Run, Chloe, Run!

Well, I haven't blogged in quite some time. I'm not sure why & I haven't the energy to think about it too hard. I'm guessing it was just one of those dips in the grand scheme of blogging. I'm sure you will all have survived the drought but, don't worry, I'm back to quench you. Get you wet, if you will.

What do you mean you won't?

Anyway, all my magnetism aside, I'm just here to tell you that yes, I am still running. But no, of course it's not going to sodding plan. Have you read my blog? Laziness prevails.

After some problems which I assure you you do not want to hear about, I got back into running last week. I was starting steadily, just doing a mile or so every other day (& was frigging knackered!) & then taking this up to 2 miles. Then, a bloody insane lovely friend decided we sould go for a run together. We did & ended up running 4.75 miles. I felt amazing & horrendous all at once, but I'm going to continue my roll by doing 4 miles this evening. It's daft, because before I was pregnant I could run a good 5-6 miles & really love it, without feeling as though I was going to die. Alas, those days are gone & so hard work is all I can do. So I'm buggered really. This is me we're talking about.

I'll let you know how my run goes & whether Mind will actually be getting all that sponsor money or not. Something tells me I'll be crawling over that damn finishing line in September, but miracles can happen!

In the mean time I would be massively grateful if you would chuck a quid my way for sponsorship. Please don't think 'Oh, well what difference does a pound make?' because i can tell you it makes an enormous amount of difference to me! & please don't think 'I'll do it later.' becuase if you are anything like me, you probably will forget. You're a busy, popular person, you're in demand! I know you are, so take a minute & follow the link below, & donate a quid or so!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ChloeSkinnerMind

You're bloody lovely, you are!  

How Bad Do We Really Have It?

I'm listening to a radio programme about women in Uzbekistan who are sterilised against their will & often without knowing, or lied to about why they should be sterilised.

All because the government decide so, as a 'solution' to control the growing population.

They are often made to have c-sections in order that they are limited to the number of children they can have in future, in order that the doctors, who are given a weekly quota of women they must sterilise, can remove a woman's uterus or tie her tubes. Women & families live in fear & often in pain.

It makes me realise just how good we have it, despite whatever we go through, it puts a lot in perspective.

Just imagine what these women go through, & then look at what we have.

 

Money, Power & Love.

They say that money is power, but is this true in our relationships?

I don't work. I stay home & look after the children. My other half goes to work 5 days a week & he too pays the rent & bills most months. He offers us security & in turn I [very occasionally] do a bit of dusting & cook nightly. Oh, & raise the children. I do contribute where I can but on the whole I feel powerless. I really do. I'm rarely sane.

We are in a loving relationship, we are happy, so why does the financial security that my partner provides for us cause me such emotional insecurity?

Is this my personal issue, or do lots of stay at home parents feel this way? He gives up the money he would usually spend on DVDs or whatever else it is 20 something men buy, as well as some of his social freedom. He's given up relaxing evenings for hectic bedtimes. I was all ready used to hectic bedtimes & no money to spare for myself, but I have given up my independence, the freedom to think only of myself & my children &, thinking about it, have changed my entire life. I don't get to interact with adults every day. My brain turns to mush. I think that we both give a lot, but I feel as though I have lost a lot more. Control & sanity being the two main casualties.

Can I change this?

If I have a job, & so money, will this be power?

Things I haven't done today

Things I have not done today:

• Worn underwear
• Got dressed
• Brushed my hair
• Showered
• Changed my top once I spilled coffee down it
• Been outside (thank christ, that'd have been embarassing considering all of the above) except to get the washing in as rain threatened to re-soak it (hope the neighbours didn't see)
• Had an intelligent/coherent thought
• Folded the laundry which happens to be in a pile the size of a small hill (you think I'm exaggerating...)
• Talked to anyone except my OH, briefly, a small child & a baby
• Solved world hunger
• Solved my own child's disproportionate hunger for biscuits (though not for lack of either of us trying)
• Solved the mystery of how, despite strict rules, Jim the baby (dolly) always ends up face down on the living room floor - frightening me half to death thinking he is the actual baby - when he should be tucked up in bed with Eldest, his keeper & bestower of strange name.

It's been a shocker today peeps. Tomorrow, I have biscuits to bake. Smelly/insane people should probably not bake biscuits, so let's hope it's a better one.

Kitchen Vim & Vigour: A Lack Of.

Dear Amazing Bloggers & Readers,

I need your help.

I have a lovely foody blog which is still a bit of a newborn - beautiful, if a little bit wrinkly, but rather underdeveloped - but I just can't seem to get back into the swing of things & I'm struggling to nurture it. There's been a lot on but now I'm devoid of all enthusiasm & vigour. I'm supposed to be chronicling my adventures in the kitchen but to tell you the whole truth, I've been eating crappily & with no zeal. The kitchen is also literally falling apart. We rent & so there's not much we can do about it. It makes me sad. When will my energy return?

Has anyone any tips?

Would anyone just like to feed me & be done with it?

Would anyone buy me a house with a beautiful kitchen?

Or just a beautiful kitchen?

Or just a load of money?

Help!

Sincerely,

Sad, Desperate & Poor Non-Cook.

Adventures in Peas & Meatballs

The children are tucked up but the sun is yet to set. I find myself in limbo - waiting for darkness in order to feel cosy & have my desire to curl up & do nothing justified. I've cooked a rather unimaginative but satisfying dinner - meatballs, plain & peas. Nothing else whatsoever - & as I sit down to eat, on the sofa, one leg tucked beneath my bottom, a mug of hot chocolate sits on a side table, conspicuously out of reach & waiting patiently for me to finish my meal. Hallo, H.C. I see you. Tasty.

I take look down at my meal, by now I'm half way through & enjoying it's simplicity adequately. I look down at the rather large meatball, & pause before biting half of it away. I am left with half a meatball staring at me with a strangely large green stem poking out of it. I contemplate for a while what this stalk could be. I'm sure it's meant to be there, but I briefly acknowledge that it may be rogue. I think about going to fish the packet from the bin to peruse the ingredients, but where's the fun in that?

I delicately remove the stem from its captor & attempt to taste it. If it's rogue, it could possibly kill me, or at east taste a bit naff. I'm living life on the edge. Hmm. What is it? Mint? In a beef meatball? No. Basil? Can't tell. After a tense moment it is gone. Flavourless. I will never know of it's origins, purposes or journey to the meatball. Ah, the mysteries of life.

I finish my meal. Goodbye peas.

I walk slowly toward the mug of warm chocolate drink. I sit, laptop atop lap & mug in hand. The D key is sticky. It's probably food of some sort, but I cannot recall what it would be. I think back to my adventurousness while dining & with a devilish flick of my left index finger I scratch the unknown sticky stuff & taste it. Flavourless. Hmm.

The risks I take. Today I have been truly bold & daring. Bow down as you will, cowards.

I haven't blogged in a while...

Just sat down to eat an orange & write a blogpost & the baby girl has awoken.

I swear she knows just when my arse touches the sofa.

This is the story of my life!