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Bonjour! I'm an introvert, minimalist, and award-winning author. I like to be honest and see the funny side. My books are: A Chic Year • How To Be An Introvert In An Extrovert World • How To Be Thin In A World Of Chocolate. Read more about me here. To stay in touch, follow me on Instagram or sign up for my delightful dispatches.

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That's What She Said

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How To Be An Introvert (5)
Musings (26)
Poems (9)
So This Happened (1)
Thin In A World Of Chocolate (8)

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80s Aging Art Being A Self Books Creativity Fitness Goals Humor Language Le Francais Memories Mind Games Music Pandemic Psychology Relationships Stoicism Tech & Social Media Therapy TV Shows

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How To Be An Introvert In An Extrovert World

How To Be An Introvert In An Extrovert World

A Year of Style, Simplicity, and Self-Care

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How To Be Thin In A World Of Chocolate [Audiobook]

How To Be Thin In A World Of Chocolate

Jumping around on crunchy leaves was the second-mo

Jumping around on crunchy leaves was the second-most fun thing I did today.

#sydneywinter #crunchyleaves #auralpleasure #winterfun #winterwalks #playingintheleaves

GRAPEVINES, G-STRINGS, AND GRAVITY I remember att

GRAPEVINES, G-STRINGS, AND GRAVITY

I remember attending aerobics classes in the late 80s and doing old-school moves to ‘THE ONLY WAY IS UP’ by Yazz. Grapevine, anyone? With the little hand weights?

We wore MINUSCULE G-STRING LEOTARDS over super-shiny tights. And leg warmers. And headbands with high ponytails. We thought we were SO CUTE! Imagine if there’d been social media in those days. MY EYES! MY EYES!

Nobody brought a water bottle to class, yet somehow we made it through without becoming desiccated husks and passing out en masse. If you desperately needed to stop, you could run over to the WATER FOUNTAIN for a quick hit of hydration and E. coli.

Studio floors were solid concrete in the 80s, so we all got pretty savage shin splints. Sports bras weren’t yet a thing but high-impact was, so, well, let’s just say it was a time of immense JAUNTINESS.

Ah, but who cares - the 80s were full of optimism and joie de vivre and physiotherapy appointments we didn’t yet know we needed. It sure felt like the only way was was up!

There is NO WAY you can resist dancing to this. Copy and paste into your browser:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjD3EVC1-zU

#theonlywayisup #aerobics #eighties #eightiesmusic #leotards #shinytights #gstrings #80saerobics #yazz #aerobicsclass

WALKING IN WINTER I am not a girl who enjoys the

WALKING IN WINTER

I am not a girl who enjoys the outdoors - or as I call it, ‘that space between the good places’ - and I’m pretty much always cold. So getting myself out for a walk in winter is like trying not to finish the Tim Tams once the packet is open.

As with most things, for me the key is ATTIRE. This jacket is snuggly, with a detachable panel for chestal warmth, plus a hood for when I wish to look menacing (surprisingly often). My flip-top fingerless glove/mittens let me flip down to unlock my phone and squint at the message I can’t read without glasses (something something order more wine, right?), then flip back up to prevent fingertip frostbite. BONUS: Can make covert rude gestures at people screaming at their puppies when they try to jump on me.

For entertainment, sometimes I dance-walk to music (a HIGHLY UNDERRATED form of exercise - see comments), sometimes I listen to audiobooks, sometimes I talk to myself aloud (I am QUITE the conversationalist).

I wish I could walk in the morning, but I’m too fond of myself for the cruel catapult from cosy bed to forbidding tundra*. I mean, I would put on clothes first (see above) but still, HARSH. So at this time of year I walk at around 3pm. It’s often the warmest part of the day, plus my brain needs a break after hours of grueling procrastination, plus I get cuddles from my puppy pals on their afternoon perambulations.

Anyway, I’d better go now. Apparently I need to order more wine. And Tim Tams.

*THIS IS A LIE: I live in metropolitan Sydney which is now largely tundra-free.

#sydneywinter #walkwalkwalk #exerciseroutine #exercisemotivation #winterwalks #timtams #coldweatherstyle #winterstyle #activewearfashion #fitnessmotivation #fitnessroutine

MY NEIGHBOURS ARE NOT HAPPY WITH ME This is a hig

MY NEIGHBOURS ARE NOT HAPPY WITH ME

This is a highly stressful time in my neighborhood. Yes, inflation and housing crisis, but also, I HAVE NOW TAKEN UP SINGING LESSONS. In a boon for my laziness but a tragic turn for my neighbors, they happen at home on Zoom.

I have an excellent ear and therefore can tell when singing comes straight from the depths of Hades. You might think that would make me self-conscious and reluctant to belt forth a tune. But no.

After a trial lesson I knew I’d found my teacher. She works with kids too, so she’s HUGELY ENCOURAGING of everything I do and totally unfazed by my musical cluelessness.

Her: Can you sing a C?
Me: No, but I know all the lyrics to ‘1000 Oceans’.

She mentioned my uvula more than once, which I found rather forward in someone I’d just met, but I decided to suck it up. Which may even help my singing, let’s see. You know what clinched it for me though? Her favorite recording artist of all time is Tori Amos. MEANT. TO. BE.

We’re working on two songs: a Tori, and one from musical theatre (ugh). It’s okay, I do like some Andrew Lloyd Webber so we agreed on a short list and have begun with ‘Tell Me On A Sunday’, which is SUPER fun to sing and not at all about longwinded sermons as I had feared.

So friends, if you come to my décolletage of the woods and spot a profusion of FOR SALE / RENT signs, you can stop and smile knowingly to yourself. For the love of Pete though, get the hell out of there before my lesson starts.

Checking my baby into hospital. Definitely not bec

Checking my baby into hospital. Definitely not because of anything dumb I did. 😕

Montblanc #muses #marilynmonroe

I saw this quote on a French site I follow and was

I saw this quote on a French site I follow and was very taken with this beautifully expressed idea of 'withdrawing'. (I have a tendency to try to make things happen, which pretty much always backfires. 🫤) I'll put the translation in the comments.

I spent ages online trying to find the source and then had a brainwave: ask ChatGPT. Immediately, I had my answer:

'This quote is often attributed to Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian author of the bestselling novel "The Alchemist." However, it is important to note that there is no clear evidence that Coelho is the original author of this quote. It is possible that the quote is a paraphrase or adaptation of Sacha Guitry's quote "Il vaut mieux se retirer et laisser un bon souvenir plutôt que d’insister et de se transformer en quelque chose de pesant."'

(Sorry, I don't have an image source to credit.)

#chatgpt #sashaguitry #paulocoelho #frenchquote #lettinggoquotes #français

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Copyright 2022 Michele Connolly. Award-winning writer. Introvert. Poet. Artist.