Lance the liar

I don't follow cycle racing that closely, but I have many friends who do, and a hero has broken the world's heart this week. Lance Armstrong took drugs. Then lied about it for a decade. Grrr! This makes me so angry. Especially for my American & French friends who stood by the road side waiting to see Lance cycle past a French village the day they got engaged. It was such an integral part of their story. Although now married 8.5years, I'm sure they have more important things to focus on. I feel let down. I feel sad for those who didn't dope and placed 2nd & 3rd behind the unbeatable super human. Also he isn't hated for the druggie &liar that he is, he thinks he can compete again, in a different sport perhaps. Not for me Lance. You'll always be Lance the Liar to me. You spoiled the Tour de France.

Snow, being engaged and other people

Well it's unlike me to blog, but every now and then doesn't hurt!

So it snowed. Snow is beautiful and fluffy, it threw a surprise winter wonderland upon Bristol. However it is also treacherous. Everything is more complicated in snow, except sledging. I still hold on to the childish excitement of snow, God's gift of fun to unleash the child within. However as I get older I start to see the other side, the dangerous driving, the cold stranded people. The cancelled events. No doubt it'll soon be gone, but for now enjoy the trees!

So we got engaged, whoop! Very exciting. I'd been waiting a little while for Stephen to "pop the question" and I am so glad he waited, because it was just right! Very us. Better still we got engaged over Christmas which meant we had TIME together to plan and chat and be together. I'm so thankful for that. The singular thing that has surprised me most about getting engaged is the intrusiveness of others. From the neighbour who asked if she could try my ring on, to the zillion people who ask if I've considered renting out my house rather than selling. Then there are the shocked faces when you tell people you're getting married in May, "this May?" is invariably the response. 

Long engagements are now the norm, couples mainly live together while they are engaged and wedding planning becomes a hobby of sorts.  This week I spoke to someone who after her wedding wrote a goodbye letter to the bridal magazine she'd subscribed to for 2 years.

I can see why people have long engagements, saving up for weddings takes time, and there are a myriad decisions to make. I'm not criticising people for having long engagements, that's up to them. What I am criticising is people's shock reaction to our short engagement.  Yes, planning a wedding is a big thing, but it's a series of decisions that each only need to be made once! Will I look back in the future and regret this time being too fast? I hope not. Also we need to focus on the fact that being engaged is not just about planning a wedding, it's about my fiancé and I planning for our new life together. Working out how that'll work. That's my favourite thing about being engaged, the moments snatched with Stephen when we laugh and tease and make plans forever. It's the best thing. I'm so excited. The wedding with its dresses and flowers and food and favours is just one day, the marriage to my fantastically calm and patient fiancé, that's for life! 

When I first moved into my house (which I love and am selling, and it really is no one's business but ours) I spent weeks doing DIY every night often until 1am. It was a crazy time, DIY was the thing that filled my time, and I loved it. I also loved the finished result, and have done little DIY since. That's a bit how I feel about our short engagement, I want to take a deep breath and enjoy it, but it's busy. I've got carried away & seen 1am too many times recently. Planning for the future (and for one day between now & the future) is my new hobby, and after May I'll be able to sit back & enjoy it with my husband!

Why I'm not doing Nanowrimo 2011 and why I'm so thankful I started!!

So hello. This is actually my first ever blog post. I'm writing it because what I need to say is more than 140characters long... 

Yesterday I started Nanowrimo 2011. I wrote a fantastic 1682 words in 2hrs. My story was about nuns. It was supposed to be a comedy. However, I realised nuns are amazing selfless humble women. They don't think like me. They put God first. I can learn a lot from them.

Something happened today, at work, that made me think about my priorities. I was challenged about managing my stress levels and how my "hectic" social life affects me. Do you know what? It does affect my work. I know that. 

I need to change something. Big. I need to show an improvement. Now. 

This morning I was praying that God would guide me to write about the nuns in my fictional convent in a way that would be glorifying to Him. This evening I realise that the way to honour him most is to not write it. 

I'm tired. I'm stressed. I'm over worked. I have a fabulous host of social engagements lined up over the next 3 weeks. I have a gorgeous loving boyfriend who's just emerging from the apple-ocalypse. What I need is time, peace, fruit and veg and sleep. 

So this National Novel Writing Month. I'm not going to write one. I'm going to sleep 8hrs a night, eat my 5a day and spend time with God and my boyfriend. 

If you're a Nanowrimo and you're reading this then I wholeheartedly applaud you! It's such a brilliant achievement and I'm so glad I did it! Through twitter I learned about Nano and through Nano I learned I could write and made some awesome friends, you know who you are (feel smug awesome friends).

So while you lot are bashing out your 1667 words a day. I will be eating clementines, and working out how I can go to bed early, and finding time to learn about my awesome God. 

My nun research was not wasted. It was an awesome reminder of how beautiful knowing and loving God can make you. 

So I'm going to take the present of an extra hour a day that Nanowrimo has given me and go and tidy my house. Or something.

Thanks for reading. I hope you understand.