Time

Goodness, I underestimated just how challenging it would be finding the time to sit down each day and write one hundred words. Themes and thoughts of what I want to write about swirl around my head but capturing them on paper – or in this case on PC – is proving to be more difficult than I thought. I seem to have a million things to do during the day – not least of all caring for a six week old baby. But stress myself I shan’t. I’ll write whenever I can and be grateful to have found the time to do so.

(100 Words)

Routine

I am a person of routine. I always have been. I love the feeling I get of knowing that I have my day all mapped out from the moment I wake up in the morning. I take strange comfort in knowing what I expect to be doing at any given time during the day. Some may say living this way is boring – too ‘within the box’ – I say with two children under five it’s the perfect way to live. While others about me crumble due to their lack of routine, I rise above the chaos thanks to my unfailing routine.

(100 Words)

Unapproachable

Yesterday my husband told me that a 60ish year old woman had chatted him up. I was thoroughly amused. Then I commented that no one ever chats me up – at least not in seven years. ‘That’s because you’re not approachable’ was the reply. Although I am a little peeved at being told this, I have to concede that he’s probably right. I don’t set out to be unapproachable but I come across that way. People only stop me in the street to ask for directions but never to offer a flirtatious invitation to have a coffee in the next Starbucks.

(100 Words)

100 Words - revisited

My daughter is exactly five weeks old today and I am desperate to start writing again. So to help me get started I am going to revisit an old but trusty theme of writing one hundred words a day on any random topic that catches my interest/ attention. I have always enjoyed doing this in the past as, in addition to never knowing what I may be writing about, I find it very challenging to be able to capture my thoughts and observations in just 100 words - It’s a strangely therapeutic exercise. I am looking forward to it already.

Worrier

I’ve got a friend who constantly worries. I mean she worries about EVERYTHING. She worries about events that haven’t even taken place (e.g. her child will be bullied when he starts school – and he’s only two!!). I try to be supportive but her negative vibe is becoming incredibly draining and I hold my breath each time we meet. I am generally not a worrier so I find it hard to cope with someone who forever dwells on the negatives of life. I feel terrible but I just want to shake her and yell QUIT WORRYING SO DAMN MUCH. Should I?

(100 Words)

Valuable Lesson

Approaching the restaurant of the supermarket, we noticed the elderly gentleman waiting to be served and fell in line behind him. He was soon served and went to pay. Suddenly my daughter dashed away and we made to stop her. What we hadn’t noticed but she had, was that the gentleman had dropped a handful of coins which she was on her hands and knees retrieving. For her efforts she was rewarded with a £1 coin. Acts of kindness are always rewarded. May not always be monetary but a grateful look or heartfelt thanks are just as much a reward.

(100 Words)

Peaceful Sunday

I am sitting typing this and looking through the large window which dominates one wall of our living room. Golden warm sunshine streams through. There is absolute silence throughout the house. Hubby and daughter have gone off to church – I opted out – so for at least two hours I will be left to my own devices. I shall finish typing this, walk up the road to donate some old clothes and shoes to the huge green charity container and then feed the old red post box with a letter which I ought to have posted off on Friday. Peaceful Sunday.

(100 Words)

Breathtaking Beauty

Standing at the checkout counter in Tesco today, my breath was literally taken away by the exquisite beauty of the young girl who stood behind me on the line. I had to make a conscious effort not to stare. So stunning was she. She was completely devoid of make up which is a rare sight these days. What struck me the most though was that she seemed completely unaware of her beauty. As I walked away I was left wondering this: If she could have such an effect on me, a woman, I wonder what effect she has on men.

(100 Words)

100 Words Revisited

Last year, I set myself the challenge of blogging just 100 words every day for a month. I enjoyed the challenge so much that I have decided to do it all over again. So for the next 28 days I shall be blogging a 100 words each day. Join me.

