I'm All About That Loot

So I promised you something 'special' but I am going to give you a lovely break down of this months loot crate which I am super excited about! I've always wanted to get some and thanks to Amy I now do. This months theme was Play so it is about games and stuff. I wasn't really too sure what to expect but all the other unboxings I have seen had awesome stuff. I was also quite surprised that it came so fast because Amy only got an email a couple of days ago saying that it was getting flown over so.. They are pretty snappy at getting everything to where it needs to be. This is also technically day Number 605 but it'll have a grand total of.. Brace yourself.. Six pictures. I know, calm down. Please.

So lets start with a group shot. This shows all the contents of the crate which I beautifully arranged.

Its really nice because it all fits in the box nicely, I know things are sometimes designed in such a way it is all packed in so once it is out, you're not getting back in the box. I appreciate it all being to fit back in because it keeps it all in once place and I shouldn't loose anything. I say this now, you always find a way to loose something. With the plan we got, this basically cost about £18 including shipping from America. I honestly don't understand how they make money from it, clearly the bulk buying discount must be huge so it still turns a profit.. I am happy either way. I guess I sort of don't care how they do it if it works and I get cool stuff!

So lets go for our first close up..

So, this is a Munny. It is from a company called MunnyWorld and it is basically a blank canvas which allows you to draw your own design on. This one comes with three pens, I haven't opened it up fully yet so I haven't decided that I am going to draw as it really depends on the colours. I found, from what I can tell, the same sort of thing on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kidrobot-Mini-Munny-Re-Usable-Munnyworld-markers/dp/B00MVQO4D0/ref=sr_1_3?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1424990083&sr=1-3&keywords=munnyworld
This is valued at £15 which really surprised me because that basically matches the price of the entire crate on its own. You can buy extra colours to go with it, I suppose they must use a certain type of pen to make sure it rubs off nicely otherwise I can imagine it getting pretty frustrating. They also do different models as well depending on what you want, they are on the main website but I am not sure if they ship internationally. They also sell a giant one, it is 4 foot tall, I don't think you can customise it but.. It is priced at $5,000 so.. You'd probably spend as much to get pens to cover the thing! Have a look here as well for some designs people have done.. It is pretty awesome. Shame it hasn't been updated since 2009 though, the internet probably has loads of other examples anyway!
http://sites.kidrobot.com/munnyworld/?p=gallery

This one here is a book written by an American author, it is is first published book but he works in other areas so is an experienced writer. When I read the title "Ready Player One" I wasn't too sure what to expect in terms of the story line but I read the blurb and it sounds pretty interesting. It is based in the year 2044 and is about someone who plays a virtual reality game. Within this game there are puzzles you have to solve which you must explore the real world to find. As you can see it is described as Willy Wonka meeting The Matrix so I really don't know what to expect. Should be good though. Something that I know Amy appreciates is the American style books. They literally fall open which makes them much easier to read as your aren't constantly fighting the book and you don't need to bend the pages or cover. I'll let you know how it goes. Found this on Amazon for just over £6 for the same cover and paperback version I have:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0099560437
And also some reviews as they are always useful if you aren't sure about a book!
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9969571-ready-player-one
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/books/ready-player-one-by-ernest-cline-review.html?_r=0

This little thing is called Scarab, but Amy has nicknamed it Scrab or Scrabby. It was one of the things I saw when I opened the box and really had no idea what it was at all.. It has tiny little motors in it which run really fast and makes it's legs move so it just runs around bouncing off of things. We can't really tell if there is a sensor as sometimes it seems like it turns away from things but then other times it just goes full whack into them without a care in the world. It has a pretty good fight with carpet because of its pointy legs but.. We could imagine this being really good fun to have with a cat because they would go crazy for it. Probably break it, but it would be good for YouTube! You can see how small it is sitting in the palm of my hand, my hands are a little big so it does look a bit smaller anyway but.. Yeah, added effect I guess. Here's the little thing on Amazon coming in at just over £10 but does include three batteries, it takes like watch batteries:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hexbug-Scarab-Electronic-Toys/dp/B006SLYAUQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424991080&sr=8-1&keywords=scarab
It is from a line of toys called Hexbug and there are other designs and glowing things.. Here's their site.
http://www.hexbug.com/

Here we have a packman poster, from what I can tell it looks like a game card or cartridge of some sort over all? I can't really tell. It comes wrapped up like a scroll in a little cardboard rectangle, so at the moment it just wants to curl back up hence why I am holding it open. It is a really simple design, I quite like it. It is just a bit bigger than an A4 piece of paper so I will find somewhere for it at some point. This is one of the things that I like about the loot crate, is that this is from what I understand an exclusive so you can't just buy these online!

This picture is sort of the little bits and bobs left over in the box. The box itself, you may see, unwraps to make a board for a board game, which is what a lot of the other bits and pieces are for. You can see the dice in the bottom right corner, these are number dice where the numbers are represented by fingers and also a rock paper scissor dice? It basically has the icons on it and you take it turns rolling to see who goes first in a game. Clever as it leave it to change and you can just play that as a game on it's own. There is a pack of cards which I believe go with the game - I haven't opened them up yet. The thing in the bottom left is exclusive codes for content in some games, I think PC based. I know they are games that I don't personally play so I might do eventually or I will have to think of something to do with them as there is no point them going to waste. The booklet in the top right of the box has information on the all the other stuff in the box. It also has a history of gaming controllers and a mini article on why coop gaming is actually good for us! The back page has pop outs for the board game so counters and little people. Pretty awesome.

I am so happy with this loot crate, it is awesome knowing that I have another two on the way. I very much enjoyed sharing it with you, I know people usually do unboxing videos but this'll do just fine for me at the moment. From the items I could find a monetary value for, the crate came to about £31 but including the exclusives, I think it is safe to say that we have easily received twice as much as we put into it overall. Awesome. All over.

We also had pizza today. Pizza!

