Day 30: A Motto Or Philosophy

Straight off the bat here i will tell you guys the utter truth, i have no Motto that i live by or Philosophy for that matter, but if i had to come up with one? well that would probably be:

• Look out for number one, because nobody else will.

Obviously here, i am not talking about family, because i truly hope that everyone's family does look out for them but in terms of the work place and just general outside family it is definitely a motto that everyone should live by.

I think the main reason i would live by it, is the fact that in my lifetime (granted not very long as i am only 28) i have worked for 3 different company's and i have made what i thought have been friends within these company's only to find out that when you turn your back for more than 2 seconds they are willing to stab you in it, just to get ahead.

I personally am not like this at all, i don't step on people to get places and maybe i should be? but i prefer to get to somewhere especially in a work environment on merit of my accomplishments and not because i am able to stab someone in the back, or step on someone to get where i want.

So after a few years, i have finally learned that you should look out for number one, there is nothing wrong with making friends in the work place or outside of the work place if you will, in fact i encourage it but always keep in the back of your mind that they are out for themselves, so you should be as well.

Perhaps some people will not agree with this, and maybe i have just had bad experiences but i will still stick by what i think.

But i guess that is the final challenge complete, i am hoping that the people that read my blog have been able to learn a little something about me that they may have not known already, and for those who already knew everything about me? well i hope that you got to see what my thoughts and memories of the event's were.

You can view the whole 30 Day Challenge, by clicking the link >HERE<.

Day 29: Hopes, Dreams, And Plans You Have For The Next 365 Days

This one is another tough one for me, it's not that i don't have any hopes and dreams, it's more the fact im the type of guy that lives in the now and i'm not one for sitting and planning my life.

However saying that i guess if i really had to think about it within the next 365 days there is a few things i would have liked to accomplish:

Hopes:

• I hope that by this time next year i will have got myself into employment, not that i don't find being a stay at home dad if you want to call it that enjoyable, but the kids are growing up and going to school which leaves me pretty much sat in the house all alone, which isn't all that enjoyable.
• I hope to be financially secure or at least on the road to being that, we do not to bad now, but hey who doesn't want a extra incoming right?
• I hope that we will be able to spend more time as a family and do more family activities, not that we don't do anything as a family now, but i would really like to do more if you get what i mean.

So that is pretty much all my hopes for the next 365 days, not that many but like i said before i am not one that is for planning life, i prefer just to take it one day a time and see what life throws at me that way i find it more fun.

Dreams:

• My first dream is that within the next 365 days, im employed and can possibly get married, my fiancée doesn't thinks that this is impossible, because it takes more than one year to plan a wedding but a man can dream right? 
• I would really love to have my own house purchased by then as well, but i'm guessing that is a big dream that is not very likely to happen within 365 days.
• I would also really like to have passed my drivers licence, and perhaps have a nice little car to run everyone around in, shouldn't be to difficult if i manage to get myself a job.

And that is my current dreams for the next year, again not to many but that's just who i am. I'm not one for dreaming about things because i know in my heart that 99.9% of the time dreams never come true, and look at it this way, i have a wonderful fiancée and 3 amazing children so the rest is of no importance. 

Plans:

• The only plan i have for the next year is to enjoy life the best i can, try and spend as much time with my family as humanly possible and try and put into effect all my hopes and dreams i have listed above already. Other than that i have no other plans.

So what are your hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days? Anything interesting? 

Day 28: A Scar You Have And It's Story

My scar is more of a emotional scar you could say instead of a physical one, let me begin by saying that i did have a happy childhood and my parents are the best parents a boy could ask for, always there for you and would give anything in the world to make you happy.

However that still didn't stop them locking me up in the downstairs closet like Harry Potter, i still remember those god awful days where i would sit in the pitch black surrounded by nothing except my old friend the broomstick which we shared numerous great conversations about how to escape. I mean sitting in the closet all day wasn't all that bad, but being fed Play Dough that was white and told it was mash potato's well what can i say, i now can't ever eat Mash Potato's just incase it's someone playing a mean trick on me again.
And the glass of water i got per day? well let me tell you water from a old rusted tap in the back garden just isn't as great as it sounds, i mean i don't know what sort of diseases i picked up along the way.
But i still have a god awful rash in places i can't mention from those days. I should perhaps have that looked into.

