365 Day Photo Challenge - 8 / 365

8 / 365 - A fitting message for today - I found out that the restaurant I work for went into liquidationtoday, so this is a goodbye photo........



365 Day Photo Challenge - 7 / 365

7 / 365 - A picture of the wonderful gifts I woke up to from Amazon! This is literally half my amazon wish list, so thought I would treat myself when pay day came.  And there is nothing better than gorgeous books to place on my bookshelf and us when Im bored!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 5/365 and 6/365

5 / 365 - taken in a restaurant, Jacob decided to lie down and chill out after stuffing himself with turkey and yorkshire puddings!!

6 / 365 - sat in this beautiful cafe called The Honest Sausage!  It wasnt very honest as it cost me over £4 for a bit of bacon in a bun!  It was a lovely September afternoon, sitting with my friend Jenni, in Regents Park.





Listography - Games I Used To Play

A lovely trip down memory lane this week from Kate take 5, where I get to pick the five games I used to play when I was a kid.  Although I have two younger brothers, it was always me and my middle brother that hung out and played more, before my younger brother came along and I have many fond memories aside from trying to get him to play with my barbie dolls!!  So here are my top 5 games we used to play:



1: Kerplunk! - Ooh, my favourite game, where you had to stop the marbles from falling to the bottom by choosing the right stick!  A very intense game, which these days would make me very nervous!



2: Mouse Trap! - what I remember about this game was you had to chase something around the board before everything fell apart!!  Im a bit vague on this one but I enjoyed it when everything connected and ended with the mouse being caught in the cage at the end!  It took ages to set up though which kind of took the fun out of it!



3: Spirograph - the creative side ventured out of me as a kid, especially with spirograph,and was fascinated by all the different patterns you could make!



4: Micro Machines - seeing as I made my brother play with my Barbie dolls, it was only fair I played with his boy toys!  Micro machines were a big thing in the eighties and all I remember doiing with them was lining them up on a car mat and putting them in colour order! Now when my son plays with cars, I get so bored!



5: Tetris/Gameboy!- when the Gameboy first came out, I was glued to it!  My mum couldnt get a word out of me and me and my brother fought over whose turn it was to match all the shapes!  It was very addictive, and even when I hear the Tetris theme song it takes me back to the early nineties!



Thanks Kate for an interesting listography this week!!

Book Blogger Hop - My Choice of Genre

I love joining in with the links other people host on their blogs, so when I stumbled across this Book Blogger Hop, I was very excited and bursting to get started!  Every week, a different prompt is given for us to answer, based on our love for books and reading.  Seeing as I am an avid book lover but dont always get to post about it, this is my perfect opportunity to get motivated and write more about reading!!  To join in, and visit others answers visit Book Blogger Hop.

Todays prompt is:

“Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?”

I have a wide genre of books that I read, anything from chick-lit, to childrens books, biographies and fantasy.  Its quite hard to choose my favourite genre, but if I take a closer look at my bookself, I have more chick-lit books than anything.  I think I am drawn to this genre mostly because I can relate to it and there is nothing more thrilling than reading about something I have experienced.  This genre also helps with my writing, as they say writers take their ideas from their own experiences, who hasn't fallen in love in life? Or had some kind of predicament that affects their choices in life?  We all have something to share and chick lit is probably the biggest genre that takes up the shelves in bookshops.

However, if I couldnt read that genre any more, I still couldnt give up reading.  There is so much more out there and we will never get to experience it if we dont venture out of our comfort zone.  I have stumbled across many a good book by trying something new and this has led to me enjoying a whole new genre of books.  As long as its written well, and has some excitement to it, im happy.

365 Day Photo Challenge - 4 / 365

4 / 365:
Todays picture is to prove I work hard eventually!  This is my completed short story manuscript ready to send off to my first short story competition!  It includes the story containing 1500 words, entry form and a big, fat, white enevelope!



The *C* word

I hate that word beginning with C, its not necessary to use, it makes my skin crawl and its so over used, especially at this time of the year!
  No, Im not talking about that C word, Im talking about Christmas!! 

I may be perceived as a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to these festivities, but I do like some things about this event.  Its just I dont see the point of talking about it now, its September, I'm just about recovering from my summer holidays and the last thing I want to think about is how cold it is about to get, how dark it is about to get and how over rated christmas really is these days!
  Now, Im Jewish, but that doesnt mean to say I dont put a christmas tree up in my house, and I do buy presents, have turkey, and watch Doctor Who!  But, the meaning of christmas is just not in our society any more.  Not for the majority of people that I know anyway.  For me, it is a perfect opportunity to spend time with family and friends, and now I have my son, I only make the effort for him.  It is a magical time and I do look back at my childhood when we celebrated xmas with great fondness and nostalgia, which I would love to regain for my little boy.
  These are the things I hate most about the *C* word:

• People are planning, buying and taling about it now, in September
• It doesnt help that commercially retailers feel the need to put their xmas products and cards out now when some of us have just stepped off a plane!
• its all about presents rather than the magic and meaning of what its all about, children expect presents whether they have been good or bad for the simple fact that its all so commercial!
• people wasting their money on gifts they would never normally buy, and that it brings our the greedy side of us
• talking about xmas in autumn means that winter is approaching and all I can see ahead of me is darkness, not even pretty xmas lights can snap me out of this!
• deciding whose house we will go to for xmas dinner, I would rather go on holiday somewhere

But, before you think my grumpiness is just in the minority of people, (which it probably is!), here are my reasons for looking forward to xmas:

• It comes and goes and by that time it will be spring!
• Seeing the joy on my little boys face when he sees Santa has been
• the cosiness, warmth and laziness of being indoors all wrapped up, watching xmas tv
• celebrating and partying with family and friends
• wrapping presents!

