4am

It is almost 4am, and I REALLY should be getting my essay sorted, but instead, after 3 weeks off of work, I am preparing myself for a number of things. Firstly, the first of four 12 hour night shifts (hence the reason I am awake until the early hours getting ready to sleep all day), secondly the Dukan diet, and although I ate very well last night, the simple thought of it is already making my stomach rumble. And lastly, to choose and start another book.

The christmas decorations all came down last night, which I always feel is a little sad, and I still didn't manage to buy any wise men to come and visit my baby Jesus....maybe next year. Putting the decorations away managed to cause WW3 in our household as I seem to have accumulated a few to many sparkling splendours and they didn't quite all fit into the hide'y hole cupboard under the stairs. Ooops. Can I just note that this will not stop me from buying more next year, I LOVE christmas.

The shopping arrived today in preparation for my forthcoming diet regieme. I have a mantra ready to chant when times get hard 'I will be skinnier than my mum' and a rigid plan stuck to the fridge to put a stop to temptation. Having already had two dinner invites next week, I have no idea how or where I will find the will-power required.

I am quite excited about the prospect of the book challenge (see last post), and even more excited about all the book blogs I have since discovered. I have followed a few, and intend to think about joining a few more challenges. For now, I have decided what books to read over 700 pages, but I do have the whole year for the challenge to be completed, so am undecided whether to dive straight in there with another hefty number, or read something on the lighter side.

And lastly, I know I keep going on about it, but this essay is going nowhere fast. After creating a huge pile of chaos, I really thought I had it all going in the right direction. But 1004 words later (only 396 of my word limit left) I have a lot of waffle and only half of the necessary content. Bummer! Considering there is so much riding on the damn thing, I should be able to find more motivation to get it completed.

Oh well. So I'm off to scour the kindle and pick my next read.

Tea and Books Reading Challenge

So now you can tell I am really trying to avoid writing my essay! After a quick flick through other people's blogs (In search of how blogging should really be done), I have come across

so have decided to join the challenge and have chosen the level of Berry Tea Devotee, which means that I have to read 4 books with over 700 pages in. I am waiting to find out if I can include Shantaram as number 1, or if I have to start from scratch. So now the hard bit is choosing the books......will update accordingly and of course with my progress.

And for now, back to Law and ethics...........


*UPDATE*

I have chosen the four books I will include in the challenge:
1. Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts 933pgs
2. A Game of Thrones - George R.R.Martin 864pgs
3. The Passage - Justin Cronin 1008pgs
4. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy 848pgs

I have chosen these from a list of books I had wanted to read but that also fit the challenge. Secondly, last year I aimed to read a classic on every 5th book, but didn't do so well, so by choosing Anna Karenina I am hoping to start this personal challenge again too.

xoxo

Shantaram: A Book Review

It's not something I have actually done since school. I keep a book record as such and list all of the fictional books I have read each year, and I do scribble a couple of lines: 'easy read, well written, story about....' etc, but I have't literally reviewed a book since I was in school. I have just finished reading a book called Shantaram. It was my tree present from my husband's nana. I had put it on my amazon wish list as somebody I met recently recommended it. Being so used to my Kindle now, I couldn't believe how huge this tree book was, and how clumsy I felt trying to hold and read it. I really thought I was going to hate a kindle but they are a pretty amazing piece of technology.....and who am I kidding I love a new gadget.

But I digress. Don't read below if you don't want to know too much about this book, although in my opinion it quite simply cannot be spoiled.

Words cannot describe how powerful this book is. I have read books with pituresque, idillic sounding settings and thought 'Oh, wouldn't it be nice to go there', but NEVER did I think I could read a book set in a slum in bombay and want to travel there so much. A book about a man with a heroin habit, that commits armed robbery, escapes from prison in australia and becomes a fugitive hiding out in the eclectic city of Bombay. He commits more crime, falls in love, becomes a slum doctor, joins the mafia, goes to war, and to top it all off disguises a dancing bear as the elephant god Ganesh. Summing it up, it sounds ridiculous, but even more ridiculous, this story (true life), has covered not only crime and warfare, but love, religion, philosophy, spirituality and the ideology of both right and wrong in such as passionate, powerful and gripping way that you felt that you were living the trials and tribulations of Lin with him. Not only is it an amazing story that I have not been able to put down (933 pages in only 6 days), it is so beautifully written, that I feel like the characters are my friends and family also, and I too felt the sorrow of their deaths, mutilations and punishments, but also the joy they shared. I take my hat of to this author, for not only living through this strange experience, whatever wrongs he committed, he learnt right from wrong, for the right reasons, and learnt most importantly how to forgive, and he has created a very moving novel that will touch many.

