Category Archives: Life

Things I’m Loving… 29 by 29 Update 2

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I wanted to do an update on how I’m getting on with my 29 by 29 list this month:

  1. Move into my own place - Complete :)
  2. Adopt a cat
  3. Do a Super Sprint Triathlon - 400m swim, 20km bike, 2.5km run - Still thinking about this.
  4. Take part in running club events and volunteer to help when I can’t take part – decided to work towards the 10km event in the summer :)
  5. Do the Parkrun once a month and volunteer as a marshall
    1. January = 38:19
    2. February = 34:40
  6. Bake more bread
  7. Complete the CBT Journal for Dummies - Working my way through this!
  8. Read more classic books as part of my 2013 reading challenge - This might change to audio books, as I haven’t ‘read’ a single book since starting my new job.
  9. Stick to my budget and save for holidays and house things - this needs an overhaul after buying lots when moving.
  10. Take a bike maintenance course
  11. Join a WW meeting and work towards goal - a post coming up on how this is changing.
  12. Blog – maybe a redesign ;)  - This was forced when Wordpress was updated!
  13. Plan budget friendly trips – been thinking about this week and am going to see my friend Ingrid in Portugal next month and then planning a walking holiday for later in the year.
  14. Try acupuncture – this is going to depend on finances :(
  15. Keep working to create and maintain good mental health - Doing well with this and feeling positive :)
  16. Join a coffee club - it’s one of my fitness/weight rewards for the next few months :)
  17. Take part in the Masters galas and club championships
    1. February Gala – 2 Golds and 2 Silvers!
  18. Work out savings plan for trip to Japan - this is on hold :(
  19. Catch up on Greys Anatomy
  20. Get regular haircuts - Had one last weekend and booked the next for three months time :)
  21. Move forward with my life and make new friends – making work friends :)
  22. Do my best at my new job - I am enough - Still think this is going well.
  23. Keep my commute healthy - Needs some work so I’m not starving in the evening.
  24. Listen to Harry Potter audiobooks - Books one and two done :)
  25. Get rid of stuff I no longer need when I move – this is what is remaining in my unpacked room.
  26. Use the mantra ‘F**k It’ – doing good with this :)
  27. Take up pilates or yoga
  28. Create photo albums for all my trips
  29. Try two new recipes a month from my cook books - Going to do this from now :)

I’m feeling good at the moment, but know there are areas of my life that need a bit more attention. I am shifting my focus a little to reflect my current place and am looking forward to things again. It might have something to do with the sun shining as I write this and spring just around the corner, but overall things feel more positive. I’m okay with where I am and not worrying about where I am going, just keeping a few ambitions in mind to make sure I see opportunities when they arise. I’ve spent a bit of time this last week breaking down some goals into smaller chunks and feel better about working towards them. I know I need to challenge myself and that’s why I’ve added a walking holiday to my plans this year – a challenge and a break :)

Hope everyone is feeling good and working towards their goals or just enjoying life as it is  - I am :)

2012 A Year In Review

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2012 I am glad you are over.

This has been a rubbish year. There have been great things too, but the overall feeling has been of despair. Spending more time than anything feeling lost and alone. Fighting in my own head to work out what is real and what is not. There are time I wish I could change some of the things I did over the last year, but mainly I wish I could overcome the feelings of guilt and shame – working on this in 2013. Overall I’m ready for something new.

The start of the new year always feels like a fresh start. A time for a clean slate. I don’t set new years resolutions, but I have ideas about what I want the new year to bring. As I said earlier this week I like to spend time reflecting the year gone while being hopeful for the future. I have just spent some time looking through my blog and I wanted to share some of the important posts from 2012.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Creating A Budget

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Budgeting is probably the most un-fun thing to do, but for some reason I love it!

In basic terms it all about creating a plan and I love plans. Budgeting means I can plan for holidays and special purchases in the long run and the essentials on a daily basis.

Before I move into my house in the new year I have planned my budget in quite a bit of detail and caution. There are a lot of unknowns at the moment in terms of what things will cost, but I know what I have to pay for, such as:

  • Mortgage
  • Electricity
  • Gas
  • Water
  • TV License
  • Internet and Phone Line
  • House Insurance
  • Council Tax

All these (apart from the mortgage) I have had to pay while renting, so I have an idea of what things might cost, but have allowed more, rather than less.

After taking these out of my budget I looked at the regular payments I make (you could have more or less):

  • Swimming Club
  • Gym
  • Mobile phone
  • Food
  • Petrol
  • Car Insurance

What I have left is mine to spend as I want, but I always save a proportion of my monthly income. Now I will be owning my house I will need to stick to my budget much more strictly than I have had to in the past. I will need to account for maintenance and unforeseen expenses. So part of my savings will be going in a house account for such things.