So, Im not against xmas entirely, Im just against talking about it 4 months before hand, when really it is only one day, we just make it last for half a year!  I know I will have a good xmas yet again, but ideally, I would like to escape from it all, it turns me into a mean, bitchy girl when I do my xmas shopping a week beforehand!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 3 / 365

3 / 365:

Had been craving these since my manager bought a box of them one day at work, mixed in with the white ones!  I carefully fished out all the pink ones for myself and left the vanilla ones to be eaten by those who dared, I really dont like vanilla!  So, yesterday, I visited a Mr Simms Sweet Shop and succesfully purchased these cute and tasty pink mice!!



365 Day Photo Challenge - 2 / 365

2 / 365:

Saw these in a shop, and squealed!  Although, and this may seem weird, I dont like milk with my cereal, especially with Lucky Charms, as this spoils the taste!!



The Gallery - Shoes

Well, I neary fell off my seat and whooped with joy when I saw the theme for this weeks gallery over at Sticky Fingers!  Shoes!!  I dont have a massive collection of shoes but the ones I do have are to die for and I have to save up every time I buy a new pair as they are so expensive and unique!!

So to start with, these are my *they hurt so much but they are too sparkly to not wear* shoes.  My wonderful fiance bought me these for my last birthday, (the only man I know that pays attention when Im looking at shoes!) and are from Schuh.  They are the most bling pair of shoes I own but holy cow, they absolutely kill me!!  Still, all in the name of fashion!

These are my *so pretty and so comfortable even if I look like a waddling duck when I walk in them* shoes!  I found these at a vintage fair for only £30! They are so comfy, it has taken me a year to find the right balance in them as many a time I have wobbled front ways and fallen on my face! 

Meet *heavy rock chick yet go with anything* shoe!  A friend of mine sold these to me as she bought the wrong size for herself, so i am now the proud owner.  I wore these the other night but after a while I cant feel my toes in them!  But, they are my back up shoes when the other two pairs dont go with my outfit!

So, they are my best three pairs of shoes I own, live and wobble around in.  I have a running theme, the fact that I cant walk in any of them, but they are too gorgeous, amazing and unique to not own!



 









365 Day Photo Challenge - 1 / 365

Hooray, to start completing at least one of my challenges on the Day Zero Project, I am starting this challenge, taking a picture a day and posting it on here!

Day One:

Jacobs first day in Year One

This Time Last year and the Taboo Subject that is Miscarriage

This post may be a little hard for some of my readers to read but I feel its necessary to write about this.  The weather today (monsoon-like!) has made me think about this time last year, when my son went to school and it was a lovely warm September day.
  I was two months pregnant at the time and me and Dean were shocked yet extremely excited and happy about becoming parents together. However, deep down I wasnt happy.  I wanted to be, but I felt like I had lost something.  My mood swings were the worst I have ever experienced, I hated everybody and everything and I was generally not a nice person to be around.  I thought I had pre-natal depression, as my mum mentioned that it didnt seem normal to feel that way, when it should be a joyful time for me. 
  When me and Dean went for our three month scan, we received the fatal news that I am still dealing with to this very day.  I was expecting twins but unfortunately they could not detect a heartbeat at all, and I had had what they called a missed miscarriage.  My world fell apart and I didnt know what to do.
  I kept trying to pin point something to blame this on - maybe I had worked too hard?  Maybe I shouldnt have had that glass of wine with my lunch?  I knew that it was just one of those things and it wasnt meant to be but that didnt make it any easier to deal with. 
  Most people agree that you shoud not tell anyone your pregnant until after that first scan, but I disagree.  I had told most of my closest friends and family and thank goodness I did because I had their upmost support throughout this tragedy and I dont think I would have coped too well without them. 
  The other heart breaking thing I had to do was tell our little boy.  We didnt tell him it was twins so he still thinks he was having a baby but we told him it was in heaven and he cried his eyes out, poor thing.
  So, throughout this last year, we have had to get over the milestones, cancel pre arranged apointments, go through the motions, attend 4 hospital appointments, and deal with our tragedy as best we could.  Through all this, I realised how taboo the subject of miscarriage is.  People that have not been through it, I find, get awkward when its mentioned and never know what to say.  I dont blame them for acting that way but I have been outspoken about what happened as it helps with the pain, and know one knows what to say back.  I believe its important to talk about these things, especially with your partner and lets not forget that although us women go through the physical, mental and emotional pain of a miscarriage, so do our partners who watch you go through it, and have to grieve with you too.  I have tried to talk to Dean about what happened but I cant seem to get the words out.  I close up and cant function  but I suppose its part of the grieving process and time is a great healer.
  At times, I have thought I was going mental, all I could think about was why? Then my thoughts changed to getting back what I lost and tried again for a baby, but now although I am stll grieving (and writing about it is certainly a challenge), I dont feel like it is controlling my life as much as it was.  Maybe thats because I have been so busy with my life as a distraction. 
  Anyway, with it being almost a year since our tragedy happened, I felt it was about time I spoke out about it, to show that its ok to talk about it, its ok to read about it and its definetely ok to deal with it in my own time.  I know this will stay with us forever and we will never forget our two babies that we lost, but who we found in our hearts.


Thank you for taking the time to read this xxxx