Was i the real Harry Potter?

Ok so that didn't actually happen, i had my own bedroom and it was well lit and had a bed and all my toysand TV and was fed properly. But it sounded great and i bet i had quite a few people going with it!

So a real scar i have is actually on the bottom of my chin, i would have taken a photo of it but then it would require me to go into the bathroom and have a shave just so i could get a proper photograph of it and well, that just to much hard work for me to bother about hehe.

But the story about it?

Well i think i was about 10 years old maybe 11 i'm not entirely sure, i just remember that it was a cold day and it had been raining and was during school, there was big high walls that surrounded the school and stair cases on either side leading down into the playground and myself and friends were messing around playing as you do as a kid, when i decided that to get away from one of my friends i would jump down from the big wall.

Unfortunately as i was jumping from the wall my foot got caught on the overlap at the top of the wall and i went crashing down into the playground, i can still remember to this very day that i did not feel any pain from my chin and i originally thought i had broken my leg, cause i was in severe pain all i could do was scream about my leg until i was in the first aid office and they told me "There isn't anything wrong with your leg, it's your chin that you have hurt, it's bleeding bad".
I ended up having to be taken down to the local doctors surgery to be given stitches, since then i have managed to open up the same wound only once more thankfully, but i still remember that day all so well, so my tip to anyone messing around don't jump of very high walls you could hurt yourself, especially when it is or has been raining.

So that's my story, i don't know if i prefer my fabricated story of the real one, but you can decide yourself which is more interesting :)

Have you guys got any scars? and what is the story of how you came to get them?

Day 27: A Physical Feature You Love

Ok now i'm getting annoyed at these challenges, i mean a Physical Feature I Love?? Like really? Are you serious??

I guess there is some people out there that love themselves, personally i am not one of them, not that i hate my body either or anything like that but there is just nothing on my body i would say i love?

I could be a complete smart ass about the whole challenge and say that i love my stomach since it's taken me about 22 years to actually get from being a skinny man to probably what is now described as perhaps overweight, actually i should probably start working out and getting rid of some of the fat and maybe get into shape again but we shall take that another day.

So yea since i can't in all honesty answer the question as there is absolutely nothing on my body i would say that i love i shall stick with my stomach, being the overweight beer keg that it currently is.

Sorry folks, i promise to try and answer the rest as truthfully as i possibly can, the last few seem pretty easy to answer and in fact i already have them answered in my head. So sorry about today but not much i can do about it, if there isn't anything physically then i love about myself.

Day 26: A Childhood Memory

Love this picture of me and my Dad <3. My Dad looks so young its funny.

Well this one was quite hard to do mainly for the fact i have so many childhood memories that i could easily share with you guys, my dad was always one for going out and about during school vacations, taking us to different historical places to see stuff, i think my Mum found it boring but myself, sister & dad had a great time.

This picture i believe was well before my sister "Laken" was actually born and if i'm not mistaken was a camping trip up the top of Scotland, in a place called MacDuff. I believe we went up their with my Auntie and her partner at the time, but i cannot be 100% sure about this because well i was really young maybe around five or something? 

Although some parts of the vacation are still very vague to me, guess it's my old age kicking in i still remember great times when i was on this holiday with my family. If i don't recall wrong it was where i met my first Girlfriend too, some other kid that was up their with her family too camping out, But i just remember going around MacDuff and other places i cannot remember the names off, and it was great.

Also remember playing swing ball you know that game with the pole in the grass that had a tennis ball attached and you hit it with tennis rackets? I won't ever forget this holiday i don't think because it was just really good.

I'm hoping once i am able to sort myself out with a job etc that i am able to plant fond childhood vacation memories in my kids minds, although i don't think they will ever forget their first trip over to Scotland hehe.

Anyways that's my fondest childhood memory i think, at least one of them, as i said i have so many that i could write for days about them.

So what would your childhood memory be?

Day 25: A Recipe

Today's challenge is quite a difficult one for me, since well the only dish i know how to cook is probably beans on toast and well that ain't exactly a recipe now is it, so instead i have opted to tell you all about one of my favorite dishes from Sweden.

We unfortunately only have this three times a year (Easter, Midsummer & Christmas) but oh boy do i love it when these times come around. It's just a really amazing dish, funnily enough it has fish in it, something i am not a big fan off at all but i just can't get enough of it when my hunny Marie cooks it.

