Category Archives: Blogs

Things I’m Loving… Becoming the Odd Duck

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I’ve been reading a lot of blog recently (had a lot of downtime) and today I want to share another blog with you that I love – Becoming the Odd Duck by Laura :)

I’ve been reading Laura’s blog for a while as her journey through weight loss resonate with my own. I am also inspired by the fact she gave up her office job to become a Registered Dietician and is currently doing her internship – so fantastic and brave!

I started reading Laura’s blog as inspiration for weight loss and fitness, but she also blogs about fashion – which I have gone back over in the last month and taken more notice of :)

Laura is another blogger who is real and writes about all aspects of her life, rather than focusing on just the positive. We aren’t perfect and I am more inspired by people who admit their mistakes than hide them. Hiding problems has gotten me in to trouble in the past and my blog is helping me be honest with myself. I think this is my Laura’s blog resonates with me so much :)

I joined Laura’s fitness challenges at the beginning of the year and found them motivating. The idea got me setting small monthly goals, that complemented my bigger gaols and working towards them. I was also introduced to the 80/20 rule, which has been a big help with my all-or-nothing thinking – involves thinking that reaching 80% of a goal is fantastic as you cannot be perfect 100% of the time – again really helpful with thinking about food and diet. It is the real approach to her life that inspires me and I trust her information as it is what she is studying and cannot thank her enough for sharing it with us on her blog!

Here are some lovely posts from Laura’s blog I’ve loved reading:

I can’t encourage enough to take a wander over to Laura’s blog and have a read. A lovely blog from a lovely person – thanks Laura for taking the time to share your story :)

It’s Christmas!

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Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a lovely day and enjoy whatever you are doing!

I will be enjoying having Christmas songs on repeat, until my Dad gets fed up ;)

Here is my favourite Christmas Song by Shakin’ Stevens!

Things I’m Loving… Skinny Emmie

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When I decided to think about fashion and my style my first port of call was Skinny Emmie, self-described as a “weight loss blogger, fashion lover, social media marketer, and writer”.

I love Emmie’s blog! I’ve been a silent reader for a couple of years, but want to give her a shout out today :)

Emmie splits her blog between fashion and weight loss/fitness. I find it inspiring because of the confidence she displays and her honesty when the going gets tough. It is refreshing to read blogs that show all sides of the story. Sometimes on our journey’s we feel very isolated, but reading blogs for me is showing me I’m not and I’m trying to reach out to other blogs to do the same.

I recently went back through Emmie’s blog to look more at the fashion posts for inspiration for updating my work wardrobe. I love Emmie’s confidence in trying all sorts of different clothes not knowing if they will feel or look how she expects. I went back to her original fashion post back in 2009 and relate to her frustration about not being able to find professional clothes. I am inspired by all the online shopping she does and am jealous I don’t live in the US to just copy everything! However I am going to make it my mission in 2013 to look for similar shops in the UK online and take a few risks with what I buy as I can always send them back. I think this will make clothes shopping more enjoyable as there is nothing worse than going to loads of shops and not finding anything – it can really knock your confidence.

Here are some posts I have loved reading recently:

I can’t encourage my lovely readers enough to go over to Emmie’s blog to read her story and be inspired! Thanks to Emmie for writing such an amazing blog and inspiring me to look at fashion and style in a new way :)

Reading My Way Around the Web

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I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the web over the past couple of days. I’ve been consuming as many articles as I can about how I feel and depression and what I can do get better. It has also reminded me that I am not alone as many other people are going through similar things and we all need a bit of help every so often.

I wanted to share some of the articles I’ve enjoyed reading and have added to my reading list of my iPad for future offline reading.

The Mind Man - An article from the creator of Headspace on World Mental Health Day.

10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Giving UP on Your Dream – This is a great article to look at for any goal you set yourself and are thinking about giving up. This could be a big goal like starting your own business or a smaller goal like taking part in the local park run.

How to do the Right Thing, For Sinners like You and Me – This was an article about what we consider to be a sin, whether you are religious or not. It has become a loaded word that is applied to everything that anyone considers wrong or bad. What I liked is how the article talked about how we cause harm to ourselves senselessly. It struck me as being very similar to all-or-nothing thinking and being aware of what we consider to be our sins could help change our behaviour and stop harming ourselves.

How to be Optimistic about Everything – I’m extremely pessimistic, but would like to be more optimistic so liked this list of things to try to see the glass as half full.

Create Emotional Freedom by Setting Healthy Boundaries – Another interesting one for me as I am not great with people and letting them see my emotions – or even let myself see my own emotions. So this article is one I will keep coming back to as I learn to feel, identify and express my emotions.

Yoga on the Road – I would like to get yoga and stretching into my routine but never know when to do so this is a great infographic to help me.

 Self-Help Shouldn’t be a Dirty Word – I’ll put my hands up and admit I thought self-help was a stupid money making business that preys on the vulnerable, then I got depression and self help become my lifeline. This article is interesting and got me thinking about how hard it is to find good self-help. For me most of it has been through recommendations from people, rather than wandering in the bookstore.

Everybody Has Buddha Nature - ”The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis but rather the feeling of not belonging.” A short article about how western culture has impacted on wellbeing.

It’s Okay to Suck at Stuff – Something I need to learn and is on my list of things I want to focus on in 2013 as part of trying lots of new things just for fun.

If You Don’t Like Your Life, Change It – This really caught me yesterday as this article says it’s okay to be scared as it could save you from leading an unhappy life. Easier said than done though.

It’s Okay Not To Be Okay – An article about acceptance things are okay to be not okay.

You Can’t Know What You Want Until You Know You Don’t Know What You Want – I had to read that several times before it made sense. A great article about thinking about what you want and being okay that it changes over time.

Told I read a lot over the last few days and these are only the ones I kept for future reference ;)

Okay and few funny ones for the road:

10 Disney Songs for the Single Girl – Okay this one just made me smile and make sure I have them on my iPod ;)

 Why Coffee and Tea are Amazing for You – great infographic that supports my love of tea and coffee!

Things I’ve Learnt From Blogging

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I’ve been blogging for over a year now and I still love it. I was worried the novelty would wear off, but I’ve used it for more than I originally planned and therefore it has been more useful than I would have thought.

☆ Making time to do the things I love is extremely important. Whether it’s blogging, reading, watching a movie or just being alone, it’s so important for my mental wellbeing to make time for me.

☆ Being honest with myself and other people. Before blogging I would hold everything in. I hated to cause conflict internally and externally, but now I know it’s not about conflict, it’s about being honest and understanding and moving on.

☆ Setting goals and rewarding progress and forgetting about perfection. There is no destination and therefore the journey everyday is important. Also that there is no such thing as failure as long as you do the best you can.

☆ Asking for help, whether its from doctors, parents or friends, is important to keep moving forward. It is not weakness to admit you don’t know something and those who think it is are not worth my time.

☆ Mixing things up. This relates to blogging and fitness mainly, but could be incorporated into all aspects of my life. This stops boredom and gets me trying new things and meeting new people.

☆ Joining in and creating my own community. I love my swimming club and now I’ve joined the local running club. I also love commenting on blogs and taking part in Twitter conversations. Foodie Penpals was another fantastic activity. Its about making connections with people who have similar interests.

☆ Learning to love myself for who I am, who I have been and who I may yet become.

What have you learnt from blogging or journaling? I’d love for you to share your experiences with me :)

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