Email me, let me know if you want it published on the blog and I will respond.
matttalkslife@gmail.com
Blog you later!

Oh The Loot..

Hi there internet. How are you? Oh.. Still full of cat videos? Awesome.

We went out for a cheeky meal with Amy's Grandparents. We went to a place called Castle Lake which is part of the Brewers Fayre chain. They have a different buffet on every night of the week which is all you can eat. We have been before on the Italian and curry nights, today.. Was burgers and hotdogs. It was so good, the hotdogs were better in my personal opinion but there was literally a bucket of bacon! And mushrooms! It was so nice.. Unlimited refills and a Sundae to top it all off.. I don't need to eat tomorrow..

So I am pretty tired and planning someone different for tomorrow's post, I shall share with you some pictures now.

Day 603

This one here is from the old cinema trip to see Project Almanac. This is one of the reasons we said to go on a Monday - I actually got to do the pose at the front of an empty cinema. I know it's a pretty generic photo idea but I wanted to do it anyway. The pattern on my jumper kind of makes me look like I'm wearing a poncho.. I would pull one of them off so good.

I feel like we are missing like.. Some new cinema craze. The majority of people that come in sat on the front row of the sloped section. We always like to sit towards the back in the middle for comfy viewing. There was only one free seat on that row, all made up of couples so it's not like it was a group booking.. Just seemed pretty strange at the time. I guess if doesn't matter because they still saw the film just as much as I did - they were just closed to a fire exit. Hmph, smart.

Day 604

So I received a glorious text from my mum today.. Saying I had a package with the word Loot on it.. Ahhhh!

We picked this up before heading back to the place of sleep. We always ended up watching the Comic Relief Bake Off and also three nominations for the Peoples Strictly Come Dancing thing. A fleeting visit turned into a couple of hours - Wehey.

But the loot.. Will be for tomorrow.. In a special sort of post type thing!

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Emails and responses will be published onto the page.

Blog you later!

I Am Groot!

The puzzle is gone. All 999 pieces of it. It is always quite fun to destroy sit even though you are watching a couple of days work turn into a pile. It's because we had tacos and we have salsa, a bowl for the meat and separate plates etc. which we needed space for. The puzzle was on the dining table so.. I made the decision it had to go. The box wasn't quite wide enough to just slide it off and in from the table which would have been terribly satisfying for no real reason. A shame. Quite in the puzzle mood now.

Day 602

Okay. So. Wow.

Someone I work with can crochet and very well as you can quite plainly see. She made one for her self and showed me and I naturally blurted out - give it to me. She went one better and made us one because.. Because awesome. It dances if you give it a bit of a wiggle, just like the film. I honestly have no idea how it all works but I am sure as hell glad it did! Little Groot has pride of place on the corner table of the living room.

We had a spontaneous cinema trip, we decided to go at about half seven for a half eight showing. We went and watched Project Almanac, which is a film based on time travel filmed on hand helds like in paranormal activity. I quite enjoyed if - safe to say Amy didn't. I like that style, I remember watching Cloverfield and really enjoying that. I don't know what story they were going for in terms of.. They referenced time travel a lot but this split off into alternate realities as well and paradoxes and things.. It was really clever how they set it all up and subtly explained the butterfly effect without directly letting on. I was a happy bunny. Apart from the error right at the end, so SPOILER here.. He went back in time to destroy the device deleting his timeline.. But the camera he carried back with him didn't disappear.. So that makes no sense. I guess it left it open to a 'happy ending.' I don't know. I would recommend - I am easily please with films then again. Takes the movie count to six for this year though!

And it was windy today. I walk across a bridge - gusty. Driving back from the cinema over a bridge, you can feel the pull. Push? I don't like it. Sucks. Especially when there is something super tall there as well.. No thanks.

Thanks for reading, remember you can email me:

matttalkslife@gmail.com

Blog you later!

999 Pieces

I am posting from my phone today so I can feel the typos coming on already. As much as I love autocorrect when it works, and enjoy the hilarious outcomes when it doesn't.. Some times I just don't know what it was thinking. The worst part is where I am typing so fast as I know what I want to say - the option to stop the correction doesn't come up fast enough and it just changes it and moves on. I'm none the wiser. Excuses..

In all honesty, I can say that the bulk of my time was spent breasting out that puzzle to get it done.. And.. Well you might be able to tell how that went overall by the title.

Day 600

I don't know I you'll see it so easy from the angle and size of the puzzle in this picture but there is an edge piece missing on the left hand side where the green building is.

I can honestly say that as I was getting more and more into the puzzle I started thinking it wasn't there. I was thinking I would've come across it by now. I was right, it is a shame but it doesn't really take away from the puzzle itself. We have still pieced together 999 pieces which I found very enjoyable, haven't done one in a very long time! My question is no longer Where's Wally - he is on the right where some guy is horing up a cactus with a gun. My question is where is the missing piece? Judging from the grass and it's colour - I'd say it's been torn a new one by a lawn more at this point!

I would t mind doing some more puzzles.. The only thing is, this was 1,000 pieces and took up pretty much the entire table, I have no clue how much more space we would need for a bigger one! Like one of them crazy 10,000 piece plus puzzles!

Totally went to the cinema today, saw The Wedding Ringer. I really enjoyed it, had a really nice balance between storyline and ridiculous comedy.. For example a dog eating peanut butter off of something.. And then biting it and not letting go.. Leaving it at it and you can guess the rest. It isn't too hard to guess.. It was odd in the fact that it was a great film but I only recognised two of the cast, Kevin Heart and Kaley Cuoco-Something.. She's married and has a double barrelled surname that I can't remember.. But yeah it was really good, I would recommend it. Kevin Heart is also in so many films at the moment, his agent must be new and trying to show off.. We saw two trailers for films with him in before the film. He's so tiny as well.

Day 601

We got some Happy Meals for lunch to get some Sean the Sheep stuff, we ended up with..

