Thought For Today...

I've been feeling more than a bit sorry for myself lately.... barely able to hobble, let alone negotiate stairs (other than on my backside!), I'm trapped in my home office all day. Darling husband has been looking after me so well.... doing all the house chores, cooking, leaving me with flasks of coffee and healthy snacks to sustain me while he is out at work.

What is really getting to me, is the sudden forced immobility.... no boxercise, no yoga, no Aikido, no power walking, no hiking. I've realised that just about all of my hobbies are active ones. My weekends are usually planned around long walks and sporting activities. I'm stuck indoors all day on a computer for work, so I ache to get out and get active in my free time....

I've had to give myself a stern talking-to! I could wallow in self-pity for the next 6 weeks... or I can change the way I do things and make the best of a change in gear....

#1 This is a TEMPORARY situation. For some people, this is their way of life - due to whatever circumstances, they will never walk, let alone run again.

#2 I'll have a lot of time to reacquaint myself with the Blogging World... I think I've become so caught up with everything else in my life, this blog has just fallen by the wayside. Warning: You may be bombarded with random nonsense, forgotten tales and old photographs over the coming weeks!

#3 I can take up swimming again very soon. It's the only exercise that has my Dr's stamp of approval. And my yoga instructor has outlined a routine that avoids using the damaged calf... so I will be keeping myself limber on some fronts.

#4 All those books I have been meaning to read, those films I never had the time to watch, the TV series everyone has been raving about.... guess what? I now have the time to catch up!

#5 If I behave myself and allow my leg to recover properly, none of my travel plans for later this year will be affected. A trip to the Lake District next weekend to hike to the top of Scafell Pike has turned into a day relaxing in a lovely lakeside Spa.

When life gives you lemons... grab tequilla and salt!

Things I've Learnt This Week....

The gastrocnemius is really quite an important muscle in your leg. And it has absolutely nothing to do with your bowels, despite that gutsy little name.

That gastrowhatsit might just give up the ghost if you push it too far.

You're definitely in trouble when the doctor (who looks far too young to have qualified - which means you are getting old, which is a whole different worry) starts the conversation with  "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...."

Six to eight weeks is a long time. A VERY loooooooooong time to be sitting on one's backside.

Six to eight weeks of sitting on one's backside sounds like a sure-fire way to double the dimensions of that already sizeable backside. On the other foot being limited to hopping/hobbling painfully does restrict the number of trips to the kitchen to get snacks. Every cloud....

Life Lately

I've been a little preoccupied lately. Distracted. Restless. Listless. Perhaps it's the fact that my 40th birthday is just a few weeks away, and while that's really nothing to write home to the bloggersphere about, it is one of those milestone birthdays that does make one stop and take stock of things.

I remember having a feeling of change around the time of my 30th. I spent that birthday in Paris (it was freezing but fabulous) just days before my second interview for the job that would be a turning point in my career. The job that took me out of the laboratory as a pharmaceutical research scientist and into the more corporate environment of medical writing. 

There are days that I love my job and then there are those days that make me want to run away and never come back (usually those days when Annoying Demanding Client is being particularly annoying and demanding and..... just being clientish). Deep down I wish I was doing something more exciting (preferably with a more creative slant and lots of exotic travel), but I know I have to be sensible and pay my bills. Because the same year that I turned 30, we bought our first house and became beholden to the Almighty Mortgage Lender. Then began Operation Overhaul Humble Hovel into a Liveable Home, and that really was time to start acting like a grown-up...perusing wall colour charts and carpet catalogues, boning up on the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 flues, becoming versed in the benefits of combi-boilers, and dealing with a seemingly never-ending stream of builders, plumbers, blokes that sort out the gas and so on.

As I approach my 40th birthday, I don't have the same expectations that things are about to change, and perhaps that is what is making me feel quite restless. And to top it all, I'm suffering from extreme wanderlust! Don't get me wrong, I know that I have travelled a fair bit in my life already - anyone who reads my blog has possibly worked out that I jump at every chance to explore another part of our amazing planet. But I crave the opportunity to really travel... to just head off for a few months and see where we ended up. To have no set itinerary, no agenda, no obligations. Unfortunately, such plans shall remain as dreams for the foreseeable future. We are still indebted to the Almighty Mortgage Lender, and too sensible to even contemplate (for longer than about five minutes) chucking it all in and sodding off into the Big Beyond. Would we ever be able to come back to reality? I fear not.

