Winner

I won the sweep! Got to celebrate that. Efficient – never heard of it, not that I spent any time studying form guides, but students who knew pitied me when I drew that horse.

I have only written 3300 words for NaNoWriMo – yep, not looking good at this stage, I have enjoyed what I have written though, so who knows, maybe I will spend an afternoon on the weekend and catch up. Or not….
Almost at the stage of giving up on NaNoWriMo already. Think I have picked the wrong idea. I have run out of steam on it already.

I began my reports today. In a very small way, I opened the program and made a start. I’m feeling quite confident I will make the deadline. This must be a record for me to open the report writing software a full 27 days before reports are due!

I found a place to stay in Italy for a holiday over lunch. Two weeks in Italy in the middle of winter. That’s a great possibility. I was discussing the Ruth Ostrow article from my last post. So it’s already been great value for me.

Links to Great Online Posts

I’ve read some really inspiring and uplifting blog posts this week that I’d like to share. It’s a good place for me to store them too I might add, I’m fairly confident I’ll want to reread them.

Christine Kane: 9 Irresistible Reasons to Go Complaint-Free Starting Right Now
Christine Kane’s blog is usually a great read and one of my favourites. Going complaint free seems like a very positive way to make a major change in your life. It sounds simple but I’ll let you know how I go!

Ruth Ostrow: Seek Your Own Fez House
This is just the kind of inspiring story I love. It involves renovating and exotic locations and throwing caution to the wind.

Craig Harper: The Choices We Make When We Choose Nothing
Another great reminder from Craig Harper about being proactive in our lives. He makes me laugh, even when I intensely dislike the truth he is telling.

Duncan’s TVAdland: Dove Boy Meets Amy
I love these Dove Self-Esteem fund clips and this latest one is simple, yet beautiful.

The Killers Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux

This little book exposes the power of love in a most gentle and efficient way. Set in Chile, which is one of the countries that holds the most fascination for me, it begins at an extreme end of Chile in an isolated household perched in a harsh landscape. The story unfolds to shock and amaze with it’s innocence and simplicity.

The young boy, Paolo is introduced to the world alongside the murderer and they lift each other from their different kinds of isolation. Paolo is introduced to many delights and his pure enjoyment of things as simple as the luxury of a bank, reintroduced the abundance of our lives to me. He feels these pleasures fully. The murderer Angel is similarly reacquainted with beauty and innocence and this is a great insight into how your perception can change the world.
It was originally written in French. The story stayed with me and impacted on my interactions with others. A powerful story about redemption, I would recommend it. I loved it.