I'm doing this for me | Motivational Monday

Recently I've discovered running is a stress reliever. A half an hour run helps me de-stress, calm down and afterwards I always feel much better. So when someone asks me why I run I say for me. 

I don't run to look good for anyone or to keep up with anyone I run to keep myself feeling good and, let's be honest, to feel sane. And that's the reason you should do anything. 

This is a post aimed at my new years resolution to be healthier but I think there's a general message to all areas of life here. If you're not doing something because you want to - don't do it. Do it for you and for your happiness.

I did start running because I wanted to loose a few pounds, and still have a couple more pounds to lose before I hit my ideal weight but I am so happy with the stress relieving bi-product. Not only has running made me healthier physically but also mentally.

Anyway this week, I'm going to aim to get three runs in, two workouts and possibly a Zumba class of Friday if my mum doesn't flake on me again. Also no snacks between meals. Shall I cry now or later? 

What are you going to do to be healthy this week? 

Document Your Life - March 2014 | The Weekend Post

I said to expect a weekend post. I also said to expect a couple of 'Document Your Life' videos in preparation for Australia documentation. Basically you get to witness me learn to use editing software again and hopefully next month use my camera rather than my phone.

This month it looks like I spend most of my time walking dogs and sitting on public transport. That would be true. It's been a good months and I hope you like the little change up of form for this months wrap up.

My favourite posts this month that I'd like you all to read:

The Van.3

DIY Manicure

Book Recommendations for your Mum

Going Long Distance...And Coping

I won't miss this week | Finally Friday

We haven't been here on Friday for a while. Two weeks it's been I think, well we're here now so let's not dwell on the negative and let's get on with wrapping up the week that's passed.

The week started well. I got to get all dressed up for a dinner dance fundraiser at the rugby club. My brother's team are off to Belgium for their rugby tour in April and so fundraising has been happening in abundance. This one was a particularly good night, lot's of dancing, eating good food and drinking good wine. Well drinking wine. It was a really good night the boys were brilliant waiters and bar men not to mention musicians and singers, even if the songs were rather choice. 

Saturday morning was a bit of a struggle though. Apparently I can't keep up with sixteen year old boys when drinking now a days. However, it was a good excuse for a hot bubble bath and a face mask on a Saturday afternoon. As if I needed an excuse. 

I've been trying to a workout everyday and been relatively successful and am hoping to get along to a Zumba class next week to get some more cardio in. Healthy eating has been successful. No naughty treats and all clean eats. My favourite this week was a protein pancake (a banana, a handful of oats and 2 eggs) topped with grilled apples. It was sweet and yummy but wasn't naughty. Bikini body will be mine. 

Jack absconded to New Zealand this week. Lucky bugger a two week break in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. 

So that's all I have to say this week, it's typical the week I get back into Friday posts is the week I have the most boring week. Oh well, onwards and upwards. Here's to getting back into Friday posts. Hopefully a weekend post this week. 

What? Who said that? 

Going long distance...and coping | Thursday Talks

Disclaimer: Sorry Jack for using that awful screen shot again, James he's not peado!

Before I start this, this is going to be a serious post, something that's quite private, personal thing but I wanted to share it with you as I feel I've learned how to cope with it now and others may be able to get something from it. If you don't get anything from it or this post isn't for you then either don't read it, though I'd like it if you did, but don't go leaving nasty comments about how ridiculous I was. I know, trust me.

So you may know, from previous posts, that my boyfriend Jack left the UK to work in Australia back in December. He left two days before my birthday which definitely made the situation harder to deal with, and also coming up to Christmas time. They're two times of the year where you want to people you love close by and the person I really wanted there most wasn't. Now I know he hadn't died and he was reachable but it wasn't the same and going from seeing each other virtually everyday to speaking to each other when and if we could was a bit of a shock to the system.

