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Showing posts from 2014

IWSG - December

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The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . Just a quick one today; I haven't blogged in a while, and I've missed it! I've got so much going on right now - I'm so busy at work, as well as being in the process of getting my first house with my boyfriend. We're hopefully moving in at the end of next week, so I should get back to blogging regularly sometime soon!  So that's what I'm insecure about today - I'm hardly spending any time blogging, and I haven't done any writing in forever! I've really missed it, too. I can't wait until everything settles down and I can get back into my routine.  I've missed visiting everyone else's blogs, too, though I should get more time for t

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - Just two more days at work and then I get a couple of days off. Thank goodness for that, a seven day trot is far too long!  - The Harry Potter series. I'm so happy to be re-reading it again, I absolutely love it.  - I'm going Christmas shopping on Tuesday - I can't wait, I haven't started yet so it should be fun. 

What's Up Wednesday

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What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm Reading Since the last time I wrote a post for What's Up Wednesday, I've read three books: Four: A Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth; Rain by Virginia Bergin and Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. My favourite was the latter, of course.  I'm now reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone . It's only been a year since my last re-read of the series, but I couldn't resist breaking into my new set! 2. What I'm Writing Not much, at the minute. I'm in the middle of a seven day trot at work, so hopefully on my next day off (Monday) I'll get a little writing done! I'm hoping to continue with my NaNo edits from last year, and also finish off the stories I started for Halloween blogfests. 3. What Works for

Goals for November

Another busy month, work-wise, so I didn't quite manage to achieve all of my goals, again! These were my goals for October: - Read 3 books - This one I managed, just! - Take part in the four blogfests I've signed up for - I half achieved this one. I took part in two of the blogfests, but not the other two because I ran out of time to write the stories. Hopefully I'll get more writing done this month.  Here are my goals for November:  - Read 3 books - I should manage this without too much trouble. I love to read too much not to!  - Start Christmas shopping - I really need to start, I haven't bought any presents yet. I do have plans for presents though, which is good!  - Resume work on last years NaNo edits - I've missed writing, and I'm determined to start writing regularly again. 

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - Halloween! I love Halloween, it's my second favourite time of year. My sister's having a party tonight, and I can't wait! I didn't get time to join in some of the Halloween blogfests I wanted to (which I'm gutted about) but here are my entries for last year for anyone who wants to read some spooky stories: Spooktoberfest 2013 Write Edit Publish Haunting 2013 Halloween Blog Hop 2013 - It's my weekend off this weekend, and I'm so excited about that! I've been working a lot of hours lately, so it'll be nice to have a couple of days off together.  - Once Upon a Time. I just bought myself season 2, and I'm loving it!  - Writing! I haven't done as much as I wanted to this week, but I've done more than I h

Something Wicked Blogfest

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The rules are very simple - you have 400 words or less to write about a real villain, one you created in a novel, or write a flash fiction. Your villain doesn't have to be necessarily a murderer or stalker, but any anti-hero in your writing will work just fine! I was going to write a scene involving the villain from my NaNo novel from last year, but I've been working a lot lately so I haven't had time to edit it yet. Instead, I've decided to talk about one of my absolute favourite villains from one of my favourite TV shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Of course, I'm talking about Angel. I think I love him more as a villain than I love him as a good guy. There's a reason season 2 is my favourite. I just think that was an amazing idea from Joss; turn someone who Buffy loves and trusts completely into someone so evil, someone who will hurt her friends and family just to get to her.  It's a great conflict for a hero; how do you kill someone yo

Spooktoberfest

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It's time for one of my favourite annual blogfests, hosted by Dani and Jackie at Cover Girls . Here's my piece, at 296 words. The Church “Whose idea was this?” Robbie whispered as we crept across the old church yard. “You’re the one who said you were bored!” Luke said, side-stepping a crumbling gravestone. “I meant we should play a game or something!” Charlie turned around to face us. “You’re not chickening out?” “No,” Robbie said, “but what about the curse ?” “Oh come on,” Charlie said. “You don’t actually believe that, do you?” “Well…” Luke said. “Nobody ever sets foot in the church - there must be a reason for that!” “Yeah,” Charlie said, turning back to the church shrouded in darkness. “Because they’re hiding something from us! Come on.” He moved forwards; Luke, Robbie and I exchanged glances before following. Charlie stopped in front of the battered door. “Let’s do this.” He took a large, rusty key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock. “Where did you get

