Happy, sparkly, surf things.

  

Where to begin? Life has been moving at a chaotic pace lately, so busy in fact that I haven't even had the time to do normal everyday stuff like moisturize my body! It sounds like a luxury to moisturize but what it really means is that I haven't had a minute to myself, to dedicate to the task of keeping my skin supple. 

I want to lay it bare to you dear blog readers that in actuality I've been quite miserable of late. Its not surprising really, there is no space for happiness when life accelerates at such a fast pace. I've been pulling 14 hour shifts at work, not seeing my beloved boyfriend, no surf or skate (since last week), barely having time to do yoga and well meditation has gone right out of the window. It's all in aid of future plans I'm saving like a squirrel burying nuts for harsher times, but hey there needs to be a balance between sensibleness and fun. 

I'm no stranger to being a nomad but I'm finding my drifting between my base at my parent's house and that of my boyfriend's is making me a bit like flotsam and jetsam. Floating between these two places means armfuls of luggage which I drag on and off trains and a general sense of displacement. At the ripe age of twenty six I'm starting to yearn for roots- Isn't that funny? Not so long ago the thought of a homestead would have caused me to run for the horizon but now I crave it. Living with my parents (despite them being the best parents on the planet FACT) is a bit like waiting in a doctors office, you know you can't leave but that call to be seen feels like forever, so you have to remain there suspended between arriving and leaving. 

I've neglected this here blog too, as my regular readers may have noticed posts have been a bit sparse recently. In truth I have been completely exhausted, too exhausted to muster up the energy to create engaging content. So forgive me, here is a post about being a hapless twenty something and a few nice, sparkly surf pictures that have caught my magpie eye! Not groundbreaking but its the truth! 

You know as much as these moments of frustration drain us they also act as catalysts because they force you to reevaluate and make changes. I'm excited and optimistic about what I'll learn through this little rough patch. Now for drawing, music and a little meditation to get my happy Sophia hat back on! 

I am a woman child- still unable to dress appropriately for the weather and never with a functional umbrella!
This 'look' is Michaela Strachan meets Saba Douglas Hamilton which will make perfect sense if your a wildlife geek like me! 

Until next time, 

Stay strong, surf well 

Love 

   

!Vamos a la playa!

"Surfing is like having a cold bucket of water thrown over you-over and over again..." said one of my yoga students recently, who also happens to be another land locked surfer?! 

Finally after 4 MONTHS of drought I returned to my beloved Saltburn and surfed! I'm talking freezing winter North Sea conditions where neoprene isn't just a matter of convenience it is an absolute necessity. Oh glorious beloved Saltburn! 

On my first day in the water I surprised myself with how well I surfed, I don't mean to sound smug on the contrary I was fully expecting epic wipe outs due to being away for so long. Blessed with two foot glassy waves in lovely clean lines (i.e. play waves), I was able to rehearse the pop up over and over again and begin having a proper go at turning. 

The waves made it fun but the people made it awesome, our post surf down time was spent in a Saltburn surfer's beautiful wooded back garden having a BBQ and bonfires, which seems so novel in the middle of a British winter. 

























Other stuff that happened this week.....Yoga with unwashed hair, in your PJ's in between the furniture of your parents house! That's the great thing about Yoga it doesn't need to occur in exotic beach locations or be overly complex, just get on your mat and practice.  Word of warning ladies: dressing up in traditional Mexican clothes, drawing on a mustache and speaking Spanish at your boyfriend is not sexy or romantic as a theme for date night!!! 

And last of all my gorgeous little butter ball Bruh the bunny as ever my little source of happiness! 

Until next time 

Stay strong, surf well 

Love 

 

Flux: Redefining women in surfing.

Find your voice not your brand. 

This is what I want to stand for.   

Love

The Surf Hack 2015

According to the surf survival guide the majority of surfers are land locked (unless you live in Hawaii), which means most of us who are half sea creature half land mammal are constantly fighting a loosing battle to surf more, work less. 

I know I'm supposed to be a compassionate Buddhist but the thought of there being more frustrated land locked surfers out there actually cheers me up. If instagram is anything to go by all surfers live in California/Hawaii/Oz,  are tanned, have an attractive amount of sand on their bronzed butt cheeks/wear board shorts all year round and don't have to walk more than a meter for perfect waves. Hawaiians/Australians/Californians please let me introduce you to mud brown waves, don't be alarmed a sewage plant hasn't had a leak this is what the North sea looks like...

There are 365 days in a year and 52 weekends which means even if you surf just once a month that is 12 opportunities to be in the water. 12 might not seem like a lot but factor in work, relationships and other commitments and suddenly 12 seems loads! So here's a sure fire way to make sure you get your saltwater quota. 

