Naughty...but oh SO nice.

I like being naughty (in a mischievous kinda way rather than in a blue movie kinda way!) It brings with it a sense of freedom, a taste of escape, a fleeting feeling of being a child. There’s just something fun about doing the very thing you are not supposed to do. Even a mundane activity is so much more exciting when it is forbidden.

It feels like I used to have the opportunity to misbehave on a more regular basis. It’s not that I was bad but I was definitely naughty: going for one drink after work and then ending up crawling in at some silly hour; popping out for a pint of milk and buying a Prada handbag; having adventures with my best friend that started with a coffee at lunch time and ended in a club; getting the giggles at inappropriate moments; eating chocolate cake for breakfast.

It’s harder to be naughty when you have energy challenges. I can’t tolerate more than a couple of glasses of wine so drunken nights giggling loudly with girlfriends are off the agenda; I’m not good after 6 pm which makes parties a challenge (but who wants to be the only sober person at the party anyway.) I don’t earn any money anymore so can’t buy anything really naughty; I can’t go out for hours on end so adventures with best friend always have a time limit on them; and I can’t even eat massive pieces of cake as I’m sensitive to dairy. (The rock and roll lifestyle of a sofa chick!)

Most of the time, I am happy to play by the rules, for the greater good of my health. But every now and then I get the urge to break the sensible, pacing, diet, yawn, yawn, rules. And here comes my latest confession: I have been to Italy for a couple of days! Yes, just as I had promised to myself and 'Blog World' I would take it easy to try and get out of my current dip, I jetted off for a mini break like a ‘normal’ person. After a couple of months of saying no to so many things and some serious rest the last couple of weeks, I didn’t want to miss out on something else. So I didn’t.

We had a day in Venice. It was a beautiful sunny day and the sun glistened on the water. We mooched arm in arm like young lovers, pausing on bridges to take in wonderful views; we had a leisurely lunch in a local bistro off the tourist trail; enjoyed the most expensive coffee ever (8 Euros!) in Harry’s Bar and imagined the deals that went down after hours (not much happening at 3 in the afternoon).

Then the following day we explored Treviso, a gorgeous old town set within a 16th century city wall, with a river meandering through making way for pretty bridges; interesting architecture and twisty lanes; Piazzas for coffee drinking and people watching; markets of local fresh food; stylish shops galore (there was no grotty end of town lined with Euro shops!) All soaked up with another lazy lunch.

And I love the glamour in Italy: ladies swanning round in fur coats and sunglasses (it was really sunny). My favourite was a lady in a wheelchair, all dolled up with a leopard skin fur cover keeping her warm. In the evenings we curled up on the sofa and watched DVDs and sipped Prosecco. *Fantastico*

I need our travelling adventures, they are what keep me going. They feed my soul and they nurture our relationship. And sometimes you just have to say yes. I have taken all the precautions I can think of (not doing too much, doing lots of sitting down, doing my relaxation and hypnotherapy, using my 'stops', spending all day Sunday glued to the sofa to recharge my body) so I hope the price I have to pay for my naughtiness won’t be too high.

Yes, to the outside world going on a mini break is hardly wild. But for me I knew I was pushing the recent energy boundaries. But that just made me appreciate every second even more. It’s good to be naughty – REALLY GOOD.

What do you do when you’re feeling naughty or want to take a walk on the wild side??! Go on confess to your blogging friends, you know you want to...xx