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - The new Avengers trailer! Have you seen it? It looks awesome!  - Last week I told you that I'd ordered some treats for myself, and this week they arrived! I got myself a new box set of the Harry Potter books - they're amazing! I also got myself season 2 of Once Upon a Time, which I've wanted for ages.  - Grey's Anatomy is back on TV! 

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - I've started planning my Halloween stories, and I'm loving it! I've got tonnes of ideas, let's just hope I have the time to write the stories!  - It's pay-day today, and I've already bought myself a couple of nice things as a treat for all my hard work lately. It makes a nice change, actually having money spare, rather than it all going on bills. I must remember to save for Christmas, though!  - My mum and I are going to York on Sunday - one of my favourite places, so I'm excited about that. 

Goals for October

Once again, I didn't have a brilliant month in September, goals-wise. I only met one of the three goals that I set myself - I'm not too disappointed, though, because I was working a lot of hours. These were my goals for September: - Write a short story for Write-Edit-Publish - I was so sure that I would be able to do this last month, but once again time ran away from me. - Read 3 books - It's a good thing I aimed low, because 3 was the exact number of books that I got read this month. I'm glad I can say I met one of my goals, at least. - Work on NaNo edits - Once again, I just didn't get the time. I've started to find my balance a little now, so I should get to them fairly soon.  Here are my goals for October:  - Read 3 books - I've got a few books on my to-read pile, it's just finding the time to read them! I'm aiming low again, since I don't think I'll get time to read much.  - Take part in the four blogfests I've

What's Up Wednesday

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What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. I haven't taken part in this meme in so long! I've missed it.  What I'm Reading While I was on my blog break I dug some old favourites out; I read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse. I know some people don't like this series, but I love it, and I like to revisit it every now and again. I'm currently reading Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the series.  Next on my list is the Harry Potter series; they have a new box set out on Amazon, and I've been meaning to get a new set for ages now. It's the children's set , but I just love the artwork!  What I'm Writing Not too much lately, but I have joined quite a few Halloween related writing challenges and blogfests - it really is my favourite time of year! I can't wait to start writing some spooky stor

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - It's October! I love October, almost as much as I love December. The weather's set to turn this weekend, too, which is good news for me! I love cold weather.  - I had a great day out yesterday with my mum and her partner. He drove us to a town a couple of hours away, and we did some shopping. It was a lot of fun!  - Getting back into blogging. I've missed it! 

IWSG

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The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . I was going to write something for the anthology, but I ran out of time, which brings me to my topic for today: a lack of time. I haven't done any writing in such a long time, mostly because I've been busy in my new role at work, but even on my week's holiday I didn't get any writing done because I went away for the week. I do think I'm learning how to balance things better, though. My week off did me a lot of good, and I was able to catch up on a lot of things. I'm confident that I'll be able to start writing again soon, I just need to find the right balance. At the moment I'm working 10-12 hour days, so it's a little hard, but within the next couple

Celebrate the Small Things

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I'm back! I took a little break from blogging, mainly because I was working 50+ hour weeks and I just didn't have the time! I've also been on holiday this past week, and I was at a place that doesn't have the greatest internet. The break's done me good, and I'm ready and raring to get started again. Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - Feeling refreshed and motivated after my week away. Working so many hours was a little overwhelming, so I got really behind on blogging and reading, and basically anything other than working! The break has done me good, and even though I'm back at work on Sunday, I'm determined to keep up with everything this time. Balance is the key!  - I got a lot of reading done this week, which was great - I hadn't so much as picked up a book

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - All the hours I've been putting in at work - I can't wait to get paid!  - My boyfriend - I went to his house last night after work (he lives an hour away so I only get to see him once a week) and he's so good at looking after me. He bought me pizza, and we had a relaxing night watching Chuck.  - Chuck ! Anyone seen it before? It's one of my favourite shows right now. 

