Skywatch Friday

The view across Spey Bay towards the Moray Firth.

 



Taken from the old railway bridge.

 

Please pop over to the Skywatch blog for more skies from around the world.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

This week I am reading the latest installment in the Shopaholic series - Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella. This is light reading at its best although I have to say the main character of Becky is infuriating!

Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is in Hollywood! It's as if all her life has been leading to this moment. She's hanging out with the stars … or at least she will be, when she finally gets to meet movie superstar Sage Seymour, whom husband Luke is now managing.

There's so much to see and do! And getting Minnie through the hurdles for her A-list Hollywood pre-school will require some…er…help.

Becky sets her heart on a new career - she's going to be a celebrity stylist. Red carpet, here she comes! But Becky soon finds it's tough in Tinseltown. Luckily her best friend Suze comes over to keep her company, and together they embark on the Hollywood insider trail. But somehow...things aren't quite working out as they’d hoped.

Then Becky's big chance comes, and it's an opportunity that money can't buy. But will it cost her too much?

Please pop over to The Book Journey to see what everyone else is reading today.

Finally reached my goal.

When I started Slimming World back at the end of November 2012 my goals were to lose 4 stone and gt back into a size 12 pair of jeans. This is bearing in mind that I haven't been able to squeeze into a size 12 since before I became pregnant with Sam nearly 18 years ago!! It all seemed such a daunting task at the time.

In 8 months I had lost 2 stone and gone down a dress size - and there it stayed as I fannied around for the rest of 2013 and finally gave it up as a bad job just before Christmas 2013.

I rejoined a different Slimming World group at the start of this year after having put back on half a stone that I had lost. And 10  months later I am 2 pounds away from my target weight and yesterday on a girly shopping trip into Inverness I thought I would try on a pair of size 12 jeans. I thought they would be really tight and I wouldn't be able to breath - but they fitted perfectly (a slight muffin top to banish though!)

And today I went out and bought new running gear - all in a couple of sizes smaller. I started running at the end of January with a local Jog Scotland group - sounded like a steam train after jogging for 30 seconds at that point and to be honest you could walk faster than I could jog. Since then I have taken part in three 3k races and improved my time with each one and can now run a 5k relatively easily in about 30 minutes. Who would have thought it!

I am pleased and can hardly believe I have done it - I have done it for myself and no matter what people say I think I feel and look a whole lot better. But now comes the hard part - keeping it off.......

Skywatch Friday

Stormy looking skies over Cullen beach.

Please pop over to the Skywatch blog for more skies from around the world.

It's Monday. What are you reading?

I read What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty some time ago and enjoyed her writing style. So I bought The Husband's Secret but that is still on my sheldf - unread. Then I saw her latest offering Little Lies in the library.

A slow starter and I couldn't see where the story was going but it soon picked up pace. None of the characters are particularly likeable but I am really enjoying it.

Jane hasn't lived anywhere longer than six months since her son was born five years ago. She keeps moving in an attempt to escape her past. Now the idyllic seaside town of Pirriwee has pulled her to its shores and Jane finally feels like she belongs. She has friends in the feisty Madeline and the incredibly beautiful Celeste - two women with seemingly perfect lives . . . and their own secrets behind closed doors.

But then a small incident involving the children of all three women occurs in the playground causing a rift between them and the other parents of the school. Minor at first but escalating fast, until whispers and rumours become vicious and spiteful. It was always going to end in tears, but no one thought it would end in murder . . .

Am pleased to see that she has a new title coming out called The Last Anniversary later this week.

Please pop over to The Book Journey to see what everyone else is reading today.

Nailz by Jo

And finally after 46 years I have managed to stop biting my nails - so today I went and had my first ever manicure and gel polish. I don't do sitting in a salon making small talk - but this was quite painless and Jo was lovely. I'm going back in a couple of weeks to have it done again - I did notice she had a gel polish almost the same colour as my beloved MiTo which I might have to try.

Skywatch Friday

Our Sunday walk took us along the coastal footpath from Cullen to Portknockie and back along the disused railway line and back over the viaduct into Cullen.

The local landmark of Bowfiddle Rock greets you as you come into Portknockie - I can never walk past it without taking a photo or two.

Please pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies from around the world.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

I picked this one up from my local library as I liked the cover - so shallow aren't I??

Then I read the blurb on the back cover and realised that maybe it wasn't going to be the usual boy meets girl light reading material I was expecting.

But I am enjoying the quirky nature of this book with it secondary story line of a novel the main character is writing. I have just discovered this author has written other books - so I will be investigating those at a later date.

What would you do if you could write the story of your life?

After battling a brain tumour twenty-nine year old Emma thinks she is in the clear, but her world comes crashing down around her when she is told her fight was in vain, and there is nothing more the doctors can do.

Realising that she won’t now have time to achieve the things she dreamed of, Emma decides to write her perfect life in a story. She imagines all the things she would have done, the places she would have seen, the husband she would have shared her life with and the family they would have raised.
And, mysteriously, as she writes her story, she starts to notice that some of her dreams seem to be coming true.

Now with a real love in her life, and her fading hope burning brighter, reality and fiction start to become blurred. As she writes their life-long love story Emma dares to believe that anything is possible, but can she really change her fate?

Please pop over to The Book Journey to see what everyone else is reading today.  

Skywatch Friday

The old sea defences at Garmouth.

Pop over to the Skywatch blog for more skies from around the world.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

I am way behind with my Goodreads reading challenge for this year to read 100 books - I am now 9 books behind. Have a week off work coming up so am hoping this will mean more reading time especially as hubby will be in the Far east again.

I read so much about this book a while ago that I bought myself a copy. But then the subject matter sort of put me off as I thought it might be a really sad read. I am a quarter of the way through it and that isn't the case - and I want to keep on reading to see what happens next.

'Today is my death anniversary. A year ago today I was still alive.'

Rachel, Max and their daughter Ellie had the perfect life - until the night Rachel's heart stopped beating.

Now Max and Ellie are doing their best to adapt to life without Rachel, and just as her family can't forget her, Rachel can't quite let go of them either. Caught in a place between worlds, Rachel watches helplessly as she begins to fade from their lives. And when Max is persuaded by family and friends to start dating again, Rachel starts to understand that dying was just the beginning of her problems.

As Rachel grieves for the life she's lost and the life she'll never lead, she learns that sometimes the thing that breaks your heart might be the very thing you hope for.

Pop over to the Book Journey to see what everyone else is reading today.

Skywatch Friday

Another weekend and another walk. Loving the blue skies and the big round bales of hay in the fields. Autumn is here.

Pop over to the Skywatch blog for more skies from around the world.

Next weekend I won't be walking - I will be on 2 wheels. I have joind a ladies only cycling club and I am going for my first ride out on Saturnday. A wee jaunt of 23 miles from Elgin to Spey Bay (with a pit stop for food) and back again. I hope the weather is fine as I'm quite looking forward to it.