Jane Green - Jemima J

Just finished reading Jane Green's 'Jemima J' and it was bloody fabulous. I laughed, I cried and I laughed until I cried. Never has a chick lit book tickled me in such a way. You automatically fall in love with all the characters. There's a bit of Jemima in all of us, Geraldine is the woman we all want to be and Ben is our ultimate fantasy. Lauren is the light in the fog that helps you to find your way when you feel lost and alone, a friend we all need to have close by and never give up on. Sophie and Lisa are the girls that think they've made it and they couldn't be farther from it. As for Brad, he was clearly too good to be true and that was proved. As to his fetish - one that many men have - it was clearly to be. In such a superficial world where thin is the average, its no wonder he craved the more supreme curvacious figure.
Never has there been a more inspirational character as JJ (she's up there with Louise Canova from Elegance). She proves that with the right motivation you can achieve you highest dreams and expectations, but as with anything they may not be all they cracked up to be. Through the ups and downs, Jemima finds herself, friends, lessons learnt and the love of her life. It really makes you wish you were as together as she was in the end. As they say, its not the destination its the journey, and here that couldn't be more apt.
Find it, read it and Love it like your fave shoes. Keep reading babes!
XxxxXXXXx

Yay, Its Friday!

'Tis Done! Another week hath passed me by!
That fabulous time of the week has again reared its beautiful head. I week filled with late shifts and university lectures, workshops and practical reports. has come to a most blissful end. Haven't got the empty weekend ahead of me like I did last weekend, instead this is filled with saturday night shift and a sunday shift. But its not all bad. I've completed all university assignments so I can rest easy. Only got a bit of reading and notemaking to do. Rest of the wonderful, though rather chilly weekend will be filled with works of Stephen King, cheery films and a good bit of writing. Might even see that boyfriend of mine on Sunday night before I get some beauty sleep ready for Monday's lecture on evolution, genetics and behaviour. What Fun!
Well I hope y'all have a good weekend and take advantage of the rest it provides (for some anyway!) after what has probably been a hard and/or tedious week.
Luv Y'all XxxXxxX
PS - to cheer you up and help you relax on this cold and blustery English winter day, here is a picture of one of my favorite places on earth under a nice dusting of the white stuff! Hastings, Sussex, UK.

Bit of a spree!

Well today was quite a good and bad thing. Went on a little shopping spreee which I cant really afford but thought I deserved. Which I So Do! So what did I get? Well I got two beaded vest tops (nice long ones that actually reach the waistband of my jeans instead of stopping 10cm away!) in a really nice but not OTT Red and a nice subtle cream. I got a couple of back slit off-the-shoulder sweatshirt type tops - one in grey-marl and another in black. Three really nice bra and pantie sets - one is naked color with black frilly trim, a burgandy one with embroidered hearts on and a white one of the same style. I also got a red lumberjack shirt which is going to be my fave item to be seen in. A pink satin robe with black polka dot trim, a cricket-style cable-knit sweater vest and a nautical red and white bikini for the summer. Lets hope I dont get too fat before then! Along with my swag bag of clothes, I did pick up 14 books - some following a bit of a nautical theme:-

• Mayflower - The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, 1620
• Lusitania - David Butler
• Back Roads - Tawni O'Dell
• Underground - Tobias Hill
• Gump and Co - Winston Groom
• The Murder of Tutankhamen - Bob Brier
• Mistress of the House - Rosemary Baird
• The American Boy - Andrew Taylor
• Close Range: Brokeback Mountain and Other Stories - Annie Proulx
• RMS Titanic: A Portrait in Old Picture Postcards - Mark Bown and Roger Simmons
• Titanic Survivor: The Memoirs of Violet Jessop, Stewardess - Ed. John Maxtone-Graham
• The Bitch Goddess Notebook - Martha O'Connor
• The Little Friend - Donna Tartt
• The Titanic Disaster: As reported in the British National Press, April-July 1912 - Dave Bryceson

So quite a haul all-in-all. Cant wait to read the Brokeback Mountain story so that I can then go and see the film - Love Jake Gyllenhaal!

Hope you are all spending lots of money like me! Luv Ya XXxxXx

'Bag of Bones' by Stephen King (A Bloody Good Read!)

