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My Christmas Reading List – Blogmas Day 16

December 16, 2018 by Vicky Leave a Comment

I don’t read anywhere near as much as I used to or I would like to do.

For the Goodreads Reading Challenge this year I set myself the challenge of reading 30 books this year but as I write this I have completed only 13, although I have really enjoyed the books that I have completed.

I was listening to books at the gym during my cardio sessions for a little while but at the moment am not really enjoying doing that so I am missing out on finishing the audio books that I have bought.

I will set my goal to 30 books for the Goodreads Reading Challenge next year and maybe I will manage to hit my goal.

I am mid way through books on Kindle, Audible and even an actual physical book so I have plenty to be getting along with if / when I get a chance to sit down and bury my head in a book during the festive period.

I have put a couple of books on my Birthday / Christmas Wish List so I might even get a book to get my teeth into on Christmas Day.

My Kindle Book to Finish is Who We Were Before by Leah Mercer

My Audible Book to Finish is The Fifth Letter by Nicola Moriarty

My “real” Book to Finish is My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg

I hope to be able to report back that I have completed at least one of them over Christmas.

101 Things in 1001 Days Update

May 10, 2016 by Vicky Leave a Comment

Looking back over the blog I thought I would updated my 101 things in 1001 Days progress. Despite not being on track as much as I would like with my blog, I am surprised about how many things I have completed.

1. Qualify as a Solicitor in Australia – fingers crossed December 2016.
2. Sell one of my photographs.
3. Visit Bali.
4. Learn to sail.
5. Start studying the subjects need to qualify as a Solicitor in Australia and pass them all – Four of the undergraduate subjects down, exam in June on the fifth and hoping to be exempt from number six! Then should be two post graduate subjects.
6. Get over my fear of public speaking – not over it but I am getting there and am planning to do some public speaking courses.
7. To still be blogging on 28 September 2017.
8. Visit Kakadu National Park – completed Easter 2015
9. Keep using the planner that I bought so that I can plan my life out better, not forget things and do all the things that I want to do.
10. Plan out my blog posts better so that I can run a bit more to a schedule.
11. Become better at using social media like Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram.
12. See more of Australia – I want to visit at least Perth, Adelaide and Sydney – we are heading to Brisbane and then the Whitsunday Islands in August and I cannot wait to see the Great Barrier Reef.
13. Buy a car.
14. Learn how to style my curly hair nicely.
15. Invite friends over for dinner often.
16. Get my visa sorted so I do not have to worry about visa’s expiring or deadlines – fingers crossed July 2016.
17. Pay of my debts in the UK.
18. Save money! There’s so many things I want to do but I need to get saving first.
19. Cook 101 recipes from the recipe books I own and have been given.
20. Learn and understand the rules of AFL.
21. Take my DSLR camera out with me more and actually use it so I don’t miss the photo opportunities – getting better at this and regularly getting out and about for photos.
22. Complete the challenges I set myself via blog, photography etc.
23. Take more time to keep in contact with people to make sure that the distance between us doesn’t seem so big.
24. Reply to emails, texts, calls and what’s app messages within 24 hours at the very most.
25. Wear sunscreen all the time.
26. Walk more and enjoy it.
27. Get better at saying what’s on mind rather than bottling it up.
28. Learn to enjoy red wine.
29. Spend Christmas in the UK with my family and friends – Completed Christmas 2015 and it was great (post to follow).
30. Visit the penguins on Phillip Island.
31. Send a letter, card, postcard to someone as a surprise each month.
32. Visit the turtles.
33. Get up early and take a photo of the sunrise.
34. Take a good photo of lightening.
35. Read 5 classic books I’ve never read before.
36. Redesign my blog.
37. Personalise our home with photos, pictures and things that are important to us – in progress, especially now we feel more settled in the house that we moved into in August 2015.
38. Get my mum to teach me to knit (again) and remember how to do it.
39. Go to the ballet.
40. Attend 3 music concerts.
41. Have the root canal work done/tooth removed in 2015 – completed and it was terrible!
42. Complete the Goodreads reading challenge each year and increase the number of book that are too be read each year.
43. Have an allergy test done.
44. Print and frame my own photos in our home – completed.
45. Watch Les Miserable in the theatre and read the book.
46. Learn how to make macaroons from scratch.
47. Visit Thailand with the Aussie.
48. Re-learn how to play the keyboard properly.
49. Practice playing the keyboard at least twice a week.
50. Buy a beautiful coffee table and bookcase(s) for our home – not my dream coffee table and bookcases but we have them and I like them a lot for now.
51. Study for at least 10 hours a week when courses start in March 2015 – I don’t manage 10 hours a week but given my study workload it’s not required. I do enough to keep on top of it all and have got good results so far.
52. Dye my hair regularly so the roots don’t show – completed and ongoing.
53. Get hair cut at least 5 times a year and take better care of it.
54. Take a book out of the library once a month and read it all.
55. Buy a bike and use it often.
56. Go out dancing more.
57. Hang the washing out when it’s finished not leave it so long it has to be washed again – work in progress.
58. Open a joint bank account with the Aussie – we’ve been meaning to do this since August 2013 – opened but we are terrible at getting our acts in gear to use it!
59. Write a will.
60. Change my Super Account and move my existing super to it – completed! Industry Super all the way!
61. Take a helicopter ride over Darwin.
62. Go on at least one “girls” weekend a year.
63. Read a book in a day.
64. Spend the day at the cinema watching as many films as I can cram in.
65. Take a day off work in the middle of the week to just stay in bed reading, watching movies and sleeping.
66. Make someone a mix tape of my favourite songs.
67. No eating out for a month.
68. Drink 6 glasses of water a day for 2 weeks – I really should do this already but I am terrible at drinking water – completed. I manage this almost every day now.
69. Take a picture for every letter of the alphabet.
70. Start and complete a project 365 photo challenge.
71. See 10 classic movies I’ve never seen before.
72. Ask 20 friends to recommend a book each and read them all.
73. Go on a completely unplanned road trip.
74. Get a pedicure – completed March 2016 and it was amazing!
75. Watch the sunrise and sunset in one day.
76. Volunteer – I was recently elected President of a local Camera Club so I think this counts.
77. Plant a balcony herb and flower garden – we don’t have a balcony anymore (yay to houses) but I will work on this.
78. Blog at least 3 times a week.
79. Read 10 non fiction books.
80. Learn to make pasta from scratch.
81. Send a card or flowers to someone going through a hard time – completed, sent flowers to my Mum when she wasn’t feeling well but this is an ongoing work in progress.
82. Climb the Eiffel Tower.
83. Do a Yellow Water Cruise – completed Easter 2015
84. Get a tattoo – not completed but I have selected a design I would like if I did decide to get one.
85. Donate blood at least once.
86. Host a wine and cheese party.
87. Send 20 postcards through Postcrossing.
88. Hide a note in a library book.
89. Set up sponsorship on my blog.
90. Create a guest post idea and have someone write a guest post each month.
91. Visit 10 museums – Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Wentworth Castle (post to follow)
92. Have a picnic with the Aussie.
93. Write and send Christmas cards preferably with personalised cards.
94. Donate $10 to a charity every month.
95. Have professional photos taken with my family.
96. Visit and comment on 10 blogs every week.
97. Take home made lunch to work for one week every month – completed four out of five days a week at least.
98. Organise photos on computer, phone, hard drive.
99. Buy a film camera and use it.
100. Go on a photography tour.
101. Put $10 into savings for each goal accomplished.

