And...... the adventure begins

And so it’s here.

This is the day I depart, fly the coup, plus leave the country. So many mixed feelings attached to this day. I mean I’m excited, so very excited – yet it’s so daunting as well.

The last three weeks have been so overwhelming. So different to just moving house, I just can’t believe the amount of belongings, (crap, stuff), that I have discarded. I mean, how on earth did I buy all those things, and why? When did I think I needed all those cushions? Five bags worth I gave away. That extra big linen cupboard was a vortex that sucked me into stuffing it, I’m sure. Our life belongings have been reduced to twenty or so boxes and the ten or so bags we have taken with us. Sentimental possessions, which I couldn’t part with, and my shoes and our clothes.

Yep. All the furniture has been sold, the storage costs were ridiculous, so better off to get rid of it and start anew when we return. At first, this was very hard. This house held so many good memories after all, and it was one which we had designed, watched being built, and furnished in our own way. Our children have grown up in this house, from teenagers to adults, moved out and in and out again. But once the big decision was made and the selling and culling began, I just wanted it over with.

Comments have come from everyone we know, and I am pleased to say that on the most part everyone has been very supportive of the decision we have made. Some though, question it. And that is fine as well. I mean who decides to just uproot themselves from the country they grew up in, to move to an over populated one, a third world country in some parts, to begin the next chapter of their lives?

Well, we do!

  Why Bali, I was asked more than once, despite people knowing the love we have of this island and its people. Really, I’m not sure I know the answer to that fully. We both decided though that life for us couldn’t continue in the way it was. Nine to five jobs, that really became seven to six for both of us, if not longer some days. Paying a mortgage, struggling occasionally and forging our way through the different health issues we’ve both had.

It had to change.

We needed to make time for us. Needed to start living, together not separately. Needed to spend time doing something we enjoyed, something we could derive satisfaction from, and still be able to provide a lifestyle for ourselves. We began by discussing a three month stay, which then turned into six months, which then turned into lets give this a go. And give it a go we are!

By no means are we under some illusion, that this is all just going to transpire on its own. We realise that this restaurant will involve our work, our sweat, our tears, and our hearts. It will be totally dependent on the feedback of those who patronize us. It will be totally reliant on those who work with us to provide an environment that entices customers, tempts them to return and encourages them to shout our name out to all those that they know. But, shit, it’s going to be one hell of a ride!

Our lives will be much simpler, much less cluttered, and hopefully so will our minds, and our bodies hopefully just that little bit healthier. No winter to care about, warm, hot days, everyday. There’s the Balinese way of life to explore, the culture to understand, and the food to experience. There are all those places that we haven’t seen as yet on the island and across South East Asia.

So much to look forward to.

It really is a dream come true, a restaurant on a beach.

Yes, we’ve taken a leap of faith, and sure, we could land flat on our faces, or our asses, or both. But hey, what an adventure we have ahead of us. What tales we have to tell later in life, and what memories we can make together. It really is a new beginning.

Don’t call us crazy!

Crazy is never taking the chance, never allowing your heart to beat that little bit faster, never allowing yourself to live to your full potential.

 Crazy is never finding out if you can make it happen.

Live, Love, Laugh.

Jo. xx 

Delicate Love is coming in 2016!!

Delicate Love is currently being edited, once again with assistance from the talented Nina Wegner.

At this stage, I'm looking at a January/February 2016 release date.

 I really can't wait to share Mackenzie and Samuel with you. Their story is one that will leave you questioning your own thoughts on love, it's breathtaking and heart breaking, all at the same time.

So, for now, here's the blurb to keep you going until then. 

Life has dealt some heavy blows to Mackenzie Tillar. Bullied at school, and no one to turn to, the one person, who was meant to protect her, to raise her, and surround her with unconditional love, had let her down. Kenzie learnt to deal with life in her own promiscuous way. Until that one fateful night when she’d met Sam, now she was contemplating breaking the very rules she had instigated.

For Samuel Edwards, being orphaned at a very young age meant that he found his own way in life. He lives it as he pleases, no room for relationships, no belief in love. It was never a part of his life, so he’d never craved it, and never missed it. Until one night when he meets his match with Kenzie, she has the same rules, same fears.