So here you go.

Jansson's Frestelse (or the English Translation: Jansson's Temptation)

12 Large Potato's.
1 Large Yellow Onion.
2 Small Can's Of Swedish Anchovies or Regular Anchovies if you are unable to locate Swedish ones.
2 Cups Of Heavy Cream.
Salt & Pepper.

Put the oven on 225 oC / 437 oF.
Peal the potato's and slice them into stripes.
Butter the sides and bottom of a baking dish to stop from sticking.
Fill the baking dish with half of the potato's.
Slice and dice the onion and spread that over the potato's in your baking dish.
Use a food processor to mince the anchovies up (note that in the real dish you just lay the anchovies as they are, but i hate it like that so i prefer it this way).
Mix half of the heavy cream with the anchovies and pour it on top of the onions and potato's.
Put the remaining amount of potato's and cream on top and season with Salt & Pepper.
Put it in the middle of oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour and serve.
(Note if it begins to look burned place some tinfoil on top of the dish to stop it from burning).


Once complete serve with anything you want really, we normally serve it with sausages.

Hope you enjoy it.

Day 24: A Movie No One Would Expect You To Love

Alright before anyone especially any of my friends that happen to play WoW see this if you laugh or make any smart comment be warned i'll hunt you down and do nasty things to you :P

But if i had to choose a film that nobody would expect me to love it would have to be Dirty Dancing.

I think the main reason i love this movie so much is the fact i love all dance movies pretty much, i personally ain't a dancer in fact i absolutely hate to dance just ask Marie, however i do love to watch dancing movies and this one is on top of my list.

I can't even remember when i first saw this film, but ever since i did i just fell in love with it, it's got a great story line and the dancing is just awsome.

So you wanted to know and now you do :)

Day 23: A Way In Which You Want To Be Remembered

Thinking about how you would like to be remembered is probably harder than it actually sounds, i mean have you actually ever sat down and thought about it? I know personally i haven't, and this is probably the first time it has ever crossed my mind, so yea thanks stupid challenge. 

Personally i don't like to think about death, i'm probably one of those people that wish life could go on forever like some sort of Peter Pan Syndrome, but instead of i never want to grow up it's more the case of i never want to die! I'm still holding out in the hopes that scientists will manage to create that cryogenic freezing process that you see in so many movies.

But in reality that's unfortunately what eventually happens to us all right? We all live and then we all die, so how would i like to be remembered when i leave this world?

In all honesty i have no idea, i would like to think that people seen me as a outgoing type of guy who was easy to talk to and was always there when people needed me and for the most part i guess that's true, however i think for the most part people will remember me as that gaming nerd that was online all the time talking to people and having a good time, since up until recently that is what i have been, and there is nothing wrong with that i guess, but i would hope that people see me for who i really am a kind, outgoing and always up for a laugh type of person then i guess i would be happy.

I mean who wants to be remembered as a douche bag that nobody liked? certainly not me, so i normally make it a point to try and get everyone to like me, i hate conflict although i have no issues saying what i think when someone really annoys me. But i like to think that i try and make friends instead of enemies.

So if i could choose a way to be remembered i'm guessing this would be it, that guy who always knew how to have a laugh, but was always there for people when they needed him most.

How would you like to be remembered? 

Day 22: A Website You Like

Finally a challenge that i'm able to answer in under five seconds.

There was no other website that i could choose in all honesty, mainly for the fact i spend literally all day on Facebook, from the minute i wake up and switch my PC on until the minute i go back to bed and turn my PC off i'm logged into Facebook.

Sure there is plenty other websites out there that i love to go on, Twitter, MMO-Champion, Peny Arcade etc, but none of which i actually spend all my time on :)

So easy question to answer this one.

So what is your Favorite Website?

Day 21: Something You Know You Do Differently Than Most People

Ok i have been racking my brains all day about this one, in between feeling ill, and in all honesty i cannot think of one single thing that i do differently to the people i know.

I guess i could include that i'm probably the only man i know that always puts the toilet seat down after using the toilet, i think most men just use the toilet and leave it as it is, but since i moved to Sweden and started to share a bathroom with two females i began to start doing it.

I'm not entirely sure if it counts as something i do differently but i'm yet to see another guy who puts the toilet seat down after use so im sticking with it.

