Ok, the hair fairies were definitely on my side otherwise I'd be bald by now. My God it's been an interesting 24 hours... first I put a pre-lightener on, and as you can imagine my hair went completely orange. Think Samantha in Sex and the City in that episode. But then I put on the light brown and AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH - I was blonde!!! "Almost green", according to my mum. And then I went to sleep, disheartened may I add, and soon woke up with palpitations, nausea, dizzyness, cold sweats, and generally feeling crap. I thought I was dying from a reaction of the hair stuff, but it turned out I was just intoxicating from the chemical fumes.

I realise you might be finding this very amusing... everytime I looked in the mirror I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. And sometimes I couldn't help but laugh. Or look like this.

So, thinking that I can't wear a hat for at least a week, and head scarves wouldn't quite hide the ginge (which, again, isnt bad it just doesnt suit me at all) I took myself to a colour specialist. Why didn't I do that in the first place? Well I was trying to be frugal wasnt I. Now I'm poorer, pissed off at my neverending amount of brilliant ideas, but my hair looks ok. Still slightly red, which is annoying because you'd think brown overpowers ginger but no... the lovely caramel highlights make up for the fox shade though. I ain't posting a picture of myself to the public, but if you're curious here's an idea of what my mane looks like. So there. Very stressful day. Super mad at myself. I'm never gonna learn am I? An annoying little song that went like this "yooou're gonna be single tonight, yes you are, you sooo are!" kept playing in my head since last night.

Damage control done, bring on the next set of stupidity.

Love,

Mon xx

Woooo I'm on Kerrang magazine again! Not being mentioned this time, just in a picture at the 30 Seconds to Mars gig. Follow Jared Leto's head towards the back and there's me! Well, my head anyway. This has turned out to be a nice day after all! And later...oh ho ho later... let's just say I pray that the Gods and fairies of hairdressing will be watching over me. More to be announced later on...

Love,

Mon xx

I'm doing pushups, the wardrobe starts shaking and moving, I think "oh God, what the hell have I done?"... sister knocks on the door and starts shouting "Monica is that the dog??"... the dog's trying to get out the door and I'm trying to catch it so we can run... "no, it must be an earthquake, let's go downstairs"...

Dad: Was that the dog?

Mum: What's the dog doing?!!
Me: Nothing. My wardrobe's moving!
Mum: Is the dog in it?!

Sister: My computer desk was shaking loads, I thought it was the dog running like mental like he does.

Now you know the cause of the earthquake, ladies and gentlemen. Don't blame it on the lava!

Have a nice day. Back in a bit!

Love,

Mon xx

Here's my dilemma...I'm not motivated to do uni work, never have been, unless there's a deadline looming. My aunty and uncle are coming to visit next week so I should really finish this essay before they come. But that means writing an essay three weeks before it's due in. Can you see my problem here? How can I possibly do that?! I'm not motivated at all.

And also, Oliver's not looking too good, so he's going to the vets later. Mind you though, he has just lost at least three big teeth so maybe that's why he's miffy. Anyway, I thought I'd bring his night bed (he has 2 beds) downstairs so he could get comfier, but what he did was lay on the day bed and bite the night bed basket... I'd given up on that basket about two minutes after I bought it, but I thought that with him being in pain he'd leave it alone. I was chuffed to see him chewing away!

Eeek 10am already... ok let's give this essay another go... Only nine more essays and three exams to go, then I can burn everything and breath.

Oooh, Live from the Red Carpet at the Oscars...

Edit (10:01am): I've just decided on my next look. I want to be French. Like Marion Cotillard or Julie Delpy, I'm not fussy. Classy in a natural and understated way. Will try to do this asap.

Love,

Mon xx

The real secret is, I'm still that girl.

Love,

Mon xx

So...

I. You have to look up page 123 in the nearest book around you.
II. Look for the fifth sentence.
III. Then post the three sentences that follow that fifth sentence on page 123.
IV. And then tag five people, just like you were tagged!

I have a bookshelf in front of me so I'm gonna pick the book that's on top.

"If a dessertspoonful (10-15ml) or more of fresh blood is passed with the faeces, your veterinary surgeon should be consulted immediately. Polyps in the rectum which sometimes protrude may cause constipation or straining and can be a cause of blood-stained faeces. Although they are unlikely to be malignant, a veterinary surgeon should be consulted about their removal.

Constipation is not uncommon, especially in toy breeds."

Taken from "What If My Dog..."

I tag Miza-T, Kevinwilson, adamantixx, Chyna_Doll and Sminchin.

