A Possible Life

My God, what an amazing year of reading this has been. Last Friday morning on the bus to work I finished A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks, and it was the first time I was brought to tears by a book in such a public way. I've gotten a bit teary before, but this time I actually shed those tears. I have never read anything by Sebastian Faulks before, but this was absolutely beautiful.

A Possible Life is described as a novel in five parts. Each of the five short stories contained within stand on their own, but there are common threads. They all deal with love, hope, betrayal, and thoughts of what might have been had the characters chosen different paths. I just found this fantastic review which does the book much more justice than I can.

My favourite stories were the first, based in a Nazi concentration camp, and the last, which told the story of a musician in love. The stories were so melancholy, and each of the main characters in all the stories were so real and raw and relate-able, even if not entirely likable.

The best way to sum up this book - I loved it! It only loses half a star because one of the stories within didn't engage me as much as the others did. But overall - wow.

A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks - 4.5 out of 5 stars!

A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks

Let the festivities begin!

I absolutely love this time of the year - not because of the weather (I hate hot summer days, plus it's spider season) but because I love Christmas, and I love the lead up to Christmas because it's the only time of the year my social calendar seems to fill up! As such, Friday was a fabulous day!

The work day was broken up with an excellent lunch, with Fork on the Road putting on a fantastic spread. I was supposed to have lunch with K & M at our usual cafe, but when I told K about all these food trucks, she got so excited by all the vegetarian options that we decided to go check it out instead. So there's me, who eats anything, K who is vegetarian, and M who has some gut problems and as such is on a very strict diet, including gluten free amongst other things. The challenge was on. It didn't take me long at all to find what I was after, as I ended up having a Chimi Steak from this Argentian food truck:

K and M both ended up grabbing something from Veggie Velo, with them being awesome enough to accommodate M's dietary requirements as best they could. As M headed back to her office, K and I perused the baked goods at the Craftea & Cake stand. K had been talking about how much she was looking forward to trying their vegan strawberry cheesecake for at least 24 hours, and had brought in a cooler bag so she could take some home with her, but unfortunately there were none on offer on the day so she was a bit disappointed. She ended up getting LOTS of veg-friendly cakes though, while I bought a Fruchoc cupcake and a Fruchoc rocky road (I cannot resist anything Fruchoc). They were DELICIOUS!

The Friday just kept getting better with the first of many upcoming work Christmas events being the social club drinks at the Hotel Metro on Grote Street. I made excellent use of the bar tab, knocking off many lovely frosty beers. Once people started drinking Jaegerbombs the bar tab quickly ran out, so several of us moved on to the Union hotel to dance the night away. I actually can't remember the last time I went out dancing and I had so much fun. The DJ at the Union on Friday nights is fantastic, especially for people in their 30s I think. Loved it! As Glen isn't used to me actually going out, when he sent a text after 11 asking when I'd be home I figured it was time I headed out to get a cab and do just that, but could have quite easily lost another couple of hours on the dance floor. Fun! Let the silly season commence...

Stasiland

I have heard Anna Funder be interviewed a few times and so have been wanting to read Stasiland for some time, and this month it came up in my Once Were Wallabies book club as our non-fiction pick. In a nutshell, I found the stories within its pages very compelling.

Stasiland tells the stories of people who lived in East Germany during the time of Communism, i.e. before the Wall fell. The Stasi were, essentially, the East German spies who would hire informers, monitor the public, and essentially stop any dissidents or people trying to escape. I was only ten years old when the Berlin Wall fell, and although I knew it was something significant, I obviously didn't understand the magnitude of the event, and I certainly didn't comprehend how the German people behind that wall lived, nor how it even came to be there. I know, completely ignorant of me, but in school our European History studies stopped at World War II, and it's only now in my adult life that I've taken more of an interest in world affairs.

I believe this was Anna Funder's first book, and for me, it shows, as I struggled with the tense she chose for the book and didn't think it was particularly well written. What she does well, though, is explore East Germany from a number of different angles. Not only does she speak with people who lived under the Stasi and who had their lives drastically changed by them, but she also seeks out some ex-Stasi workers and tells their stories too. I also loved the analysis at the end of the book, where some Germans speak about how some things were actually better before the Wall fell. Having this 'bigger picture' to the events is what made this book so compelling.

Stasiland by Anna Funder - 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Stasiland by Anna Funder

Favourite things?

One of my friends has started a blog recently (thecookingchook) and amongst her cooking posts has started to list some of her favourite things. This got me thinking that I can't seem to pick favourites lately, apart from my favourite colour (which is purple, by the way). With other things like movies, music, and TV shows, I struggle to even limit what I like into a Top 10 list, because I invariably forget about something I used to love but might not have watched or listened to for a while, and then I have to re-do the list but find I end up with a whole heap.

Actually, that's not entirely true for movies. My favourite film has been and always will be Stand By Me, with Labyrinth a close second. I can't imagine those ever being removed from my Top 2 movies, because they meant so much to me as a child and have carried with them a lot of sentimental value, and I can still sit down and enjoy them, even if I don't laugh as much as I once did while watching them. But beyond those two, the other films are a jumbled mess because it's just too hard to choose.

I've now found the same with trying to reconcile my favourite book. Since its publication in 2005, The Bride Stripped Bare took its spot as my favourite book. I have read it more than any other book and at the time I first read it, it really spoke to me. I re-read it last year and found that, although I still loved some parts of it, I didn't think it was that great and was a bit sloppy in parts. This year I've read quite a few fantastic books which I think are far more worthy of becoming my new favourite, but I simply can't choose one. I think The Bride Stripped Bare might be out of favour though, although I'm sure it'll always hold a special place. But I simply can't be asked to narrow my books into a Top 5 or Top 10 list, it's just too hard!

Freedom

I originally started reading this novel about a year ago, but then stopped at around 300 pages in. I can't actually remember why; I don't think it was because I wasn't enjoying the book, but I think I probably just borrowed something else from the library or from a friend, then got distracted with my studies, and so Freedom by Jonathan Franzen sat on my side table with bookmark in place, waiting for its turn to come around again. I knew, though, that I'd enjoyed what I'd read up to that point, because I wanted other people to read it too, and so I picked it for my work book club.

This month it came up as one of our selections, so I decided to start from the beginning again, and I'm glad I did because there were some key elements of the story I'd forgotten about in the last twelve months. To explain what Freedom is about is difficult, because it isn't strictly about anything. What it does is picks what seems to be a typical American contemporary family and follows their story as their picture of perfection starts to crack and crumble.

