Shhhh....

I've been pretty quiet on here lately and that's been for a very good reason.

I've moved!

Due to moving I've been extremely busy with packing/unpacking, painting furniture, lugging boxes about and generally trying to catch up on sleep. Falling shower rails, blinds and rain hasn't helped matters. As with every move there is the obligatory no internet period and my new flat doesn't seem to get a great 3G signal.

It's been an adventure though! My parents helped me shift furniture on Saturday and I felt a little bad I couldn't offer them a drink more interesting then water to quench their thirst. It has been HOT these past few weeks! Do yourself a favour and don't move in the summer.

I've yet to discover how to work the boiler and get hot water for a shower, but I've done the important things like arrange my mantle over the fire and cushions on my sofa. The morning sun streams in through the kitchen window and the afternoon sun warms the lounge and the bedrooms - perfect!

I'll have to put some photos up soon when I'm through with organising everything, I'm pretty house proud!

And to all the friends and family who have put up with me for the past few months, there'll be a dinner invitation through your door very soon I promise :-)

                             
                                                              Image from Google - I was too busy to take photos on Saturday!

High Five for Friday

Does anybody else have that annoying problem with computer keyboards that when they type 'Friday' it turns out as 'Froday'? No, just me? Okay.

This was a flyby week, one where I seemed to blink and miss hours in a day. Maybe I did...hope not.

1. I read this book over the weekend and really enjoyed it. I've struggled with not being a 'nice girl' but somebody who has always been a bit feistier and strong minded. Now I know it's okay to be. Link to my thoughts here.

2. I'm moving next Saturday so have been understandably panicking thinking about how to furnish my flat. Ikea table anyone? (Also, the food in Ikea is strangely very nice so had dinner there too.)

3. Date night with this one ended up in an ice cream parlour and I forgot my lactose-funny stomach whilst I devoured this kids-size sundae. I paid for it after but boy was it worth it! Also, I love him even more in a shirt...

4. Took my dog to the groomer and it was a dog filled screaming, biting, snapping, water filled nightmare. Here he is at work the next day...he has his sad face because he doesn't like being at work. 

5. I LOVE o2 Priority Moments. Free pizza from Domino's on Monday, free hot drink from Nero on Friday and random free stuff thrown in throughout the week from other shops too. What's not to love?

Sticky mess

No, I'm not describing my current state as I sit in a hot office although I am feeling pretty gross right now. Apparently some offices have showers, mine should have them.

Chewing gum. That's the stuff which caused this sticky mess to make my morning a little different from usual. Some clever person walking down the street thought it would be a brilliant idea to spit chewing gum into our gravelled garden. Rude. Lazy.

Out trots my dog and unfortunately he trod in the sticky gum. What happens in gravelled gardens when a dog had a sticky paw? Yup, the little stones get stuck in his paw between his pads and nails and he comes limping inside. To give him his due, he did bite a lot of the stones out of his paw.

That was when I noticed there were some stuck in there. The gum had dried fast and his paw looked a mess. I did what any thoughtful girl would do, donned some gloves and attempted to get those little buggers out. No luck.

Then came the questions: Does it cost money to go to the vet? Do I need pet insurance? Does he have insurance? Who even is his vet? ASK MUM!

Went to the vets...vet wasn't there...nobody could help...we got sent to another practice in the next town. I was supposed to be at work. Problems.

Parked up, couldn't see the clinic anywhere. Saw a lady with a dog and asked her. She picked him up and said she'd take us there. Erm...give my dog back lady. Then she asked for money to show me where it was. Conned. I gave her the flipping pound, i didn't have time to argue and she held my dog ransom.

Found vets eventually, heard this crazy lady's life story, grabbed my dog back and said goodbye loudly to get my point across. This is why I never go to that town.

Stones were removed with much screaming on behalf of my dog and me in the next room wondering if they didn't have soundproofing for occasions like that.

£35.00 and 30 minutes later I was back at my desk and mentally noting that animals are too expensive for my liking. Tuesday he had a £14.00 groom so that's £49.00 I've spent on him in the past 48 hours. Ridiculous.

Before and after shots of his groom (he wouldn't let them touch his face because he's a stubborn old man).

Are you a nice girl or a good woman?

I recently finished reading Nice Girls Don't Change The World by Lynne Hybels. I have to be honest, I only started reading it because my mum had left it in my room and I had run out of books to read. I really struggle with many Christian books and tend to avoid them. This one was a little different though.

To start with, it's not a thousand pages of a Christian superstar telling you what you should be doing with your life, It's simply another woman's true story of her discovery of a loving God. The realisation that God's love doesn't need to be earnt but is given freely to anybody who accepts it. That being a good woman, somebody whose foundations rest in God's love, knows that HER life, HER personality and HER talents are deeply valued and recognised by God even if by nobody else, and who doesn't let fear ever keep her from stepping out and living for God, is ultimately a better choice than being a nice girl.

This is an excerpt from the end of the book and it touches on what we as women need to be striving for, praying for and hoping for:

May we be dangerous women.

May we be women who acknowledge our power to change, and grow, and be radically alive for God. 

May we be healers of wounds and righters of wrongs.

May we weep with those who weep and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

May we cherish children, embrace the elderly, and empower the poor.

May we pray deeply and teach wisely.

