Desert Flower

yes, another book post simply because i love to read. I guess because i only really got back into reading a few months ago after a 3 year hiatus (hey i was raising babies ok!) i feel like i need to make up for lost time. Kind of like lost time with a long time lover... okay enough of the weird analogies..

WOAW my goshness this book is.... woaw. Where do i being?? This book is basically the life story of Waris Dirie. Born in Somalia and living as a desert nomad, life is tough and is all about surviving. From humble beginnings to becoming a top model & UN special ambassador, how could you not want to know how she got there and what she went through.

I was recommended this book by my beloved sister-in-law (again). It's nice to have people in your life who KNOW you. I quote her, "OH MY GOD! you have to read this book, i think you'll love it" and i did.. i do!

There is nothing more i love than a strong, indepdendant woman who knows what she wants and goes after it, no matter what. That is exactly how i would describe Waris. As a child she was the inquisitive, hard working, determined child who was capable of things beyond her knowledge. For someone to come through what Waris has and achieve so much is beyond amazing. To still remain humble after it all, shows great character. She is beautiful both inside and out.

There hasnt been a book i havent recommended you read because... I luckily havent picked up any stinkers. but seriously, READ THIS BOOK. you will feel insipred and maybe even a bit guilty about complaining about cleaning the car thats gets you places and washing the piles of dishes which you have just eaten a hearty meal off. I'm just saying...

My Space

no I'm not talking about "myspace" im talking about my space as in my home/house. We're renting a cheap house in the western suburbs of Sydney and i'll admit we have the UGLIEST house on the street. its probably the oldest & the least renovated/maintained. The paint is peeling on the outside & my front door/entrance isnt a pretty sight. on the inside, the carpet is completley dated. Its in good condition but way old. The vinyl in the dining room & kitchen is ugly & patchy. The walls in the kitchen & dining room are a weird, imitation... I DONT KNOW! i really dont know what it is on the walls so i'll just move on. Its a small 2 bedroom house and id probably like the house a bit more if i didnt have weird carpet in the bathroom & a really dated pokey kitchen.

ok so im having terrible green eye syndrome. A friend of mine who lives down the road and is renting too recently got her place freshened up. My husbands friend bought his own place and has been slowly fixing it up. I'd love th fix my house up but the word of the day is RENTING. So i cant punch holes in the wall, i cant tear things up, basically I cant make any crazy changes. So i've been focusing on doing what i can with what i have to make my house the best it can be.

So far I've just started de-cluttering. i think thats the easiest way to love your space is to only have things in it that you love/use/require. I've been getting rid of decent things on ebay that deserve a loving home. Ive been throwing out/recycling as much jucnk as i can. I'm going overseas soon to visit family, so im trying to get as much done as i can. I dont think I'll be making huge changes until i come back but until then ive been browsing the net trying to find inspiration and figure out the stlye in which I want to decorate. Being a mother and wife, i like my house to be inviting & warm, yet i like the look of a clean & simple decor. Having young kids throws in a whole other element. im so confused! I will say this, the things i do LOVE about my house is the HUGE window in my living room & the high ceilings & the fact that i have so many empty walls to work my magic on.

I love the minimalistic style of this room, but i think it could be lighter & the bookcase filled with more items.

i LOVE low coffee tables covered in coffee table books. i LOVE collections of vases. i LOVE plush comfy chairs & sofas. i LOVE black photo frames

i LOVE tall, massive bookcases that are FULL but dont look too cluttered or too organised. i love coffee tables that are nice and close to the sofa so you can put your feet up, even though thats so un-ladylike.

Guilty Pleasures

This book was recommended to me by my sister-in-law and we like to read really different kinds of books, she likes Jackie Collins and I.. dont haha. But this year is all about trying out new things and stepping out of my comfort zone so i read this book... and... LOVED IT! The kinds of books i like to read are sappy i'll admit it. They're all about deep and meaningful moments and emotions and life changing revelations.

