Four months in the north
The novelty of living somewhere new has yet to wear off! I am loving it up here. Here are some highlights so far…
Eden Court is a theatre and cinema and restaurant and whatever else they can think of. I could merrily find something to see every night. Comedy, plays, National Theatre live screenings, photography workshops, yoga classes, stuff for kids; interesting and non-shite movies. Mary (who is doing well) and I had a blast at the ballet last week. I also went to a fantastic writing workshop, two hours of practical inspiration for all of £7. They also do capoeira classes which I have no interest in doing but I l...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - February 3, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Living In Scotland Source Type: blogs
Let it go: Food Blog Comment Rage
I love reading food blogs. I rarely cook the recipes; I just like to ogle the beautifully-lit photos, fancy serving dishes and lush descriptions. I admire their patience in measuring each ingredient into a tiny spoon or Pyrex bowl, photographing them from above, then doing the washing up afterwards.
But it used to get a little messy when I scrolled down to the comments. There was no need to read the comments. I had better things to do than read the comments. Yet I could not resist.
Specifically, my eyes sought out the most inane, passive-aggressive or just plain annoying ones…
– I HATE CILANTRO so I will not be m...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - January 27, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Read and Write Source Type: blogs
The Ghost of Roderick Dhu and a new Pointless Project
After joking about it in the 2013 Review Thingo, I’ve decided to make 52 Whiskys In 52 Weeks my new Pointless* Project. It’s just the logical thing to do…
Geography – Living in Inverness I’m surrounded by Highland distilleries. The famous delights of Speyside are a short drive away. Orkney and Skye are mere weekend trips now. It would be rude not to explore!
Cheap thrills – I don’t plan on buying bottles of the stuff so I’ll need to be crafty. Distillery visits = free tastings, sometimes even multiple ones. There’s local whisky shops and whisky events. Gareth has a m...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - January 20, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: The Whisky Project Source Type: blogs
2013 Review Thingo
Here we go again! Previous episodes: 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009.
1. What did you do this year that you’d never done before?
Moved to Inverness? Grabbed my finances by the bollocks at long last? That’s all I can remember. Must keep a note of this stuff during the year.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next this year?
Write every day. About 63% successful there. I also chose a word of the year: Focus. It was ace! But not in the way I thought it would be. I thought it’d be all about fitness/career, but with the unexpected happenings of Q3 it became about focusing on w...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - January 12, 2014 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Year In Review Source Type: blogs
All’s well that smells well
It’s time to wrap up my 2012 Perfume Project! Technically the end of 2012 would have been the timely time to do it, but let’s crack on anyway!
After sniffing 52 perfumes over 52 weeks, the winner was the first one I tried, Chanel’s Coco. Deemed “earthy, dramatic and foxy” when first scooshed in January 2012, it’s remained earthy, dramatic and foxy every time I’ve retested. I haven’t got round to forking out for a bottle yet, but it’s nice to know there’s the potential to smell that way. In my own mind, at least!
The runner up was the orange blossomy goodness of ...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - December 30, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: The Perfume Project Source Type: blogs
Back to the bar
Moving from Fife to the Highlands has been like moving from Oz to Scotland, in miniature. My brain wandered down the same path as ten years ago:
First stage – running around like a mad chook securing employment, with a cloud of self-doubt lurking overhead. You suck! You have nae skills! Get set to live in a cardboard box, CHUMP!
Second stage – frazzled by all that putting-oneself-out-there, giving in to urge to hide from the world in my tracky dacks and eat chocolate.
Luckily I recognised the pattern in early November and deployed the same solution as I did in 2003: lift heavy objects!
I was digging the river...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - December 19, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Monthly Check-Ins Source Type: blogs
Shinty 101
On Saturday we went to a shinty match. According to Wikipedia shinty is a “Scottish twelve-a-side game resembling hockey, played with curved sticks and taller goalposts and derived from the Irish game of hurling.”
This particular match was the annual hybrid shinty/hurling Scotland v Ireland smackdown. It hardly seems fair for the poor Scots; look at that whopping big stick the Irish bloke has.
See that labrador in the right hand corner? He had his butt up in the air like that for the entire match, wagging his tail at something fascinating on the ground.
I really loved the game… it was fast and brutal. I...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - November 4, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Living In Scotland This Sporting Life Source Type: blogs
Dispatches from Chez Nessie
I’ve been in Inverness for four weeks now, but I found good cake on the first day!
#priorities
I’ve been going for morning walks along the river. In the mornings there are blokes fly fishing, standing in the middle of the river in waders. I never see them catch anything; I think they just like standing there. I also like watching dogs who’ve been let off their leads. They zoom straight to the steep banks, and when I look across from the opposite side it’s a series of zig-zagging hound shapes, snuffling up and down the slopes.
