Category Archives: Kirsty rambles on about life, the universe, tv, and everything!
2012 in review
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
Oh dear bloggy
How I’ve neglected you!
Well, well, haven’t I been naughty and neglected my lovely blog. I’m sorry dear readers, if there are any of you out there. I have an excuse or three hundred and I never promised to be regular but I have missed you and you haven’t been far from my mind (I even made a list on what I’d like to add to you).
2012 was a year of contradictions, fantastic for the country, Jubilee, Olympics and Paralympics. A bit bleugh for me if I’m honest for a number of different reasons that I won’t go in to and bore you with. There was also some fun and laughs and some bucket list achievement (one of the reasons for reduced blog action I feel).
I set a a list of 2012 Intentions and I need to review them – here’s what I wrote with my review in bold
I saw somebody write about New Year’s intentions rather than resolutions and I like this idea, especially as I have so many intentions in mind this year. My plan is to try to fulfil these things throughout the year and so in most cases they will start with an I will try to… and if I’ve got just a little way along the journey as we cross into 2013 then I should consider this a success.
..
Health and wellbeing (Physical and Mental)
• Try not to let other people have a huge impact on how I feel about myself (Now, I don’t think I’ll never get upset by comments or things that happen but I need to learn to let go more and think more rationally about what that means about my worth as a person). Now this is definitely one that that I haven’t successfully achieved and has been a bleugh factor if I’m honest. 2013 – to try harder – I’m getting help with this now.
• Try to keep up with crafting and being creative (writing, knitting, painting, card making etc. because I really have enjoyed these occupations). I’m pretty happy that I have made some good progress with this one and want to keep on going.
• Try to leave 2012 weighing less than I did at the start (No mention of how much because I find it difficult to set a realistic target in relation to this). It took a long time to get going but thanks to the 5:2 plan I actually achieved this (not by much but there was some going up in the middle). I’d like to reset this goal for 2013.
• Try to go to the gym more in order to help the above intention and improve my strength and stamina in general (I’m going to start by aiming to attend at least 1 session of body combat for three weeks every month). Another big fail. I basically donated to the gym and have stupidly done so again. Toward the end of the year I started pilates and really enjoyed it but I’ve been ill (flu, tonsillitis, sickness bug) since the middle of November so that fell off but I’m hoping to restart that soon. I really did feel like I stood taller after each session.
• Try to remember to take my medication each day and to order my repeats in time so I don’t start another New Year sneezing!!! I think I mostly managed but do still forget on occasion. The sneezing I started 2013 on was flu related though.
Writing and Challenges
• Over on my new Tumblr blog I am going to aim to take a photo a day (for every one of the 366 days in 2012) and post it on there. The snapseed photo app was very helpfully free on iTunes 12 Days of Christmas today so I’m going to use that and my exisiting photo based apps (like Instagram and Colour Splash) to have a little fun with the snaps I take. There’s an app called my365 which is also quite cool and I might use that too to summarise my months in photo calendar form. Whoo hoo I actually achieved this – hurrah, hurrah. Occasionally the photo was posted just after midnight but the photo was always taken before. I’m kind of carrying on with this but in a different way – see my forthcoming 2013 Intentions post.
• In a second attempt to be more mindful on what is happening around me I am also going to extend the January River of Stones challenge and try to write a small stone each day of 2012. You can more about this over on Tumblr too. Another success. A few more of these were posted/written after midnight but always about the day in question.
• I forgot to add my third daily challenge which is to reply to the Oh Life daily e-mail – this will just be a personal journal (an aide memoir) – I like that when you’ve been posting for a while it sends you random snippets from past posts). I think I may have missed a couple of days but mostly achieved this, I’m kind of still doing it because I haven’t stopped the e-mails – it’s interesting to look back on the year.
• Sally Quilford who last year set up the May You Write Your Novel challenge has again set up a writing challenge starting today. 100k in 100 days is a bit more of a flexible writing challenge (I think writing journal articles might count too so I may be able to squeeze some work writing in this too) that I am going to attempt. I have written 823 words today not counting the small stones which I will add on. I need to think about where and how I’m going to track my progress on this one but think I’ll do it weekly rather than daily. Failed this one, and although I was going to try again this year I’m afraid starting the year sick has scuppered this.
• I’m going to try and use this challenge and my own willpower to try and complete a full draft of my novel (with the middle laid out in more detail than a few sentences). Umm, hangs head. See Nanowrimo point below.
• And I forgot to put in sending some stories and poems to publications. Nope – and I’ve decided to focus on the novel for now.
• Ooops I also forgot to add in keeping up with my blog more (I’m still hoping to use Silent Sunday and meme’s like Kate Takes 5′s Listography but also generally make sure there is some content on all of my tabs and write at least two non meme related posts a month). Again not really acheived that well although I did achieve the April A-Z blogging challenge and did do a few Silent Sundays. Listography stopped though.
• I will try ScriptFrenzy again in April Focus on the Novel Kirsty
• I will try NaNoWriMo again in November (but importantly with all of these I will appreciate that I have a lot going on in my life so if I don’t complete the challenges I will simply be happy with adding whatever I have written that I wouldn’t have written before). I achieved 25,000 words of the sequel to my novel written in 2010/11. I now need to rewrite the first into first person. I’ve started a series bible and want to edit the first two books in the series together. I took a couple of writing courses towards the end of the year (unfortunately not being able to commit to the last and most expensive because of sickness).
