always the same

On Saturday I went into 'town' (I hesitantly call the centre of Rosenheim a town...) with the objective to buy a new bikini. I had spotted a few potential ones on H&M online, but the branch here of course only had a very small selection, none of which appealed to me. I did eventually find a nice enough model by Esprit but it didn't exactly blew me away. So, I went back home without a bikini on this occasion.

Of course, I didn't go home entirely empty handed: 2 pairs of shoes, 2 crop tops (I'll explain!!), a summer dress and a handbag (a bargain at just 6.95 EUR!). And regarding the crop tops: I don't tend to show off my tummy. I didn't even when I was a teenager and had a very flat tummy. But I finished a dungaree-dress which I have to wear with a top underneath. Unfortunately, you can see everything through the fabric, including the hem of the top underneath. My solution is therefore either one of the crop tops or a body. That makes sense, right? Pictures to explain further to follow.

Stunning or what?

sunset at the Erlensee

back in the days

I have quite a nail polish collection; half of which are probably between 5-8 years old, so I built it over time and didn't splash lots of money on it (not that I would have to justify myself...). In addition, I have a selection of nail art: including stickers, dotting tools, glitter top coats, rhinestones (which I have never used...) and water decals. My creative nail art years are in the past though and I usually go for just one colour and paint them once a week.

Yesterday, I felt a bit 'adventurous' and here's the result:

The blue-lilac is not my usual colour but I think it goes well with the pale-pink dots.

rainy days

After a very sunny and warm Friday and Saturday, today started very hot with predictions of heavy showers. It started pissing down so heavily that you could hardly see, and loads of cars actually decided to wait it out on the hard shoulder and I was glad that I didn't have to drive. Admittedly I am ALWAYS glad when I don't have to drive...

Not so perfect weather for the friendly Germany against Slovakia. Because of the downpour in Augsburg, the second half started off late and 'we' lost 1:3. But who cares about a friendly! ;-)

even on a rainy day, the views are still beautiful: Irschenberg

playtime

How to keep looking young - while having fun. Check out the article on Marie Claire.

letting go

and it feels good.
17.5 working days left.
no doubt it will all be over in a flash.

Jaws wired shut

Happened to catch part of the Simpson's episode 'Jaws wired shut'. And it nicely related to my coaching module on listening. Unable to speak, Homer suddenly listens to what his family want to tell him. And just the simple act of listening brings him closer to them and very often is all the people around us need or want. Definitely a lesson I still need to internalize.

I used to be very quiet and very shy when I was younger and I wonder whether I am still making up for that... Surely, I have caught up by now!

the weekend is near

May is a great month! Three bank holidays. And as I have Friday off, too, this is a very short three day week. Only two more to go :-)

*drooling over Ryan*

Gotta see this movie:

Summertime

What a gorgeous day! It literally smells of summer. 25 C and blue skies - perfect weather for me. And perfect for sitting at the Simssee. And lovely to catch up with a colleague. It's only a 20 minute drive from my place but nonetheless, I am proud of myself that I got there and back safely. Especially, as on the way back, my mobile refused to show me the way... Fortunately, Rosenheim was signposted.

Despite the glorious weather, hardly anyone was there. I have a feeling that I might be back frequently during my summer of freedom.

WEEKEND

This has been one of the less lovely weeks. I accept there are those as well and I am still grateful for the nice things that happen even during the slightly crappy weeks.
I do reserve the right to feel marginally sorry for myself, too.

After my visit to the dermatologist, I also had my check up appointment with the radiologist regarding the tiny lump in my breast. After the qualified assessment by my gynecologist, the radiologist now confirmed that the lump has indeed grown. High time to get a biopsy, the doc says. Hm, I already had the flipping biopsy back in December. She: Really? Yes, YOU did it! Oh, the receptionist didn't give her the latest documents...

So she goes to check and brings back the info. All good - if the pathologist's diagnosis was correct.
Excuse me? Am I now meant to doubt this? Do doctors get any sort of training on patient communication?

So, she says that the ultrasound image still matches the diagnosis of the pathologist. The outline of the lump is all clear still. Ahem, still? Last time she told me that it was clear in most cases but not everywhere. Now what then? I ask her at what point she recommends removing it. She asks how I feel. I say, not very reassured. She says: Ok, in that case it's time to remove it. Aha.

On the upside, this can be done here in Rosenheim. Now, I only need to go back to my idiotic gynecologist to get a referral. Ah well, at least I have plenty of time from the end of June onwards to tackle this.

Oh, and in addition I had a shitty work meeting which I had been dreading for a while. I am not one to shy away from difficult meetings, but going back to 'those' people, certain people just manage to press my buttons. Without even doing anything.