Fate brings them together, and thirty-six questions ignite a spark in them both.

Could thirty-six questions lead to love? It was an experiment worth exploring.

Now they are playing a game, a game that suggests more, but is it more than they have bargained for?

DELICATE LOVE - 2016

http://www.josephinebrierleyauthor.com

It's your Christmas. Love it.

            I finally resurrected the Christmas tree today.

            I say finally, because normally it would have already have been standing proudly for around two weeks. This year, I haven’t been feeling very festive however, so I delayed it for as long as I could. The house is on the market, there are hopes and dreams hanging on this sale, and it’s been stressful. Keeping the house in tiptop shape everyday, becomes a chore.

 And the Christmas tree won’t help. That was my excuse anyway.

            Even so, I made hubby take the box down from the cupboard early this morning. I searched for the tree stand, which every year I place in a safe place, and every year I forget where I put it. Eventually, I find it, and set forth on the task at hand. And of course it’s a thirty-degree morning, so it’s a hot and sweaty task too.

            Once the tree is up, the branches in place, the decorations are next. Because my hearts not in it, I decide on no lights. It will only mean more work when I have to take it down! Bad, I know. And when I delve into the bags of baubles, I’m reminded why I do like Christmas.

The round bauble, that is as old as me. My mother gave it me; it was one that she had purchased the year I was born. Thankfully, after being carefully wrapped up last year, it has survived to be hung once more, fifty years later. I find the decorations that we’ve collected as we travelled the world. Angels from Bali, Santa on the Empire State Building and Santa in his board shorts, he was found in Macy’s at Waikiki. 
There’s the pink ribbon bauble, and the pink flamingo from Vegas, and of course the angel that sits proudly at the top. I remember lifting my son so he could place it up there, and now he just lifts his arm and doesn’t have to try hard, as he towers as tall as the tree.

            I’m reminded of why I do love Christmas. It unites us. It makes us happy. We make time to catch up with friends, see family that we don’t always see, even if that is hard at times. Because like most of you know, a dysfunctional family doesn’t make it easy at this time of the year, but we make the effort. The kids all together, the growing family as girlfriends and boyfriends join in. 

The tradition of so much food, even though every year we swear we’ll not over do it, we always do. The hot summer day, spending most of it in the pool. Cold drinks in hand, relaxation, and not a care in the world. Even if if it is just for one day.

It’s appreciating what we have, and whom we have around us, it’s being thankful for all that and more. It’s remembering those that are not with us any longer. It’s another year almost over, and another about to begin, with the promise of the unknown, new adventures, new beginnings, new memories to make. It’s spending time with the ones you love, and most importantly the ones that love you back.

Christmas. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be sometimes, but we make it what we want it to be. Even if is just a quiet day on your own, spent in your pj’s all day in front of the television. If that’s what you want, then do it.

            It’s Christmas. Don’t set your expectations to high, don’t compare your day to others, and don’t pay attention to the picture perfect advertising.

            It’s your day.

            It’s your Christmas.  Enjoy it.

Live, Laugh, Love. 

        Jo x

Girls, you are worthy of so much more, don’t expect anything less.

Girls, you are worthy of so much more, don’t expect anything less.

You’re in high school. You have a boyfriend.

 So do all your friends, they’ve told you how they’ve had sex, proud of it, you feel as if you’re missing out on something, because you haven’t done the deed.

You’ve kissed, you’ve been touched, and you’ve touched him. That’s it though, nothing has continued any further, because you stopped him. Now, your friend is talking about everything she’s done, you just nod, you don’t add anything, and anyway, what would you say?

And then she calls you on it. You’re a virgin.

By now others have joined your discussion, and since you are the one being ridiculed, and they are not, they join in. Your innocence is evident, you blush, you ask them to shut-up. They don’t, they keep pushing, asking when you are going to go through with it. So, in an effort to stop the chatter, you blurt out it’s happening. It’s happening soon. You have plans.

When next you see your boyfriend, he pushes just that little but further, like he always does. But this time you don’t say no. He says he’ll use a condom, but in the heat of the moment, forgets. Promises he’ll pull out, but in the heat of the moment, he forgets.

