Today the Beast from the East returns! Jared has been telling me all week that it was going to snow this weekend. I was listening but I was just like 'yeah that's nice, it's not really going to snow again'. 

Even when it started snowing yesterday and we had a small dusting I didn't think we were going to get anymore than that. So when I woke up this morning to a good couple of inches of snow I was pretty surprised!

When it snowed a few weeks ago, it was so cold and the wind so strong that it was a battle just to walk up to my parents house (through waist high drifts), look after the horses and wade back through the drifts home again. I didn't have the energy for enjoying the snow other than a brief snowball fight. 

So today we have actually had fun with it. I've been up to my parents house and we have done something we haven't done since we were kids. We went what we like to call Bonneting. Sounds mad? That's cos it is. 

We have the bonnet off of one of our old cars that we hitch up with a long piece of rope to whatever vehicle we have capable of towing it, take it out into the field and it makes an excellent sled. 

Then you basically go donuting in the 4x4 and swing the bonnet at high speed. It sounds crazy but its incredibly fun. The more you do it, the more you flatten the snow like an ice rink and the faster you go. 

So that's what we like to do when it snows, regular sledding is too dull. Gotta make the most of that farm life ;)

When we finally came back inside to warm up my sister made us hot chocolate (have I mentioned her hot chocolate is the stuff of legend?) and cookies to warm up with. Mmmmmnnn.

Now I plan to spend the rest of my Sunday relaxing while I get over the illness that has bugged me for the past few days ready to start the rest of the week. 

Hope you're also enjoying the snow! 

Thanks to my Mum and Tiggy for the pictures :)

11 Things I've learnt from my first cruise

On Tuesday I returned from the trip of a lifetime to Norway. I've always wanted to visit somewhere in Scandinavia and this certainly ticked all the right boxes.

I went with my parents, 3 sisters, my Grandma and Jared on a 16 night Land of the Northern Lights cruise aboard the Marco Polo with Cruise Maritime Voyages. Apart from my Grandma who has been on a few cruises, none of us had ever considered setting foot on board a cruise ship. It seems such an old lady past time and its certainly expensive.

So why did we go? First off we were really excited by the itinerary with 8 ports of call along the West coast of Norway with amazing excursions being offered, and of course the opportunity to glimpse the Northern Lights. Second, the dates fell over my Dad's 50th birthday so it was pretty perfect for us to all be together and celebrate such a big milestone. Finally, it was something different. Like a lot of people on a budget our holidays tend to be about relaxing on a nice hot beach somewhere in Spain so this seemed like a totally new experience.

So first off a couple of reasons why you might not enjoy a cruise:

1. Being at sea is not that exciting on a ship that is adult only and definitely aimed at older people.  The couple of days we had at sea were ok because I quite like just reading and watching TV on my laptop but a lot of the onboard activities were definitely planned with an older audience in mind (eg. bridge, knitting, line dancing etc). In fact my youngest sister at 17 was the youngest person to have ever been on board the Marco Polo! So if crafting and card playing are things you enjoy then there certainly is a lot going on, but otherwise think ahead and plan your own things to do

2. Our room was basic because we opted for the cheapest room which meant we had no porthole or window. This was absolutely fine because you get what you pay for and everything was clean, functional and comfortable but it can feel a little claustrophobic.

3. I was quite sea sick on a few occasions (the North Sea is ROUGH) which I was not expecting as I have been on some scary ferry crossings and done some seriously choppy boat work on our uni's research ship but I was not prepared for this. We had swells of 14 feet which isn't that big but it was enough! Crawling to the bathroom on my hands and kneed was definitely a low point. Turns out I'm ok with the ship going side to side but not good with us rising up and dropping down. It feels like you're on a rollercoaster 24 hours a day and there's no way to get away from it. Hats off the crew who carry on performing/cooking/serving drinks like nothing is happening!

However, there are also some excellent reasons to consider going on a cruise:

4. It's very relaxing not having to worry about cooking or organising anything as once you've picked the excursions you wanted its all organised for you. As I am normally tasked with organising everything having someone else work out all the logistics for our group of 8 people was lovely.

5. There's no internet on board so it forces you to actually switch off and relax. I've read more books on board then I have in the past 6 months! Its a slower pace of life and I didn't feel that frantic rush to get stuff done all the time like I do when I'm at home.

6. Our fellow passengers were all very friendly and keen to chat to us, even though we were some of the youngest people on the ship and the crew were all exceptionally helpful and friendly.

7. As we were out at sea with very little light pollution and crew up on the bridge all night they were able to keep a close eye out for any Aurora's developing and make announcements so that you could go out and watch. This was great as you could relax and enjoy drinking in the lounge knowing that if there was something worth seeing outside, they would let you know. Otherwise you could have been sat inside oblivious because its pretty cold outside!

8. Going on holiday with anyone can be stressful and tensions can flare. We're a big family already but with Jared and my Grandma added to the mix we were a pretty large group. Conflict is almost inevitable if people spend enough time together. But being on a ship meant we could spend as much or as little time together as people wanted to. Everyone can choose how to spend their leisure time and how they want to spend their day. As a result we didn't have any arguments which is virtually unheard of for us.

