Hi everyone! It's been almost a month since my last post, but I am pleased to report that I have now moved in with my boyfriend in Germany! It was an intense day, and I was traveling from 11am to 11pm, but I made it.

 The day after I moved in with my boyfriend, we went to Ruhr Park for lunch and some shopping. It was a wonderful day, the weather was fantastic! I got some cosmetics from Douglas, and my partner and I shared candy as we messed around in Toys R Us, which is kind of a tradition we have. We always buy sweets then walk around the toy shop, they have awesome dinosaur stuff! This pretty much sums up our day:

  I also graduated from University on the 11th, it was a great day! It took place in Caird Hall, Dundee, and my ceremony was in the afternoon at 3pm. When I arrived, I actually had to go collect my graduation gowns first. Then we went for lunch, and were seated in the hall by 2:30pm. The ceremony itself took about two hours! We all went row by row, up to the stage, where we were "capped" by the chancellor of the University. "Capped" means we were literally tapped on the head with his hat, which looked very old and fancy indeed. Then we headed out through the front doors where a pipe band was playing, and I actually bumped into a couple of friends while I was there. However, I was the only one in my class that was graduating this year. Here are some pics of my graduation:

It was a very emotional time for my parents, to see me in the gowns and finally getting my degree. I guess it was emotional to me as well. I've spent six years studying in Dundee and I was so thankful to just conclude it all in a memorable way.

  In 3 weeks, I will be moving to Germany! Isn't that awesome?! It's what I've been wanting for so long now, and it's finally happening! I completed university, got my degree, and now I can move in with my partner! So happy, I'm actually so happy...

  To celebrate, I actually bought myself some super cute Japanese candy called Konpeito. It's really pretty, and was pretty cheap too!

  They are really sweet, actually they're only sugar. No flavouring, nothing. The ingredients just state sugar and colouring. So I feel very guilty when eating them haha! I'm actually eating some as I type this, the shape is very fun to feel!

  I've also been doing a lot of nail art recently. I have practiced many designs, even ones with nail tape - that's quite tricky I must admit. The more intricate designs were done with a Konad stamp. I'm quite proud of how things have been turning out. Here are all my designs so far:

  I'm so happy the warmer weather it setting in! It's been cold for too long, at least here in Scotland! It really gets you down after a while, and now we're getting temperatures that allow the use of shorts, dresses and sunblock.

  I've been trying to keep active here at home with my mother. We go out for walks a lot, and recently we went up a small country road that's at the back of our house. It's beautiful up there, it's uphill as well so it was good for the legs. I took some pictures, including one of daisies - I haven't seen a daisy in years! Living in Dundee, I just didn't see any plant life at all! I adore the daisy, it's one of my favourite flowers along with sunflowers, bluebells and tupils.

  I've been really surprised regarding my parent's cat, Travis. He seems to have a lot of friends, they all just hang out together in the garden and it's the strangest thing I've ever seen. I've been able to get pictures of them all, they're all adorable. In order, is Travis, Alfie, Smokey and Tyson. They're all very friendly and love attention, but I especially love Smokie. He reminds me of Reno.

  I've not had the chance to be as creative in the kitchen as I was before I moved home, but I've still been able to make some snacks, which I'll post in my Cookbook. Just simple things, easy to make, but a lot of fun. I'm still able to be healthy with my diet - I weigh 59kgs and I'm quite happy with it. Next post, I'll show some of my new summer clothes, and my nail art designs that I've been practicing. I think I'm getting quite good at this nail stuff!

 I really need to keep up blogging even when I'm busy. It's the final semester of my university course, ever, and I've just been putting all my effort into that, and by the evening, I don't feel like writing anymore haha!

 I've moved back to my parents' house for a while. Not because I had to or anything, I really wanted to so that I can spend more time with my family before I move to Germany. If I pass everything, I will graduate on July 11th, and that means I'll also be moving to be with my partner that same month.

 It must be said, I've been enjoying my time back here. I went shopping with my sister in Glasgow inside the Buchanan Galleries. It was a lot of fun, and we took some pictures of goofy stuff. Like Star Wars lego, the best salad I've ever had, and my Stepford smile.

 I know it's not perfect at the cuticles, but my painting hand is not reliable right now because I'm under a lot of pressure from university, and that always gives me the shakes.

