Kicking Negativity's Arse

I sat down today after a bit of a stressful week and I was ready to have a moan. You all know the feeling (which is almost irresistible at the moment!) but I'm going to try and say NO to it (in some colourful language!)

Oftentimes it's so easy to focus on the negatives. For some reason it seems to take more strength to be positive about senarios than it is to be negative. And growing up in a country where moaning is a national pastime - means by the age of 29, I've gotten pretty bloody good at it! 

I came across this piece of advice from blogger Miss Erika Fox of Retro Flame on my Facebook feed yesterday:

via Retro-Flame

As I sat rain soaked and grumpy on a packed train, I realised I am all too guilty of this addiction. And it needs to stop. So today, I'm focusing on the good stuff.

My view this morning

I think waking up to this sight isn't a thing to be grumpy about! It's a beautiful (and dry!) day so far and if it rains, it's not really the end of the world! Fact is, I live in Ireland and that's just the way things are here. Truthfully, if it was too sunny/cold/wet or even dry - I'd probably find something that annoyed me about it. But right now, I'm drinking tea and doing a little blogging so I'm a happy Lucy!

Speaking of which...

My morning began with tea. That in itself makes me grateful as some mornings my love for my leaba means rushing out the door without a cup of the nectar of the Gods. Inevitably this results in the days events being all the more stressful. I'm an addict so to get my caffeine fix to start my day makes me an altogether less volatile Lucy!

€4 lighter and 1000% happier!

I've been on a shopping ban for much of this year. This is probably a main cause of my crankiness as it's my therapy. Seriously. Even when I have had the weight of the world on my shoulders; shopping helps me deal with it all. Anybody that knows me wasn't surprised to learn that upon finding out I was going to lose my hearing - I cleared my bank account and went shopping. 

So on a rainy day in Dublin yesterday, a broke Lucy wandered into Penneys and hit the motherload. As a seasoned shopper, I've frequented Mary's Street often but yesterday the retail gods were smiling on me. A clearance rail with everything marked €1 and lots of stuff in my size definitely makes for a much more relaxed Lucy!

A trip to the Bingo with my gals, my lovely mammy's birthday and a cuddle from the two cutest little dudes in Cavan lies ahead for me today. 

So in all fairness, that alone kicks any negative thoughts in the arse!

Forever in the Sky,

Lucy x

 

Duvet Day, She Wrote...

I think it's fair to say the current crap weather has called for at least one duvet day the past week! July has been typically Irish and typically wet, putting a big damp NO on any outdoor plans. This can be beyond frustrating but sometimes it can also be a blessing in disguise as you can rediscover the lost art of 'The Duvet Day'. 

I think the ingredients for a successful DD (Duvet Day!) really depends on the person. The basic ingredients are generally the couch, your pj's and, well, a duvet! But after that, it's up to you! Some choose to read books, others prefer to online shop and then there's the boxset DD! I think I'm a mixture of all three (along with copious amounts of tea and biscuits), but when the opportunity arrives; I'm also partial to a trip to the crime capital of the world Cabot Cove!

I was in college when I discovered the brilliance of 'Murder She Wrote'. Back in the days that Netflix wasn't the student staple it is now, a lazy hungover afternoon meant whatever was on Sky. I love me a good murder mystery so my discovery of the Queen of Whodunnit, J.B. Fletcher, made Murder She Wrote essential viewing for me. 

In a perfect world, I wouldn't have to explain the brilliance of J.B. Fletcher to you. You would already appreciate the amazing (albeit fictitious) woman behind 'The Corpse Danced At Midnight'. But, alas, the world is not fair and there are many people who do not understand or appreciate her awesome crime solving skills. But my appreciation was instant.

Even the opening titles spoke to me on a not-so subconscious level...!