Most of all I dig the spectacular trees that flank the river. They̵...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - October 25, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Living In Scotland Source Type: blogs
Fife is like a box of chocolates
Dunfermline Abbey
Tomorrow arvo I’ll train it up to Inverness to finally join Gareth, so I’m feeling temporarily nostalgic about 8.5 years of Dunfermline and Kingdom of Fife life. And not just for the proximity to Edinburgh! I will miss…
The Fife accent
I’m sure there are sub-Fife accents (so pendants, hold your fire), but in general there’s a porridge-thick accent that took me years to comprehend. You hear a lot of “ken?” or “eh” at the end of sentences and may be greeted with “Arright pal?” in the way Aussies do with “G’day mate”. So...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - September 25, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Living In Scotland Source Type: blogs
Might come in handy one day
Some called me lazy back in January, when I shoved the Christmas tree into a garbage bag and tossed into the loft with the decorations still on it, but now it’s packed up and ready to move! FORWARD PLANNING.
Hmm… looking a bit wonky up top
This tasty feeling of turning my life upside down reminds me of leaving Oz in 2003. I love a good life reboot. Back then it was distilling a Canberra apartment into a suitcase; this time it’s a family-size house and garage down to a two-bedroom flat (demand outweighs supply up there, they say). Gareth is mourning the garage brewery, but I’m pumped for smaller ...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - September 19, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Living In Scotland Source Type: blogs
Will move for beer
There is a large built-in cupboard in our bedroom, of which the real estate agent said at the time of purchase, “That could make a nice ensuite one day.”
EXCELLENT, I thought. Though in reality you might squeeze in a loo and a small sink if you were lucky. The micro-ensuite budget never seemed to eventuate, but I enjoyed the possibility of an upstairs loo, every time I trudged downstairs at 2am, cursing that 10pm cuppa.
But then Gareth discovered brewing.
It started innocently, with a basic beginners kit during the 2010 World Cup. After a few of those he moved on to the brew-in-a-bag method.
Then he took o...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - September 4, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Doctor G Source Type: blogs
Up & Running September winners
Look out! Aliens! Grab your Apple devices and run for your life!
Thanks for all your comments on the Up & Running giveaway. I always look forward to making up the giveaway question because your answers are so random and hilarious. Also, if the aliens come they better not cut off the wifi or we’re all screwed!
Here are the lucky winners as declared by the Random Number Generator:
Jess – her hamster, secret stash of Pop Tarts and her iPad
Kari – heart rate monitor, iPhone, and her pajama bottoms.
Linda J - “I know he’s not a possession but I wouldn’t leave my son to the alien invasion and ...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - August 29, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Up & Running Source Type: blogs
Win a spot on the September Up & Running 5k or 10k course
Coach Julia cannae wait to coach you.
In just over a week our last Up & Running courses for 2013 will begin, so this my last attempt to tempt you to join our lovely, kickarse international running club!
Our 5K Beginners Course starts on Monday 2 September and the 10K Course starts on Thursday 5 September, each going for eight weeks.
Here’s what’s in store…
an eight week training plan, tried & tested with 1000s of runners around the globe
a daily blog chock full of support materials, like running techniques, drills, videos and inspiring videos
unlimited support from expert coach Julia Jone...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - August 23, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Up & Running Source Type: blogs
The bee sanctuary
Driving to the hospital takes about three-quarters of The Very Best of the Eagles. We didn’t bother changing the CD the first week because the Eagles made such comforting slippers for the ears. I kept thinking how cool it would be to start an all-woman Eagles a capella group called The Sheagles. It wouldn’t matter that I cannae sing for shit; it would just be a joyous thing to be a part of. We would gather, guzzle some wine then belt out the hits. But of course in this internet age everything has already been done – there’s a tribute band called The Sheagles in Nashville. I need to think of a new n...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - August 16, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Doctor G Source Type: blogs
Please have some unnecessary quotation marks
I think I jinxed poor Mary with that last post; she’s back in the ICU now. It’s proving a long and rollercoastery journey so let’s crack on, with the assumption that things are a bit bonkers in the background for the forseeable.
If anyone’s still out there, please don’t give up on me! I’m getting my brain together for a proper, coherent post. In the meantime here are a bunch of unnecessary quotation marks I’ve gathered on my travels and always meant to send in and find out if they were “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks-worthy!
“Non-toxic in NYC...
Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - August 4, 2013 Category: Other Conditions Authors: shauna Tags: Travel Source Type: blogs
