The Happiness Project - Week 12

Did you hear my fantastic, 

incredible,

wonderful,

terrific

news?

I'm an aunt!!!!

My brother and his wife

had a lovely baby girl.

What's incredible

is my baby brother is now a dad.

He even likes 

those cheesy Facebook pics

about daughters. 

You know the ones.

The ones we like and even

share.

But I never thought my brother

would be one of those.

It's fabulous.

And so is she.

I can't wait to meet her.

Happiness is being a new aunt.

Writer's Workshop - 6 Things

List 6 random facts about yourself.

I'm not exactly sure why I chose this prompt.

I'm not sure I can think of 6 random things

that you don't already know about.

Most of this blog is about

my random thoughts.

But....

here are some things you may 

not already know about me.

1) I'm growing my hair.

Scott hates it.

But I'm enjoying the long hair.

Not sure how long I'll keep at it. 

2) I sing and dance in class.

3) I can't carry a tune....

....or dance.

4) I'm double-jointed.

5) I use to bite my nails.

I still bite my nails.

6) I have a BA in history and sociology.

Real exciting.

I almost got a second degree in English Literacture,

but I dropped British Lit

3 times. 

Because I cannot handle

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales!

The Happiness Project - Week 11

Scott and I celebrated our

15th wedding anniversary.

Yup!

Fifteen years!

Can you beleive it?

And what better way to celebrate

than a fabulous dinner out.

A celebration needs wine

We kinda went overboard.

Starters...

Haloumi and Tahini

And if that wasn't going to fill us up

there was still dinner on it's way.

Scott got the salmon and prawn pasta

Salmon platter for me

After dinner,

the wine began to kick in

so I needed a latte.

And who has a latte without

dessert?

(Not me, that's who)

Creme brulee and a latte

Happiness is a fabulous anniversary

dinner.

The Happiness Project - Week 10

There's a picture

at my parents' place,

of me when I was younger,

giving my mum a gift.

She's unwrapping a tube of lipstick

I'd given her.

I say given

because I didn't buy it.

I remember,

for years,

whenever my parents' had a birthday,

or Mother's Day,

or Father's Day,

I would go around the house

and wrap things

that already belonged to my parents

and re-gift it!

This weekend

was Mother's Day.

And Ethan reminded me

alot of myself.

He woke me up Sunday morning,

asking me what I would like for breakfast.

He then realised,

with no Scott, 

I would have to make my own

breakfast.

So he left me to sleep

and wandered off.

He came back a few minutes later

with my breakfast.

Blueberry muffin

I got a coupon book as well.

I got a coupon for a hug and a kiss.
I thought those were for free.
Guess not anymore!

And just like his mommy,

Ethan found a gift he knew I'd love.

He picked a flower

from the vase of flowers

on the dining room table.

Happiness is having your 6 year old

plan a Mother's Day

all on his own.

Dead Ever After - Charlaine Harris

Well....

it's an end of an era.

The Sookie Stackhouse era.

And honestly,

I'm a little confused.

I've loved my Sookie Stackhouse

books. 

Or rather, 

I loved the first few books.

Then,

on top of the vampires,

werewolves,

shapeshifters,

came the 

fae,

demons,

and witches.

It became a little too much.

And Sookie stopped being a strong character.

Yes in each book

someone was trying to kill her,

or someone she loved.

You'd think with all this

she would be a strong force.

Yet, she still depends on others to help her out.

Dead Ever After

brings back many characters

from past series.

It was nice to see where they are now.

However,

there was nothing too exciting here.

People conspired to kill her

(old news).

Eric needed to choose between

Sookie or the Queen of Oklahoma

(nothing new).

Bill.... well he was still brooding.

Sam... was as hot as ever.

It ended peacefully.

Nothing too shocking.

Nothing too unexpected.

Did we think there would be a big bang?

Maybe.

But you don't get one.

And maybe that's what she wanted

A happily/dead ever after.

Wordless Wednesday

I've been loving

watching Ethan

at Saturday Soccer.

He's becoming less scared of the ball,

 skipping less

(yes, he still skips),

and even practices.

The Happiness Project - Week 9

When I lived in Dar,

I worked with various organizations

and charities.

I loved it.

I haven't really been involved in

Lusaka.

Not sure why. 

My friends,

Joy and Ken,

arrived in Lusaka at the same time as I did.

One day, 

they were driving their housekeeper home

and were shocked

to learn 

that the children they saw playing in the streets

were playing because they did not go to school.

So they started

RHO Appleseed.

Friday, 

after school,

I was shattered.

I just wanted to go home

and curl into bed.

But my photography class 

was going to Appleseed 

to practice taking pictures.

Aren't they precious?

Friday evening,

there was a fundraiser

for Appleseed at the school.

It was a concert

featuring the school choir

and the Appleseed choir.

It was fabulous. 

Happiness is feeling

inspired.

Just One Day - Gayle Forman

I began this book,

a little nervous.

I was not a fan of

Gayle Forman's 

If I Stay

but did enjoy 

Where She Went.

I was not sure what to expect with

Just One Day.

Allyson Healey

is a good girl.

She studies hard and

earned good grades.

For graduation,

her parents send her on

a European tour.

Along with her best friend,

Melanie,

they see the sights of Europe.

Each evening,

the students on the tour

hit a local bar/pub.

But not Allyson.

She's a good girl. 

She goes back to her hotel

and watches a movie.

On the last night of their trip

they are in a queue to watch

a production of Hamlet,

when a boy hands her a flyer

for another Shakespeare play.

Allyson has never been impulsive,

But something overcomes her

and she convinces Melanie to

blow Hamlet for this other performance.

Allyson is mesmerised

by this boy, Willem.

The following day,

Melanie and Allyson head back to London.

On the train,

they meet Willem

who is going back home to Holland.

Allyson mentions they had to cancel

the Paris portion of their trip

(due to a strike)

and Willem convinces her to 

change her plans and spend the day in Paris.

I loved these scenes. 

Paris came alive.

I revisited my trip there.

Allyson and Willem spend the day

and night together.

In the morning,

Allyson awakes.

Alone.

The rest of the book

is her change.

Her coming of age story.

I thought it would be about her

moping over this guy.

But it's more than that.

Willem called her Lulu.

He never knew her name.

And now Allyson is unsure of who she is.

Is she Allyson?

But where's Lulu?

The book goes through the effects

of this one day

on Allyson.

How her relationships with her parents

and Melanie have changed.

How she's become scared to get close 

to her roommates and classmates.

She spends a year

trying to find herself

before deciding to go back to Paris

to find the answers.

And perhaps

even Willem.

Prodigy (Legend #2) - Marie Lu

I really enjoyed Legend

last year.

I recall the different fonts,

which was confusing at first,

but was great to then have

the different perspectives.

Prodigy is the same.

Day and June's story continues

and in each chapter

you see one of their POV.

In Prodigy

Day and June 

have joined the Patriots

and their plan to assassinate 

the new Elector.

Part of the plan is for June to get close

to the new Elector. 

But when she does

she begins to question the motive

behind his assassination

and wants it stopped.

Day must deal with trust.

Can he trust the Patriots?

June?

Tess?

And what about the Elector?

Can he be trusted?

We learn more about the Republic,

Patriots and the Colonies

in this book. 

We learn a little of what

happened to the United States.

And we learn,

along with Day,

that the grass is not always greener on the other side.