BEDA Day 2... BUT WHERE IS DAY 1???

So it turns out my iPhone application played an April fools joke on me and decided not to post my last minute blog for the first day of BEDA*. I'm going to make a profile for myself on the ning, and link it to this, and this to that (i hope that didn't sound too confusing.... :S)

So, um, yesterday was the first day of April. And consequently April fools day... and also the first day of the inaugural BEDA, which might possibly become an annual online event. No pranks yesterday, to my utter relief. April 1 is also, as I only remembered at about 10pm last night, my dog Bailey's 2nd birthday. So supposedly now she has entered doggy adultdom. She still acts like a puppy though. I don't think she'll grow out of it too soon either.

Here's a picture of her in her far-less-annoying sleeping state.

So yeah. Today is the second day of April. And I've committed to this blogging every day thing, now. So, I guess that means i'll have to blog every day. For a month. BUT WHAT WILL I BLOG ABOUT????? I still don't know. Have a few ideas, but still don't know. Will commence coherency in blog form TOMORROW.

...Promise... :)

So... There you go. It's short, but it's a blog. Can't wait to read all your blogs too.

*Blog Every Day in April.

Just so you know...

...There is a genuine reason behind my lack of posting - my laptop blue-screened [Translation - the screen went blue and then the system spontaneously shut down] apparently as a result of over-heating *sadface*. My brother managed to get it working again last night, but after about half an hour it blue-screened again *double sadface*. At least I know it's not a motherboard problem, so my files are all salvageable *happyface*.
Anyway, whinging aside, I'm just here to point out that as my reason for not blogging is highly valid i.e. not laziness or forgetfulness, there will be no punishment week 1) because punishment weeks are to punish laziness and forgetfulness, and reinforce the development of habitually posting and 2) because I don't have guaranteed daily access to a computer - I feel that in itself is punishment enough.

Just so you all know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.

Also, check out the Radio Times cover Frances made for me:
The image was taken from my dailybooth account (which, btw, if you don't have an account yet GET ONE!! you're missing out on all the fun) I mentioned on twitter that I wanted a red nose, and she made me one! :D (thanks again Frances!!)




I think that's about all I have to say for now. Until next time (i.e. when my computer gets fixed)

Chow for now!! :P

Review: The Book Thief

So I finished The Book Thief today, which was much earlier than I had calculated. When I started reading, my pace was really slow, so I thought this would be a book that would last me around 3 weeks. But here I am a week and a half after buying it, completely finished. I got a lot faster once I got into Markus' writing style (which is fantastic, by the way). I'm really glad I read this. It's good to see that yet again, John Green and his loyal nerdfighters know how to pick a good book. 

Now I shall synopsise. Basically, it follows the story of a young girl during WWII Nazi Germany, living with her foster parents, when they offer to hide a jew in their basement. I'm not going to say anymore, for fear of spoiling it, because I hate having things spoiled for me. It makes me really angry when people tell me the ending of something before I've read it. This is why I usually don't include a synopsis with my reviews, and when I do I keep it to a bare minimum. Also, I'm kind of crap at picking out points to include in a synopsis, so it's also a good avoidence tactic. Just FYI. But yeah, speaking of spoiling things, part of the reason I found it a little difficult to adjust to Markus' writing style was because he would forward parts of the plot from later in earlier parts. The narrator was spoiling the story. This felt kind of unnatural, like when you take a peep at a later page. I felt almost naughty, as though I shouldn't know those things just yet... but then the narrator was offering them to me... I wasn't actually cheating, although it felt like it... a bit.

Seriously, though, I can see why this book has been so critically acclaimed. It was truly amazing. It captured exactly how that war era must have been for the german citizens. It's funny, because I never realised that we really don't hear much of their story. We hear about the jews in concentration camps run by evil Nazi officers, both survivors and victims. We hear Hitler demonised, but we don't hear much about the actual citizens who lived in the country over which he reigned. I think many of us assume that all germans approved of Hitler's values, and his actions as political leader; I know at least I didn't stop to think that there mught have been some who were opposed. It was truly fascinating. 

This one definitely gets 5 stars. 100% brilliant. I'd recommend it to anybody and everybody. Markus Zusak is bloody amazing, and I will definitely be on the lookout for his other books. 

The next book on my list is a romantic novel. Not a trashy bodice ripper with Fabio on the cover (I avoid those at all costs). It's Once In A Lifetime by Cathy Kelly, an Irish author, and it's her new book. I might see this Friday if I can get to Brisbane City Hall to meet her and get my book signed by her. I've already read 2 of her other books (Just Between Us and Always And Forever) and I quite like her. This one is labelled as "her best book yet" by Marian Keyes, so I'm kind of looking forward to it. Will post a review when I'm done, as always, so that's something to look forward to I guess (it'll give me something to blog about in any case)

Hope you're all well

Till Thursday (which is probably Wednesday for most of you :P)

<3

lol

This made me laugh:

It's the first time ever that someone I know over the age of twenty-five has sent message to me that is those three letters in its entirety. This quite literally made me lol. :P

Just thought I would share. Love you Frances <3>

Punishment Week 3 - Day 7

So if you haven't yet, read the previous post now. Then come back and read this one. KK

Today's OMW was a good one: Pretend you are painting your self portrait. Describe it.