Set in a small town called Cabot Cove in Maine, J.B. Fletcher is already a legend when we first meet her. She's basically like the J.K. Rowling of murder mystery and everybody that crosses her path is obsessed with her books. It's clear from early on that, along with gushy fans, murder loves her like a fat kid loves cake. With each episode that passes, another Cabot Cove alumni meets a grisly end and the whole town (even the Police Department) turns to Jessica to find the killer. This fact says A LOT about Jessica's awesomeness (and maybe the crap American Justice System?!)

via Showbizgeek.com

Once this happens, us loyal viewers follow Jessica's quirky methods of detection and the adventure begins. Don't forget, this is old school sleuthing and C.S.I is nowhere to be seen - but J.B. don't need no fancy schmancy gadgets to find the killer; just some clever disguises and auld fashioned snooping!

via pinterest

Comedy, near misses and award winning sleuthing followed and Jessica would ALWAYS find the culprit leaving everybody impressed and in awe (apart from the killer obviously!) of her detective skills, 

The show followed this tried and tested plot line throughout and after awhile, only by logic, the population of Cabot Cove took a serious dip with a resident or 5 being killed every episode but as Jessica was a famous writer, she took a lot of trips. Unfortunately murder followed her.

So it's not really surprising that the theory by viewers that Jessica was, in fact, the worlds biggest serial killer and used her fame to pin each of her murders on someone else. Given that there were 264 episodes made and at least 1 victim each episode - that is equally dark (and sort of impressive!) 

Via Redbubble

Whatever your theory, there's no denying the brilliance of J.B. Even if you're not totally obsessed with an episode storyline, there's always the love triangle between Jessica, Seth Hazlitt and Amos Tupper to keep you gripped. 

via fanpop

Yep sexual tension ain't just for young folk!


 

264 episodes is a hell of a Duvet Day but on reaching the end of your visit to Cabot Cove, if you're still on a Jessica high you can always click below & find out

How would you die in Cabot Cove?

This was my result - I'm sure Mylo's gonna be delighted with my vast and impressive Penny's wardrobe.

Forever in the (rainy!) Sky,

Lucy x

Why I refuse to kill a mockingbird

We're all born the same but I think it's what happens to us during our lifetime that shapes who we become. Certain experiences and ideas stay with us and influence our approach to things.

I left school 11 years ago. 

School is such a big part of life - the idea of  13 or 14 years spent learning a curriculum set by our peers has always seemed strange to me but I enjoyed school. I was a pretty average student and English was my favourite subject.

I've always loved reading. There's something about a good read that can take your imagination to other worlds like nothing else can. There are no rules; except for me - it's got to be on paper. Reading Kindles & IBooks just isn't the same! Even when I was a little kid, my favourite part of the summer holidays was the prospect of endless trips to the library and the mass of books I could read during the vast weeks of free time ahead of me. I remember vividly being giddy when the MS Readathon was held every year and trying to beat my record each year. The Babysitter's Club, Goosebumps and Horrible Histories were some of my favourites.

Teenage years brought different reading tastes but when I was 15, a book came into my life that, to this day, I still re-read. For my Junior Cert, we studied To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

via imgur

I'd never heard of the book before but we were told by our teacher it was a 'classic' so I looking forward to seeing what the fuss was about. We did readings in every class and characters were assigned to a few people to keep everybody's attention from waning. It felt like a play which I loved as I always did Speech & Drama growing up. The character of Scout (whose real name was Jean-Louise) was assigned to me for the simple fact that my name was Louise.  Easy casting logic but I was delighted!
Growing up in Cavan in 2003 was a far cry from Alabama in the 1930's (where the book is set) but I quickly fell in love with the characters. A young girl's view of the world that goes from her imagination and innocent quest to meet the town's mysterious Boo Radley to watching the adults around her embroiled in a moral debate on racism, tolerance all the while trying to find her place in the world.

To Kill A Mockingbird won a Pulitzer Prize and broke publishing records when it was released 55 years ago. It was the only book ever published by Harper Lee much to the annoyance of some readers.

However last year, the announcement that a sequel was 'discovered' and a release date set. Immediately I was dubious. Soon enough stories emerged that only raised my concerns that this new book was the result of Miss Lee being taken advantage of in her elderly age and poor health. I couldn't help thinking of her as the quintessential Mockingbird in this scenario. That thought alone made the decision for me. I wasn't going to read Go Set A Watchman - ever.