I feel like a broken record as I've been reading so many great books lately, but I loved it. I can see this kind of story isn't for everybody, as some readers might want faster development, or find the characters really unlikeable, but the story really spoke to me. Patty is a neurotic mother, quick to find faults in others, laughs at people's expense, but deep down is just hurting and wants some of her love reciprocated. Walter loves her so incredibly much and yet seems to be not good enough for her, so focuses his passions instead on his environmental work. Each of their children are so incredibly different and messed up in their own way, and then there's Richard, Walter's life long friend, who intersects the story now and then, creates a mess and then leaves again.

One of my fellow book clubbers said that when she stopped reading it she missed the characters. That's a perfect way of summing up this book for me, too, as I feel like I know each of them intimately, and as the number of pages left to read dwindled, the more I didn't want the book to end.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen - 5 out of 5 stars!

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

My personal journey

As my 30's kick on, the importance of family, close friends, being comfortable in my own skin, and being happy in my career, have definitely been magnified. 2012 has already been a year of self-reflection and self-discovery, and I'm sure that will continue. To that end, I try each day to be a good wife. Our inability to conceive is constantly on my mind though, and to be honest makes me feel like less of a woman. I just hope something can be done about it soon,so we can continue our journey towards a family. In the meantime, we'll keep going to these appointments with doctors and specialists and I'm trying to stay positive, but it's hard.

I'm desperately trying to be better to my family; my sister is now in Tasmania and I miss her terribly, and I need to learn more patience when I speak to her and appreciate the time we have to talk to her more.

I seem to be perpetually studying although am brilliant at procrastinating. I truly hope one day I'll get to write and work in the communications sector, but at this stage I can't see how I can afford a career change, and so I continue my studies without a real plan, but with a very real dream.

Financially, things haven't improved a great deal in the last year, although now I do have a strict budget which is a positive step forward. A lotto win wouldn't go astray though ;)

There's so much more going on but that seems enough reflection for one morning. I tell you, this personal journey definitely doesn't seem to slow down even as priorities change.

The Kingmaker's Daughter

I recently finished reading The Kingmaker's Daughter, a work of historical fiction by Philippa Gregory, probably best known for books in the Tudor series such as The Other Boleyn Girl. Although I have collected a lot of Philippa's books over the years (after all, I have over 230 books in my bookshelves yet to be opened once), this was the first one I've actually read and I must say I was quite impressed and can see why she's so popular.

In this novel, Philippa has taken the era of the Cousins' War, or War of the Roses, and has written about events leading to the crowning of Edward IV and Richard III through the eyes of Richard's eventual wife, Anne Neville. No prior knowledge of this time in history is required (I certainly didn't have any, seeing as I only have vague notions of Richard III); the story can be enjoyed just as it's written, and perhaps, for historical fiction, that's the better way, as then the reader doesn't come into the novel with any expectations due to their prior knowledge.

Philippa writes beautifully and has a way of describing place so well that your imagination can soar and picture everything described perfectly - the castles, the court, the dresses, the customs... The story itself started off very strongly and started out as a real page turner, but for me it then slowed towards the end and became a little repetitive. It grew a little tiring reading for pages on end about the paranoia felt by Anne and her family, and about how Elizabeth was a suspected witch. It got to the stage where it felt like I was reading the same chapter over and over as the pace slowed and became more of the same.

Overall though it was a well-told story and I'd recommend it to anyone who's even remotely interested in historical kings and queens of England. They all seem just that bit messed up ;)

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory - 3.5/5 stars

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory

2013 Adelaide Festival

In yesterday's mail, I received the program for the 2013 Adelaide Festival. Traditionally, I have only been able to get to Adelaide Writers' Week which forms only a part of the festival, but this year as I happily leafed through my guide, I discovered a number of shows I would love to attend. In no particular order, these are:

• The free opening night concert with Neil Finn and Paul Kelly - Oh. My. God!!!
• Nosferatu
• Kamp
• Murder - inspired by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Murder Ballads, you say? Say no more!
• Goran Bregovic and the Weddings and Funerals Orchestra - love this kind of music. Reminds me of home.
• Into the Bloodstream - Archie Roach, you legend.
• Van Dyke Parks - with special guests including Daniel Johns! Oh. My. God!!!
• Unsound Adelaide - 3 shows to choose from. Decisions, decisions, or a season pass to all 3.
• Australian String Quartet - this will be beautiful.
• Turner from the Tate - to mix a bit of art with my theatre and music.
• Adelaide Writers' Week - would not miss this for the world.

So, apart from Adelaide Writers' Week and the free opening night concert, I will obviously have to make some decisions about what I want to see the most as I simply can't afford to go to everything. It will be hard to choose. Even while writing this short blog post and flicking through the program again, I found a couple of other shows I wouldn't mind seeing but have refrained from adding them yet.

If you'd like to see what else is on offer, you can download the program and perhaps find something for you. Or, you could help me decide...

So much crammed into a fortnight

It's been a topsy turvy couple of weeks around our household. There have been more of what seem to be endless blood tests, and a couple of appointments coming up to keep us moving in the 'please let us have a child' quest. The longer this goes on, the harder I'm finding it to stay positive...

We've had a BBQ with some online gaming friends which involved an interstate visitor staying with us a night, which was a genuinely fantastic weekend. The weather was perfect, the company was fun, and the house guest was so easy to take care of. My cat, Kira, made a new best friend, and since he left she's spent a bit of time wandering around the house looking for him.

In much sadder news, some friends of the family had to face the death of their 24 year old son, who died in a motorcycle accident. The funeral was yesterday and it was touching and heart wrenching. I wish I had known him as an adult as he sounds like he was an incredible young man who'd made such an impact on the lives of those he knew. Gone too soon, most definitely. I have noticed that the older I get, the more likely I am to catch up with people at funerals rather than weddings or birthdays or other things. It's happened twice in a month now. Quite a shame, that. Anyway, just an observation...

Today I have my last class at Uni for the year and next week I have my last assignment for the year due. I am looking forward to some time without worrying about homework, to be honest. This weekend we have some friends from Brisbane coming to the Barossa so we'll be spending a day there with them which I am looking forward to. Bring on the Rockford's Black Shiraz!!!

Just like that

Just like that, two weeks seem to have flown by. I don't know where the time has gone to be honest, so a brief summary of what's been happening.

I recently got a new tattoo. I love it so, so much! It's almost fully healed already and is beautiful. I cannot recommend Andy from Tattoo Gallery highly enough, he's such a great artist particularly for work involving fine lines and shading. It was a very early Christmas present to myself, courtesy of my tax return.

Recently it was Glen's birthday. I took the day off work and despite me still having Uni in the morning, we had a great day. The weather was gorgeous so we went to Carisbrooke Reserve and walked around a bit, then we had some pizzas for dinner and a night on the couch watching some shows. Nice and relaxing. The family birthday lunch also went off without incident, which was a relief.

