This is still me ❤️

I set up my LinkedIn profile Hurrah! After many weeks of putting it off, I finally did it! It still needs a lot of work and I need to work on selling myself as it’s something I’m not very good at but I’ve taken a major step in the right direction. If you would like to add me to your network, you can find me here . Taking some time out A holiday to theme parks can be tiring, I also felt a bit unwell whilst we were away so despite feeling guilty about not joining in, I did what was best for my body and took some time out when I needed it. I definitely need to listen to my body more. Disney Enchantment Spectacular We went we to see this on our last night and I have to say I was very impressed. The fireworks and light show at Disneys Magical Kingdom really magical is and lives up to its name as spectacular, it was a great way to end the holiday. What went well for you this week? ❤️

An amazing weekend with friends Last weekend, we celebrated our good friend's birthday. On Saturday, a group of us went out for dinner, where there was delicious food, fantastic live singers and the best company, then on Sunday, we went to their house and celebrated some more, more food, more drinks, the live singers returned and I laughed so much. I honestly feel so grateful and honoured to have spent time with all of those people. Scheduling posts in advance Something I've been talking about doing for a while but going on holiday has made it more of a priority. 9 hours on a flight will also give me some time to write, although I do wonder how much of it will make sense after a few glasses of wine. A holiday We are taking the boys to Orlando in Florida. None of us have been before and we are all really looking forward to it. To be honest, I didn't think it was somewhere I would ever get to go so I am aware of how very lucky I am.

Holiday Clothes I always have problems finding clothes I like, I used to be able to buy any old thing, safe in the knowledge. After too many years of enjoying myself, that privilege has been taken away and now I have to psyche myself up to try on clothes and there are almost always outfit tantrums . I made the mistake of having my first trying-on session in the evening after dinner when I was feeling ill. In the end, I was a sweaty mess, half from fever, half from the heatwave and I hated all of the outfits. I decided to try them again when I was feeling better, so on Thursday morning, I decided to do just that. I ended up keeping half of the things I had ordered, much to the husband's dismay. Yoga This has been on my list of weekly intentions on and off all year and I finally did it on Thursday! I did a beginner session, where I learned the importance of breathing and how to do this as well as some of the basic moves. I've tried beginner yoga a few times and this was b

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough” A weekend in Broadstairs with the husband We enjoyed an impromptu weekend at the seaside, wandering the food market and the high street, popping in and out of pubs and listening to live music, all in the glorious sunshine. Lunch in London A friend took me for lunch in London. We had an afternoon of gossip and managed to find a very well air conditioned bar to have a quick glass of wine before we went home. Some downtime Although I was kind of forced into it, as I wasn’t really feeling well. Have a day of mostly watching Netflix and generally chilling out made me realise that I don’t have to try and get it all done ASAP and some time out isn’t a bad thing. What are you grateful for this week? ❤️

Learning, laughing & looking ahead Other Writers I read a lot of really good articles this week. I've learned so much in such a short space of time. I've been inspired I've picked up a lot of great tips and came away with lots to think about. An afternoon with the bestie I spent an afternoon with the bestie. We had lunch in her garden in the sun and caught up on each other's lives. We always have so much to talk about and it feels like a really fun therapy session. Rejigged my routine I took away a lot of things from the articles and some of them relate to my routine. I sat down on Friday and planned not only my content for the week but also set out a rough plan for the week. I just need to remember that things don't always go to plan and that's ok. What are you grateful for this week? ♥️

Feeling Thankful I’m so thankful to have had a positive week. Although I do wonder how much of it was simply down to my mindset. Reviewing my outgoings. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I had been sort of putting this off. I was scared that I would look at the numbers and realise I needed to earn money immediately and would have to take the next job that came along. Thankfully, I have enough money to pay the bills for a few months. This does of course mean that I have to cut back on a lot of things but when I weigh it up, the choice between being at home doing my writing vs earning lots of money, there is no contest. Money really can’t buy happiness. Good results on medium I’ve had my best month on Medium since joining back in April. I’ve had lots of views, claps, comments, and followers and I have earned the most! Sadly not enough to pay the bills, in fact barely a cup of tea but it’s a huge win for me and I have learned so much from all the other brilliant writers. Mee

