I (finally) got a library card!

I have been sick of trying to find new books (with no spare time) that I can read on the train on my way to work (and CandyCrush really won't keep anyone occupied for 2 hours of train-ing), so yesterday I thought to myself: "why not join the library?" So i did! YAY!
I have not been a member of a library since I was a child, so this was shiny and new to me! I borrowed my first (non study) book in over 10 years, and have been avidly reading ever since.

The first book borrowed

I know I'm an adult, and I really shouldn't be this excited about it... But shhhhhhh! I like that I can be excited over small things.
A few reasons why I love our library:

• I can borrow from any council library within our shire and still return the book to my closest library.
• They have an online selection of e-books that I can download to my e-reader! (for free!!!!)
• They set up a pop-up library at my train station once a week so that commuters can return any book they have borrowed, and they can also pick up a new book for their train ride! -Personally I think that part is AMAZING! 

My pretty little library

I have always had an issue with borrowing.. mostly because of my LOVE of owning books (book hoarder right here).. I love to look at my bookshelf and see all of the wonderful titles that I have read and loved and read again. But I decided that there is absolutely no way that I can continue to purchase all of the books I read. I simply can't afford it!!! It seems like the cheapest way I can still get a book fix without forking out.

I have decided that I will still buy the books that I have loved and cherished, such as the 3 that I have recently purchased for our holiday.. But I will get to those later! 

Do you prefer to borrow or buy books? 

Are you a member of your local library? Some of them have amazing things to offer if not! Definitely check them out - mine lets people borrow a tandem bike for the day! 

Things I'd like to do this year

I thought if I write down some things that I have been meaning to do this year, then I might actually do them!

Things I want to do this year:

• Go to Bali - I already have this one planned for September, but I thought I'd add this one to the list mainly because I'm super excited to be going, and because it is something I want to do this year! ;-P (starting the list off easy)
• A cleanse!
• Go to the snow - Trav and I have a mutual  love for the snow and snowboarding (even though he is much better than I am), last year we managed to go down to the Snowy Mountains (3 hours south of Canberra) twice, and had so much fun there together! But this year it is half way through the snow season already and we haven't yet been :-( We will hopefully be able to go before we go to Bali.
• Renovate the bathroom -  this one is SO necessary! The villa we live in was built in 1980, and when Travis bought it the entire house was in nearly original condition (kitchen, carpet, paint, bathroom). So last year we renovated the kitchen ourselves, and we have painted the entire house twice (Ughhhhh! Painting is probably my most hated house-reno job so far!), but the bathroom is the one that we haven't gotten around to yet. Hopefully we can get it done by November at least! I am so excited to have a new bathroom already! 
• Teach Radley to shake - Radley is a lovely pup, who is so cute and snuggly, but he is very easily distracted. I would love to be able to teach him a few new tricks to distract him when he sees Domino - like shake and roll over - because at the moment he is woeful! 
• Cook a grand vegan feast! - I have wanted to try my hand at making a fabulous vegan feast for a while now, but I am still not super confident with  my cooking abilities.. So a goal for this year is to cook an amazing array of dishes to serve to friends or family and show them how delicious vegan food can be! (Unfortunately most of them still think all I eat is salad)
• Buy a new oven - I've been oven-less for over a month now... enough said :-( 
• Do a creative writing course - I love writing, I went to uni to become a writer, an editor, or a publisher, but became too scared of showing people my own work, and dropped out of the course. I'm not sure why, but I have always hated to show other people my own words... so I guess having a blog is a remedy of sorts. Now I think that I am finally comfortable enough to actually submit something, so I will give it a go! I will post more about the course once it starts...
• Finish all of the books on my "to read" list! Unless you couldn't tell by the ridiculous list above, I am a procrastinator from waaaaaaayyy back! I have trouble finishing things once i start them... (hence the list) and sometimes there are books that you may not be 100% enthusiastic about from the beginning, and those are the ones I have the most trouble finishing... Although I am proud to say that this year I finally finished Wuthering Heights, which I had notoriously picked up and put back down over 30 times before I finally did finish it....... needless to say I was devastated with the result....

If I think of anything else that I really should get done this year I'll make sure to add them, and I will cross things off as I finish them! 

Check out my Instagram, Pinterest and Goodreads for more! 

Another weekend gone..

I've always scoffed at people suffering on my social media from "Monday-itis", but lately I have been sighing and shuffling and generally moaning about having to go back to work on Monday.
I'm not sure why - maybe commuting, getting up early, being bored - but it is definitely getting me out of sorts.
It is funny though, because I don't hate my job, I generally don't mind public transport (though if my train is over 5 minutes late - that's when my inner Hulk emerges), and I enjoy having a schedule that I must follow every day as it keeps me organised and accountable.