Goals for September

I realise we're already a good way through September, but I thought I'd better post my monthly goals all the same! I didn't complete as many of my August goals as I would have liked, but I had a busy month what with starting my new role at work, so I can forgive myself for that. These were my goals for August: - Write a short story for Kyra Lennon's cat anthology - Done! I didn't get to edit it as much as I would have liked, but it turned out OK and I got it up on my blog in time. - Write a short story for Write-Edit-Publish - My inspiration totally went out of the window for this one. I had so many ideas for it, but I just couldn't get them down on paper right, so I gave up in the end. - Read 6 books - I haven't picked a book up since I started my new role at work - when you come home from an 11 hour shift, reading is the last thing on your mind. - Pick up where I left off with my NaNo edits - Again, I've been too busy at work to look at these.

Charity Cat Anthology Hop

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Today I'm taking part in Kyra Lennon's Charity Cat Anthology Bloghop, where the goal is to write a story featuring a cat. Mine is very rushed, so it's not my best writing, but it's all I could do in the time that I had. I hope you all enjoy it, anyway.  Faith “Adam, you can’t live your whole life like this! Ever since you left school all you’ve done is sit around in your room, playing games. You don’t even help with the housework! All I asked you to do was pick your brother up from school, and you couldn’t even do that! You need to learn some responsibility; you can’t just go through life relying on everyone else.” Mum stood in the hall, unshed tears sparkling in her eyes. “Look, I didn’t mean to just leave him there! I just…forgot.” I shoved past her, chucking my keys onto the table. “I wouldn’t mind if it was just this once, but it’s happening so often! You don’t have a job, you’re not helping me out at home, and now you’re not even looking after your lit

IWSG

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The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . This week I'm a co-host! Be sure to go to Alex's page and visit the other people who are co-hosting.  I had such great plans for my writing this month, but not one of them came through. There were three short stories I wanted to get written, and I also wanted to get back to my NaNo edits, but none of that happened. I still have a little time for one of the short stories, though; it's for Kyra Lennon's cat anthology , and it's due Friday! Not much time to do it, but I made a commitment and I will follow through with it!  Even though I haven't got much writing done in the last month (or the couple before that!) I'm not going to let it get me down. I'

August Book Round-up

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Once again, I only got 4 books read out of the 6 I wanted to read. I thought I'd be able to squeeze the last two in, but then I started my new position at work and I've been working 11 hour days - not much time for reading! Here's what I did manage to read in August: A great read, just like the first in the series. Can't wait to read the next one, but it'll have to wait until payday!  I enjoyed this one more than Cinder, and that's saying something. I can't wait to read Cress.  This book was OK - not particularly good, but not so bad that I had to stop reading it.  I loved this book - Cat Clarke is one of my favourite authors, and she didn't disappoint with this one. It's kind of uncomfortable to read, but in a good way.  Here's what I'm hoping to read in September:  Hopefully I'll get more time to read in September, but judging by the last week that's unlikely!

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - I started my new position at work yesterday. I had a good day, although it was a little stressful. It'll take some getting used to, but I'm glad I went for it.  - I reached 400 blog posts on my blog this week - that's a lot of posting!  - I figured out one of the reasons why I haven't been writing much lately - distractions! Since the move last December, my computer has been in the same room as the TV, and when it's on (most of the time) I can't concentrate on writing. I've started putting earphones in and listening to my writing music again, and it's done wonders.  - I've been watching the Harry Potter films this week - I'd forgotten how much I loved them! They're not as good as the books, but they're stil

