New Year Resolution #5

Resolution #1
A slightly better result this week I lost 1 1/4lb lost bringing me to 11st2lb. To be honest I haven’t done much to deserve a loss. I didn’t get to the gym this week and I haven’t been particularly good but I’m not going to complain. I’m hoping to get into the 10’s again by the end of the month, if I was still using my old scales I’d already be there but I’ve got to stop thinking of what my old scales would say as I think my ww scales are far more accurate.

Resolution #2
Update at the end of the month.

At The Movies

This is another Ratty inspired by the lovely people at Ratville. This design will be appearing on on Zazzle shortly.

Avatar - I have a new all time favorite movie!!!

Jackjack Jan ’08 to 27/01/2010

Last week I lost Jackjack. He was one of the first rattys that I owned since he was a baby, he was also my first dumbo ratty and he was a lovely chunky cuddly boy. He had the most hansom dumbo face I’ve ever seen and he could power sniff for Britain! He was also a champion pea fisher, the other boys will miss him come summer when they have to do their own fishing.
Jackjack was just too cute for words, his little dumbo ears gave him a perpetual look of being put upon and his personality was mild and sweet. He was the sort of ratty that I could intro with anyone without worrying.
I will always remember his last vet visit because despite being absolutely devastated I found my self laughing with the vet as we watched Jackjack prop himself down on his bum and look up at us with a look that said “I’m fed up” more perfectly than any words ever could.
Love you Jackjack, give the rest of my troop at the bridge ratty kisses from mommy.

New Year Resolution #4

Resolution #1

Due to not having the internet I’ve missed one week’s report which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as last week I put on 3/4lb but this week I lost that again despite eating my own weight in food while my sister was visiting.
I’m finding it a little difficult to stay on track at the moment, I always go through a session of wanting comfort food at the tail end of Jan and although I’ve been back to the Gym (that hurt) but I had to miss this week due to my sister visiting. Hopefully I’ll get back to the gym next Tuesday.

Resolution #2

It’s the end of the first month of my second resolution. I want to pay off £10,000 worth of debt this month I’ve managed £730.31. If I want to manage my target I need to pay off £834 per month meaning that I have failed my target this month by £103.69 so I’m going to have to pay off £937.69 if I want to stay on target. I’m not convinced I’ll manage that but I’ll do my best.
Meanwhile I’m left with £9,269.69 left to pay to reach my target.

Radio Silence is Over

BT have finally fixed my internet so the radio silence is over!

Radio Silence

For anyone trying to contact me please be aware that I'm having problems with my BT phone line at present and I do not have access to my emails or the internet. I anticipate the problem being resolved by the end of the week.

An update will be posted shortly.

New Year Resolution #3

Resolution #1

Last Fridays weigh in was a little disappointing. Only 1/2lb lost, better than nothing but only just. To be fair I was feeling ill last week which lead to me not going to the gym again and possibly eating a bit of chocolate. I’m back on track this week though. I’m off to the gym tomorrow for my first body balance class in a while (I think it may hurt!) and I’ve made a couple of my low fat apple pies to stop me nibbling on bad things and a couple of my low fat steak and kidney pies… I may be becoming slightly obsessed with pies since I learned how to make pastry.
Anyway 11st3 1/4lb this week, hopefully a better loss next week.

Resolution #2

Update at the end of the month.

Bunny Doctors and the Big Stick

This is the finished article of “Bunny Doctor and the Big Stick”. This picture came about after I overheard the following conversation at work…

“I’m going to the doctors today”
“Really, well you know what happens there don’t you?”
“Go on then”
“They have big sticks… and they poke you with them”
“Really?... Well they didn’t do that last time”
“No, well that’s because they only do it the second time you go”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh yes, definitely… and there are bunnies too. Lots of bunnies, and they make them chase you”
(I will not be held responsible for the accuracy of the above conversation, in fact I may have imagined some or all of it… you really never can tell… but I’m sure the bunny part was real!)

