Kicking the habit (and taking up new ones)

So yesterday (last night, actually) was interesting.

I had a particularly nasty headache. All I wanted to do was get home ASAP after work (check) and have a lie down (that’s a negative) before driving to a restaurant in Blouberg for a friend’s birthday.

Once we arrived there, my Significant Other insisted that we should each have a cocktail. I managed to make it through two-thirds of my pineapple & blueberry daiquiri before we went home (almost three hours with one drink/ beverage).

The only thing the girls seemed to be able to talk about, was gym (the closest I get to this is doing 15 minutes on our elliptical trainer every night) and dieting (said person already being thin and taking headache medication that has weight loss as a side effect)…

…so I ended up ordering a salad (lettuce, red cabbage, a few green beens and slivers of baby marrow & cucumber, about 2 or 3 halved cocktail tomatoes, and a minimal amount of chicken strips)…

…and exercising for 10 minutes when I got home.

I exercise my BRAIN by reading a lot - does that count?!

To top things off, when we parked the car in the garage, my Significant Other leaned over, kissed me (as is tradition), and told me that he wanted to tell me something upstairs. Fair enough – I though he was just going to be all cutesy and say that he loves me. But no: when we were in the apartment, he started this odd little speech about how’s he’s been thinking about something over the last few days and that he’s made a decision, et cetera – enough to make my heart start pounding with anxiety and to feel a heavy weight dropping in my stomach (ah, nausea, you sure have great timing).

And what did he end up telling me?

That he only had one cigarette left (he took it out of the packet and showed me)… and that, after that, he was going to quit smoking!!!

Apparently I didn’t look/ seem as overjoyed as I was ‘supposed’ to. I don’t have a problem with him smoking. I am glad that he made this decision for himself and will thus support him, but if he starts smoking again, so what? It won’t be the end of the world. (Though it’ll be tough when we go visit his parentals, because pretty much his entire family smokes.)

Since he’s decided to kick the habit, I think it’ll be a good idea for him (or us, actually) to start taking up a few new ones. For one thing, he can start using the elliptical trainer again. We could even get weights, and/ or do those exercises his physiotherapist gave him long ago (which he thinks is boring… so I’ll have to work out a rewards system *laugh*) It’s also a good thing that summer is coming, because that means more fruit and salads 🙂

I’m just hoping that this ‘new’ lifestyle will include plenty of sleep!!

Have a great Friday/ Fried-day, everyone.

Good morning, Monday

Good morning, blog readers.

It’s another Monday – hurray!! *gag*

Oh, come on – it’s not so bad. I know most of you probably aren’t too fond of the sluggish get-up-and-go that accompanies the first morning of the week, what with having to go to work or school or anywhere else that is mandatory/ necessary and thus not ‘fun’… but it gets you one step closer to the weekend, so cheer up a little bit, will ‘ya? 😉

I’ll admit that I myself am not feeling all too chipper on this chilly October morning. I woke up feeling worse than usual, with a ghastly headache that has stuck with me since Friday and doesn’t seem to want to go away. Then there’s tiredness, a slight fever, and feeling sick in general. Oh, and sleep – a definite lack in quality, I-feel-rested sleep. My idea of a good night’s rest isn’t waking up in a cold sweat a few times and then being completely awake at 6 AM over the weekend.

I’m not one to take a sick day, though. The only time I won’t come to work (due to illness) is when I’m flat in bed with a migraine – unable to move without feeling nauseous, feeling like my head wants to explode and being incapable to stand even the slightest bit of daylight (even the glow from light bulbs can count as a no-no).

Let’s face it: I’m a workaholic. I cannot even not think of work or keep myself from checking my e-mails when I have a day or two off…

To all of you, I wish a very happy Monday – here’s hoping things go as smoothly as possible… and that you don’t want to kill anyone… and that you have enough coffee/ cigarettes/ painkillers to get you through the day!!

I think I just might follow Smudgy’s example and get in a few Zzz’s at my desk when it’s time for our designated lunch hour.

Smudgy the cat loves… (Part 1)

Smudgy really seems to take after her human mommy – she LOVES books.

Perhaps not in the same way that I love them, since kitties cannot read, but it’s the thought that counts.

Ever since she was a tiny 7-week-old fur baby, she’s been fascinated with books. Hardcover, paperback, magazines, recipe books, e-books (on my NOOK)… none of these are too good for her to have a sniff (or gnaw!) at. Probably ties in with the whole curiosity cat thing.

And, of course, she does love sleeping on my bookshelves (her being a cat and all). I’ll even admit to feeling sleep tugging at my eyelids and making them droop while immersed in my reading late at night – just shows you the kind of example I’m setting for Smudgy *laugh*

Or, perhaps, she’s the one setting the example for me…?

Either way, books play an important role in both our lives, forming part of our personalities and bringing us closer together *awww*

We might not share genes or the same species, but she’s my little fur baby, part of our little family, and I wouldn’t have her any other way…

Here are a few photos of Smudgy ‘enjoying’ some books.

Have a happy Meh-day/ Whensday, everyone!

Filling in a sudo-x-word. She was sooo tiny!!

Delving into poetry and Shakespeare at an early age

Helping me fill in a number crossword

Selecting a book she can sink her teeth into... literally!

Proud kitty protecting 'her' Stephen King collection. She's really into horror/ mystery/ suspense (i.e. all things King)

Breathing in that 'real' book smell

Immersed in the magical world of Harry Potter

Smudgy gets tired while reading "The cat who turned on and off" - seems fitting

Smudgy in one of my bookcases (bottom shelf) - she's quite partial to napping in front of Chelsea Cain & Dan Brown novels

Sleeping on the middle row of a different bookcase. She's working her way to the top 😉