Wonderful Wednesday #149

{A rare moment of absolute calm}
1.  Taste.  You know me, i love my food.  And not to harp, harp, harp on about it BUT almost three whole weeks not being able to taste has had me fully miserable!  Behold taste-buds and everything tasting so much better than you ever thought it could AND the urge to just eat and eat and eat.  WELL it is Christmas after all.

2.  Quiet mornings.  Work is so manic come this time of year, frantic even.  And when you're around so many other people being frantic and stressed and trying to cram in as much Christmas shopping in as they possibly can PLUS try and work around them, it's nigh on impossible to find any kind of calm.  This week i've been loving my quiet fifteen minutes eating breakfast with only silence, the Christmas tree lights and my thoughts for company.  I've also been loving our quiet drives to work with Radio 2 Christmas music and the silence of the roads into the city come this time of year now that the schools are all broken up for Christmas and everyone is still asleep.  

3.  Eucalyptus oil and maybe mostly the kind pharmacist in Boots who told me to add a few drops of the magical stuff to a cotton pad and leave it in the floor of the shower, out of the way of the direct flow of water.  This has changed my LIFE. Or my sinuses at least.  Doing this creates the menthol-y shower that ALL of the dreams are made of.  Combined with rubbing my chest with Olbas Oil afterwards and before bed and OH MY.  These two tricks have made a world of difference to lately, let me tell you.

4.  First clementines.  Okay so I'm mega late to the citrus party this year but in all fairness, i've been without taste for the past wee while.  Praise be to the yum that is the Christmas clementine not only for being great anyway but for being the first thing i could taste at the end of last week.  Must remember to pick up some more....

5.  Kindness. I'd like to think that Mother Tangle brought me up well enough to remember my manners {they cost nothing!} and to always be mindful of others kindness.  Lately though, in my sorry state of a self; i feel like i have noticed it even more.  I'm a lucky duck to have so many lovely people in my life - online or otherwise.  

6.  Wrapping paper.  Packaging, it'll forever be one of my vices.  Sure enough i'm still massively dis-organised with present-buying this year BUT i did enjoy picking out my wrapping paper and cards earlier in the week.  Everyone might end up getting prettily wrapped clementines if i don't get my behind into gear!

7.  This.  That's right:  this little post.  I felt miserable and ill and quite frankly YUK last week but i soldiered on.  This week i'm almost there and praise be to being able to find more than a handful of good things already....

8.  Exercise.  Bike or yoga mat?!  Either!  That time out on my two wheels OR on my yoga mat is precious, hard to squeeze in but pretty downright essential to me lately.  Without going all 'peace man' on you all, it resets my little head, calms me down and gathers my thoughts all in one go.  Whether that's fifteen minutes or an hour.  I've been snatching moments as and when and not feeling even the littlest bit guilty.  

9.  Frangipan mince pies.  You heard it right!  Just when you though the humble mince pie couldn't get any better, right?!  Quick-march yourself down to M&S pronto because these bad boys are the best mince pies that i have ever eaten!  Delicious pastry cases filled with mincemeat and topped with a fluffy cloud of frangipan and sprinkled with icing sugar and flaked almonds.  You're welcome!
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And I'm DONE!  It's strange to believe that this time next week we'll all be rocketting towards 2017.  This year has gone crazy fast for me, faster than any before.  I think i might use next week's #wonderfulwednesday post to document my highlights of the year instead of my usual weekly list, who else is game?!?

Don't forget to skip on over and visit the #wonderfulwednesday 's gang {Jo, Helen, Michelle, Sarah, Kate, Cat, Sam, El , Kerri's, Mimmi's, Martina's AND lovely Isabelle} and their very own best nits too.  It's exactly what i shall be doing.  Probably whilst simultaneously wrapping presents, watching Love Actually and eating Frangipan mince pies....
Merry Christmas lovely faces!