What get's up your nose?

There are things that can really irritate even the most patient and gracious of people, and you can put on the appearance of tolerance but it doesn't change the fact that inside you're just a little irritated or raging mad.  I have a few of those.

*  someone eating crunchy food next to me.  I don't mind if I eat the same crunchy food as them, it somehow blocks out the noise and I am not so aware of the sound effects.

*  drink slurpers, my children are experts in this.

* people who don't share their yummy treats like chocolates, biscuits or cakes - after all "Sharing is Caring"

*  bad coffee - coffee makers should be licenced individuals, I am currently an unlicensed rookie but don't tell anyone that.

*  bad trolley drivers - another unlicensed ragamuffin group - my thought on this is that anyone who cannot drive their trolley should definitely not be driving a car

*  people who expect me to be on call 24/7 - since email and smart phones have improved all types of communication, there is an expectation that I should answer immediately.  Even if I just happen to be sleeping, sick or even just not really in the mood to talk to anyone - there are technology harassers who don't seem to respect one's need for space.  And boy do you lose big time brownie points - in fact your friendship could be in trouble.

*  dirty oily hair on me or anyone else

*  people with hooks - I love all people - as long as they are not being friendly, generous or chatty because they want something from me - relationship with a hook.

*  cats that fight at night -with two cats in our house, this happens fairly regularly

*  hair in my food - yuk, yuk, yuk!

*  phone calls in the middle of a movie

*  lying - this one is a big one.  Honesty can hurt but rather honesty than lies.  People don't like honesty, they ask questions and tell you they want to hear the truth, but when you tell them, they take offense.

*  hairy bits on a chicken - yuk!

*  when people text or read their emails on their smart phones while having a conversation

*  music played by neighbouring drivers so loudly that my ears pound and hurt

*  dogs that sniff my private bits - what's up with that?

*  rats,  mice, snakes, spiders, bugs, slugs, snails, mosquitoes, maggots - seriously cannot carry on with this creepy crawly list, makes me nauseous.

*  lazy, fussy and picky children - learning to eat what's put in front of you and helping even when you are a guest in someone's house is something that many parents don't seem to nurture in their children.

*  dog poop - on the beach, on the grass, on the sidewalk - basically anywhere

*  face, nose or teeth pickers - need I say more?

*  sand under my feet in my house, the endless sand trail left in my house from my children spending afternoons at the beach

*  crumbs in the bed

*  toe jam - not sure I know anyone with this but it just sounds gross

*  alarm clocks - I love my sleep

*  SPAM !

*  cold coffee

I have so many more, but this will do for the moment.  But I would love to hear from you.  What is your list of things that get up your nose?

Blogger Bum: Get Moving

Didn't know there was such a thing did you? Oh well maybe it only happens in the world of blogging - but I doubt it. You could call it "Telly Tubbies"(no offense to the rather strange kiddies TV show with characters like Pinky, Twinky), or "Computer Cushion" or "Food Flab" - you can see these are getting noticeably lame but you get the idea.

I spend lots of time in front of the computer - researching, socialising, writing, recording and doing my husband's administration. And so my butt and the chair or just the bestest of friends, which would be fine if the chair was not such a bad influence on my rear quarters.

I also realised that I love food. OK so maybe I didn't realise, maybe I have always just known. And after all who wants to be on diet every day? I used to do that - eat salad while everyone else was eating steak and chips or mash and meatballs or just about anything. It doesn't help that I am married to a man with a metabolism that has Formula 1 status and children who are constantly active, so when they eat it somehow tames their tummy tigers for about 2 hours before they are hungry again. All of these things do little to help me in not eating so much.

I had to make a decision and some choices.

1. I could have posted a pic of my well rounded behind on my blog, claiming all sorts of accountability reasons but I doubt you would be able to sleep at night and I would lose half of you as readers. You've heard that a picture speaks louder than a thousand words - and I reckon my butt is worth about 1000 000 words - so this was not an option.

2. I could go on a diet while my family enjoyed the good things in life and I get to watch - absolutely not happening.

3. Or I could try something small. Take small steps at a time and do it slow- REAL slow, so as not to shock my system or to have me despondent and downcast because I hadn't managed to succeed which would ultimately lead to lots and lots of chocolates - and that really would not help.

So number 3 it is. The question I had to ask myself is what could I change/ add or remove that would not be too hard but yet sustainable? And so I came up with the idea of " GET MOVING". It's not aerobic or running or gym. It's just to "GET MOVING" as much as possible in the week. And to do things that we can do as a family or just the children and I, with very little effort.

The Result?

GREAT!

This last week my schedule looked like this:

Monday: Walk along length of Sea Point Promenade with the boys

Tuesday: Walk on Boyes Drive with Declan

Wednesday: Cycle/Walk at Green Point Diversity Park

Thursday: Nothing (no guilt though)

Friday: 6km ride from end of Sea Point to Mouille Point with the children - even Ruthie did this

Saturday: Nothing

Sunday: Beach

So there you have it, one week and I have made some progress. I want to live a healthy lifestyle and this is great. Not only is it great for my health but it's great just to get out with the children. We laugh and talk and just have lots of fun and always lots of stories after.

So this is what I would like to master before I do the next thing. So if you see me walking, riding or running - don't wave, or offer me a lift. Climb out the car and join me:)

A word for 2013

It definitely seems to be that naming the year is the thing to do and I like to do the things that everyone else is doing otherwise I feel like I am not doing what everyone else is doing and I feel left out. And so after much thought and weighing up who we are as a family, my children and their personalities, our history and our future (who would have thought that all of this plays a role in selecting a single word), we have decided our word for 2013 will be:

I love this word! I love the unknown. I want to go to places few people would go, suitcases are the best accessories for this. It implies courage, history making, pioneering, travel and trying things for the first time. So this will be a new season of excitement and I am excited to see what this year has in store for me.

Have you named your year yet? Leave a comment and tell me what you have decided on and if you feel up to it, tell me why.