Friday Quick Takes

1. Big news this week? Well, Loverboy's in India with work for 11 whole days and I'm flying solo. So this weekend, while he's off to see the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World,  I'm off to Tescos! The woeful injustice of that aside, I find that whenever he travels, (and truthfully, it's not THAT much), I marvel anew at how single parents manage to do this ALL THE TIME. Hats off to each and every one.
 So even though I realise that I've absolutely NO room to complain...you know I'm going to anyway!
It's the little stuff - finding the car already defrosted on a freezing morning, that shared cuppa before bed, locking up and switching off the lights at night, diesel in the car.... Oh hell, it's the big stuff too- talking over the minutiae of the day that NO ONE else in their right mind would listen to, the much needed hug, knowing what I'm thinking without any words...and goodness me, the bed feels awfully big without him!

Of course the upside is, (and he'll be just DEE-LIGHTED to hear this), being on my own makes me realise that I often take him for granted, and for that reason alone I suspect that a little absence CAN be a good thing. It DOES make the heart grow fonder and allows me to more fully appreciate our life together-  a fresh light is thrown on the everyday...for a while anyway! Another positive is that I've had to hit the ground running form the moment I get up, til I go to bed- it's something of a military operation keeping all the balls in the air on my own, my phone is constantly pinging with alerts and as a result, I'm far better organized...but still, I'm very grateful for lovely friends and family doing a few lifts here and there!

2. I've started a new eating strategy, (I'm NOT calling it a diet), which I really feel positive about. Now I could write a novel, never mind a post, on my complicated relationship with food over the years, and the tears and time I've wasted on one diet after another, but I won't. I will say though that I've worked hard to accept the fact that I'll never to be a skinny minny like my Mum and two younger, fabulous sisters. In Gaga's immortal words- Baby, I was born this way! So over time, I've learned to avoid the fluctuations, ditched the diets and focused on the health and exercise aspects instead.  Big deal, I hear you lucky ladies think who do this instinctively, but hey, I'm a slow learner!

Anyway, you know that doctor on TV- Michael Moseley? He did the two Horizon programs last year that created a huge buzz? Well, I trust him, he's got an honest face, (and he's quite fanciable in a nerdy sort of way), so when I read about his 5:2 program (5 days off, 2 days fasting), I thought I'd give it a go. Apparently, there's all kinds of health benefits like lowering your risks to all kinds of diseases,  although shallow as I am, I kinda skipped over all that to the looking younger and losing weight part! The thing is, I was already doing this a bit myself and most importantly I think it could fit well into my life..without getting in the way of the important stuff like eating out and having a few drinks at the weekend-that's my gut feeling anyway.(boom boom!) But I don't want to get tooo carried away,  because this has only been my first week, but I'll let you know how I get on with it .....and I promise I'll be honest.

3. With Loverboy away, I'm using the opportunity to gorge myself on all the sky+ shows he vetoes when we're watching TV together- the ones I usually watch when he's out or  I'm doing the ironing. Like Gok Wan (I LOVE that man), One Born Every Minute and Real Housewives. Well, I became uncomfortably aware that when I'm  watching One Born, I take a perverse pleasure when a woman says beforehand that birth is a natural process and pain is to be embraced and she definitely- without a doubt- no way never -will take any kind of pain relief WHATSOEVER ...and then ends up sucking down the gas and air and screaming like a banshee for an epidural and lots of drugs. And even better when she starts swearing like a sailor!  Do you think that makes me a bad person? Don't answer that....do you? Don't answer that.

 4. Here's a wee Friday happy pill song for you- I love Kirsty MacColl (RIP Kirsty) and  the other day when The Lukester and I were driving home from the shops, 'There's a guy works down the chip shop swears he's Elvis' came on-great song! Instantly, we both went into boogy woogy mode along the motor way- him in his car seat, me in the front- we really did dance like no one was watching! (Which wasn't strictly true because I'm pretty sure I saw a lorry driver sniggering, but it was worth it!)
  Enjoy...and Happy Friday peeps xxxx