..These two things. The left is a little box, the right is a cereal bowl - the back of the sheep comes off just so you know. I say ended up with as we did have a spoon with Sean on which somehow went missing so we got another one as the lady said they only had the bowls and spoons.. And we ended up with the box so that was a lie.. Oh well. I'm an adult. I was t totally going to eat my cereal using the bowl and spoon.. Matching.. Suck it up Matt!

I shall leave you there. Emails me:

matttalkslife@gmail.com

Blog you later!

I'm Feeling 22

I bet you've never heard that reference before when someone turns 22. So original to reference a modern pop song - nailed it.

Remember, you can email me - matttalkslife@gmail.com

So, I have now officially been 22 for two days and what do I think of it? Well not a lot of difference, I know that I am most definitely going to forget that fact and still tell people I am 21. I can only look forwards to getting older because despite moving away from things which are in the here and now, I know I am only moving forwards onto new and exciting things and plenty more firsts. For example, that soft barrier of hitting 25 and making your car insurance drop in price - apparently anyway.

So in terms of what I did for my birthday, it was nice and simple. Had the day off work, had a nice little lay in. Popped to the shop with Amy as she made some more brownies which were also awesome - got a Rolo one this time which is nearly all gone already.. Watched some TV, did some more of my puzzle which is still super duper hard and missing a border piece. I want it to be in the box so bad but I just feel like I would have come across it by now.

Also had a little birthday 'lunch' which I say that way because.. It was lunch that ranged from 16:00 to about 19:00.. We were a group of six, we went to Frankie and Benny's because they've got such a decent selection on their lunch menu now, I can't remember when that happened. We got our drinks and waited for our last arrival and then ordered. And waited 40 minutes for the starters, 30 for the mains and then 10 for the desserts - probably only needed a blast in the microwave.. Now, I am always torn between two sides with Frankie and Benny's because it has always held a special place in my heart as I took Amy to dinner there on our first date type event as a couple in my old fiesta. We used to go there a lot, I can honestly say. I remember going there in a full suit on our second Valentine's day because I wanted to be all fancy, and everyone else was there eating in casual clothes, I never felt more over dressed. Since then, it has just been a steady decline in service. It just seems like the staff were ever changing and just generally not caring.. I don't know what happened. Then again, I am talking three years ago so who knows what happened with their training between now and then? All I know is, its gone down hill. We go there once every now and then at the moment sort of hoping that things will have perked back up but.. We don't hold our breath and clearly for good reason.

After that we headed back to the TV and watched the hour long Eastenders. I am no fan but.. Dang I did want to know who killed Lucy. A couple of people in the group weren't interested at all and they still watched it just as intently. It is that weird mob mentality mixed with the hype of adverts and social media - you just end up watching it anyway even if you weren't interested. Of course, it ended on Jane being the supposed killer, it is at this point that we all went our ways, some home, others shopping - myself and Amy included.. Yes it was my birthday but we've found a great balance with the ripeness of the bananas on a Thursday. I can get enough for the week and they'll keep in good nick. It was then via the out pours on Facebook we discovered it was Bobby who did it - I called that without being serious just to be proven right. Which was awkward. Apparently he was bookies favourite so they must have an inside track somehow.. Does seem like a strange choice to end a 10 month build up - but anyone else it would have really been signing their release from the show because they would be off to prison.

All in all a good day. Amy has also told me that my loot crate was dispatched today so that means it should be around in the next 1-2 weeks! How about a picture to break it up eh?

Day 598
As I have mentioned the ol' puzzle, how about an update as to the progress of it?

It is looking good right? Now I look at it - no not really. I am sort of just associating pieces by colour and making it where I think it will end up roughly.. Which is kind of working. Sometimes I pick a bit out and now know where about in the image it should be - and have it the wrong way up. It sits there looking me in the face, all of sudden I nudge it with another piece and realise where it fits! I feel dense at that point. It is so hard though, I want to start building in the edge more but where most of it is jumbled up cowboy pieces they all look the same! Just trying to get as many bits out of the box on to the table with other bits to thin it out.. Having the picture propped up by Amy's Neapolitan ice cream candle does help though.

I started watching a new series on Netflix today, something called Z Nation. It has gotten pretty good reviews,  I think it was 4-4.5 stars. Gave it a try - it is pretty much The Walking Dead with a slightly different story.. More action scenes which are a lot less graphic.. Which kind of balances it out I guess? The main difference I have found is that we've jumped right in three years into the out break with Z Nation - people just getting on with it and not being too surprised. Walking Dead really eased us in with the leads story and now is just all out shockers. Things that would make you double take. I am enjoying it though, there isn't a lot of variation that you can take I guess when talking zombie apocalypse for the story.

Today also saw the return of the mighty Gogglebox! I laughed so much during todays, I am not going to lie. I have always had a split response from people when I mention it, kind of like marmite where people love it and hate it. The people who 'hate' it just don't understand the point of watching the reactions of other people. We find it funny and insightful because often your thoughts on a subject will be matched. Or questioned, giving you another perspective which is always nice, get the old grey cells ticking over a bit. The two ladies from London who accepted the award for the show have sort of become the figure heads without meaning to I think. The two people who run the B&B didn't appear at all.. But I am assuming that maybe be conflict with that The Jump program one was in.. I can't think of another reason. I did miss their little sausage dog though. I would say the breed but it is dang hard to spell.

Day 599
That is terribly close to day 600.. I am not too sure what to do for that. Did I do something for 500? I should know in all honesty.

This is something we got from Tesco yesterday on our shop, a new Tango flavour which I am in great appreciation of. It is called Intense Citrus and to me - tastes exactly like bitter lemon which I really like. I think it is supposed to be a mix of lemon, lime and orange but for me the lemon was king. On a random side note - lemons are awesome. We have half of one in the fridge all the time, we literally bin it after a week - it comes out larger than it went in. It sucks up all the smells and keeps the fridge smelling fresh - a neat little trick for you.