So, instead, I intend to make the most of the next year, and indeed every year, by....

Starting off the year in one of my favourite places in the world - Thailand! A few days of sun, sea, sand, and spicy (satay!) food will be the perfect antidote to the cold sleet, rain, ice and snow of the UK. Not that I have anything against ice and snow, but I do like to mix it up with a bit of fire too! And so I shall, with a trip to Iceland (the Land of Fire and Ice) booked for mid June 2014, coinciding with the Summer Solstice and 24 hours of daylight way up north.  Before that, I've booked a sneaky break to New York (New York!) over Easter.... I plan on walking all over the Big Apple and then some, as by then I'll be in the final stages of training for my power walking marathon, the London Moon Walk on 10 May 2014.....

That's the first six months planned for now. Stay tuned for more on all of these adventures....

Liebster Award

Recently, I was very kindly given a Liebster award by the lovely Melanie over at Mel's Corner. If you've never heard of this award, it's a really nice one to get and pass on as it's there to highlight new or relatively unknown bloggers, and give their blogs the attention they deserve. 

"The Liebster Award is for bloggers with under 200 followers and the rules of the award are that the nominee must link back to whoever awarded them, write 11 random facts about themselves, answer the 11 questions from the award giver, and then nominate another 11 bloggers and make up 11 questions for them to answer. It's a great way for new and undiscovered bloggers to meet new people, get more followers and find some blogs that they want to follow."


So here are 11 random facts about me...

1. I was so painfully shy as a child that I refused point blank to talk to anyone for the first few months of school. My teacher warned my parents that I would never get far academically

2. My favourite colour is red…. cherry, burgundy, crimson, amaranth (ha! new one!)...all shades just as long as it's red.

3. I have hyperdontia (more teeth that I should) and as a child I had an overbite that meant I could fit 3 fingers sideways between my upper and lower teeth. Four teeth extractions and 5 years' orthodontic treatment later and I have the perfect Colgate smile I'm told.

4. I have a ridiculous memory… I can remember minute details like exactly what I was doing, what I wore and what I ate on Day X, and I have very clear memories from my early childhood. When it comes to books and films, though, I can watch or read them ten times over and they seem new each time.

5. If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d like to live near the ocean, and walk on the beach at sunrise and sunset every day.

6. The most famous person I’ve met is Lewis Hamilton (Formula One driver) – at his book signing in 2007….he was very friendly and chatty, and seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

7. I am terrified of flying. Kind of spoils the travelling lark, but I now use pharmaceuticals to cope. I am also very afraid of being in a car with someone else driving fast, suffer from arachnaphobia and detest all other small things that flap or creep or crawl (even moths).

8. I was born on a Sunday. 

And the child that is born on the Sabbath Day,
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

9. I  only learnt to drive at the age of 23. I was a very nervous learner and gave my poor husband (then boyfriend) several minor heart attacks by pulling off stunts like stalling the car in on coming traffic, doing a wheel spin on a very steep hill, and so on. He was a very patient (and brave!) teacher...

10. I  can't ski. I found this out the hard way and came down the mountain on a stretcher. These days I stick to snow shoeing.

11. I  baked my own wedding cake. A huge, square carrot cake decorated with butter icing and fresh fruit that was delicious, if I say so myself.

............

And here are my 11 questions with answers...

1. What made you start a blog?
I was young, naive and suffering from the delusion that I have something to say that someone, somewhere would be interested in reading! Now, I'm a little bit older....
Seriously, I was looking for something creative to do, and a way of recording my somewhat haphazard path through life.

2. Favourite destination?
Way too many fabulous places to pick just one! My top five would be... The Maldives, Vietnam, Thailand, Italy, Canada and South Africa. Actually that's six - you see how hard it is to pick and choose! 

3. If you could be/do anything what would you do?
A professional travel writer/photographer... unfortunately, being a professional medical writer is not nearly as glamorous as it sounds - sometimes I write about a really exciting new cancer treatment, and then sometimes I write about laxatives  - but it does pay the bills! 

