I don’t quite know where to begin with my usual monthly reflections. February felt like a weird month. I spent so much of it feeling tired and energyless. I felt stuck in first gear. The tiredness dissipated towards the end of the month, but as I pulled together my monthly ‘Look Back’, you’d never know…
Category: Walking
Why I Joined Borrow My Doggy
If you follow me on social media, you might’ve noticed a bit of dog-related content on my stories recently. As much as I would love a dog someday, none of the lovely dogs are actually mine. At the start of the year, I wondered whether it was time to get another pet. My beloved cat…
A Look Back At January 2023
I can’t quite believe we’re a month into 2023 already! I don’t know about you, but unlike previous years, I really enjoyed January. I eased myself into the New Year and found myself relaxed, with a chilled but positive mindset. If you found yourself bogged down by January (or any other month), I find it…
Why I’m Spending This Year Doing Things I’ve Never Done Before
This year, I’m setting out on one big adventure. Ahead of my 40th Birthday in December, I thought I’d set myself a little challenge. There’s some stuff that I’ve wanted to do for a while. So I thought, why not make it into a ‘thing’ in the lead-up to my BIG 40? It’s common for…
A Look Back at The Goals I Set in 2022
Happy 2023 🎉 It’s been a little while since I’ve been in this space, but it’s good to be back. November and December were busy months at The Mindful Gingernut HQ, but I’m back and raring to go. Before I get carried away with 2023 antics, here’s a little roundup of where I got to…
A Look Back At October
Wow! What an epic month of adventuring October turned out to be! It’s funny how I can go months without seeing people, and then out of nowhere, I have a crazy month of socialising and going places. Being an introvert at heart, I find socialising tiring. So as much as it’s been fun, I’m ready…
A Look Back At September
In a month where we said our final goodbyes to my Auntie and the Queen, it’s been hard to get on with life as ‘normal’. Although it’s been a difficult month, it has gone by so quickly. It doesn’t seem like five minutes since the August Bank Holiday weekend, yet here we are in October….
My 2022 Goals in Review – Q3
As if we’re coming to the end of Q3 already 😫. I honestly don’t know where the last quarter has gone, and I’m overwhelmed with how quickly the end of the year is approaching. However, from a goals point of view, I always feel like the last quarter is about seeing and appreciating results rather…
My Italian Adventure – Part 1
I’d been dreading June since the beginning of the year. The tenth anniversary of my best friend’s passing loomed like a big dark cloud on the horizon. When my boyfriend’s parents booked him on a flight to join them on holiday at the same time as the anniversary, I found myself in a quandary. I…
My 2022 Goals in Review – Q2
A little later than planned, but I’ve spent the weekend reviewing my goals for this year to see where I am and to think about any further tweaks I need to make as we move into the latter half of 2022. I find that blogging about my goals helps me to: Check on my progress;…
A Look Back At April
I know I say this a lot, but I genuinely don’t know where April went! It came and went in a flash. We’re currently enjoying a bank holiday weekend here in the UK, and it’s nice to have some time to stop and catch my breath after a hectic month. Here’s a little look back…
Painshill Park
I’ve lost count over the number of times I’ve driven past the brown tourist signs for Painshill Park since I moved to London 6 years ago. I always felt intrigued by what it was, but it never seemed to be cross my mind when I was looking for something to do. That was until earlier…
A Look Back At January
How lovely January could have been if she’d allowed us to enter slowly, easing into the new year quietly, with no drama. But alas, the universe had other ideas. New Years Day started with a trip to the hospital for my brother, who had a high temperate and what turned out to be a nasty…
What is Active Relaxation?
This post was originally published on 19th January 2019 and updated on 14th November 2021. We all know what relaxation is, even if we’re not very good at it, but how about active relaxation? The words alone seem to contradict themselves, yet active relaxation can be as good for us as any other form of…
A Look Back At October
As I sit here on Hallows Eve, it’s time to have a look back at October. I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on my blog as well as my business. I’ll be making some changes to The Mindful Gingernut over the coming months, but I’m pleased to say that my monthly reviews will be one…
Everything You Need To Know About Brean Down
There were two places I wanted to visit during our family trip to Somerset back in September – Cheddar Gorge (tick) and Brean Down. Whilst I ticked off Cheddar Gorge on my way to Somerset, Brean Down waited patiently until the last day of our trip. To give you a little bit of information about…
The Best Way To See Cheddar Gorge
Last week I finally took a week off work. After nine months of freelancing and with limited breaks, I was bordering on burnout. Thankfully, my family had booked four nights in a caravan for mid-September, which would give us all a much-needed break. Somerset, which is in South West England, is one of the largest…
A Look Back At August
As Summer turns to Autumn and the woolly jumpers and endless mugs of hot chocolate slowly start to reappear, it’s time to look back at the highs and lows of August. I’m not sure I mentioned it in my look back at July, but July ended on a sad note as two of our family…
A Look Back at July
I can’t believe we’re already halfway through the Summer! I’m sure the world has been speeding up ever since we first went into lockdown last March! I’ve even started to track my working hours because I couldn’t work out where all my time has been going, which has been a helpful exercise. I’ve been using Toggl to…
A Look Back At June
If you’re new to my blog, I like to finish each month (or start the next month) with a look back at the month just gone. It allows me to reflect on the highs and the lows of the last few weeks and is a great way to remember some of the adventures I’ve had….
Making New Friends and Returning to Some Kind of Normality
As I write this week’s blog post, I’m sitting outside my parent’s house in Northamptonshire, soaking up the sun, which has decided to grace us with its presence during the past week. May was a much colder, wetter month than I think any of us had hoped, although it didn’t stop me from getting out…
Mental Health Awareness Week
As many of you may be aware, it’s been Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK this week. We all have mental health, and we’re all impacted by it in different ways. I’ve had a very personal view of family and friends who’ve suffered from poor mental health since my teens. My own mental health…
Family, Radio Shows, and Wellness Retreats
I was starting to think this year couldn’t get any weirder, but it did. April was a strange month in many ways. It was time to readjust as lockdown measures continued to ease here in the UK, with two households or groups of six now able to meet outdoors and restaurants, pubs and cafes with…
The Road Map out of Lockdown
February has been another odd month. There have been plenty of moments to feel grateful for, yet I can’t shake this feeling of trepidation. Animal Hospital Update I’m pleased to report that following last month’s roundup, my trusty companion, Wigs, seem’s to be doing a lot better. She’s discovered a love for Cat Malt which…