New Year 2015

2015

Last year I wrote out my first proper list of resolutions and although I didn't stick to them all (photo a day challenge I'm talking about you!) I did get quite a bit done. I blogged regularly like I wanted, I didn't completely keep up with reading blogs but I have been reading them whenever I can. I learned quite a bit of Spanish, not enough in everyone's opinion here but enough in my own opinion and that's what matters.
Here's the things I want to do in this next year:

Continue blogging regularly.

Write at least one bucket list blog post each month.

Make photo books - I had planned to make Scrapbook but I never get it done. So I've ordered one photo book already and I'm now planning to try and catch up on the last few years.

Pick up some more Spanish - try to use the Duolingo app every day.

Do the photo a day challenges every month.

Start a diary, write as much as I can even if it isn't every day (I love reading back on memories).

Try to read 16 books (last years goal was 15 and I read 17 so I think I can do it if I try, maybe next year if I beat my goal again I'll increase it again).

Start learning to drive, it's not just a case of learning since I have to be able to do the theory test in Spanish so it's much harder than for most people. But I'll put some work in even if I don't succeed by the end of the year, I at least hope to have made some progress.
So that's my goals for this year. Some I know I'll do, other's will be a bit of work.

Books I read 2014

• Endless by Amanda Gray 3*
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 4*
• The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry 4*
• Mad Love by Colet Abedi 2*
• Reality Parenting by Treion Muller 3*
• Once Upon a Billionaire by Jessica Clare 4*
• Where There's Smoke by Jodi Picoult 5*
• The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier 3*
• The Other Half by Sarah Rayner 4*
• Larger Than Life by Jodi Picoult 5*
• The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin 2*
• Carry You by Beth Thomas 5*

Book: Carry You

Carry You by Beth Thomas

Book description: Daisy has lost her mum to breast cancer. She’s at rock bottom and doesn’t think she’ll ever get back up again. Her best friend Abi has other ideas – she tells it like it is and she’s determined to make Daisy remember the person she used to be.
What Daisy doesn’t know is that, thanks to Abi, her life is about to take an unexpected turn, when she signs them up to do a charity walk. Added to which, someone is about to burst into Daisy’s world in a riot of colour reminding her that life can be full of surprises.

Picture and description taken from goodreads.com

What I thought:

*****

A really wonderful book. Following the grieving of a woman after losing her mother doesn't seem like it would be a very uplifting thing but the help of friends standing by is an amazing thing shown. I was so glad to read the ending, giving the idea that people get what they deserve eventually, which is a great message.
This book made me laugh, sympathize and brought me close to tears and I look forward to seeing what else this author comes up with in her future books.

Book read December 11th 2014.

2 Year Anniversary

Wednesday 12th November 2014

Armando and I are officially already into our second year of marriage. The first year was definitely very challenging with moving to England, meeting my side of the family for the first time and bringing our second child into the world. The most challenging part was having to be separated for those few months Armando was in El Salvador and I was in England.
But now, in our second year, we moved back to El Salvador as a family of four. We bought our first home together and even made our family more whole with a new little puppy. As always it's brought it's up's and down's but this year has definitely brought more up's. We're not taking our lives and time together for granted because we learnt how it felt to be apart.

It's quite hard to find decent English cards here and Armando's family isn't big on giving cards for events but I am so I always try to find a nice one. The card that I found had some lovely words in, not 100% relevent but enough to make me smile and pass it along to the one I love.
"For My Husband on our anniversary

This life we share, it may be less than perfect, but it's got one big thing going for it -

It's ours.

It's yours and mine, and it's made of all the moments we've lived together, all the memories that no one shares but us.

It's ours, and it simply wouldn't be without our commitment to what we began together all those years ago.

It's ours and, perfect or not, it's something to be grateful for, something I'm happy I share with you"

I got Armando a t-shirt and new lego phone case and he got me a mirror and a bag.

To celebrate our day we went out for a meal to a place called Ruby Tuesday's that we hadn't been to before, it was really nice.