I dealt with it in the worse way possible. I was fighting a near enough constant battle against minor panic and anxiety attacks. I felt constantly sick, I had a pretty much permanent headache, I had no appetite and no energy. All I wanted to do was lay in my bed, undisturbed and sleep. Luckily, at the time I was working full time which forced me to get up in the morning and socialise with people. If that wasn't the case there's no doubt in my mind that those first couple of weeks I'd have been a recluse. I was shattered though. I was waking up at silly hours of the morning and going to bed at silly hours in night, well morning really, just to get a couple of hours of conversation in with Jack.

Jack dealt with it much better. It comes down to the type of people we are. He's much more relaxed, positive - not that I'm a negative person but he just finds it much easier not to worry about things that could end badly, and generally doesn't let things get him down. I'm not like that as you probably well know by now. I worry about things until I'm shaking with anxiety, I work myself up about them until I cry and I stress so much that I make myself sick. It's ridiculous but it's true.

Looking back I could have dealt with that period in a much more healthy way. I realised, about three weeks into the experience, that focusing on other things, work, projects, my health, kept my mind away from the thousands of miles between us and therefore I wasn't such a shell of a human. I started the blog for something to do, I started running more frequently, and I focused on getting prepared for college. Booking my flights for Australia also helped as it gave us a date to focus on for when we'd next be able to actually see each other. I realised it was important that I was doing these things just to pass time in between conversations with Jack but because I wanted or needed to do them for me. If I'd have done them purely to pass time I'd have been back to square one, focusing on the thing that had got me in that rut.

Christmas and New Year were hard but they're times of the year that I love and I was determined to enjoy them knowing we'd both rather be together at those times but it was just the way things were, but they weren't going to be that way forever. I also realised I couldn't let my bad rationale effect Jack's experience. He was on the other side of the world with great possibilities ahead of him and I couldn't let my inability to cope get in the way of that. I had to be as positive, smiley and happy as I could for him. And it couldn't just be a front, cause he knows, oh boy does he know. It's not always something that comes naturally every time in fact it's something I have to remind myself of on occasion. This week he's gone off to New Zealand for two weeks. At first I didn't take it so good, two weeks of hardly any contact, a lot of money being spent and another few thousand miles away when all I want is him closer. But my lack of support made him question whether he should go and that's not right. When it comes down to it I always manage to cope because when you work it out it's not that hard and because I want to be with Jack so I have to cope, Jack won't get the oppurtunity to visit New Zealand very often.

Luckily my family and Jack's family are good friends, all of us. This has helped no end. I think it would be weird if I hardly saw them just because Jack's away. The first time I went in their house after Jack had left was a bit weird but I got over it and enjoy spending time with them just as much as I did when Jack wasn't in Australia. They're practically a second family.

The main thing that helped me overall was focusing on things other than the distance and the time difference and how little contact I sometimes had. Not filling the time for the sake of filling it but filling it because I have a life to lead and that can't be put on a hold because Jack got on a plane. Obviously, this isn't possible for everyone but knowing when he left that I'd be joining him in a few months gave me something to look forward to and hopefully make all that horribleness at the beginning worth it. College has helped no end, though it's stressful being busy is the perfect way to stop yourself freaking out. And contact with his family, all of them, is the ideal scenario that again probably isn't possible for everyone but if it is it's great.

So that's it. I coped horrifically at the beginning there's no denying it. Looking back I was a mess, and sometimes still am, but finding your coping method is all it takes.

For me it's keeping busy and focused.

Book recommendations for your mum | Wednesday Reads

My mum doesn't read. Not because she can't, or so she says, but because she doesn't enjoy it, or so she says. However, I am, quite clearly I think, an avid reader and so often have books that I've wanted to pass on to people, one person being my mum. I have tried on occasion to get my mum to read a couple of books I've really enjoyed but she either point blank refuses, says she'll try but never does, or gets past the first chapter - an accomplishment. Due to this I have a few books that I'm going to recommend for you to give your mum's this mother's day.

1) Before I Die, Jenny Downham 
This is a beautiful story of a young girl with terminal cancer essentially ticking off her bucket list. It's obviously heart wrenchingly sad but it's also beautifully written, funny and heat warming. I gave this to my mum when I finished it last summer and she actually got nearly half way through. Probably a good job cause I'm not good with tears, and there would have definitely been tears. However, my mum getting half way through is reason enough to buy it - hint it means it's good.