I thought I would just Google 22 to see what comes up - of course top of the pickings was the Tay Swizzle song. Oddly, well I thought it was odd anyway, second was a wikipedia post for the number 22.. Which I find slightly odd as we all understand it is a number and can only assume there are links to other things involving 22.. I wonder how high the number count on wiki goes.. After that we get iPlayer throwing season 22 of Top Gear at you.. Then lyrics for the song.. The odd thing about 22 Jump Street.. The last thing on the first page actually was interesting.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3041441/22-movies-every-designer-should-watch-on-netflix
Just a little warning.. Chrome crashed for me when first opening the page so be warned! Some of the things on here sound pretty interesting, one I am definitely interested in is Snowpiercer which is number 22 but.. Hey, the power of Googling random things?

Googling doesn't come up as a spelling mistake. Wow.

Thanks for reading. Blog you later!

For Never 21

This, right here, will be my last post as a 21 year old. And in all honesty - it doesn't feel too different overall. I think they only different feeling about birthdays is people telling you that you're older on that one day. That's just me anyway. I know I also haven't posted in a while but I have been nabbed by that evil mistress of sleep each night so.. Yeah. This is of course a triple for the past three days.

I know this won't be posted until it actually is my birthday but, as I have mentioned before, until I have slept it doesn't feel like the next day.

Now - all three of these pictures are actually present I have already received from my parents even though my birthday is tomorrow.. I was there on the weekend so I was given them then. I am not going to argue with early presents!

Day 595

One, which I have started today with Amy, was a Where's Wally puzzle, it is a classic one from one of the old books where they are filming a load of stuff in the wild west.

I used to be quite obsessed with Where's Wally. I had loads of books, I had found Wally and all of the side kicks, enemies and extra snippets which they give you to find at the back. Looking back on it now, I always regretted marking where everything was because then you can't give it away or find everything again because.. It is already there.

Right now, we have all but one edge piece slotted together! It is getting rather annoying sifting through all the remainder of the pieces to find this one. I know we don't need it to start but it is always nice to have the border complete so you can just fill it in. It is 1000 pieces so I am really not sure where this one piece is mixed in with.. I sifted through it all at first separating the edge pieces as you can see above but.. I must have missed it. Now we have to go through like a needle in a haystack.

The box is also full of grass for some reason. What?

I guess this also means there is not a lot of room to eat at the dinner table.. Oops. I started piecing this together when the Red Nose Day Bake Off was on, they had YouTuber Zoella on. Of the English vloggers, I think she is the first to have become 'famous' as she's has recently had a book released, she's appeared on this on TV, she was only in the news paper today because she has just bought a £1,000,000 five bed mansion in Brighton thanks to her crazy advertisement income! Well done to her in all fairness, it is one of the reasons I have always been interested in YouTube but at the same time it seems crazy.. It is like a ridiculously well paid hobby.

Day 596

I also have a lovely new jumper which is super warm. So warm, I have now ditched the coat for my walk to work, even though it seems just as cold.. I don't check the weather reports but gauging from the ice levels on the cars in the morning - assume it is about the same.

It fits nice and snuggly. Good times.

Before Christmas I was in a lack of jumpers, now I have a plethora - great word I know. Which is nice but a shame at the same time because it is heading towards warmer months and I don't want to melt.. Amy just screamed at me "You're 23!" Nope. I'm not.

Moving on.

I'M FEELING 22. Ha. That means in three years I won't have to pay extra to drive in America. Which is nice. It makes the car hire price so much more expensive, which kind of sucks. Driving out there is so easy compared to driving over here.. Straight lines and turnings.

Day 597

And here is the third picture. Technically Where's Wally themed again just with more recent characters, The Stig and meerkats to specific. I wonder if the people that came up with the comparethemeerket adverts ever thought it would go this far.. Because they've probably made enough money off of that as well! We have a safari Baby Oleg toy on it's way to us in the post. We keep getting emails about him saying he's been delayed because they left something in Africa and had to go back.. Yeah.

I think my parents may think I am older than 22 because they've given me a lot of things to keep my mind active.. And I know they say you should do that as you get older but with crosswords and the such. I will have a proper look through these, at the moment I am trying to find that missing puzzle piece for Pete sake!

So. Let me think. What things have I done for a first in my year as a 21 year old?

1. I've flown to America
2. I've driven a left hand drive car 
3. I've driven on the wrong side of the road - in America, not for the sake of it
4. I've been to Disney Land
5. I've learnt to swim - sort of
6. I've been 21..
7. I've moved out
8. I've met loads of new people, mainly thanks to my job
9. I've assembled my first pieces of furniture
10. I've been go-karting
11. I've made my first quesadilla
12. I've fully committed to my Blog 
13. I've uploaded my first video to YouTube
14. I've bought an Xbox One
15. I've been to Epcot
16. I've been to Busch Gardens
17. I've been to a REAL Taco Bell - not like Lakeside.. Ergh..
18. I've learned that American McDonalds SUCKS!
19. I've ironed my first shirt
20. I've been to Winter Wonderland
21. I've been to Alton Towers

That was far to hard to think of. Hence all the references to America because that was pretty much all new. But I didn't want to cheat too much.

Thank for reading. Next time I will be a really old dude. Ha. Blog you later.

Saturday, Sunday

Hey there, it's been a weekend hasn't it?

So, I like vouchers - we got some subway ones which are awesome. We totally snapped one up on Saturday, got two foot long meals so with a drink and cookie for £10! It was good, I was also crazy full up as well.. I used to be able to demolish them without even thinking about it.. How the times change. Someone was asking for a six inch cup? And no one knew what she was on about.. She meant the drink that comes with the six inch sub as a meal but.. Yeah what?

Also had a visit from some family, received a toaster as a house warming which is totally purple - matched everything else. Also got my birthday present, I know it's not until Thursday but I like presents. A nice shirt for work. I can already imagine the tie combos! 