4. Favourite past time?
Hiking and photography... preferably taking photographs while hiking.

5. What's your worst habit?
Procrastination. No, maybe I mean indecisiveness. Nah, definitely procrastination... I'll get back to you on that one!

6. Cooking or baking, which do you prefer?
I like the idea of baking... but I never seem to have much success. So, I'd have to say cooking as the outcome is typically more edible.

7. A summer's day at the beach or a rainy day curled up on the couch?
Summer's day - no contest. Assuming that's a summer's day in Cape Town, or Thailand, or somewhere that actually gets summer days... and not the Britain of the past three 'summers'!

8. Your most prized possession?
My husband. OK, so he's not a 'possession' in the true sense of the word, but my life would be incomplete without him.

9. What is your proudest moment?
I don't really know. Perhaps the day I graduated with my doctorate... seeing my parents' faces in the audience when I walked up onto the stage in my ridiculous gown and hat - miraculously not tripping over my own feet - made it all seem worthwhile.

10. Guilty pleasure?
Cheesy music. Flick through my ipod and you'll discover that I have very poor taste... ABBA, 80s rock, One Direction.. they're all on there and kept me happy as I pounded the pavements in training for my Moon Walk.

11. Ultimate pet peeve?
At the risk of offending any smokers among my readers, I would have to say second hand smoke! Yes the smoking ban, quiet literally like a breathe of fresh air, has meant non-smokers no longer have to tolerate smoke in any indoor places, I still get seriously peeved off when I step outside and have to wade through the mob of nicotine addicts desperately puffing away around pub and restaurant doorways, train stations, public parks,and so on. Just walking down the street in someone's smoke channel can wind me up and wish that I could carry a mini fire extinguisher with me...

To quote Douglas Adams (of 'The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' fame): 
If we see you smoking we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.

.............

And now for the part when I list  the bloggers to whom I pass the Liebster award baton. It's a bit tricky, as most of the blogs I read have 1000s of followers and the rules of the Liebster are that it is passed to bloggers who have around 200 or less followers. So, I don't have 11 blogs to list but I have picked a fabulous four! Please do pop over to their blogs and say hello....

Archie and family

From Chaos Comes Happiness

Peetee's Palace
The Firefly Photo Files

And finally, here are my 11 questions to pass on...

1. What is your earliest memory?

2. If you had to eat just one type of food for a week, what would it be?

3. Which place do you absolutely have to see before you die?

4. What is your favourite film of all time?

5. And favourite book?

6. You are about to be stranded on a desert island for 6 months. What three things would you take with you?

7. If you were hosting a dinner party and could invite any four guests (famous or not), who would you  invite and why?

8. What was your first blog post about?

9.  What inspires you to blog?

10. What one thing will you never, ever do again?

11. What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Look forward to your answers!

A huge thanks again to Mel for giving me the award!

Things I've Learnt Lately...

A grinding, squelching sound is never a good thing... especially when it's coming from my shoulder whacking into the floor during an Aikido forward roll gone bad!

That grinding, squelching sound coming from my shoulder is quite possibly a sign that I have just strained my acromioclavicular joint and will be in some considerable pain.

The best way to treat a shoulder injury? Resting it and avoiding sudden strenuous movements of course...

A round of boxercise and jumping around like a lunatic on a trampoline with my god daughters probably doesn't qualify as "resting", but I get extremely frustrated with enforced immobility.

Just when I thought I'd reached my tolerance threshold for Annoying Demanding Client #1, along comes Big Cheese Boss of Annoying Demanding Client #1... who makes ADC #1 seems like a meek little lamb by comparison.

Having BCB of ADC#1 on-board makes for extremely trying times at work and leads me to seriously question my choice of career.

My willpower for resisting alcohol, chocolate, French fries and other calorific treats is still going strong... but when it comes to sticky toffee pudding, it's game over...!

BIG News!

We interrupt Nat's Travel Monologues with some breaking news...

Back in January I mentioned that I was embarking on a new healthy lifestyle regime, determined to shift some weight by making some permanent changes.... such a New Year cliche, right? Right!

I promised not to bore you all with nonstop, tedious calorie-counting tales.... so I haven't! I dabbled with a separate weight loss blog, optimistically named Not So Fat Nat.... not my finest work. I barely manage to keep up with this little collection of random tales and travel pics, let alone maintain a healthy eating journal too. However, while that blog never really got off the ground, my weight loss plan did... and I am happy to report that by last night I had reached my new target weight at my slimming club.