I've read mixed reviews since it was released last week along with the news that Atticus Finch, the hero of Mockingbird, was now racist. Although I can't deny I'm curious, the love for Mockingbird stops me from purchasing a copy. The fact being, I'm not willing to let my curiosity jeopardise my love for the original characters from Mockingbird. I learn something new every time I read it at different points in my life but most of all I learnt at 15 years of age;

It's a sin to kill a mockingbird.

Forever in the Sky

Lucy x

My BFF Ms. Hobbs

Oh Carrie! So quirky! So funny! So lovable!
It's been over 10 years since she strutted her stuff in Manolo Blahnicks on our T.V. screens and the women of the world fell in love. A teenage Lucy was amongst the legion of Carrie fans and to put it simply; I wanted to be her. Or at least be her BFF. When the T.V. series ended, I was pretty brokenhearted. But then an announcement of a film came! Delighted and giddy are two words that mildly describe how I felt upon hearing this news and in preparation for the movie's release, a now adult Lucy unearthed her SATC boxset and cleared her weekend.
By that Monday I discovered many things (like Mr. Big's name was John?!) including:

1) I could consume a ridiculous amount of Galaxy chocolate
2) I needed to go shopping IMMEDIATELY
3) And I had to break up with Carrie.

Back in the day, it's fair to say every viewer had their favourite character. Charlotte was sweet and pretty, Samantha was strong and sexy and Miranda was straight talking and ballsy. But Carrie was the leader and was funny, intelligent and stylish so her character was always the most popular when the choice was made. Teenage Lucy agreed wholeheartedly. But now, Grown Up Lucy has a new BFF - Miranda.

In my opinion, Miranda always got a raw deal.  From the start of the first series, it was clear that Carrie was the Queen. Samantha and Charlotte were next in line as the Princesses and Miranda was the outsider. She wasn't as classically pretty as the others, a bit awkward and not overly stylish. Teenage Lucy definitely didn't rate her much. But upon my re-watching of the show in adulthood, I learned quickly that my BFF Carrie was stylish and funny; she was also a good bit whiny and pretty annoying (I started to realise this when she repeated the line 'I couldn't help but wonder...' for the 50th fuppin' time)

On the other end, there was Miranda. I always thought she was a bit 'blah'. Grand. But not as sexy as Samantha, beautiful as Charlotte and stylish as Carrie.

Adult Lucy discovered that actually Miranda Hobbs is a total legend!

She's honest
She can seem be harsh but her honesty comes from a good place.

She has insecure moments
Everyone feels insecure at times and Miranda is no exception which makes her truly likeable and endearing.

She's unapologetic
She is who she is, likes what she likes and doesn't apologise for it.

She knows what's important
Example: Wifi and phone battery are very important but so is her marriage and she sacrifices her comforts for that.

She's does things HER way

She does things her own way. Her pregnancy (KFC at the baby shower) and wedding (Dark maroon dress in a community garden) are where she shines and each are uniquely and completely Miranda.

Frankly, it's frustrating that such an awesome character gets ignored in the way Miranda does. To be honest if I hadn't of re-watched the series from an older prospective, I probably wouldn't have made the realisation of the pure brilliance of Ms. Miranda Hobbs. And just for that fact, makes me eternally thankful to the odjiously awful films that followed!

Forever in the Sky,

Lucy x

Lucy's (not so) easy listening!

A mere month ago I introduced myself formally to ye all with a few fun facts about myself (click here to read!) featuring some tidbits of info about my life. One of the facts was that I was deaf. Most of the time, the presumption is made that because my ears don't work, that I must live in silence at the time.

Eh I bloody wish!

Yes I happen to be deaf but most people are a bit surprised when I tell them that I haven't experienced silence in the past 4 years since I lost my hearing. While it varies in rhythm and volume, the sound I hear 24/7 is pretty much this:

How lucky am I right?! 

The technical name is Tinnitus and it tends to come as an 'Oh So Super Special Free Prize!!' when you experience hearing loss. There are plenty of causes (click here) and no case is similar but no known full cure is available.Pain. In. The. Arse.

But the mind is a funny auld thing. 