I also received some gifts from my parents today, birthday orientated also. A 1000 piece puzzle of Where's Wally? I am totally going to make it and take a picture and ask you to find it so it'll be too small! I feel like an evil mastermind. I also got a where's the meerkat book and a stig one as well. Also a new jumper which blends from white at the bottom to black at the to - I think that's the best I can describe it. Once again - awesome.

Every time I hear a song that was in 50 Shades of Grey I feel awkward. And Ellie Goulding is pretty high in the chart at the moment so that is a high chance.. 

Totally doing this off of my phone.. I keep forgetting to see how that affects the formatting of the pictures. I'll remember one day!

Remember, you can email me at matttalkslife@gmail.com!

Now, picture this.. Well these. Two.

Day 593

So, this lovely delight here is your first picture for the weekend.

What you are looking at is a Malteser chocolate brownie - I saw chocolate brownie but I am pretty sure here are no other types.. It is so amaIng: it's all gooey on the inside, the crust is crispy and then the added crunch of the maltesers is extra. Amy has made two of these today, the first as a test which I gladly helped with - the second for my work as my birthday is on Thursday. They're going to love us yet hate us, treats are good but we're pretty much fattening everyone up. Like the witch from that rhyme. You know the one.

Day 594

As previously mentioned, we went to Bluewater on Thursday which of course has a Disney store.. Which in turn had this..

It's so frigging awesome! They had one at the cinema as well, I should've gotten a picture with it but.. I guess it felt a bit strange being a grown up in a kids store. They had a load of merchandise as well like little Beymax toys and teddies, if was awesome. One of the strangest things I find in the Disney store is the Star Wars and Marvel stuff. It just doesn't really seem to fit in but.. Hey. It is cool stuff.

Mentioning Marvel, Spider-Man is now back in the universe. Only thing is it means they'll probably remake the series - again. I grew up with Toby Maguire? As Spidey, the films got progressively worse as they went.. Andrew Gafield, the newer one was pretty good also. Once again never fully living up the entire expectation - I do like that they introduced some of the newer characters though, like Electro. I remember playing the old PS1 games where you fought all the different bosses, there's a lot more they could do. They just revisit the same ones like Venom and the Green Goblin - which I understand as he was the first bad guy.. 

The Fantastic Four is another film having a reboot which I am not too sure about.. I thought the previous one was good but it was an unbalance between story and action which killed it for me. I am just excited for all the up and coming Marvel and DC films like Batman vs. Superman, the next Avengers, The Justice League at some point.. There are so many comics, it's not lie they have a lack of choice! Deadpool - gimme!

50 Shades of Awkward

What is this madness? A post - on a Friday!? Let's all just calm down. I just wanted to do a post today because I fancied it. Perks of being the sole poster to a page. Post what I want, when I want! When I don't fall asleep of course.

Before we get into the stuff below, first I would like to say I have made a new email account. It is just for this Blog and is aptly named MattTalksLife@gmail.com and I want anyone who fancies it to pop me an email. This can be suggestions, requests etc. and if you're happy with me to share then I shall. Of course, I won't share your email address.
Email me! MattTalksLife@gmail.com

So, yesterday, I booked a day off because I have some leave left over from the past year. We decided to drive around and go to a load of different places. We started off with Bluewater, we realised at this point that we haven't been there in a very long time. Compared to usual. The main perks about going during the day is it is so dang easy to park. One thing I find interesting about going there at all, mainly if I'm not driving is seeing where people park. I myself always park in the carpark next to Shopping Mobility as that was the first one I went to know how to get in and out without a problem. My friends either ask where I recommend to park - and we end up there - or go to where they like to go. Upper floors, the other side.. Or just wherever there is a space.

Moving on..

It wasn't a successful trip. The only thing we left with was food in our tummies and also a holiday brochure. Which was free. We did have some ideas of things we wanted but as soon as you know that - you're not going to find anything. Myself for example, I have a gift card in Waterstrones but whenever I go in there I have no idea what to buy! I was thinking about getting a graphic novel but I know if I get one, its a commitment to get the rest. And they huge all in one ones are too expensive. There is no winning! We also inadvertently turned up the day of a new shop opening, called Smiggle. Imagine the old shop David and Goliath - just its stationary. Like crazy colours and monster designs and stuff. It is pretty cool, we don't really have much use for it at this time in our lives though so yeah, shop.

We also ended up at a Sainsburys, a Tesco and a Morrisons. No reason, just they were there on passing and we had a look and stuff. Comparing the offers and prices for ourselves. We did however, purchase two items which bought about the following item..

Day 591
You've gotta have a red nose!

I love a red nose. I like the event on TV. I like that it is for charity. The thing I don't like so much this year is that it is a lucky dip as to which nose you get. They now come individually packed in a little foil type bag which is super hard to open without scissors. And you know don't know which you've got until you open them up. Now. I wanted the space dude but got the vampire. Amy wanted a snorkel dude and got the monster. Don't get us wrong - we clearly like them but I liked being able to pick. I guess the idea is they feel more collectable now, as you have to open it up to see - you might end up with duplicates and it'll make you want to buy more - so more to charity. Or something. Speculations.

Amy just shared this with me, it is friggin' amazing so go watch it please!
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/13/see-fan-made-pixel-perfect-couch-gag-simpsons-this-sunday?asdf
Some dudes made The Simpsons title sequence in 8 bit and it is actually amazing, they've done th music as well and even added in some extra little bits. Apparently they are even going to use it on a real episode because it was so good. Must be crazy for something like that to happen, they probably just started it together thinking it would be fun and now it'll be seen and shared by millions.

There is a car alarm, or some sort of annoying noise outside. It has been going off for the last 15 minutes. I hate distractions.

Day 592
So. Today. This evening. We totally went and watched the Fifty Shades of Grey film and the cinema was pretty packed, not compared to the next showing which was completely sold out when Amy checked it.

This here be the new book cover, as they've done the classic rebrand for the film release just to make sure they can get a little bit extra out of people, usually super fans who want to own all the different covers etc.