So yea sorry if it's not exactly what the challenge was looking for but it's all i could come up with after several hours of thinking about it.

Day 20: A Food You Like And A Food You Do Not Like

Well it seems that we have only 10 days left of these damn challenges, if i knew they would have been this annoying at the start i would never have decided to start doing them but oh well, last 10 days to get to know me i suppose :)

So a food i like? well that's pretty easy Fried Pizza & Chips from the chip shop back in Scotland, unfortunately with me now living in Sweden i am unable to have this and have to wait until i go back to Scotland but it's well worth the 6 hour trip hehe, plus i get to see my folks so it's a added bonus.

I had considered opening my own Chip Shop over here in Sweden, but i don't think it would take off over here, mainly for the fact that Swedish people seem to like to eat healthy foods most of the time, i mean there is alot of restaurants around and things like Pizza Shops etc but i just don't think there is a market over here for a chippy, which is very unfortunate .

But a food i dislike well that is a extremely long list i have to admit, not that i am a picky eater it's just certain foods i just dislike, the main thing i hate is Lemon any dish that has alot of lemon in it i just cannot eat at all. I don't know why that is but my taste buds just cannot handle anything with lemon in it.

So there you have it the food i love the most and the food i hate the most! :)

Day 19: A Talent Of Yours

I'm pretty sure these challenges get more and more stupid and harder to answer with complete and utter honesty, but i'm trying my hardest to make sure i answer them as honestly as i can.

But as for today's challenge i really couldn't say for sure what talents i have if any to be honest.

I believe that i'm pretty talented when it comes to computer games, there ain't a computer game out there that with a little time and energy that i can't get through without much hassles, but i'm not to sure if you could count that as a talent or not.

I'm also pretty talented at winding people up and getting them angry, but once again not to sure if that fits into the category of being a talent, either way i think i'll stick with these two, you guys can decide yourself if they are talents or not.

But what are you talents? do you have any?

Day 18: A Photo Of Your Favorite Room In Your House

A favorite room in my house? well there is only one room that i spend pretty much all my days in and that would be our livingroom, unfortunately i don't have a up to date picture of the room and i can't be bothered to go take the camera and take a new one so you can all have a 4 year old one from when we first moved in hehe. Sorry guys i know i'm lazy but hehe what you going to do?

My Livingroom 4 Years Ago

In all honesty not much has changed in 4 years except where we have everything, for the example the TV is now where the couch was and the couch is where the TV was other than that everything is the same. Oh we changed that damn rug too but turns out its just ass bloody annoying as that one was!

The main reason i choose this room was because, i spend pretty much 99% of my day in it, i sit here with the family and watch TV and have dinner, myself and Marie lie around on the couch watching TV shows and Movies when the kids are off to bed and this is where i do all my gaming and raiding.

Day 17: An Art Piece

To be honest i'm not a art person, not saying that i cannot look at something someone has painted or drew and not appreciate what they have done, but i don't understand the fun in actually looking at art, so you will never see me in any sort of art studio or museum.

However i am absolutly fascinated with gaming art, you know the stuff people paint and draw from games? Well that is the type of art i can actually spend all day just looking at.

Mainly because it fascinates me how talented the average person is, not just famous artist but just some random kid sitting in his bedroom drawing.

So if i had to choose a peice of art that i liked then i guess it would be this piece:

Click The Image To View It Full Sized.

I'm not to sure who actually done the piece but i just find it absolutly amazing, i would really love to get it as a tattoo if i'm totally honest. I mean the way she looks is just sick and not to mention the detail off her clothing and weapon etc.

So there you have it, but what would your favorite piece be?

Day 16: A Song That Makes You Cry

Well we have finally came to a challenge i cannot do at all.

There is seriously not one song in the whole entire world that brings a tear to my eyes at all. So what shall i do in this situation, well i'll give you a song but it doesn't make me cry or anything just makes me happy to listen to.

Sorry for not being able to complete this challenge but it was a bit of a silly one in all honesty.

Once again sorry i cannot complete the challenge but i cannot think of a single song that even comes close to bringing a tear to my eye.

But is there is a song that makes you cry?

Day 15: Five Funny Fears

Hmmmm five funny fears, in all honesty i aint afraid of anything because im a MAN!!! MWHAHAHA..