I've shifted almost 3 stone (that's 42 pounds/20 kg), dropped from a UK size 16 (US size 12) to a UK 12 (US 8), and got my BMI down to a healthy 24.1 (it was pushing over into obese at 30).

How have I done it? Pretty much the boring old-fashioned way... I eat less calories and move more. But I have not been depriving myself - I eat a huge amount....of fruit and vegetables, supplemented with reasonable portions of lean meat and fish, eggs, pasta, rice and potatoes, and keep tabs on the little treats. Nothing is off the menu, it just has to be kept in control. I have to exercise restraint to get a healthy balance.... splurge tonight on a meal out, eat modestly the next few days.

Warning! Some serious stuff coming up.....and just possibly way, way TMI.....

My decision to adopt a healthier lifestyle is not one that is driven purely by vanity - although it is really nice having everyone telling you how good you are looking and being able to shop for nice clothes! Around this time last year, I was screened for bowel cancer. This dreadful disease took my dad away from us last year, his mom and her mom too before that, and a whole lot of others on that side of the family. With such a strong family connection, I was considered at high risk for one day developing the disease myself...so I had to undergo a colonoscopy - at the age of 37, that is quite unusual. As anyone who has ever been for one will tell you, the procedure itself is relatively pain free.... and they give you Happy Drugs! I was very chatty, apparently...

The worst part is in fact the preparation the day before... you drink a whole load of horrible salty stuff, and then you spend the next few hours... ahem... chained to the toilet. By the end of it, I was cr*pping through the eye of a needle! Fortunately I work from home. Unfortunately, I am a medical writer and I have written reports about the very medication that I was putting through its paces... or rather it was putting me through mine! So I knew exactly what was in store....

Not to dwell on that any longer, the outcome of the procedure was that the colonoscopy picked up a growth that was removed and sent for lab analysis... and it is the type that had the potential to develop into bowel cancer if left to just do its thing. So yes, my risk is a lot higher than the average person.

Butt, I'm not going to take that lying down.. well, apart from the next colonscopy that's scheduled for next year. The results of research into the causes of bowel cancer (and others!) suggest that being overweight or obese increases the risk, as does drinking too much alcohol, physical inactivity, and eating processed meats and animal fats. A diet rich in fibre, fruit and vegetables has been associated with a decreased risk. With my dodgy genes, I'm not taking any chances! I plan on keeping the weight off and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

So I won't be doing too much of this....

The Old Fat Nat

And instead keeping up with this....

I'll be eating my greens

And movin' to the beat!

Please read more about bowel cancer over here.

Never fear, faithful readers, normal broadcasting on Just Nat will resume shortly with a glimpse of my time in Cambodia earlier this year.....

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...

37 Things I've Learnt in 37 Years...

Follow in my footprints.... and you'll get lost!

On the eve of my 38th birthday, I impart my somewhat haphazardly gained knowledge from the last few decades...

1. Do not believe your older brother when he tells you that your Barbie doll's hair will grow back, if you let him cut her beautiful long locks into a punk Mohican.

2. Similarly, do not believe your older brother when he assures you that your Baby Doll is fire retardant... when he starts a blazing fire in his walk-in cupboard and wants to use her to fight the flames.

3. Life may be like a box of chocolates, but there's no need to eat the whole lot in one sitting. It will make you very, very sick. Especially when you’re 5 years’ old.

4. Everyone thinks their family is weird. They probably are. But they’re the only family you’ve got and you only really realise how much you love someone when they are not here anymore.

5. Never cut a fringe… growing it out will take years and years of frustration. If you do persist in wearing a fringe though, do not ever attempt to cut it yourself.

6. When you hear the words "Let's have a round of shots!", leave the bar immediately. Do not look back.

7. Drunken disorderliness and flights of stairs are never a good combination.

8. Always watch your head. In particular, when you drop the soap in the tatty bathroom of your university halls’ communal bathroom, and retrieving it involves your head meeting a broken tile on the edge of a concrete shelf.

