Month: July 2010

At what stage of the past 40 years did it become fashionable for women to be considered super? Was it not enough that we burnt bras and suffered jets? Who of the female kind decided that we cannot be sick like a man? Why did we fight for equality in the first place?

I woke up this morning with a throat that felt like a fine parmesan grater had rhythmically gnawed at me the whole night. My nose bunged up enough that not even fully pressurised fire hoses could open it, and a head that feels like a whole harvest of Fairtrade cotton has been sorted in my brain’s every cell. I’m sick.

I am torn not with guilt, but extreme self-pity for this dastardly situation, and visions of lying on the beach became as much of a reality as Met Éireann finally predicting the right weather forecast.

I have manflu – there, I said it. I am DYING, and no one has EVER felt this bad. And for all those fellow sisters that feel I am letting the side down? Get over it. Be honest in your equality, and the next time you feel this lousy – embrace it and suffer loudly and lethargically.

My only advice? Make sure you have the right man in your life, and you, like me could be waited on hand and foot, served like a queen, and can do no wrong for one day, and most importantly – forgives you your every grump and groan.

Thanks Florence – I love you to bits!

P.S. Now that was till he suggested he gets me a bell to ring….. like in an old age home. Mmmm, the ice is thin!

P.P.S. Did I mention that I have lost 16 pounds thus far??? Yip – just so you remember this is about the 40.40 Challenge!

In the past couple of weeks I realised that hindsight might give you 20/20 vision, but that vision does not help much if you’re stuck in the bottom of very dark pit. No! No! Nothing that austere – just a reality. Life can get very bogged down with the if only’s and the what if’s.

Accepting that as the reality, it does not make it any easier to avoid bitterness and loathing when something went horribly wrong – and when you have to say to yourself – Stop! What are you going to benefit from all this baggage. Is this really guilt, or is this relief masked as guilt.

My boss once told me how one day someone phoned to ask him to join him for a drink, and how he did not really feel like the man’s company, but rather than hurt his feelings, he replied “I have to attend to my hair” – Now everyone knows he’s bald.

Rather than hurt people, we tell them what we think they might want to hear. How much do we do in life trying not to hurt people around us, and is it truly NOT to hurt them, or merely to assuage our own guilt.

And of guilt I can speak with authority, as my mother (and I do love her) – knew only one way of child rearing and that was with guilt trips. Actually – I once threatened to buy her a T-Shirt that said “My mother is a travel agent for guilt trips”. Ironically, the truth would have seen me far more co-operative, but maybe there was that chance I would not have liked her much. And I think in that lies the challenge.

At the end of the day, we like to be liked. I would be the first to admit it – but at what cost to our souls, and those truly nearest and dearest to us. How much baggage and guilt must we bare before we shed every inch of it, stand naked to the core and say – bring it on!

I feel the winds of change blowing lightly at my back, nudging me into interesting directions.

In exactly one month it’s time for the big 40.40 Birthday bash – and oh what a bash it hopes to be! It’s looking more and more that I will only achieve half my goal in time, but I am enjoying this all – fat regime so much, I don’t forsee a problem in the future….. unless my arteries clog up or something.

Anyways – is it a case of sometimes we set up too high expectations of ourselves, or worse – of others? But are we truly destined to be happy with just “adequate”? Are those of us who strive to higher expectations just setting ourselves up for constant disappointment, and is it so wrong to fail having tried than never to have tried at all?

It’s the glass half full adage, in all its boring simplicity – and back to balance and all those other clichés that are marauded around all the time – but are so very apt today.

I don’t feel let down because I might not achieve my full goal, I feel exhilarated that when I went slightly off track, I put up my hands, blamed NO-ONE but myself, and got right back into it again. NO manana, manana…. no wasting time beting myself inot a lardy cellulite ridden pulp. No.

If nothing else, I am happy to report that I am still living up to my biggest expectation – which is to learn through my mistakes, grow from my experiences and at least admit when I am wrong (well, sometimes..;-)). Now if only I can expect everyone to agree with me….

Oh what a pitifully bad person am I??? Without realising, and after yet more requests, it is almost a month that has passed since my last blog. Yes – I’ve been busy. As in – to my tonsils (or in my case, the spot where said tonsils used to be) busy with so many things that I had to prioritise the importance of my daily blog versus the realities of staying up to date with work and life – I opted for the latter.

So since I have last been here – I have stayed in a state of Ketosis, gone off a state of Ketosis, when they tried to force all these healthy foods down my throat, and am now happily BACK in a state of Ketosis. I am still religiously doing al my exercises every morning (bar Sunday, when to my greatest distress I realised that Ketosis and some red wine do NOT go together – there is a reason why they tell you NOT to drink any alcohol) – and am crunching, lunging and push upping away.

I have lost just over one stone all together (please note that when I went healthy I put on – but I was cheating, as I was not as full as when I lived off my current diet of Fat, more Fat and protein).

Right…. case in point. I started this blog at 17h23 this afternoon – I am now only getting ready to post it, and it’s 4 hours later, as I am on duty this evening, and getting back the taste of what it’s like to run around with food to all sorts of tables all night at top speed.

I shall leave you with this final thought that I was reminded of tonight though – crucial for the hospitality industry: preparation, preparation and more preparation makes the job MUCH easier…. and presentation is EVERYTHING!