Last year I decided to start a tradition of taking a picture of us holding the previous year's picture. It's kind of awkward asking someone to take a picture of us while we're holding a photo frame but I think it's worth it because the pictures turn out to look quite nice.

Puerta del Diablo

During a trip with my Auntie back in 2014 we decided to go to a park that sells El Salvador's national food (pupusas) so she could try before leaving.

After eating and having a walk around the park we went a bit further up the road to Puerta del Diablo which is some cliffs. We've been there before but this time we decided to climb up a higher one.

Chloe was in school that morning so we just had Elliot to carry up. It was sooo windy that day but the views are incredible.

Book: The Awakening of Miss Prim

The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin

Book description: Prudencia Prim is a young woman of high ideals, intelligence and achievement, with an extensive knowledge of literature and several letters after her name. But when she accepts the post of private librarian to a wealthy bibliophile in the secluded village of San Ireneo de Arnois, she is unprepared for what she will encounter there. Her employer, a philosopher and intellectual, is dashing yet contrarian, always ready with a stinging critique of her beloved Austen and Alcott. And the neighbours are also capable of charm and eccentricity in equal measure, determined as they are to preserve their singular little community from the outside world.
Thoughtful, gentle Prudencia might have hoped for friendship in San Ireneo but she didn't expect to find romance - nor did she expect the course of her new life to run quite so rocky, to offer challenge and heartache as well as discovery, joy and delicious regional pastries. The Awakening of Miss Prim is a delightfully unusual and entertaining tale of literature, love and the search for happiness.


What I thought:

**

It took me a while to get through this book because I found it pretty boring. The concept of this little town that's still set in its old fashioned ways is kind of cool but the way they all talked about books all the time made parts of the story line bland, especially since those books are ones I haven't read so I knew nothing about them.

Book read September 29th 2014.

Newest Member of Our Family - Charlie

We'd been thinking of getting a pet this year. We were actually thinking we'd get a rabbit and it would be closer to the end of the year, probably around Christmas.
Then we got a project from Chloe's school, she only has to do it in a few months but basically it says to have a pet and have photo's, talk about their characteristics etc. We could have just got a small pet like a fish but I've never liked fish, a pointless pet in my opinion since you can't play or interact with them.
So we thought we'd just get the pet we'd been thinking of earlier than we'd said and went to a couple of pet shops to look around. There were some cute rabbits... but then we saw some tiny puppies and we do all love dogs. We decided that even with it being harder work we would all rather have a dog we could all play with and have fun with. He's a mix of something with Maltese so he's only going to stay really small.
So here is the newest member of our family - little Charlie:

He follows everyone around and doesn't ever want to be alone. He loves following Elliot but goodness knows why because Elliot thinks he's really funny but likes to grab him. Chloe was very wary of him at first, she loved him when he's just sat still and liked stroking him but when he was playing and walking around she didn't like it. She started getting used to him really fast though and loves him now.

Book: Larger Than Life

Larger Than Life by Jodi Picoult

Book description: A researcher studying memory in elephants, Alice is fascinated by the bonds between mother and calf—the mother’s powerful protective instincts and her newborn’s unwavering loyalty. Living on a game reserve in Botswana, Alice is able to view the animals in their natural habitat—while following an important rule: She must only observe and never interfere. Then she finds an orphaned young elephant in the bush and cannot bear to leave the helpless baby behind. Thinking back on her own childhood, and on her shifting relationship with her mother, Alice risks her career to care for the calf. Yet what she comes to understand is the depth of a parent’s love.


What I thought:

*****

A very moving story that shows just how similar animals and people can be and how great the attachment between them can be. I'm glad this story will be continued in some way in a few months when Jodi's new book will be released, I look forward to see what else happens with Alice.

Book read September 9th 2014.

Minnie and Mickey Mouse Party Decorations

This year Chloe and Elliot had a joint birthday party for Chloe's third birthday and Elliot's first. Since we don't really know anyone with kids and Chloe doesn't have any of her own friends yet we figured we could get away with them having a party together before either of them wants their own themes and own friends at the party.