May we be strong and gentle leaders.

May we sing songs of joy and talk down fear. 

May we never hesitate to let passion push us, conviction compel us, and righteous anger energize us. 

May we strike fear into all that is unjust and evil in the world. 

May we dismantle abusive systems and silence lies with truth.

May we shine like stars in a darkened generation. 

May we overflow with goodness in the name of God and by the power of Jesus. And in that name, and by that power, may we change the world. 

This isn't a book which preaches, it's a book which encourages and energises us to be the best we can be. 

All excerpts taken from Nice Girls Don't Change The World, Lynne Hybels, Zondervan, 2005.Picture from www.christianaudio.com. 

Moving on...up?

No, probably down a little. The truth is I need to move out of my parents house and actually let them enjoy their post-child life without me living with them. When they held me in their arms 25 years ago I bet they didn't think "I hope she is living with us when she's 25!". So...after their subtle hints at when my departure might be and my eventual cry and panic over affording to live alone in the south of England (where renting costs a small fortune), I have begun my search for a new home.

Mum says I need to "nest". I'm not totally sure this is true because 1) I'm not an animal I'm a human and 2) I'm not expecting a baby and I think "nesting" happens when you're pregnant. I have come up with a helpful little list of positives of moving out though (collated from past experience of living away from home...don't worry I have actually left home a few times...I just bounce back like I'm on a bungee cord):

• I can eat cereal for dinner (there is probably nothing stopping me from doing this now though)
• Temperature will be perfect and suited to me (not too hot, not too cold)
• I can hang bunting and lights (family aren't fans of these things)
• Don't feel like washing up? No problemo
• Washing can be hung around for days and worn straight off the drying rack (laziness)
• Crafting stuff doesn't ever need to be cleared away (ready for inspiration to strike at any time)
• I can get a fish (I like watching fish swim around and around...)
• I can watch Greys and Gilmore Girls on repeat and not be judged

There are probably more positives than that but really, the down sides are starting to dawn on me:

• Have to do own food shopping (I HATE food shopping...I used to get it delivered at university to avoid shopping myself)
• Who will tell me my outfit is all wrong? (My mum is a pro at this)
• Plumbing issues will be fixed by who?! 
• What if I get a break in and I have to fight off the intruder myself? (My arms are pretty weak...)
• When my car runs out of petrol how will I get places?
• I'll miss my dog lots (I might steal him)
• Who will I talk to? 

I'm going to see two places this week and will probably freak a little that they're on the ground floor and people could climb in the windows. When I was at university a naked man climbed in my window in the night and to be honest that has put a dampener on ground floor properties for me. 

Norway: the final chapter

Easter Sunday marked our last full day in Norway and what better way to relax from our Fjords excursion than to go on a hike!

Bergen city is in a valley between multiple mountain peaks. Mount Floyen was the closest to our hostel and had a cool funicular to ride to the top, so naturally we decided to hike that one. We took the funicular to the top which in itself was an experience, then hiked about at the top of the mountain, finally walking down at the end of the day.

I wasn't up for the mega peak walk so the man and I broke off from the group and relied on my awesome map reading skills. This involved lots of roundabout path walking, chasing waterfalls to find a lake, getting lost in woodland when we had thought the sign pointed that way and finding ourselves in a housing estate half way down the mountain. We started our hiking expedition (this terminology makes it sound grander than it was and I love that) at 11am and didn't return to the hostel until 5pm. That's a whole lot of walking time whilst wearing Toms which have, as I found out, little foot support. There was also the embarrassment of an argument and tears at the top of the mountain which made my trusty partner seem like a horrible boyfriend.

On our final morning we explored the famous Bergen Fish Market which actually turned out to be little more than a market stall just a little bigger than Tesco's fishmongers. We sat by the wharf and enjoyed the sun on our faces one last time before returning to Britain where, surprise, it was grey.

Norway, I loved you for a weekend but I don't think i'll be moving anytime soon. You're too expensive!

I took the plunge

I finally took the plunge and did an aquacise class (pun intended). I was looking forward to this class the most out of my "exercise class try-out list" because it genuinely seemed fun and hilarious to do.

There are multiple benefits of aquacise according to a national website dedicated to the promotion and training of the activity, including but not limited to hydrostatic pressure and the cooling effect benefits the exercise has over other activities not in water.

Ideally, the water level should be chest height and the movements should be pushing through the water and not above the waterline. This is okay in pools which are multi-depth or if you're really short, neither of which apply to my experience. You see, i'm 5'11 and every time I stood to my full height in the pool I felt like Godzilla.  Consequently, I spent the entire time with bent knees to keep my body at the same height as everyone else's. Awkward. 

This photo is from the Virgin Active Website and is my club's indoor pool that I swim/float about in.

We did the whole class to retro 90's music and did lots of jogging, jumping jacks, moving around and water weight work. It was really good fun and there were times I had to bite my lip to stifle the giggles at how ridiculous we all must have looked to the onlookers in the spa area. I didn't actually feel worked at all at the end of the class though and for me personally, the benefits were pretty minimal for time expended. I can see how it would be great if you were of poor health, new to exercise or had a physical disability as it was gentle and the water does aid movement. 

I obviously ended the session in the jacuzzi and sauna to allow for adequate recovery time!