Gratitude

 

Even though I strive to be, and successfully come across as a glass half-full person, I do get really down sometimes and fixate on what's not going right, so from now on, even if I don't blog everyday, I'm going to list at least one thing that I'm grateful for everyday. However I have not been able to blog everyday for whatever reason so from 2012 will be weekly gratitude list. So here goes:

SEPTEMBER
Saturday 29th
Wow, it's been a mighty looooonnngggg time and yet so much to be grateful for. Can't make up for the last nine months but start today right?

• Waking up with a smile on my face, swaddled in the softest, nicest smelling sheets and pillows
• Clean hair (not had time to wash it in weeks, got the chance last night)
• My gorgeous flat and how the decorating is coming along
• BROADBAND!!!
• EVERYTHING (my lovely Dave, Audrey and family, Nadine, Sade, Estelle, Martine, Rachel, Michal, sunshine, work, good food, not dying from period pain, watching Andrew Marr last night, baths
• Locs blogs
• Marc Jacobs SS 2013 - basically he bit my style

JANUARY
Sunday 22nd
Not done this in forever but sooooo many things making my heart smile right now:

• The best, softest bed ever enhancing my sleep tenfold in the nicest hotel where they give me a different chocolate EVERY night
• Loveliest dinner in tiny Italian restaurant with lots of giggles with Mariela
• Personalised tour of Lima (GORGEOUS)
• Meeting amazingly inspiring people, not least the beautiful clever boy with a passion for literature, music, art AND he volunteers with children
• Workshops going relatively well and working really well as a team with Mariela
• Amazing food, with tomatoes that taste like tomatoes and freshly pressed pineapple juice every morning
• The last few weeks: afternoon tea with Nadine at the Meridien, changing my Whistles mac and lots more besides.

NOVEMBER
Monday 08th

• Lasting through a capoiera despite having ZERO coordination
• Making DELISH raw plaintain curry with green beans and salsa side
• Walking through the rain whilst listening to Josephine Baker and later Jurrassic B
• Aunty Baby fixing my speesh red print skirt

Sunday 07th

• Having my extended family round for dinner and laughing lots at Aunty Baby's 'witch' stories
• Having a missed call from Ines and Nasera

Saturday 06th

• Wore my favourite hat in the world, the one when put on with my comedy glasses makes me feel a bit Lisa Bonet esque.
• Saw my lovely gorgeous Estelle, albeit briefly.
• Spent a good portion of the SL presidential visit to the UK exchanging text messages with my favourite man WHILST he was sat on the panel with the President in front of a 1000+ people. Gonna smile at that one for days.
• Michal and Aunty Baby being at home
• Getting my iPod fixed

Pre 06th November

• My beautiful lovely Audrey sharing her good expectant news. HAPPY!!!! Soooooooo happy that I'll have another child to love like I do Leo (the BEST little boy EVER)
• Lots of cuddles with one of my four favourite men in the world
• Completing bits of work I'm really proud off
• Spending time with Nadine, Sade and the ever so cute Nathaniel
• Proudly asserting my political beliefs to people on the totally opposite spectrum (though I might have been a tad obnoxious in parts.
• Not buying ANYTHING in the states - walking away from all my favourite shops.
• Finding out I'll be going to Peru for work - hello Inca trail (and lots of work)
• Getting the loveliest text message from my favourite boy-man who actually makes my heart smile

OCTOBER

Guess I kinda fell off this for a while BUT October was not all that bad,worked my behind off , joined  a really nice gym, had a good swimming lesson where I'm now actually comfortable on my back,  held a great Anti-Slavery  Day conference, delivered a good paper at the FIHRM conference, created some good new resource packs, travelled to Vegas to be bridesmaid at Rach's wedding and met some uber lovely people. Spending time with the spine-tingling, happiness inducing Marler-Cliberry clan.