What's Up Wednesday

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What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I finished reading The One by Kiera Cass; unsurprisingly, it was kind of disappointing, but I'm glad I read it all the same. I also read A Kiss in the Dark by Cat Clarke, which I loved. My mum read it before I did, and she said she found it a little uncomfortable to read, and I could understand why within the very first chapter. It's a great read though; I love Cat Clarke's books. She's one of my favourite authors.  I'm currently reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which is a lovely read. I love how different it is. 2. What I'm writing I haven't done much writing in the past week, but I'm planning on writing a short story once I've finished this blog post. I'm also going to dive back into my NaNo edit

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - It's pay-day! It's been a long time coming this month, because I had to buy four new tyres for my car right after my last pay-day. It's so nice to have money again! I can't spend it, though, I have to save it for my holiday in September.  - Books! I've read some great books in the last couple of weeks, and I have even more waiting for me to read.  - I spent some time with my sister on Wednesday and we made Flapjacks, which were lovely. We were going to make gingerbread men, until we realised she didn't have enough plain flour. Whoops! 

What's Up Wednesday

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What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I finished reading Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, which I thought was awesome - I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I'm currently reading The One by Kiera Cass. It's the third and final book in a series, and it's one of those times where I really love the idea of the story, but I hate the way it's written. The main character infuriates me so much, but I'd like to see how the series ends. 2. What I'm writing Not much, but more than I have been lately.  It's nice to be back into writing again, getting excited about new ideas and everything. 3. What else I've been up to I've had a pretty busy week at work, so that's all I've been up to really. No time for anythin

Celebrate the Small Things

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Sorry my post is a day late! I didn't post yesterday since I was feeling a little under the weather.  Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - The Sims 4 Create a Sim demo was released on Wednesday, so that was fun. It was interesting to see the changes they've made, and I can't wait to play the full game when it comes out in September. - I had a day out on Tuesday; my mum, her partner and I went to a farm café for some lunch, which was absolutely lovely. I also had a home-made cherry scone, fresh from the oven. It was still warm, and so delicious. Then we went for a walk around a picturesque village, and had ice cream. - I'm writing again, which is great! I haven't written much, but I'm certainly getting back into it. - Misty (my cat) had a limp at the beginning of the week, but it s

What's Up Wednesday

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What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I just finished reading Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor, which was amazing, of course. Now I'm reading Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, which I'm actually enjoying more than I did the first one; maybe it's just because I'm used to the world now. I wish I had more time to read - I'm not getting through many books at the minute! 2. What I'm writing Still not much right now, but I have big plans for what I'll be writing over the next few weeks. I have three separate deadlines coming up for short stories, and I am determined to meet them! I've planned it all in my timetable, and that means I mean business! I've gone far too long without writing, and I don't intend it to go on any longer.

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - A fun night on Tuesday spent with my boyfriend, my sister and her boyfriend. Pizza was eaten, Cards Against Humanity was played, and fun was had.  - The cooler weather - I realise I celebrated this last week too, but I really am enjoying it. It's nice not to be swelteringly hot all of the time.  - The Sims 2. I've been playing it a lot this week (this is why I don't get much writing done) and it's a nice way to relax. I can't wait for The Sims 4 to come out in September! 

Goals for August

Once again I've had a dismal month goals-wise. I only had two goals for last month, and I didn't achieve either of them. - Complete Camp NaNoWriMo - I gave up on this really early on in July - I just wasn't feeling it. I think it was partly to do with the fact that I didn't do nearly enough planning for it. I kept writing the beginnings of stories and then not knowing where to go from there, so I'd start on the next story. I figured it was best to give up, rather than struggle through the month and get annoyed with myself. I have an idea for the November NaNo, I just need to make sure I actually plan for that one! - Read 6 books - I only got 4 books read in July (see my July Book Round-Up post) but one of them was a 700-pager, so I don't feel too bad about that. The books I want to read this month are much smaller.  My goals for August are:  - Write a short story for Kyra Lennon's cat anthology - I've got a few ideas for this already, and