To round it all off, Eintracht Frankfurt manage to score an own goal in the first of two games deciding on their future in the Bundesliga.

footsie

Given the disappointing news about the uselessness of foot detox plasters, I decided to treat myself to a foot reflexology massage instead. I'd passed this new Thai massage place a number of times, and decided to give it a try. 45 minutes for 33€ seemed reasonable.

Kim is lovely, even though I found it hard to understand her. So, we sat in silence while she massaged my feet and calves and did so for a whole hour but only charging me for 45 minutes. Usually, it's the other way round of the the massage therapist not even doing the full hour I paid for... That was certainly a pleasant surprise.

People often comment that they are way too ticklish to get their feet massaged, but the pressure they use generally doesn't lead to laughing fits. At least not in my case. I left feeling very relaxed and will definitely be back.

then and now

About six months ago I went to the dermatologist. Yesterday I went for a check up - as it happens with a different doctor in the same practice. Here's how it went: then and now:

1) The lump on my calf: it's a tiny little lump, a bit like an insect bite, but harder.
Then: Nothing to worry about and nothing to do either.
Now: Still nothing to worry about but why don't we try an icing treatment. This should reduce the size as well as soften the lump. Here, let's do this right away, it only takes a few seconds.

2) Itchy skin especially on my tummy and back. I've had this before and I always notice that it gets worse when I am stressed. I already have dark marks on my skin from the excessive scratching. All of which I told the doctor.
Then: That is all due to dry skin. Use an oil shower gel and moisturize. Of course that made no difference.
Now: Detects a proneness to neurodermatitis and prescribes a cortisone cream. Thank you.

3) The birth mark on my lower lip - not actually a birth mark, but some kind of mole that developed a couple of years ago
Then: Nothing to worry about. We could remove it, but that would only be for cosmetic purposes. Come back in six months just to monitor whether it's grown.
Now: It hasn't grown, but I strongly recommend you getting it removed. Even if no growth is detectable on the surface, it might be growing inwards - which is more likely even than the surface growing. F&cking brilliant...
So, I now have an appointment for mid July (the earliest possible date) to get it removed. They are likely to need two stitches. Well, I am not bothered - whether I have a blue mark on my lip or stitches makes no difference to me.

it's you and not me

or is it?
is it maybe me and not them?
or me and not him?
or me and not her?

Nah, I'll stick with: it's not me.

Which of course is quite possibly at the root of my issues...

debatable art

Let's not even go there: art or no art? Who cares...
After nearly a year in my new home, I finally put up some pictures (yes, painted by myself).
Well, I didn't actually put them up myself. How very handy.

As it's not legible in the photo: on the pink painting it says: If not now, when?
Very true, no?

revelation

Enjoying lunch in the sun before the weather turned horrible again. I deliberately chose NOT to have the Schnitzel, as tempted as I was - to then discover that the asparagus were breaded and fried in this pasta dish! Very good by the way!

Can't remember whether I have mentioned this on here before, but I finally went to explore the Asian supermarket here in Rosenheim and it has a surprisingly extensive range on offer. So, I put together dinner with vegetable gyozas to start and a tom ka soup with all sorts of stuff including wantan, noodles and an egg for main. Le's say, there is room for improvement...

better late than never?!

I am proud to announce that I have finally commenced the online coaching course I signed up for ages ago. First lesson: coaches are meant to be non-judgmental.
Hm, something to work on...

let there be light

old and new home

Schnitzeltime at the Erlensee. The one in Bavaria.

softening the blow

Why, oh why?
Last game of the footy season (14th May), Bayern Munich are already confirmed German champions while Eintracht Frankfurt were still fighting relegation. Playing against Werder Bremen, who were one place beneath Frankfurt in the league table, before the game. Frankfurt had to 'only' get a draw to secure their place in the Bundesliga. Doable, one might think. But no, in the 87th (!!!!!) minute, they concede a goal. Tragic really...

Now they have to play Nuremberg to secure survival in the Bundesliga. Games are on 19th and 23rd May. Quite frankly, I am beyond caring at this point. It kind of feels like they deserve to go down. Spoken like a true fan ;-)

On the upside, where better to watch the game than at the Chiemsee. ALWAYS a place for amazing photos!

The cake pic is misleading, by the way. The pot with the Bavarian cream and strawberries is basically the size of a bucket! And C finished it all up.Well done!
The cake was yummy also and the coffee hearts look a little like bum cheeks, don't you think?

there are worse things

So, after some cultural delights in Munich, we are on our way back, when we are getting flashed at by the car behind us at the traffic light. One of the back tires is almost flat. Well, as it turns out it is completely flat. Thanks again to the car behind us as well as the motorcyclist who pointed this out just before we were about to get onto the Autobahn.