Winter Reading List

June 24, 2015 by Vicky Leave a Comment

Whilst it’s summer in a lot of places around the world right now, it is winter in Australia, although in Darwin it feels like a hotter than normal UK summer which is kind of confusing!

As I’m on a break from university for the next four weeks these are the books on my winter reading list that I want to dive into:

1) Waiting for Wednesday by Nicci French – I have mentioned before that I have been reading this series about Freida Klein and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next in the series.

2) Paper Towns – I’m looking forward to seeing the movie when it is released and because it’s a book I always prefer to read the book first although I then risk being disappointed with the film as is often the case when I watch a film for a book I have read!

3) Labor Day – Joyce Maynard – I always enjoy a story full of intrigue and suspense and from the synopsis it looks like this will be full of it.

4) The Girl You Left Behind – Jojo Moyes – this book looks like its going to be really interesting with the cross over with the past and present. I’m looking forward to it.

5) The Selection – Kiera Cass – This book has been on my Kindle app for ages now and i’m not sure why I haven’t got round to reading it yet so now seems like a good opportunity to read it finally.

Currently Five…

June 19, 2015 by Vicky Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “Currently” post and I was thinking its a good way to keep everyone updated with Currently Five…

Watching – Pretty Little Liars on Netflix – I’m only on series one but it’s not to bad, it definitely leaves you wanting to know who “A” is!

Listening To – The Nashville album which I downloaded last week is my go to album whenever I’m in the car. I’ve not really listened to country music too much before but it doesn’t seem like a bad introduction.

Enjoying – Having a bit of a sleep in as I haven’t had to get up for work this week. Even though I have officially been on “holiday” since Monday I still had to get early for the first few days because of exams and then had to drop our car of for a service on Wednesday so I have been indulging in lie ins a bit which has been pretty lovely.

Reading – During my last semester of study I went off reading a bit at least for the kind of books I love to read rather than corporation or administration law. I started reading Waiting for Wednesday by Nicci French which is part of a series on the 26 April according to Goodreads and am really enjoying what happens to the characters next.

Last Movie I Watched – The Rocky Horror Picture Show – I’ve never watched this film before and it was showing at The Deckchair Cinema a couple of weeks ago so we thought we’d pop along to watch it. It was a bit odd to start with, especially when half the audience started singing along but I knew a few songs like The Time Warp from many a wedding or party where it gets regularly played and ended up laughing a lot. Its worth a watch I think.

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About Me!

My name is Vicky and I am a Lawyer from the UK who upped sticks and moved to the Northern Territory in Australia in August 2013!

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