Just when you think that you have reason to complain, life sends something your way that puts it all into perspective. Here’s today’s little message…
A little perspective
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The little sparks…
It’s been a tough year. I have not loved living in London and I’ve missed New York and Cape Town tremendously. And, while I realise that I cannot blame everything on London itself, the fact that the rain is pummeling down and the wind is howling as I type this – and I have the heat on in September! – does not help with the case of ‘no-love-lost’ between this city and I!
And not being happy in the place you live in has an effect on everything else around you. All of a sudden you no longer like people around you – and even yourself – that much anymore. And things that used to be fun stop being fun. Like writing, for me.
But then, when your two year mourning period starts coming to an end, (it will only be two years since we left NYC in February, but I’m putting the cart before the horse again…) you start seeing things a little differently. Slowly. Just here and there. Little sparks that make you think that everything will be alright. And then, slowly, you start feeling better and, before you know it, I guess everything will be alright. All you need is one little spark.
What counts as a ‘spark’ in your book?
Amazing Places Around the Globe
One of my favourite UK blogs, The Cool Hunter, published their list of amazing places around the globe a week or so ago. So I figured I’d offer you a little travel porn today. Pick your favourite photo and, just for a moment today, imagine that you’re there. Smell the air, listen to the sounds, feel the ice/water/rock/sand under your feet and then just…breathe.
Wild Swedish berries!
Last night John returned from a trip to Sweden and had a rather peculiar package in his bag for me – from his mum. It was rather soft and squishy and very light and wrapped in tin foil. I opened it carefully, not quite sure what to expect and shrieked with delight when I found this…
Fresh blueberries from the island where they have their summer house! And they were still on the branch, ready to be picked. Small, juicy and tasty, it was indeed the perfect reminder of long Swedish summer days spent picking berries on the island over the past couple of years. And I can’t wait to get more when we go for a summer break soon!
In our garden the strawberries are in full, uhm, bloom too! We’ll be picking some for dessert tonight, no doubt. This must be my favourite thing about summer. What is yours?
GLEE!
This Gleek is just back from GLEE Live in London at the O2 Arena. Now, bear with me if you have no idea what I’m talking about. (If you know, you know…if you get what I mean?) It was awesome. No Mr Schuester and no Sue Sylvester, very sadly, but the entire rest of the team – including the Warblers! – made an appearance. I screamed like a teenage girl and my ears are now ringing from the volume of the teenagers in the row behind us!
Never been prouder of being a Gleek than today. In fact, I’d say I’m rather breathless at it all!
Kurt on stage...it was all glitz!
* It’s also been a sad day. I got news this evening that one of Windhoek’s funniest men decided to quit life. Completely unexpected and no one knew that anything was wrong – he was all smiles as usual until this morning when he decided that he couldn’t carry on living anymore. RIP darling. We never understand why people do these things, but we have to find solace in the fact that we’ll never understand another’s pain completely. May you now find the relief that life couldn’t offer you. xxx
4-Hour Body
For the past two weeks I’ve been following Timothy Ferris’ 4-Hour Body diet. I’m not going to bore you with the details (read the book – seriously!), but basically, for six days you follow this diet that is high in protein (30grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up), no white carbs – he’s all about ‘slow’ carbs like lentils, chickpeas, etc – and no fruit. Then, on the seventh day, you get to go wild. Binge. Eat whatever your heart can dream up. In whatever amount you can conjure. Last Saturday I started the day with two croissants – one butter and one chocolate. This was followed by a huge bowl of fruit and a bag of Haribo jelly sweets. Before lunch. My belly was in agony, but my heart was singing! The joy of eating whatever you want one day a week is indescribable! The reason for this description? I’m mentally preparing for tomorrow!
