Friday, October 2, 2015

Let me introduce myself . . .











I'm the woman who faced a health crisis, thought she might not make it and then did
***
I'm the woman who has family and friends that are not of this world
***
I'm the woman who has loved flowers and plants and all things botanical all her life
***
I'm the woman who recently started her own business
***
I'm the woman behind Anthesis Botanicals
***
I'm the woman who walks around smiling all day
*** 
I'm the woman who regularly ends up on her hands and knees with gratitude
***
I'm the woman who started this blog but is somehow different
***
I'm the woman who's learning to let go, even fall … and enjoy the ride

♥ It's a pleasure to meet you ♥

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Romeo and Juliet

image via here

A lovestruck Romeo sings a street suss serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a streetlight, steps out of the shade
Says something like, "You and me babe—how 'bout it?"

Juliet says, "Hey it's Romeo. You nearly gave me a heart attack"
He's underneath the window; she's singing, "Hey, la, my boyfriend's back.
You shouldn't come around here singing up at people like that.
Anyway what you gonna do about it?"

Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start
And I bet, then you exploded into my heart
And I forget, I forget the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

Come up on different streets, they both were streets of shame
Both dirty, both mean, yes, and the dream was just the same
And I dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real
How can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals?

When you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
You promised me everything, you promised me thick and thin, yeah.
Now you just say, "Oh Romeo, yeah. you know, I used to have a scene with him."

Juliet, when we made love you used to cry
You said, "I love you like the stars above, I'll love you 'til I die."
There's a place for us, you know the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

I can't do the talks like they talk on the TV
And I can't do a love song like the way it's meant to be
I can't do everything but I'll do anything for you
I can't do anything except be in love with you

And all I do is miss you, and the way we used to be
All I do is keep the beat, the bad company
All I do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme
Julie, I'd do the stars with you any time

Juliet, when we made love you used to cry
You said, "I love you like the stars above, I'll love you 'til I die."
There's a place for us, you know the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

And a lovestruck Romeo sings a street suss serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Find a convenient streetlight, steps out of the shade
And says something like, "You and me babe—how 'bout it?"

"You and me babe—how about it?"

Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits


♥♥♥♥♥♥

A few trivial, useless but nevertheless fun facts - you may or may not care to know. . . 

It's always been a favourite of mine

Yes, I'm a (shameless) eighties child

I don't care what anyone says  - the video clip IS cool  - enough random to be . . .  well . . .  random.           

I always loved that she chewed bubblegum

I also loved that the "chick seemed cooler than the guy"  - with so many horribly sexist video clips flying around in that era I'm not surprised I was drawn to the imagery in this one. Then again I also liked "Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart" so there goes my credibility.

♥The song contains (arguably) one of the greatest lines ever written . . .

"All I do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme, Julie, I'd do the stars with you any time"

(I'm a sucker for romance and an even bigger sucker for romantic lyrics)

and last but definitely not least . . .

I found out today that one of MY ALL TIME FAVES covered this very song, QUITE A LONG TIME AGO! How did this escape my knowledge? I do not know. 
Here are both versions for your listening pleasure . . .









I'm thinking of having a regular series of posts that play host to great songs with dubious video clips.
Suggestions are more than welcome! 













Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Attitude


Thank you so much everyone
I read your comments, your private messages and even your emails
Each and every word made my HEART SING

I have read many a blog post where the writer doubts and of course 
many of us in varying fields face this kind of challenge at different stages in our lives

The fact that you took the time to encourage me is such a gift
Truly

♥♥♥♥

So there are a few things that I've been made more aware of in the last few months* and 
I'd like to share them with you . . .