Last Friday night my Dad asked me if I wanted to go to a bonsai show with him on the Sunday. I can't begin to describe how happy I was that he had asked me to something. We used to do things together all the time, and I couldn't remember the last time he actually wanted to spend some time with me. I would have dropped any other plans to go to this bonsai show as a result, as long as I got to be with my Dad. My natural reaction following this initial phone call then would normally be one of constant worry. It would not be surprising for me to look forward to something only to have it ruined by my Dad's alcoholism.

Thankfully this group therapy stuff seems to be helping. I have been going regularly for the past 3 weeks and, although I did still worry a bit and came up with a backup plan just in case, there was definite improvement in my state of mind. It'll be a slow process, but it seems to be working for me in any case. The best part was that Sunday rolled around and Dad picked me up and we had a fantastic afternoon together. I really am going to remember that for a long time, and am grateful for it.

As for the family planning thing, that's still an ongoing saga. I got my latest test results back and everything is normal, so now I'm booked in for another set of tests, as well as a visit to a fertility clinic. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't getting me down...

Relief already

As I was off sick with a stupid cold on Monday, I didn't get to that support group I mentioned in my previous blog post. But, I still thought going along was really important for me, and it turns out they had a lunch time session yesterday, so I booked it into my calendar and went along. I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive prior to the start time, and considered just not going, but I am genuinely glad I didn't listen to that negative little voice in my head.

I've been to one of these groups once before, about a year ago, and at the time I didn't think it was for me. I am so glad I gave it another go though, looking up a different session and consequently finding a group that I feel comfortable with. There was a warm feeling as soon as I entered the room, and the stories told by other people there really spoke to me, as did some of the readings and discussions we had about choices and detachment. I know this will be a long process for me, as I do have major difficulties with detaching and guilt associated with my Dad, but I am feeling more confident about doing it now. I'll definitely be going to these sessions at least once a week.

It's something I think my Mum would really benefit from, but I can't force her to go along, all I can do is tell her I'm going and try and encourage her, and share some of the reading material with her. One of the ladies who spoke yesterday sounded so much like my Mum, I think she could really relate if she gave it a go. But she will when she's ready to.

The only downside is that there's a spiritual focus, and I find myself a bit lost spiritually at the moment. The focus is expected as it stems from AA so has similar 12 steps and has the serenity prayer, but they are very quick to point out that it is non denominational and the spiritual side can work for you no matter what your belief, you just find a way to apply it to your life and your beliefs.

It's only been one session but the happiness and relief I already feel are massive, despite knowing there's a very long way to go.

When to seek support

Well it's no secret to those who know me, or to those who have been reading my blogs for a while, that my father is an alcoholic and has gotten progressively worse over the last couple of years. This year started off quite well, with him being sober for about four months, but I always knew that because he is a stubborn European male who refuses to seek help or admit that it's a problem, he would slip back. Unfortunately, that's been the case. It started off again in April but things weren't so bad. Maybe once a month he would slip up. But now things have gone back to how they were a year ago, and it's awful.

What I struggle the most with is the fact that before, my Dad and I were always really close. He would come into town and have lunch with me, and we'd do a lot of things together like go see motorsport races or go to the Royal Show. So what I struggle the most with is that I really miss him. He's not the same person any more. Even when he doesn't have a drink in his hand, his depression is obvious. It's so sad to see him sitting in a room with his family and yet looking so distant and alone. Breaks my heart to see that look in his eyes.

August/September in particular have been back to the old ways. If we're lucky, he goes a couple of days without a drink. He's back to falling over and hurting himself, and Mum is left to clean up after him. I feel so sorry for her, and really want her to do things for herself and get out of that environment, but she's also a lot like me. No matter how angry we might get with him, we know he's sick, and we've loved him for so long we just want to help him.

I've lost count of the number of times I have been awake at night thinking of him, or the amount of bad dreams I've had that involve him. As things are, I can not see an end to this problem. I just don't see how things will ever get better. I feel like, over the last couple of years, I have tried everything I can to get him to see how his addiction effects the rest of us. I truly don't think there is anything more I, or anyone else in my family, can do. It really is up to him now. Which is why I can't see things ever getting better.

We've offered our home to Mum so that she has somewhere to go should she feel like getting out of that house. She is a bit stubborn though, and getting her to come over can be a struggle (who would have though, a Kovac woman being stubborn). But what it all comes down to is the fact that I'm really not coping. So on Monday I think I'm going to go to a family support group. I know that, logically, I can't feel responsible for his addiction and yet my stupid brain, despite knowing this, won't let me come to terms with what has been happening (and what continues to happen). Hopefully this support group helps a bit...

The Age of Miracles

I've come across some fantastic fiction lately it seems, as I devoured this book, The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, so quickly. The basic plot line is that scientists discover that the rotation of the Earth is slowing down (a phenomenon they call The Slowing, surprisingly) and are not sure what has caused it or how bad things will get. The story is told through the eyes of an 11 year old girl, so while there's this worldwide catastrophe, she's trying to grow up and deal with all the issues that come with that.

I absolutely loved this book, but I always seem to love books that have a nostalgic feel and are told through the eyes of younger people as they recollect events (like To Kill a Mockingbird). It was sad, and beautiful, and felt so real. I thought the mix of speculative fiction and young adult issues worked really well, although some people might not like the fact that very little is learned about The Slowing, and might find it frustrating in that regard. If I was to have a complaint, it would be that the ending of the book came too quickly, and I have to admit that after the pace displayed earlier in the book, it seemed a little rushed. I could have quite happily read another 100-150 pages leading up to the end I think.

I found it refreshingly different to anything I've read before, and highly recommend it.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker - 4 stars

 

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker



Boo freaking hoo

Yesterday I was having a super emotional day, even having a couple of cries over very minor things. It was probably due to the fact I haven't had a good sleep for around two weeks now, but I felt really silly when one of my friends at work asked if I was okay and I just started crying.

Yesterday at work we received some really sad news about a former colleague who had passed away unexpectedly on the weekend. He was only 42. And although obviously the problems in my life are very minor in comparison to that kind of thing, I guess it got me reflecting on things and feeling sorry for myself as a result.

I also learned yesterday that I didn't get an interview for a position I'd applied for recently in the communications sector, so I started wondering why I am bothering killing myself with these crazy early morning starts, super long days, minimal sleep and no life outside of work and study when it seems obvious to me this dream of having a job where I can write and be creative is never going to happen. Realistically, I can't afford to take a pay cut, and yet that's what I'll have to do to get an entry-level position. Roles at my current pay level require years worth of experience, so I'm never going to win one of those. So it's never going to happen. So why do I keep accumulating this student loan debt? I only have one more year to go but I can't help but feel it'll all be for nought.