Thanks to the ADAC, we were towed back home in no time. Well, next to no time. Not exactly how I would have wished to spend my Sunday afternoon, but not really the worst to happen either.

art x 2

Bank holiday weekend with bank holiday weather. Perfect to finally explore some of the art museums in Munich, especially as they have a Sunday entrance fee of just 1€ (still a 1€ more than most London museums... not that I am comparing).

Starting at the Pinakothek der Moderne. Followed by the Neue Pinakothek. And not bothering with the Alte Pinakothek. Not surprisingly, I prefer the modern art museum. I am not sure whether we might have missed some of the rooms, but if we didn't then it's not actually very big...

Imagine that staircase in your house...

David Shrigley - seen his stuff in London and Melbourne - and now Munich;
is it weird that the small pic on the bottom left with the pink was one of my favourite pieces?

the black suit

I was watching Hangover (not for the first time) yesterday. Bradley all in black - one can dream...
To be admired in the top 1:

BOOKED

Just booked a flight to London. So excited! And the perfect way to start into my time out!

&*%$@%&

Some people are gifted. Gifted with the talent to annoy the f&ck out of me with more or less everything they do. And I don't learn. I let them annoy me. Again and again. All deep breathing in the world does not help when this happens. Which of course shows that I am just as resistant to learning as those people. Especially those people who still haven't gotten the memo that I am always right...

Proud moments

The other day, I was leading a call with a client. Anyone who knows me, will know, that I am not keen on calls. Emails all the way for me. Not that I don't like talking - to the contrary - but for some reason that I myself can't work out, I don't like calls. 
I did well, I'd say. Not that it was a complicated call, but it was an unpredictable call, as it was regarding a project that is different from our usual projects. Being me, not only did I leave the call feeling pleased with myself but also confirming with myself that event management really is just common sense.

The day finished with a meeting that dragged on for a while. While sitting in that meeting, I was quite proud of my contribution. A friend recently said about herself that for a long time she had not acknowledged how quick she is at assessing a situation and how a lot of other people simply don't see what she sees. And the meeting reminded me of that. What I often take for granted, seems impossible or difficult to perceive for others. And I should probably appreciate this skill in myself more often.

detoxing the lazy way

I read an article about detoxing by wearing a plaster on the sole of your feet over night. These plasters are meant to draw out toxins, the evidence in the plasters turning black after wear. Lazy as I am, I figured this could be worth a shot. Not a cheap one, of course. So, I did do some research and came across this leaflet, produced by Sense About Science, which I actually know from my previous job (I was impressed that it was referenced in a German newspaper!).

In short: toxins cannot leave the body through the skin (at least not in any meaningful quantities). And the plasters turn black when held under water, so it's simply the sweat that makes the plasters dark over night.

I shall try to continue with my home exercising and drinking more water instead. Which is also much cheaper. But much harder...

toilet humour

I saw this at my recent visit at the gynecologist:

It took me a moment to understand the sign.
It does not mean that Dr Jell lives in that toilet...

The art of being lazy

I used to be an expert couch potato. And enjoyed life as such. It all changed a bit three or so years ago and while I am still convinced that I am a lazy person deep down, I am now in the strange situation that I cannot fully enjoy my laziness anymore.

I didn't have any plans on Sunday. I spent quite a bit of time on my balcony, read through an entire book, did a bit of jewellery making (literally 15 minutes, which doesn't really count in my books...) and maybe an hour on painting. As well as watching episodes of Grandma's house. And I mention the latter, cause I also watched mindless nonsense on TV - which doesn't count as an activity at all to me.

I signed up for a couple of online courses, which - while really interested in the topic - I haven't yet started. I have a gym membership and a bike. There is admittedly a lack of options (when compared to London) in this area, and I am still not confident about driving anywhere - but even here I could have filled my Sunday with more stuff.

Instead, I was lazy, justifying it by telling myself that it's ok to be lazy once in a while. But still not enjoying it. I wonder whether the bottom line is, that once I had started doing stuff (a lot of it was simply eating out!), I realized how much I enjoyed it, and so much more than sitting on the sofa and watching re-runs of 'Come dine with me'. I'd like to think that this is part of a carpe diem mindful mindset. Now I simply have to get better at actually doing things again.

sich in seiner Haut nicht wohl fuehlen

Not sure whether you also say this in English, but in German we have a saying of not feeling well in your own skin, when you feel uncomfortable.
For the last couple of weeks, I've literally not felt well in my skin. It itches a lot, especially at nighttime, when I am in bed. Primarily on my back and my tummy. I've had this before and I had mentioned it to the dermatologist last year, too, who thought it was only an issue of dry skin. Given that I moisture like crazy at the moment, I don't think that is the issue.

