Have you ever wanted to write a book?

I wonder how many of you always wanted to write a book?    I've always loved to write, whether it was updating my diary when I was in my teens or writing to penpals all over the world.    Blurb.com has brought a whole new dimension of possibilities to my writing.   Since September 2009, I have had four books created with them.  They are a 'self-publishing' online company and the way they work is they provide you with basic templates (for anything from photo books to wedding books, even facebook & blog books!) - you have full control of creative content and they just publish it for you.  

Here are the following great benefits of designing a book with blurb.com:

Cover:     Hardcover , Softcover, Image wrap & tons of cover layout options
Paper:     High quality of FSC-certified papers available in matte, lustre or
               gloss finishes
Printing:   Bookstore-quality four colour printing
End sheets :  Standard and pro line sheets to frame your book beautifully
Creative layouts :   Huge range of creative & customizable layouts
Binding:   Durable, professional binding built to last .

Why not visit www.blurb.com now to make your first book?!   You could even create a personalised book as a gift idea for a friend or loved one. 

Here are some photos of the books I have made:

No excuses...

I am sorry for my lengthy absence from updating this blog.  Life took over the last few months - you know how it is. Hope I can be forgiven?

Well, to start I had a nice Christmas and was hoping for a rather lovely New Year's eve, instead on the 27th December my other half took a choking fit from what we thought was a chest infection/asthma attack. It turned out to be pneumonia and my other half had to be hospitalised for 4 days - what a long four days it was, seemed like an eternity... when he got home I had to care for him , all in all he ended up being absent from work for a month and I had to do all the running about, more than usual...but no complaints, I must say I was glad of the company for a while.
THEN, few weeks later he started coughing again one night - was an asthma attack as a result of his weakened lungs - I was so scared - never seen it happen to anyone before, let alone my loved one.  He took two attacks in the space of 6 days , and twice again it happened after that.  Since then, he's had no further attacks.      It just shows you what is really important in life, I was very scared , never felt so petrified in all my life as I could've lost my partner, my soulmate, my lover, my shoulder to lean on...I am so lucky he is ok.

Now to more recent news, I spent the Easter break up in Portrush this year - ie. the north coast.

We'd booked a family room in a B & B before Christmas of last year, and the four of us, well I , drove up two Sundays ago, up the Antrim Coast Road , took roughly 2 hours as we stopped and got out to stretch our legs etc.  On the way we passed Red Bay, Carnlough, Glenariff, Cushendall, Waterfoot, Ballycastle, etc..right all the way up to Portrush!   Our B & B was facing Barry's which is a famous kid's amusement centre.
We enjoyed ourselves, and must say was a little sad at having to leave, the clean sea air did us a world of good and so did the walking.  My own highlight of the trip has got to be the Mussenden Temple, I've always wanted to go there, dreamed of it , then I came across it by accident on this recent trip - I didn't even realise it was that close (it was in Downhill). The views are spectacular from it, and it was built around 1783 or something like that.  

Mussenden Temple

White Rocks

Dunluce Castle

View from Mussenden Temple (left side)

Approaching Mussenden Temple

Near Dunseverick

In Portrush with Andrew, Ryan & Peter

On 14th April 2012 , it was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the famous Titanic - which was commemorated in Belfast. I'd managed to get tickets to see the Titanic Quarter (experience) on the first day of it's launch. Would highly recommend it as it is a brand new visitor attraction in Belfast, and although the entrance fee was a little pricey I thought it was well worth it.

Entrance of the Titanic Quarter , Belfast

 

The Titanic Quarter

Replica of the Harland & Wolff crane

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, hoped I kept you all entertained for a little while longer, it is fast approaching my bedtime now , so I must shoot, hopefully it won't be too long until my next update!

Festive greetings....!!

Tree is up, decorations up and now I can relax , I am glad that my Christmas shopping was already all done in October!!   Ryan is hoping for a bike, a metal detector & Transformers toys....amongst other things.