Saturday 01st

• The beautiful amazing sunshine - wow
• Sleeping till really really late
• Waking up to lovely Teenie
• Food shopping in Muswell Hill

SEPTEMBER 

Friday 30th

• Hanging out with my mentee
• Having lunch with my super workmates at lunchtime
• Getting positive responses for my conference
• Uber delish tapas dinner on Holloway Road

Thursday 29th

• Beautiful text from beautiful cousin Benji
• Super crazy karaoke night with fab work friends and crazy running man dancing with Sarah
• Sorting out a significant amount of music on way back from Liverpool
• Good session in school with young people
• Meeting Nick and conversing about the world and life priorities

Wednesday 30th

• Being hosted by the lovely Stephen in Liverpool

Tuesday 27th

• Getting to work not too late
• Waking up and not feeling rubbish
• Getting a lot of work done this morning
• Washing my hair and packing suitcase for Sierra Leone
• Calling  Ines and finding out it was her birthday, so pleased I got to speak to her on her birthday

Monday 26th

• Staying at home and getting over the tiredness and aches from Sunday
• The possibility of a post-Michal clean home

Sunday 25th

• Taking Michal to uni
• Fantasising about eating at Cote

Saturday 24th

• Driving lesson (blah blah blah - must find something else to write on a saturday
• Hanging out with Els and Oliver in Brick Lane
• Watching American Gangster (i.e actually being home and watching TV)

Friday 23rd

• Hanging out with Ade after work
• Finishing Life of Pi and being in bed by 12:00 (yum)

Thursday 22nd

• Getting into work for 9:30 despite the late bedtime and increasingly being able to wake up without an alarm
• Having a bowl of super delish lentil and squash soup
• Hanging out with Mariela :)
• Meeting my lovely mentee who would not stop only only to be told later by her family that she doesn't usually talk!!!!! :)
• My mentee's little nieces and nephews giving my massive hugs
• Walking down my gorgeous tree lined street and feeling super grateful for where I live whilst listening to 'Count my blessings' by Damien and Nas

Wednesday 21^st

• Lovely dinner hang out with the AMAZERS Gus Pirelli
• Falling asleep before  11:00 – only to be awoken by Hendrick  and reasoning till 2:30 in the morning about the future of the black race (not had a conversation like that in eons!)

Tuesday 20th

• Getting home at 8:00 and actually sitting in the living room with my uber annoying family
• Work not being as bad as I scared it was going to be and getting lots done
• Getting a text from my lovely gorgeous Nadine who's back from Brazil (gosh I LOVE that girl)

Monday 19th

• Waking up without an alarm and making it to my swimming lesson
• Having a good trustee meeting with Ade and Alexis
• Having a lovely breakfast of blueberries, pomegranate seeds and grapefruit
• Going for a run along Ally Pally and being scared out of my wits by the pitch-blackness and foxes hoovering around

Sunday 18th

• Clearing the Michal bomb debris from the passage way
• Decluttering my excess product boxes
• Sorting out my 'dowry' box (i.e my collection of new beddings and towels that I'm saving for when I finally decide to move away from home and live by myself again)
• Having the time, energy and inclination to finally do some blogging

Saturday 17th 

• Food shopping and cooking lentil soups for next week
• Hanging out with lovely Sarah and sorting through her MOUNTAINS of clothes and a lovely dinner
• Staying at home for the first night since I've been back from Paris
• Being inspired by Sarah's Marie Claire's Food Fast recipe book and realising that I should focus on gastronomical satisfaction and not the boring healthy recipes I have been developing

Friday 16th

• Cleaning office space and getting rid of all clutter
• Baby-sitting Sade and watching 3 DVDs in Nadine's pristine home and having the most cathartic cry in a super long time - absolutely rejuvenated after
• Realising that I have acquired the most phenomenal catalogue of music from Hendrick

Wednesday14th

• The lovely Mariela coming back to work and everything being ok (thank goodness)
• Spending time with the lovely gorgeous Leococo and his beautiful mummy who made me a lovely dinner and made me feel very grateful to be her friend
• Getting a ‘wake-up from being a psycho and re-evaluate your life’ email from Rachel (hard but needed, so thanks Rach)
• Reuniting my aunt with her long-lost childhood friend who I have coerced into being my friend
• Booking my place on the Rome marathon (whoop-whoop)
• Getting a call from the mentoring service to tell me that I’ve been matched with a mentee and meeting her next Thursday (whoop-whoop)