I've literally just finished one of the best books I have read, probably, Ever! I bought 'Bag of Bones' by Stephen King back in November and have been meaning to read it for quite a while. Finally I picked it off the shelf (it was on top of a stack of other Kings) on Thursday night and began reading. Within a few chapters I was hooked. Now on Monday I've read the entire book - all 736 pages. I have to admit that I did spend almost the entire weekend in bed with the book, only getting up to make some food and refill my mug of tea. It was a brilliant weekend - theres nothing like being curled up under a duvet in bed in pyjamas for the entire weekend with just a really good book and a nice cup of tea.
The book I cannot praise enough. Ive only previously read a couple of King's books - Christine and From a Buick 8 - but I do own a good two-thirds of the books he has ever written. The lead - Mike Noonan - is an unlikely heart throb but you really do fall for him after a while, especially when you see him when he's around Kyra. He's easily relatable to both sexes and especially so if you are a writer - or a pseudo-writer like myself.
Set in beautiful lake-front Maine at the height of summer (mostly) with an array of weird and colorful small-town characters conveying a sometimes heart-wrenchingly sad and romantic plot, that also scares you witless at times and makes you think about an array of things - mortality and history especially.
The book just pulls you in and you cannot put it down until everything has been laid out on the table. It is certainly true that you can learn everything you need to know about writing by reading. I would recommend this book to everyone, even those who arent usually King fans, as this really shows what he's capable of - staying true to previous stuff but putting it under a different microscope. Lets hope the Tampa Tribune-Times is right and it does become a 'classic of its type'. Can't wait to pick up another of his works! I recommend y'all hurry to Waterstones now and grab yourself a copy. Now!
XxXxxX

ps - Got to mention that one of my Babes, L, has just finished 'The Aggressor' by Andy McNab and he totally loved it!
Y'all might want to pick this up too next time youre at the bookstore! XxxxxX

Another Week is Done!

As most of the Uk were on half-tern this week, I felt kind of left out as I only went back to uni last week! Still I made the most of it and struggled on in my mundane life! Valentines Day was a bust - I didn't recieve one card though my friend Lauren did buy me chocolates! I treated her too. Natalie turned 19 on that day too, so we celebrated last friday. Quite enjoyable to let my hair down! Took the Bike out today and its so nice to have the wind in my hair and exhaust fumes in my helmet back again. Feel sorry for her as she's just been sitting in the back yard for a while. I think she enjoyed our time back on the road as much as I did. Although I really should stop talking to myself in my skid lid, I do look a bit nuts! Ah, the weekend is upon us and I hope to do quite a bit of writing this weekend as well as diving back into the new Matthew Reilly book - something I'm limiting myself to considering its new out and Im almost half way through. Its going to be a long wait for the next one otherwise! Breaking up this with Stephen King's Bag of Bones which Im totally loving - I'm glad I dont have writers block as much as Mike Noonan in the book!
Well I better write that Psych report now so I dont forget and can spend the rest of my time either with a pen or a book in my hand! No work til Thursday which is good and bad, but nevermind. Hope you all had a good Valentines Day and Enjoy youre weekend!
To cheer you up, here is a picture of my dog dressed in a fur gilet! Quite amusing, and yes, I do know I have too much time on my hands!
XxXxXxx

First Week of the New Semester Over! Thank Fuck for That!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, its Friday afternoon and I can relax, well for a little while at least before I go to work. The first week of the first semester is over and what a week it was. Possibly the most jarring week of my life! Thursday is now going to be referred to Pain Day. Why? I hear you ask. It is because at 10am I have to be sitting in a Criminal Justice Lecture where the lecturer dresses like Jeremy Clarkson and talks like (even with the hand gestures and pauses) Tony Blair. He doesnt seem like a bad guy but the class sucks major ass. It doesnt really interest me and the text book I had to buy for this class weighs a ton and cost it too! I then have a three hour gap which is mostly spent going to-and-fro on the London Transport System. Then I have the most painful class I have ever encountered - three fucking hours of a bald middle-aged man spouting on about some shit that means we dont actually 'know' anything. Philosophy, roughly translated as more boring than magnolia paintwork! It was so terrible, I felt almost physical pain! I tell you, thats a class I wont rush to attend again in a hurry. I dont feel I actually learnt anything and I'm not very good at thinking outside the box like I thought! Ah well, know next time to take some music and thread my headphones up my jumper and under my hair.
There has been a few upsides to these classes though. My lecturer this morning was totally mad and kept going on about how on a friday we should treat ourselves to either good sex or good food for taking it all in, and we should go binge drinking and taking crack cocaine otherwise we will forget it! Mad Mad Mad Man! At least I know Im going to be awake in his lectures! Also in my CJS class there is this rather cute Australian and in philosophy theres a guy with a white boy afro thats kinda hot! This morning though it got even better. I just got on the underground at Whitechapel and this guy got on and starting chatting to me. Mostly about the psych stuff I had filling my arms and he just asked if I wanted to go for a drink sometime! Ive still got the charm!!!!!
Thank got its Friday. No more uni til monday! Yay! Working the late tonight, got tomorrow off but gotta work Sunday. Its not too bad as after work on Sunday we are all going out for a meal and drinks as one of us is leaving. Sad but True! Probably still see her though as she works well near my uni.
Enjoy your weekends people!! XxxxxxX

Yahoo Avatars

My sister has been faffing around with these for ages and while bored yesturday I created my own. Dont know if it looks like me, but its not a complete mismatch. What do you lot think? Xxx

Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser

Finally finished 'Fast Food Nation' last night and I have to say that it was a great, insightful book. I was shocked at some of the statistics he gave and accounts of what actually makes up what goes into food that alot of us eat daily. It was also nice to get a little of the history behind some of these huge global companies. I'm no angel, I have a sneaky Whopper meal or the occasional Big Mac but I doubt I'll be having them too often now! A great book that I would recommend to anyone with an inquisitive mind. A great accompaniment also to 'Super Size Me', the documentary film made by Morgan Spurlock - which is also fabulous!
XXXxxX

Spring Semester Starts Today!