I felt tired today - not sure why - but just didn't feel too motivated and perhaps a little down in the blues...
I miss my daddy. He's still in the home...can't see, speak properly or walk..he's been the biggest source of my pain for the last 10 years....how would life had turned out if he had never taken that fatal heart attack & stroke?!   Whose fault was it that my parent's marriage never worked out?

I feel regretful that time can't be turned back.....I remember him always smiling, though he had a serious side , most of the time he was very childlike and fun loving, which is a good thing. Who wants to be around a misery guts?

Britney you're amazing!!

These are some of the pictures I took at the Femme fatale concert on the 25th October 2011.

Hi, anybody still here?

I know it's unforgiveable to have kept you all waiting - so sorry that I haven't blogged on this for a while.

My life just seems to get busier & busier.

Well, my son started P.2 end of August there after a long 8 weeks break in the summer. During that time we visited Alicante (Spain) and Liverpool/Manchester.    The Alicante trip was our 'proper' holiday this summer......I have good memories of it - I would go back , if only to see the look on Ryan's face when he accidentally put his hand on one of those statue street artists which started moving!!!! What a hilarious moment that was - wish I could've caught it on camera...Ryan leaped about 30 feet!

Summer is over & so is the autumn season (almost), it felt quite cold tonight and the gritters were out on the roads , the first time I noticed it!!       Everyone's planning for Christmas, now I have to say it IS going a bit far for those that have already got their decorations up including tree etc.!?!    I am well organised every festive season but wouldn't put my tree up yet.

Ryans is learning in leaps & bounds, I'm amazed he can read so many words, I'm impressed by how smart my little baby is!  He does art club (afterschool club) - he naturally loves to draw. Maybe if I nurture it, he will flourish...I was never really any good at the art. Couldn't paint to save my life...I feel embarrassed everytime I think of my failed venture of joining an art class & being about the only one there that couldn't master painting the colour chart in watercolours - my work atually resembled a 3 year old's painting!!

I LOVE music - going to concerts I mean.  I was at Britney Spear's one recently , she had come to Belfast. What an amazing comeback.  Ok she might use her body/sex appeal to sell records but who doesn't these days???     She's doing great and I admire her strength after all she's been through - she is human after all.

Our computer crashed this morning so I have lost a whole lot of information on it - thank goodness it wasn't TOO important. Well at least I don't think so.

Wow!! Tomorrow is a big day for the music entertainment industry. The MTV European music awards are to be held in Belfast!! Yay!!   That means an estimated 20,000 extra visitors to the city. It's be interesting to see just what will happen - already stars such as Coldplay & Rihanna have already been spotted outside the Europa Hotel in Gt. Victoria Street. Lucky for those that did the spotting!  I'm too old to be fighting my way to see famous faces.

Been carrot juicing for my health - had been eating too much junk lately too....just hope my arms don't turn a slight shade of orange like they did the last time.  I don't wanna look like the mad person in the 'I've been tangoed' adverts - remember those?

       Ryan's 5th Birthday - Funworks centre , Newtownabbey

         Daisy - our new Syrian hamster!

Albert Dock, Liverpool

                                    Chinese Arch , Liverpool Chinatown

Alicante - Ryan & mummy having refreshments at the top of the castle grounds

SO much fun!!!  Terra Mitica theme park @ Benidorm, Spain.

Tabarca Island - Spain

Alicante castle grounds, Spain.

Bomb Alerts!!! All Fourteen of them!!

What a lovely place Northern Ireland is....except for a few idiots that find it amusing to cause disruption by creating bomb alerts - 14 of them!!!!   It all started last night in South Belfast, then there were 3 today in my local area. Thankfully they were all hoaxes and to my knowledge no one was hurt.    I mean, 99.9999% of the people in Northern Ireland want PEACE and they want to move on, it's just this tiny minority that want to cause problems.  I mean a journey that normally takes me 5 mins, took me an hour today because of the road closures caused by the alerts!!     I'm glad the PSNI have already arrested 5 people because of what happened..