Tuesday 13^th

• Seeing lovely Bev after 3 years and her heavenly daughter Charm who gave me a super long hug
• Finding the perfect slimline filofax
• Utilising my Aveda privilege card – got a Shampure massage oil for my birthday
• Seeing the reading coordinator at the primary school I’ll be doing my volunteer reading and her pushing for it to get started

Monday 12th

• Seeing Sona Jabarther at the Bloomsbury Theatre
• Concluding a three week long drama

Sunday 11th 

• Seeing beautiful countryside en route to meeting in Aldershot
• Being inspired by research and project proposals for organisation
• Being invited to wedding by my cousin and hanging out with djs 
• Inspiration courtesy of the uber delish, James Franco in 127 hours – seriously I am that Aron whatever his name is – not in the uber adventurous sense (though would love to be) but in the ‘I’m going out without my phone, or battery not charged and I’m going to foreign countries and no-one has any idea where I am or what I’m doing and I don’t call for days, so my disappearing acts are an accepted part of me, so if I ever get kidnapped (as my mum and friends are keen to tell me because of my habit of befriending all and sundry) or disappear down a hole, people will just think it’s my normal not keeping in contact behaviour, so 127 hours has shown me that needs to change.

Saturday 10^th

• Driving lesson going well
• Taking Michal shopping for uni clothes and finding the perfect ‘Clockwork Orange’ hat and slip but overcoming the temptation to buy the perfect M&S fisherman’s jumper
• Finding the perfect running gear at Run and Become
• Going out with Joanna and throwing some soulful house shapes

Friday 09^th

• Getting the ok from an MP to speak at my conference (yay)
• Being invited to the uber coolest SL eating spot – the Crypt on East Street Market
• Having the most beautiful man in like forever smile at me and agree with my passionate pronouncements AND hugging Ray from ‘Sister Sister’ after engaging him in an intellectual debate (which I’d like to think I won)

Thursday 08^th

Meeting Gemma’s lovely friend Camilla and seeing ‘Slave’ together at the lovely Riverside studios

Monday 05th

• Waking up at 6:00 after nice sleep
• A proper breakfast (green juice and scrambled eggs and toast) and a really nice lunch (mackerel and salad)
• Culling 300+ emails
• Massive hugs from Sarah and Jakub
• Driving lesson going well - first one in over a year and Colvin telling me to book my test
• My new hangers from Dunheim Mills and Practical Princess arriving
• Creating the perfect minimalist wardrobe of dresses, though need to cull more bottoms and be totally ruthless
• Bath of Moroccan rose and hammam rag - acquired from a souk in Agadir and after massage with the sublime Fatima respectively
• My delish love tea and soothing sounds of Amel Laurrieux whilst in bed smelling of white musk (bliss)

Sunday 04th

• Waking up early and being able to go buy painkillers so I did not end up throwing up and crying in pain as I did in Paris
• Food shopping (so I can actually have some food in the house!)
• Spending most of the day in bed
• Getting everything ready for Monday

Saturday 03rd

• Victor coming round and helping me to finish the loft
• Seeing Teenie and her lovely gorgeous self as she always makes me happy
• The uber funny and superb DJ at the Jimmy Cliff concert
• Seeing Jimmy Cliff in a non-inebriated state (first time I saw him at Glastonbury was so drunk I had no idea what was going on!)
• Daddy Earnie spinning some cool tunes and the Electric Slide and people coming up to congratulate  me on my electric slide :)
• The most beautiful man I've seen in a really long time spending a good portion trying to get my attention

Friday 02nd

• Starting my decluttering and getting my room in some semblance of order
• Sorting out my banking (all dds and standing orders set up)

Thursday 01st

• Finally getting around to starting to clean the loft
• Going to enrol for swimming and taking my dry-cleaning out
• Nadine coming round and making me dinner