Ok i'm lying but i really have no idea about this one if i have to be totally truthful.

None of my fears i would call funny so i'm just going to write five things that im afraid off and be done with it i reckon.

Five Funny Fears:

1. I'm afraid of my items being scratched (i.e. Mobile etc) so i leave the plastic covering on them.
2. I absolutly fear spiders, i have no idea why but i just really hate them, so they normally die on sight.
3. I have a absolute fear of hights, although its strange cause i dont have a fear of flying.
4. I'm afraid of wasps & bee's, never been stung in my life and i plan on it staying that way *touch wood*.
5. I'm afraid of speaking Swedish, this one is probably the most stupidest since i live in the country, but it's more a fear of screwing it up rather than speaking it if you know what i mean.

So there you have it five fears of mines, don't know if they are funny or just retarded but all the same there you have it :P

So what is the five things you fear the most?

Day 14: A Vacation You Would Like To Take

If i had to choose anywhere i would love to go on Vacation, i think i would have to choose either Japan or China in all honesty.

I totally love the whole Samurai and Ninja stuff and would love to visit places that represented them and had history of them if you know what i mean?

Not that i wouldn't like to see Tokyo or Beijing but i would much prefer to see the history of the country and go and visit stuff that would show that and i don't think places like Tokyo or Beijing would represent that enough for me.

So definitely i would have to choose one of these two countries, there is probably millions of places around the world i would love to visit but if i had to choose my dream holiday then one of these two locations would win hands down.

Day 13: Five Strange Facts About You

I have to start by saying this is probably the toughest challenge yet, mainly for the fact i have no fricken clue what is strange about me except everything! :/

But i guess i have to do it since its the rules of doing this thing so here goes i guess.

5 Strange Facts About Me:

1. I'm totally anal about spelling and the way stuff is presented on my computer, for example all folders and files must be named a certian way. (Pictures Of Myself) notice that all the letters of the first one is capitalized, even music tracks must be named ("Track Number". Arists - Song")
2. No matter how cold it in the house when i play a computer game i sweat like a russian hooker who's on the job.
3. I absolutly suck at DIY (I personally blame my dad for this one) but my idea of putting up a picture is sticking a six inch nail in the wall and hanging it up.
4. I cannot sit still ever, although i may actually be sitting on my ass, i tend to bob my leg up and down constantly (This is something that really annoys the shit out of Marie).
5. I love to wind people up, but once they have had enough i tend to go in a bad mood and sit silent for the rest of the day as im pissed off they didn't find it funny.

So i guess thats my 5 strange facts, dont know if any of them are actually strange but it was the best i could come up with :P

So what's your 5 strange facts?

Day 12: A Song That You Want Played At Your Wedding

mmm well this is tough one for me in all honesty, why? well simply for the fact i believe it's normally the woman that plans all the wedding stuff and the man just turns up says "i do" or whatever they say in Swedish maybe "ja" or some shit... (ooops nearly started writing in swedish there lol).
Or perhaps they don't even say it, either way when it comes to picking a wedding song or just a song being played at the wedding i really have no idea.. I guess my first choice would be.

I mean why not lol? your agreeing to be locked to one person for your entire life, so i guess "Don't Fear The Reaper" in this sense the reaper being your wife would probably be a good choice.

Hahahahah nah ok maybe not?

I guess if i really had to choose a song that i would love to be played it would have to be the classic "3 Doors Down" track "Here Without You" now i know many people will say, but that songs about not being with someone and being lonely and all that, but it was the song that myself and Marie used to play on repeat for many months before we actually moved in together, and it meant alot to us since she was living in Sweden and i was in the UK.

So definetly i think that would have to be my choice, since whenever i am not with Marie which ain't alot i sometimes still to this day five years later love to sit and listen to that song, and just think of the days where the only way we were together was locked inside a computer game.

Not to mention it's an absolutly amazing song! :)

Day 11: A Photo Of You Taken Recently

Well as the title says here is a picture of me taking recently, please don't laugh lol :P

It was taken on Saturday night, while i was lying on the couch half asleep watching Burn Notice, think it was like 12pm or something like that but yea i was really knackered at that point, and Marie was running around snap happy with the camera to post on her blog... Don't ask! ....

(Click On The Image To See Full Size)

It's a bad picture i have to admit... but all pictures i take are bad :)