Thoughts on...

As I'm reading a lot of blogs and some of them are like colums in magazines or something I really liked the idea of writing stuff like that as well. At the moment I have tons of ideas of subjects I could write about. They are all in my head and I keep writing the ideas down but I never really get the chance to actually write the posts. Well, I've been pretty busy at work and most of my freetime I've been meeting friends, going out and all but believe me, very soon, I'll start writing again. Promise!

Until that, have a look at these for example:

http://thoughtcatalog.com/

http://hellogiggles.com/

Jenny, xoxo

More changes?

January 2012 is nearly half over. Time is flying. Okay, it's only been 15 days yet the new year doesn't feel so "new" anymore. It has been good so far.

My plan works. Making 2012 my year. The new year is only a few days old and I have felt good at least once a day. That's good, right? Made me think that every night before I go to bed I should think of something nice that happened that day. Good plan, isn't it? Well, anyway, I'm feeling good and I am sure this year will hold some more surprises and good things for me.

At the moment I'm thinking about moving again. Today I went through the internet looking for appartments. So far there haven't been any great ones but I think I'll just keep my eyes open. I really like my appartment, it's just the right size for me and in the meantime it is very pretty. Actually I haven't thought that I ever want to move out. But there are a few problems: It still bothers me that it takes me 40 minutes to get to work. It's a 15 minutes walk to the next tram station if there's no bus so you can never be spontaneous because you always depend on the busses and all. In summer it's easier, I just went nearly everywhere by bike but in winter that's not the greatest thing to do.

The other thing is that there was a problem with the balcony above my flat. There's nobody living in the flat so nobody noticed that there was water all over the balcony for days or even weeks from the heavy rain. Now the water came through the floor (my ceiling!) and it doesn't look very good. I have no idea if they have to remove the whole balcony but I'm really scared that it could get worse. Above my window there's already a black spot and I'm freaked out that it could be mildew. I mean, that's really bad for the lungs and all if it really is...

The only problem is that I am so sick of moving. I hate it. I really don't want to pack all my stuff again and unpack in a new place but i suppose that's just what I'll have to do.

Well, these are the thoughts on moving, if somebody knows a nice flat in Cologne or someone who is moving or any information really, just let me know!

Jenny xoxo

2012!

Yes, I'm back! It's been a while and it's 2012 in the meantime. I'm starting with one of my resolutions right now: blog more! I mean, I'm reading too many blogs already, takes me a lot of time and I enjoy doing it because they are all great but I should spend some more time offline or at least I should blog more myself so here we are.

I just sorted my bookshelf, finished my reading list 2011 and checked how many books I have, that I haven't read yet. I'll tell you in a minute, because this comes with another resolution: I have thousands of books on my Want-To-Read-List and I keep buying new ones but for this year I have decided I have to read two books I already own before I'm allowed to buy a new one. That's a good start. My goal is to read at least 10.000 pages in 2012. I tried that in 2011 already but didn't reach my goal.

Here we go, books I own (as hardcovers, paperbacks, audio books and e-books):

• Alcott, Louisa May - Little Women
• Alighieri, Dante - Die göttliche Komödie
• Alutegen, Karin & Murray, Steven T. - Shame
• Austen, Jane - Emma
• Austen, Jane - Love and Friendship
• Barry, Sebastian - Annie Dunne
• Bonner, Stefan & Weiss Anne - Heilige Scheiße: Wären wir ohne Religion wirklich besser dran?
• Bronte, Charlotte - Jane Eyre
• Bronte, Emily - Wuthering Heights
• Bukowski, Charles - Fuck Machine
• Byrne, Thomas & Cassidy, Tom - How to save the world with salad dressing
• Carroll, Lewis - Alice im Wunderland
• Dickens, Charles - A Christmas Carol
• Dostojewski, Fiodr Michailowitsch - Schuld und Sühne
• Fielding, Joy - Flieh, wenn du kannst
• Franck, Pierre - Wünsch es dir einfach aber mit Leichtigkeit
• Garder, Jostein - Sofies Welt
• Goldt, Max - Ä: Kolumnen
• Hay, Louise - Power Thoughts
• Hesse, Hermann - Narziss und Goldmund
• Hornby, Nick - How to be good
• Janes, Diane - Why don't you come for me?
• Levin, Ira - A kiss before dying
• Ligocka, Roma - Das Mädchen im roten Mantel
• Locke, John - Saving Rachel
• Losada, Isabel - For Tibet with Love
• Murakami, Haruki - 1Q84
• Nietzsche, Friedrich - Also sprach Zarathustra
• Nolden, Stefanie - 28 Stories über AIDS in Afrika
• Olafsdottir, Audur Ava - The Greenhouse
• Orwell, George - Animal Farm
• Osborn, David - Jagdzeit
• Palahniuk, Chuck - Fightclub
• Pancol, Katherine - Die gelben Augen der Krokodile
• Pavolthavee, Nick - The Happiness Equation
• Regener, Sven - Der kleine Bruder
• Sachew, Matthias - Linksaufsteher- Ein Montagmorgen
• Schätzing, Frank - Tod und Teufel
• See, Lisa - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
• Seiwert, Lothar J. & Küstenmacher, Werner Tiki - Simplify your life
• Shakespeare, William - Ein Sommernachtstraum
• Shakespeare, William - Hamlet
• Shen, Samuel - House of God
• Slaughter, Karin - Dreh dich nicht um
• Sparks, Nicholas - Message in a bottle
• Stewart, Jeff - Why balloons rise and apples fall
• Stroker, Bram - Dracula
• Thömmes, Günther - Der Bierzauberer
• Tolstoi, Leo N. - Anna Karenina
• Tolstoi, Leo N. - Krieg und Frieden
• Victor, Barbara - Shahidas
• Wiggins, Marianne - Noahs Schwester
• Wright, Austin - Tony and Susan

