Vision In Blue

January, the traditional time for "new year, new you" posts. I always say I won't read them... but that obviously doesn't work out so well when they promise you so many wondrous things. Some of them can actually be interesting, but that's where my enthusiasm stops. Everyone wants to make you do everything, all the time, and I've discussed before how that's almost impossible when you're struggling. As a general rule of thumb a habit can be formed in two months, and broken in one month... and yes this is just an estimate because studies on the subject vary from person to person... but it's an excellent place to start don't you think? What if you try to do, or not do, something for that long and see what happens? It honestly does work, and would work for longer if you don't relapse into old habits... but that's not the point of what I'm suggesting you try. You only have to try it for one or two months. That's not so hard, right...

How I haven't hit insanity yet I do not know. I tend to sit very close to the line, but as yet I haven't stumbled over it. This post isn't directly about my mental health though, although the contents does eventually start to contribute. Photo by  Jonathan Fink  on  Unsplash This time I'm on about good old fashioned sleep... forty-winks, hitting the sack, zonking out. I remember the days where I'd come home feeling a little tired, sit myself down to relax and almost instantly fall asleep. I'd sleep from 6pm to 6am, bounce out of bed and feel like I'd kicked my body back into gear. These days though that isn't how that scenario goes. Anywhere from 7pm-11pm I'll go to bed and lay there for an hour or so before actually managing to fall asleep. I'll then toss and turn all night, waking up each time, before the alarm goes off at 6.15. Then anytime from 9am I'll start yawning and wishing I was still in bed. The National Sleep Foundatio...

I'm notoriously bah hum bug about Halloween, mainly because where I used to live it was an excuse for "troublemakers" to cause trouble. The most sensible thing was to get home as quickly as you could and sit in darkness until the seasonal craziness switched to Christmas overnight. So the weekend is here again, what is a girl to do when faced with a few days of trying to avoid trick or treaters and drunk idiots in costumes? It will come as no surprise to you that I had a few thoughts! Films I don't enjoy horror films. And probably for the opposite reason that has popped into your head... I just don't find them scary. If I'm going to watch something in the horror genre then it's going to be funny. This can be films that were made deliberately funny, or ones that took themselves so seriously that they became funny. My top ten favourite funny horror movies The Addams Family - On bad days, Wednesday is my spirit animal. On fabulous days it's...

I had the urge to make another list... haven't made one in ages and I'm getting an itchy writing hand just thinking about it. You guys know I don't like an easy challenge, in this case it is go big or go home... the epic list... the one everyone thinks about... The Bucket List. I have what can only be described as a work in progress. I've taken things off it, I've added things on, I've completed a few... but it really could be never ending. So here it is, my work in progress, my list of things I really hope I get round to doing: Places to visit: See all the Guggenheim museums Mount Rushmore, South Dakota Grand Canyon, Utah/Arizona Niagara Falls, Ontario/NY Yellowstone, Wyoming Barcelona Crater Lake, Oregon Angel Falls, Venezuela Galapagos Islands, Equador Northern Lights, Finland Zion Wildlife Park, New Zealand Terracotta Army, China Moraine Lake, Canada Monument Valley, Arizona/Utah A proper American "Believe It Or Not" Sal...

Travelling between Bristol and London means a long straight 100 mile (or so) stretch of motorway... nothing to do but drive and contemplate the deeper meaning of life... or sing along to the radio. The weather was fantastic and it was noticeable that everyone was driving with a little more verve than usual, and that got me thinking about those unwritten rules of the roads. Our very own highway code that we've all just learnt from experience. As my journey went on I kept thinking of more and more things that we just expect to happen, and when they did I did the typically British thing of tutting in my car, and/or shouting at the car violating the rules with no hope of them hearing me. So I thought I'd give you a run down on some of the top ones that I encountered today. I'm also going to throw in a few tips on how to make the journey bearable... in no particular order of course! Dreaded slow inclines - Coming round the M25 there is a stretch of motorway at R...

I love food. I love cooking. I love finding new recipes. I hate washing up. The eternal dilemma of the housework-shy, cook something fantastic or have someone else cook you something fantastic? Of course, short of winning the lottery I'm not going to get to try eating in every restaurant I would like. Slowly but surely, I'm finding some great places for food, so I thought I'd share a few with you along with some of my favourite memories. So remember everyone... eat all the food! Bills, lots of locations These industrial country kitchen style restaurants make delicious food, I can highly recommend the halloumi burger (with chipotle mayo, not cumin yoghurt). But the main dishes aren't the reason this restaurant is making it onto the list... it's one dessert. Lemon Meringue Cheesecake with poppy seed meringue. Two of my favourite things in one. It comes served in what looks like a dainty glass with a mound of meringue on the top... it tastes heavenly and s...

So you'll get the idea of this if you've read my January post about new titles, so here's my top picks for February. Some of these may have slightly fluid publication dates, but they're still ones to add to your wish list. Blood & Fire: The Double Axe by Philip Womack 9781846883903 Dark forces are at work in the House of the Double Axe. Stephan, the thirteen-year-old son of King Minos of Crete, stumbles across a terrifying conspiracy. Is the Minotaur, a half man half bull who eats human flesh, real? Or is something even more dangerous threatening to engulf both the palace and the world? Stephan must race to save his family from a terrible fate and find out what really lurks inside the labyrinth...You think you know the story? Think again. I love a good story that's based in myths and legends. Being slightly addicted to Rick Riordan I'm hoping this will be another great take on the subject.  Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh 9781509803569 ...

I know I'm slightly late off the mark as we're over half way through January, but I've just been looking at the first quarter's new publishing and thought I'd do a run down of the top picks. They might not be the best, they might not be the publishers wannabe bestsellers, but they're the ones that intrigued me. So here we go... blurb first, my waffle second! All The Birds In The Sky by Charlie Jane Anders 9781785650550 Patricia is a witch who can communicate with animals. Laurence is a mad scientist and inventor of the two-second time machine. As teenagers they gravitate towards one another, sharing in the horrors of growing up weird, but their lives take different paths... When they meet again as adults, Laurence is an engineering genius trying to save the world and live up to his reputation in near-future San Francisco. Meanwhile, Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the magically gifted, working hard to prove herself to he...