What went weSometimes the little things in life are the most important. It's been another tumultuous week, I don't know how I am feeling half the time and it's so confusing. Once again, stopping and reflecting on my week helps me to see the good things in my life. Spending time with my parents. Sometimes, when things aren't going as you expect them to, spending time with your parents can take the pain out of things. Knowing they will always be there and have my back can sometimes be all the comfort I need. Relaxing Massage I meditated before going to my massage, getting all of my woes and worries out of my head, leaving me to just enjoy an hour of escape. As much as we need to think things through, we also need times when we can just forget our troubles and relax. Taking small steps toward my goals The one thing I do have is my writing and I have been relentless this week in taking small steps each day to make some progress. I have taken myself completely out of my

Gratitude is the attitude Yesterday, I posted about the emotional rollercoaster I’ve been on this week Despite the downs, I have managed to find plenty to be grateful for and here are my top 3. Sunday Cinema Date On Sunday, the husband and I took ourselves to the local cinema to watch Top Gun Maverick. I love going to the cinema, the husband, not so much. The weather was pleasant, so we decided to walk the 2 miles to the cinema. I don’t like to spoil things for others, so I won’t say too much about the film itself, other than that I loved it! Usually, the husband and I will go for dinner or drinks so it was a refreshing change to go to the cinema on a Sunday afternoon. Medium stats For those of you reading this that are Medium members, you will understand where I am coming from. Since joining at the end of April, I have checked my stats almost daily, along with my medium partnership program earnings, which in the first two months have not exceeded 38 cents. So I was pleased

You can’t live a positive life with a negative mind. Today, I wasn’t feeling my best. Despite having good boundaries in place, the negative thoughts can still creep in. When this happens I have a list of go-to self-care activities and I thought I would share these with you. Meditation I always thought meditation was sitting crossed-legged on the floor and clearing your mind completely, which, quite frankly, feels impossible for me. I gave up trying to meditate for ages until it was explained to me that is not the case. The actual definition of meditation, according to Merriam-Webster, is: 1: to engage in contemplation or reflection. 2: to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness Each morning, I make myself a cup of tea, set a timer for 10 minutes and sit in silence, letting my brain do what it wants to, which is usually worry, roll off my list of things

There’s no stopping me I am so thankful that I don't have a 9–5 job at the moment. I can’t say I’m not working, as writing has taken over my life and I love it. I am constantly brainstorming new content ideas and I spend most of my days, writing, planning what to write and researching. It’s my dream career. I was quite sad to have a busy weekend to take me away from it. We had a family bbq at my brothers on Thursday, my parents, my other brother and his family were staying at the same hotel as us, so we had a few drinks in the pub next door when we got back. One of the members of staff was so rude! Berating us because we hadn’t booked a table, despite only two tables being occupied. We weren’t expecting to be going and were just going in on the off chance if there hadn’t been tables available, we would have gone elsewhere. He continued to be rude and snippy to us throughout the evening and in the end, my dad told him about himself. He was fine after that. Incidentally, the

It’s been such a positive week for me, although mindset is everything. Some things happened this week that could have dampened my spirits, but because I was in a good frame of mind, I have managed to focus on the positives and put a positive spin on some of the possible negatives. I know that I may not feel like this every week will be like this, but I plan on enjoying it for as long as it lasts. What went well for you this week? ❤️