THIS book had drama, scandal, sex, fashion, glamour, wealth, papparazzi, drugs, alcohol, some form of love (kind of... not really) and mentioned all those fabulous brand names that you know and love yet seriously cant afford. Written by Tasmina Perry, this book tells the story of a family basically fighting over a deceased relatives well-known and prestigious, England based luxury goods company. There's Emma, the niece who works hard & lives in Boston. There's Cassandra, editor-in-cheif of a very successul fashion magazine. There's Roger, the brother and right hand man whose wife likes to live the good life. The things that people will do for money, success & power. Just reading the title and looking at the title of the book, would make you want to read it.

I did feel like i was basically reading "The Bold and the Beautiful" but this book was exciting and addictive. I just wanted to know what happens next. Its a fun book. Thats really all i have to say really. Its not the kind of book where you walk away feeling enriched & fulfiled but.. its fun!

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

This book was recommended to me by my friend who runs her own book club so i started reading this with no hesitations. Its a short book, read this slowly over two nights. Its a slow kind of story where not much happens but what happens in quite enormous. I really cant come up with any other way to describe what happens in this story.

Written by John Boyne, this story is set in the times of the Holocaust where 9 year old boy Bruno and his family move from Berlin to Auschwitz due to his fathers promotion. Being an inquisitive boy Bruno goes for a walk.. and i really don't want to give anymore away! If i keep going i'll just end up retelling the whole story and this really is a book that you MUST read for yourself. I sat there after finishing the book frantically texting back and forth with my friend who recommended it to me. gaaahhhh... im still not over this book and i dont think i ever will be.

I finished this book a while ago and have finished another book since then.. so on to the next one!

The Power of One

I have been wanting to read this Bryce Courtenay masterpiece for a long time but books thick enough to use as a pillow used to scare me, now they feel like a mountain that im about to climb, but in a good, exciting way. So my sister-in-law read it and recommended it. This is another book I'm glad i read, and also am glad i let some one else read it before me. She warned me, "theres a huge chunk in the beginning that you just have to read through but it gets exciting after here." She had even marked where the fun began for me. If she hadnt warned me, i probably would have put the page down after 100 pages. Over all i didnt understand every single little detail in this book. I had to conduct some research while i read this book because im not very familiar with history of any kind in general. The story is set in South Africa during WWII/1940s ( i think), a time in which race and racism was prevelant. Courtenay uses a lot of words & references that arent used today or outside of south africa & a bit of help from wikipedia cured that. Im not going to retell the storyline simply becase its one of those stories that just has so much going on and spans quite a number of years and happens in so many different locations involving so many different people, i"ll let wikipedia take care of that for me, again.

There is so much to get out of reading this book. In a way i feel that Peekay changed the world, even without meaning to. He had a goal, which never left the back of his mind. I feel that this story shows that anything is possible, even for the little guy. Being a petite lady, i find myself getting intimadated in certain situations, but I've been known to stand up for myself when the time calls for it. I love a story where the little guy wins! I knew this book had been made into a movie but I thought it was a more recent movie. it was released in 1992 which isnt ancient but yet again, i would happily watch the film adapatation of this book. Maybe because i didnt fully understand all the little details of the book. i understood the story just not the history.

SO the next book i have begun to read is "The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas" by John Boyne, recommended to me by my bookworm buddy who has her own readers bookclub, so i'll trust her judgment. AGAIN this book has been turned into a movie, not sure if i will watch this one though. Its a short read, hopefully will finish it by tonight. Its a nice recovery to the everest book, that was The Power of One.

here we go..

I think im like a lot of other people and start off the new year with the intention to live a healthier life style, so today (after a week of the new year) i dusted off my weights.. rumaged around for my pilates mat (which i couldnt find until after i finished my work out) and got to it.

Im trying to gain weight, tone up the jiggle & build stamina. I'm petite in size, 5" and weighing roughly 43 kgs, i'm TINY. i could stuff my face and not put on any weight and most people would kill to have a freakishly fast metabolism like mine, except i cant fill out a top or a pair of jeans to save my life. Dresses which are meant to be tight are loose on me so i look like a little girl trying to wear womens clothing, meaning, NOT CUTE! my baby face & little girl voice really dont help my cause at all. I dont have a specific goal weight to get to, i just dont want to be puffing when i walk up the hill to my front door. (my house is on the top of a hill, makes mowing the lawn a WORKOUT!)

