Books Books Books

I'm a bit of an avid reader. And that's a bit of an understatement. I'm going to write down all of my favourite books, not in order because I find it impossible to order them.

1)All 7 of the Harrry Potters. J K Rowling (Harry Potter and the Philosiphers Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). I read Harry Potter and the Philosiphers stone back in 2000 when I was 6, and I adored it. And I read all the others following, and when I'd caught up with the publishers, I waited with bated breath for them to publish the next one. Somehow, I never could seem to get enough of Harry Potter, and I was devastated when they ended. I am looking forward hugely to finding out what is going to be put up on pottermore. But Harry Potter has been in my life for 11 years, thats more of my life than it hasnt been, and I love them.
2) His Dark Materials Trilogy, Phillip Pullman. I followed the story of Lyra and Pan with great intenstity. I loved every word. All 3 books are just magical. I found myself cursing at the wrong parrallel universe because I wanted a deamon!
3)  Mort, Terry Pratchet. A fabulous book. Raw imagination. There is no other author that I know of who can write as Terry Pratchet did, his books (in particular Mort) had me in stitches on literally every page, and the ideas surrounding discworld and how it sits on the Old turtle.....everything is just wonderful! He had a whole other world in his head when he wrote his books, and he explored it in great detail, and it makes for amazing reading.
4) Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, The BFG, The Giraffe The Pelly and Me, Boy, The Magic Finger, The Twits......Roald Dahl (the list is endless). Aside from Harry Potter, Roald Dahl books shaped my entire childhood. They made me laugh until I thought I could not laugh any more. The BFG with all his wonderful words! The Witches getting turned into mice. Matilda scaring the living daylights out of Trunchball. The birds revenge on the Twits. I have spent so many happy hours in the wonderful world of Roald Dahl. Just recently, I picked up another Roald Dahl book which I had never read when I was younger, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, he suceeded in story telling and captivating me like he always could when I was younger.
5) Candy Floss, Tracy Beaker, Sleepovers,The Diamond Girls, Bad Girls, Dustbin Baby, Clean Break, Midnight, Worry Website, Best Friends.....Jacqueline Wilson (again the list is endless). I devoured these books, I tend to like magic and fantasy, but somehow these books drew me in despite having a lack of magic and fantasy. I know no other author, who manages to get right to the heart and soul of the trouble that some children and young people face, whether that be bullying or problems at home, or bad dreams, or bedwetting, leaving family members and leaving friends, and then manage to get their emotions and reactions to their struggles head on. She has a real insight into children and young people, and this shines through so much in her writing, which makes her books so compelling.
6) Sophies World. Jostein Gaarder. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I opened it and I didnt stop until I'd read it. Incredibly thought provoking, a very nice twist at the end, a really interesting read and insight into philosophy. I found myself trying to answer the questions along with Sophie, and then comparing my answers to hers, you could really get involved with the book, and it always left me wanting to read on more and more and find out more and more, it became a bit like a compulsion! :)


Thattl do for now I think, I'm tired and I havent had any breakfast yet so I'll be off, I'm reading Frankenstein, Marry Shelley at the moment, In a weird kind of way it's really beautiful, im actually thoroughly enjoying it.

Keep Smiling
Love, Tutti-Frutti
xxx

EXCITEDDDDDD :D

Heyyyy :)
I'm really really excited :D I'm going on the train today back to my family, I have a few parties coming up, and its nearly my birthdayyyyyy.

I said I'm going to be old and decrepid and order a walking stick and look at my grey hair and wrinkles (no-ones taking any notice like, they just laugh at me :D)

Theres some bloody good songs on the music channels this morning, I'm loving them :D and I'm happily dancing around to them :D

AAAAHHHHHHHHH I really am so excited it's unreal :D

Anyway, leaving you all to it, I have to go get some last minute packing done :D

chat soon :D

Keep Smiling
Love, Tutti-Frutti
xxx

A Bit More Of A Serious Post.

I'm writing this rather more serious post to honour a piece of news that has had the world rather unsettled over this weekend.
I'm talking about the awful things that have been happenning in Norway. For those affected, the dead and their friends and family, you all have my depest sympathy, I feel for you all so much, and I can only hope things get better soon, though I realise that some things never really heal.
Rest In Peace those wonderful, brave soldiers who have died over this weekend.