2) The Help, Kathryn Stockett 
This book is great. It's not the easiest read and I did struggle to get into it at times, so if you're mum is like mine this isn't going to be the book for her. However, overall the reading experience is delightful. The topic is handled truthfully and tastefully and again is funny, heart warming but also really sad in places. Something that mum's love no? It's the story of black maids in the deep south secretly outing their 'masters' if you like. Not the best description so go buy it to find out what's really going on.

3) Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
This is another relatively slow story but again moving and deep. It's a great spring time read to be read with a glass of white wine and a cool spring evening. It's the story of three young adults coming to terms with their futures that have been kept secret from them. It's quite mysterious and dark and there's a huge social commentary piece running through it but it's not critical to the story it's just something that's noticeable if you look for things like that in books.

4) The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, Eva Rice
This is probably the most mumsy book on the list. Set in the 1950's and about a young girl discovering itself it's truly happy and so easy to read. There's no deep underlying theme, no dark subject matter, and no huge deaths. It's fluffy and cute from beginning to end so perfect if you're mum enjoys chick lit at it's finest.

5) My Dear, I wanted to tell you, Louisa Young 
A world war 1 novel with a difference. If you're mum is into her history and likes historical fiction this a great one for her. There's more too it than just the trenches, blood and gore. Something I've not found in any other WW1 based novel. It's easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable, history buff or not.

So that's it. I hope you like my recommendations, let me know if you decide to get one for your mum or if you have any you'd recommend.

The Weather Variabe.2 the packing conundrum | Tuesday Travels

A few weeks ago I wrote a post called 'the weather variable'. That was back in February, remember that month that had passed whilst we blinked. In that post I discussed the Australian weather system, because it's different to ours, in case the time difference, willingness to live with scary beasts and price of a banana wasn't enough for me to deal with. I shared with you how the differing weather systems in Australia meant we could avoid relatively cold weather, though still warm for us Brits, by travelling across the northern parts of the country to Perth and then the southern half back to Brisbane. If you're confused I suggest referring back to said post.

Since then, it's come to my attention that it is not only the travelling itself that will be effected by the weird weather goings on, it will be my backpack contents.

Despite the fact it will hopefully be warmer when we travel norther, it may not be as dry as we'd liked and when you get storms in Aus, you know about it. As Jack keeps reminding me. As such my packing list looks a little less like someone going for a warm working holiday but rather someone who doesn't quite know what to expect. At present it goes, sunglasses, rain coat, after sun, thick socks. My packing list is schizophrenic. Or maybe the Australian weather is.

Either way, it is something I'm having to consider when I decided what I'm taking as I am limited due to the limitations of hiking backpack. I'm not even worrying about weight restrictions as I'm certain I won't be able to get enough in my bag to even get close to it.

When it gets closer to the time, i.e. when my mum stops me wearing certain clothes because she doesn't want to wash them again, then I will give you a better idea of what will be in my backpack. But until then I'm sure you're just as unsure as I am.

Make Sure It Makes You Happy | Motivational Monday

I hear a lot of people saying they don't enjoy what they do whether it be their job, the GCSE's they chose or how they choose to spend their Saturday mornings. As someone who is always striving for positivity and happy thoughts being happy in what I do is vital, and it should be for you even if you're a naturally positive person. Oh I envy you. 

Sometimes it's easier to do thing that isn't quite as satisfying, trust me I know. But at the end of the day when you're lying in bed that's the thing that's playing on your mind because you're not happy with it. If it's keeping you awake at night, making you stressed or making you feel anxious then you're not happy and you need to change it and you're the only person who can do that.

It's not always that easy. Walking out of a job isn't always an option, changing your GCSE options is impossible, but seeing how you can change it later to make you happy is a start. Looking for the job that makes you happy, seeing what's after GCSE's that will make you happy. Whatever it is striving towards that happy place is the best thing always. 

Find what makes you happy, know what makes you happy and get to that happy place.