For the first post of 2013 I did have a lovely bright blue nail polish post prepared but I picked it all off while watching Deception last night. Which was rather good but not as good as I thought it would be. So, instead, I thought I'd give you a quick update on how my 30 Before 30 is going.
Surprisingly, it's going quite well! I've ticked another few things off the list.
1. Get New Glasses
I took advantage of one of the offers Specsavers were running in December - free eye tests and buy one get one free on glasses. I went to Specsavers in Athlone and they were brilliant, I felt so sorry for the girls doing my eye test & little question session because I literally had no voice, I was completely choked up with some kind of laryngitis and at one point had to resort to grunting to identify different things during the test.
It's a good job I went - my eyesight had gotten two steps worse since the last time I'd been. The glasses were ready in an hour and I got a pair of prescription sunglasses free, which was brilliant. I love all the really brilliant cheap sunglasses around in summer, I always buy some, but it's such a pain in the bum when I can't actually see properly out of them. I'd been meaning to get new ones for ages & it's great to finally have them. The difference between my old & new glasses is shocking - I didn't realise how bad my eyes had gotten until I put the new ones on. I'm not posting a picture of my big mug on here, but these are the frames I picked and I'm delighted with them. The husband said I look like a librarian, which is always a good thing.
2. Do a Nail Technician Course.
After looking into this, I decided to do a distance learning course because I'm basically at home every day and I can't drive legally until I get my licence sorted (kinda limits my college prospects at the minute). I picked Kilroy's, because I have had indirect experience with them before & I find their tutors very helpful. They also have a handy payment plan if you want to space your payments out.
I received the first two modules of my course before Christmas, and I did my first exam online yesterday - and passed, woohoo! I'm not looking for a degree or anything, just some proper knowledge of the basics of nails and something that gives me a little personal boost & makes me feel like I'm achieving something. I'm delighted with it so far, and anything that needs you to buy a new folder and highlighters can't be a bad thing, right?
12. Run a Stall at a Car Boot Sale.
For the three Saturdays before Christmas, I got together with a good friend of mine and we ran a table at a local Indoor Market. The craic was had, the tea was drank, the toilets were disgusting, and we made sweet feck all but we got rid of a load of clutter and we had a laugh. Will I be doing it again? Coming up to next Christmas, I definitely would. Until then, I'm not getting up at 7am on a Saturday EVER AGAIN.
26. Read 5 Classic Novels.
One down, four to go. I struggled through Pride & Prejudice. I had to read every page 3-4 times, which is exasperating for someone who usually flies through books. I have to confess, I found it difficult to understand, difficult to follow and a bit boring, to be honest. I did like the overall story, but the nuisance of having to read paragraphs over and over got really irritating after a while.
I'm working on some of the other things, and I'll update as soon as I get them ticked off!
Hope 2013 is a good year for us all, yay for not exploding on December 21st!

Jeez you are flying through them!! Delighted it's going well for you. Honestly could not be bothered with classic novels but reading in general is amazing fun for me :) love the new specs too xx
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm kinda really bored of the classic novel thing already but maybe Pride & Prejudice just put me off! Delighted with the glasses, don't know why I put that off for so long xx
DeleteWell done on passing your exam! Always wondered about te kilroys courses! I should have done. 30 befor 30, too Late now and the thoughts I may someday have to do a 40 before 40 is terrifying!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I find Kilroys great for this kind of thing, Mum did a creative writing course before & the tutors gave excellent feedback & were really helpful, learning a lot already! Age is just a number ;-) x
DeleteWhoo Hoo for your pass!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cindy x
DeleteAh specsavers, what wonderful offers they have!
ReplyDeleteI remember getting a session on how to put in contact lenses about 2 years ago and I kept dropping the lenses. The women was so nice about it but I think she was secretly getting very impatient with me. Well done on passing your exam! :)
Thanks! I thought they wouldn't test me, I was squawking!! Poor girl probably thought she'd catch my horrible cold before Christmas x
DeleteI love Specsavers, how come your glasses were ready in an hour?! I have to wait a week for mine! VIP lol x
ReplyDeleteOoh really?! I've no idea, I thought they did that all the time - maybe they had extra frames in before the Christmas holidays? x
DeleteCongrats! You're getting on great so far!
ReplyDeleteThanks Breige x
DeleteThese are all really positive goals, well done! It's a shame you didn't enjoy Pride and Prejudice, I didn't like it the first time round, but loved it the second time. I find I need to hear the voice and rhythm of the writing in my head before I can get into more classic books (if that makes sense?) I hope you enjoy others as you read them. Why don't you mix it up with more modern classics?
ReplyDeleteIt does make sense, and I think that's why I couldn't get into it, I kept picking it up & leaving it down & it'd take me ages to get back into that era in my brain again! I'm gonna try a few more modern ones x
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