Bridget McNulty

Day 28: Phil Collins CD

// July 29th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // 29 Gifts, Inspiration

I like Phil Collins. There, I said it! Groovy Kind of Love, Two Hearts, he has some absolutely classic hits. Of course, this appreciation of Phil Collins has led to more than a few rolled eyes, every boyfriend I’ve had being slightly turned off me, and (no doubt) a drop in my blog hits.

Which is why it’s so remarkable, in this Phil-Collins-lovin’ world I live in (a lonely world indeed) that I could have put off making my dad a Phil CD when he asked me for it months ago. But I did. He must have asked me for it over a year ago, and reminded me in the interim, but somehow I always forgot to make it… Until today!

Check out that baby! Do you want one?

Day 27: Stillness

// July 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // 29 Gifts, Decisions, Inspiration, Life (and the living of it), Love

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been B.U.S.Y lately… I’m not 100% sure why, but all of a sudden my man and I have been deluged with invitations and work has been reallllly busy too. So I’ve had very little time to myself, I’ve been rushing around too much (I hate rushing) and in general I’ve felt like my plate is full to overflowing.

So today I decided to give myself the gift of stillness. I left work on time and went for a 2 hour reiki session with an amazing healer. It was so wonderful to be able to lie down and soak up good energy. For anyone who hasn’t tried reiki, give it a go! It can be completely transformative. I went in feeling tired, rushed, a little worried and snotty. I left feeling pretty close to wonderful!

Day 26: Time

// July 28th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // 29 Gifts, Decisions, Time

So I’ve finally started reading the 29 Gifts book, by Cami Walker, the woman who started this movement. It’s a lovely book, all about how an emphasis on what she could give others let her energy shift from focusing on her debilitating condition (MS) to being able to regain some sense of control over her life. Wonderful stuff!

Anyhoo, one of the things she says about the giving challenge is that you have to give something that you feel is scarce in your life right now. I thought about it, and I think the thing that feels most scarce to me is time. We’ve had a craaazy busy week or two, and free time feels like a precious gift.

So I gave some of it to my sister-in-law, who’s in the market for some company this week while my brother is overseas. And when I left I felt so much more filled up than if I’d just hung out at home for an hour. Goes to show, hmm?

Day 25: Cute sand set…

// July 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // 29 Gifts, Cape Town, Love

… For the cutest girl in the world. Seriously, my neice just keeps getting cuter and more fun and cleverer and prettier and and and. I’m a bit of a doting aunt, can you tell?

So when I saw this Hello Kitty sand set I had to get it for her. She loves the beach (in summer), and kids love doing useful things like scooping up dirt. I gave it to her yesterday and we played with it in the garden… So in some ways I got a gift, too – spending time with her is always such a treat.

Day 24: Birthday prezzies

// July 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // 29 Gifts, Inspiration

July is Birthday Month for me – not only my birthday, but my mom’s and many of my dear friends.

So this month, instead of quickly picking up a prezzie at the last minute (which I don’t realllly do, but occassionally have been guilty of) I really spent time choosing gifts that I know my loved ones will love. Because there’s nothing better than a well-chosen birthday present, is there? Nothing makes me feel more special.

Day 17: New pyjamas

// July 18th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // 29 Gifts, Life (and the living of it), Love

Is there any feeling as delicious as that of slipping on a pair of new pyjamas? Especially if you’ve just got out the shower and you’re about to get into a warm bed? I don’t think so.

My man, believe it or not, has never worn pyjamas, and much as t-shirts and shorts are handy, they don’t do what a pair of crisp cotton jammies will for a good night’s sleep. So yesterday, while out on a bit of a shopping spree for myself (more on that later), I decided to buy him a pair of pyjamas. Delicious.

Day 16: Affection

// July 17th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // 29 Gifts, Blogs, Decisions, Love

So I realised yesterday that even though I’m halfway through this challenge, I haven’t given anything to my man yet… Or my family, actually. I think sometimes when people are very close to you it’s easy to take them for granted a bit.

