31. Learn to restring my own guitar

I had never been shown how to restring a guitar.  I used to get Hooters in Watford to do it for me but they closed down.  A couple of years ago, Zack tried to show me and I think I managed one string.

I then bought my lovely purple guitar last year and the guy who "set it up" for me also restrung it.  To be fair, it hasn't been done since then...until now!!!

After getting a few recommendations (mainly from Mark Holland) I decided on going slightly thinner for the strings and got 11's instead of 12's.  I wanted to see if thinner strings made a difference to the sound on my guitar.  I ordered a two-box set (probably wise).  As luck would have it, they're in a purple box!

Purple box!!!

So, as proof of this momentous occasion, I thought I would film it (with a little difficulty) on my phone.  I thought you'd be bored of the video in real time so I filmed it on time lapse.  I think I did good.  I've done a gig since and it was all fine.

Here's the evidence.

Very proud of myself for not snapping any strings.

There's a cheeky song overdubbed which fits into the time frame!

Thanks to Zack and Mark for their input.

28. Plant a tree

I know this item is completed but I wanted to give you an update on it.  I planted this tree back in mid-November.  Six months later and it has sprouted many leaves.

Leafy tree for my darling Grandpa

The next update will hopefully involve some kind of plum growth!

4. Take a drum exam (Part 1)

I often wondered whether I had the co-ordination to be able to play the drums.  When songs came on the radio/my iPod etc. apart from singing along I would also tap along and pretend I was playing the drums...obviously not while I was driving (OK...maybe at red lights).

So, I thought I would test myself and give myself a target...an exam!  

I decided to have a few lessons last year but had to stop due to being unwell.  However, before I stopped I did find that I actually do have enough co-ordination to play the drums.  In January this year I decided to take the lessons up again.  I started sight-reading.  I found that reading drum music was much easier than piano.

Sheet music for Chain of Fools

After starting lessons, my drum teacher, Gareth, suggested that I was good enough to take the Grade 3 exam - YES!  My favourite number!  Gareth got a set of pink coloured sticks from the US and he gave them to me.  What a guy!

I've now had about 6 or 7 lessons this year and below is a video of where I'm up to skill wise now.

I've now started learning my favourite song by The Kinks - All Day and All of the Night.  

Sheet music for All Day and All of the Night

I also have to learn a free choice piece.  Gareth has said he could notate one of my songs - it would be so amazing to play one of my own songs in an exam.

Gareth gave me the option to do the exam in July or in December.  I opted for December to give myself enough time and confidence to perform in an exam environment.

Gareth is a fantastic teacher and luckily for me he's local.  I would thoroughly recommend him.  However, he currently has no space for any more students.  He could always put you on a waiting list if you're interested in learning.  

I bought my Dad a lesson for his birthday and he really enjoyed it.

Check out www.proplaymusic.co.uk.  You can find his contact details there.

19. Go to 40 different places 40 miles from where I live (Part 2)

Since my last post on this list item back in September 2013 I've been to a few more places 40 miles from where I live.

The fifth place I visited was Weybridge in Surrey on 17th November 2013.  Zack and I went to perform on David Durant's Under the Radar session at Brooklands Radio.

On our way to the interview

We performed Pull The Trigger, Get Me Some Happy and Fragile Girl.  You can hear the whole thing here.

In January 2014 I headed off to Yateley to record a song I wrote with Mark Holland.  It was the first time I'd been to that neck of the woods.

I pulled over to take this photo

It was at his parents place (from before they moved) which was a lovely house (his dad was making homemade bread so you could smell it throughout the house - yum).  That was the first step to recording Blinded - the first of a bunch of songs we've already written together.  I went to Yateley once more to finish off the song.

Here's Blinded in its full glory.

A year ago this week I trekked of to Bristol for the National Hospital Radio Awards.  On the way I decided to stop at Maidenhead which was 40 miles into the journey.

Stop off on the way to Bristol

It was a great weekend getting to know some of Radio Northwick Park's newer members and also getting to hang out with the Hospital Radio Chelmsford team (who are all very welcoming and friendly).

This January, my wonderful boyfriend, Matheus and I decided to go on a road trip.  We were trying to figure out various places 40 miles from my flat.  We found a site that could tell us the 40 mile radius from any postcode in the UK.  However, I decided to stick to 40 miles in driving mileage and not "as the crow flies" for this trip.  We decided to go in the direction of Essex and went off to Clavering.  It's a very rural place and I also remembered Jamie Oliver's parents have a gastro pub there called The Cricketers.