It’s okay. This one time should be okay, it’s your first time, and you won’t fall pregnant. He promises you his clean. No chance of catching anything from him. Not being sexually active, you don’t even know what diseases might be possible.

So, you’re no longer a virgin. You look in the mirror, but you don’t look any different to the day before. Will your friends notice?

When you see them next, they ask if anything happened. You say yes. They get excited, finally, you’re one of us. Funny, you don’t feel better about that. You’re now a part of that group; strangely it doesn’t change anything though. You don’t feel cool, you don’t feel part of the in-crowd, and all you are thinking is what was all the fuss about.

It had hurt and you had seen blood afterwards. After kissing you, touching you, you both had taken off your clothes. It was awkward, as you’d only known each other a few months after all. He said he loved you. You said it back.

What is love anyway?

You’ve read about it, snuck some pages in from Fifty Shades, they were in love, right? And anyway, love will grow, as the sex gets better.

After two weeks, he breaks up with you. You’re not his type, and he tells everyone that he was your first, that he took your virginity. He’s so proud of himself. You are heart broken.

Why do you want to grow up so fast?

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. The pressure is on to achieve the most likes, the most comments; take the best selfie, be the most creative, stir up some shit. Have the most friends, live the best life, and have the best boyfriend. Show the best cleavage.

What happened to having best friends, real people, who are there when you just want to hang out. Talk boys, talk girl stuff, shop together, and share each other’s clothes.

Try out hairstyles, do each others make - up. Make phone calls, late at night, chat, and plan the weekend. Walk to the local store, buy an ice cream, walk back, laughing at the world.

Instead, you want to be eighteen before your time, be treated like an adult even though you are still just a child. You know what? Enjoy being a child. The grown up life, is not all its made out to be. Enjoy your teens, enjoy the phase that fades into adulthood. You’ll never get it back.

Your body is coping with so much change, your hormones run rampant, you don’t understand. Get to know yourself, listen to your thoughts, and believe in yourself.

Boys.

Boys are there. And a boyfriend is a natural progression in life. First kisses, holding hands, someone to hug you, hold you, make you feel loved, treasured, special, and beautiful. Because if that’s not how he makes you feel, then he doesn’t deserve you.

He should make you smile, the only tears that are seen, are tears of laughter, he should make you laugh, hold your belly type of laughs. He should want you for who you are, not want to change you. And the same should be said for you, the boy you love should be a person that you value, that you respect for who they are. Love shouldn’t make you change into someone that isn’t yourself.

Wear clothes that flatter your body. Don’t reveal too much, the less you reveal the more there is to wonder about. You don’t have to be perfect, there is nothing wrong with having flaws, they give you character, they reveal something about you, the person that you are, the person that you are becoming. Your beauty will shine from within, it’s not something that you can mask or paint on.

Love your girlfriends too. The strongest women are the ones that look after each other, praise each other, and compliment each other. They don’t put each other down. They survive together.

At the end of the day, you are wholly responsible for the life you lead. Your parents are there to guide you, to support you, and while at times you think that they are so against everything you want to do, they love you.

The decisions that you make will always have a consequence. Its how you deal with that outcome that defines you, life can be a shitty thing, and it’s not always roses, rainbows and unicorns. Your heart will be broken, those that you thought of as friends, will let you down. You will let yourself down. Learn from your mistakes, become a better person.

Learn to love yourself. For how can you love someone else, if initially you don’t love yourself. Know what makes you happy, chase those dreams, and plan your future. Treat yourself with kid gloves, you are special, you deserve to be treated like that by others as well.

What I’m not saying here is to save your virginity for marriage. In this day and age, I know that is a rarity. I also am a firm believer that if you are to spend the rest of your life with someone, then it should be someone that you know everything about. Being in a relationship, and living with someone day in and day out, are two very different things. You will be surprised.

What I’m saying is, the man that does get the privilege of being your first love, should be worthy of that honor. He should have your trust, and your heart. It is something that you will remember for the rest of your life. Because then, and only then, will you realise what all the fuss is about.

You only have one life ahead of you, make it the life you want to live now, not everything will go to plan, but at the end of it all, you want to be proud of the life you’ve lived.

Always,

Jo.

Live, Laugh, Love. xx