I think my issue is that after I have been home all weekend with the dogs and Travis, and getting a chance to walk around in my "comfy clothes" with no make-up on - I miss being home. I love the idea of a day spent snuggling on the lounge in my happy pants and over-large t-shirt, with a series of whichever show I am addicted to at the time on and eating as much as I want. I LOVE those days. They're my absolute favourite! But I know that if I did that every day I would become fat, and severely deficient in vitamin D :-P ..But it is nice to think about those days, and hope that your weekend can include one of those days.. sometimes it can help me to get through the week!
But this is where I think the issue lies.. I look forward to those days relaxing so much that I am disappointed if I don't get to have one of those days on the weekend, and I end up depressed on the Monday, wishing I could have had just one more day to do NOTHING! Selfish? I think so. Lazy? Definitely!
I know that all of you have had a Monday back at work and wished that you could have had that one more day to sleep in, have a scrummy breakfast, then do nothing!

So.. back to the main topic! The weekend!
We had a productive Saturday: cleaning, bought a new vacuum (finally - we had needed to replace our haunted vac for ages!), washed the smelly puppies and then went out for dinner and drinks with friends.

Sunday I attempted to get washing done - and failed. Mostly because I was too busy catching up on Game of Thrones, and because I REALLY didn't want to do anything! :-P
...I finally finished season 3 of Game of Thrones at least! I think it helped to be in my comfy clothes for those final episodes.. I had a few moments of tear-induced hiccups, and I may have sobbed a few times (but it's ok because I was home alone).
I am kind of outraged that they ended the season half-way through the book! It frustrates me having to wait to see how they will create a few key moments in the book.
Have you read any of the series? You can see where I am up to on my Goodreads page. If you've watched season three, I am sure I'm not alone in my grief!

I think it is time for me to do more interesting things on the weekend. Travis mentioned my boring-ness, and doesn't know how I can stand to do what I do when I have nothing else to occupy my time (other than things that don't exactly excite me). Oh well. I think that is when the "each to their own" motto comes in handy. :-P
I am sure there are some amazing things to get up to in Sydney every weekend, and every week I plan to do something fabulous, but I lose the energy to do it as soon as Saturday rolls around, so maybe I need to set myself a weekly plan to do something fab every weekend!
Hmm.. that has me thinking! A new goal perhaps?


Don't forget to check out my Instagram and Pinterest for more!

What I'm reading at the moment

There hasn't been a time since childhood when I haven't been reading a book (or three). I have a stack of at least 5 books next to my bed (even though I generally don't read in bed I just realised.. hmm), and I have around 200 books on my digital reader I am attempting to work my way through (mostly the free classics that are complementary with the device).
I find it comforting to know that I have something to read when I am on the train, or relaxing at home. Which obviously leads to panic and depression when I have finished all of the books I was reading, and am left desolate and bookless until I can find something new (or old) to fill the void.

At the moment I am in the middle of the George R.R. Martin series A Song of Ice and Fire (who isn't?) and I am currently up to book four A Feast for Crows.



My slightly worn out copy of A Game of Thrones

For those that have never heard of A Song of Ice and Fire, or watched the HBO series Game of Thrones (where have you been?), it is a fantasy series set in the fictional land of Westeros, which focuses primarily on the fight for the coveted Iron Throne of Westeros, and indirectly on the lives of the Starks of Winterfell.
So it is basically told in lots of different voices of characters throughout the series, and each book changes narrators as George R.R. Martin picks and chooses who he will unceremoniously slaughter, much to your joy or dismay.

I won't give out any spoilers, because I have no interest in making enemies at this stage, but I will say that everyone I know that has read, or watched this series has become captivated, no matter if they are fans of the fantasy genre or not (generally I am not), so I encourage everyone to give it a read/watch.
...even though I can't get my very open minded boyfriend to watch it..(though I have a feeling that may be because I have already ruined it for him by gasping in horror and shock at every turn of the page.. and by telling him everything that has happened).

Generally as I read something modern, I will be tackling a classic at the same time so that I can give my brain a little respite. At the moment that classic is the Shakespearean "comedy" All's Well That Ends Well. It isn't much of an epic, and it is relatively light, though I still like to read Shakespeare in small doses, otherwise I find that I start thinking in iambic pentameter.

If you'd like to see more of what I'm reading right now, and what I've read recently, take a look at my Goodreads page!

If you're a fan of Game of Thrones, or just looking for a giggle, don't forget to check out my Pinterest  page.