Back to Uni today for the start of spring semester. This semester I'm taking Psychological research methods, biological bases of psychology, intro to philosophy and critical theory of literature. This mornings lecture (bio bases) was as a lecture always is - boring! Theres nothing like spending 2 hours sitting at a desk in a lecture theatre with a numb ass and craving lunch. No matter what they teach I still end up almost nodding off! I'm sure i'm not the only one, as there is usually alot of startled people when the lecturer, to gain your attention, attempts a really bad joke! At least I can sit back and relax til I have to return on Thursday for Philosophy - well, not quite, as I've got to work the late tonight! As per usual I'm doing everything but reading the 20 or so pages of my psych text book from todays lecture, so like last semester, the week before the exam I will have my nose stuck in the book trying to catch up. I know this isnt the way to do things, and Im older now and should know better than to put it off to the last minute, but a leopard cannot change its spots so to speak!
The journey to Uni today was nothing spectacular and the usual confusion of the underground was in place. I queued for 15 minutes to buy a ticket, and every wanker in christendom was ahead of me with varying long-winded queries and obtuse ticket requests. That survived I took my place among the throng of city workers and other student-looking people like myself, along the platform in the freezing British weather. The train, for once, was ontime throughout its journey and I arrived at Charing Cross at the stated time in the timetable. Miracles do happen! This all went tits up when I hit the underground station at Embankment where I discovered that the circle line had severe delays due to failed signalling at Farringdon! Bloody brilliant! I've got half an hour to get to Aldgate station and walk to uni - which I find to be ample time for me to get there, smoke a cigarette with the other fag bags on the steps outside and locate thelecture theatre where I'm to spend the next 2 hours of my life bored to near death.
As you can tell, it was a relatively good day. Now i'm just killing time before I go to work where the general public will piss me off with innane questions about chocolate that they could easily find the answer to if they opened their bloody eyes! The most annoying thing is when people barge into the shop and ask for directions to another store. After rolling my eyes, I tell them I do not know and they should ask at the concierge desk directly above or look at the map directly outside the store! The laziness of people still astounds me - even my own at times!
To cheer you - and me - up, here is a picture of my dog! (Totally unrelated but provides a little escapism from the sheer pain-in-the-arse that is life!) And no, you are not hallucinating. That is my corgi-daschund cross lazing in a dolls bed, sleeping (its what he does best!)
Hope anyone who actually bothers to read my ranting here has a good day and if you didnt, join the club!
XXXxxx

Vogue!

Vogue arrived yesturday morning, Yay! Spent all day yesturday reading it, and by the end of the day I'd only got half way through and I skipped a few articles! Shouldnt read it all in one go anyway otherwise I'll have nothing to read for the next month while i'm waiting for the next issue! Kate made the cover (a really hot pink background - love it!), which I think is a brave choice made by Shulman considering Kate's recent messiness, but I suppose we can't just turn our backs on her. This cover was her 21st Vogue Uk cover which is quite a feat! While flipping through I noticed just how many ads Kate is doing, so even though a few were pulled because of the cocaine, she still seems to be a safe bet. The problem I see though is that by still putting her on the cover etc, is that we are accepting her habit and this could make younger people see cocaine as an acceptable thing to do. Its sooooo not! I cant believe how blase England is being over this important thing. But hey, whatever! At least we arent just ignoring it! Get Clean Kate!
The March Issue was its standard thickness packed full of glossy ads for all the best designers. Well known faces showcase the summer's hottest clothes. Love the Hugo Boss ad - very grown up, still dont know who the model is though! Halle Berry for Versace and Nicole Richie for Jimmy Choo. I dont know this is true but at one point I heard that there would be Lindsey Lohan for Chanel. Must find out if that is true! Still loving Daria for Chanel though.
Trinny and Susannah wear some really nice outfits for their article and Donatella Versace looks every bit the glamour puss that she is in the article profiling her!
Like they do every year the March issue also brought the brief for this years Vogue Young Talent Contest. Last year I didnt manage to finish my article as I kept redoing it and changing my focus, and sometimes after research, my viewpoint! Not sure what Im going to write about this year, but I really must get it in by the deadline of April 13th.
New York Fashion week started today with Kenneth Cole at 9am and closing tonight with Baby Phat at 9pm. Looking forward to seeing whats hot for us fabulous ladies this winter! Though I cant wait for summer at the moment as its so bloody cold here in England. It must be the only time ever that Scotland has higher temperatures than London!
XxxxX