So I decided, today, to rectify that. My language of love is gifts (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, check this out – I’ve spoken about the 5 love languages before) which is why this challenge appealed to me so much. But my man’s language of love is affection… I often think it’s an easier language to have, because when someone loves you they’ll obviously be affectionate. When you open your arms for a hug, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get one.

But just as a gift doesn’t mean as much when you have to ask for it, affection doesn’t mean as much when you have to ask for it either. So yesterday evening I made a conscious effort to be as affectionate as possible – to step out of my circle of ‘this is me on a Friday night, watching a DVD, eating (yummy) naan bread’ and give him extra hugs and kisses. And don’t you know, he was in the best mood by the end of the evening.

I think it’s something I’m going to do more.

PS: Had to improvise a little with the picture, but these toys are on his desk and they kind of look like they’re hugging, don’t they?

Day 15: Heartfelt card

// July 15th, 2010 // No Comments » // 29 Gifts, Life (and the living of it), Love

Do you ever have those, ‘What if I died tomorrow’ moments? I do, and not in a morbid way at all. I sometimes think to myself, ‘If I died tomorrow, would everyone I love know that I loved them? And, most of the time, the answer is a resounding yes. I’m very open with how I feel and I tell my man and my family and my friends that I love them, often.

But I was thinking, yesterday, that there’s one area of my relationships where I haven’t said how I feel – my future parents-in-law. I suppose because we got to know each other quite slowly, and I was (naturally) a bit reserved when I first met them. But I’ve grown to really love them, and I so appreciate all the delicious meals and incredible gifts (like my recent vintage crockery set!) and support they’ve given us over the years.

So today I wrote them a (very cool and sparkly) card saying just that.

Celebration and sadness:

// May 28th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Life (and the living of it), Love

So here it is: the reason I’ve been such a slack blogger of late.

Two reasons actually, one lovely and one sad.

First the lovely (because all the pictures relate to it).
Last weekend my man and I had our engagement party. It was wonderful! Such a celebration. We had a garden party at our dear friends’ house, and served all kinds of cake, and mojitos. The sun shone, loads of our friends came (some from Durban!) and my whole family was there (half of them imported from Durban for the weekend). Three dear friends stayed with us over the long weekend, and we ate pizza and picknicked in the forest and laughed. A lot.
The night after the engagement party, the three girls came home, changed into our pyjamas, rented a stupid-funny movie and ate take-out. Fun fun fun.

It was a really wonder-full weekend.

The sadness comes in because at the beginning of the week we found out that the girlfriend of one of my man’s best friends committed suicide. Only now they can’t find a cause of death, so it’s possible it might have been a really severe asthma attack. So so sad. She was only 22, but she was bipolar and had had a really hard year. Still, to have life snatched away (or given away) at such a young age just makes my heart ache. As much for the people who are left behind as for the poor girl herself (I didn’t know her that well, I know him really well). And there’s just nothing you can say, you know? No way to make it better. It’s really just a matter of letting time heal.

So it was an unusual week: so full of happiness and so full of sadness. It’s taken me some time to process all of it.
What I’m left with, though, is this feeling of gratitude for so many things in my life. When I first found out that she had killed herself, I thought, “What about ice cream?” What about sunsets and cups of tea on the verandah and long walks in nature and really funny TV and going to the movies and fresh avo on toast and bear hugs and waking up next to the one you love and long silences and laughing till you cry and the quiet of early morning?

But of course, if you’re severely depressed you’re not thinking of these things. I get that.
But it has made me reassess how much I love in my life. What do you love?

It’s Earth Day today.

// April 22nd, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Blogs, Decisions, Life (and the living of it), Nature

What are you doing about it?

How about heading over to FLOW (For Love of Water) and making the FLOW Promise:

It couldn’t be easier – just click through to http://forloveofwater.co.za/promise/ and write your name, make the promise and tell others how you’re acting for your love of water (there are no wrong answers, I promise).

Our bodies are over 70% water. Maybe it’s time we started thinking about that…

What do you think?