And then it's the usual family stuff of course. Today is my Mum's birthday, and all I can do is worry about what our weekend family lunch will bring. And still no signs of pregnancy being any closer...

Sorry for the mopey post. Just my mood lately.

No Country for Old Men

Yes that's right, I've just finished reading another Cormac McCarthy novel. There have been a number of his books I've wanted to read for some time, and this is the last of those I'd recently borrowed from the library. This is, undoubtedly, my favourite of his books, and in fact has possibly edged its way into my Top 5 book list (if I actually kept a list, which I don't, because asking me to restrict my favourite books into a 'Top whatever' list is just cruel).

WOW! What an incredible novel. McCarthy is, quite simply, a brilliant writer. The pace of this book was relentless and a real page turner. The voices of his characters and the dialogue were so real and made it possible to hear those accents and those conversations in my own head. Nothing in this novel was jarring or felt out of place.

I'm reluctant to post any plotlines to novels on my blog as I'm not a fan of giving spoilers and ruining the reading experience for people, but for those of you who have seen the movie of the same name, it is pretty much identical to the novel (granted, it's been a long time since I saw the film, but I don't remember any differences that stood out). If you're not much of a reader, and haven't seen the film, do it now. Actually, if you're not much of a reader, why the bloody hell not, with such amazing books as this out there :)

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy - 5 out of freaking 5 giant stars

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

A slightly healthier Mel

I feel so much better today than I have the last few days. It's amazing how much of a better mood I'm in when I've had a good night's sleep, this virus seems to be passing, and last night I finished off one of my assignments. Such a relief! Today I treated myself to a lymphatic facial at Face It! Massage It! Nail It! at lunch time which my skin desperately needed after all the sugar and dehydration recently.

So tonight, post assignment, I plan on loading up Lord of the Rings Online, my current gaming addiction, and finishing off reading No Country for Old Men, and have a night away from textbooks. It really is the little things that make me happy! Now if only the weather would get back to what we had on the weekend, that would be perfect.

In other news, I decided to buy a cross stitch pattern that I could make for a friend's birthday coming up in November, but this was considered intermediate level rather than beginner. A couple of nights ago I opened up the pattern and then wondered what the hell I'd done. The jump from beginner to intermediate in these patterns is a huge one, I've found. So I decided to give it a crack, and after an hour I think I've only completed 30 stitches and have already stuffed up. Hmm, maybe I can give it to her next year for her birthday instead...

What to do when stuck on an assignment? Blog!

Well the weekend was crazy busy! On Saturday I got the food in the slow cooker, we did some housework and went grocery shopping, I managed to squeeze in some studying, and then before we knew it Ivan and Miyuki had arrived for dinner and a catchup. Felt like ages since we'd seen them, and I was trying out a beef and red wine casserole in the slow cooker so who better to have as our taste testers. Thankfully the food was a hit, as was the chocolate cake I'd made for dessert, and we cracked open the yummy wine they'd brought around and sat back and watched a couple of movies, Blood Diamond and Howl's Moving Castle. The night flew and at 1am the guests left and we crawled into bed. We are so old, that's the latest we've been awake for a very long time!

Sunday was Father's Day here in Australia and we were invited over to Mum and Dad's house for lunch. In the morning I did the weekly laundry, tried to study some more, and then we headed over to their house. What looked like it would be a bit of an anxious day due to my Dad actually turned out to be a really lovely afternoon. After dropping Glen home I went to the nursing home to visit Grandma, and then after dinner tried to catch up on a bit more study.

Unfortunately this virus/cold that's been floating around finally got me and I've been at home sick the last two days. What sucks about it is the time off should be conducive to getting lots done, unless ofcourse you're not feeling well and struggling to concentrate. So I have an assignment due Friday and I've only managed 113 words so far. Hoping I can get it done and so that it actually makes sense. There's little point in asking for an extension as I have an even bigger assignment due next week and so this weekend will be spent working on that one instead.

Anyway yesterday I got my fertility test results back. Everything is normal except they need to re-check my progesterone levels so that means more blood tests. Because 4 vials of blood last time just wasn't enough it seems :P

Ok too tiring to sit at the PC much longer. Think it's time to go flop onto the couch and pester my cats...

Blood Meridian

I have wanted to read Blood Meridian for a very long time, and now that my local library is a part of the One Card Network, I was finally able to get a hold of the book without buying it. I'm going through a bit of a Cormac McCarthy phase at the moment after recently reading The Road for our work book club. I think he's a fantastic writer.

Blood Meridian can be a little bit of a difficult read at times. Most people have a problem with the level of violence in it, which I must say is quite extreme, but I think I am a little de-sensitised, so although some of the imagery is quite shocking, that's not actually what made this difficult for me to read.

I actually struggled with some of the language. There were a heap of words I'd never heard of before, and I have to admit I'm not one of those readers who keeps a dictionary nearby for those occasions so I tried to figure out the sense of what he was trying to say myself. There's also a little Spanish used throughout and although it isn't essential to know every piece of dialogue, it took me out of the story when it got to those parts. And my final complaint was the writing style, I suppose used to convey the intensity of certain scenes, was a little tiresome, particularly when it came to a sentence that just wouldn't end.

However, all that said, it's a great, if difficult to read story, and is confronting. I'm still loving Cormac McCarthy and have to admit to being impressed with how drastically he can change his style to suit the novel. It's a massive difference from The Road to this. The last 50 pages or so in particular were really gripping.

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy - 3.5 stars.



Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy



Upcoming Father's Day

Father's Day is this Sunday and I am seriously struggling to know what to get my Dad this year. His birthday was just a month ago so getting him another gift so soon after his birthday is tricky. He's hard enough to buy for regularly but with his only interest these days being alcohol, it's proving even more difficult than usual. I wandered around the shops for ages yesterday trying to find something he might like and came out with zero ideas. It was hard enough picking a card to be honest. They all say 'you're the best Dad', or, 'you're a great role model', or, 'you're my best friend' and none of that seems true anymore. I feel bad saying that because I know what he has is an illness but it's how I feel.

In happier news, I can't wait to get my tax return so I can get my next tattoo. At this stage it's looking like happening at the end of September. YAY! Not telling Mum this time lol. How silly, being 33 and still not wanting to tell my mother something.

Food, glorious food

I've been on this high protein Bodytrim diet for the last 6 and a bit weeks and so far have lost 5.3kg (it was up to 6kg at one point but I've put on in the last few days). The good thing about it is that I haven't had cravings for chocolate until the last few days, but what has surprised me is how much I've been craving bread. I didn't realise just how much of it I was having until I cut it down to one slice of toast in the morning. I also miss cheese, so have been caught overindulging in it when we have the occasional afternoon tea at work, because there's always a cheese platter.