New Years Resolution #2

Resolution #1

Well, I have to admit that I haven't been an angel this week. I'm not good in the cold and I've been nibbling a bit more than normal. Despite that I've lost 2.3/4lb bringing me down to 11st3.3/4lb (10st12.1/4lb on my old scales) I was going to get back to the gym this week but unfortunately with my car snowed in I've not been able to. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to the gym next week (although we're forcast more snow so it's not looking too good) I'm starting to get a bit flabby and I've only got my gym membership until the end of Feb so I want to put in some seriouse time on the treadmills and go to a few body ballance lessons before then. I've even had to take down my pull-up bar becouse I needed to close the door to keep the heat in.

Resolution #2

I'll have no real update on my second resolution until the end of the month however I am very happy that I've managed to reduce my shopping bill to an average of about £6. I've also managed to go without using any of my £20 petrol budget and as I have about £10 worth of petrol in the car at the moment I think I should be able to get away without using any of it. I've been putting all change from my wallet in a jar and I now have over £10 sitting there. I've also earned £37 from my illustrations on Zazzle which should hit my bank next week. I'm planning to get some stuff on ebay next week so hopefully I'll earn some more dosh to pay off my credit cards.

Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris

Dead to the World is the 4th True Blood book. The story takes part at the New Year when Sooky happens across a mentally challenged Eric and finds herself talked into looking after him while the Shrivenport vampires try to find a way to give him his memory back.
As with the previous books there are two story lines going on. The main story which happens around Sooky and the side story which weaves in and out of the mail tale but only ever “happen” in the first few pages and the last few pages. At first I found these secondary stories annoying and even now I find them a little shallow but in this book they wove together a lot mote intricately than in the previous books and even if it can be annoying at time you’ve got to appreciate how they lock together.
I have to say that so far this is my least favourite book. Sure it has lots of my favourite character Eric in it but despite that the story seemed shallower than the previous ones and Sooky seemed less vibrant. Maybe that’s because Bill wasn’t there for her to bounce off in fact there didn’t seem to be any constant character in this book, just lots of guys jostling for Sookys attention but none of them really becoming intricately involved in her story. I’m also starting to find the rate at which Sooky’s being given information about the way the supernatural world is run and who is part of it to be a bit too thick and fast. In the beginning she really had to work to get information and figure a lot of it out herself, now it’s being handed to her on a plate and new “species” are popping out of the wood work everywhere.

I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series Dead as a Doornail to see how the story moves forward as although I enjoyed this book it did feel very flat in comparison to the rest. For that reason I’m giving this book 3 rattys out of 5. Not brilliant but a good read.

New Years Resolutions #1 – In the beginning…

With the first if January comes my first new years resolution report (From now on NYR because it’s freezing and my fingers are too cold to type!) As the first day of the new year is a Friday I will be doing a report every Friday this year on my progress in achieving my 2 new years resolutions.

Resolution #1 Get down to 9stone
After last years successful weight loss I’m going to try to achieve the impossible this year and get down to 9stone. Last year I managed to lose 3 stone which is amazing! This year I will need to lose a little less than that. My last weigh in at the November was 10st7lb. I took December off so that I could enjoy all the buffets and treats, I figure after 11 months of dieting I was allowed a month off. I was expecting to put on 7lb over Christmas and I managed to put on 8lb according to my trusty scales which are telling my I’m 11st1lb. I’m not too worried, it’ll come off easily enough over the next month. I did however buy myself a nice shiny new pair of weight watchers scales in the sale (It was the only treat I allowed myself to buy) All scales weigh differently so I was not expecting them to agree with my old scales. I was a little miffed however when my nice shiny new scales told me that I weigh 11st6.5lb a difference of 5.5lb *bother* As this is the case I am for my records acknowledging that I’ve only put on 8lb but from now on I will be measuring against the weights given by my new scales.