When I first started experiencing buzzing, I honestly felt like I was going to go mad. Monotonous noise every waking minute is not the fun time you'd imagine and when that's all you hear - it's easy to want to rip your ears off! 

But the brain is a funny thing. 

Unfortunately I'm not sure if Keanu is right but after a while of non stop static, your imagination can take over. The different rhythms of my tinnitus began to make patterns in my mind and the result was a bit surprising for me. The fact that I had hearing for 25 years has meant that while I've no idea what Ed Sheeran sounds like (A new friend who is an Ed worshipper couldn't believe this when I told her!), I loved music. Snow Patrol, (early) The Script & Adele along with The Cure, Bon Jovi and Gwen Stefani were some of my favourites and hold awesome memories for me especially when their music pops into my head. This is usually a rare occurence but whenever it happens, it always puts me in a good mood. Most of the time I have a tune in my head but it's dictated between the day's tinnitus rhythms and my imagination.

This is uncontrollable and unfortunately any tune can pop into my head based on the days rhythms. This tune is played on repeat throughout the day and can quickly lose its novelty. Example: On a recent night out to Longford Summer Festival with friends, while the craic was mighty, no amount of alcohol could get this tune out of my head:

Catchy, ain't it?!!

Unfortunately today's tune didn't have as 'interesting' music video to go with it but the feeling of wanting to shoot myself is significantly less as it plays on a seemingly endless loop since I woke up which makes it an altogether pleasant Monday in Lucyland (despite the drizzle!)

Forever in the Sky,

Lucy x

 

Blurry Times

The story begins a mere two weeks ago...

A dull Saturday morning, There I was in my kitchen making a fry up when I felt a 'pop!' sound on my face. My tummy was rumbling so I paid little heed to it until a matter of minutes later when my glasses came apart and fell from my face. A pretty strange thing to happen even with my unlucky history! Inspecting the remunants, showed the frame had cracked completely and was beyond repair. Pretty random and pretty fuppin' annoying!!

I've worn glasses since I was 10 years old and wear then pretty much all the time as without them everything's pretty much a blur! On occasion, over the years, I've chosen to go glasses free for social events because I got it into my head that I looked better without them. It didn't take long to admit defeat in this and realise the dazed and squinting look I was sporting during this time looked worse than any pair of specs would!

Anyone who wears glasses on a regular basis knows the vital importance of choosing a frame. 'Just go into an opticians and pick a frame - easy peasy!!' is the attitude of many but these people are usually non glasses wearing folk! The fact is glasses are bloody expensive and you will probably have to wear them every day. While many could disagree - my experience is that your glasses can define you and make or break your appearance at times. Not to mention they can affect outfit choices and make up looks so choosing your new specs can be a serious decision.

Once this task is done, you'd think it'd be plain sailing wouldn't you? But the life of glasses wearer is a constant battle!

Smudge 'n' Smear

From the moment you put on your glasses for the very first time, the lenses will never be as clean. Ever. Daily life will ensure that they are smudged forever. That anti glare/protective coating you got on them? Great idea in theory but not so great in practice as no matter how much you try to polish them - they will remain foggy and forever annoying!

The weather is your enemy!
While there are officially 4 seasons in a calendar year - in Ireland there's usually two!

Winter: Fogged up lenses as you enter any buildings with a heat source and will leave you red faced as you stumble through the door. Rain has a similar affect with added 'drowned rat' appearance!

Summer:  On the off chance the sun finds its way to our shores, if you happen to wear glasses, you have 2 choices. Squint through your regular sunglasses or invest a small fortune in a prescription pair which you will get little use of for a couple of months at the most.

'OMG You're blind!!!'
For some reason, non glasses wearers find glasses fascinating. Honestly they can't keep their hands off them! Even if they are residing on your face. If they aren't grabbed off your face, then the question is asked: 'Can I try on your glasses?!' The next step is usually a jokey comment about you're lens strength and how 'totally blind!' you are as if wearing glasses is such a crazy rare thing.
Newsflash: it's not and this is an annoyingly regular occurrence. Just for the fact alone that it means you'll have to clean your glasses for the 84th time that day after they're handed back to you.