AUGUST

Wednesday 31st

• Lunch with Giovanna after visiting the piece of art that is the Champ Elysees Laduree (swoon) and finding the most perfect present for Lucy Love
• Buying gifts for Giovanna and Thomas
• Nasera packing all my cases
• Hendricks taking me to the station and waiting till I left

Tuesday 30th

• Going to the Musee de l'homme which was closed but saw the most lovely pond and breakdancing in front of Tour Eiffel
• Walking through Parc Monceau
• Chatting with Giovanna
• Seeing Fanta and Adama's gorgeous wedding pictures
• Hanging out with Nasera and family

Monday 29th

• Going to the Musee de l'Orangerie and seeing some fab impressionist art with Joanna
• The most AMAZING canal side noon picnic washed down with fab vino

Sunday 28th

• Driving to Clingacourt and exploring with the crew
• Dinner and walk around Monmartte

Saturday 27th

• Seeing the Maya exhibition at theMusee de Branly
• Lunch at the Musee de Branly and sightseeing with Joanna

Friday 26th

• Sight-seeing with Nadine, Joanna, Sade and Olu
• Going to the Eiffel Tower and proposing to Joanna beneath the Eiffel Tower
• Drinking in the Bastille with Joanna

Thursday 25th

• George calling me first thing to wish me a happy birthday
• Hendricks bringing me breakfast
• Going to Marais with Ines and meeting Bouba who bought me and Ines lunch and arranged for a birthday cake to be brought out and free Amorino ice-cream afterwards (yum!!)
• Ines forcing Bouba to say yes to marrying me
• Joanna, Nadine, Sade and Olu coming round and trying to go out (big fail)

Wednesday 24th

• Visiting Pompidou and having Amorino ice-cream with Hendricks (yum)
• Having drinks with Bouba and Hendricks at Petit Cheva
• Visiting Montmartte (LOVE!!!) - cobbled streets and artist studios galore

Tuesday 23rd

• Lunch at UNESCO and being introduced to lots of lovely people
• Amazing salmon and prawns couscous lunch
• Hanging out with Hendricks and Ines at night

Monday 22nd

• After procrastinating for ages, finally completing a report that I was happy with
• Meeting Oliver for dinner and hanging out at his flat with his friends drinking aged Martinique 
• Getting walked home by Hendricks

Sunday 21st

• Stephan sending the recovered photos along with a card of his amazing Brazillian photos telling me that I've found my home (his and Ila's) in Paris and that I must come back and go to Brazil with them. Weep.
• Meeting the most beautiful girl in the lift and ending up with an invite out with her and her husband so soir. I LOVE French people!!
• Spending the day at Buttes Chaumont - the most beautiful park EVER with cascading waterfall and a great view of Paris. Just perfect!! As miss clever decided to forget her camera connection , no photos till I get back to London, just have to make do with a googled one (said as if whole blog was not littered with stolen photos:  

Saturday 20th

• Hosting a dinner party for Stephane, Ila, Mohammed, Neserra, Medi, Ines Eliana and Maman - lovely, though cous-cous did not turn out that great
• Seeing email from long-lost best friend Bev, who I've been trying to find for ages
• Sight-seeing baccahnal with Els and Ines

Friday 19th

• Getting report done for UNESCO on time
• Discovering Square Villemin and Canal St Martin
• Having a nice girly chatting lunch with Eliana and hanging round Pompidou
• Dinner at Aurelie and Tabs and meeting their friends - the perfect evening and superb (in French accent) people

Thursday 18th

• Michal getting one A*and two As in her A-Levels and getting into the university of her choice
• Meeting Aureili, Zadig and Anne-Marie at the Pompidou Centre and discovering that Aurieli's husband is an academic who works on part of the project that I went to Ghana for - being invited round to their's tomorrow evening
• Finding the perfect headwraps and brogues (no the buy nothing for a year does not start till 25 August)
• Getting a present from Stephane (women are heroes DVD) dinner with his mum and Mohammad