This is still me ❤️

Starting and ending my days the right way. Wake up at 7am each day I’ve become a bit hypocritical. I’m always telling the husband he should keep a regular sleep routine but I have found myself being just as erratic with mine now. I like being up early, ideally 6am but I am going to start with 7am this week to get me back into the swing of things and get the day started properly. Put my screens away at 8pm Taking some downtime last week confirmed to me how important it is to spend time on things other than writing, so at 8pm each night, my laptop is being closed, my iPad is going on charge and my phone on do not disturb. I spend most of my days on social media platforms posting and engaging with others, so when 8pm comes around it’s my time to chill. Set up my LinkedIn profile This was on last weeks list, but life had other plans for me. I want to come back to this again this week, as it’s key to making progress with my writing career. I need to finish the SEO course (also on las

“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? ❤️

Why haven't I learned my lesson? Last Friday morning, whilst scrolling through my phone, I was thinking about what a crappy year a lot of people were having. 2022 seemed to have brought some terrible luck for some. I then began to reflect on my 2022 and realised that a lot of pretty shit stuff happened in my life too. Why wasn't I feeling miserable? I thought more about this. There have been some extremely low times this year, but my ability to bounce back from these has reached a strength I never thought possible for me. I am not trying to make out that I am some serene, zen, being; I still have my moments, but even how I view those are different. When bad times come, I still get upset, I show my emotions, I shout, I scream, I cry for as long as I need to, but somehow, deep down, I am safe in the knowledge that things will get better and knowing that is like my lifeboat, something for me to swim towards when I am drowning in those choppy waters. On Saturday, the husband

Over the last few weeks, I've been spending about 90% of my waking moments working towards my goal of writing for a living. I wake up and am straight online posting on platforms that I am unable to schedule posts on (or haven't learned how to yet) I could wait until later in the day, but I find that a lot of people read posts first thing, myself included. I meditate, do my self-reflection and review my to-do list for the day, apart from writing, I read other people's articles and engage with other writers on the platforms as practically all the articles and books I've read say this is a huge factor in being a successful writer, it's something I've found surprisingly fun. On top of this, I'm trying (and failing) to keep a clean and tidy home, cook dinners, see friends and family, and generally have a life. I'm not complaining, I bloody love it. I finally feel like I have a purpose. However, me being me, I have given myself a rather large to-do list, t

It had a surprising outcome We're halfway through the week! These days, I'm not sure if it's something to celebrate, as time seems to be moving far too fast. At the weekend, I hit a bit of a wall. I felt like I had very little positivity left in my tank and it really irked me. I spent far too much time thinking of ways to replenish the sunny disposition I have come to enjoy. The more I floundered, the more upset and frustrated I was getting until I stopped and asked myself, why I was clambering so desperately to feel happy? Apart from the obvious fact that feeling low is rubbish and that I have a fear that anytime I start to feel crap my depression is coming back, I realised that without these miserable, low moments, I would not feel the giddy heights of happiness that I feel and I certainly wouldn't appreciate them as much as I do now. So, I decided that rather than spend all my energy fighting with my feelings, I would embrace my Britishness and keep calm and ca

Its a small step, for a big reward I had other plans for today’s post. I sat down this morning to read another chapter of The Power of Focus, I read something I just had to share. “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our own presence automatically liberates others.” This is from Return to Love by Marianne Williams as quoted by Nelson Mand

I love a subscription box, I have had many subscription boxes over the years, but one I really look forward to is my Treatbox. I first subscribed to Treatbox at the beginning of 2021 after seeing a post on Instagram, I signed up to the monthly subscription and received my first box a few weeks later and I loved it! The boxes for the monthly subscription are designed to fit in your letterbox, so you don’t even have to be at home for the delivery. The box varies each month with items such as inspirational quotes, stationery, lifestyle products, jewellery, edible treats, beauty products and more. Here is a pic of the box I received last week. You can also purchase gift boxes for all occasions, such as Easter, Birthdays & Weddings or you can build your own box, something I have done for friends, it has a more personal touch and it doesn’t break the bank. You can check out their boxes here and get a £5 discount using my referral link. You can also follow them on the usual social m

It’s not only a new week, but a new month and I’m really excited to see what May will bring. I had a busy week last week, so I didn’t have much time to read the submission rules to write for the publication on Medium, so I am going to dedicate some time to do that this week and I already have an idea for my article. I want to get two strength training sessions done, I did one last week, which I enjoyed but I was aching soooo bad for a couple of days afterwards, this time I’ll plan them so I can’t use aches and pains as an excuse. I also want to update my vision board. April was a really good month for me, a lot of things on my vision board are now in progress so it’s time to refresh it with updated goals, I love doing vision boards! What are your intentions for the coming week? ❤️

As of yet no miracle has been invented to prevent me ageing so I am finally going to have to accept that I actually have to start looking after my body. I want and need to get myself back in shape. I’d like to have more energy and just generally feel less sluggish. I’ve read in many articles that strength training is better for women in their 40’s, so I am going to include some of this in my weekly routine. I also want to try and get a hold of my water intake, my skin is clearly feeling the effects of my lack of water so I just need to make more of an effort to not only incorporate this into my daily habits but stick to it. I have a really busy week this week and after (another) weekend away, I need to not only plan, but schedule my blog posts and newsletter. I’ve got myself into a really good rhythm with this and things are going well so I don‘t want to let things slide. I only plan to move forward from now on.