9. Head injuries bleed profusely and also get you immediate medical attention at the ER.

10. Head injury = shaved head = permanently messed up hairline.

11. Always wear sunblock. But if you do forget, at least lift your sunglasses sometimes – the tan lines from sunglasses left on a face earning third-degree sunburn are dreadful!

12. Do not pay good money to watch Quentin Tarantino’s “Dusk Till Dawn”.…. that’s 108 minutes of your life you will never get back!

13. Stop frequently on the way up to admire the view. And catch your breath.

14. Do not let your boyfriend out wearing your clothes and make-up. Even for a Rocky Horror Picture Show Party. Explaining to the police that you are not a pair of hookers can be awkward. Especially when you are incoherently drunk.

15. Some friends stick around for a lifetime – friends with whom we hope to grow old, their friendship a constant thread through the tapestry of life that migration, careers, marriage, children, and whatever else we throw in the mix will never unravel.

16. Sometimes you just have to let go of some people from your life… the ones that suck you emotionally dry for years, then do a disappearing act the one time you need their support.

17. It is possible to kill a potted cactus. Over-watering does not equate to flash flooding in the desert.



18. It is OK to fail sometimes... it may even steer you onto new paths that have better destinations.

19. Learning to ride a bicycle is an arduous task and one best undertaken in an area devoid of rose bushes.

20. A 9-hour hike up and down a sheer Swiss mountain with a sadistic mountain guide could mean that you are unable to bend your legs for at least two days afterwards, which makes for interesting toilet trips.

21.  Having a colonoscopy is not as bad as it sounds. It may also save your life.

22. Do not drink (large quantities) of cheap vodka mixed with passion fruit cordial. Ever.

23. Handwritten thank-you notes are the nicest thing you can give or receive.

24. The best way to treat angry, rude people? With extreme politeness... it completely takes the wind out their sails.

25. Always read the manual. Or at least ask someone who has.

26. Always read the small print. Very carefully. It may come in handy when you have to argue with your (evil, conniving) insurance broker.

27. Things invariably don't seem as bad the next morning as they did the night before. Apart from hangovers.

28. Do not wear maxi skirts on a windy day…. or you may find your skirt up around your ears when crossing a busy intersection...right in front of some bloke sitting in his car, waiting for the traffic lights to change. That bloke may turn out to be your future husband.*



29. Do not wear sling-back sandals if you are a clumsy ass…. not unless you fancy tripping over and sliding facedown a very steep, very muddy hill. In a very white shirt.

30. Do not go paragliding. In France, with a devil-may-care instructor. Or anywhere for that matter.

31. Do not under any circumstances ever suffer from the delusion that you are capable of skiing unless you have at least 12 lessons under your belt. Getting rescued off a mountain, in a blizzard, with suspected concussion is not nearly as much fun as it sounds.

32. Dogsledding is not for the fainthearted. Or those with a keen sense of smell.... husky sledding dogs are extremely flatulent. Blame their high fat diets, essential to keep warm in -40C.

33. Do not trust Egyptian bus drivers. Secretly they all think they are Paris to Dakar Rally drivers.

34. No job is worth scarificing your health or relationship for.

35. Buy the clothes, books and music that please you, not those that might impress others.

36. It is impossible to please everyone, all the time. And there is just no pleasing some.

37. I still have a whole lot to learn.

........

* This is not our "cute, how we met story" (otherwise this could be a lesson in how to get a guy by wearing maxi skirts on windy days)...I'd actually sort of known him for quite a while by then. He did suddenly become quite a lot more interested after that little incident though...

One Decade

Ten years ago today, I stood under a hot African sun, in front of 40 of our close friends and family, and said these words to the man standing next to me...

From this day forward I promise you these things.

I will laugh with you in times of joy

and comfort you in times of sorrow.

I will share in your dreams, and support you as you strive to achieve your goals.

I will listen to you with compassion and understanding,

and speak to you with encouragement.

I will help you when you need it, and step aside when you don't.

I will remain faithful to you for better or worse, in times of sickness and health.

You are my best friend and I will love and respect you always.

A lot has happened in our first decade of marriage.

Just one week after our wedding, we boarded a plane to London - with one-way tickets and all our worldly belongings in two suitcases between us to start a new life in the UK. And what an adventure it has been!