Love,

Mon xx

As I find myself in the last half (I split it into halves from the beginning to give the impression of it passing quicker) of university life, I can't help but smile. And laugh at myself because 1. I still want to pack it all in and come up with backup plans everytime I have a deadline, 2. I still hate sales, which is ironic when I'm doing a Marketing degree, 3. I still want to be a writer really, or a photographer, or anything remotely creative and not at all officey, 4. I'm not more mature - perhaps I am in the fact that I no longer drink before lectures and don't stay up til late and show up looking like a zombie (often, and surely learning lessons shows maturity) but I still do stupid things, such as spending a vast amount of scarce student loan on hair and puppy rather than transport and food. And finally, 5. I still hate uni as much as I ever did, and it's still as much of a burden as it was from day one, which I've always seen as a necessary evil rather than "the time of your life". Yes, it's been fun at times. Hilarious and silly and full of you'd-never-believe-what-we-did sort of stories. But I've never been the totally irresponsible student stereotype, I see it as my full-time job, one that I can't wait to resign. The clock's ticking, that day's approaching, my deadlines are creeping up, and what am I doing? Reading gossip online, watching Sex & the City and drinking wine in the afternoon, changing my look as a way of procrastinating, and then becoming depressed about it as a way of procrastinating, intending to write my first book, losing sight of perspective because my life's way too long already for one book, having fabulous peaceful afternoons in, and thinking that Heather Mills is a golddigger I should really manage my time better. And above all, that I love being like the rest of population, who put off doing the important things until the very last minute. Amazing realization. I've been too hard on myself, I'm just another human being. And right now, I'm one whose arse is about to get whupped (I stole this word from the boy) if this essay doesn't get done.

Don't you love having epiphanies?!

Love,

Mon xx

PS. And I'm wondering how I haven't choaked on the smell on incense yet because, honestly, I've been abusing it for the past 3 years, since I found that little shop that sells it so cheap.

Ok, let's get the news out the way first. I passed all my exams, woooo!!!! Got a 1st, a 2:1 and 2 2:2s. If you have no idea what that means, just pretend you do, like I do.

And risking being hated for bringing up V. Day again, I have to write about it on my diary. Mike completely swept me off my feet and overwhelmed me. He listens to everything I say, he knows me so well. He got me my favourite cream that I only get myself every year on my birthday as a treat. And lots of my favourite lipbalm, that I've loved since we went to Paris and sadly they don't sell it in England. And 2 of my favourite films; 2 Days in Paris and Garden State, which I'd asked him if I could borrow the other day, not knowing that he'd already bought me it. And a memory card for my phone, so I can make longer videos and take more pictures of Oliver. And a book I said I wanted a while ago when it came out, inappropriately called Rubbish Boyfriends. As if all of that wasn't enough, he got me a bouquet of gorgeous red roses, that smell sooo good. We went for a lovely meal, asked for 1 dessert, 2 spoons, got a bottle of my favourite wine, and then spent the night cuddled up in bed watching a very strange programme and telling bad taste crude jokes. It was perfect, for us. He's so funny, we have the same sense of humour and he makes me laugh so hard my belly hurts. And so handsome, seeing his beautiful smile and his smiling eyes, or just thinking of him lifts up my mood. And he's intelligent too, of course. I am totally in love with him.

So if my love life's good, and my studies are good, and my health is peachy, and my family's off my case...which area of my life is going to f*** up next?! Just kidding!

*sigh*

Love,

Mon xx

V. Day again! Being a Marketing guru, I should know better. Being a hopeless romantic, I have a big puffy tulle dress to wear, pretty shoes, cute presents for the boy, a table booked at one of "our" restaurants, an aversion of going into uni and staying there until 6pm because I want to spend the afternoon painting my nails and doing my hair, and a tinge of excitement because it's gonna be a lovely night!

But if you're dying from all the commercial shit and you hate this holiday, let me break the bubble by saying that my dog is suffering from flatulence. Seriously, I don't know where to hide. And he's humping a westie teddy. And he must have hit puberty because...well...oh it's too hard to say. My darling boy. How can something so little and cute do such nasty things?! He's biting the teddy's head, pinning down its paws and humping it. Not romantic at all.

Take from this post what you'd like! Enjoy your day

Love,

Mon xx

So I've gotta list seven habits/quirks/facts about myself. Here it goes:

1. Even though I'm getting a degree and trying to join the corporate world, what I've always wanted to do is have a house in a pretty mountain and sit outside writing books.

2. I've lived in 3 different countries and now I have no idea where I want to settle down.

3. I turned vegetarian after doing research on animal testing for a university assignment.

4. My eyes look the same colour as toffee in the sun.

5. I've only slightly cheated in a test once, when I was 13. I felt so bad that I never did it again.

6. I have a big scar on my neck. Sometimes, when I remember it's there, I cry. Mostly because I'm overwhelmed by my braveness *ahem* but also because it's a bloody scar on my neck, of all places!

7. Sometimes when I'm walking around on my own, I imagine what I'd look like in a magazine if I was famous and the paparazzi took a picture.