I feel it's stress related and I am seeing the dermatologist again in a couple of weeks and really hope to get more helpful advice. As I of course cannot resist the scratching, it's already leaving me with discoloured patches of skin. Let alone that it is causing issues with sleep. Last night I woke up at 3am and had to get my cooling pad from the fridge in order to stop the itching. :-(

And yes, I should remove the cause of stress. But that is easier said than done, it seems. It's all in  my head...

looking beyond

A business contact forwarded me a presentation today about the future of events for Healthcare Professionals (HCP). Bottom line was that the vast majority of HCPs are tech-savvy and that there is a move towards virtual events and an on-going engagement via social media as opposed to just at the point of the physical event.

I replied, that I personally much prefer face to face interactions. To which he replied that he agreed with me but that this was because we both work in logistics. Implying that without physical events, our jobs would be in jeopardy.

A good example of the way his brain works, I felt.

same old, same old

Self-awareness is the first step to making changes. Right?
Why is it then, that despite knowing about certain thought patterns, I still fall back into them again and again? And why is it, that it's so easy to give advice to others, but sometimes feels impossible to take my own advice? Maybe I am not as clever as I sometimes think...

yellow miracle

Hayfever season has started. One of the advantages of London was, that my hayfever was by far not as bad as it used to be in Germany. Not that much green stuff around there...
I recently read about the power of curcuma. So I will not be drinking curcuma-honey-water and hope that a) I will actually remember to do so and b) that it will make a difference!

have faith

Another aerial yoga class. And fab as always. Just the right amount of pushing myself into various stretches. Being just a little painful to make me feel that I am actually exercising.

Every lesson includes some hanging head down. And even though I've done this a few times now, it still takes a bit of a mental push to get into the position and to then losen your feet as well, given that I am convinced it's my feet that is actually ensuring that I am not falling on my head...
Today, we did an exercise that involved letting your upper body fall forward, with your legs slung inside the soft hammock. Despite believing the instructor that I would not fall out, I only managed to let go with her standing next to me (I was not the only one who hesitated which was comforting). But I was a little proud that I did do it (against my initial instinct of chickening out).

timing

Making things materialize by sheer willpower. 

Well, I still need to perfect my focus but am getting there.

Superheld

music that makes me cry (sometimes, hormonal maybe?)

tact?

Check up at the gynecologist's.

'Well, it (=the lump) has not gotten smaller, has it?' Doctor laughs.
Hm, I didn't think this was a laughing matter to be honest.
And no, it hasn't gotten smaller. If anything, I think it might have gotten bigger. Which is why I'd like to get it removed. To which the doctor replies, that the hystological result has been negative and therefore there isn't really any reason to take it out.

Also very reassuring when he pauses and takes a 'double-feel' when checking my breasts. And says nothing. Is he hoping the radiologist will pick up on anything suspicious anyway?

I think I need to change my gynecologist...

not amused

I hate arrogance. I hate unfairness. And just because something is meant well, doesn't justify certain behaviour. Especially in a work context.

*deep breath*

It's of course still not worth getting agitated over either...

and then I went home

May is a great month: three bank holidays mean it feels like a short month in terms of working days. Even more so on days like today that went by in a flash. No idea what I've been doing really. Primarily sitting in meetings, I think.

What better way to end a Monday than with a massage? And what a coincidence to run into my boss' husband there. The massage therapist says: oh, you haven't met yet, have you?
I look at the guy but have no clue.
He goes: you must be *my name* (pronounced the English way).
Now I am even more confused.
Until Sandro says: it's A's husband.
Ah!

comp day

How to spend the perfect compensation day:
- spending the morning in bed
- cycling along the Mangfall in beautiful sunshine
- good food with a good book
- soaking up the sun a bit more on my balcony and on my new chair

Bruschetta at Cafe Arche

silly selfie

coming home

getting picked up at the station with flowers

more coffee?

This was most likely my last on site performance in my current job: two day meeting at the Moevenpick Zurich airport hotel. Nothing much to mention really. All went smoothly, little to dos for me and more than four hours on the train to get back home.

My travelling has reduced significantly since moving back to Germany and I have not been missing it. Having said that, the views of Lake Constance from the train were rather pretty.

the hotel, and the sunshine