Sunny Skies and Sunny thoughts July 1, 2008

We finally made it to the UK, only 15 hours late!  I’m quite proud that I didn’t completely freak out about having to change all our plans due to the delay.  A year ago I would have flipped, as all my carefully timetables things fell apart but this year I nearly took it in my stride.  I figure by the time I finish Don’t sweat the small stuff I’ll be so laid back things like this will just wash over me.

 

I may have freaked other passengers out by crying during most of the plane journey.  If you’ve read The Book Thief you’ll know why.  If you haven’t go out and buy it. It is AMAZING.  Maybe not life changing (as claimed by the NY Times) but a really fabulous book.

Also the sun has been shinning and the sky has been blue for the 3 days we’ve been here.  It must be some kind of record!  We’re planning a walk on the beach and a ferry ride tomorrow though so I’m predicting grey sky and drizzle!

 

Sun, sea, sand. . . June 19, 2008

. . .  here I come.

I’m finally ready to go! Today was spent; tracking down the incredible elusive Clinique sun tan lotion for face, having hair ripped form my body (ouch!), making sure I can use my beautiful new camera, (it’s pink!) and of course packing.

The shoe choice was finally whittled down to these,

(No comments about the birkenstocks, I love my birkies, they are not hippie shoes!)

I fear T will force me to whittle further. Also my trainers, I plan to run while we’re there. It’s 70/30 on this happening at present but I like to be prepared.

I’ve also chosen five books, that was even harder. Clothes packing is easy compared to book packing! I’m taking:

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

The Mediator - Meg Cabot

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Falling for you - Jill Mansell

The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama

oh and I have The truth about forever in my hand luggage (shh! don’t tell T).

The first week we’re on an Island with golden sands and blue seas and please no tropical storms! The second week a whistle stop tour round friends and family in the UK. So I will not be around much, if at all.

Have fun!

More Bridget than Bree June 18, 2008

I thought at 30 I would:

be able to apply eye liner

have a hair cut that I would grow old with

wear tights without putting a hole straight through them

have a wardrobe of tasteful coordinating clothes, something for every occasion

be able to grow plants without killing them

never be late

always have what I needed in my, oh so chic matches everything, bag

be able to walk in high heels

cook dinner for six (or even two) without incident or disaster

do small talk effortlessly

be grown up

When I was younger I seem to have thought at 30 I would magically transform into Bree Van de Kamp. (Do you love that she has her own wiki entry?).

So wrong! I am turning 31 next week and I have mastered none of the list. I am more Bridget Jones than Bree but I kind of like it that way.

When I was younger I thought 30 was grown up, I thought at 30 I’d be finished, complete some how. Wrong again, I have many, many blank pages before me, just waiting to be filled up. I want every page to overflow, so I have to scribble in the margins to get everything in, because I am far, far from finished yet.

It’s that Pivotal Moment June 17, 2008

Today has been a happy day, today colours have been brighter, noises harmonious and smells sweeter. Today I have been flying, overflowing with positivity and glee. When I smiled and the world really did seem to be smiling back.

I don’t know why, nothing special has happened today.

Maybe it’s because I’m leaving for the beach in 2 days or because I have five lovely new books to take with me. Maybe it’s the sunshine or the three happy emails I got today or because I have the new Coldplay album and I love it. Maybe it’s simply because I got seven hours sleep (seven!) and woke up with a happy song in my head.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this post. It’s been rubbing away at me, causing a blister in my head and on my heart. I know I want to change but don’t know exactly what I want to change or how to go about it.

But today, today I felt like I did when I was younger, when I was fearless. When the world was full of opportunity and excitement, all there to be seized. When I knew whatever I chose to do, I would achieve.

Today I want to grab everyone I know and hug them tight and grant all their dreams and wishes. I want everyone to be as happy as I am. Maybe today is a pivotal moment, maybe it’s just a moment. Either way I’m making the most of it.

In the Middle of the Night June 3, 2008

3.54am and I am wide awake. I’ve just been over at Jordyn’s blog and she has been writing about Project Self,  taking risks and going after life. This has been on my mind lately, for obvious reasons. When you lose someone I think it’s natural to re-evaluate your life.

I am happy with my life but of course there are things I’d change. I’m not very good at speaking up; I’m absolutely terrible at arguments; I care far to much what other people think, even strangers; I don’t really feel I’ve found my thing yet, a job I love so much I would do it for free; I have trouble trusting my instincts.