 I'm doing some new designs tonight on my own nails. I'm also going to review OPI's Chip Skip, to see if it's effective and worth the money, versus regular nail polish with base and top coat. Because if you want your polish to last longer than two days, you NEED a base and top coat, that goes without saying!

 Also, I found out that I'm finally, after so much hard work, a UK size 10, I think that's a US size 8? I never thought my hips would be a 10 ever again, as I haven't worn that size of jeans since I was 16. But there you go. 24 years old and a size 10. I aim to keep it that way!

  Hey guys, it's me again. I haven't posted in a couple of months, I know - I had a lot going on in my life. This year is the Year of the Snake - which means it is my year, since I was born in '89.

  I hope everyone had a good Christmas! My festive season was awesome, my partner came over from Germany and spent Christmas with my and my family. My parents adore him, as do all my aunts and my grandmother. They're more supportive of my move to Germany than ever before. Here are some pictures of my Christmas:

  Speaking of Germany, I am officially moving over after graduation, which is July 11th. Until then I have a lot of university work to do. I'm visiting my partner in March for 12 days, then coming back to finish my degree and do my last exam.

  Fitness wise, I've been very productive indeed. I'm still eating healthy, and I actually completed Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred for a third time. I'm currently doing her other 30 day workout, called Ripped in 30. It's intense but I'm enjoying it! I'm now quite small in frame, and I'm really enjoying it. I have so many lovely clothes I can wear.

  Lent started on Wednesday, so I'm giving up meat for 40 days. But not fish, of course - I need protein from somewhere. It's not too hard but I do miss things like spaghetti bolognese and sweet and sour chicken. However, this is a test, and I know I can do it.

  I am very sad, in fact miserable, to report that I no longer have my cats, Reno and Nina.. I handed them to the Cat Protection just over two weeks ago. It was an awful day. I don't even know how it happened, it just happened so fast... I called them up to ask about allergy relief, as my asthma was getting worse and worse and my skin would also break out in hot rashes.
The woman on the other end of the call quickly just said "Would you like us to come get them today? We have a pen ready but you'll need to be fast, they go like gold." I was in shock, and I hesitated, and she was like "Allergies only get worse over time, so if you're thinking about this now, the sooner the better." So I agreed, somehow..? And by 2pm, my babies were gone. I could hear Reno yowling all the way down the stairs in his little carrier.
As soon as the workers left, I cried like I've never cried before. I was crying so hard I almost threw up, I didn't even know that could happen. And I have cried every day since.

  I then had to move back to my parent's place, to visit someone who is ill right now, mostly, but also because my flat is now so empty. I needed to be around people. But sometimes I just feel like there is no end to sorrow, and bad things happen one right after the other. I just need to concentrate on moving in with my partner, and starting a life with him. This is what I need.

  Hello! It's been a while since I wrote anything, apologies. I was very busy studying for university. I had 2 exams this week, one on Monday and one yesterday. They were both very tough, I hope I've passed.. I don't mind my grade, I just want a pass.

  I've been trying harder to stay healthy recently. I've started working out again, and I'm actually having cinnamon porridge in the morning in order to fight off the cold.. I need to stay fit and healthy for my boyfriend coming over!

  We had our Christmas party, it was great! I made a honey roast chicken and a chocolate cake, as I promised them. The cake looked really good! I never got to try any because I was too full by dessert time, but it looked like this:

  The middle had a layer of butter-cream as well. I was very happy to see the food I made vanish in a matter of seconds! Everyone wanted some, and that's rewarding to me!

  Well, it's almost time for me to go to Germany. I leave on Sunday night, and I will be spending the night in the airport because my flight is at 6am. There's no way I can reach the airport by 5am if I don't leave the night before.
  The bus to the airport leaves at 8pm but I'm actually working that day too. So I leave the restaurant at 3pm, I get my nails done at 3::15pm, then go home and shower. I'll leave for the bus station at 7 if everything goes well.

  I arrive in Germany at 1pm.. Then I head to my boyfriend's flat and get another shower, then I think we're going to a market! I also got my first Christmas present, it was from him! He surprised me with a perfume I had always wanted, I'm so lucky! And his mother sent me some chocolate, cake and socks, how thoughtful. x3

  So cold it hurts my face! Does anyone else get a really sore nose when breathing in the cold air when you go outside?  Must be my sinuses.
 
