I took a week off work this week, having realised in April that I hadn't had any downtime since December 2012, and barely two days off in a row since then either. I do have a whirlwind trip up to Brisbane once or twice a year to visit family, but there is always so much to pack in to 3 or 4 days, and so many wonderful people to catch up with, that those trips are anything but relaxing.
My week off has been a bit of an eye-opener. I hired a bunch of DVDs on Monday and camped out in front of the TV, eating chocolate for lunch, and didn't take much pleasure in any of it. Just felt achy and sick. Tuesday I got massively twitchy because I didn't know what to do with myself and ended up sitting down to an hour or two of study. I am so highly strung all the time (I kinda have to be to fit everything in) that I don't know how to relax. Wednesday we had a lovely day in the Yarra Valley doing wine-tasting (I was spitting and driving- not at the same time, classy) but we fitted in three wineries and kept to a pretty tight schedule. Yes, doing nice things, but I was far from relaxed. Erghh. Thursday I had dinner with a dear friend but was so tightly wound my brain was as scattered as confetti (but far less magical). By Friday I finally began to settle. Saturday I started sending emails to try to fix my situation. Phew!
Things that made me happy this week:
::This extraordinary, astonishing woman, and the fact that she was featured, without photoshop craziness on the cover of a national women's magazine.
Three years ago, when Turia was 24, she was caught in a bushfire during an ultra marathon and suffered burns to 65% of her body, there was doubt she would survive. Now she is an ambassador and incredible fundraiser for Interplast, a reconstructive surgery charity. There is a great short interview with her here. She really puts my whinges and whines into perspective.
::Snuggling with Ted in the morning. I had a bit of a sleep-in on Thursday and, after The Bookworm left for work, Ted decided to live up to his namesake. At not yet 2 years old he is mostly comprised of jumping beans and fairy dust so a proper snuggly teddy bear cuddle is a complete treat. Winter is helping :)
::Dinner with my love at the Carlton Wine Room. Just exquisite! And we met at the lovely Readings Bookshop in Carlton first, which made it feel like a proper little date.
::Wandering through the beautiful grounds of Melbourne University on the way home from dinner
The Bookworm is so happy here. Keep your fingers crossed he gets the Masters place he wants, please.
::Getting my hair cut. It has been about nine months since the last cut so I really really needed it. I love my hairdresser, she is so good about the fact that as soon as I leave the salon with beautifully layered, styled hair, I get the shits with it and whack it in a bun. Oh well.
::While grocery shopping in the Saturday morning crowds, The Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" came on. When it got to the epic whistling bit I found myself in a spontaneous flash mob whistle with a few other shoppers. It was a special moment. Then Lisa Loeb's "Stay" followed it; my all-time karaoke go-to.
Then on Sunday, at the same supermarket "Time of my Life", aka The "Dirty Dancing" song came on. I hovered, awaiting the dance-off moment, but this time all my precursory hip swivel in the bread aisle achieved was a bulging eyed, chin-tucked glare from a toddler.
Next time, Gadget
Go on, tell me about your Monday happy moment.
I am the same when it comes to relaxing - I cant just sit and watch a movie I need to be doing stuff on my ipad, with a load of washing on while I do it or if I get a massage the whole time I run through all the things I need to do, crazy and annoying. Glad you relaxed by Friday though :P I am the same with my hair but hate the judgey judgement from hairdressers and they always try and sell me stuff - gah!
ReplyDeleteAll good Megan, come on down and see Avril. Travelling to Melbourne for a haircut is totally worth it right?:) Actually, I have just seen that Canberra was judged much more liveable than Melbourne.
DeleteWe are going to drive ourselves mad with all this thinly thinly you know....sigh.
What an inspirational woman! <3 She looks incredible on the cover, how inspiring
ReplyDeleteOn a far more shallow note, that gelato is making me crave ice-cream right now! That flavour combo sounds divine!
It's very exciting that magazines seem to be responding to how people feel about perfectly airbrushed models , isn't it! I love the choice of such a strong role model, she has overcome such adversity. This is the kind of woman we want little girls (and big girls) to be looking up to.
DeleteSo refreshing and inspired to see Turia on the cover of a well known magazine (am so sick of vacuous celebrities). The graffiti's beautiful and the pics of Melbourne uni are so gothic.
ReplyDeleteLove the flash mob whistle! I find it very difficult not to sing along to 80s/90s songs, it's almost impossible!
If only we lived in a world where people would just join together to dance (and whistle) when the urge took them. How much more fun would we all have! :)
ReplyDeleteBravo Womens Weekly! It shouldn't be such an event that a magazine has featured her on the cover but it is; a weird reflection on the weird little world we live in.
ReplyDeleteRelaxing is tough when you're used to going at 150 miles an hour - I'm still searching for the magic formula (cuddles with pooches are a step in the right direction though).
Oh and your supermarket sounds like THE BEST.
M x Life Outside London
I've heard Turia's story and it is wonderful to see her on the cover of Womens Weekly. The gelato looks fabulous!!
ReplyDelete