Between us we've had 7 jobs... some of which we've hated (with She-Devil bosses from hell), but finally we are both reasonably content. We aim to work to live, never live to work....

We've taken on the complete renovation of a Previous-Owner's-DIY-Experiment-Gone-Horribly-Wrong of a house.

We've travelled... to West Coast USA, Canada, the Caribbean, South Africa, The Maldives, Egypt, Malta, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Belguim, the Czech Republic, Romania, Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, and all around the UK and Channel Islands. Vietnam and Cambodia beckon in 2012...

We've experienced scuba diving, snorkeling, skiing, snowshoeing, dogsledding, paragliding, hot air ballooning, mountain biking, hiking, driving a Ferrari and indoor skydiving. Some of these activities ended better than others!

We've learnt a bit about Aikido... and have the bruises to show for it! One of us has ended up with his leg in plaster for 3 months after a freak football-in-the-park incident.

We've witnessed friends' matching and then hatching a whole brood of littl'uns.

We've become aunt and uncle four times over and godparents twice.
 
Sadly, we've watched my dad put up a brave fight against cancer, and finally lose.  And we've seen how this dreadful disease plays havoc with the families of so many of our close friends.

We've watched the world changed by the explosion of technology, gadgets and social networking.

We've witnessed the global economic downturn, revolutions, wars, famine, natural disasters and much of the world's population suffering on a large scale.

We've counted ourselves lucky to live the comfortable, privileged lives that we do.

We've laughed, we've cried... and we've talked and talked.

What will the next decade bring?
 

The A To Z Of Nat

A – Arachnophobic... oh yes, the incy wincy spiders do scare me just a teeny weenie bit!

B - Baking... At the moment I am a tad obsessed (just in case you hadn’t noticed).

C - Camera. One of my prized possessions, I love photography... wish I could make a living out of it someday.

D – Daydreaming.... some days I do far too much of it, when I should be doing serious stuff like work.

E – Ego... big ones just don’t cut it with me.

F – Feet. I have two left ones, meaning I’m hopeless at dancing (and stumble through Aikido).

G – Guava... one of my favourite tropical fruits and apparently very good for you, packed with vitamin C and lycopene. I drink a glass every morning.

Guavas juiced here

H – Height: 5'6"

I – ipod. My necessary accessory on my daily walks.

J – January.... month I was born and possibly the crappiest time of the year in the Northern hemisphere

K – Kyu, as in Aikido grading... last weekend I passed my 5th kyu (second grading) yay!

L – Live in the present. I’m trying to make this my mantra this year, for the past is gone and the future is uncertain....

M – Medium... the only way I like my steak.

N – Nat – that’s me... named after a famous Hollywood actress.

Natalie Wood (1938-1981)



O - Oats. My staple breakfast... hopefully keeping my cholesterol in check.

P – Pharmacologist... that’s what I am! It’s all about the drugs...

Q – Queues... I hate them! What a waste of time, waiting in line for things. Traffic queues are my worst nightmare.

R – Right-handed, except I pour with my left and hold the phone to my left ear.

S – Spring.... my favourite season since I moved to the UK.... crisp sunshine and blue skies, tulips, daffodils, cherry blossoms, newborn lambs....

T - Tea. My beverage of choice... strongly brewed and milky but no sugar.

Cuppa tea from here

U – Unassuming... how I was described by my teachers at school. Boy, have I changed!

V – Vegetables I hate.... Brussels sprouts, peas and cabbage...yeeuuuckkk!

W – Wisdom teeth... I have a lot more than I should. Perhaps that’s why I am so wise....

X – X-rays... I’ve had a lot taken of my mouth as dentists are fascinated by my excessive teeth.

Y – Yoghurt... love the stuff, especially creamy, Greek yoghurt with honey.

Z – Zimbabwe.... country of my birth, and sadly somewhere I won’t be visiting while there’s a despot in charge.

Zimbabwean sunset photo from here

So, what's your A-Z?

Me, Myself and Nat

So...after bombarding you all with nothing but photos from my now not-so-recent South African trip these past few weeks [read “She’s too darn lazy to write anything these days!”], I thought I’d mix things up a bit with some rather random ramblings of the written variety.

Confused yet? Keep reading....

This goes out in response to this blog award that the fabulous Meowlissa at Meowlissa the Domesticated has bestowed upon me....