I’m also anticipating it being more difficult to lose weight this year. Not only am I closer to my goal weight and it’s always more difficult the closer you get but I also can no longer afford to go to the gym. My membership runs out in February and I will be quitting then. To keep fit I’m hoping to start walking the Ridgeway again and doing some fitness DVD’s at home. I’m also unable to get help from weight watchers this time as again money is an issue so I will be relying on my common sense to help me decide what I should and should not be eating… I’m not convinced my common sense is up to the challenge but I guess we’ll see!

Resolution #2 Pay of 10k of debt
This is a slight change from my original resolution but I found a lovely group of people on MSE who are doing a 10k in 2010 challenge and I thought I’d have a much better chance if I had that kind of support. The 10k refers to money my debt has decreased by not money I’m paying on my debt as due to APR etc. these are not the same thing. In order to achieve this goal I will mostly be trying to manage my money better although I will also be eBaying anything I own that’s not nailed down and trying my best to find other means of earning money, maybe even a second job. I will also be continuing to keep full records of all my income and expense so that I know where my money is going as well as a spreadsheet of all my debts and snowball predictions. If I manage to do this I may even be able to affort to go back to trapeze next year!!! *yay*

As far as economizing is concerned I’ve decided that I will live on no more than £100 per month. This works out as follows;

Food £40 p/m (£10 per week) This should be possible as long as I stick to own brands and make the effort to cook, I’ve learned how to make pastry and pies and I’ve been given a slow cooker for Christmas.
Rats £20 p/m – This is for food and bedding and with my decreased numbers this should be achievable.
Petrol £20 p/m – I will stop making any unnecessary trip in the car (I have legs, I will just have to use them) and hopefully I will be able to get by on less than £20.
Sundries £10 p/m – This is things like bin bags, loo roll, deodorant, all essential stuff which isn’t food.
Other £10 p/m – This is £10 for me or for topping up the other stuff if I need to.

Any money that I don’t spend will be placed in a piggy bank and put away until the end of the year.

Instead of a weekly report on this challenge I’ll give a monthly report. The first of these will be made at the beginning of February.

A New Year Is Dawning

Well it’s finally hear, 2010. We’re not just starting a new year but a completely new decade. I didn’t go out last night so it was my first new year alone for a long while. I thought I’d cozy up on the sofa with a bottle of bubbly and a cheese cake and watch the new year show on the BBC. I was quite happy until they did the look back at the past decade. The awful, awful things that have happened in the past 10 years far out weighed the good and they were big things, things that seem a long way away now like 9/11, the London bombings, the start of the war and the Boxing Day Tsunami. They were all events that happened in the past 10 years not to mention the personal memories that the events they mentioned sparked in my head. A decade ago I was living at home, going to college and looking forward to University and a full and exciting life. The road from where I was then to where I am now was covered in potholes and although I’m happy with my life now there are some things that have come to past in the last decade which will always haunt me.
I was feeling a little melancholy after midnight to say the least and after watching the fireworks and turning off the Christmas tree lights for the last time I was ready to slope off to bed with my hot water bottle. It was at that point that I looked up through the skylights in my kitchen and was surprised to see that the sky looked far too bright for night time. I moved to the other side of the kitchen to see where the light was coming from and saw the most amazing full moon was lighting up the whole sky with a halo of silver light. I wondered for a second how many other people on my town had noticed how beautiful it was and that was the point that I decided this year is going to be amazing. It’s a new year, a new decade, a clean slate and it will not be wasted. I will not look back in 2020 and be shocked by how many awful things had come to pass I will look back and remember how amazing it was!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy New Year

Merry Christmas Everyone

The Last Unicorn – Peter Beagle

I will admit before writing this book review that I’m 100% bias. I love this story with a passion and always will.

The story of the last unicorn is based in a fantasy medieval period. The story starts with a Unicorn. She hears a rumour that she is the last of her kind and heads off into the world to find out if it is true. Along the way she is trapped by a witch and rescued by inept and ageless wizard call Schmendric. She also gains the help and friendship of a peasant woman called Molly. Together they follow a clue laid down by a butterfly to a cold and dead kingdom and the red bull.