Attitude is EVERYTHING - after love, kindness and personal grooming
(these things make such a difference and now that I'm putting them into 
regular practice - it's making me a believer)

***

Nutrition follows suit pretty darn quickly.
Whilst some would tote that it's in fact the be all and end all to your health
I feel that's not entirely true
I've known too many smokers and lovers of red wine & cheese who've lived
past the age of 70 and seemed pretty satisfied with their lot 
The common denominator?
Yep - attitude - they LOOOVED life
(and I guess it loved them back)

Having said that - I have seen (and felt) the difference that good nutrition makes
also 
happy nutrition - treats are a must 
unique nutrition - everybody is different
tasty nutrition - kale you need help, I'm sorry but you just do, even if it is just lemon and olive oil

***

Limiting screen time
Try it
For a whole day

I did and all I can say is - wow. 
Clearly I had no idea how many times in a day I reach for my phone/pad/lap-top etc

My little experiment went like this:

Switch internet OFF
Turn TV OFF
Turn radio/I-Pod ON

If you have a smart phone - turn off browsing capabilities
and place it somewhere in the house where it remains for the whole day

Make tea, make food, stare into fridge, clean, washing, 
read (hello old friend!) groom, sort and so forth

Note how many times you walk past phone and check it
or catch yourself thinking of something you need to look up

I was amazed actually
I picked a day when I'm at home because studies show that even
though people browse the net at work it's even more of a temptation at home
(when no one is policing you?)

I wouldn't say I've hit status detrimental as yet
BUT
the habits have formed
the habits are hard to break
the habits, having been examined more closely, are up for change

***

And lastly  - Sunshine
Dedicating 10 whole minutes to standing in the sun 
If possible eating a piece of fruit or drinking a glass of water
No talking, no doing - just breathing and soaking
Just do it


I'll leave you with a brilliant quote I read last week

"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."



Thank you lovely people.
I am climbing again. I am feeling stronger and I am 
noticing more light than shadow.

♥Attitude♥



*Disclaimer - I've made a few promises to myself alongside my revelation 
regarding this little space - they are small manageable changes that
I truly believe are making a huge difference in my life
The interweb is so FULL of stuff - lots good, lots bad.
Advice is everywhere and I don't want to come across as a 
self righteous nerd - I just want to share the good stuff 
I'm no Doctor though - I'm more of a flower loving hippie
Just so were clear

Oh - and the image?
Couldn't find anything that captivated the essence 
of mid-life crisis morphs into turning point for life

So a green apple it is

I do love green apples though - more than red ones.



Thursday, April 9, 2015

A blog neglected







































I have visited this space so many times with the sincere intention of sharing.
I log in and start typing and then save as draft  - often after only two lines.
I've done this sixteen times. SIXTEEN.

Then I decided that this ride on my carousel of misery had to end. stop. finish.
(it always comes down to a decision doesn't it?)
With viking determination I drafted "my last post" and as I wrote I started laughing.
Such drama - a title that implies going off to war, defending my country, dying.
A martyr.

Then that old best bud called self doubt dropped round with a cup of critique.
It sounded a lot exactly like this:

"ridiculous. a quitter. a quitter with only a handful of followers.
for heavens sake it's not like Joanna Goddard has decided to pull up stumps
get a grip. get a grip. just say goodbye. just. give. up."

Two hours and three cups of tea later.
More self doubt
More self doubt
More self doubt

That's when I realised something truly, truly life changing.
NO ONE GIVES A SH*T

Unless I do.

How utterly perfect and just and fair.
How brilliantly poetic and how sublimely non bulldust.
All that indecisive crap and no one in the world knew what I was thinking - or cared - or had their life altered in anyway by my petty self doubt.

It's only taken me 41 years to fully digest this nugget. fully.
To comprehend the quantum leap that can be made when you stop thinking anyone else's thoughts and only think your own.

Miraculous change occurred immediately.
I felt physically lighter.
I had new ideas.
I decided not to stop writing caring
I decided that this space was like ANY OTHER space in my world.
My bedroom, my car, my favourite park, my marriage, my favourite beach.

All that mattered was that it matters to me

In fact whether it was ONLINE or OFFLINE or HANDWRITTEN or even just DAYDREAMED INTO THE ETHER... If it's mine - then I should love it.

If I'm here then I should BE HERE.
If I want to write (about any darn thing under the sun) then I SHOULD WRITE.

♥ So I did ♥