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;…

What is Active Relaxation?

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 relaxation. In fact, I think we’re a lot more experienced in active relaxation than we perhaps realise.

Old Fashioned Romance with a Modern Day Twist

I love being single, but that doesn’t stop me from looking forward to being in love again. Although I have to admit, and if you have read some of my earlier blog posts, you may have already worked out, I’m not great at finding romance. Falling for the wrong men is becoming quite the speciality of mine.

Are You Having Problems Sleeping?

We all know that lockdown has played havoc with both our mental and physical health. But did you know that a key factor in maintaining a healthy mind and body is getting a good night’s sleep?  Over the last year, many of us have experienced sleep problems. Whether you’ve had problems falling asleep, waking up…

Olhos de Água and Praia da Falesia

This post was originally published on 7th February 2019 and updated on 21st February 2021. It follows my adventures in Portugal as I visit Olhos de Água and Praia da Falesia for the first time. Olhos de Água After a relaxing day on Tuesday, I was back in explorer mode yesterday. I decided to head east of the resort…

Early Riser

This post was originally published on 10th November 2018 and updated on 30th August 2020 I love being the first to wake up, especially at the weekend. When I first moved in with my now ex, I was always the first to wake and would lie in bed reading or checking my social media until…

Crash and Burn

Why is it that I always crash and burn by the time my annual leave arrives? Over time, I’ve come to realise that if I don’t take a significant break from work every 12 weeks, I struggle to function. Yet, despite knowing that, I still end up feeling burnt out by the time my leave…

My Top 5 Essentials to Surviving Lockdown

Whilst we sit here eagerly awaiting the Government’s next big announcement on Sunday, which will hopefully mean at least starting to understand what the Governments plans are for loosening social distancing restrictions, I wanted to share with you my Top 5 things which are currently helping me to get through lockdown. I’m not talking about…

Tips for Working from Home during a Pandemic

Tuesday 17th March 2020 will remain in my mind for a long time to come. My boss had scheduled a company wide ‘test’ working from home day. As the spread rate of Coronavirus started to increase in the UK, our ‘test’ day had been brought forward by a couple of weeks. Little did we know…

Day 2 – Working from home during a pandemic

Day 2 of working from home, and the struggle is already real. We’re not yet in lockdown in the UK, although I sense we’re not far off, particularly in London. The Government’s decision on Monday to ask people to work from home where possible, came at a reasonable time for us. We already had Tuesday…

The Return of Self Care Sunday

With the tragic death of tv presenter Caroline Flack this weekend, I felt it was time to have some ‘me’ time today. Not only is her death a reminder to be kind to each other, it’s also a reminder that we need to remember to be kind to ourselves. I’ve neglected my self care regime…

Valentines

This post was originally published on 14th February 2019 and reposted on 14th February 2020. Happy Valentines to you my lovely followers ❤️ Whether you’ve been celebrating today with your partners, your friends, or by yourself, I hope you’ve been kind to yourself today. This is my first single valentines for a couple of years….

Top Blog Posts from 2019

Happy Belated New Year to you all 🎉 I hope the new decade has been kind to you all so far 💕 I feel as though i’ve neglected my blog lately. December turned a little bit crazy as I prepped for an early Christmas, celebrated my birthday, and finished off getting everything in order ready…

Looking back at 2019

Does anyone else keep forgetting we’re not only heading into a new year, but a new decade too? I considered looking back at the last decade in this post, but I’m looking forward to drawing a line under it and moving on into the new decade with a fresh perspective, embracing new opportunities and living…

Setting Boundaries and the Power of Mute

Isn’t it funny how sometimes the smallest changes can have the biggest impacts on your life? I’ve been having a battle for much of this year with one of my colleagues. He was constantly sending messages in our group chat outside of working hours (and inside sometimes, despite the fact we all work opposite each…

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I’ve finally worked out how to link my blog to Bloglovin 😀 To link in with me at Bloglovin follow the link below: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Freedom

When you’ve spent much of your adult life in controlling, manipulative relationships, adjusting to ‘normal’ relationships can be challenging. As much as I found myself desperate to get away from these negative behaviours, they almost became the ‘norm’. Life away from these behaviours was unknown and it has been difficult to adjust. Thankfully, today, I…

Reflections

When I decided to book my trip to India earlier this year, I knew it was a life changing decision. I still find it hard to explain the feeling I had at the time. It was a mixture of excitment and overwhleming emotion, just knowing that this was absolutely something I had to do. I…

Self-Care Neglect

As I write this blog post, I’ve been trying to think of a suitable word to sum up how I’ve been feeling during the last couple of months. All I can think of is… ‘meh’. A pretty nondescript word, but sums up how I’ve been feeling. Life has been a little bit all over the…

Mental Health Awareness Week

I’ve been thinking about mental health a lot this week. Particularly apt with it being Mental Health Awareness Week. Everywhere I’ve turned there have been reminders about mental health awareness. Social media has been full of quotes and articles. And celebrities as well as us ‘normal’ folk have been talking about our experiences with mental health.

Is self care easier if you’re single?

A few weeks ago, I attended a friends hen party. The hen party was fun. But something was troubling me. I was staying in a hotel that night with another friend. While we were busy getting ready for the hen party, she started pouring her heart out to me. It appeared that her marriage was…

Knife crime, dirty laundry, and self care

The last couple of weeks have made me realise just how important it is to have a self care bank. If I hadn’t been able to cash in on some of my self care reserves, I definitely wouldn’t have got through it as well as I have. Most of the drama that has unfolded, has…

Balancing Relaxation and Adventure in Portugal

In Portugal, I try to balance exploration and relaxation during my holiday. Recognising the need for self-care, I alternate days of adventure with rest. Enjoying hotel amenities, I incorporate gym sessions and spa treatments into my routine. I learn the importance of downtime, aiming to return home rejuvenated, not exhausted.

How a Shower Can Improve Your Mood and Sleep

It’s funny how the smallest new habits can change how we feel and deal with situations. Being quite new to self-care and wellbeing, I’m constantly learning new tools to experiment with. Some stick, others don’t. But I know my self-care journey is all about working out what works best for me.

Self-Care Sunday

After a tumultuous week, the weekend was a much-needed break. With reduced work pressure, self-care became a priority. A haircut, housework, jogging, and weightlifting filled the days. Pampering with beauty products and holiday shopping brought relaxation. Tending to the plants capped off a rejuvenating weekend, gearing up for the upcoming challenges.