So we did a joint Mickey/Minnie mouse theme. Every time we saw any little thing while we were out shopping we got it - months in advance. But I'm glad because everything worked out so well together.

We had the party at Armando's parents house since it's a lot bigger than our place and most of Armando's friends live in that same neighborhood so it was easier for most people to go there.

Here's the decorations:

This is the little hanging decoration I put on the front door, I made it just out of cardboard and cotton string. It isn't perfect by any means but I was proud of it none the less. 

Two piñata's, one Minnie and one Mickey. I actually thought they were just going to be black not with faces but oh well. It took us ages to add all the sweets to them!

All the wall decorations. Red and black balloons dotted around the whole room. There was a Mickey helium balloon, we did buy a Minnie one too but sadly it hit a fan and popped the day before the party. I made the banners, the same as the hanging decoration on the front door - just with cardboard (the string for these one's was actually from when we bought Chloe some clothes at the disney store last year so it had little Mickey heads and writing on it). 

We used two table cloths. A white one underneath and a red one over the top that I'd added holes to so it was like Minnie's dress. We got all red, white and yellow plates/napkins/bowls. Most of the food was just bought and laid out but I did make fruit on a kebab stick which seemed to go down pretty well so I was happy about that. 

Last but not least was the cake. I designed it and got the bakery to make it. It took some explaining and they said the black part of the cake would have a very bitter taste but I think it tasted just like the rest of the cake when we ate it.

Well that's all the decorations from the birthday party. Simple looking but a lot of work went in to it all. I'm glad it all looked good together in the end and we got complimented on our creativity too which is always nice.

Day Trip

Tuesday 5th August 2014

We went out with a big group of friends first to a big park that sells pupusas (which is the national food here but I never understood the fascination). After eating a late breakfast we all walked around the park which is pretty big. We were looking for the maze that's in there but when we eventually found it we found out it was locked that day for some reason. After our walk around, some playing on the slides and some more snacks we left for our next destination. 

Right near the park a bit further up the hill there's cliffs which are called 'Puerta del Diablo' which in a English gets called Devils Gate. I've only been there once the whole time I've been here and that was before both of the kids were even born. Our walk up the mountains was a lot harder this time carrying the kids but it's worth it for all the lovely views.

We were all really hot and pretty tired after the trek up the hills so our last stop of the day was to get ice cream, both kids had a power nap in the car on the way there.

Book: The Other Half

The Other Half by Sarah Rayner

Book description: In the internationally bestselling author Sarah Rayner's The Other Half, Chloe, bright, hip and single, is a feature writer with ambitions to launch a magazine of her own. When she meets James, her potential new boss, she knows she shouldn't mix business with pleasure, but finds it impossible to resist...
Maggie appears to have it all. She's beautiful, a talented writer, and has a gorgeous husband. But something's not quite right: his job as a magazine publisher is keeping him in the city until late most evenings, and some nights he doesn't come home at all...
Told in the alternating voices of the mistress and the wife, this story of an affair is a sharp, seductive take on modern love.
Who, if anyone, comes out unscathed?
In writing that is lively, sexy and sharp, the international bestselling author Sarah Rayner explores modern-day relationships and age-old moral dilemmas.

Picture and description taken from Goodreads.com


What I thought:

****

I liked this story. It's quite a difficult thing to get attached to a character then read along as they go on an emotional roller coaster. It was interesting to read about an affair from the prospective of the 'other woman' and it really makes you think about what you would do in the same situation from either side. I hated how indecisive James was and much as I liked Chloe I couldn't empathise with what she was doing. The end did have everyone put in their own places but it was still left a bit open.

Book read 17th July 2014.

My Tattoo's: Favourite Quote

Saturday 21st June 2014

I've been saying for a while that I've craved a new tattoo and I've also always loved this quote so it only goes that I went on Saturday to book it and since the artist had no appointments at the time I ended up getting the tattoo there and then. 

