Tuesday, 28 February 2012

Weapons Of Massive Discussion

My neighbours probably think I'm a bit weird.....


Nosy Neighbour #1: Oh her? Yes she's very odd. Lazing about all day at home while the poor husband goes out to work. Apparently she 'shirks works from home' but I reckon there's more to it than that... there's been a constant stream of strapping gentleman callers to that door in the past few years. Plumbers, builders, electricians, kitchen fitters? A likely story! Just how much work can one person get done to their house?
[Quite a lot actually, when you buy a house previously owned by the most inept interior designer since early man decided his cave could do with a few rocks being rearranged, perhaps a few strategically placed mammoth skins].


Net Curtain Twitcher #2: Then there's all that yelling she does some days....

"Just lay that freeking egg already you freeking feathered freak! You are driving me insane!"
[Neighbour to the right keeps hens that for some reason feel obliged to let the wider world know that omelettes are on the menu tonight at Number 10]

"Sod off you horrible cat! Go crap in your own garden!"
[Neighbour to the right also has 5 moggies on high fibre diets].

"Why oh why oh why do I have to put up with this?!!" 
[When my internet goes down and I lose connection to my office server... typically on a day when there is a major deadline]

" **** ******ing *****er!!!!!"
[Quite frequent outburst after any communication with Demanding Annoying Client #1].






Nosy Neighbour #1: I think she has an aggressive personality. I've heard she practises some lethal kung fu thingamabob - you know, all that secretive martial arts stuff. Trained killers those people are!
[Actually it's Aikido, and it's a passive form of self defense]


Net Curtain Twitcher #2: We had better watch our backs - we could all be murdered in our beds!
[Not all of you, just maybe Audi Man with the annoying car alarm]


Nosy Neighbour #1: She may already be up to something. Why just this past weekend I overheard her telling her husband "We really must take this stuff out the car! Do we want everyone thinking we're planning on disposing of a body?"
[Actually I did say this to B, last Saturday morning....refering to the shovel, boots and other snow storm readiness paraphernalia that have been clanging about in our car boot since the snowfalls last month.]


Net Curtain Twitcher #2: And I heard her asking him "Can you give me a hand? I just can't fit all the weapons in the car boot!"
[We were on our way to Aikido Winter School and needed to pack the bag of wooden weapons - jo (staff) and bokken (sword)]






Nosy Neighbour #1: Well whatever she's been up to, she's certainly looking the worse for wear... did you see her on Sunday? Crawling around like she's just gone 10 rounds in the ring with Mike Tyson, and with the bruises to show for it!
[Aikido Winter School related injuries.... well, sort of! We were watching the black belts grading when suddenly the fire alarms went off. LOUDLY. In my haste to get out of the sport centre - I could actually smell burning - I tripped down the spectator stand and rammed my leg into a sharp metal object. I have the Mother of all bruises running the length of my thigh. Ouch!]


...........

I've been a bit scarce lately... apologies for that! Just lacking in inspiration and otherwise distracted. Not worth saying anything, unless you have something worth saying....

Hope to catch up with you all soon!






Tuesday, 14 February 2012

Love, Life and Bubonic Plague



Happy Valentine's Day to all those who celebrate it!

.......

I haven't had a whole lot to say for myself lately.... that's possibly because there's not really been a whole lot happening in the Life of Nat.

Work is work. Clients are clients. Some are less annoying than others. Did I mention that I got a promotion last month?

Just over 6 weeks to go till we leave for Vietnam and I think we're on track...

Visas? Check.

Jabs? Check.

249 000 bottles of bug repellent? Check.

Antimalarials? Still debating whether we need them or not. We'll be hanging out in low-risk areas and have been advised they are not necessary, but that doesn't stop me checking the CDC website daily in case there has been a shift in opinions. Avoid getting bitten in the first place is the mantra... and essential to avoid the tropical delights of dengue fever, for which there is no magic prophylactic pill.

Antibacterial wipes, gels and sprays? Check! Yes, germophobe alert!

Travel guides? Check. I picked up the latest DK Guide on Vietnam and Angkor Wat... as I do so love their "pretty pictures and little text" format that suits my short attention span. I also picked up a copy of Jane Wilson-Howarth's How To Shit Around The World: The Art of Staying Clean and Healthy While Travelling... it's fascinating reading for a germophobe and emetophobe like me, and has many amusing little anecdotes that I may just have to share one day.

When I'm not fretting about catching malaria/traveller's diarrhoea/bubonic plague/leprosy and stocking up on medical supplies for our trip, I'm most likely experimenting with new healthy recipes or trying to keep moving, as part of my Not So Fat Nat programme that you can follow over here.

And that is pretty much all that's been happening in the Life of Nat of late....


Saturday, 11 February 2012

A Little More Of Lille...

Some fairly random photos, the last of my Lille collection....


Renault


Creperie


Grand Place





Eglise Saint Maurice


 Eglise Saint Maurice


Eglise Saint Maurice


 Tree carving at Lille Zoo 


  Tree carving at Lille Zoo 


  Tree carving at Lille Zoo 


 Tree carving at Lille Zoo 


Artist's dog


Chandelier at Meert tea salon

Sunday, 5 February 2012

Walking In A Winter Wonderland

Overnight snowfalls made for a beautiful walk this morning.....





































My hubby found a good use for the snow he shovelled from the driveway... to build a snowman!


Friday, 3 February 2012

Not So Fat Nat




So, it's been one month of sticking to my new healthy eating regimen.... well, apart from those calorie-laden waffles and macaroons in Lille... and I am rather pleased to report that I've shifted nearly 9 pounds (4 kg) to date.

Rather than bore you all to tantrums and tears with my tedious weight loss tales, I will only be reporting on my progress on here every now and again. But, if per chance anyone wants to follow my journey to a healthier lifestyle in any detail, I have started putting together a separate blog of tasty low-fat recipes, trendy tips and tintillating tales of my trials and tribulations, rather aptly named Not So Fat Nat...that you can find over here.

Still a work in progress and perhaps rather self-indulgent, but I'm hoping that it will somehow keep me on track.. or at least distract me from exploring the contents of the biscuit tin!

Happy Friday everyone...