The World According to Pip

The Other Wife

By Claire McGowan

Funny how the things people love at first are the things they end up hating.

That’s the thing about rock-bottom. Gives gives you something firm to put your feet on.

If you want to admit to friends how unhappy you are, you have to admit it to yourself as well.

You so much want to believe that what they tell you is true, you do the lying for them.

It’s almost took my breath away, how easily we can destroy each other, when we’re in love.

It’s a strange experience, hearing your spouse talk to a complete stranger. Do you want to shout out, That isn’t true! You never told me that! Like a test you don’t understand why you’re failing.

You can buy this amazing book here.

We Should All Be Feminists

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

I often make the mistake of thinking that something which is obvious to me, is just an obvious to everyone else.

A man is just as likely as a woman to be intelligent, innovative, creative. We have evolved but our ideas of gender have not.

Each time they ignore me, I feel invisible. I feel upset. I want want to tell them that I’m just as human as the man just as worthy of acknowledgement.

I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femininity. And I want to be respected in all my femaleness.

Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of woman is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.

For centuries the world divided humans into two groups and then proceeded to exclude and oppress one group. It is only fair that the solution to the problem should acknowledge that.

We teach females that in relationships, compromise is what a woman is more likely to do.

Gender matters everywhere in the world. We should begin to dream about and plan for a different world. A fairer world. A world of happier men and happier women.

What is the point of culture? Culture functions ultimately to ensure that preservation and continuity of a people.

The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognising how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn’t have the weight of gender expectations.

This amazing book can be bought here.

What’s in my work bag?

I spend more and more time outside at work these days, doing everything from collecting rouge balls to helping lost walkers. Because of this, the things I need with me everyday to deal with the weather is vast. Holding the clutter in my bag at bay is a challenge and I hate being weighed down with a heavy bag, so I prefer to carry only the absolute necessities and leave the rest at home.

Woolly beanie hat, keeps my ears warm and keeps the cold out. Thinsulate is my go to brand.
Two pairs of gloves, in case one pair gets wet or dirty. I wear Footjoy WinterSof Golf gloves.
A baseball cap, in case it gets too hot for the beanie or if the sun is in my eyes. I wear an Under Armour golf cap.
Lip balm, my lips get UNBEARABLY chapped because of the cold wind. I use Nivea HydroCare.
Multi tool, I always have a Swiss army knife in my bag and I use it way more than you might think!
Paracetamol, a personal must-have for me. A good way to keep those pesky headaches at bay.
Earphones, best way to keep myself entertained when the course is dead. I use Apple Airpods.
Reusable water bottle, stay hydrated guys! I use a metal Chilly’s bottle , which keeps my water cold when it’s hot out.
Windbreaker, I find that having a jacket that keeps off the wind chill can do wonders to keep me warm. Even though it’s thin and on its own, wouldn’t keep me warm, it’s well worth layering it up. I wear one from the Helly Hansen Work Wear Range.

My dairy habits

I bought my diary from Ebay for less than a fiver. It’s one of those weekly views with a small section for each day, and a page at the end of the month to summarise how it went, to write about the highs and lows and to keep your good habits in check. There aren’t many rules I keep when I’m filling in my diary apart from to try and make an entry everyday (which isn’t always successful). I’m an obsessive planner and fill my pages to the brim with things I need to remember and appointments that I need to attend. This is the first journal/diary I have properly kept and I find it relaxing to make a quick summary of my day. I only write about the good and productive things that have happened because they’re the only things worth remembering about tomorrow 🙂

The link to my diary can be found here.

Staying Organized

Who me? Organized? My husband might tell you otherwise, but I do find it hard to keep track of our weekly schedule. You know: school, swimming, grocery shopping, tidying up, paying bills, remembering appointments and so on. Fortunately, in our house we all pitch in. No one person does everything. But we do have a little secret that helps our day run more smoothly.

Travel Tips

There are millions of tips out there on how to fly with kids, what to bring on camping vacations, which suitcase to buy, where to go and what to see in just about every corner on Earth. What I want to share today is something a little different – something that we discovered last summer during a family hike in the Appalachians.