Here is my answer:

The lighting is dim... My face is in half-shadow. The colours are weak as well. My eyes are full of distraction. not attentive to the artist or the viewer... completely focused on something else.

Aaaaaand here are the 2 ATC's I promised. 

I must have taken this shot about ten times to get both the lighting and the focus right. All the others were either blurry or yellow from my bedroom light. This one still isn't perfect but it was the best of the worst... kind of thing...

Oh, and I should be finished The Book Thief by tomorrow, so I'll post about that for my OE3D post...

Guess I'll be seein' ya tomorrow, like.

Byeeee

Punishment Week 3 - Day 6

So... Ignore the tag that tells you the date and time of this entry... it's probably wrong. It is now Sunday, 7:25pm and I am only just sitting down to do this. I'm not going to explain the tardiness of this entry, nor will I punish myself. Let's just say I've been punished enough this week, and leave it at that. 

Righto. Down to Business

OMW entry: Topic is "Loveys" - a child's comfort item like a blanket or teddy bear. If you still had a lovey now, what would it be?

Here is my response:

A book. A world that i can sink into and surround myself in when i have nowhere else to go, and need an escape. A refuge from the constant demands of today's society. 

**ps. my capchacode is "clean"... is it trying to tell me something?

And as for ATC's, I'm going to take a photo of both Saturday's and Sunday's cards together, and post them in the Sunday Punishment post. It'll be up real soon.

Kbai

Punishment Week 3 - Day 5

So lets get straight down to business.

Now, those of us familiar with OMW will be well aware that today is Fiction Friday. The chosen topic was to write a pivotal moment in a 

child's life from the child's P-O-V. Here is what I wrote:

Mummy called me over to the bed. She patted her quilt and beckoned me to take a seat. I did.
"What is it, Mummy?"
There was something sad in her eyes. I didn't know why.
Then she said it.
"You're adopted, sweetie. I'm not your real mummy"

I think the whole OMW thing is helping with my typing speed. I usually want to say more than I 

can type in that minute. 

Onto the second matter of today: ATC. 

I must confess: Today's ATC was a little rushed (hense the simplicity) but I guess that is the beauty of the ATC. You can make one in what little time you have.

that's all for now :) I promise tomorrow will be better.

By the way, sorry if this doesn't turn out well when I publish... I hit something without meaning to, and it made the font size huge, and when I tried changing the font size back it wouldn't change the line height. And I couldn't undo to get back to it because it autosaved on me... just at the wrong second. >:@ angry panda

Goodnight.

*never mind... apparently it worked after all...

Shave for a Cure and other fun things

SO there were plenty of amusing things that happened today. First of all, my brother had his hair shaved off. Not just for the thrill, though. The main purpose of the exercise was to raise funds for leukaemia research and patient care, etc. He has nearly reached his $1000 goal, too, which is a huge effort, so YAY. I got footage of the shave in action... which I am still yet to finish editing and uploading, but hey. As we procrastinators say: that's what TOMORROW is for :P. 

Secondly, my dad got home from work today. He hasn't been home for a few weeks since he's been up in Mackay and Gladstone and such places installing 3G technologies for rural areas. It's so good to have him home. He missed the birthdays of both my older sisters (their birthdays are 5 days apart) so we're all going out on Sunday for lunch. So looking forward to that tonne of fun. I know that might sound sarcastic, but I really mean it. It's really good to have him home though, even if only for a couple of days. 

Thirdly, I went to United (my youth group). I got to see my awesome friends there for the second time this week, so that was pretty cool. 

Also, I'm pretty much exactly half way through The Book Thief. It. Is. AWESOME. (just in case you weren't already aware).

That is probably not all that I had to say for today, but it's all I can think of for now. 

I still have another post to put up, so I'm gonna finish this off here.

And oh yeah, I got a LJ account. So, if you're on LJ you can be my friend here.

That's it now. I think. I'm gonna leave it there.

Punishment Week 3 - Day 4 - Part 2

So here is the other half of today's post, as promised.

The topic today was really interesting: Pendulum. In what area do you tend to swing from one extreme to the other and back again?

Here is my response:

Career choice... i'm at that tricky time where i have absolutely no idea what i want to do, but i'll say i do, to keep others from questioning... and the next day i'll have changed my mind again... One area where i fear i will never settle...

I think I might be getting a little better at this...

Ok, so 2 posts promised for tomorrow... 1 Punishment post, and One OE3D post. 

Until tomorrow...

Punishment Week 3 - Day 4 - Part 1

Ok, so I've explained in yesterday's blog post that I won't be doing my OMW post until after I get home from work later tonight, but for now, have my ATC:

Sorry it's a little blurry, but you get the idea. The orange strips were left over from yesterdays ATC. So instead of weaving this one, I decided to just stick it onto the yellow card, and stitch the black parts. I kind of like the embroidered effect on the cards. I think this effect is sure to recur a fair bit in future ATC's. I hope you guys like it as much as I do.

Ok, that's all for now.