'The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return'
It's on my right forearm. I didn't really plan on getting it done this big but when the stencil was all drawn out I liked how it looked. It's quite a sensitive area but since it was only black lines it didn't take too long.

Las Hojas Beach

Sunday 8th June 2014

I've been wanting to go to the beach for a while but the weather has been rainy (which is odd for El Salvador). But on Sunday we finally got the chance to go and it was REALLY hot.We went to Las Hojas beach which we've never been to before. We spent most of our time in the pool because Chloe loves it.

We went onto the beach a bit too but Elliot didn't like the sand at all and Chloe didn't like it when the water moved over her legs.

We had a lovely meal with a view of the pool and beach while eating.

Both kids were exhausted by the time we got home (about 4pm) and had a nice long nap in the afternoon.

Book: The Lost Sisterhood

The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier

Book description: Oxford lecturer Diana Morgan is an expert on Greek mythology. Her obsession with the Amazons started in childhood when her eccentric grandmother claimed to be one herself—before vanishing without a trace. Diana’s colleagues shake their heads at her Amazon fixation. But then a mysterious, well-financed foundation makes Diana an offer she cannot refuse.
Traveling to North Africa, Diana teams up with Nick Barran, an enigmatic Middle Eastern guide, and begins deciphering an unusual inscription on the wall of a recently unearthed temple. There she discovers the name of the first Amazon queen, Myrina, who crossed the Mediterranean in a heroic attempt to liberate her kidnapped sisters from Greek pirates, only to become embroiled in the most famous conflict of the ancient world—the Trojan War. Taking their cue from the inscription, Diana and Nick set out to find the fabled treasure that Myrina and her Amazon sisters salvaged from the embattled city of Troy so long ago. Diana doesn’t know the nature of the treasure, but she does know that someone is shadowing her, and that Nick has a sinister agenda of his own. With danger lurking at every turn, and unsure of whom to trust, Diana finds herself on a daring and dangerous quest for truth that will forever change her world.
Sweeping from England to North Africa to Greece and the ruins of ancient Troy, and navigating between present and past, The Lost Sisterhood is a breathtaking, passionate adventure of two women on parallel journeys, separated by time, who must fight to keep the lives and legacy of the Amazons from being lost forever.

Picture and description taken from goodreads.com


What I thought:

***
Wow this book was long.. Or maybe it was just lots of information and hard to get my head around. The chapters with Myrina were more interesting to me but the modern day chapters with Diana where a bit hectic for my liking. If you like a book about a good treasure hunt this is for you but for me it was just too busy to keep up with. Plus I really didn't know anything about Amazon myths before, so although it was interesting to find out about it was hard to keep track of all the myths mentioned in the book.

Read June 1st 2014.

Book: Where There's Smoke

Where There's Smoke by Jodi Picoult

Book description: Even as a child, Serenity Jones knew she possessed unusual psychic gifts. Now, decades later, she’s an acclaimed medium and host of her own widely viewed TV show, where she delivers messages to the living from loved ones who have passed. Lately, though, her efforts to boost ratings and garner fame have compromised her clairvoyant instincts. When Serenity books a young war widow to appear as a guest, the episode quickly unravels, stirring up a troubling controversy. And as she tries to undo the damage—to both her reputation and her show—Serenity finds that pride comes at a high price.

Picture and description taken from goodreads.com

What I thought:

*****

As always a great story by Jodi Picoult. I wish it was longer! I really want to know what happens next with Serenity. This could easily be a full book and not just a short story.

Book read May 21st 2014.