Think like a surfer. 

So I have this surfer friend who to Joe Suburban might seem like he's so laid back he's practically horizontal. However this mellow attitude disguises an intensely passionate surfer who works his butt off during the summer months to afford to go live in places like Bali/Mexico etc and live the dream. So what is the lesson here? Prioritize surfing. A night out might set you back some serious coinage, so perhaps skip the booze up or at least sip water instead, save those pennies towards trips. You won't regret getting pissed when your catching aqua blue waves wearing only a bikini in the hot, beautiful sunshine!

Have a plan. 

If your anything like me life has a tendency to suddenly get busy with prior engagements, important events, weddings, etc. Now this might sound radical but get yourself one of those, PAPER, yes I said it PAPER wall calenders and write down all your commitments now. Right now. Yes you, I said go and do it now! Once you have an idea of how your year looks you can start to plan surf trips around the 'can't miss' stuff. 

If possible book in advance, square annual leave with your boss, have some plans in place and if it doesn't hurt the bank account pay for trips in advance so you don't have nasty unexpected bills later on. 

Have surfer friends. 

Find surfers and/or willing surfers and rope them into trips, widen your circle so you don't have to rely on just one person to go travelling with. I love solo travel but this is not for everyone and unless your Kelly Slater its not really safe to surf by yourself either. If you surround yourself with positive, motivated people your more likely to go surfing rather than giving in and settling down for a Netflix series! 

Book flights/train travel/car shares asap 

The earlier you book things the cheaper they tend to be so try your best to book transport in advance, you'll save yourself a heap of cash! If your a driver then ensure you keep a little money on the side for petrol, its amazing how much cars guzzle the stuff when your chasing the waves! 

Look into alternative accommodation 

Surf hostels tend to be cheap as surfers in general are a fairly easy tourist to please (room to hang a wet suit and just somewhere to sleep please). Have you explored other avenues though, especially if your just two people off on a trip? AirBnB is a fantastic site that allows you to stay in people's houses for a few days to a week. Mr Sunshine and I did this when we visited Brighton last year, we were in a massive luxury house, had tea facilities didn't see the hosts at all really and best of all it was cheaper than a caravan!!! Speaking of caravans if there's a group of you these are the most inexpensive I've found in terms of nice accommodation, don't sniff at them, they are fab! Failing that camp my darlings! 

Look around your doorstep

Surfing doesn't have to mean an exotic long haul flight to costa rica, google your nearest surfing beach and try there, visit old haunts or for something really different look at local lakes to see if they do paddle boarding as an option. I recently discovered Birmingham, yes Birmingham has a paddle board club on Edgbaston reservoir, 10 minutes away from the city center. Ok its not catching waves but its still on a board!! 

Happy surfing my lovelies, hope you catch some waves this year! 

Stay strong, surf well
Love 

Embracing the lull

Allow me to explain my purpose with a homage to surfing (of course)!!  In between sets there are moments to pause, sometimes it takes time for the waves to come so the surfer has to cultivate patience. Its a moment to catch the breath, readjust the bikini or pick seaweed out of the sea curls! 

Post Christmas have you noticed that the world seems to effervesce with busyness? Back to work, back to dieting, self improvement and a general sense of dis-ease with the status quo. Everyone seems so intent on bettering themselves that when in the first week of January they have inevitably scuppered their new years resolutions, low and behold in creeps dissatisfaction. 

Take my own New Years Eve celebrations I managed to go to two parties and then straight back to a week of work - busyness being an understatement! I've hardly had time to think and as a result have inevitably gotten myself into a stress storm. 

I am more than inpatient for a surf trip, I practically feel like a cactus I'm so water deficient! It has been four loooong months and I am more than ready to get my toes wet. It looks like there might possibly be a land locked surfer trip this January and the prospect is making me giddy I want to be in Wales already!! 

...But back to the surfer sat waiting for the set to roll in. 

In the lull, waiting for waves, there is space to breathe, to contemplate things and to marvel at the beauty of the sea swirling around you. 

So I want you to do this in the madness of post Christmas: Look around you, marvel at the abundance you already have and feel content that the set is on its way! 

What I'm grateful for this week...

I've always thought my bunny Bruh was awesome but this week he more than proved it. I took him to the nursing home I work at as pet therapy for the service users and Bruh really excelled. I have always thought animals were intuitive but the calmness and gentleness Bruh showed the residents actually melted my heart. In this picture Bruh is sat cuddling someone who has been through a really tough time of late, he sat with this person for a long while completely still and tolerated being petted. I didn't think I would learn kindness from my rabbit but the universe always provides us with teachers! 

Until next time 

Stay strong, surf well and do some yoga! 

Love