Entering Clavering

A Clavering monument

We headed to The Cricketers to see if we could get a table but, as we suspected, they were fully booked (next time we'll book well in advance).

Jamie Oliver's folks' place

The pub staff were extremely helpful and recommended somewhere else we could go to get some good food.  So we jumped in the car and drove off in that direction.

Alternative village for lunch

We found a lovely pub (quite difficult to park though).  Luckily they had a table and we had a really good meal there.

Tried to find geocaches on the way back home but the GPS signal was so bad we gave up.  A lovely day out with my man!

Just to give myself more options, I might try some places 40 miles from me "as the crow flies" to give me more scope at seeing some other great places.  I think Bicester and Oxford fall in the 40 miles!

27. Learn Spanish

I've always found Spanish to be a very sexy language.  I love songs in Spanish (latino style) and often try to find the lyrics to sing along even if I don't understand what they mean.

This is partly why I wanted to learn Spanish.  I would even like to try to write a song in Spanish if I learn it enough.

I downloaded an app called Duolingo and started learning.  It's quite a cute little app with various ways of learning: speaking, selecting the missing word, creating sentences, translating English to Spanish (and vice versa).  The more "Lingots" I earn from not losing lives/hearts and completing topics, I can "buy" things in the "shop" like extra bonus topics, outfits for Duo the Owl and potions to restore a heart if I lose one by making a mistake.

The different rounds

The topics turn "gold" when they're completed.

The levels I've completed

If I don't learn every day I get reminders and also the topics you complete become weaker so you need to top them up.  The app tracks you every day and you get through levels and checkpoints.

Rounds completed and not (do you like the little "champagne tracksuit" I got for Duo the Owl?)

At the moment I can just about recognise phrases but I don't think I'd remember a lot of them if I was asked.  I need to get to that level in my brain.

I still have quite a few checkpoints on Duolingo to clear but I'm enjoying it.  I've completed so many already.  I need to make sure I keep up!

For my birthday, my folks got me a Spanish course for my laptop which I've started using as well.  It's slightly different in the order of things it teaches you but I get to wear headphones with a microphone attached (if it hadn't been connected to the computer, I'm sure I would have put some music on and pretended I was singing on stage whilst busting some moves - Madonna style (but without the falling off the stage bit)).

You never know, with all of these methods of learning, I might be fluent by the time I'm 40!

11. Finish a game of Monopoly

I've never played Monopoly!  I might have given it a go when I was a kid but, if I did, I certainly wouldn't have known the rules.  I've often wondered why I'd never taken Monopoly more seriously as a game or assumed it wasn't fun (judging by the sheer look of pain on people's faces when it's even mentioned in passing).  It's such an iconic game.

I can't remember how it happened exactly but I was pointed in the direction of The Beatles Monopoly.  I read the description and thought to myself "I must own this" but wondered why I must if I didn't know how to play...hence adding it to the 40 list.  I was pretty sure I knew people who knew how to play Monopoly and therefore would eventually get around to purchasing The Beatles version of the game.

I've told my family, boyfriend and various friends that if they're stuck on something to get me for my birthdays/Christmases then consult this list.  Lots of ideas here!  My boyfriend, Mathijs, did just that and actually got me The Beatles Monopoly (I might have dropped a hint though)!  

We hadn't got around to playing the game until I took it with me to Makkum (Holland) when I stayed there from Boxing Day to New Year's Day.  I read the rules and thought it was pretty straight forward.  Mathijs and I roped in his brother, Wouter and sister, Michelle to play.  Michelle was the banker.

The Set-up

Now, the ACTUAL rules.  If you land on something, buy it or put it up for auction but someone must buy it.  We chose our pieces.  I chose "Strawberry Fields Forever".  The other pieces in the games are "Here Comes The Sun", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", "Octopus's Garden", "Rocky Raccoon" and "I Am The Walrus".

Strawberry Fields Forever

So, after a few goes I had bought Sgt. Pepper, Yellow Submarine, Come Together and their live performance at Shea Stadium (the live performances were in place of what would have been the stations in the regular game).  I then got The Cavern Club to go with Shea so any time someone landed on either they would have to give me ♥50.  I then started collecting the reds until I was thwarted by Michelle which meant I couldn't buy houses for them.