• I will try my best to submit my research proposal to the ethics committee at work by the summer (hopefully by May though). No, not achieved. This needs to go at the top of 2013 list. Unfortunately one of my supervisors died in the summer and with all my sickness progress has been delayed.
• I will try to write at least 2 journal articles this year. Another fail. I did some conference presentations.
• I will try to read at least 1 fiction book a month and to post the review on Goodreads and here. Just about managed the reading, did a fair few of the reviews.
• I will try and cross 4 items off my Bucket List by the end of 2012 (1 is booked and I’m making good progress on a 2nd and maybe a 3rd so hopefully this is realistic). Yup overachieved this. Trip (well make that 3 with a 4th booked and potential 5th planned for 2013) to the Harry Potter Studio Tour. The 366Photo Challenge, The Small Stone Challenge, I read Insurgent, Saw The Hunger Games and Breaking Dawn Part 2 films and meeting some online friends.
• Last addition (though the most important really) is to spend more time with friends and family. Hopefully this happened. Especially over the holidays – one of the main reasons I love Christmas.
• 2012 was also the year of the musicals and theatre and comedy and that is set to continue (think that deserves its own post at some time).
So not a lot then on top of everything else that I have to do. I think 2013’s list should be shorter and will follow in a separate post. Wish me luck and willpower. You lot clearly didn’t try hard enough ;o)
Share this on Facebook, Twitter and Google+
Driving Views – British or Not?
Driving home today I had a very British thought. I thought the driving test should contain points for courteousness, things like letting people out, waving if you’ve been let out. And also that there should be a three strikes three points rule for things like tailgating, cutting someone up on a roundabout, ‘taking a risk and dashing out when someone has already let two people out and really needs to get on now’ and other such annoyances.
A non British thing I think in relation to driving is people’s tendency for form one lane queues when there are two lanes but then get angry and try and block people who try and use the second lane – surely that’s what it’s there for and if people courteously allowed people to merge in turn traffic jam queues would be shorter (unlike this sentence) and people generally happier.
This has been bought to you by Kirsty’s random thought for World Mental Health Awareness Day 2012!!
Pic © Kirsty Stanley 2012
Share this on Facebook, Twitter and Google+
Carnival of Souls – Book Review
Contains some spoilers
This is the first Melissa Marr book I have read and because I’m going to have to wait for an age until the sequel of this one comes out I may need to nip back to her Wicked Lovely series (I’ve downloaded Faery Tales and Nightmares as a stopgap).
I have to admit that when I first picked Carnival of Souls
To me this book contains five strong main characters that I really cared about, Mallory, Aya, Kaleb, Zevi and Belias.
The Marchosias is the vicious ruler of this world which has a caste society with street scabs at the bottom. This is a world of Daimons, Witches were thrown out into the human world and only a few now exist as slaves. Once in a generation daimon fighters fight in the Carnival of Souls for their chance to become a member of the ruling caste.
Aya, as a woman, only really has becoming a wife and a breeder open to her until she finds out that there is no rule preventing women from entering the competition. Her former betrothed Belias is pitched against her – that was never going to have a good ending.
Belias, despite having his marriage offer rebuffed, is determined to protect Aya so enters the competition for this purpose.
Kaleb is a Black Mask – hitman for hire and a low caste Cur – he is determined to provide for his pack mate Zevi. He has also been tasked by the Marchosias brother to kill Mallory – a task that becomes impossible for him as he develops feelings for her.
Zevi, saved from the Untamed Lands outside the city is determined to protect Kaleb, he is a skilled healer and speedy. Kaleb underestimates Zevi’s ability to look after himself.
Mallory, lives in the human world. She has been raised by Adam, a witch, who has taught her to fear and despise daimons, not realising that she herself is one, offspring of the Watcher Selah (who although lived with her for her early years has since left) and Marchosias himself. She thinks she is human. Adam who took her in revenge for the killings of his family has grown to love her and makes her train to protect herself. They move constantly. She develops feelings for Kaleb, but believing him to be human decides she needs to keep away to keep him safe.
This book focuses on both the fights and the attempts to get Mallory back to the daimon world. There is danger at every turn for all of the characters, from the Night Market to the Watchers. There are lots of twists and turns, many involving Adam’s sister Evelyn. Aya realises that winning the fight is not going to help her achieve her aim and so she pitches in to support Kaleb. The book ends as Mallory finds out who she really is.
The only real negatives I have to give is that I didn’t really get much of a feel for Marchosias character. At one point he is referred to as Marc by a Watcher which indicates he might not be all bad. It’s got me interested to find out more about him though. I also wanted to find out more about Selah and what happened to cause her to leave. This is a series though so hopefully those anwers are to come.
Poor Mallory and Kaleb are in for a tough test of their relationship in the next book, especially when Mallory finds out exactly what sort of relationship they do have.
Another case of rich worldbuilding and vivid characters. I’m glad I watched the book trailer after reading because it gives more away than I do here. The characters don’t really look like how I’d imagine them but I think this gives the impression that this would make an awesome film.
You can find out more at the Carnival of Souls website – just be warned be prepared to jump If you click on Judgement with the volume turned up – I just did.
I’m going to give it 5 stars on Goodreads.
Thanks to HarperCollins for the ARC – the opinions and love of this book are my own.
If you’ve read it let me know what you thought below.
kirstyes 