Through amazon I have discovered there is a sequel to Shantaram, out later this year, and honestly, I cannot wait! I'm not sure what to read next now??

xoxo

A Windy Start: Law and Ethics or Housework??

Whilst every facebook and twitter status has also commented on it today, I am just going to chip in and wonder what on earth all that wind was about last night/this morning. I had the worst nights sleep, which has not helped in the slightest with my plan for an 'organised and productive' day. Tonight I think I will have to tape the letterbox and the door knocker down.

So today I was supposed to get up and write a Law and Ethics essay (yawn yawn yawn). They tell me that by the end of my training this will help me be a better paramedic......now if only I could find the motivation to get scribbling. It's not even that its not interesting, I thought the topic would send me to sleep, but it is the fact that it is going to be inconsistently scrutinised by people that are perhaps not quite up-to-scratch with marking schemes and methods, or at least that's how it seems. Also, my local library is pants, and whilst there is a whole shelf of law text books on hubby's bookshelf, none seem to include medical law and ethics so I don't exactly have a great set of references to get me going. I managed a hatched plan and have now moved the subject to the very (very) back of my mind.

Instead, I continued to read my book, did the washing (I know things are bad when I turn to chores as a source of amusement) and eat as many carbs and left over chocolate in possible in preparation for my all protein attack phase diet. Two days left of freely eating and drinking before I turn into a serious grouch.

On the up-side I also did some great online shopping today and bought a full length evening gown from monsoon (£160 reduced to £55), and LBD (£85-£40) and a little pink number (£75-£20). I don't really have the money, but hey who can resist a bargain!!

Tomorrow I really must get this essay under my belt and am returning to Zumba! My predicition.............It's going to be a painful day.

xoxo

2012 Begins

So, I'm not entirely sure that anyone is going to be interested in what I have to say, but from briefly reading a few blogs I don't think it entirely matters. I always used to try and keep a diary or journal, but it really is so time consuming, that I no longer update them, and to be honest, it may also be the case with this, but I will give it a whirl.


2012 hasn't exactly started as I hope for it to go on, but it has made me think about all the things that I want to do, perhaps not all this year (I think my list may be a little ambitious for 365 days), and what better way than to record it all and just see how much I can manage. Now much of the 'stuff' on my list is of very little importance, just niggley little things that I never get round to doing, or half finished projects that I want to pick up and complete. I would also like a venting ground, like many of my colleagues, although I am not entirely sure at this moment where the land lies with blogging about my job (although so many people have brilliant and fascinating blogs on the subject), so this is definitely something high up on my 'to-do list' to find out and hopefully put into practice.


I am currently reading one of the most amazing books I have EVER read, and will recommend to everybody. It's called Shantaram and is truly inspiring. I think it partly has a lot to do with the birth of this blog, and the realisation that there is still so much out there to discover and do. I have made no real new years resolutions, but do aim to complete as many 'things', 'tasks', 'goals' from my list, and I guess keep discovering and adding to it. If I pick up a few friends or followers along the way, then that will be an extra bonus.


The start of 'The List'
1. Read more - aim is at least 26 novels a year
2. Use my camera more and blog with pictures as well as words - maybe a project 52??
3. Start the Dukan diet and actually stick to it (This begins on Friday 6th - could be some moody blogginh to follow.......I hate being hungry)
4. Study harder and not just for exams
5. Put together a more professional portfolio
6. Travel abroad as a volunteer in a medical capacity
7. Finish all the crochet projects I started last year
8. Choose and apply for a masters degree
9. Get involved in public education
10. Pay of my debts (This should probably be top of the list)
11. Spend some time on a maternity unit
12. Spend some time in a minor injuries unit
13. Be more organised
14. Have more time for my Husband (this sounds bad, I have a lot of love and time for him, but am not always great at sharing it out well with my shift patterns)
15. Learn a useful language
16. Learn Sign language
17. Decorate the hallway
18. Get a new kitchen floor
19. Buy a new bed
20. Invest in a dishwasher 
21. Go to Zumba classes
22. Spend more time with family
23. Complete my paramedic training (also another thing that should be higher in my list)
24. Learn about world history

25. Doing an advanced ECG course

26. Getting back my drive and will-power (And maybe working out what has driven it out of me over the past couple of years) I used to be able to put my mind to anything, I now seem so easily distracted.

27. Write more and eventually a book, probably a text book as I'm not overly imaginative or creative with the English Language.

So as I said, not all profound and meaningful, and probably only the start. It's the beginning of 2012, lets see how it all turns out!




xoxo