I am not going to lie - I am not too sure what my overall verdict is of the film. I have read the first two books and a bit of the third so I knew what I was in for. Obviously, all of the raunchy bits were toned down to be able to be released in the cinema and a lot was cut in terms of explicit scenes because there'd be far too much.. A lot of reviews have come in negative, the main issue people had was the lack of sparks between the two characters to make it more believable. Whilst I agree this would of course make it better, the gent is married so he probably didn't want to look too convincing..

The scenes I think were done pretty well and a lot of it did actually resemble the book which I really liked, often they can go down a different route because it would look good on screen. Of course, some bits were missed or skipped over quicker compared to what you would think they should've been. I must say, some of it was pretty funny like the little looks and the timing of the lines, often had the cinema laughing. Really, what you want to know is should you go and watch it? I will always say yes because everyone has their own taste in cinema and something I love, you might hate and vice versa. I would say don't get your hopes up for an absolute masterclass because it wasn't quite up to par, it just felt like there was something missing - other than clothes.

Tell you what though, turns out I have a number of awkward moment faces I didn't even know I could make. Sharing.

One lady in the cinema - my God she was laughing so hard. There was one line in particular.. Which I will not add because it is rude.. About 'making love' as said in the film. As soon as he finished saying it - boom! She was gone, for a good five minutes. And it got to the point a lot of people were laughing with her or at her because no one really knew what to tell her, or how to calm her. I started laughing and managed to stop myself but my oh my, she must have loved it.

Over all though, it is just smut. Amy's descriptive word of the day that.

There we go! A sneaky Friday - now Saturday morning post. I class it as the day before as I have not slept yet so good Friday to you people, blog you later!

Sofa Buddy

So, I missed yesterday. I was a bit out of it, and I'll leave it at that. None the less, let's go on to talk about other random stuff. That's what I do.

So, as previously mentioned not so many posts ago, we are seeing Fifty Shades of Grey on Friday. Critics reviews have come out saying to not expect much and in all honesty, I'm not overly surprised by that response. Half the time the critics are too critical because that's what they're paid for and publishers don't want trivial non aggressive pieces that aren't going to generate a response or discussion. That's what drives the media, us talking about it or it wouldn't go anywhere. Personally I'm not too sure what they were expecting, the books were a global phenomenon but many bashed them for being poor in terms of literary skill. I've read the first two myself, looking back I really can't remember if I was reading because of the hype but I know the smut sort of made you forget about the overall experience. Without the smut, it was a romance story with a millionaire. Well. We shall see.

Day 589

Amy's new slippers are totes famous.

So to start with - cute, right? They're from Asda Living and of course, Amy's on the ol' Twitter and Instagram and shared them. Asda actually came back to here to ask if they could share the picture from their end. They used if in a post asking which slippers were cuter - obviously giraffes every time. Pretty cool and odd to see something at home shared on a bigger scale.

Day 590

So we were watching TV and mini stitch seems to have gotten pretty interested in what was going on..

Amy sat him up like this and I enjoyed it far too much so out came the phone. Picture. Text. Blogged. I can't even remember what we were watching at the time; all I know is it must have been good to get his attention.

I actually wrote half of this last night before falling asleep so I nearly got there but I can just share it this morning, no biggy. I used to get really annoyed with myself because I would be watching a video.. And fall asleep. And my phone is set to not lock itself unless I tell it to. So it stays unlocked all night using all the battery and then I've forgotten to plus it in. I then, for whatever reason wake up a couple of hours before my alarm would go off to a dead battery. Then I have to wait for it to turn on to turn the alarms back on!

Have a good day peoples. Blog you later.

I'm Not Even Mad

So I was all ready to get my Blog on and share the three pictures that I actually remembered to take - and I feel asleep again. I'm not even mad either because in a sense.. I am happy with myself for actually being able to fall asleep at a normal time. Then again - I do keep missing out on doing my blog meaning big old chunky posts full of pictures. Which I guess is nice to look at.. I just feel less consistent. I don't know anymore. Pictures. Weekend. More stuff. Commence.

Lets rewind, all the way back to Friday. I can do that because this is the internet.

Day 585
So, of course, I had work on Friday. Did that. Had a couple of friends around for the evening as they hadn't been the flat since it had all been set up. Last one had saw it we were still in boxes and also building out of boxes.. Which isn't quite the desired look. The other hadn't seen it full stop so.. First impressions!

We decided to have pizza - the picture below is actually of another time we had pizza.. It is just that this pizza stack was much bigger and looks pretty cool. We also then decided to watch The Interview - decided against the cinema in the end. We were sort of at a miss of what to watch so we went on the ol' Netflix which is notorious for having a tonne of stuff to watch. Sarcasm.

So, it was okay. The Interview that is. Some of it was funny, other bits were uncomfortable - which is what you are expecting when Seth Rogan and James Franco - and then some bits were just down right weird. For example.. Fingers not being attached to where they should be anymore.. That type of thing. I can understand if the media was true, about Kim-Jong Un being mad about the film, because it really didn't make him look that great. Of course, that was the point of the film and if anything it was just a huge piece of over the top satire. I honestly wouldn't rate it though, I can imagine that being the type of film that I would have gone to the cinema and would possibly have been a bit disappointed.

Of course we ended the night on a little bit of Cards Against Humanity because what evening with friends would be complete without being horrendously offensive?

Parks and Recreation is so dang good. Watching it right now and it has taken me over 30 minutes to type out the above.. My lord its addictive.

Day 586
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday. We got a letter from the postman saying that we had missed a signed for letter and we honestly had no idea at all what it was. So we decided to go find it, because it wasn't the one in the high street.. Like we thought..

And it turns out we had been there before. There is this massive industrial estate near where we are that has numerous car dealerships, like, a ridiculous amount in one place. The sign for the post office has the teeniest tiniest sign I have ever seen, especially when you compare it to the size of the actual building. There were only two people filtering a really long queue through.. Really fun. Turns out we did know what it was. It kind of ruined the surprise a little bit to be honest.. We did however find a rather large Morrison's.. The more you know?

