Hooray for happiness

Well I’m baffled as to what has happened to me. I am so happy and about everything – well the good things anyway! I can’t believe at the change in my mindset and it’s turned my life around.

The depression, at the moment, seems to have crawled back under the rock it came from. Little things have me thrilled, such as a day out shopping with Jono and Lucy. Finding a unicorn table cloth for my art table. Being given art supplies – it was like Christmas! My new unicorn jumper – yes there’s a unicorn theme going on. Andy decorating the house so beautifully it brings a tear to my eye.

Even though it’s been such a busy week I have a smile on my face. I’m also sleeping all night most nights. This, I think, is spending about half an hour painting before I go to bed, it really relaxes me.

The only negative is my expanding waistline, part of me thinks I need to cut out the crap again. Another part of me is worried it might drag me back down again. At the moment I’d rather risk a few extra pounds and be happy.

This week has seen me all over the country. I had a day in Dublin at Gifted – the Contemporary Craft and Design Fair. This was for work but I did get a chance to look around the food emporium too – of course I did! I also sampled some lovely foods. I always get lost in the RDS though and spend quite a lot of time trying to get my bearings.

I enjoyed a walk through Dublin city, it was nice to see the hustle and bustle – market stalls selling Toblerone and yapping dogs. Part of it makes me sad though, Christmas has got so commercialised and it’s taken the real meaning out of it. Don’t get me wrong I’m not religious but for me Christmas is about family, not gifts. Just being together and relaxing. There’s so much pressure for people to go into debt and that saddens me – anyway I’ll stop complaining now.

All was going well in Dublin until I got a hot chocolate in Iceland (Lavazza €1.50) and ended up spilling it all over the conveyor belt at the till! Thankfully the people around me helped me clean it up but I was so flustered that when it came to my turn to pay I didn’t keep the contactless card on the machine for long enough and left the shop without paying. I was  morto when the security guard came running down the road after me and had to shuffle back in to pay!! If I didn’t have a panic attack then I’d say I’m doing well!

The following day I took Jono for a spin up to Enniskillen, he wanted some model railway bits and I was going to get a few Christmas things. I hardly got anything because I find most of the things quite a bit more expensive than down here. I did get a lovely Christmas lunch in Asda cafe though, €3 for a ‘small’ portion which was huge!

I also got my unicorn wipe clean table cloth from Asda – I’m just delighted with that! Big child that I am.

I had a lovely catch up with my friend Ann and she gave me the biggest art selection that I’ve ever seen! I’m over the moon.

My first feature for Sligo Now magazine is out this month. I interviewed the lovely Trudi Williams – it was an absolute pleasure. I’m very excited to see something I’ve written in the magazine. I’m enjoying the writing side of things and hopefully more of that might come my way.

On Friday I went to pick up Lucy from Athlone, she’s finished college now for Christmas- except for exams. It was a fairly dodgy drive over, especially near Boyle and the back end of Longford. Cheers google maps for taking me halfway round the country! I did get a special pic out of it though which the Independent featured.

Lucy took me for lunch in Beans and Leaves Cafe, it was gorgeous! I couldn’t decide what to have, that was the only dilemma,in the end I went for a gorgeous veggie burger with sweet potato fries. The staff were so friendly and the food was fab! I would definitely go back there again…..oh and they serve peanut butter stack! Need I say more?

On the way home I stopped in Boyle and Mary the Book Lady kindly gave me The Little Book of Hygge – which is just lovely and all about what makes Danish people happy – cake is mentioned so that’s good enough for me 🙂

So that’s this week in a nutshell. I hope you are all keeping well.