Book: Once upon a Billionaire

Once upon a Billionaire by Jessica Clare

Book description: The Billionaire Boys Club is a secret society of six men who have vowed success—at any cost. Not all of them are old money, but all of them are incredibly wealthy. They’re just not always as successful when it comes to love…
As a member of the royal family in a small European country, Griffin Verdi’s presence is requested at the wedding of the century. The scholarly billionaire feels out of his depth in social situations, so a good assistant is required—especially when dealing with royal etiquette.
Unfortunately for Griffin, he’s stuck with Maylee Meriweather, a pretty, charming, and thoroughly unsuitable woman who doesn’t know a thing about high society—but she sure can kiss. Her lack of polish may sink Griffin, because after all, even his money can’t buy class. But through Maylee’s eyes, he’s starting to appreciate the simple things in life—if simple means the most complicated woman he’s ever met.
Maylee is everything Griffin isn’t—and everything he wants—if he can let down his guard and step outside his sheltered world…

Picture and description taken from goodreads.com


What I thought:

****

I liked this story more than I thought I would. The fact that the love between royalty and a 'commoner' is so unexpected was a great and refreshing twist.
There's so many books around right now with young and vulnerable women who get controlled by dominant rich men so I loved that Maylee was such an independent women who is hard headed and holds her own despite being hurt by certain things.
I haven't read any other books by this author but I'll definitely be looking in to what else she has written.

Book read April 24th 2014.

Trip to Furesa

Saturday 19th April 2014

On Saturday morning we went to the zoo (Furesa in El Salvador). It was both our kids first trip. The place was made in the middle of mountains so there was a lot of walking involved which meant both kids were carried most of the morning and gave us a good work out. But it was worth it to go right to the top because look at the views. 

The zoo mainly has wild cats and most of them were sleeping during our visit and we couldn't even spot them in their cages. There were parrots, peacocks, raccoons, monkies, hippos, foxes and some other animals too though.
There were two hippos who were in the water when we got there but they both came out and had a bit of a walk around.


We had to go up a huge hill to get to the monkies but I'm glad we did because they were Chloe's favourite bit and she was singing "monkey monkey monkey monkey" and pointing at them a lot.
Before we left Elliot made friends with a turtle.

Book: Reality Parenting

Reality Parenting by Train Muller

Book description: Unlike TV sitcoms, real-life parenting leaves no room for commercial breaks. This book strips away common misconceptions about parenthood and focuses instead on its sometimes scary, sometimes stranger-than-fiction realities. Treion Muller, author of Mom.

Picture and description taken from goodreads.com


What I thought:

***

I don't know why but I got the impression that this book would be more fun anecdotes of parenting experiences with some helpful advise thrown in every so often. There was a lot of useful tips but the way it was written made it seem like every parent reading would be older and out of touch with modern things. Obviously the teen sections of the book didn't apply to me since I only have young children but I can compare to things with my teenage siblings and even with myself since I wasn't a teen that long ago. There's some 'txttlk' things that I've never even heard of and some that are just translated wrong too - I just think they shouldn't have been put into the book if they're not going to be correct.
My favourite part of the book was the anecdotes which I wish there had been more of - seeing other parents real life experiences that are either fun or embarrassing would be amusing, relatable but also be a good lesson on how to or how not to do things. All of the lists in the book do give you good guide lines on what can work but writing about real life experiences relates more to a wider range of people.

Read April 12th 2014.

Book: Mad Love

Mad Love by Colet Abedi
Book description: 23-year-old aspiring artist Sophie Walker can think of no better place than the exotic paradise of the Maldives to escape the wrath of her controlling parents, the monotony of her boring legal work and her passionless boyfriend. With her two best friends along for the ride and to help her find herself again, Sophie is not prepared for the enigmatic Clayton Sinclair. Clayton comes from another world of privilege that seems like a fantasy to Sophie. Can this man introduce her to the passion & seduction she never realized she was desperately searching for? Sophie quickly becomes ensnared in Clayton's seductive web until a shocking treachery makes her question her judgment and actions...

Picture and description taken from goodreads.com


What I thought:

**
I was really interested to read this book from the description but I was sadly very let down. Although I do like the style of the writer the story is just terrible. For a start it seems very similar to '50 shades of grey' with the whole "young, innocent woman/older, obscenely rich, completely overbearing man". I find it very hard to believe anyone would let someone treat them like that and I felt mad just reading about the things Clayton said and did and then the fact Sophie just played along and did everything he said because she was just oh so desperate for him... I just hated it. The only reason I gave this book more than one star was because I still wanted to read to the end and see what happened and I did like the writer. Maybe if there's a different type of storyline by this written I would be interested to read but the fact that this book has a second in the series? There's no way I'm going to read that.