This is my favourite fairy tail. It is not a modern fairy tail, where everything ends happily, where all turns right and at the end. Where evil is vanquished at no cost and the heroes live happily ever after. This is a melancholy tail where those touched by the story must live with the consequences of their actions, where there are no happy endings not because happiness cannot be achieved but because nothing really ends.

I’m not going to give this book a rating because I would be rating the memory of a story I grew up with, not that actual book. All I will say is that if you like fantasy stories then go to the effort of finding this book. You will not be disappointed. It is currently out of print and you will seriously struggle to find it anywhere off-line.

Game Review – Barrow Hill

Apparently I’m not satisfied just giving my 2 pennies worth on books I’m going to have a go at games as well. I’m not a big gamer but I do like old fashioned point and click adventures and that is what Barrow Hill is… A bit too old fashioned if you ask me.
The game was made around 2006 which is quite surprising considering the cut scenes and game play were worse than some early 90’s point and clicks I’ve played which was very disappointing. The atmosphere of the game which is supposed to be very spooky was ok to begin with but you quickly became used to the “some thing’s behind you sounds” and the game some how manages to just miss being spooky on both sides of the horror scale. In other words for the majority of the game it tries to go for a “nothing is as scary as your own imagination” line but then ruins it by showing you the “evil” you are facing about half way through the game. Unfortunately the monster isn’t very scary at all and they haven’t even gone the whole hog and made up for it by making it gruesome and shocking it’s just a “oh, is that all” moment. When they’re going for the “we’re going to let you scare yourself” tack they’ve also not quite got it right. The music is good, the scuffling around you is good and they have a one or two moments where they’ve got it perfect and you jump out of your skin. Unfortunately these moments are few and far between. If the atmosphere had been better they could have very easily made this the kind of game that you’re too afraid to play if you’re on your own with the lights off.
As for the rest of the game, it has to be said that it was severely lacking. It is a inventory based adventure however there is very little inventory, you can’t examine anything and nothing is tagged. In one particular part of the game you need to use 7 items which look nearly identical and I ended up having to draw a map of my own inventory in order to figure out what was what!
On a personal side I like to have a little bit of commentary going on in my point and clicks. In other words, if you click on something your character will tell you what it is or make a little comment. Not only is this an excellent way to give feel and direction to a game but also allows for a little bit of comedy, a little bit of dark humour would have done this game a power of good.
Barrow Hill is not a hard game although it’s also not your normal linear point and click which adds to the interest but also leaves you wondering what next in a few places. There are very few locations (a petrol station, Shrine, Caravan, Ruin, barrow and alter) and they’re made to feel smaller because there aren’t that many objects you can interact with and the ones you can really aren’t that satisfying because you just pick them up and put them down, again a little bit of narrative would have added interest.
Anyway, as you may have guessed I am not a fan of this game. I think it has a lot of potential, if they put it back into production and re made it adding narrative, up to date cut scenes and added puzzles the game could be fantastic but as it stands it’s more like a story board for a finished game. I give it 1 ratty out of 5. It could have been so good but turned out to be a bit of a shrug.

New Years Resolutions – 2010

I’m sure I’m not the only one who can’t believe it’s nearly 2010!!! Christmas is on it’s way and then it will be time to start all over again!
This year has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me with some pretty rubbish stuff sandwiched in between some good times, I guess that’s just the way life is but all in all I think I’m ending the year on a high and now I feel it’s time to look back at last years resolution and think about what I want from next year.

This year I made two resolutions, I wanted to lose weight and have a go at learning trapeze. No-one can be as shocked as me to realise that I succeeded in both (some-what) I’ve last about 3 stone… although with the amount of chocolate in my flat right now I’m expecting to gain half a stone over Christmas!! lol. I’ve also had several trapeze lessons and am really eager to learn more, although sadly that may need to wait a year while I sort out my finances… this swinging upside down lark isn’t cheap!

