put your hands up

When you think ‘crime fighting hero’ I’m guessing the first thing that comes to mind is not a grandmother and her handbag. (If it is, I’d love to hear why!) But that’s exactly who the hero of the hour was this week in the UK. When she heard a commotion down the street, the wee wonder of a woman took it upon herself to stop the six suspects from smashing the store windows and ultimately stopped a robbery from taking place.
I'd like to think I'd be that brave. If my life wasn't in immediate danger, I'd like to think I'd be the one running across the street, wildly waving my purse, stopping a crime from getting any worse, but I honestly don't think I could ever predict my reaction. Of course I’d want to be the one that saves a stranger or blocks a break-in, but would I? Would I be the one to cause a commotion, to come to the rescue, to look danger in the eye? I think when situations suddenly present themselves, a split second decision is what shocks you into action...not the hours you've spent analyzing what you would, should or could do.

My husband often tells the story of when he was a young boy and became pinned under a full flower box that he had tried to climb. His sweet four-foot-eleven little lady of a mother suddenly appeared, as strong as Hercules, and lifted the 300 pound box off her little boy. Ask her to do it again, without her son underneath, and I guarantee she'd struggle to shift it ever so slightly. But when danger strikes, we so selflessly jump to the rescue without stopping to think about our actually abilities or certain consequences. I can only hope that my courage will kick in when I need it, that my muscles can move more than I realize and that I, too, could save the day if I had to.

What would you do? Have you ever witnesses a crime?

expect the unexpected

Weekends are my favourite part of the week. Of course, there’s the whole sleeping in and not having to go to work part that always makes it such a relief to get to the end of the week but what I really love about weekends is the extra time to do fun things and the adventures that often ensue. While weekdays usually include errands and exercise, the weekend is often reserved for friends, family or fun and sometimes you never know what that will mean. For me, this weekend involved all three and while I knew it would be a good one, I couldn’t have predicted that I’d be as good as it was.
You know those days or nights when you’ve got good plans but if someone were to ask you about them, you’d say it was nothing special? And then you go out, have more fun than you could have imagined and look back and laugh at all the outrageous outtakes that made your night memorable? That pretty much sums up my weekend. I spent the last few days visiting a good friend a few hours away, and while I was really looking forward to the time we would spend together, I could never have imagined that such simple sentences would unleash a series of unforgettable adventures. When the owner of the pub we went to for a little live music casually told us there was a bowling lane out back (and he wasn’t kidding!) our night took a turn for the random as we suddenly found ourselves setting up own our pins and crossing our fingers for a strike. And when we were asked if we brought anything to throw by the cashier of the movie theatre where we went to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show, we shouldn’t have been surprised by the rice, toast and decks of cards that were launched through the theatre. They might seem like you-had-to-be-there moments but they were the moments that made my weekend. They were unexpected, a little strange and a lot of fun.
I love those nights – nights that need explanations with stories that couldn’t be scripted. It’s those nights that are often the most unforgettable, when one unexpected event turns into two and suddenly you can’t remember the last time you had so much fun. It’s those nights that start out okay and end amazing with a roller coaster of ridiculous all in between. It’s the unexpected fun that if you tried to plan for, you’d fail. It’s the rush of being in the right place at the right time without realizing that you’ve got all the ingredients for the recipe for fun. So if anyone ever tells you that there’s a bowling lane behind their bar, believe them. You never know where the night will take you.

What unexpected moments have made for memorable nights for you? What’s your favourite thing about the weekend?

lost and left behind

Having stayed in several hotels since I was young, I’m not a stranger to a home away from home during my holidays. And having traveled with several different people, I’ve come to learn that everyone has their own way of living life on the road whether it’s unpacking everything as soon as you arrive or spending your stay living out of your luggage. No matter how you choose to live or relax while away, it’s probably not uncommon to forget a shirt stashed deep in a drawer or a shampoo bottle still in the shower, right? But would you forget a shark in your bathtub, your pet cockatoo or €20,000 in cash? These are only three of the top ten strangest items found left behind by the members of Great Hotels of the World. I can’t say I’ve ever had any of those items with me on a vacation but you can bet I wouldn’t be leaving them behind.
{via} Leaving something behind is just not an option when I go away. If you’re anything like me, you can’t help but check, double check and triple check every corner, drawer, nook and cranny to make sure that every item you came with has made it’s way back into your suitcase. Even when I don’t use a drawer or open a closet during my stay, I won’t feel right about leaving if I haven’t taken a few peaks inside just to make sure my pants didn’t miraculously grow feet and walk their way into the closet. It doesn’t make sense but it’s what I do. While I may be a compulsive closet checker, I get a sense of satisfaction knowing that I haven’t left a sock sitting under the bed or a towel drying on the balcony. And even if I always get the feeling that I’m forgetting something, I can at least be satisfied knowing that I made a valiant effort to repack all my possessions…especially that pesky shark or my pair of false teeth!

Have you ever left anything in a hotel room? Do you live out of your luggage or unpack everything?