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. I know we're supposed to celebrate small  things in this blog hop, but I've got a big celebration today:  I've got a promotion at work! I'm really happy because I didn't think I'd get it. I had the interview on Wednesday, and while it went really well I still wasn't sure whether I'd get the job. I found out today that I did, and I'm ecstatic! I won't start properly until October, but I can't wait to get started on all the training.  Here are some small things I'm celebrating:  - Cuddles with this beauty:  - The weather's been a bit cooler over the last couple of days, and it's been nice to have a break from the heat.  - The Great British Bake-Off starts again next week! I love watching it, as it always inspires me to bake

July Book Round-Up

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I didn't read as much books as I wanted to this month - only 4 out of 6. I figure this is OK though, since one of those books was over 700 pages long. In July I read the following books: I really enjoyed the plot of this book, the only problem was some parts dragged on so much. There was a lot of unnecessary description. Other than that, the story was pretty good.  I loved this book - I need to get my hands on anything else written by Rainbow Rowell. The only problem is, I really wish the Simon Snow series was real, because this book made me really want to read it!  Another book that I loved. It took a while to get used to the writing style, and the way the novel is set out, but I loved how the two characters' lives entwined, and I loved the ending.  This was a little disappointing - I was hoping for a better ending to the series. I didn't really like the addition of the new characters in the book. I can see why they are there, but I found mysel

What's Up Wednesday

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What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Erin L Funk and Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. I haven't taken part in a few weeks, I've missed it!  1. What I'm reading Since the last time I took part in this meme, I've read the following books: Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan, and City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare. Stormdancer was my least favourite, while Fangirl was my favourite - I've decided I love all things Rainbow Rowell. I really wish the Simon Snow series was a real thing so I could read it! I'm currently reading Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor. 2. What I'm writing Pretty much nothing at the minute; Camp NaNo did not go like I hoped it would. I'm not going to let it get to me, though; it just wasn't meant to be

Celebrate the Small Things

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OK, so it's been a really long time since I posted! Sorry to anyone who commented, and sorry that I haven't been making the rounds lately. Our internet stopped working, and we couldn't get it fixed for nine days (it was awful). We finally got it working last Sunday, but then I was away all week visiting my boyfriend and sister since I was off work. I'm back now, so I'll try to catch up on all of your latest blog posts. So, finally, here are my celebrations from the last two weeks: - The internet is working! Seriously, I have really missed blogging. I love reading all of your blog posts. - I got a new graphics card! Unfortunately, I couldn't set it up for five days since I needed the internet for the drivers. My mum also got a new phone that we couldn't set up because we needed the internet for it, too. It really was quite funny. - I watched The Book Thief last week, and I really enjoyed it. I've had the book on my Kindle for a while, so I can

Celebrate the Small Things

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Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - Going to the gym regularly - since I started at my new gym I've been going about 4 times a week, which is great for me! I'm really enjoying it, which I never thought I'd say.  - My manager said yes to some time off work I wanted - a week from the 20th July. I'm really excited, first because I've been working 6 day weeks and really need a break, and also because my sister is also off work that week and we don't get to see each other much since I moved away. We're planning on having a Lord of the Rings marathon.  - I've got a new graphics card coming! My lovely boyfriend offered to pay for it since I don't have the money right now (I also have four new tyres to buy for my car) and I'll pay him back later. I'm glad, b

June Book Round-Up

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I decided I'm going to start doing monthly posts about the books I've read in the past month, and the ones I'm going to read in the next month. I find that doing this means that I get more reading done. In June I read the following books: The only reason I read this book was because I'd read the first two in the series - the books got worse as they went along, and I didn't enjoy this one at all.  This was my first experience reading Rainbow Rowell, and I loved it! Such a great novel, although I was a tiny bit disappointed by the ending. I've got Fangirl on my shelf all ready to read. Another book that I loved - the take on Cinderella was original and so fun to read. I can't wait to get my hands on the next in the series.  This was my favourite book that I read this month - I absolutely loved the world, the plot and the characters. Again, I can't wait to read the next in the series.  I got an early copy of this one i