There are a few missing, but I can't remember them all, some of them are at my parents', some are in boxes on my wardrobe... I'll let you know when I find them.

Here are the books I've read in 2011:

• von Kürthy, Ildikó - Freizeichen (232 p.) **
• Entschuldigung, sind Sie die Wurst? (288 p.) ***
• Weiler, Jan - Mein Leben als Mensch (224 p.) ****
• Mosby, Steve - Der 50/50-Killer (496 p.) ****
• Gavalda, Anna - Zusammen ist man weniger allein (551 p.) *****
• Fielding, Joy - Lauf, Jane, lauf (448 S.) ****
• Ahern, Cecilia - If you could see me now (339 p.) ****
• Binchy, Maeve - Minding Frankie (480 p.) ***
• Nicholls, David - Zwei an einem Tag (224 p.) ***
• Glattauer, Daniel - Gut gegen Nordwind (224 p.) ****
• Feeny, Penny - That Summer in Ischia (312 p.) ***
• Strunk, Heinz - Fleisch ist mein Gemüse (255 p.) **
• Sotschek, Ralf - Gebrauchsanweisung für Irland (200 p.) ***
• Weiler, Jan - Maria, ihm schmeckts nicht (272 p.) ****
• Poladjan, Katerina - In einer Nacht, woanders (172 p.) ***
• Ullrich, Alyssa & Hortense - Last Girl Standing (254 p.) **
• Turney, Lesley - Die fremde Frau (476 p.) *****
• Hornby, Nick - Slam (315 p.) ***
• Russel, Lindsay- Making it big (352 p.) **
• Kerkeling, Hape - Ich bin dann mal weg (352 p.) *****
• Schnoy, Sebastian - Lass uns Feinde bleiben (300 p.) ***
• Coelho, Paolo - Veronika beschließt zu sterben (223 p.) ****
• Foster, Juliana - The Girls' Book (128 p.) *
• Sandstrak, Pelle - Herr Tourette und ich (488 p.) ****
• Hornby, Nick - Small Country (158 p.) ***
• Ist meine Hose noch bei euch) (288 p.) **

Total: 8371 pages

Oh, and here's something for the Kindle users: There are lots of free e-books or cheap ones at the moment at www.kindlepost.de. They aren't all very intersting but you might find some. Some of them are in English, some in German.

Have I mentioned, that 2012 is going to be my year? I don't have too many resolutions but there are some changes happening here and I'm really looking forward to them. I'm starting a new job in March and I'm so excited about that. I hope to go to Ireland again this year with the girls, I hope it's going to be just as good as last time. I have also been working a lot on myself and I'm going to keep doing that, because I realized how good it feels. It's not just eating healthier and doing sports and stuff but it's also working on my thoughts and all. I am more relaxed about a lot of things and that's so good. I stopped worrying about things that I can't change (to be honest, I haven't stopped but I try and I'm still working on that) and I spent more time doing things that I like. I think the best resolution for 2012 is to just stay that way! As last year wasn't the best because of all sorts of things I'm really going to make this one my year (that's one positive post, isn't it?)

What about you? Do you have any resolutions, any plans, any thoughts on the new year? I'd love to hear about them!

Jenny, xoxo

What I like about autumn

Summer hasn't been a great one so I'm excited that autumn is finally here. I really like hot summer days but even more I like spring and autum, when you can get out in a light jacket, when you can finally breath, it's not too hot but you still get some warm, sunny days and everything smells like winter's nearly here.

Here's what I like most about autumn:

Fashion

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Clothes are more cosy this time of the year and you can finally wear jackets (but only light ones ;-) ).

Colours

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Nature is so full of all these lovely yellows, reds and browns.

Rain

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Confession: I love rain. Especially when I'm inside. Or wearing wellies.

Hot drinks

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Tea, hot chocolate, chai...

Home

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Just spending an entire day inside, reading a book or watching films.

So: hello, autumn! I've missed you! <3


Jenny, xoxo

TV...

I have watched some TV-shows during the last days and I want to share them with you, they have been pretty good.