Nothing majorly weird I suppose, sorry to disappoint you! I tag jaketaylor, kevinwilson, Tatiana84, sminchin, Chyna_Doll, soyunperdedor and Miza-T.

Had a sudden change of mood this morning, as Mike text me before 9am to make my day. He was reading Kerrang magazine and there's an interview with 30 Seconds to Mars, and they talk about the Liverpool gig, and Jared says that he signed 2 people's arms!!! Oh God, Jared Leto acknowledged my Snakebite & Black fuelled courage to ask him to sign my arm. I'm so happy.

Let's try to have a good day everyone!

Love,

Mon xx

I have just had a delicious smoothie, made with 1 banana, 2 kiwis, 1 apple and a glass of orange juice. Yum yum yum. Had about 10-a-day* so far, counting the banana with cereal and the apple snack. Been very good lately; eating well, exercising, and about to go for a walk and take in some Vitamin D. It's starting to have an effect, I feel great, strangely filled with peace and feeling like there's a glow around me. And my skin's nicer. Who would've thought that common sense and balance actually works, eh?!

Enough waffle, uni awaits me. I hate that place.

Much Love,

Mon xx

*Update: About 50-a-day now. I have snacked and dined on delicious red grapes, strawberries and juicy orange. Fruit is simply divine, daaahlin'. And naturally high in sugar. Have I mentioned I easily get sugar highs? Fantastic.

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right'. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." - Napoleon Hill

Taken from Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. Oh shut up! There's some useful tips in there, most of which I'll probably forget by the time morning comes, but still it made today a better day so it's been worth the read. I've also finished French Women Don't Get Fat, so as you see, I did stop procrastinating. Should've read uni preparation for tomorrow, but that's not really the point. I really fancy a glass of red wine now; I'm sure that book sends subliminal messages.

Love,

Mon xx

I've decided that I'm going to take part in Race for Life. I see it as a little way of contributing towards beating cancer whilst doing something that I enjoy - helping others, running and going to the park. I know people who've had cancer, and mum and I have had scares in the past, but it's more the fact that something like 1 in 3 of us gets cancer that scares me, and raising money and awareness might help find a cure. We can only hope, anyway. And it'll also give me the motivation to get some exercise and avoid heart attacks too, or bring them on cos 5k seems a long way, but we'll see. All in all, a very good decision I think. Now I only need:

* proper pair of running trainers (not Converse or Vans)
* jogging pants (which I'm very aware make the peachiest of bottoms look horribly unflattering, but I'm gonna pretend I don't know that)
* sunglasses (cos I'm shy and run like a girl and don't want anyone to recognize me)

I'm looking forward to it! And when the day comes, I'll have finished uni. Such a nice prospect. Now that I am really, really, can't-explain-how-much, looking forward to! Gonna take this wave of inspiration and get started on some essays...

Love,

Mon xx

The only thing I do like about sundays is getting up and smelling black coffee, then sitting down to read the paper and enjoy a long breakfast. I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's yesterday and being a hormonal woman I thought it was such a pretty film. Audrey Hepburn is so classy, she reminded me that I have big oversized sunglasses, which I had to wear to take the dog for a walk, of course. It also reminded me of the Tiffany's ring I saw a while ago, here it is. Ahh, it's so beautiful. But this one would also do. Anyway, back to the film, I love the theme song and I knew I'd heard it somewhere before...

Where else?! I am such a girl. Right I need more coffee as Mr Snuggles decided to wake me up very, very early, without consideration for mummy's late night shenanigans. Have a great sunday everyone, may be whiff of freshly brewed coffee be with you!

Love,

Mon xx

Someone has put 'Bitch' on my profile tags. Normally I dismiss infantile behaviour like this without a twitch, but this time I chose to address said person, as I know who you are and your reasoning behind it, and this ongoing act is frankly starting to piss me off.

Crazy, quite possibly. Quirky, maybe. Waffly at times even. But never a bitch. I complain about my height, my hair, my inability to conform with reality, amongst many other things. But I would rather be the way I am than an ounce of what you are. You seem to forget that I had it all and I gave it all up, because I didn't want it. Still don't. Never will. I don't make do with the next best thing, I want only the best because I deserve it, we owe it to ourselves to have the best life we can. You're stuck in what used to be my rubble, and the thought of me having the last laugh clearly bothers you. Now you tell me, who's the bitch?

Please, for the love of God, leave me alone. Stop following my life and trying to imitate it. By doing so, you're making me realise how good and precious it is, and making me stronger and giving me the eagerness to embrace all the little things that sometimes bother me.

I made it a happy life by changing the factors that made it futile, the very definition of which yours emulates now. If it was as good as you keep telling the world it is, you wouldn't spend so much time pointlessly retaliating. Revenge, without a reason, may I add, is taking up your time. Since when did stalking me become your hobby?