Some benefits so far have been getting regular walks in, not feeling bloated and sick at work after lunch, eating vegetables more regularly, and trying out a few new recipes which are yummy. The downsides are the obvious things like having to be more organised with meals, less flexibility when going out to eat [although the places I've been have either had something on the menu I could have or have been willing to accommodate my weird requests. E.g. At lunch with the girls at Glow Cafe in the city they made me a cajun chicken burger without the burger bun lol] and finding myself thinking about food more regularly. I seem to think about food a lot, hence why there's a whole blog post dedicated to it.

Anyway I'm doing this for me. I got to the heaviest I've ever been and was feeling unhappy within myself and very unhealthy. I still have a long way to go but at least it's going in the right direction, and so far this has proven to be a lot easier than anything else I've tried. Fingers crossed I can stick with it!

The joys of family?

It's been a while since my last post. I guess it's hard to re-form this habit of writing more regularly. Besides which my life is really boring at the moment, just working and studying, and playing the occasional bit of LOTRO when I can.

Family issues are up and down at the moment. A couple of weekends ago we had a horrid time, with Dad taking another bad turn. It really was horrible and I still can't get those images out of my head. The whole situation still effects me so badly despite it having been around for years, that I think I might need to seek some counselling or another support group. I still fall into the trap of thinking things are going well and then being surprised when he has another setback. I don't know why, it isn't logical, but it's something I constantly do.

As for the family planning stuff, last week I went for a few tests and now am waiting for my GP to come back from a conference to find out the results and see where to from here. Fingers crossed...

Aside from that, I've still had no luck in finding time to cross-stitch but have some projects I want to work on for upcoming birthdays and babies so better make time. I'm still reading when I can, having recently read an unpublished manuscript called Fade In by Michael Pillar. I'm part-way through A Beautiful Mind and Blood Meridian, two books from complete opposite ends of the spectrum!

Time is lacking

I can't believe we're already into August. I honestly think there just aren't enough hours in the day! I wake up at bullshit o'clock to get to work, then get home when it's already dark, and by the time we have dinner and watch a little TV there are only a couple of hours before bedtime in which I should be studying. I'm also trying to get back into cross stitching though, as well as reading for pleasure, not just homework. So I was glad we had a relatively quiet weekend planned.

The only plan we had was to go to Mum and Dad's for lunch on Saturday for my Dad's 62nd birthday. Given recent events I was nervous about what we might find when we arrived but I was pleasantly surprised. We turned out to have a great lunch and stayed for a few hours. It was nice to just sit and chat with them.

Aside from the usual weekly chores, the rest of my weekend was really quiet so I got heaps of studying done. Plus the weather was crap so despite the garden needing some attention, that wasn't going to happen. I actually had the time to read ahead a bit, which I think is probably the first time that's ever actually happened lol. I have an assignment to do by Friday but should be able to finish that by tomorrow night as it isn't a big one and I've done the prep work.

So on Sunday I had time to try out one of my new recipes in my new slow cooker, Steak and Stout. The beef and veggies turned out so yummy and soft, although the sauce was a little strong. In future I think I'll strain it out. It added great flavours to the meat but was too strong on it's own without some bread to soak it up. The plan is that I'll do a different slow cooker meal every weekend until we find some favourites :)

As for the baby planning stuff, tomorrow I'm off to the Drs to discuss some tests so time will tell with that one. Fingers crossed!

A mixed bag

We had a pretty busy weekend just gone, mixed with some good and some bad. Always seems to be the case with us!

On Saturday morning I did the usual weekly washing and then got stuck into my homework now that Uni has started. Unfortunately there's no easing into it seeing as I have to keep working so the weekends are the only time I get to focus for a few hours at a time. Before we knew it, 2:30pm had rolled around and we were off to Ivan and Miyuki's house to meet them before the Pizza Night was due to start. After a chat and waiting for other people, we headed off to Willunga to the Best Pizza Place EVER! This couple has transformed part of their home to host a kitchen, pizza oven and restaurant area and do home made all-you-can-eat gourmet pizzas for $10. Everything was delicious! They grow their own vegetables and make a lot of their own ingredients, with the guy making pizzas of every flavour imaginable and the lady bringing out pizzas constantly so in the end we were all full of lots of delicious pizzas and there were still whole ones untouched. My favourite was the tuna mornay :) But the best thing about the place was the atmosphere. A little family business, really friendly people, and located on a gorgeous property surrounded by rolling hills and views all the way out to the ocean. I can see why Ivan and Miyuki love coming here!

Sunday was the crash back down to Earth. The day started off ok - more homework done, grocery shopping, and a visit to Grandma's. In the evening my Aunt and Uncle from Victoria arrived (they're visiting for a few days) so we had dinner at Mum and Dad's which in itself is a good thing, but unfortunately Dad's returned to the alcohol and wasn't exactly sober. Mind you, he was nowhere near as bad as he has been in the past so that was a blessing I guess. Still, it's hard not to worry (for me, anyway). I already have it in my nature to worry about things I can't control, and so with him I worry constantly. Anyway we'll see how things go in that respect. Despite all that, it's been excellent seeing my Aunt and Uncle, as I always love catching up with them. They were also kind enough to buy us a slow cooker which is awesome as I've wanted one for ages! Can't wait to try it out soon! I already bought a recipe book in my excitement :)

So now it's back to the weekdays and we're plodding along. Tonight we're catching up with the rellies over a cuppa and some cake which will be nice. In other crappy news, I'm not 100% ready to share exactly what's been happening, but we're seeing the Dr about my not getting pregnant yet and news has been mixed thus far, but tests are continuing, so that's been weighing on my mind too. I just want things to work out...

Bye bye, free time

We haven't been up to much since my last update aside from going to work and having quiet weekends at home, but it has given me the opportunity to get back into doing some cross stitching. I love cross stitching for something that takes my mind off other things, although I hadn't done any for over 2 years. But when one of the ladies at work was showing me this craft magazine she gets and I saw all these beautiful cross stitching patterns, I was inspired to do some more. I wasn't able to afford a massive pattern so just bought my niece and nephew some little wall hangings and have been working on those during the evenings while I watch TV.

Aside from that, the rest of my free time has been spent quietly reading or watching stuff. Glen and I went to see The Dark Knight Rises last weekend on the spur of the moment. Those who know me know I love comic books and their associated cartoons, TV shows and films, and I love these newer Batman movies. Needless to say I wasn't disappointed. I thought the film was brilliant.