So todays workout was mainly squats, ab work, arm work, leg work. I'll be alternating between excercises every 2nd day so i dont get bored with the same routine. Im considering getting some heavier weights so hopefully that means less reps which means a quicker more intence workout.

I'm also trying to eat healthier this year. i detoxed off sugar & caffiene last year for a good month and then slipped off the bad wagon quite a bit but for that month i felt awesome, i looked awesome, my skin was glowing! the party/ silly season meant lots of sugary drinks, fatty bbq food & heaps of sugary sweets & my skin is crying out for help! hopefully i'll be able to get back to a healthier lifestyle soon! xx

new years always call for a fresh start

been way too long since i posted, usual excuse of things eating up my time..

but a new year calls me to a new more aware, active, concious & energized way of thinking & being. 2009 felt like it zoomed by and i was left on the sidewalk as an observer. Lots of changes happened during this past year such as, moving house, new job for the hubs, my daughter starting preschool, me becoming an avon rep... but after all this change i feel like i havent really accomplished anything, which sounds awful because i dedicate a big chunk of my time & energy & existance into my family. Last years resolutions were all themed around ME.. start exercising, get back into reading, do things that im passionate about, spoil myself occasionally.. and i would give myself a 2.5 out of 4 as ive definatley gotten back into reading which i am very passionate about! i could probably count the times ive spoilt myself in the past year on one hand but thats ok.. exercising came and went but hopefully this year it will be a more consistant element in my everyday life.

i guess im hoping that 2010 is of better quality than last year. i dont want to achieve more i just want better. i want to make better choices, i want to spend my time and money in a wiser manner, i want the time i spend with my kids to be quality time, i want everyday to count, i want less crap & stress and more joy & peace.. i guess we will have to see how the year unfolds.

READING, as i said earlier, is my life. Books make me feel alive, awake, refreshed, a little wiser & fulfiled. Corny i know but they really do. Books give me more than a pair of shoes, a new outift, a good meal or an entertaining movie could every give me. Maybe its because books take more time to consume. i see buying books as an investment because chances are you'll be keeping it for the rest of your life if its a good one. i recently bought and read a book that i will be keeping for the rest of my life and it is...

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

holy moly, i could talk about this book all day & not have the words for it at the same time. The basic story is that of a man with a genetic disorder which makes him travel through time involutarily & the way that he and his wife meet & how their love & life story develop. Sounds out of this world and kinda crazy but i think most people will be able to relate to the challenges in relationships, separation from loved ones & lack of control you sometimes have with who you fall in love with. I love the characters in the story. I love the way the story was written & told. It normally takes me a while to read a book but i read this book in 2 days and its not a quick read. that says a lot.. as soon as i had finished the book i wanted to flip to the start & read it all over again. i just didnt want to put this book down but at the the same time i didnt want this book to end. i was 10 pages from the end and i put the book down because i knew the end was coming sooner than i wanted it too. I guess knowing whats to come is a part of time travelling and how it can be both a good thing & a bad thing.

I got so much out of this book. This book showed me how sometimes love hurts, a lot. it also showed me how love can withstand so many challenges. It taught me that loving is hard & challenging but worth every struggle. This book showed me the importance of really cherishing time together. If its meant to be, it will be. Patience pays off and sometimes waiting is all you can do in a situation.

I normally dont watch movies of novels that i have read but i MIGHT make an exception for this one.

on a lighter note, my youngest daughter turns 3 next month which is insane beyond any comprehension! i feel like i just gave birth to her last month.. a family holiday (minus the hubs unfortunatley) back to indonesia is coming in 5 short, quick weeks which is insane!! so im busy planning/preparing for that which is exciting yet exhausting at the same time. hopefully blog posts will occur more frequently xo