9. Day drinking is absolutely a thing. You don't have to drive anywhere, you don't have to go to work. So if you want a glass of wine, or a predinner cocktail go right ahead. The drinks on board were not as expensive as I had feared (£2.40 for a medium glass of white wine, £3-4 for a really nice cocktail). Although we didn't opt for the all inclusive drinks package we did get a couple of cocktail packages which were good value. After uni I didn't think I'd ever be surrounded by people as keen on drinking all the time!

10. Like all Scandinavian countries Norway is pricey. Like £9 just for a McDonalds kind of pricey. A main meal in a restaurant can easily be £30 per person without any starters, puddings or drinks. Everything seems to be twice the price it is here in the UK so actually as it turned out our cruise was really good value for money and even with excursions worked out to be around £100 per day which is what you could spend just on a hotel.When you consider your bed, food, travel between destinations and all activities (and we did A LOT) are paid for with that money its actually one of the cheapest ways of visiting lots of places within Norway.

11. However, the best thing was waking up everyday, going up for breakfast and we would be somewhere brand new with spectacular scenery to go with it. It really seemed like a massive adventure and it was really exciting to head ashore to somewhere different each day.

Overall I would definitely consider going on another cruise, especially if I wanted to go back to Norway as I do think it was the best way to travel around. Its a particularly excellent way to visit the fjords (as you can sail up them and really appreciate them) and to travel to the far north of the country as its a long way to drive. As a young person if the itinerary grabs you and it works out cheaper than flying and staying in a hotel then absolutely go for it!

28 Things you only understand if you're part of a large family

As the oldest of four girls we are a pretty big family for 21st century Britain. We live in a small 3 bed house in various states of chaos. And you know what, mad as it is, growing up like this is also pretty awesome. 

1. Privacy? What even is that. You will never get to be alone while you shower or pee. Someone will always need to brush their teeth and get to bed the instant you get in the bath. Relaxing evening ruined.

2. On the same note you have never slept alone until you went to uni. Your parents would need to be millionaires to buy a house big enough for you to each have separate rooms. Until then you share and shut up.

3. You will constantly fight with the sibling whom you are forced to share your space with. You hate the way she leaves the light on when she gets up early and she hates that you leave your dirty pants all over the floor. These things never change no matter how old you get.

4. There was probably a pointless room switch up to try and solve these arguments at some point. Only for you to realize that your new sibling roomate was a million times more annoying and you missed the routine of arguing with the old one. Best swap back cos better the devil you know.

5. Being made to let the youngest play even though they would ruin everything about the game.

6. The constant shifting pattern of sibling alliances. Today we are friends because the other two are annoying me more. Tomorrow: who knows what might happen

7. Hand me downs. Even if you are the oldest there's an older cousins who's clothes are destined to be yours.

8. No matter how annoying your siblings are though you stick together when it comes to Mum and Dad. We all understand it is us verses them. There's safety in numbers so best to stick together.

9. If the youngest ratted you out to your parents they would suffer the consequences of breaking the sibling code. It might not happen straight away but we'll get our own back eventually.

10.  Being dressed in the same outfit on family days out so your parents could keep track of you all.

11. Little old ladies cooing over you constantly wherever you went. Usually about how sweet we all are and don't we all look alike? No we do not.

12. Having to own an enormous car so that you can all fit in it at the same time. A car that your mum cannot park.

13. Family holidays consist of camping trips to Devon where we all pretend we're having fun in the rain.

14. Ensuring your siblings will never make friends and are stuck with you for life by refusing to act normal when potential new friends come over for tea.

15. In fact the friends you do have are desperate to come and play at your house although their parents seem strangely reluctant. They usually mutter about how their children come home covered in mud and totally hyperactive.

16. The more of you there are, the more toys you collectively have. How much you want to share them depends on your mood.

17. And if you are all into the same thing then it can get out of hand *spends 24 hours building a My Little Pony empire*.

18. Christmas lists were tactically designed. "You ask for the Barbie House and I'll ask for the Barbie Car, then we'll have both".

19. Bath time was the best part of the day when all of you were small enough to fit in together. It was a chance to make a huge splashy mess playing imaginary games.

20. In fact the best games were the totally random ones that involved large amounts of imagination

21. Despite being the first person to ever hold you, your Dad still gets your names muddled up.

22. Teachers have no clue which one of you is which.

23. You genuinely never understood why your friends always complained about being bored in the holidays. When there's so many of you there's always someone to play with.

24. Fighting over who gets to read the newest Harry Potter book first.

25. Pretending that you still play with dolls because you can't spoil the youngest ones fun when really you're just not ready to let go yet.

26. Making a huge effort to not ruin Father Christmas for the younger ones. Now you get to eat the cookies you put out yourself.

27. It is almost impossible to find a picture where all of you look nice.

28. Although its difficult at times you wouldn't swap it for the world <3