And.

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The heartwarming news that Jelena are officially back on.  That’s Justin and Selena for those of you who are still out of the loop.  Photos have emerged of the pair spending quality time together doing such things as carrying large cups of soft drink and going for bike rides together while effortlessly dressed in their activewear.

I know the cynics among you will be wondering if an album or movie release is on the cards for either.  But I’m a Belieber (sorry, couldn’t resist) and I know that The Heart Wants What it Wants..  That whole sentence probably actually does more for your argument than it does for mine, to be honest.  But it’s so clever, if I do say so myself.

via Google images

But seriously, there’s something about seeing a pair of teenaged sweethearts come back together after they’ve had time apart to do new things, meet new people, grow a little, discover more about themselves, change their hair….

Meanwhile in images from the place otherwise known as the real world,

I’ve been paying a lot of bills.  And it’s hurt each and every time I’ve had to enter my credit card details on the payment page.  A hurt I never seem to feel when paying for those online shopping carts I’ve filled one too many times in recent weeks.

We didn’t make it to trick or treat for Halloween this year but a colleague kindly brought in the excess spoils from her children’s efforts for us to share.  So brought home a few bits and bobs for Preschooler SSG to eat as he wore his Harry Potter gown over his pyjamas.  I try.

A new express commuter train has joined the rail network that is the floor of the lounge area at SSG Manor 2.0 and it’s proven a popular travel option with monkeys who need to get to breakfast.

The railway is also a rather lovely place to sit and have a read if you’re that way inclined in the evening.  These are our favourite pages from ‘One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish’.  It’s that tricky business of being too long for your bed that makes us both laugh uncontrollably.  Bless you, Dr Seuss.

via GoodReads

I’m also enjoying ‘The Art of Hiding‘ by Amanda Prowse.  This is the first of Prowse’s novels that I’ve read and it definitely won’t be my last.  Nina McCarrick has shrugged off her working class roots to lead a new and perfect life in a wealthy part of England.  She looks the part in her English manor but there’s still a sense of the imposter syndrome in her every interaction with the parents of other boys at her sons’ exclusive grammar school.  But it’s a burden she bears with little complaint because of all the other comforts and reassurance that her position now brings.

Nina’s life crumbles in front of her in the days that pass after the tragic death of her husband Finn.  The years of leaving everything beyond the gates of their house to Finn have lead Nina to be tragically ignorant of exactly what the family’s financial position is.  It turns out that Finn heavily mortgaged the family home to finance a new development that was to turn a huge profit but didn’t: leading the bank to call in the debt and take possession of the family home.

I know this doesn’t sound terribly exciting, it is unfortunately a common scenario but Prowse writes with an astute eye on the nuances of family relationships and human behaviour in the complex world of the present day where old ‘social standards’ are at once both irrelevant yet deeply imprinted within our subconscious.  There’s also the undercurrent of deeper secrets and mystery as to why Finn died on a stretch of road in the opposite direction of where he was meant to be travelling that fateful day…

Where do you stand on Jelena?

What are you up to this weekend?

Read anything by a new (to you) author recently?