If you don’t know Meowlissa yet, you really should go and check her blog out...not only is she a very talented artist, she is one witty lady with a sense of humour that strikes just the right chord with me  [Meowlissa, is this enough grovelling to qualify for my acceptance speech?].... and like me, she’s a big fan of monkeys, which is always a good thing.

As is usually the case with these Bloggy Oscars, there are some acceptance rules....

#1 Thank and link back to the person that has given you this award.

Thanks M! Just in case you missed the bit above/skimmed over it hoping to get to the juicy bit, here’s where she hangs out.... Meowlissa the Domesticated

#2 Share 7 things about yourself.
OK, how on earth can I share anything even vaguely original or interesting about me that I haven’t already bored you all with written about before? More importantly, is there anything even vaguely original or interesting about me? Perhaps not, but I’m going to go for a Days Of The Week/Days of My Life theme... “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives...”

Sunday

And the child that is born on the Sabbath Day,
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

I don't fit that description on so many fronts ... but in one aspect it’s true: I made my grand entrance into this world (or more accurately, the Lady Chancellor Maternity Ward, Salisbury, Rhodesia [now Mbuya Nehanda, Parirenyatwa Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe]) in the early hours of Sunday, January 20^th 1974. My mom had a very quick labour (this being the 1970s that was lucky as it was natural childbirth and all that shite, with my dad keeping well out of things until he was presented with a clean, but wriggly little girl, weighing in at almost 8 pounds and with a full head of hair).

You can read more about the world that I was born into in one of my earliest attempts at blogging, over here.

Monday

Important things have happened to me on a Monday... I went from being Miss Nat to Dr Nat in the Jamieson Hall, University of Cape Town one sunny December afternoon back in 2001. Exactly one week later, overlooking Noordhoek Beach on an even sunnier and scorchingly hot day, I became Mrs B...but I kept the Dr Nat part too (coz I’m vain like that!).

Tuesday

I really hate Tuesdays... I do! I even wrote a whole post about my hatred for them over here.

Bad things always happen on Tuesdays... one of the most memorable for me is the tragic and unnecessary death of a bright, outgoing, 30-year old colleague who suffered an embolism after a DVT was overlooked. May 17^th, 2005 – she is never forgotten.

Wednesday

This is the day I have to don corporate gear (as opposed to my usual scruffy shirk-at-home attire) and head into my office. Typically a long day, including a 4-hour round trip, that usually leaves me feeling hung out to dry and not really fit for purpose by the end of it. Wednesday’s a good night to collapse on the couch, one eye on rubbishy TV, another perusing your entertaining blogs, and the third eye...har! Just checking you’re still awake at the halfway mark...

Thursday

Thursday evenings, you’re likely to find me being thrown around/throwing others around the mat of the Aikido dojo, and generally embarrassing myself with my ineptness and lack of hand versus foot co-ordination. 

Friday

At last the weekend is here, although sometimes it’s a bit reluctant to kick off. Why are work deadlines always set to Friday evening…especially if I have plans to get away in good time? Fridays are frequently freakin' frantic!

Saturday

The best day of the week! Given a choice, I would spent it exploring somewhere new, taking loads of photos and just generally being outdoors. More often than not, we're away visiting friends and family or hosting for the weekend, but every now and again it's nice to just veg at home, on our own. An ideal Saturday at home for me would start with a good, long lie-in, then tea in bed before an invigorating pre-breakfast….walk. Some time to potter about and maybe get some chores and shopping done, before meeting friends for dinner.

Yes, I have life-membership to the Boring Old Farts Club…

And that’s the end of that....

#3 Award 15 blogs you feel deserve the award.

This is really the worst part about these things - how do you award some people and not others? How about those who aren’t into these blog award things? Let me make my life easy... if you’re on my Blog Roll (see right hand side of page) consider yourself awarded! Haaaa! GOTCHA!

#4 Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award.

On my To Do List

It's All About Nat

A few weeks back… when I’d fallen off the blogosphere for a while… the lovely, talented Colette over at Simply Colette gave me not one but two blog awards.

Apologies for the long delay in keeping up my side of the bargain, Colette, but as the old saying goes “Better late than never!” (except perhaps in the case of Charlie Sheen’s comeback, which is better never than….)

