Still mild, wiggle room, good timing

Today I didn't even need to wear a cardigan on my walk to work to keep warm - just a top with elbow length sleeves and arm warmers covering my forearms. And the arm warmers came off before I got to work.

I have been struggling to get up for work, as predicted, but I have forced myself to get up just 10 minutes earlier than usual. It's nice having the extra wiggle room in what was an extremely tight morning routine to ensure I arrived at work on time. I do enjoy a wiggle in the morning....

I found a purple rollerball pen in the coping room at work. Finders keepers.

I was feeling cranky coming home on the tram tonight and then I got a text message from Luke that made me smile.

Snug as a bug

Told you it was grey, didn't I?

It's a grey, chilly day in Melbourne and I've been out and about all day, freezing my bum off and being cranky and impatient with everyone and everything.

But now I'm home in bed, wearing my comfy flannelette pyjama pants and New York hoodie, with my hot water bottle in my lap and music playing.  Aaaaahhh. That's better. (Yes, I know it's only 4.40pm. What of it?)

Good things

I've not been in a good mood lately. In fact, the past couple of days I've been in a positively rotten mood (or should that be negatively rotten?) and it's got to the point where I'm getting really sick of myself.

But I don't seem to be able to talk myself out of it. I'm better today since I'm not at work, but I'm far from gleeful. I feel like a fraud!

I think part of the reason I'm cranky is because I'm so tired and I'm also in the midst of another attempt at completing an elimination diet to diagnose my food intolerances. It's pretty hard going. I don't like deprivation. I do like eating. It's not doing wonders for my spirits, but I am feeling physically better, which I am pleased about, but it's hard to maintain it day in, day out in the glaring absence of chocolate.

In an attempt to chivvy myself out of the grumps, every day until I feel cheerier, I'm going to blog about all the good things that happened in my day, which will hopefully not just be things like "I didn't get the sack" or "I didn't split my pants in public".

So. Today's good things...

* I got to have a little sleep in, but I still got up before my alarm.

* It was a beautiful sunny day.

* I walked nearly 15 kms, including a quick stroll through the Botanic Gardens in the late afternoon sun.

* Then I had a little rest under my doona, read my book and listened to Wagons (still under doona listening to Wagons. I'm worn out!).

* I visited my osteo for a good bone cracking and a chat. I like my osteo.

* Porridge.

By the way, next month is NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month - the blog version of NaNoWriMo) and I'm going to participate, which means I will be posting every single day. It's one of my 101 Things to do Before I'm 40.

Grumpily gleeful

I confess I have been glumpy* since yesterday and I don't really know why. Yup, it's true. I'm not always dancing happy jigs and clapping my hands with glee. Sometimes I am a moody cow, and occasionally I am a moody cow for no good reason.

But rather than sitting at home sulking today, I went out and managed to have as gleeful a day as you can when you've got your cranky pants wedged up your clacker.

I felt like a change of scenery so I donned my doonaparka and walked to St Kilda beach. It started to rain with determination just as I arrived and I was very damp by the time I sat down to a hot chocolate and (very sub-standard) fruit toast on Acland Street. I got some nice photos of raindrops on purdy flowers on the way to the cafe though.

Thankfully the rain stopped by the time I finished brunch, and I headed to the beach. I like the beach in winter and today the grey clouds and almost deserted beachfront suited my mood.

Visiting St Kilda brings back a lot of memories, happy ones and less happy. One of the happy memories is of a really fun (and somewhat alcohol-fuelled) date I had on Grand Final night a couple of years back which involved my date risking death to rescue a blue-ringed octopus that some callous fisherman had left on the pier. It also featured dodgem cars at Luna Park, a pub crawl and pashing** at some underground bar. Sighs....

After taking photos of the boats and clouds, I walked back up to Acland Street for cake and then jumped on the No 96 tram to the other side of town where I went to the Rose Street Artists Market. I've been meaning to go there for ages, and today I finally did. I bought myself an awesome Cybertart bag, which temporarily lifted my flagging spirits (I got the Grrrr one on the bottom left. Of course). Some of their bags have a clever zip-off, interchangeable flap/pocket feature so you can have several bags in one. You can also customise some of their products with your own photo. Hmm...*thinks* what an excellent gift idea....

Returning home to discover I'd won a book from Readings bookshop also lifted my spirits. I won a copy of Literary Melbourne just for sharing (on Twitter) my favourite place in Melbourne to read a book (I said on my couch, with the winter sun streaming in the window). Sweeeet.

I walked nearly 15kms today. Tonight I'm going to put my pyjamas on, eat cheese and Vegemite toasties and watch Clerks on DVD. I think I'm slowly emerging from my grump...

My photos...

Is this the fiercest merry-go-round seat in the world or what? It's at Luna Park

Luna Park is pretty much craptacular, but its merry-go-round is stupendous

* glum + grumpy = glumpy

** tongue kissing, for you non-Aussies