And as for me, rest assured this will be the last of it, I will now put you back in the I-don't-care box and close it, lock it, throw it in the sea and never think about again. I didn't build lovely friendships, relationships, patterns and bridges for you to come and attempt to break them. Let me live my life, and go live yours.

Right, here's a few things we need to establish before we go on...

1. I don't if my arse looks larger than usual, I like cake, will have it and eat it too.

2. My hair is psychotic by nature curly like these gals and due to the student economy of skintness I better embrace it cos going against it will only make it worse. So we're going from this to this this:

*sniff* Moving on...

3. I have decided that I want to be a PR Consultant specialising in Public Affairs. If you don't know what that is, in simpler terms I want to be the person who tells the media Amy Winehouse wasn't doing coke and attempt to save her reputation by sending her to rehab to fool the paps. Or telling Lindsay to wear panties. I'd say Britney, but not even the best PR guru can save her now.

4. I will avoid dairy and eggs like the plague, it does not do my belly any good. Except for cake, needless to say.

And now, I am off to remove CDs from baby's mouth because his new fetish might be the most dangerous one yet. Have a great day my lovelies, here's a song to cheer you up this morning (it's my alarm):

Love,

Mon xx

Hmmm pancake day! My favourite holidays are my birthday, halloween and pancake day. Ok, and christmas. I'm crap at making pancakes though, so I took myself to a French café and had a crepe de banane et chocolat sauce and ice cream! And a cappuccino, yum yum. Feeling very Parisian today. It's sunny, I'm in a good mood.

I also saw my ex, who sat on the bus next to me and didn't say a word. To my defence, I didn't see him until I got up to leave, but he must've seen me getting on. I thought it was rather unethical actually, people don't stay together for four years, live together, plan a life together, and then ignore you when they see you after you've gone your separate ways because you want different things. It's not like I want to speak to him, I just don't understand people's behaviour sometimes. And I'm lovely, so it's totally his loss.

Better go, baby is attacking the toilet brush and barking at it again... that's my boy, he doesn't like dirty things, the toilet brush clearly bothers him!

Love,

Mon xx

You know when you wake up in the morning and go outside and get that fresh morning breeze, and a whiff of flowers mixed with the smell of sweet pastries and coffee, and hear the rush of the city but at the same time you feel so peaceful and content? I miss that. I'm a hippie at heart (you'd never guess at times) and I need to feel that peace otherwise I'm constantly on edge. I suppose you need to find that within your daily life, but I still haven't. I wish I'd gone to Portugal with my sister, she's probably sitting in the garden wearing a t-shirt and drinking fresh orange juice (or my grandad's wine - he's got a vineyard), enjoying that fresh breeze and the peace. Albeit my grandma, but that's another story.

And I'm at home, windows closed, terrible daytime tv on, traffic noise, wearing flannel pyjamas and drinking hot tea. It makes me despair.

On a happier note, I just rang the fire brigade to ask them to come and tell my neighbour to stop burning furniture in the garden, because the fumes are killing me. And apparently Katherine Heigl is the most desired woman by men. Nice to see a nice girl on top of that list for once!

I'm off to cuddle Mr Fluffers and watch junk food for the brain.

Love,

Mon xx

I hate sundays. For most people it's an opportunity to lie in, relax and veg all day. For me, it's a day to feel anxious and annoyed and look for excuses to make myself busy, to no avail may I add; ending up bored, anxious and annoyed nonetheless. Nice.

Here's that quiz that's going round...

What is your greatest fear? Being in lots of pain, I'm a wimp.

What is your earliest memory? Going to the beach with my grandparents and being told to turn around cos the beach was closed.

Aside from property what is the most expensive thing you bought? I can only think of intangible things, like my education!

What would your super power be? Being invisible!

What part of your life would you go back and erase? I wouldn't; live and learn.

Have you ever said "I love you" and not meant it? Nope.

What is the closest you've come to death? Almost being crushed by a massive lorry driving down the wrong lane on a hill, luckily my dad managed to drive onto the pavement so it just missed us.

How would you like to be remembered? It's a bit early to write my obituary isnt it? Maybe as someone who lived her life to the full and didn't take things too seriously and loved the people close to her.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you to date? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, you can get over anything and you're stronger than you think.

Today's song is:

Love,

Mon xx

Not. In. A. Good. Mood.

Normal cheery self will resume soon.

Love,

Mon xx

Who's up for driving in the mental weather to go see Coheed and Cambria in Manchester?! Anyone? Anyone? If I don't make it back alive, please remember that I love you. Off I go into the snow hurricane, hoping to be as lucky as me and Mike were when we drove to Leeds when the weather warnings said there were gonna be floods everywhere.

Today's song is:

*bites what's left of nails nervously*

Love,

Mon xx