I DON'T NEED AN EDWARD

Although I do love Edward and Bella (kind of)...













I love Simmone and Damo more :)














Damo is not like Edward. He doesn't control what I do, who I talk to or where I go.
Damo doesn't accuse me of cheating and is never jealous of my outside relationships. He doesn't look at me like I am something to eat and doesn't threaten to kill me (especially not on our first date) ;)

Damien is the most amazing person. I am so lucky to have him as a boyfriend. We have been together for two years and and three months and I have never been so happy. I know it sounds corny but he is my best friend. We are totally on the same wavelength and we just 'get' each other :)

BACK TO BLOGGING

So I've been a very unfaithful blogger and for that I apologise. I have been super busy lately and have had hardly any free time to do anything remotely enjoyable, such as blog! I have been flat out with uni assignments (I have handed in two and have another five to hand in within the next four weeks). I can't complain though because some of the assignment topics have been rather fun and interesting to research. Such as an assignment on the iSnack 2.0 campaign, a report on visitors to the Melbourne Zoo and I have an upcoming assignment on fandom (I think I will do it on Harry Potter)!! Did I ever mention I love my degree? Because I do ;)

The other reason I have been so busy is because I have been working so much. I like my job but I am getting suck of doing the same things every shift. I found out today I am being rostered on to work 2-7 EVERY Saturday and Sunday! Goodbye to my already non-existent social life!

Other exciting news is that my best friend Danielle is pregnant! So now I have both my best friend and my sister expecting babies, this year is getting more exciting each day. I am so excited to be an aunty, it is going to be amazing. Danielle is due approximately five weeks after Connie. August/September is going to be a crazy crazy time.

In other news my boyfriend and I are getting closer each day in saving enough money for a home loan deposit. I am so keen to move out, I am far too impatient. We are hoping to have enough money by August and then we will start looking for that perfect first home.

At the moment that's my life in a nutshell. This weekend, besides working, I plan on buying the New Moon DVD and watching it on repeat. Sad I know! Eclipse comes out in about 9 weeks. EXCITING!

I promise to blog more and I apologise for my lack thereof.

Love Monipops

P.S I'd like to say thank you to Frangipani Princess for passing on the blog award to me (I'll post a response asap) and I'd also like to congratulate her on her new role as teen mag reviewer on Girl With A Satchel ;)

MEDIA JUNKIE?

I think I can self diagnose myself as a media junkie. My consumption of media definitely exceeds the recommended daily dosage.I am obsessed with reading books, watching dvds and television series. I am in the middle of so many books and TV series its become a little overwhelming.

TV SHOWS ON DVD
Heroes: I have just finished watching the 3rd season and am now waiting to watch the 4th season. I loved season 1 & 2 but found season 3 to be quite a disappointment. Hopefully season 4 wins my heart back.
LOST: I am in the middle of watching season 2. There are like five seasons so I have at least another three seasons to watch.
Gossip Girl: I watched season 2 online and am now impatiently awaiting the third season to come out on DVD as I have missed watching it on Austar.
True Blood: I have only watched the 1st season as I am yet to find season 2 in stores.
Skins: Omg my new favourite TV show is Skins! It is so good. I own the first series on DVD and started watching it again yesterday. Damo has even fallen in love with it. They are screening the 4th season on Austar next Monday but we are yet to watch the 2nd and 3rd seasons. I'm gonna borrow them from my friend and hopefully watch them over the weekend.

BOOKS
Handle With Care: I am about halfway through reading Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult. It is a really sad book about a young girl with a fragile bone disease, Osteogenesis Imperfecta. I really want to finish reading it but have never found the time.
The Hunger Games: My friend Elise recommended that I read this book by Suzanne Collins. I am only about a 1/4 of the way through it. So far so good!
Eclipse: I am re-reading the Twilight Series and am currently up to Eclipse. I am really looking forward for the movie to come out in cinemas in June.
Wicked Whispers: I am pretty sure this is the only non-academic book available for loan at my university library. It stumbled across it in the journalism section. It is written by Jessica Callan, who was an original member of the famous 3am gossip column. It bares all on the journalism industry and gives a great insight on what it was really like to write for a tabloid gossip column. I am only a few chapters away from finishing it. Truth be told, I don't want it to end.

I am also patiently awaiting for Packed to the Rafters, Masterchef and Australia's Next Top Model to return to TV. I also really want to buy this months editions of Cleo and Frankie. When I talk about it like this I really can't believe how much media and entertainment I consume. I am addicted. Really there is nothing better than watching a good television show or snuggling up on the couch with a good book to read. And even better I love talking to my friends and discussing what we think about certain characters and story lines.

What are your favourite TV shows, movies or books?

CAPRICORN

"CAPRICORN December 23 - January 20 This is an excellent time to begin new projects, especially those that involve dynamic activity or some risk. You will feel full of vitality and vigor to confront life. You won't enjoy sitting down too much or spending time in one room for a prolonged period and will resist maintaining a daily routine."

This is my horoscope for this month extracted from Cleo Magazine. Sometimes I completely flick past the horoscopes section as I think they are a waste of time and should never be taken too seriously. But for once, I completely agree with this months horoscope. I feel as though I have so much to do. There are so many things that I want to start doing but squeezing them all in to my hectic schedule is kind of the big issue.

