the hype and excitement of all those overpaid adulterous men kicking a ball around. (Not sexist, accurate). A particular highlight for me was when Brazil scored an own goal, then later proceeded to lose 7-1 to Germany. Even I realised the huge enormity/embarrassment Brazil faced at this stage of the competition.

The infamous ''Oscar selfie'' containing more A Lister per square inch than any other photo in existence. Whether you're partial to a selfie or not, I think we were all in awe at celebrities of such a high calibre jumping on the bandwagon and posing for a photo.

Frozen broke almost every record going and taught impressionable young girls everywhere '' hey its ok to be alone'' and that actually, you don't always need a man/Disney Prince to rescue you. With subtle feminism and a song so irritatingly fun to sing Frozen is now the most successful animated film of all time. Well played Elsa.

Apple and Facebook planned to cover the cost of freezing the eggs of their female employees.The motivation behind this aside it being an obvious ''perk of the job'' is that it allows working women more flexibility and control over when they decide to reproduce, and not being dictated to by their biological clocks. A controversial issue and one that has feminists up in arms on both sides, I think such large corporations offering benefits to women is great and a huge leap forward towards equality in the workplace. 

 The Lego Movie came out and was AWESOME! I've lost count of how many times I've seen this film. At 23, I'm confident I'm not the only one who appreciates the immediate mood booster associated with watching it. Hugely successful and funny for all ages this was my favourite kids film of the year. 

Angelina Jolie's impressive speech about the use of sexual violence at war. I will be the first to admit I'm team Aniston all the way and stealing someone else's husband is never ok, but in terms of her political stance and her powerful speech to the UN Jolie smashed it, and has brought light to such a taboo subject. With all the conflict happening around the world at any given point often the women in those areas are forgotten about, but in time hopefully rape will no longer be used as an act of violence, and considered ''inevitable'' at war.

I wonder what 2015 will bring? Calorie free pizza? The demise of ISIS? Here's hoping...

Happy New Year! 

7 things NOT to do this Christmas

The festive season is often associated with overindulgence. Which is all well and good - but everything in moderation people. Using inspiration from my beautiful friend Ellen and my own personal experiences on previous years, here are 7 things to avoid doing this festive season.

1) It's always good to avoid getting so drunk on Christmas Eve you spend most of Christmas Day hungover. Your mum/aunty/grandparents will have spent all day cooking for you to struggle to keep anything down. You'll be rubbish company and everyone will be pissed off about it. Christmas Day is only once a year and you can go out and get hammered any other of the 364 nights of the year without ruining Christmas for everyone. Be sensible and be aware of the guilt trip you're in for if you spend all day in bed Christmas Day.

2) Eating an entire selection box/Quality Street tin to yourself in one sitting. This won't be good for your waistline and you'll just feel sluggish and crap afterwards. This is easily done so it's best to strategically position the chocolate so it isn't easy to consume the entire thing in 15 minutes. It'll also help avoiding the inevitable ''who ate all the bloody chocolates?'' argument when family members notice they've disappeared.

3) Listening to ''All I Want For Christmas Is You'' so many times that texting your ex/neighbour/milkman seems like a really good idea.  When in a wine/Quality Street induced state it's often hard to distinguish what are your genuine feelings and what's just you feeling sentimental because of Mariah Carey bleating on in the background. But approach with caution. If you wouldn't say it to them on January 1st don't say it on December 25th.

4) Definitely do not confess your love for your boss at the work Christmas party under any circumstances or any alcohol influence. (Unless you do love him, but that's a whole other blog post). I won't even elaborate on this one as it should be pretty obvious but you'll only make work horrifically awkward for yourself and spend the next 3 months avoiding walking past his desk for as long as possible. His wife won't be happy either. It's also wise to avoid turning up dressed like this:

(Unless you work in a strip club, in which case crack on).

5) Be ungrateful. No word of a lie, one year my dad got me and my brother ''humorous Post It Notes'' as a present and I managed to force a smile and be grateful. People don't always get their presents 'spot on' but to avoid looking like a massive brat and hurting anyone's feelings gratitude and appreciation should be shown at all times. And for the record those Post It Notes did come in handy eventually...

