Heels (Year in photos 2011)

Today’s photo of the day is of a card I saw in the shops today.  I think it just sums it all up for us women.  Men might think the heels are for their benefit but nope, never doubt that they’re for us

 

Simply their presence

Sometimes you just want somebody to be there, to take you in their arms and hold you tight and let you cry.  And just having somebody simply being there, is all it takes.  There don’t have to be any grand gestures or meaningful words, just their presence alone can be enough to make things seem so much better and to make the world seem a little less of a frightening place.

Hmm, so where is somebody when you really need them most?

men are the weaker sex

Ok, so we’ve all known it for sometime now, that women are better able to cope with illness and carry on with their daily lives, without making everyone else around them suffer.  Fact!  No arguments!

Hang on a minute, you might say, that’s just not true.

But I’m afraid it is true.  According to the latest research, women are better able to fight off disease better than men.  Yes, the female of the species is better.  Fact!

Apparently it’s all to do with hormones.  Yes, those self same hormones which make us feel awful for so many days every month (have you ever worked out just how long that is in a lifetime?!!).  Anyway, in medical terms, oestrogen acts as an enzyme to block the inflammation process hence enabling women to fight back as it were & to actually overcome the illness.

So next time you hear a man complaining that he’s ill, have a little pity.  After all he’s just not built to cope with it, what with males being the weaker, inferior of our sexes!

It’s a cat’s life!

Carrying on from a recent post of mine about a lovestruck dolphin check out these rather cute pictures of a budgie badgering a kitten.

Altogether now, awwww

Mending a broken heart

Have you had a time in your life when you’ve felt as though the whole world has come crashing down around you?  When everything seems to be going wrong?  When you’ve felt really alone?

And what was the cause of it all?  Perhaps it was because someone had broken your heart.  After all, how many of us haven’t had our hearts broken at one time or another?

Well fear not, because the medical profession now believe that a broken heart is a real medical condition.  They call it “broken heart syndrome” (catchy huh?) and they actually believe that they can treat this condition.  Apparently it’s existed since the 90′s although I myself would’ve thought it had been around since time began.

But fear not, despite the pain, a broken heart really can be treated and even the “critically ill” can make a full recovery. Good news I hear you cry – or perhaps not, don’t we sometimes just want to dwell in our broken heartedness, it makes it feel all the more real that there was something special in the first place!

So, going back to the point, what treatment do they suggest for this summer months condition?  Answer: asprin or heart remedies!  They’re even looking for patients to study with ultrasound.  Hmm …

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face in the crowd

Think about this scenario for a minute: you walk into a room full of strangers. You glance around the room to see who is there. You walk over to someone & start up a conversation with them.

Sound familiar?  I’m sure it’s a scenario which we’ve all been in but I have a question about it.  When you glance around that room, how do you choose who you are going to go & talk to?

How do you reach that decision?  What influences it?  Do you know what factors affect your decision, or do you think it’s a subconscious thing?  And if it’s subconscious, how do you know what you look for in people? What criteria do you put on people to decide whether or not they are going to be your friend? What things are you looking for in someone and how do you choose who you are friends with?

Ok, I know that’s quite a list of question & points to think about.  But as ever, there is a reason why I’m asking?

Recently I had a conversation with someone and they asked me precisely these things.  They believe that I must, yes I stress must have a list, some criteria by which I decide who to be friends with.  How else am I going to find a partner?!

Er, I’m sorry, a list of criteria to tick off when choosing friends?!  I’m really not at all happy with that idea and I honestly don’t think I have a master-plan of criteria for choosing my friends.  Do you?

I came away from the conversation feeling quite despondent and a little like a hopeless case!  I don’t think I look for specific things in friends.  My friends are people I can relax and be myself with.  They are not my friends because of x y or z.  I don’t have to analyse people to decide whether I like them, I think perhaps that’s more an instinctive thing and I’m not going to start doing that now.  According to my friend, that means I’ll never find a husband, but I think I’d rather not be quite so calculating a person as to examine & judge people in that way.

I’m happy with myself as I am and I’ve no intention of demeaning such a valuable thing as friendship.

Down with Valentines

Ok, so I know that this post isn’t seasonally up-to-date but it’s something I’ve been thinking about over the past few days, so I’m going to post it anyway.

I dislike Valentine’s Day.  Full stop.

Perhaps it’s because I’m single at the moment, but I don’t think that’s the complete reason.  I dislike the way that it makes me feel, the presumption that everyone is in love, that everyone has someone special to share the day with, that everybody just wants to share the love.

In reality it’s not like that, is it?  The media informs us that more and more people are getting divorced, that marriages and relationships are failing.  You can even get divorced online!  I know of a number of people who have broken up from long term relationships in the past few months.  Other people have lost their loved ones or perhaps some people have never found that person that completes them, or worse still they have found them, but they’re with someone else.

So coming back to Valentine’s Day, well it’s the whole creation of a day, a day when we’re told how we’re supposed to feel, what we’re supposed to do.  I’m sorry, but I just don’t go along with that.  I cant.  Maybe we’ve moved away from the original idea of the whole thing.  Nowadays it’s a little bit like it’s a day we have to make.  It reminds me of new year resolutions but I’ve already written about how I dont agree with that concept either.  Freewill should mean that we’re not conditioned to do certain things when we’re told to, that we don’t have to follow the crowd like sheep.

I was however, touched to hear that one of my relatives sent a valentine’s day card to her sister, who was bereaved a few years ago.  It was such a kind thing to do, such a loving gesture to help her to get through what was probably a very difficult day for her.  Maybe we should all take a leaf out of her book, do away with the commercialism that surrounds us on all of these occasions and just go back to the simple things in life?

let children be children

I came across a news story online today & I must admit I was shocked & in a way sickened by it and I dont think I’m alone it that. It seems that someone is selling high heeled shoes for babies and toddlers!! Yes that’s right high heels for little kids!

Now come on, am I missing something here? Is this really the behaviour of a modern civilised country?

The woman selling them says it’s ok, it’s just a bit of fun for when the babies are dressed up, to make them look pretty. Dressed up?!! These are babies, human beings, not toys or things that you make look pretty for entertainment purposes!

She compares it to people who get their children’s ears pierced. Now dont get me started on that one either, but all the same I dont think they quite compare. After all, what image do high heels portray in your mind? Just think about that for a minute. I think if you answer that question honestly, then it’s not image you want people to be associating with your children.

So check out the article yourself and see what you think about it.

Dont expire

I made a discovery the other day. It was only a little thing, it’s not as tho I’ve reinvented the wheel or anything, but I thought it was noteworthy all the same.

We all know that we’re not meant to use the same make-up for a long time (ok guys, so perhaps you dont but I doubt you’re all that bothered anyway.) So I’ve often wondered how long is too long but then not thought much else about it (I know, I wasnt all that concerned really) Anyway I was watching one of those ‘how to make you look beautiful/decades younger’ programmes on the tv the other night & the topic cropped up again, only this time they showed you a closeup of a symbol on your cosmetic packaging which tells you just how long you should use it for after opening. YES, there’s actually a symbol on the packaging that tells you. In fact, I’ve even noticed that little picture before, I just didnt realise what it meant!

You might be thinking I’m just really slow, but no, when I mentioned it to some other people at work, they didnt know about it either. So, for all of you who have been wondering (and for those of you who couldnt care less as well) the symbol you should be looking for is an open cream pot containing the length, in months, which products should be kept after opening. You’ve probably even seen it yourself and didnt realise what it meant either!

And just in case you were thinking “what does it matter how old my make-up is?”, perhaps this will make you think differently.

Go be beautiful and healthy!