Furthermore, whilst I am writing this serious post, I also want to write in tribute of the people who died at the hospital on account of having insulin dripped into their saline drips. Being diabetic, this story not only disgusted me, but also left a profound affect on me, because I know what slipping into hypoglycemia is like, and it isn't nice and I don't wish it on anyone, especially when those affected cannot be saved. Again, my deepest sympathy and my thoughts go to all those affected by this horrible thing.

In light of these recent events, I understand that it probably is really really hard to accept when I say that there is more good in the wolrd than there is bad. But allow me to repeat emphatically, that there are more good people in the world than there are bad people. I promise you that there are, I'm prepared to swear to it. And nobody is born bad, we do not have bad written straight into our genes from birth, it is what happens between birth and their ultimate perils that make them so, not that, that is any more reason to be any more lenient towards them, I am simply saying, that if we can gain insight into how society works from when children are born, then we maybe stand a chance of stopping utter disasters like this from happeneing again. And that, I realise, is little consolation to those who have been affected by this huge, catastrophic mess, all I can say is that I am truly, truly sorry, and I'll keep you all in my thoughts.

I know its hard, but:-

Keep Smiling :)
Love, Tutti-Frutti
xxx

Todays Update (Friends, Family and Netbooks :) )

Happy Friday everyone!!!
Hope everyone has had a fabulous day.

Now, I'm smiling for a few reasons today :) Firstly, I'm sat at my grandmas with my mini mees, and i've spent the last few days with my mini mees aswell :)
I saw a friend today who I haven't seen in almost a year and that was lovely.
I met my baby cousin today :) Shes beautiful :)
I'm sat chatting to you all on a netbook, even better it's my grandmas netbook, which just makes me smile as she is usually so behind with technology it's unreal, retirement has forced her into the technological world which just makes me laugh. Furthermore, I've decided once and for all that it will be a netbook I am getting when I've had my birthday and have some money, I've decided (after much playing about on them today) that I absolutely love them and it's one of the best things I an get :D
We're on holiday!!!! Though since I havent been in college since wednesday that is a bit belated coming from me :)
I'm 17 soon :D :D :D about time methinks.
It's all goooood :)

Keep Smiling :)
Love, Tutti-Frutti
xxx

Those Things We Just Don't Notice.

Think of childrens laughter, sure we all hear it, but do we all notice it?
How many people have looked you in the eyes and smiled at yo today? Did you notice them?
How many people have helped you today, even a simple thing like holding open the door, did you notice them?
Did you notice the sky today? The colour changes? The clear blues, even the grey when it rained?
Did you notice how the birds seem to interact with each other and make the sky their own personal playground?
How about your own feelings, were they noticed?
Or the feelings of others?
Sounds? Smells? Colours? Shapes? People? Animals?
What do you notice?

I'll leave you with that, just think about it :D

Keep Smiling
Love, Tutti-Frutti
xxx

Smiles At Others

I spent yesterday and this morning smiling at everyone with the intention of seeing how many people would smile back at me. I have the happy job of noting that ll but one of the people that I smiled at in those two days smiled back-so things really aren't as bad as they seem.

I smiled at the old, young, black, white, people in wheelchairs, buggies, mobility scooters, people on the street, people on the bus, people I knew and complete strangers. Some of them I know for a fact were having a really stressful time, yet they could still find it in themselves to smile at me, and that is a huge reason to smile.

Whatever you're doing this weekend, make it a reason to smile. Try smiling at some people like I did and see how it altars your mood state, sometimes a bit of attention from a complete stranger can really make your day, and attention from you can really make theirs, so get smiling :D

Keep Smiling :)
Love, Tutti-Frutti
xxx

Even If It Starts Bad, It Always Gets Better.

I have to admit, I was having an awful day today. I was stressed right out of my head, and I was upset, and then it started to rain and I was walking and didn't have a jacket, my diabetes had messed up for a lot of the day and I was tired. After walking for a while however, thinking about how I can imagine the rain drops being angel tears sent to earth to help the blooming flowers so I really shouldn't be complaining about getting wet, a car pulled up next to me. I didn't stop at first, it was a car I did not recognise, then I realised the lady in the front was watching me. I took a second look and figured it was my dad and his girlfriend- after months of having no car, we now have a car!!!!! I got in, no longer fuming about the rain and about my bad day. I started thinking about my psychology teacher who had pulled my leg in the lesson earlier and made me laugh to teach me about demand characteristics. Then from getting home, we were bought take away! After my stressful day it was needed. And now, I'm sat watching Julie and Julia, watching the main character write her blog as I write mine, and chilling out a bit, going to be getting a bath in a minute and reading Frankenstein. Things have gotten better today despite a bt of a rubbish start.