Sgt. Pepper, Yellow Submarine, Come Together and Shea Stadium performance

The Cavern

Money started to run out quite quickly so I had to start mortgaging my properties - especially when Wouter put hotels on all of the pink ones (Beatles For Sale, Help (Single), Help (Album)).  Then Mathijs started putting houses on the highest priced "streets" (Abbey Road Studio and Apple Records).  I had to give my mortgaged properties to Mathijs in a deal.  Wouter was beginning to clean up.  I almost got to the point of bankruptcy and made a deal which meant giving most of my items away so I wouldn't have to "pay the rent".  The deal-making part was quite funny, especially when it was between Mathijs and Wouter.  

Mortgaging

Wouter with hotels on the pink ones!

Mathijs with houses on the most expensive spaces

Mathijs started to get more cocky by putting more houses and then a hotel on his expensive "streets".  It looked like Wouter was going to clear up but he met his demise by landing on Mathijs' expensive "streets" a few too many times.  He was almost pleased he kept going to jail so he wouldn't have to make any moves and could still rake money in.  

Wouter rubbing his hands about to make a deal!

Jail?   Again?

Someone is in jail!

Michelle was bankrupt first and I was next.  Mathijs ended up winning the game.

Mathijs bought my mortgaged "albums/singles"

Wouter getting cocky!

I would definitely play the game again (obviously, as it was a present).  It doesn't take as long as people think if you buy every time you land on something.

I just noticed online there's a Beatles Yellow Submarine Monopoly...oh dear (keep away, Lauren)!

12. Obtain 40 albums in a single year (Year 2)

So, the last day of 2014 and I thought I'd share with you my list of top 40 albums I obtained during the year.  I guess the list is in this order based on what I enjoy listening to the most and also my favourite artists.  I never go into the technical side of things like the production etc. it's purely on how I feel when I listen.

Feel free to comment below about what your favourite album of the year is and why.

No.	Band/Singer	Album
40	Rumer	Into Colour
39	Paloma Faith	A Perfect Contradiction
38	Lewis Watson	The Morning
37	Maroon 5	V
36	Damian Rice	My Favourite Faded Fantasy
35	Train	Bulletproof Picasso
34	Rascal Flatts	Rewind
33	Within Temptation	Hydra
32	Ari Hest	Shouts & Whispers
31	Daryl Kellie	Wintersong
30	Mamas Gun	Cheap Hotel
29	The Hoosiers	The News From Nowhere
28	Kasabian	48:13
27	The Fray	Helios
26	Julian Velard	If You Don't Like It, You Can Leave
25	Little Big Town	Pain Killer
24	Ben Howard	I Forget Where We Are
23	Stu Larsen	Vagabond
22	Kenny Chesney	The Big Revival
21	Lady Antebellum	747
20	Adam Cohen	We Go Home
19	Brad Paisley	Moonshine In The Trunk
18	Jon Allen	Deep River
17	Christina Perri	Head Or Heart
16	First Aid Kit	Stay Gold
15	The Black Keys	Turn Blue
14	Phillip Phillips	Behind The Light
13	Morrissey & Marshall	And So It Began
12	A Great Big World	Is There Anybody Out There?
11	Paolo Nutini	Caustic Love
10	The Pierces	Creation
9	Passenger	Whispers
8	Ryan Adams	Ryan Adams
7	Miranda Lambert	Platinum
6	Hozier	Hozier
5	Take That	III
4	Various Artists	Begin Again Soundtrack
3	Andy Burrows	Fall Together Again
2	Ed Sheeran	x
1	Jason Mraz	YES!

Jason Mraz's "YES!" is my number 1 album because I think he's an exceptionally talented singer/songwriter and the songs on it are so easy to listen to.  A great mix of up tempo and slower tracks.  Jason teamed up with a band called Raining Jane who provide the backing vocals on the album - and everyone knows I'm a sucker for harmonies.  I saw Jason and Raining Jane live this year at the Royal Albert Hall and it was totally worth the money - a fantastic show!

You may have noted I put in a soundtrack in the top 40.  I don't usually do this but it was one of the albums I couldn't stop listening to after seeing the film.  It really affected me (in a good way) and thought it deserved to be in the chart.  Well-written songs sung by Keira Knightley and Adam Levine.  Go and see the movie!

Year 2 is DONE!

Looking forward to some amazing album releases in 2015. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR READERS!