First of all: New Girl. It's about Jess who moves into a flat with three guys after her boyfriend cheated on her. First they aren't very happy to have her there but after telling them that all her girlfriends are models she's allowed to move in. She's in a really bad mood, watching Dirty Dancing about five times each day, crying all the time but then they are starting to like her. And everybody will understand, she's just adorable, a bit crazy, makes up theme songs for herself and stuff all the time. It was only the first episode but I can't wait to see what's happening next.

Then: 2 Broke Girls. Max is a waitress in a diner in Brooklyn, she really needs but hates the job and shows everyone. When a new waitress, Caroline, is starting to work there she can't imagine her working there and makes fun of her all the time. All she's really crazy about is her (very hot) boyfriend.

Caroline used to be rich but has lost everything and needs to work now for the first time of her life. Curcumstances bring her to Brooklyn where she starts working at the diner. She doesn't seem to be very smart but kind of lovable and after a bad start the two girls seem to become friends. They have the idea to open a cupcake shop and decide to raise $250 000. This was also just the pilot but we'll see what's going to happen.

I also watched Mike&Molly, it's a show that started last year, the 2nd season is going to start in a few days. It's a funny show about Mike who's working as a policeman in Chicago and tries to lose a bit of weight. At "Overeaters Anonymous" he meets Molly (the adorable Melissa McCarthy, known from Gilmore Girls), who is a school teacher and has been overweight since her childhood. She lives with her mother who doesn't have any weight problems at all and isn't a big help for Molly's diet, and her sister who likes to party and smoke marijuana.

Molly likes Mike when she first sees him at the OA-meeting but it takes him a while to finally take her out. When Molly feels sick on the day of the date you can see this isn't going to go so well...

Mike&Molly is a funny show which is definately worth watching. Both, Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell are very funny and so is Molly's Mom. Her sister just fits in because she's the opposite of Molly and maybe I should also mention Mike's partner who gives a lot of dating tips but isn't as succesfull himself, he still lives with his grandmother. Most of the time they talk about women at a diner, Mike is always trying to stay on his diet but Samuel, the african waiter, doesn't make that easy...

That's all about the new shows I've been watching but another thing I have to mention is Ashton Kutcher in Two and a half men. I didn't know what to think when I first heard that Charlie Sheen wouldn't be on the show any longer and Ashton Kutcher will be the new star in it. But now after a lot of gossip and stuff I watched the first episode I think it is really good. Ashton aka Walden Schmidt is pretty funny and I'm excided to see what will happen...

Oh, and for all How I met your mother- Fans: I want to know who's getting married!!! Please tell me it's Robin!

Jenny, xoxo

Lovelybooks & allfreecrochet-givaway

I should really post something about lovelybooks today. It's a nice web page about books. You can create your own bookshelf with all the books you have read and want to read in the future. You can talk with others about your favourite books, authors and everything you love about reading. As I have been into books ever since I was able to read (and even before that) it's really a nice page for me and I spend a lot of time there. Every week they have nice givaways and stuff and very often they are looking for test readers of new books. All you have to do is sign in, leave comments about a specific subject and then, if you are lucky you get a free book and can talk to others while reading. I have been so lucky and won three books during the last days and now I'm just waiting for them to arrive. I'm all excited!

The next big event they're hosting is a 24-hour reading-marathon. It starts on October 2nd at 9am and ends at the same time October 3rd (it's a public holiday in Germany). I have to work on Sunday but I'm off Monday and I hope to join in and also blog about my experience and the books I have read...

I'll also blog about the books I've won when they are here.

That's all, I just wanted to tell you about it, one of my favourite pages on the internet (maybe I should do that more often, about my favourite blogs and all...).

Jenny xoxo


PS: Have a look at the nice givaway at http://www.allfreecrochet.com/sweeps/Granny-Square-Love-Book-Giveaway#contestTop . I hope I'll win this book, I NEED some new inspiration!

Holidays at home

Oh my, time is running, probably because I don't want it to. I'm still off work for one more week and I spent the last two weeks at my parents'. It has been great. I caught up with all the people I haven't seen in a while, went to some nice places and just had a good time. I'm pretty relaxed now, that's just what a holiday should look like, right? Unfortunately I didn 't get away really because I decided to save money for bigger travel plans next year and at first I was a bit sad but now I think it was the right decision. It was nice just to spend some time with the family and long missed friends. One of them had a baby six weeks ago and I was really glad to see her after a long time now and to meet the new baby girl.

I wasn't really productive while I was at home but it felt good just to relax and not having anything to do. I read a few books and really had some nice days. I went to Europa Park, I went swimming, I went to have a nice afternoon at the lake...

You see, I'm pretty happy. Yesterday I drove back to Cologne and I'm also glad to be back here now having another week off. Today I slept in, had a nice late breakfast, went for a run (after which I thought I have to die, I should just workout more...) and now I'll probably have just a nice evening at home. In the next days I hope to see some of the Cologne friends and enjoy the last days of my holidays.

That's it, nothing special but all really good ;-)

Jenny, xoxo