  I've been studying recently, I have much to do before Christmas. Tonight, I wrote a third of the 3000 word essay on counselling skills, so I feel like I've made a good start! I've also completed my Christmas shopping, which is a relief because I've been spending more than I'm earning right now. At least that's over with!

  My friends have a Christmas party every year, like a fake Christmas, and so they call it "Fakemas". I'm attending again this year, and as before, I'm taking care of some of the food. I'll be bringing a roast chicken and chocolate cake with me, and when I arrive I need to make a large batch of mashed potatoes. I'm quite excited, as I enjoy knowing that people love my cooking! I'm also excited to make the cake - I have a special design in store and I really want to impress this year.

  Oh, I finished my Christmas project! It took me less time than I initially anticipated. I don't think that the person it's for reads this, but just in case, I'm naming no names! But here is the result:

  It's been a while since I made a journal post, many apologies! I've been very busy with the start of the new semester. Today I was researching some diabetes and cardiovascular disease statistics for a presentation I have to do quite soon. I've finished researching though, all I need to do is put it into powerpoint. All I have to do then are 3 essays and 2 exams... ugh!

  I'm very excited for Christmas this year - more than usual! My partner is coming to Scotland to spend it with me! I'm actually going to Germany on the 17th to spend time with his family until the 21st, then he's flying back with me to Scotland for a couple of weeks. So we get to spend Christmas AND New Year together! This is so perfect!
  I've also started my Christmas shopping. I'm making a cushion for someone, I'm afraid to say who in case she reads this blog... But I'll show you what I've done so far! Last night I was awake until 2am cutting out the fabrics, and today I stitched the face together. See if you can guess what it is:

   I've been rather busy taking care of my cats, recently. Nina is still to be neutered - which isn't so good because she's almost 5, but I've never had the money for the surgery until recently. I hope to get her fixed before Christmas. Reno is also struggling with a little skin problem at his ear. He occasionally gets this after he and Nina have been fighting, and she always gets him in this spot, then he scratches at it and it just gets worse. So I've put a collar on him, bless him.

  I've also been making some German, Moroccan and Italian cuisine lately. They're quite healthy, especially the Italian-style mince I made. One would argue that this is actually bolognese, but I prefer to have this with crusty brown bread instead of pasta. Either way, I love cooking new things so this is very exciting to me!

  Hello everyone! Today I'm very nervous because I have to go to the hospital for a jaw examination. I have arthritis in my jaw, particularly on the left side. It's very painful and I wake up most mornings with a very sore face and headache. So today, the doctor is going to test my muscles and maybe take another x-ray to see how bad my cartilage is. Last time he said I may need an artificial implant.

  I'm quite afraid of the possibility of surgery, and even the examination itself is sore because the doctor has to press very hard on the inside of my mouth. Last time I almost cried, so with any luck, I'll be better this time!

  But on a happier note, today is my boyfriend's birthday! He turns 22,, happy birthday love! I bought him the final piece of his Star Wars: Cloud City figure collection, hehe. His voice went up an octave when he opened the box, so cute! X3

  I have also lost another 3kg since returning to Scotland. I'm only 5kg away from my target! When I reach it, I'll be making a very personal video discussing how I did it, and I'll be giving away all my secrets. I think this information may be useful to some, since I will have lost a total of 72lbs/5 stone/33kg. That's a lot to lose but much to gain!

  I'm missing Germany very much. I've uploaded more photos of my time there at the bottom of this post. Besides GamesCom, we actually did many cool things, like visiting the chocolate museum, taking long walks to and in Herdecke, and spending a day in the Botanic Gardens at our friend's university. It was so wonderful, especially the weather! The hottest day was 42 degrees Celsius though, that was a bit much for me!

  My university starts on the 17th of this month. It's my final year, and I'm very much looking forward to it; because I have completely run out of money and have calculated everything specifically to last me until the 17th. No earlier, no later. My food runs out on that day, and I'll also have bills to pay. Here's hoping my student loan arrives on time!

  I also intend to buy a 3DS. Do you have one? Send me your friend code! I'll be purchasing games like Mario Kart, Zelda, Star Fox and maybe even some kind of RPG. I'll see how that goes. I'm also considering purchasing a TV so that I can play my PlayStations again. I have so many games there, from Silent Hill to Grandia, that I haven't touched in months, and that's no good!