My history with glasses has always been a love/hate affair. Would I not just get lazer eye surgery?! (I can hear ye all thinking this!) but a combination of ommetaphobia (that's an odjious fear of eye damage - seriously it freaks me out!) and lack of eligibility means the the future looks smudged for me!

Forever in the Sky,
Lucy x

(Ignore the crazy hair/pose but here's an absolutely delighted non blurry Lucy after she collected her new glasses last week!)

Burnin' up!

Well there's no denying it. That glowing round thing that miraculously (on occasion!) appeared in our skies the past few weeks confirmed it. Traditionally the Leaving Cert brings good weather and this year (while being a wee bit slow to start!) was no different with the onset of non-Artic temperatures. It was official: Summer in Ireland had (kind of!) arrived! And as always not one of us was really in any way prepared for it - thank god for Penneys right?!

Of course in our defense, Ireland with actual sunshine and vaguely warm temperatures is a rare sight even during our so called 'summers'. A fact of life that comes with living in Ireland means that a day without rain is a novelty. A day with actual sunshine and leaving the house without a jacket? Well that's a cause for national celebration! And boy do we celebrate, flocking to any source of water with our sun cream in hand - all the while knowing that the second miracle of an actual tan is probably unlikely, but hey, god loves a trier doesn't he?!

via Buzzfeed.com

It was announced late last week that a heat wave was a'comin to our shores this week And as I type this, it's hard to deny: the temperatures have been upped and we might actually experiencing the elusive 'Irish Summer!'

via Her.ie

It won't take long for the results to begin to take affect. It usually becomes pretty clear after the initial day or two of an Irish heat wave that, while we are delighted when it actually happens, years of rain and damp weather has meant we simply aren't prepared for it. The appearance of actual sunshine tends to send people outside in a flurry to bask in the heat but it's usually not long before we need to retreat back inside after we realise how hot it actually is. And us Irish are simply not built for heat.

While accepting this fact is nothing to be ashamed of, there is always the ones who refuse to admit defeat and instead resort to staying put and fashioning their own air conditioning.
 Yep I'm talking about the strippers. 
Now chances are, you're going to spot at least one or ten this coming week. Whether it be walking down the street or in the local shop, they will be pretty hard to miss. Any self-consciousness or embarrassment has seemingly melted in the heat with these creatures as they stroll about the place.  

Now I completely understand the surprise a heat wave in Ireland can bring. Much like most of the population, I too stood in front of my wardrobe this morning, desperately looking for something or anything to wear in the heat. The fact that we spend the majority of the year in jumpers and jeans means panic stations when actual decent weather appears. Trips to Dunnes and Penneys are hastily planned as Jean Byrne tells us the next few days will be 'warm and pleasant'. The strippers are sometimes amongst these people too. But instead of shorts and t-shirts, they are buying bikinis and hot pants with no imminent beach plans. While this is grand for your garden, nobody really needs to see that much flesh on show when they're popping to the shop for milk, do they?

via Entertainment.ie

I'm pretty sure the goal of a tan is in mind here, along with cooling off of course, and to each of them I say good luck. Achieving an actual tan in Ireland is an achievement in itself based on our weather history and our pasty skin. However more often than not, red raw sunburn is the result. This can be from misjudged sun cream application to lack of any thought of protection, but chances are both strippers and the regular Joe/Josephine are going to have a painful nights sleep at one point or another this week!

I, myself, hope to miraculously escape this pain. My plan? I'm relying on the fact that in any type of heat, I refuse to spend more than a few minutes outside. Yep, while heat can bring a smile to our little country, it tends to make me supremely uncomfortable and generally a cranky cow. Being sweaty is a serious pet peeve of mine too along with the fact that I burn on a cloudy day meant that once I heard about this weeks forecast - a hibernation was swiftly planned!

Of course, like any miracle, it probably won't last but even as the clouds start to roll in, an entire week of a rare summer in Ireland will be talked about for the rest of the year. Because as cheesy as it sounds, there's really no better place on earth than Ireland on a summers day.

Forever in the Sky (although temporarily indoors!!),

Lucy x