The ice cream parlour near us opens at 12. Guess who’ll be front of the queue? And yes, I think I may just have three scoops, please. We’re also heading to Hyde Park to celebrate the Swedish Midsommer picnic with meatballs, herring, creamy sauces and Swedish brownies. And I’m thinking I may have to stop somewhere for another chocolate croissant along the way. Ha ha ha! It makes all those lentil dishes and having tuna and brocoli in your morning omelette all worth it. A friend in Cape Town who is also giving it a try texted me today to say that she’s realised she’s getting old / boring. Her biggest binge tomorrow is going to be on fruit!
So my breathtaking moment for today? Pure anticipation. I simply cannot wait for what lies ahead! Hurry up morning!
Breathtaking moments
This here ain’t no ‘self-help’ blog (said while snapping my fingers AND my lips), but I’ve found a lot of inspiration for daily happiness and light amidst all the gray, rainy days in London, from talking with friends (and even the occasional stranger) and getting their take on a breathtaking moment. And there are these special moments all around us, every day. I think that in these rushed lives we lead we often don’t see the things that are put in place to make us just…stop…for a moment and appreciate how good things are.
So, drum roll, in case you haven’t guessed it by now, I’m launching a Month of Moments. And I’d love you to share in them by posting yours too. Every day I’m going to share something from that day that took my breath away. And it won’t always be in a good way either. Say, for example, just now, I finished vacuuming our entire flat and ended up with THIS much dust. Disgusting, right? (No wonder my chest has been feeling wheezy!)
Luckily I know none of you will judge me for clearly being a slob, so I will just put that down as the moment today that took my breath away. Literally!
Now, I have to go get rid of that garbage. What took your breath away today? Please do share in the comments section – I love it when you do.
Today four years ago…
…We said I do. And it’s, to this date, the best thing I’ve ever said.
Thank you for everything, my sweets. It’s been quite a ride.
I still heart Obama
Long-time readers of this blog may remember my PDA’s for (now) President Obama in the run up to the US elections. His charm, intelligence and adoration for his family captured my heart. And, three years on, it still does! London’s gone gaga for Obama over the past couple of days as Barack and Michelle paid a visit to the UK. He visited a small Irish town (where he PAID for his own Guiness!) and they had two banquet dinners – last night’s at Buckingham Palace and this evening’s at the American Ambassador’s house.
Aside from the whole Osama Bin Laden thing, the president’s ratings haven’t been amazing in the US. And I just wonder why…he still inspires me and he just keeps being so brilliant at convincing me of his ideals and dreams for that country – and the world.
And don’t get me started on wife Michelle – she is gorgeous, glamourous and so very real.
I just can’t help it…I’m an Obama fan. Are you?
The mother tongue
Today I hung out with a friend from back home for a couple of hours – we started off having a coffee (well, let’s be honest, it was a Starbucks Coffee Light Frappucino at half price between 3pm – 5pm for this week – all together now: Hello Sue) and then we just hung out for two hours and caught up in Afrikaans. And it was so good to just have a good old ‘natter’ in the mother tongue! And with someone whom I’ve known all of her life and most of mine. Isn’t that incredible? After our good and long catch up I convinced John that we should join her in attending a discussion around technology in Africa hosted at the Royal Geographic Society – and boy am I glad we did! Such stimulating debate and very interesting to see how a big American investor and philanthropist has such an ideal vision of how African governments can be influenced, while the Ghanaian business man just firmly believed that government should be smaller – or even non-existant – and that the power lies within the private sector! I think one has to have lived in Africa for the reality of how things really work on the continent to set in. It was hugely amusing and very interesting – particularly to see again how such innovation is coming out of a continent with extreme poverty and the minimum of internet access.
But what this impromptu evening really drove home for me is just how lucky we are to have access to all these world-class talks and facilities. And I have committed myself to getting back into this scene – find interesting events to attend and really focus on expanding my view of the world. Enough of just sitting around and basing what I know off what I see on TV and read on my Facebook news feed! This girl is heading back out there!
Or maybe it was just the influx of mother tongue for the day which has reenergized me? Either way…it’s good to have the mind stimulated and soothed at the same time. Go on, give it a try!