1) I really want to do well in uni this semester so I need to study study study! Last year I barely studied at all. It still amazes me how I managed to get decent grades. I am going to need to dedicate at least 1-2 hours per day to studying/revising.

2) I have recently started a new job at my local supermarket. I initially thought I was going to get approximately 15 hours a week of work. How could I have been so wrong! For the last three weeks I have been rostered on to work from between 20 and 30 hours per week. This week I was meant to work 6 shifts with them all finishing at 9pm. I had to ask to cancel 2 of them because there was no way I could work that much and stay on top of my study. I am going to ask if I can only work about 15 hours a week in the future. I am also trying to organise some industry work experience at a local newspaper and/or radio station.

3) I want to get fit. I am so out of shape it is disgusting. I eat so much junk food and barely ever exercise. I made a promise to myself that in 2010 I would start going to the gym. There is a brand new fitness centre opposite my university so I want to become a member and go at least 3 times a week. I also purchased the Latin dance DVD program Zumba. It is a great way to keep fit so I want to try and do a Zumba workout at least twice a week.

4) In my previous post I mentioned how me and my boyfriend Damien want to buy a house. Saving for a home loan deposit is really my main goal for the year. Today I made Damien join the Commonwealth Bank. The lady told us that we would need to save a deposit of 5% to be considered for a home loan. A $200,000 loan would therefore require us to save $10,000. My goal is to continue saving $135 a week, but since I have started my new job I aim to save at least $200 per week.

The above four things are the main things I want to focus on in my life right now. I hope that I can remain organised as I realise I have a lot on my plate right now, especially with university. For once I actually have faith in this months horoscope as do feel full of vitality and optimism and am confident that I can achieve my goals.

DYING TO DIET

I work in a supermarket and the amount of people that buy weight loss products such as milkshake packs and those muesli bar type things is absolutely ridiculous. I understand that many people in society have the desire to lose weight but I don't believe that spending outrageous amounts of money on weight loss dietary programs is the best way to do it.

At Safeway they sell boxes of 'The Biggest Loser' milkshakes for $39.98. There are only 15 milkshakes in a box. That equates to about $2.65 per shake. People are lead to believe that these shakes work miracles and just by drinking them that they will instantly shed the kilos. The shakes are meant to act as a meal substitution and therefore replace an entire meal. The thing is that people often drink the shakes AND eat their regular meal as well, meaning they will actually put ON weight! I think that the companies that produce these products should be ashamed. They are so expensive and send the wrong message out to people that are obviously uncomfortable about their weight.

A lady once came in and bought two boxes of the shakes. Two boxes, thats $80! Imagine how much fresh fruit and vegetables she could have bought for $80. Instead of substituting her meals for silly weight loss shakes, to lose weight all she would need to do is eat healthy and exercise.
This week at Safeway watermelon is on special for 0.75c a kilo. For $80 the lady could have bought 106 kilograms of watermelon!!! Although that seems crazy I am just trying to demonstrate how much $80 could buy, compared to 30 lousy milkshakes.
I wish that people would realise that spending ridiculous amounts of money on weight loss products is only going to make their bank balance decrease, not their waistline!

SHUTTER ISLAND!!

On Sunday afternoon I dragged Damien to the cinema to see Shutter Island because I had a free movie ticket. I hadn't heard much about Shutter Island, I hadn't even seen the preview for it. So I was going in with no expectations whatsoever.

Shutter Island stars Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) and Teddy (Leonardo DiCaprio) as a pair of U.S Marshalls that are sent to Shutter Island, a maximum security hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando a patient who has managed to escape from her cell. Rachel had been convicted to Shutter Island for drowning her three children. The only way to get off the island is by a ferry, which leads Teddy to believe that Rachel is still somewhere on the island.

The first half of the movie shows the search for Rachel but in a strange twist of events, it is then Teddy who is considered 'crazy'. It is revealed that Teddy is actually a patient at Shutter Island and has been for two years. The doctors and psychiatrists of Shutter Island explain to Teddy that he is the one who in fact drowned his children and shot his wife. Teddy believes that everyone is lying to him and that he is being set up. Teddy thinks that he is being drugged as all the food and cigarettes he had been consuming had been supplied by the staff of Shutter Island.

The movie was very confusing and I am sorry if I have given away to much, but trust me I haven't. There is so much more to this movie that I have not explained. There are so many twists and surprises that my mind is still ticking, trying to find some answers.

During Teddy's initial investigation of searching for Rachel he discovers that Shutter Island conducts lobotomies to patients who cannot be cured of their mental illness by any other means. The staff of Shutter Island deny that lobotomies are being performed and the audience is lead to believe this as it is made out that Teddy is in fact 'crazy'. At the end of the movie, it shows Teddy and Chuck sitting on some stairs out the front of the institution. A staff member walks out of the building holding a straight jacket and an ice pick, an instrument used when doing a lobotomy. This is the part that really confused me. This means that Teddy was not crazy. That Shutter Island was pure evil and WAS conducting lobotomies on their patients. I am still trying to understand everything. I think I need to go and see the movie again. But although many people are arguing that Teddy was crazy, I think that the ending made it clear that he was being set up.

You HAVE to go see this movie. I have done such a bad job at trying to explain it, but once you see it you will understand why. It is one of the weirdest and hardest to interpret movies I have ever seen!