My hard work is starting to pay off I normally write these posts by going through my week and what’s been happening, but I am far too impatient to write a whole post before I can get to my exciting news. Some of you may have already seen, that I have had my first article published on Medium. For some, this may not be a big thing, but for me, it’s pretty huge. Back in 2017 when I started writing this blog, I was too afraid to share with anyone other than close friends. Who would want to read anything I wrote? I certainly would not have imagined even having the courage to think about submitting my writing to a publication. Writing has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember, so I’m feeling pretty bloody good right now. It’s been a good week overall anyway. The husband and I celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary last Friday and we went to Stratford Upon Avon for the weekend. Stratford Upon Avon is beautiful and our hotel was right next to the river Avon. The sun was shin

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” — Aristotle I adore stationery. As a child, I used to spend hours in stationery shops longing to buy all the notepads and pens that adorned the shelves. As an adult, I do buy more stationery than I probably should and when I came across self-reflection journals, I became truly addicted. When I was tidying my house recently, I found some old journals and flicked through them. It’s so good to read through and see the thoughts and feelings I was having back then, it’s really interesting to see how much I have grown over the years. I complete my self-reflection journal each morning when I get up and each evening before I go to bed. I try my best to make sure each morning and evening is filled in, even if it’s a bit later than anticipated and I do take it away with me on holidays. After spending a lot of time scouring the internet, I chose the 6-minutediary for my next journal for the following reasons: It’s split into morning and eve

This week, I wanted to focus on relationships. I am always very aware of how lucky I am to have the family and friends I do. We learn so much from the people we spend time with and I am truly grateful for those that I am blessed to have in my life ❤️

After a pretty reclusive week last week, I enjoyed catching up with some friends this week, a trip into the city to meet my friend for lunch, a shopping trip with my twinnie followed by dinner with the bestie. It was just what I needed. I also made some great progress in my counselling sessions. I'm still so amazed at how much I get out of these sessions and how much I have learnt to about myself. I am learning so many valuable life tools and I feel so positive about the future. Yesterday, the husband and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. We celebrated in our usual fashion, by taking ourselves off for a little break. What went well for you this week? ❤️

Will it be as bad as I think? Today, the husband and I celebrate our 4th Wedding Anniversary & things finally feel like they are settling back down again, after a hectic few weeks. Last Friday, I was sent into a bit of a panic. Toby was a bit sick in the morning, not usually a cause for concern as I have read that cats can be sick if they eat too quickly, but he seemed fine. A couple of hours later, he was sick again and by midday, he was barely lifting his head and was completely listless. I was quite worried now as there are lots of things that are toxic to cats and I didn't know if he had eaten anything he shouldn't have during the night. I decided to call the vet, who asked me to bring him in straight away. Toby got into his carrier without a struggle, which is unusual and he didn't make a sound on the journey, which is also unusual. He usually likes to loudly complain. The vet sees us straight away and he just sits there whilst she examines him, still quiet as a

Thank you so much to those of you who have taken the time to complete the short survey I sent out recently. If you haven't yet completed it and would still like to you will find the link below. 43% of you prefer to read my posts on a Monday. 43% of you said you prefer to read them on any weekday with the remaining 14% preferring to read them on a Sunday 43% of you prefer to read my posts on Facebook whilst another 43% prefer Instagram The remaining 43% read them on WordPress 57% of you prefer to read my posts in the morning, 29% of you prefer the evenings and the remaining 14% prefer the afternoon. Your favourite posts are the written blog posts and what went well this week, followed by the weekly intentions, the motivational posts and lastly the newsletter. The majority of you would like to see more Written Blogs & Motivational posts with fewer posts on book reviews and newsletters. I’m going to leave the survey open for a bit longer for anyone who would still li

I would be really grateful ❤️ Last week I sent a very short survey asking for some feedback, I would really love to know what you would like to see from me. Please could you do me a massive favour and complete by clicking here .

It’s been a mixed bag this week, but I have managed to turn it around. I enjoyed getting dressed up and going out for dinner and drinks with the girls last Friday. In the week, after having a really busy few weeks, I easily fell back into my usual routine, which helped turn my mood around. I finally wrote my article for publication! It only took me a month. I rewrote and re-read it about 7 times but I think I am happy with it now. What went well for you this week? ♥️