Having two resolutions seemed to be just right, any more and I would have struggled trying to do too many things at once so for 2010 I will chose two again. My first 2010 new years resolution will be to continue losing weight so that by 2011 I will be my ideal weight of 9 stone. So only about 1st7lb to go give or take a chocolate lol. My second new years resolution will be to pay off half my debt by 2011… I’ve started this resolution early after looking at www.moneysavingexpert.co.uk a month ago. I don’t want to air how much debt I have here so instead I will record what percentage of my debt I have paid since I started trying to pay it off a month or so ago. When I get to 50% I will consider this resolution achieved. At present I’m on just over 3% so I’ve got a long way to go and it’s really not going to be easy as I really do like spending money lol.

Dragon Kin – Anne & Todd McCaffrey

There is a lot of criticism of the newer Dragon Rider books written with or by Todd McCaffrey so being a big fan of the original Dragon Rider book I was a little hesitant about this book. I was however pleasantly surprised.
On the negative I did find this book perhaps a little shallower than the traditional Dragon Rider books and the Watch-Where story was a little strange. Watch-Where’s seem to switch from intelligent relatives of Dragons to monstrous ugly mistakes and back again quite a lot in the Dragon Rider books but this book seems to suggest that Watch-Where’s are nearly as intelligent as a dragon. Even thought the story runs over thousands of years it seems odd that that kind of information would be lost. I also found that the ending was a lot less satisfying as they were trying to make it, it seemed that in the last chapter they undid all the work done thought the rest of the book and it felt too contrived. I won’t go any further as I can’t without giving away the story but it felt as if all the troubles and obstacles were brushed away instead of overcome.
On to the good points, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I liked the characters and enjoyed the writing style. If the ending was lacking then the rest of the book made up for just by being an enjoyable read.
I’d give this book 3 rattys. Enjoyable but could have been better.

Next I will be reading The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle.

Rading List

I thought I'd do an update on my reading list... it's grown!

1 - Acorna’s Children: First Warning – Anne McCaffrey - Read
2 - Acorna’s Children: Second Wave – Anne McCaffrey - Read
3 - Acorna’s Children: Third Watch – Anne McCaffrey - Read
4 - Black Horsed for the King – Anne McCaffrey - Read
5 - Sassinak – Anne McCaffrey - Abandoned, half read but gave up as i wasn't enjoying it
6 - Dragon Kin - Anne McCaffrey - Read
7 - The Last Unicorn – Peter Beagle - Read
8 - Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris - Read
9 - Dead as a Dornail - Charlaine Harris - Read
10 - Definately Dead - Charlaine Harris - Read
11 - All Together Dead - Charlaine Harris - Read
12 - From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris - Read
13 - Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris - Read

1 - Killashandra - Anne McCaffrey
2 – Crystal Line – Anne McCaffrey
3 – The Dinosaur Omnibus – Anne McCaffrey
4 – Tarka the Otter – Henry Williamson
5 – Seeds of Yesterday – Virginia Andrews
6 – Garden of Shadows – Virginia Andrews
7 – If there be Thorns – Virginia Andrews
8 – Tales from Watership Down – Richard Adams
9 – Joust – Mercedes Lackey
10 – Owl Flight – Mercedes Lackey
11 – Werehunter – Mercedes Lackey
12 – The Amulet of Samarkand – Jonathan Stroud
13 – Scarlet – Geraldine McCaughrean
14 – Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austine
15 – Northanger Abbey – Jane Austine
16 – The Ring of Fire – Beth Webb
17 – Northern Lights – Philip Pullman
18 – The Subtle Knife – Philip Pullman
19 - The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
20 - Red Lotus - Pai Kit Fai
21 - A Touch of Dead - Charlaine Harris (to buy)
22 - The Crystal Singer - Anne McCaffrey (to buy)
23 - The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman (To Buy)

Updated 27/01