Keep Smiling :)
Love, Tutti-Frutti
xxx

Human Nature

So, what's made you smile today? :)

Today my thoughts have been on human nature, in particular the human capacity for love, understanding and care. I think it's amazing. Something so seemingly simple, so innate, and without us really realising it shapes the entire foundation of our lives almost.

As I've said before, it's easy to believe that the world is full of bad, but it isn't, not really. And even the people we consider bad had capacity for care, its just that the other desires they have are stronger. The beauty of human nature, comes in the humans capacity for love and understanding. Even before humans figured out why we love and why we manage to understand things, in the times when we still lived in caves with no scientific knowledge as we have today, love and understanding was still there. Another beautiful thing about it is that it isn't only humans who have the capactiy, look at the way animals care for their young. Mothers from all different species will attack anything they believe is going to harm their young. Not only is it universal in humans, its universal in all different species.

In psychology last year we learnt about privation, in some cases a child had suffered such severe privation that they ended up spending more time outside with dogs than they did with humans, incredibly these children picked up the traits from dogs, and lived as the dogs did. Perhaps even more incredibly, the dogs had taken these human children as if they were their own young, they let them share their food and their shelter, and looked after the human child as if they were a child of their own. Now, I'm not saying that the cases of privation are good, because nobody should be subjected to that, but what I really find amazing here is that in the absence of others, even other species can find it in them to take care of other species. That is amazing. And a child with no attachment figures and no internal model of what attachments should be, can find themselves attached to the dogs, in a similar way to how they should have been attached to the humans.

What I also found quite amazing, was the story of the war orphans (Freud). These 6 children had endured more in their short lives at the hands of humans than I think anybody will ever go through in their lifetimes. But their attachment to each other was astonishing, they loved each other, they still had the capacity for love even though all they had been subjected to was watching people die around them in concentration camps. In that case, love triumphed over the horrors of which they were victim to. Of course they had problems with adults when they were eventually taken out of the camp, but that is to be expected, and eventually, with persistence, they came to trust some adults and form attahcments with them, but I find the attachments they had with each other most incredible, in the face of such monstrosity, was still the desire to love someone else and to be loved by someone else.

Love and compassion are two of the most important factors towards our wellbeing. It is there, all around us, we all have it in us. Unfortunately in today's society it is often hard to see, everybody seems so self consumed and time pressured, but it's important to remember that that isn't everybday, I myself have met some wonderful people, and I hope to follow thier example as I grow older. My wish is just to put 1000000 times more good into the world, than the "bad" people put bad into it, and when I have managed that, I can rest peacefully.

Keep Smiling :)
Love, Tutti-Frutti
xxx

Live Because You Never Know.

This might sound a bit pessimistic to begin with, but believe me I've got a bit more of a happy ending to it :)

All I really want to say today is, live. It struck me earlier this morning, that life is way too short, I'm talking to you all now, but I don't know whether by tonight I'm still going to be able to talk to you, I just take it for granted that later tonight I will be sitting there with friends alive and well, but the reality is that I might leave to go the chemist like I have to do, and get hit by a bus.

I know that's an awful thing to say. And I know that for someone so optimistic it seems like a pessimist view, but what I'm trying to say is because life is so short, and because life can be ended at any moment, you really do have to live every day as if it is you very last. Go out there in the sunshine today and smile at the people who meet your eye. Have a laugh with friends, make sure you hug your family that little bit tighter before you go to bed tonight, just to remind them that you love them. Not everyone gets millions of people remembering them in this life, we aren't all Shakespeares or Einsteins and not all of us are known by everyone, but all the same we are all amazing! And none of us should squander life because we don't get enough of it to squander.

Finally, don't hold grudges. Grudges hold us up, they bring us down. Let it slide, what's done is done, it cannot be changed, if someone hurts you, you have 2 choices. You learn to forgive them and love them again, or you forgive them and cut them from your life, but there is no point in swearing revenge, it wont do you any good to have all that negative feelings in your head on account of one person.

Keep Smiling
Love, Tutti-Frutti
xxx