Spring Ski

So where are we at the moment?  The winter season has suddenly nearly, really reached its end, and there's maybe two more weeks of guests left after this current lot leave on Saturday.  Two and a bit weeks, then a few days of resort shut down and it's all over.  Again.  Yikes!

As the weather is currently super sunny, it's a spring slush-fest out here, but we are making the best of it and organised a trip to meet up with friends in lovely little Sainte Foy on our day off last week.  We spent a glorious day racing round their pistes and enjoying the hospitality of their rather lovely mountain bars ... I can neither confirm nor deny that we visited Marquise on three separate occasions during the day.  Finally piste security chased us off the mountain as the sun started to sink below the horizon.

In my spare time, when I've been lazing about inside, I've managed to update my CV ... a traumatic experience because I had to edit a whole page out to get it back down to a manageable length.  Now I'm just waiting until it's time to send it off to some agencies and see if anyone wants to give me a job.  It's looking like it might be a London adventure for when I get home though, as my friend and I are just hammering out details of my renting her spare room.  Eeeek - bit of a change!

One thing I am looking forwards to when I get back to the UK is getting back into a bit of a healthy eating routine and regular exercise.  Obviously, I do ski out here, although probably not as much as I should, but activity is a bit hit and miss and I'm feeling quite lazy.  I'm also craving some control over my diet again.  I haven't been terrible out here, but I am still a little heavier than I like being at the moment.  Despite the usual temptations of all the food and booze out here, I'm only a few lbs heavier than when I arrived, and I keep an eye on it, but I'd really like to get back to some kind of routine.

I actually debated starting Weightwatchers again whilst I'm out here, but due to a lack of kitchen scales or useful food like veg and fruit, it would be incredibly difficult, so I've settled for a compromise of just starting to be more aware of what I'm eating and roughly tracking it instead.  That will curb any excess damage before I get home and I've got a couple of weeks off when I get home to relax and get a head start on being back in a routine.

Other than that I've just been scanning the internet getting ideas of somewhere to go for a short break when I get home.  I don't really care whether it's a city break or a more traditional holiday, but it will be good to get some time that is just decadently dedicated to enjoying myself and seeing somewhere new.  I've got a couple of friends interested in joining me, and I've been looking at possibly Lisbon as somewhere that's beautiful, interesting and warm ... somewhere warm seems to be high on my list of priorities after months spent in the snow.

So I shall leave you and go back to my daydreams of warmer climes and maybe the odd palm tree ...

Spring Forward

After feeling really rather gloomy and just ... blaaah .... for a little while now, I've suddenly found that life, rather as it has a tendency to do, has jumped into fast forward.

Partying with the team at a remote cabin in the woods in Courcheval

The sun is here and with it the annual spring ski on slush.  And parties.  And thoughts turning to the end of the season and going home to family and friends.

Plans starting to form for what to do after the season;  maybe shaking things up in London and living with one of my oldest and closest friends for a while at least.  New jobs.

And an amazing final gift from my grandma.  

Long term readers of this little corner of the internet will know that debts are something I've struggled with almost as long as this I've been writing here.  I've been slowly working away behind the scenes getting that shit sorted out, sort of in parallel to working on my health and other aspects of living a happy, fulfilling life but as anyone who's been in debt knows:  it's a long road back.  

To be fair, I've taken a few detours that slowed progress by doing my ski seasons and going travelling at intervals, but they were things I deemed worth it.  What I have learned is how to live within my income, and how to save for things I really want whilst still making progress and keeping my debt repayments covered.  I am getting there, slowly but steadily, but still with a couple of years to go.

On Monday, I received news from my dad.  After my grandma peacefully passed away last summer, the solicitors have finally finished wrangling all the legal stuff and it turns out she's left me a rather wonderful legacy that will allow me to clear all my remaining debts and start a completely fresh financial slate.  I've never been in this position before, where I'll not only be completely debt free but also on a salary I can afford to live within and with the attitude and motivation to do it.

I wish I could tell her how much this means to me, and promise her that I'll use it well; to really make a change to my life.

It feels like all manner of new leaves are being turned over as the green of spring arrives.

And so it seems like another period of change is upon me and I can't wait to see what's on the other side of this one!

Global Beauty

Well, it's rainy and miserable here in Meribel today ... I know, rain in March in the Alps, crap weather  or what??? ... so I'm sitting cozied up in bed surfing the interwebs and contemplating tarting my CV up and applying for jobs.

Before I do that though, I stumbled across the article below, about Mihaela Noroc's amazing photographic project, and couldn't resist sharing with you.  Mihaela is a young woman from Romania is currently travelling the world and photographing women of her own age as she goes, building a global picture of beauty across many countries and cultures.


I find it fascinating that not one of these girls is wearing an absurd amount of make-up or flashing lots of flesh, and that they all have healthy figures and diverse cultural backgrounds, and yet they are all absolutely stunning.  If it's Global Beauty vs sanitised and twisted Hollywood Beauty, I'll take Global Beauty any day!

So here, for your gloomy Monday delectation, is a reminder that beauty comes in many forms and everyone should be proud of themselves and where they come from.

Mihaela Noroc's "The Atlas of Beauty"

Right - time to do something practical and update my CV now!