Empowerment

Tonight, I am off to see two of my favourite women - amazing song writers and thinkers. Every day I listen to one of their songs to remind me that it's okay to be ME. Does that make sense?

Here's one:

I've been glaring into mirrors, picking myself apart
you'd think at my age I'd have thought of something better to do
than make insecurity into a full time job, make insecurity into an art

yes and I fear my life will be over and I will have never lived it unfettered
always glaring into mirrors, mad I don't look better
but now here is this tiny baby
and they say she looks just like me
and she is smiling at me with that present infant glee
and I would defend to the ends of the earth
her perfect right to be

so I'm beginning to see some problems
with the ongoing work of my mind
and I've got myself a new mantra
it says "don't forget to have a good time"

don't let the sellers of stuff
power enough to rob you of your grace
love is all over the place
there's nothing wrong with your face

Strange how I need to be reminded of the simplest of things...

Migraine Hell

Friday morning treated me to a lovely migraine. The kind of migraine that knocks me out for days. It hit while I was sat at my desk about to type an email. All of a sudden I couldn't see parts of the computer screen. Crap. I knew exactly what was happening. I opened up a book laying on my desk to see if I could read it, and I couldn't. White flashy lights were dancing in front of my eyes where the text should have been.

It's hard to tell people what is going on during a migraine without sounding like you're lying. To say that ten minutes ago I was fine, laughing and talking about what to have for lunch and then suddenly.. Well, now I have to leave straight away without further ado so I can get home before the nausea hits.

Migraines are not fun. I got home and slept till 7 o'clock, woke up and walked around a bit then decided I was too tired and slept for another 14 hours. I still feel a bit sick, I still have a headache. Headache isn't really the right word for it though... It's more that some kind of spiky bug has taken residency inside your brain and is pretty reluctant to get out. And the painkillers, they do not help.

All I can do is wait for it to go away.

Saving the earth the fun way

I am not a sporty kinda girl. I avoid sport and exercise like crazy. But recently, I have been able to lose weight and not even have to think about it. In fact, I'm eating MORE food and MORE chocolate than I ever have!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.

After we got back from our honeymoon, I decided to tackle the problem that was my travel to work. We had moved to a beautiful new apartment with two bedrooms and a small outdoor space - we love it! The problem was, the trip to work became a nightmare. There was no easy way to get there, no easy route. On average it would take an hour and a half! And I only live six miles away! That is insane! My mood would slowly deteriorate and I started to dread the long haul home.

My colleague then presented a solution to me. Riding a bike! And oh people, this has changed my life. It no longer takes an hour and a half, but a mere 40 minutes to get there! And I have lost so much weight already, without even trying.

My friend was kind enough to lend me her bike for the past 6 weeks, and then something horrible happened - the bike got stolen out of the bike shed at work, where I had left it overnight. Oh dear. You can imagine my devastation.

But - to think on the bright side, it was quite an old bike, and now... NOW! I introduce my new Dutchie:

I'm going to go pick it up tonight, and I could not be more excited! It is originally from Holland and made in the traditional 'sit up and beg' style. The point is that you can wear whatever you want and be sat in the upright position on your cycle to work. Plus, it's very pretty.

So, if you are able - I highly recommend cycling to work. It knocks off so much commuter time, frees your mind from the constraints of modern society and my oh my it helps your figure! Just think of all those extra M & M's you could be eating.

One

I stepped forward onto the foggy street. It was not foggy in the English way – cold, damp seeping through my clothes and onto my skin and further into my bones. The mist was warm, hot and tasted delicious. Like if I tried hard enough I could open my mouth and the air would taste sweet, easing down my throat to warm me from the inside.

I did not need to be warmed. I raised my hand to wipe the slight moist from my upper lip – any attempt at cosmetics would no longer be made; the foggy city had quickly taught me that any attempt for vanity would sweat away.

The street was full of people. People who had something to do but were in no particular rush to get there and do it. A man crossed in front of me, attempting not to stare at the tall white, leggy woman who so obviously did not belong there. Another lesson stored earnestly in my mind: the innocent dress bought in the comfort of an air-conditioned mall did not translate well onto the concrete men-filled streets here.