And by the way - look what we made.

We were honestly at a miss with what to have for tea. So I Googled what to do with chicken because I wanted chicken. The only thing we could find that was remotely interesting at that point in time was a quesadilla which we have wanted to try before but were never really too sure how to make.. And out of every video we watched the most useful one turned out to be Epic Meal Time making a ridiculously unhealthy one. The irony. It has chicken, cheese, spicy chorizo, sour cream and also pico de gallo which is a mix of tomatoes, onions, chillies, lime juice and salt. It was so good. Like. Really impressed with ourselves. It is really filling though, it was quite surprising. Definitely making that again - I would also recommend you give it a try if you are feeling adventurous.

Day 587
So this day here, it was a Sunday. A very lovely amazing Sunday. Why you may ask? Because this day, number 587 was mine and Amy's four year anniversary!

Here are the cards that we gave each other, Amy Moon Pigged my one hence the custom cover. I used to give Amy Me to You cards literally all the time, for any occasion in terms of birthdays, valentines and stuff. I haven't for a while and as I thought this was a nice celebration of us I would throw it back to the old times. Plus I like the card, the bears are using a well! I am also really excited because Amy has got me a three month subscription to Loot Crate which is this awesome box that comes in the post full of loot, like nerdy stuff. I say nerdy loosely but it is the best way I can think to describe it. Definitely means there'll be some pictures generated from them, I can tell you that now!

There is also a house warming card from my parents as they popped down on the weekend. My Dad drilled some holes into the back of the shelves we had for cable management. They were pretty dang messy. Still are in all honesty..

Amy also made a lovely mac and cheese with pancetta and chillies for tea. We usually don't have chillies but we had them left over from the day before and thought we wouldn't use them otherwise - added a really nice subtle kick to the meal over all. Developed pallets and what not.

Day 588
Which brings us on to today.

Of course, having just moved out when I pop home to see the family and what not they tend to have found more stuff lurking somewhere which is mine. This weekend I went back to see they had found a load of old pictures I had drawn including a rare which I actually added colour to. The Taz in the background, I remember taking a really long time to do that one because I really wanted it to turn out well. I was happy with it, so much so I even coloured it.

Thanks a bunch, and what not. I'll hopefully blog you this time next year when it has been/is our five year anniversary. Wonder where we will be then.

Chocreos

So, I was at work and I looked out the window and I was very confused. It was like the windows had been covered in sepia effect from a phone. There was this strange orange dull light glowing over everything. I looked away thinking nothing of it, the light from the setting sun was having an effect. I turn back five minutes later to see it snowing heavily, the wind kicking it up into a blizzard. After it stopped it was one of the clearest dark skies I've ever seen.. I love nature.

On a lesser side note, with the aid of a Mr Tate - finished the celestial levels of Peggle 2. Some of them levels are evil as anything, like literally. Sitting there for ages just on one and then smashing through the others without thinking about it. The challenges are really fun, especially one which is a classic level from the first game - pegs in the shape of a moving helix. I like that.

I've made it no secret that I am fond of a cat. Someone today told me of a place in London where you can book in to go have a drink, maybe a bite to eat.. Surrounded by cats. It sounds friggin' awesome!

http://ladydinahs.com

I have no idea if this link will work as I am blogging from the phone today but - ahhhhh! All the cats even have their own Twitter accounts. Because why not?!

Day 584

Amy's been doing what she does in the kitchen again, making funky tasty things!

Don't they look amazing? They are Oreos covered in Candy Melts chocolate which is this American chocolate made for melting.. We used them to cover the Halloween cake pops last year some of you may remember. They the have transfers on top made of something I cannot remember the name of to create the spots and flowers. Cool eh? She made enough for everyone because she's lovely.

Thanks, thank you, merci and as many other ways to say thank you. Blog you later.

A Winters Shower

Many of us will have received a shower of snow of the last week or so, we got our first taste of snow in our new abode on Tuesday. Amy woke up and had a look outside and said to me there was snow - I didn't really think of it at the time and kind of drifted in and out of sleep but it was nice. I like snow myself, it makes everything look clean and fresh. I then didn't like it so much when I started walking to work.. As we live on a bit of a slope and it was snowy and icy.. I was slipping all over the place. I seem to have pretty good balance and managed to not fall. I remember when I went to Iceland on a school trip I was the only person that didn't slip over got given a post card as a reward - oh yeah, the balance.

I always like watching snow because even though it is really just cold rain.. It is silent and calming. For me. I was looking at the window at it and its always a shame to watch it disappear where it can't set on damp ground. I do like me some snow.

On another side note - we are making some dang good headway into Parks and Recreation, we've just finished the second season and all it does is leave me wanting more because I genuinely enjoy it and laugh. There is a difference between programmes that are funny and those that make you laugh. I know it sounds like the same thing but actually laughing is a real testament to what you are watching. It wouldn't be the same going a live comedy showing and having a crowd of people briefly exhaling and just saying thats funny.

We find ourselves making a tough choice.. Do we go and see The Interview in the cinema or watch it on Netflix? Because.. Here it is easy, we can just pop it on, sit back and relax. The thing is - I really do like the cinema experience and also the Cineworld card make it so worth it as it is just turn up and enjoy. No paying, just parking. Decisions, tough ones eh?

So lets gets some pictures in shall we?

Day 582

Lets start with one of the snow, these pictures are curtesy of Amy as I am terrible at remembering.. I stand guilty to my sins.

Another thing I really enjoy about snow is all the foot prints, especially the animal ones. Something I always remembered was seeing little circles dotting around the garden where my cat had been. The birds feet would also leave lovely patterns.. Often overlapped by the cats ones.. I don't know if that is the cat being a cat or if the birds are just teasing him. Then again - he was dang lazy so I highly doubt that. We gave him food so why would he want to find anymore?