So, first up is....

Here are the rules...
1. Link the person who awarded you! Check.
2. Post seven random facts about yourself. OK, I’m pretty random in general, so see below…
3. Pass this award along to 15 other bloggers (only if you wish)! I'm going to copy Colette on this one and award both to the same bloggers....so check out the list below award number 2!

7 Random Facts About Nat

1. I have a ridiculous memory… I can remember minute details like exactly what I was doing, what I wore and what I ate on Day X, and I have very clear memories from my early childhood. When it comes to books and films, though, I can watch or read them ten times over and they seem new each time.

2. I’ve met Lewis Hamilton (2008 Formula One World Champion) – at his book signing in 2007….he was very friendly and chatty, and seemed like a genuinely nice guy.

3. If I could live anywhere in the world, I’d like to live near the ocean, and walk on the beach at sunrise and sunset every day.

4. I was so painfully shy as a child that I refused point blank to talk to anyone for the first few months of school. My teacher warned my parents that I would never get far academically.

5. Somehow, I managed to graduate from university with my PhD in Pharmacology…some people think that means I know a lot about farming. Actually, I know very little about a few drugs (not the recreational ones!).
6. My favourite colour is red…. cherry, burgundy, crimson, amaranth (ha! new one!)...all shades just as long as it's red.
7. I’ve mentioned many times my arachnophobia (plus a great dislike of anything else that crawls, flaps and buzzes) and my morbid fear of flying. But I also have a slightly irrational fear of birds flying in front of the car when I’m driving… I worry they will go splat! across the windshield, and I can’t stop myself ducking behind the steering wheel every time one flies in front of me.



.........................................................

And secondly...

What the Award entails:

"Pass on the award to 8-12 fabulous blogs who take your breath away with how they inspire you! Post on your page who you are giving the award to, so others can visit them as well. Make sure to let them know you are honouring them! If you are a recipient of the award, please take the time to answer these questions, so we can get to know more about you!"

1. What inspires you?
To write? A piece of music, an evocative scent, a newspaper headline, a shaft of sunlight breaking through the trees as I walk through the forest…. anything can trigger a memory or provide inspiration. It can hit when I’m least expecting it.

2. What is your favourite season and why?
It’s definitely spring... this is the sunniest season in the UK and although not yet very warm, it does not have the awful humidity of summer. I love the snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils in bloom, followed by the carpets of bluebells, the cherry blossom and the budding trees. The promise of new life, the lambs on the farms….the expectation of a long hot summer that sadly never seems to materialise.

3. What are you most looking forward to this year?
Getting back to normal life after a couple of years of constant worry, the chance to travel and spend time with family and friends living far away.

4. If you could write a book about anything, what would you write about?
I’d like to write a travel comedy…but I need to travel a lot more before then, and become funny (as in funny ha ha, not funny peculiar!)

5. What is your greatest passion?

Travelling and capturing my travels in photographs… I wish I could spend more of my life doing so, but sadly there are bills to pay.

6. If you could change one thing about your life or yourself what would it be and why?

Greater self-confidence. In so many ways, I am still that painfully shy child inside a grown-up’s body.

7. Lastly, what is your favourite novel?
As I mentioned earlier, I have almost zero capacity for retaining information about most of the books that I read. One novel that has stuck in my mind though is “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini… this book really moved me and will probably haunt me forever.

OK, that's more than enough about me. Now I’d like to pass this award onto the following inspiring bloggers….

Archie and His Family

Being Brazen
Bossy Betty
come sit by my fire
Eloise In NY

From Chaos Comes Happiness

Meowlissa The Domesticated
Patrick Tillett
The Vegetable Assassin
Verbal Diarrhoea
Wandering Saffa Chick

I’d also like to pass the award onto some photography and travel bloggers that I admire greatly... they may not want to take part in a personal writing post, but I still want them to get the recognition they deserve...

Alan's Photo Blog

Life Is A Road Trip
Message In A Milk Bottle

Postcards From Malaysia

Sleepless in Gainesville

transient travels

The Retirement Chronicles

By the bye, I've been taking part in the Free Photo Competition hosted monthly by Joan at The Retirement Chronicles.... you should really have a look at all the entries for January and February.