Woop woop!!

I forgot to say I received 87% in my final Latin assignment, which is the equivalent of an A grade.  I received four A grades since I started.  I am not blowing my own trumpet.  No.   But I am proud of the fact that my hard work has paid off , and three weeks today will be the final exam.   I am excited at the prospect of being one step closer to getting a degree. Woop Woop!!

Well done on my Latin!!

My Latin is going so well that I must give it a mention before I write anything else.
I received 92% in the first assignment and 95% in the 2nd. The third I am about to do next week.
I attended the tutorial last week in Belfast and I felt happy that the tutor was so helpful.    There were only 2 of us that attended.  Myself, and a girl that travelled up to Belfast by train from Kildare.  Now that is dedication.  I admire people like that I truly do.    At the minute I am tackling the future deponents (grammar) and just hoping my brain will retain it all and let me reproduce it on the day of the exam....I hope so. Exam nerves have been known to get the better of me but I will make pretty sure that I get a decent grade...so it's revision, revision, revision all next week!
My daffodils and crocuses have appeared in my garden and they are lovely.  I LOVE fresh flowers - nothing like a good colourful bunch to brighten up your day!!

First of all I must say how dreadfully ashamed I am for not having updated this for a while, life has just been so hectic that I have barely time to blink, I've been rather busy and I hope that this post will somewhat make up for that.
My mother had her 60th birthday 2 months ago. It was a big thing that took months of planning by my closest sis' and step dad.    To cut a long story short, my mum enjoyed herself tremendously which was great but she stiil is a workaholic.  Something I doubt will ever change. 
Everything changes so fast, my son is getting bigger and more curious than ever - mummy , he says to me today. 'Are you Chinese or are you Chinese & English like me?'  Dear love him. I tried my best to explain to him and he wants me to teach him more Chinese words....not that easy since his father is English speaking and most of my friends speak English!! 
I have been putting on a little bit of weight lately , not good. Still am unable to decide on an outfit for my cousin's wedding.  A top and slim black trousers seem too 'casual' yet, if I wear a smart/posh-ish frock I would feel overdressed (I really would) so am at a loss as to what to wear!  I have 4 months to decide!

My beauty tip of the week - Homemade face mask

Step 1.  Mix some honey with flour to make a paste
Step 2.   Add a good few drops of lemon juice.
Step 3.  Apply to your face ( the lemon will help remove blackheads) for 10 minutes and rinse off.

Beautiful skin!!

Also....

Forget to mention, I did very well at my first Latin assignment.....woohoo!!   Tomorrow (Christmas Eve) we are having a Mongolian Hotpot dinner with my cousin John and his family.    Can't wait!!   The second in two weeks!   (I'm so lucky  - the last time I had it was over 15 years ago.  My dad used to make M. hotpots al the time)..it's a Chinese get-together type of thing...  (More info).

Christmas is here

So , here I am putting the final touches to the preparations for Christmas day....just hope it is all worth it.
I did some sums and between my partner and I , we have spent an equivalent of a week's holiday in expenses for Christmas gifts, food, drinks.  I KNOW it will be worth it, to see the look on my son's face when he opens the presents.    It seems year after year, there is always more people to buy for.  Of course Christmas isn't just about the presents.   It is about family, spending time together, being nice, catching up  plus lots more...

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!

Swot not?!

Finally, I think I have mastered the interrogative pronouns/adjectives I've been learning all fortnight, and am now moving onto 3rd/4th conjugation verbs.  I've never been so committed to my studies as I am now...in fact it is a joy to learn grammar and consolidate all that Latin vocabulary.
Andrew's parents are coming up for their weekly visit tonight;  they spent 6 days in Glasgow, Scotland & came home on Monday.  My other half and I have visited this city three times since 2006.   There is a cool shopping street there called Sauchiehall Street, which is in close proximity to the Buchanan Galleries, considered to be the best shopping centre in Glasgow.  
Snow is forecast for the next few days, hope it's not too heavy though....