Read April 3rd 2014.

Book: The Summer I Found You

The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

Book description: Jolene Perry's THE SUMMER I FOUND YOU, about a teenage girl trying to cope with her new diagnosis of type one diabetes and a teenage male veteran who is learning how to embrace his new life after losing an arm, who come together by using each other as an escape, only to discover through love and struggle that your life is what you make of it.

Picture and description taken from goodreads.com


What I thought:

****

I enjoy reading books where I learn about things other people have to deal which I would otherwise be ignorant to. Reading about Kate's diabetes and about Aiden's difficulties it opened my eyes to what some other people have to go through. One thing I disliked about the book was how it kept referring to Kate being so young and not old enough to date Aiden, they're only a few years apart and it made her seem like a young teenager not someone who's practically an adult.

Read March 23rd 2014.

Book: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Book description: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars brilliantly explores the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Picture and description from goodreads.com


What I thought:

****

I read this book because I saw a LOT of people saying how much they loved it. For the first half of the book I was really wondering why everyone loved it so much but as I read closer to the end I really got a soft spot for the main characters, not for their illnesses but for the clear love they had between them and all that they said and did to show it. When reading about people with cancer it's kind of a given that there's going to be some sadness and heartache in the book but that doesn't make the blow and more subtle when it comes, especially when it's not who you expected.

I do have to add that I really expected for the book to end like Hazel's favourite book, I'm not sure I like the ending the book had although I'm sure most love it that way.

Read March 11th 2014.

Book: Endless

Endless by Amanda Gray

Book description: Jenny Kramer knows she isn't normal. After all, not everybody can see the past lives of people around them.
When she befriends Ben Daulton, resident new boy, the pair stumble on an old music box with instructions for “mesmerization” and discover they may have more in common than they thought. Like a past life.
Using the instructions in the music box, Ben and Jenny share a dream that transports them to Romanov Russia and leads them to believe they have been there together before. But they weren't alone. Nikolai, the mysterious young man Jenny has been seeing in her own dreams was there, too. When Nikolai appears next door, Jenny is forced to acknowledge that he has travelled through time and space to find her. Doing so means he has defied the laws of time, and the Order, an ominous organization tasked with keeping people in the correct time, is determined to send him back.
While Ben, Jenny and Nikolai race against the clock - and the Order - Jenny and Nikolai discover a link that joins them in life - and beyond death.

Picture and description taken from goodreads.com


What I thought:

***

I'm not sure what I really expected when I first started reading this story. It definitely jumped in at the deep end and maybe had a bit too much going on straight away. It was a very interested perseption though that you wouldn't really think of as a possibility and as I read further on in the book the story gripped me a lot more and had me reading on to find out what happened. The end is a bit incomplete feeling, but I suppose it is left open enough for if this book were to be made in to a sequel.

Read March 4th 2014.

My Tattoo's: Elliot's Name

At the end of January we went to get our tattoo's of Elliot's name. I got Chloe's name on my leg a few months after she was born and Armando had her name in a heart of flowers and some other things.

With Elliot I got exactly the same thing, his name and date of birth but since Chloe's name has a bow in it I got a star on Elliot. It was hard to get a good picture in the light but here's the tattoo, right under Chloe's. 

Armando also got his tattoo for Elliot with his name and date of birth on a cross with a snake wrapped around it (Elliot was born in the year of the snake).

Royal Decameron Day 3

Monday 20th January 2014

We got up early again to go for breakfast and hang out by the pool. Armando played beach volleyball while I sat with the kids on the beach to watch. We went in the pool again after that and Chloe had a great time riding around on Mummy's shoulders and back. 

When we got out of the pool we went to pack all of our things away and check out before going for dinner. We spent our last few hours walking around and went to the park again just before leaving at about 2.30pm.