Sometimes I feel a little invisible and I don’t want to be invisible. I want to speak up, I want to be seen, I want to make the most of this life. I want to live this quote:

Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
L a u g h.
Choose with no regret.
Continue to learn.
Appreciate your friends.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is.

It’s hard though and scary but I think it’s more scary to think you might have wasted your life. This past six months I have been drifting and I need to stop. So the second half of 2008 will be about changes, maybe tiny changes but changes.

______________________________________________________________________

Just turned on the news and seen Obama has won the democratic nomination. Change is obviously in the air at the moment. I hope he wins in November.  You have to admire Hillary though she really did fight till the end for what she wanted, I thought her defeat speech was good too.

Ten Places I’d Like to go in the USA May 20, 2008

The post title says it all really. I am trying to plan our Summer Holiday and while roaming the internet found this article of 15 must see places for kids in the USA, I’m a kid at heart so I had a look. I’ve actually seen 7 of them but then I thought I’d make my own list.

So these are places I really want to go while were here:

1) Seattle

2) San Diego

3) Yellowstone National Park

4) Na Pali Coast Hawaii

5) Golden gate Bridge San Francisco - I have seen this but it’s worth going back.

6) The Appalachia’s

7) The Alamo, Texas Key Largo, Florida

9) The Liberty Bell, Philadelphia

10) Salt lake City

I’m sure I have missed out loads of fabulous places so do let me know what else should be a must see.

In other news who watched House last night?   I was traumatised.

Excitment and doubt May 12, 2008

I was sitting here composing a post about how I can’t find a job I want to do and how I really don;t want to teach full time again but I may have to because I’m not really qualified to do anything else and office work may kill me.

Then I thought I better actually go and look for a job and I found a perfect one. So perfect, so so perfect.

Unfortunately I don’t quite match their criteria even though I know I could do it. So I have to write a really really, really good resume and I haven’t written a resume since I left Uni. My last job I got off the informal interview they gave me when I just popped in to see if I wanted to apply (apparently I interview well).

So if any of you have any tips for writing a stand out resume. Please let me know.

You Twitter but do you Tumblr? May 12, 2008

So I am always one to jump on the latest band wagon and in an effort to make sure every single thing that passes through my mind is shared with friends and strangers I am now a Tumblreer!

Tumblr is better than twitter because:

You get more room I am always going into the red on Twitter I can not be succinct and I don;t want to learn!

Your can post photos - we could all have shared in the butt judging comp! (if you haven’t read about this go now I don’t mind. AFF’s post is much funnier than this one. This is one of her ten greatest posts, Puppy’s comment just kills me)

You can post links

and quotes

You can chat

It is prettier than Twitter - I’m all about aesthetics

So come join me and be a Tumblr - you know you want to!

Value for Money May 12, 2008

Were the Radiohead tickets worth $110 dollars? I wouldn’t know as I didn’t see them.

We left the house at 6.30pm tonight to travel the 36 miles to the concert. Doors opened at 7.30pm meaning the main event would start at 9ish. Plenty of time you might think.

At 10pm we were still sitting in gridlocked traffic in torrential rain and I mean torrential. This was god is angry, you’d better start on that ark type rain.

At 10.15pm our friends called, they had just arrived the encore had started and people were leaving. Probably imagining as horrendous a journey home. So we gave up and turned round I’m not quite sure why we didn;t do that earlier, so near and yet so far (the Hillary syndrome!).

11.30pm arrived home having spent 5 hours listening to Radiohead on the ipod!

The worst bit? T booked these tickets the minute they went on sale, he loves Radiohead where as I was kind of going on sufferance.

We did manage to have quite a good time on the road trip (!) although it had put me off doing a real one. It would have been better with Twinkies and Coke but still. I still can’t quite believe we missed it!

NB. I actually have no idea what Twinkie are but Americans eat them a lot in books on road trips, I think they are a kind of must have when travelling long distances by car!

Just Like James and The Giant Peach May 7, 2008

Last night I made Jamie “The Naked Chef” Oliver’s Pizza.

I have the British version of his cook book though and no scales.

So I converted into cups using the power of the internet.

For once google failed me.

I believe there may have been too much yeast because my thin and crispy pizza grew and grew and grew.

Till it looked like this!

Sorry for the rubbish photo I was to traumatised to take a good picture.

Sadly there were no magical creepy crawlies inside.