6) Avoid leaving Christmas shopping till the last minute. I work in retail and can only imagine the hoards of blokes that'll be panic buying their significant other presents the day before Christmas. For god's sake you have 364 days to prepare for Christmas there is no excuse for leaving things so late. By that point a lot of Christmas stock has run out so they'll be pretty limited options available. And she'll definitely be able to tell if it was something bought in a mad panic rather than a lovely, well thought out gift. ''A lint roller? Really?''

7) Most of all, don't forget that Christmas for many is a religious holiday, and for all is a time for family, fires and Trivial Pursuit. So don't stress, be ungrateful or get so hammered you openly admit the sprouts are horrible. Have fun, be gracious and above all enjoy the most wonderful time of the year.

My New Year resolutions

2014 has been an awesome year for me (give or take a few crap months). I've worked loads, passed the first year of my degree, lost loads of weight (and then gained it back). It's now the time of year where I think about what I would want to see in 2015 and any changes I can make to better myself. New Year's Eve is fast approaching YAY. Here is my ambitious list of changes I hope to make come January 1st.

1-Take better care of my skin. I'm quite fortunate with my skin so I haven't had to invest in any expensive products to keep it clear (as of yet) but after working on a make up counter and learning more about skincare I realise taking care of your skin is massively important; especially as I start to push into my mid 20s (cry forever). It seems like one of those things that the sooner you start it the less of a chore it'll be down the line, Currently lusting after some Liz Earle products! Along with this resolution comes drinking more water which is directly related to improving skin and aids with resolution #4 :).

2-Actually attend uni lectures. Any of my uni friends reading this will probably laugh/scorn.  Working 2 jobs this year has meant my uni attendance has suffered - which is massively counter productive in the long run! A re-jig of my priorities is in order I suspect...Goodbye bed hello 9ams.

3-Save money for a holiday/nice bag instead of buying 300 cheaper ones (or whatever the financially responsible equivalent of shopping is).  I'm notoriously bad with money and putting a little aside each month is bound to work out way more productive than my current spending habits. Paying off my debts definitely needs to be a priority in 2015.

4-Lose weight and maintain it! My weight fluctuates by about 2 stone depending on my diet/exercise regime but I definitely am at a size now where I'd be happy to lose some, and then keep it off. The only way I see myself achieving this is by making healthy lifestyle changes as opposed to ''going on a diet'' for the 23rd time that month. I plan to eat much smaller meals throughout the day, a lot more fruit and veg and a lot less pizza! Time to delete the Papa Johns iPhone app...

5-Be more grateful for what I have. Sounds cringe and cliché but I take a lot of what I have for granted and I'd like to think in 2015 I'll make more of an effort to appreciate who and what I have in my life. I'm lucky that I have a relatively functional family around me, a fit boyfriend (ha) and enough clothes to last me 3 years. It's time I start appreciating these things. Even in fits of rage when the washing up still hasn't been done. sigh

6-Go Vegan?? This is kind of on my ''maybe'' list. Truth be told I don't eat a lot of meat as it is and rarely drink milk, the only dairy I consume regularly is cheese because I'm in love with it. But from a health perspective I think my dietary habits (and waistline for that matter) would be in a much better state if I could cut out all dairy (and the tiny amount of chicken I eat). To be continued...?

7-Watch less of the Kardashians and equally crap TV. I despise everything Kim Kardashian stands for and by watching that awful show all I'm doing is fuelling the self absorbed, vanity obsessed fire which I personally have serious issues with swallowing. I admire anyone's ability to make a load of money by doing sweet eff all but I find the example she and her sisters set for impressionable young girls quite disturbing. ''Let me break the internet with a photo of my massive, inhumanely fake butt'' yeah your daughter's gonna love that when everyone on the playground has seen her mum's bits. #SLORE

What New Years Resolutions do you plan to make?