Hello my lovelies!

Welcome to this week’s Weekend Coffee Share! How are you? What have you been up to this week? Shall we move through to the backyard and enjoy our cuppa in the glorious autumn sunshine? It’s nice and warm in the sun, the skies are blue and cloudless and the leaves are starting to turn yellow and red. It’s gorgeous out! It’s the sort of weather that really makes me want to experience a New England Indian Summer sometime.

If we were having coffee today, you might still get a piece of birthday cake. It was my mum’s 60th birthday on Thursday, but it was also Study.Read.Write’s first anniversary on Wednesday. And what a year it’s been! Thank you all for having been a part of it! We’re also celebrating 25 years of German Unity today. That’s right, it’s been a quarter of a century since the German Democratic Republic officially ceased to exist and East and West became one  again. So it’s celebrations all around over here! (Plus Oktoberfest, but that’s tacky).

If we were having coffee today, I’d ask you about your favourite banned book. Because it’s Banned Books Week. I don’t think that any literary  work of fiction should be banned. I’d even go so far and say that banning books makes them even more desirable, because society’s curiosity peaks. Note that I said literary work of fiction before. That’s because I think that some works of non-fiction, those enticing criminal behaviour or – if followed – endanger the safety and lives of others, would be better off banned or forgotten. I know that it’s an exercise in self-censorship, but there’s a difference between imagination and facts. However, all my recent studies of culture and psychology have showed me that my culture affects the way I think about this. You see, I’m German. And the only book I agree should be banned is Mein Kampf. Whether it is banned or not might not be a big deal in other cultures, but it is over here. What’s your opinion on banned books? How many have you read?

If we were having coffee today, I’d tell you that I will be starting DDP Yoga soon, which was put together by Diamond Dallas Page. I ordered the DVDs and they’re on their way now. For a long time I have searched for an effective but low-impact workout. I thought about yoga before but always thought I’d have to go to the gym alongside for the weightloss effect. DDP combines elements of yoga with martial arts like Tai Chi and other workout elements. This helps people who were nearly immobile and in pain get flexible, lose weight and strengthening their muscles again, so I’m hoping this will help my back issues. I only ordered yesterday, and signed up to the community, but so far I have to say I like the community support as I have been “welcomed home” by several members and nobody is judged for their situation or weight, they’re applauded for taking the step and starting their transformation. The world could do with more body positive people like that.

Now I just need to find a fitness tracker with heart rate monitor. Currently trying to choose between the FitBit Charge HR and the Samsung Gear Fit as I’d like a long wristband and no chest strap, and a tracker with the capacity to also monitor sleep quality. If you can recommend any, let me know!

Here’s how I found out about DDP Yoga:

If we were having coffee today, I’d talk about planners and my love for them. Yes, Iove being organised, but I also like to be creative. I just ordered a few stamps and colourful inks off Etsy to use in my planners and I continue to design inserts. It breaks up the monotony of studying, and brings a bit more colour into my life. For now I’ve concentrated on planner stamps I’ll need, rather than pretty deco ones. They’re all by CoolJapanSTAMP.

Did you celebrate International Coffee Day on Tuesday? I made myself a fancy Macadamia Nut Latte Macchiato instead of my usual pot of filter coffee with milk and sugar. What’s your favourite coffee? Mine’s probably a White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino but for hot beverages, a Chai Presso or Chococcino with Amarula will do just nicely.

Anyway, that’s it from me. I need to get back to my studies and put a load of washing out in the sun to dry. Check out the other Weekend Coffee Sharers over at Part Time Monster and via the #WeekendCoffeeShare. I’m sure they’ll love to catch up with you as well! Thank you for having coffee with me! Same time, next week?