                                  Here is our tree

And our poinsettia.... 

Dominus regit me ....

I now know the meaning of the phrase 'Dominus regit me' after so many weeks of learning Latin.  I almost couldn't believe my ears when I heard that some of my co-students were already attempting to translate parts of the bible...gosh, ( I think to myself) now that would definitely be a challenge.  Turns out it means 'The Lord is my shepherd'  -  one of  the most famous verses in existence from Psalm 23. 
I was having a little difficulty with the interrogative pronouns/adjectives as I could not distinguish between the various forms of 'who?' or 'what?'...but after seeking help from my tutor it is a little less daunting.
And dear readers, I hope all this talk about Latin does not send you to boredom city....

Really, I do need to speed up my search for my next module with the OU. Should I do the level 3 'Mises au point' French or continue with the Latin ? Only thing is the 'Continuing Latin' module contains more literature-based study which I must admit is not my strong point!     But then again, I did pass all the assignments that tested my literature knowledge in my past studies at uni.    My essay-writing skills are a bit rusty I have to say....

A thought just popped into my head - quite peculiar actually. I used to have a crush on Hong Kong movie star Canti Lau (Lau Shek Ming) where is he now?!    I had friends in Hong Kong that belonged to his fan club and whenever he was out filming on location or doing functions, my friend Fiona used to take volumes of pictures for me.    The last time I heard she'd moved to Sydney in Australia.  I wonder if she still remembers
me?   

Life is funny sometimes - things seem to go round in circles or a pattern of repetition, like the seasons, like the tide.   That's the feeling I get from listening to Helene Segara's number 'Je vous aime adieu', it's a song that reminds me of breezy summer days (feel free to listen to it on my 'French related' blog http://www.cannyfrancophile.blogspot.com/ ).

These days I alternate between childcare responsibilities/study/shopping/crafts, although not necessarily in that order - I couldn't sleep and my computer was calling me to write.   My cousin John was supposed to call up with a toy car for Ryan tonight, perhaps he had to work overtime?    He's a busy lad though.  His daughter Eta is doing well in P.1, she has the looks of a real China doll, really pretty face on her.   She could pass for being a child model.     Lucy the hamster is chewing away at her nibbles - it's amazing how you can hear everything once the night is still and quiet.

I know I have come a long way in terms of my own psychological 'growth', I loved to read and I still do, nothing can take me away from my books.  What books do you like to read ?   And who is your favourite author/authoress?

On Saturday past there, my son , his daddy and I went to see the Christmas tree lights being switched on in the neighbouring village, well we TRIED to.  I'd parked my car in a space where there was a clamping warning sign, not wise I know but everywhere else was full.    As a result we only hung about for 25 minutes and not for an hour.   My son was happy nevertheless as he'd got himself a 'nice' machine gun 'toy', we don't believe in guns really even if they are only toys - but I'd rather he had the toy or else there would've been a screaming match in front of 120 people.         Some would say I need to assert myself as a parent, but I don't think I am a 'bad' parent.    As Lousie Hay once said, forgive your parents because they were only doing their 'best', so I tell myself I am also doing the best.    Self encouragement is big in my book, it makes sense, I learnt to be 'gentle' with self talk to myself after years of reading self help psychology books.  Perhaps I talk too much though??!!

Winter is here!

I woke up today to a bitter cold morning. Thought I'd cracked my windscreen whilst trying to remove the ice, but thankfully I didn't....
I applied for a job with Royal Mail today -  I'm gonna register at the agency in town tomorrow - and have got to take a Royal Mail test  -wish me luck !!  (Really am optimistic about getting it, even though the girl told me 200 candidates have applied so far)....

*                           *                             *

I am reading a novel called The Last Samurai by Helen De Witt (see left); normally I'm not one for  novels but this work by De Witt is very captivating, and has renewed my interest in reading.    Highly recommend this book!