Day 583

And also.. Amy's little claim to fame with QVC'ers.

I have mentioned many times before how much she loves a Yankee Candle and they often sell them on QVC with new bundles that are not available in the UK. They also ask for you to Tweet in your pictures to be shown during the show. Her Tweet has now been shown twice on two separate occasions with two separate Tweets. Its like they are best friends and stuff. My oh my.

Thanks people. I have actually not fallen asleep before blogging, I am so impressed. With myself. Is that strange?

Anyway, thanks. Blog you later.

My Bad

I know I keep forgetting to do my blog on a Sunday.. Its of no real fault of my own, I always seem to be busy or just like.. Sleep.. I seem to be doing that a lot more lately. I guess that's a good thing but at the same time I feel bad. And stuff. So I guess its another one with four pictures so brace yourself for a multitude of coloured pixels.

Just before I start, I just went onto my page to check what day it is and everything had changed itself.. I don't know why but I hope it hasn't been doing that for other people because that would suck. I didn't want it to look like that, I spent a good old while getting it how I wanted it. Tweaks n'all.

Day 578
So, so, so. All weekends start with a Friday, pretty standard stuff. I had work and stuff, as per the norm for a Friday which has not been marked as a bank holiday or personal holiday. I have also mentioned that we were planning to go and see Big Hero 6 at the cinema which we totally did. With films like this that are really children's films.. We like to book a late showing. There won't be any children or as many and also you can get better seats. It was in 3D as well, haven't been to see one in ages because it generally doesn't feel worth the extra money.. This was pretty good 3D I must admit.

It was apparently inspired by The Avengers and had its own comic series because it was Marvel - which is of course owned by Disney. I really like the entire thing like.. So much. It is genuinely just a feel good film which has a really good storyline and animation. Everyone was laughing and even for a late showing it was pretty full up which I wasn't actually expecting. I like how in the film, Hero, the fourth from the left, is the 'main' character. For me it was easily Beymax because he is in all the adverts and changes the entire film with his appearance. I would highly recommend this to all, being Disney they always manage to tailor the film to suit everyone even if you feel like you are just being dragged along..

DO stay until the end of the credits. As there is something. We wished we had checked to see if there was something because pretty much everyone left.. And we weren't sure.. Then our patients was rewarded.

Also, Youtube stars Dan and Phil had cameo roles in the British version. I won't mention where for now to see if you can pick up on their voices if you of course know who they are..

Amy is now making a list of all the films that we watch this year, at the moment we are up to three with a fourth planned. We have watched Taken 3, Into the Woods and of course, this. The next will be 50 Shades of Grey which I am really not sure about.. I think it'll be good but it is going to be SO uncomfortable in the cinema.. I don't want to get into it.

Day 579
Saturday was pretty cool. We had a pretty epic lazy day and stayed snuggled up with s blanket and sofa each. We also watched a lot of Parks and Recreation which is an American TV show that was not aired in the UK, Amy began which this to see Chris Pratt. He was first guest staring in the first couple of episodes to assist with getting the show off of the ground. He went from have some responsibility to have a hell of a lot more as he is now a full part of the story! Well done Chris Pratt.

I was really happy that Amy came across it because it is genuinely one of the better shows that I have watched. Also because I have seen a lot of overly manly men quotes or memes based around Rob Swansome so the ol' moustached gentlemen in the picture. Now I know where they all come from.

Once again, I would very much recommend watching this as it is very funny and touches on some comedic values of the workplace. I don't think nearly as many apply to an English office from my experience but some of them do, we are all people after all.

We started watching this in the early afternoon and this sort of carried on through all the way to night time when we went to bed.. It was very good. An accidental marathon, and a successful at that.

Day 580
So, as with any marathon they are always accompanied by snacks of some sort to keep the energy levels high otherwise it turns into a sleep over of epic proportions. What you can see below were my chosen provisions to keep me going.

And this is an actual picture from my own hands to yours, so don't get too excited because I can see this a bit of a change of tack from the other two pictures. Being a Haley means two things, you really like sandwiches and also.. You really look biscuits. These were mint chocolate chip flavour and honestly - blew me away in terms of a simple price comparison. It tasted like eating a mint choc chip ice cream cone with a chocolate wafer shell replaced by the biscuity value. I feel like I went into a lot of detail over a biscuit..

Right now there is a small invasion of toys of the cuddly kind. All the Stitches have made it to the bed and also my old Dog which is my childhood toy. My mum just made him a jumper as where he is so old, the material is wearing thing from far too much hugging - go me. I think I showed that on here.. Off the top of my head at midnight, my knowledge probably isn't too good. I will check properly tomorrow as if not I can show you. Sorted.

Day 581
The final picture in todays mini saga will be another film cover - just as it is something that we watched yesterday.

We did pop back to our original places of abode to see family and what not, it was odd seeing my room empty. Like.. Really empty. My Dad had moved stuff out to decorate as it needed a lick of paint from years of general wear and tear. It is a bit of a reality check to make me realise how far I have come to now be out in the world on my own with Amy. Makes me feel like an adult - one who still likes games and stuff.

We also some people around as they had got us a little house warming - if you are reading this then thank you very much, it is much obliged! We got some pizza and watched a couple of films, we started with the one above. This was the only one I had not seen before yesterday, otherwise I had seen them all in the cinema. I remember going to see the first one, we managed to get about 10 of us and had to sit right down the front as it was the only space left in the cinema that could fit us in. It wasn't too bad, I can understand why sitting right at the front gets a bad wrap though. You do have to look up a lot more. Then again, this was an Oden, Cineworld's have that level seated area at the front for movies which may be a lot better. Never had to sit there myself so your guess is as good as mine.

I feel like I am a little but out of it at the moment so I shall leave it here for now. If I am out of it right now.. Well done me. You managed to save pictures and stuff. Thanks for reading as always, Blog you later.