The books I've finished recently are Prohibited Zone by Alastair Sarre and just today on my lunch break I finally finished 11.22.63 by Stephen King. I had started reading this a while ago and then took a break partway through, read 6 other books, and just got back into it on the weekend. I didn't stop reading it because I wasn't enjoying it, just that I'd borrowed some books off other people and thought I should get through those first. I was able to pick it up and keep going from where I'd left off without any hassles. I love Stephen King and this book is definitely up there as his best. What always frustrates me with his horror is an amazingly evil character which is so unstoppable that the endings to those books sometimes feel rushed and disappointing, like he himself didn't know what to do about the monster because he'd made it too powerful. But his recent books seem a lot better, and this one was just fantastic. The pacing and suspense towards the end was done really well, so I just wanted to keep reading even if it meant not sleeping much.

Anyway this week Uni went back so I daresay by time to read will diminish a bit. Just another 18 months of Uni to go! So apart from seeing some friends for a pizza night on Saturday, the rest of my weekend will be spent doing homework. Joy!

Our trip to Tasmania

Well this update is well and truly long overdue but I still wanted to post up something about our holiday in Tasmania at the end of June/early July. The trip started off quietly as we had a stupidly early flight to Melbourne and then Hobart on the Thursday morning. After a short delay in Melbourne, we finally arrived to a cold day in Hobart (4 degrees C!) although thankfully at least the sun was out. We were greeted by my sister and my nephew and she then took us on a bit of a scenic drive on the way to their home in New Norfolk. South Australia is definitely a very flat place to live in comparison as we had beautiful mountain views during the whole drive, and the Derwent River was absolutely gorgeous (puts the Murray to shame). We had a quiet day and night apart from playing with my niece and nephew, since we were so tired after getting up at bullshit o'clock, so apart from checking out the town of New Norfolk we didn't get up to very much.

On Friday my sister kindly let Glen and I use her car so in the afternoon we took a drive into Hobart to the Cascade Brewery for a late lunch and some yummy beer. As we walked around the gardens taking photos, dark clouds started to roll in but we decided to still attempt to reach the pinnacle of Mount Wellington given we were only a short drive from there and didn't know if we would get another chance. We had been warned about the narrow and winding road but honestly, after driving around New Zealand, it was nothing to worry about. As the car made its way up the mountain, we saw more and more patches of snow and the rain really came in. We made it to the top without any problems but then proceeded to freeze our arses off as we got out of the car and dealt with the blustery winds and freezing rain. But I just had to touch some snow! For some reason that escapes me, I thought I'd be able to walk on a patch of snow without trouble and forgot that it's soft, so I managed to escape an ankle injury as my foot dropped deep into the snow and Glen and I had a laugh at my expense. Can't take me anywhere... Anyway, after a couple of very quick snaps and a quick admiration of the scenic views, we headed back down the mountain and home to warm up.

On Saturday my niece had her 5th birthday party so there were about 8 kids in total over. We had so much fun though! The kids were all great and played nicely, and we (the adults) had set up some games for them like balloon popping, pass the parcel, and the very popular pinata. The best thing about kids parties seems to be that you get the kids all hyped up and full of sugar, and then after a couple of hours their parents take them home. Win! Saturday night was a quiet one as we cleaned up after the party and watched some movies.

On Sunday morning we all piled in the car and went to the markets held at the Hobart Showgrounds. The markets themselves are fantastic and a great place for people to go who collect things, with heaps of comics and toys on sale. I somehow managed to escape there without buying any second hand books though. After that we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed off to Mount Field National Park, predominantly for the Russell Falls walk. It was the first time I had seen a pademelon before and we saw a total of 3 running around in the wild. It was also great to see such massive and old Australian trees in the rainforest and it was a gorgeous walk. There were a couple of other walks nearby that sounded like they'd be great, but by the time we finished seeing Russell Falls the kids were pretty tired so we headed back to the car and got home in the early evening.

Monday was our last day in Tasmania so my sister let us use her car again. This time we went to Pulpit Rock lookout which gives amazing views of the Derwent River and valley. We then headed off to Bonorong Wildlife Park, definitely my kind of trip as I love animals. We randomly picked a good time to go, too, as the keepers were feeding the Tasmanian Devils, so we got to see them eat and fight over food and other behaviour I hadn't seen before. Was very cool. By the time we got back the sun had set and it wasn't long before we went out to Glenorchy for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Before we knew it, Tuesday had arrived and we were flying back home again.

While I loved Tasmania I have to admit I've been spoiled by visiting New Zealand which was much more beautiful, but it is still a gorgeous place to live and travel. There are definitely some places I'd like to go that we didn't get a chance to during this short visit, but next time we won't be travelling in winter. It was too damn cold! Being home now I really miss my niece and nephew. I loved playing with them, getting lots of hugs, reading to them before bed and being greeted with their excited smiles and hugs in the mornings. Ah well, we will see them again soon I suppose :)

Couch weekend

This past weekend, with the weather being extremely ordinary, we decided to spend most of the Sunday on the couch watching movies and catching up on TV shows. Thank goodness for the internet in these times when we're trying to save money!

On Saturday night I watched a film called Take This Waltz which was surprisingly good. I was expecting the same old formulaic romantic comedy and it refreshingly wasn't. Michelle Williams was the main character and she was fantastic. As the audience, I was able to feel everything her character was feeling simply by her expressions. When she smiled, she really made you feel her happiness, and when she was melancholy you started to feel that way too. I don't remember her having that impact on me in her other roles so I'm thinking it was the way she played the character so well, even when the character is sometimes unlikeable. Was a surprisingly good film, although probably one only the female audience will enjoy (although there is a delightfully raunchy sex scene ans some full frontal nudity for the male viewers!).

On Sunday Glen and I finally watched Snowtown. I loved this movie and highly recommend people see it. It isn't a gory serial killer movie, but instead it looks at the psychology of the killers and, in particular, Jamie Vlassakis's upbringing. It is actually really sad. Such a great movie, can't recommend it enough.

The other film we watched on Sunday was the Ridley Scott Robin Hood. It was a bit 'meh' although I'm not sure if it's because we'd just finished watching a fantastic movie, or if it was just a little ordinary. Wasn't crap, but not a keeper.

All in all, a nice relaxing weekend. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone else has seen Snowtown though, and if so, what you thought of it.

I'm a reading machine

I seem to have finished a lot of books lately. It probably helps that they were all really short, but still, it feels nice to get through a few books quickly. This month so far has seen a lot of non-fiction which is a bit unusual for me. I don't mind non-fiction, but I usually find that after reading one, I can't wait to sink my teeth back into some good fiction to lose myself in.

I started off the month reading True Pleasures: A Memoir of Women in Paris by Lucinda Holdforth which would have made a fantastic documentary series. She basically visited key sites in the lives of many famous women in Paris throughout history. The most interesting parts I found in the book were where she was talking about Napoleon and Josephine, and she quoted some of Napoleon's love letters. Wow!! Those letters were amazing. Love letters like that are definitely a lost art. So it got me interested in reading more about Napoleon, someone I haven't read about since high school's Modern European History.