  GamesCom. What an adventure. A picture is worth a thousand words, so let me show you:

  Yep. I don't know how he did it, but my boyfriend was able to get us VIP passes to the private Playstation Lounge, where we played Assassin's Creed 3 and God of War: Ascension. If he hadn't been able to get them, I would have still been standing in this line::

  I'll start from the beginning.

DAY 1 - TOMB RAIDER AND RESIDENT EVIL 6

On the first day, we waited 3 hours to see and play Tomb Raider (which I was pretty damn good at, such a TR fangirl), then we were pretty lucky with Capcom's horror bundle, and only waited about an hour to see and play Resident Evil 6, Lost Planet 3 and the new Devil May Cry.

  Tomb Raider was fantastic; it was more like a survival game than an action adventure, which every previous one has been. Lara looks young, naive and quite cute, but I must admit I prefer her older, more badass design.
  Capcom delivered perfection, as expected. My favourite of the 3 games presented was Lost Planet 3. DMC was interesting but the new Dante design is kind of lame, and RE6 was fun but I prefer the original, retro trilogy.

DAY 2 - CALL OF DUTY: JERK OPS 2 AND COOKIES

 On the second day, we waited for 4 hours to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.. I was so disappointed. Not in the game, no no. The game was beautiful. But I don't play shooters. I was only there for the free t-shirt, because my 12-year old brother is a massive fan and I was hoping to give it to him.. However, the staff there were rude. While we waited in line, we weren't allowed to sit down for the whole 4 hours, then eventually, we were all herded into a multiplayer session with 4 teams, each lead by a certain member of staff. We were lead by this large, scary looking but genetically female creature who had zero patience for me - someone who was playing a CoD for the first time ever.
  We lost, because of me. My boyfriend is actually pretty good at these games, but he's a PC gamer and this demo was on Xbox, so it was a new experience to him as well. He was able to adapt well though, he even turned his Pokemon League cap around, just to let the other teams know that shit was going down. Yeah.
  Anyway, our team leader was rather pissed and refused to give us shirts. We tried getting them from another girl, but she told us that she couldn't help us because of which team we were in, etc. So we left, and I was so disappointed I could have cried.. 4 hours, humiliation and not even a shirt for my brother. We went to these guys at the end of the day to explain the situation and ask for a spare shirt, but they refused. We asked the day after as well, but they refused again because we weren't standing in line to play again. So yeah, pretty much 4 hours of my life wasted on people that really didn't give a shit about consumer welfare.

  However, we did have a great experience with Playstation and were able to play Super Smash Br-I MEAN Playstation All Stars. That's a cheap shot on my part, but don't misunderstand.. I loved this game. It was fun, looked great, and provided us and 2 random French guys with an hour of giggling. And this was only while we waited in line. We were actually there to see The Last Of Us. Which, by the way, looks goddamn amazing. Playstation really took care of us. I had to sit down while in line because I was so, so tired and kind of heartbroken about that stupid shirt, and then out of nowhere, a random Playstation guy gave me some cookies! He didn't say a word, he just reached around to me with them, smiled and then disappeared, like a friendly, sugary Batman.


DAY 3 - FARCRY 3 AND ZOMBIE U

   On the third day, we waited a couple of hours to play Farcry 3, which was a fantastic experience, and then we waited another couple of hours to play Zombie U.. I didn't actually play Farcry because I suck at shooters, but I did kick my boyfriend's butt at Zombie U, heehee!

DAY 4 - DEM UNEXPECTED VIP PASSES

  We were perfectly prepared to wait those 300 minutes to play Assassin's Creed 3, but then the VIP passes happened and the rest is history! Nnnng, God of War. Yes. Dat multiplayer.

  On the Friday and Saturday, my boyfriend and I were cosplaying as Ash and Misty from Pokemon.. I've attached some photos at the bottom of this post, and I'll also update my gallery at some point. Our costumes were a huge success. We were interviewed by some kind of TV/camera crew, photographers and other people were taking pictures of us, and many people were calling to us with some amazing compliments. Even on the train, kids loved us!

  Anyway, that's about all I have to report on GamesCom 2012.. I'm going next year, that's for sure. What an amazing experience! Should you ever get the chance, go!