Fireworks

I used to think fireworks were a ridiculous waste of money, but then I realised they bring a lot of joy into people's lives and they really are quite beautiful.

Love to you

xx

Perth Royal Show 2015

Hello friends!

We have been to the Royal Show many times, nearly every year since Jack was about 4, and there is always something new to love. This year we enjoyed the neon magnificence of sideshow alley at twilight and I just had to share these pics:

How people stand these frightening rides I will never know!

Until next time,
xx

What Are You Reading?

Hello, my readerly friends! Hope your week has been a good one.

These are the books I have read this week. 

You will find my reviews of them at my other blog Owl Book Reviews.

In other news, we have been busily ripping out our kitchen in readiness for a new Ikea kitchen in two weeks! Yeehah, woohoo! I am so excited! The old blue laminate will be gone, gone gone!                 

  Now for a quick visit to Sheila's blog to see what everyone else has been reading:

t

Until next time...

xx

What Are You Reading?

Hello! Two weeks in a row I've posted; I'm on a roll!

This week you can find my reviews for these books at my blog Owl Book Reviews:

  

I am now onto the biggest read of my To-Be-Read shelf because I want to sell a heap of my books in a sale at my school. I know it's nice to keep them all, but it's for a good cause. I will only be holding onto books I've given a five star rating, because they are close to my heart. Besides, it leaves me heaps of space for new books, hee, hee. (My hubby's already worried that I'll take 200 books to the sale and come back with 300. It's quite possible too!)

So you will be seeing a lot of reviews for books that have sat for a very long time, because I always tend to read new titles or recommends rather than ones I've picked up second hand. I have stacked all the ones I expect to sell by my bed, and it looks quite daunting, but it will be an enjoyable challenge.

Before I get back to it I'm off see the latest book reviews from my friends at Sheila's blog;

where I know I will get a ton more recommends. Ah, me, what's a girl to do?

Until then...

xx

What Are You Reading?

I'm still alive! I know, I know, I never post on my blog anymore, but I always want to and just never have the time. Still I'm here to let you know that I'm reading more than ever, and have started posting my reviews again on my blog Owl Book Reviews. You can read my reviews for these books there:

   

And in exciting news...I met Robin Hobb!!!!! She was at Supanova in Perth in July and I was just beside myself waiting to meet her. I could feel myself welling up while I was in line, and I just had to hold it back, but I was trembling the whole time. I really wanted to hug her! Authors are the new rock stars.

Next week her new book Fool's Assassin is released and I cannot wait! I've already read the ibooks sample, so now I'm truly pumped!

Popping over to Sheila's awesome blog now to catch up with some old reading friends:

Until next time...

xx

It's 2014!

I'm back!!!  It's the New Year and I thought I'd  have a go at getting back into my blog. Those wonderful people who have been here before will notice I've given the blog a makeover by sharing a pic, from our recent camping adventure, of the beach at Geraldton. I really love taking photos of pretty landscapes. 

 Also, I've chosen a word to inspire me this year:

I chose this word because, although I spend a lot of time thinking, researching, and planning, I don't always feel confident about seeing my ideas through.
Well, this year I'm going to be more decisive and actually get things done!

Some of the to dos on my list are:

Eat healthy and exercise daily
Shop ethically and chemical-free

Hand in reports before everyone else!

Clear the clutter in our shed 

Clear the clutter in the study

Renovate the kitchen!!!

Keep up with my blog
Share adventures we've had in the last six months!

There are other things I have in mind,
but I don't want to jinx myself too much by sharing them yet!

Have you chosen a motivational word for the year?

Share it here!

I'll write again soon. Hugs xxx

What Are You Reading?

Hello all! 

(Gloria Swanson)

I managed to fit in a bit of reading while on school holidays!

I'm just in the midst of reading This Side of Paradise

and

But before these two, I finished reading Robin Hobb's latest book, 

I love Hobb's fantasy world of dragons, ships and magical cities,
and I really enjoyed this book,
but nothing will beat reading the Liveship Trader and Assassins Apprentice series,
when I discovered Hobb's writing for the first time. 

Also, I read For One More Day

and Moving Forward

which both dealt with the same topic, how to raise yourself above your past and become a better person.
Albom's version was a hypothetical type of story, in that it asks the question, what would you do if someone close to you died, and then came back into your life for one day. In the narrator's case it is his mother, and, while he is ashamed to admit his flaws and mistakes, he realises he can begin to live his life in a better way
if he wishes.

In Pelzer's Moving Forward, the story of a lost childhood is real, as Pelzer was horribly abused as a child. And yet, with all that darkness he found ways to let go of the past to enable him to move ahead, and now uses his experiences to help others. He provides tested methods for dealing with the low moments in life and how to get above them, and then takes this even further by encouraging people to be leaders. He warns, though that leaders don't get it easy. There will always be people who are cynical or jealous of the success of others and his advice is to be prepared rather than surprised by this. It is not personal, he says, just human nature for people to feel like they are missing out when a colleague or friend finds success.  I found this idea to be valuable, and I realised how important it is to be consciously aware of this.
I'll be reading more of Pelzer's books in the future!

I also finished reading Little Men

which was the most adorable story!
It tells of Jo Bhaer, from Little Women, who grows up to run her own school for boys (and some girls), and details all their little personalities and adventures, providing the children (and the reader!) with a whole lot of life lessons. Being a teacher I could really relate to all the idiosyncrasies and misunderstandings of the children, and just wanted to hug each one of them! If you love stories like Little Women
and The Secret Garden, then you will enjoy this too.

I also had a quick read on my iphone of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Being only a short story it was nowhere near as involved as the film (which was amazing!) but it is still an incredible story for its unusual concept of being born old and growing younger. While the ending didn't leave me in devastated tears like at the end of the film, it is still a spooky conclusion,
and makes you think about time, mortality, and how we live our lives.
Brilliant stuff!

Time to pop over to Book Journey to check out what everyone else is reading:

Love to you!
xxx