I then moved onto another non-fiction book called A Leg to Stand On by Oliver Sacks, probably best known for writing Awakenings. It was a bit too intellectual for me to be honest. He turned his knee injury into something far more philosophical and most of the time I had no idea what I was reading. I'm sure the more intellectual of my work book club will have much more insightful observations on the book.

After frying my brain on that, I thought I'd return to some fiction so read The Rest of the Robots by Isaac Asimov. This was the first Asimov book I'd actually read despite meaning to for quite some time. It was fantastic. I really, really love the way he writes and have been raving about this book on Facebook already so won't repeat myself too much. But honestly, so well written and written in a style that will never date. Loved it.

I'm now halfway through Adelaide by Kerryn Goldsworthy, probably only of interest to those who grew up or live here because it goes through the city's history, key historical figures and some spots around the city that bring with them some nostalgic moments. I'm enjoying it as a trip down memory lane and also for learning some more about my own city, but limited readership obviously.

Karen has loaned me a book on Napoleon for my next read. Looks like more non-fiction for the time being!

Books, writing and gaming

Well again I'm not too sure where the last three weeks have gone. This time though I haven't been doing much exciting because Uni finishes on June 8th and I have had assignments to work on (and looks like that's all I'll be doing for the next two weeks too). I've had to write and submit another short story which I'm super happy I got another High Distinction for, and am hoping my final story due next Friday also ends up with a good grade. It's so nice to be able to write and I guess I'm not too bad at it after all which is nice. Next step is to try and get published somewhere I guess!

The long bus trips mean I still have time to read and I recently borrowed and finished a couple of books from the library. I recently read Three Dollars by Elliot Perlman which I really enjoyed, and Play Abandoned by Garry Disher which, although well written, I didn't think was that great. I think I just find it difficult to get into a story when there isn't a single character I like.

Glen and I are also frantically trying to use up some free movie tickets we got for Christmas which expire on June 30 so we've recently been to see The Avengers (which I LOVED) and Dark Shadows, which was better than I thought it would be.

And my free time is very limited at the moment which is killing me because Diablo 3 has finally been released and I have only been able to play a little bit of it! Looking forward to the end of semester so I can sink many, many hours into it lol.

Hmm I think that's pretty much been it aside from a quiet Mother's Day with the family, not that it matters as I think my readership has dried up!

Non-stop madness

Wow it has been a busy 3 weeks since my last update! A quick run down of what's been going on follows.

First off my sister and her family visited for 5 days at the end of April. It was so fantastic to see them all! My niece and nephew were, ofcourse, gorgeous, and I absolutely loved all the hugs I got from them and getting the chance to play with them again. They had quite a few people they wanted to catch up with though, so I only really got to spend Friday and Monday with them, and before we knew it Wednesday morning had rolled around and they were headed back to Tasmania. In that time though I got to take them to the park, have a 'party' with them, read to them, paint their nails and play a whole lot. And, as I mentioned, get awesome hugs! Was so fantastic to see them :) Glen and I will be going over to visit them on Jun 28th for a few days so I'm looking forward to that already.

Since they left my studies have gotten crazy busy again since the end of semester is only 4 weeks away (eek!) so not much free time at the moment. Glen and I went to see a couple of live podcast recordings both of which were fantastic and hilarious! Kevin Smith came to town and seeing as I love his movies and have been listening to lots of his podcasts for a while now I didn't want to miss him coming to Adelaide for once. So the night started off with him and Scott Mosier doing Smodcast, and then him and Jason Mewes doing Jay and Silent Bob Get Old. Loved, loved, loved the night!

The other thing that's been happening is we've had my aunt and uncle from QLD staying with us since 3rd of May and they leave this afternoon. They were here for my Grandma's 86th birthday so Gran was very happy to see them and we went out to lunch as a family to celebrate (well, all except Dad but that's another story).

I think that's been about it really! At the moment work is crazy busy so that makes the days fly, and at nights I'm trying to get my homework done. At the moment I'm in the midst of writing my next short story. I was heaps happy because my first one, the fairytale adaptation, earned me a High Distinction so I hope I do well in this next story too :)

The Reaper

I've recently finished reading The Reaper by Peter Lovesey, chosen by Beth for our book club. I don't read a lot of Crime Fiction and this was one of those books that wasn't very deep but easy to read; something that you can just read lightly. It actually was pretty enjoyable but did suffer from some poor writing. While the main character was written quite well the female characters (particularly the main female character) were written poorly, as if the author thought all females were gossips and desperate for love. The book included at least one particular plot twist which wasn't exciting but instead was annoying because it was completely inconsistent with the character involved. It just seemed to come out of nowhere, whereas the plot twists involving the lead male character were much more believable and unpredictable.

There was also some annoying poor editing, where there was a whole part going on about burial rather than cremation and then an editing slip where it talked about people gathering after the cremation instead of the burial. Not a big thing but I find that kind of stuff really off-putting (no doubt the editor in me coming out).

I won't go out of my way to read any more Peter Lovesey books but it wasn't all bad, and certainly not the worst book I've ever read.

The Reaper - 2.5 stars.

The Reaper by Peter Lovesey

True History of the Kelly Gang

This was one of the books I'd chosen for my work book club so I had been looking forward to reading it for a long time. Interspersed with newspaper articles of accounts, this book is written from the perspective of Ned Kelly which made for a refreshing change. It's listed as historical fiction but truth be told I only know the basics of Ned Kelly so I am not sure how many liberties Peter Carey took when writing this or which parts are more fiction than history but that's the good thing; the writing doesn't jar from history to fiction, it all blends so well so that it's easy to read without being distracting.

Ned Kelly is definitely likable in this book (I guess that's the idea given that it's written from his perspective) and it's a little 'poor me' but at the same time there is a difference in the crimes he admits to doing and the ones he seems unfairly accused of so it's not as if it's all written with him being completely innocent of everything. But from the outset it appears the poor guy never stood a chance but to end up in crime.

I devoured this book, reading it in a week which for me is really fast. The style was great as was the language used which made the characters come to life in my mind, and the book gave a great picture of what life was like for early migrants, convicts and settlers to Australia.

True History of the Kelly Gang - 4 stars!

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

Easter 2012

I hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend!  Ours was really quiet.  It was the first year that we haven't had my niece and nephew here since they moved to Tasmania so no kids with which to have an Easter egg hunt made it much more quiet than usual, but they're visiting in 2 weeks so I can't wait.  We still had a nice relaxing Easter though; it was very quiet and we had very few plans so plenty of time to do things like read and play on the computer, which is my kind of weekend.