100 Words - Last Post

Just over a month and 37 posts later, it’s time to move on. It’s been challenging and frustrating because sometimes 100 words are just not enough! I am glad I did it and proud that I was disciplined enough to see it through. I am searching for another project to turn to. I am toying with the idea of participating in the 40X365 project – but I am unsure about it. It is a deeply personal project and the last thing I would want to do is hurt anyone. So until I make up my mind I shall blog at random.

(100 Words)

Ancient Wisdom

I have this unexplainable urge to open up my Bible and read it. I haven’t had this urge in a long, long time and feeling this way makes me realise just how much I have missed what used to be a daily practice for me. The bible fascinates me - more so finding ways to apply its lessons to my daily life and relationships with people. Largely, my bible sits on my bedside table gathering dust. Unread, untouched and not given much thought except to use it as a paper weight for all the glossy magazines I favour reading instead.

(100 Words)

Memories of Paris

Free Fall

My friend watched a woman jump to her death this morning from the fourteenth floor of a building. She said the woman fell in a sitting position with her satchel bag strapped across her chest and clutched to her side. She was in her 40’s. There was a dull thud as the body hit the pavement. There was immediate commotion as people ran to the scene holding mobile phones to their ears. There was the wail of a siren in the distance. Who was this woman? What made her jump? Was life so unbearable that suicide was her only option?

(100 Words)

A Spotty Affair

As I am going though a bit of a spotty phase, I bought a product that claims to be a ‘blackhead clearing’ cleanser and it’s accompanying ‘dual action’ moisturiser. In addition to using them everyday religiously, I am cutting down on butter and fried foods (the cause of my spotty predicament). However, I have noticed a strange phenomenon – my spots are getting worse! This leads me to conclude that the products are really designed to make you break out more so that you go and buy even more of their wonder products – earning them a small fortune at your expense.

(100 Words)

In Love

I have utterly and hopelessly fallen in love with Paris. I trawl the internet for books and bits of information on the city. It’s strange but it didn’t have such an impact on me the first time I was in Paris nearly two years ago – perhaps because my daughter was just two at the time and still very needy so I didn’t have the time to pay much attention to my surroundings – but this time I did and I liked, very much, what I saw. The way of life, cosmopolitan, yet seeped in culture is something that is missing here.

(100 Words)

Work

It was crazy busy at work today. It never seizes to amaze me just how much work can pile up in as little as two weeks. I also find very amusing the glee with which your work colleagues fill you in with all the bad news before you’ve managed to get your feet under your table - you can almost see them rubbing their hands in glee. One day at work and it’s like I never left at all. Piles of expense claims, new applications and invoices to be processed are what await me tomorrow. Looking forward to it. …NOT.

(100 Words)

Habit

I ought to have ended this project of writing one hundred words each day for a month on the 22nd but as I missed out a couple of entries I will carry on until the end of September and perhaps for a few days longer. I am very pleased that I actually stuck with it – something I have not been very good at doing for the past couple of years. And it is true what ‘they’ say, if you stick with something consistently, it becomes a habit. Now without even thinking I can convey my thoughts in a hundred words.

(100 Words)

Getting things in Order

The last few days since we got back have been pretty manic. I am one of those people who cannot think straight if her house is not in ORDER so that is exactly what I have been busy doing. However, although I now have a very clean house, it’s kept me away from blogging. I also sank into a mini depression on my return– everything here seems so drab and dull. The ‘sameness’ of the surroundings (the houses, the people) is so bleak compared to the cosmopolitan feel of Paris and I miss that. Perhaps I should think of relocating?

(100 Words)

Every Woman Needs One

Wouldn't you agree?

Back Home

I’m back home and still trying to recover from the trip. I spent the day house cleaning and down at the outdoor market stocking up on fruit and vegetables as I am going on a detox for the next one month in hopes of returning to my svelte pre-baby figure. Besides my skin is awful at the moment – a tell tale sign that I had too many croissants and thickly buttered baguettes. Strange to think only two days ago I was some place else – it feels as though I haven’t been anywhere and I am ready for another holiday. *sigh*

(100 Words)