I have to admit to being a bit worried as to how the weekend would pan out after learning that Dad had bought himself a couple of casks of wine, as he hasn't had any for 4 months.  He has the occasional beer but seems to be able to control himself with that, whereas wine he knocks back as if he's guzzling water. So I wasn't sure what kind of weekend we'd end up having.

Thank God though that when we arrived for lunch on Saturday at my parent's house he was fine, and remained that way all day. In fact I had a really nice afternoon there. Grandma had the afternoon out of the nursing home so we had lunch with the five of us, although she grew tired after a short time and was keen to get back home.

That was about the extent of our Easter celebrations actually! I went to church with Mum on Sunday but aside from that and the usual weekly chores we did nothing constructive all weekend. Loved it!

I hope everyone had a nice relaxing weekend :)

Second Honeymoon

For our first anniversary, Glen shouted me to a few days away at Victor Harbor. Karen called it our second honeymoon but I'm not so sure, might be a bit soon for a second honeymoon! Anyway we left at about midday on Monday 2nd April and arrived at Victor a couple of hours later and were greeted with absolutely gorgeous weather.

We stayed at the Beachfront Caravan Park in a really nice waterview villa cabin.  The last time I stayed in a cabin at this caravan park was with Natasha when I was 17 and our accommodation then was pretty basic but comfortable.  This time was camping like I'd never experienced before. The cabin had Foxtel, a great big shower, air conditioning, a fancy toilet where there was a handbasin in the top, and the best thing of all, a dishwasher!  I'd never used a dishwasher before, now I really want one!

Anyway that first afternoon we went for a few walks.  The beach was only a short walk across a path so we sat on the mountains of seaweed and relaxed while patting the occasional dog that was being walked by its owner. We then walked to the town centre (about a 15 minute walk, not far) and looked around a bit before grabbing some Chinese takeaway for dinner and heading back to the cabin to relax in the air conditioned comfort.

The next day, our actual anniversary, Glen gave me a beautiful silver bracelet that he'd had engraved.  On the front it says 'To my wife Melinda' and on the back it says 'On our First Anniversary'. We then headed off to Granite Island, walking across the bridge as the horse-drawn tram wasn't working (a shame, never been on that before).  We had lunch at the Granite Island Cafe and as we sat outside having our lunch we noticed a dolphin just off the shore having a play and a feed.  So gorgeous!  We then did the walk around the island before heading back to the cafe for a coffee.  This time as we sat outside we saw a seal having a feed.  Amazing seeing these animals out in the wild! We then headed to the Penguin Centre for the 2:30pm feeding session.  Definitely my kind of trip, I loved seeing the penguins, sooooo cute!  I took about 50 photos just of the same penguins lol. We then headed back to the town centre for a little more of a look around, stopping at the local chocolate shop to buy some goodies and then stumbling upon a book exchange.  I could have spent ages here and a lot of money but walked out with only 2 Kate Grenville books while Glen bought a Raymond E Feist book.  It was then time to return to the cabin to relax for a couple of hours before dinner, when we went to this Italian place called Nino's.  I definitely recommend this place if you go to Victor Harbor, the food was great and pretty reasonably priced.

The next morning we checked out and headed on home, sad to be leaving behind such a peaceful place. I could definitely get used to being so close to the beach and such beautiful animals!  I leave you with just one of my penguin photos.

Our first anniversary

April 3rd marks our first anniversary, and I still can't quite believe the year has gone so quickly. To celebrate, Glen's taking me to Victor Harbor for a few days this week so it'll be nice to get away and hopefully have some mornings where I can sleep in without being woken by an alarm clock or a cat.

Last night we went to 1877 Restaurant at Sfera's (the place we got married) and it was fantastic. I love Italian food! Plus because it was our anniversary we got a free bottle of some Rockford's Alicante Bouchard Rose and a complimentary seafood antipasto platter.  For once I ate oysters and didn't feel like vomiting afterwards! Our meals were awesome and we decided to treat ourselves to dessert too, so my calorie counting went out the window yesterday. When we returned home we watched The Road, which was a great film but very much a downer (probably not the best choice after a romantic dinner).

Aside from that we haven't been up to much else in the last week. I managed to finish my short story and hand it up but I really don't feel it was any good. Very predictable ending and I have no idea if I included enough of the original fairytale's themes like we were supposed to. Now I have to wait 4 weeks before I get it back. I might post it up here then, not sure. A three week break from classes will be great, perhaps I can even get ahead in some of my next assignments!

That said, on Friday I went and collected the next books for my work book club from the library and one of the books is True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey. I've wanted to read this book for a long time and I have been reading it non-stop at the expense of reading anything else, so not sure how much I'll actually achieve with the time off classes. It's written from the perspective of Ned Kelly and I'm loving it!

Anyway better get back to the dreariness of housework and go put some laundry on...

Good intentions

I always have the best of intentions to stay on top of my studies while still being able to work full-time and I've been doing pretty well but this week I am struggling so am falling behind already.  I've come down with some cold/flu type thing which seems to be going around the office so since Sunday I've been feeling really flat.  I've had today and yesterday off work which means whole days where I could be getting ahead in my readings or assignments but I just can't concentrate, so I'm moving between the PC, the recliner and the couch at the moment and accomplishing very little.

One of the subjects I'm doing this semester is Writing and Reading Short Fiction and I truly don't think I belong in that class.  The other people read their work and they're so creative, and my own writing seems so crap in comparison, truly.  Our first assignment is due this Friday and we had to rewrite a fairytale, for an adult audience but being careful not to make it a new fairytale in the process.  I've been sitting on around 450 words since last Thursday and I just don't know where to go with it.  I don't even know what to call it.  I actually think this introductory assignment is harder than coming up with our own story off the top of our head.  It's hard when you've wanted to be a writer your whole life and then feel like you're failing at it.

New beginnings

So, I thought it was time I left my old blog behind.  The dust had well and truly settled on it.  I don't want to delete it, because I'd put a lot of effort into it over the years, but it was time for something new since I'm now a different person to the one I was in my 20s.  Some might say much more boring, and they'd probably be right.  In a nutshell I'm now:

• a wife
• a mum to two very gorgeous fur babies
• a homeowner
• a public servant
• a student
• a procrastinator.

While I know all those things are a part of me, I'd also love to be:

• a published writer
• more financially stable
• a mum to much less furry but still gorgeous babies
• a better friend
• healthier
• a better wife
• a better daughter
• a better sister.

I'm going to try and get into the habit of writing something (anything) more regularly, so I'm hoping this blog will help with that.  Most of the time I'll probably just talk about what I'm up to, what I'm reading, all those mundane things, but I need to get into the habit of writing.  Hopefully along the way I can entertain in some way too :)