I have been looking at where I can reduce my spending and food shopping and coffee shops are up the top of that list. Part of my plan is to start meal planning again so I know exactly what food I need to buy and cutting out those trips to the shops on the way home from work. this will be good for my bank account and my health as meal planning will make it easier for me to track my eating and lose weight.

I will also be making visits to coffee shops special occasions again. I have gotten into the habit of spending £3 on a coffee every few days, which could add up to £30 or more a month! So I want to take it back to a maximum of once a week and make it worthwhile, by scheduling it in as me-time to blog or read or just relax in my favourite coffee shop. No more take away coffee, unless it is home made!

Books and movies are also things I will have to reign in a bit. I will make sure I read the books I have before I buy any more. With my commute I will prioritise audio books over real books because I’ll have more time to listen, rather than read. I will also limit my cinema trips and the dvd’s I buy. I will focus on what I get with the TV and possible sign up to a streaming service. I have to change the way I think about them being a necessity to being a luxury.

There are other things that because I live at home I don’t much notice of because it’s my parents way of doing things. I will be monitoring my energy consumption and turning off plugs at the wall and ensuring I’m not unnecessarily heating my home. I think watching your behaviour at home can have a big impact on your bills and as I do it for a living it will be time to live the way I believe.

With budgeting everyone has different priorities. Mine is to pay all my bills first, then save for holidays and then spend my disposable income on the things I need and want.  I would like to get a pet once I’ve been in my house a while and then my priorities will have to change again to ensure I provide for them.

Having a good budget is also about be flexible and knowing when you have to say no. I think this will be hard to start with as I am used to having mostly disposable income, but I know it needs to be done as I do not want to get into debt. I will concentrate on doing the things I want to do and saying no to the things I don’t.

I am going to be broke a lot (for things I don;t want to do), but I will be in my own house and can do everything I love to do. I cannot wait!

Committing to Myself

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I woke up today wanting to change. I woke up today wanting to live the life I want to live for the rest of my life. Then I crawled back under the covers and hid. I let the excuses overcome me. I let the negative thoughts and the doubting thoughts take over. It was easier to stay in bed.

But then I got up. Slowly for sure, but I got up. I made myself breakfast. I caught up wit my favourite blogs and websites. I then went to the gym – on a Sunday!

It felt good and I felt good. So I came home and sat down and made a commitment to take care of myself.

These are not goals, but rather statements I want to live my life by. Things I value about myself and other people. Things I will make a priority over other things. I will do these to make sure I am taking care of myself and living the life I want to lead and have fun while doing it.

From here I then made some goals. Firstly to get through the next week. A week I thought I would be back in work so am also a little scared about.

I have decided to do WeightWatchers Online to get my eating under control. This has worked for me in the past, but I rebelled against it after reading about intuitive eating and not dieting, but I have come to realise that does not work for me. I work better with rules, tasks and planning. I tried just calorie counting with the Ki Fit, but the numbers can be off putting so WW ProPoints system is more appealing to me. I don’t expect it to be easy. I expect it to be hard. I expect my binge tendencies to surface. I am going to work hard and fight to live the life I want to live – one full of nourishing food that lets my body thrive.

I made my meal plan and exercise plan. I’m trying to be flexible and so have not planned out the latter part of the week just incase my plans change, but it felt good to sit and focus on myself. I have written in activity on all the days, but my goal is five sessions and any other is a bonus. I am focusing on exercising efficiently and to encourage relaxation and strength of body and mind.

I also made some goals leading me up to Christmas – only 9 weeks away!

These give me something to focus on and work towards. I also have goals regarding my depression, but those are hard to put a time line on so I am just going to keep working away at them regardless. I know I’ve been thinking more about next year rather than now and that’s not the way I want to live my life. I want to live in the present (and plan for the future) as I want to enjoy everyday.

I am tracking all this the old fashioned way and as I love funny notebooks and found this one a while ago so decided to bring it out as my food journal as I’m not a fan of doing it electronically :)

Anyone want to join me in making a commitment to take care of yourself?

A Bit of Counsel

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I have mentioned I had gone back to counselling as things felt like they were falling apart and I was not coping well with anything.

At first I thought it was a step backwards, but now I realise it was brave to acknowledge I needed help again and ask for it. It wasn’t easy to accept, but acceptance is hard with anything you aren’t particularly happy about. I am currently accepting that I may need to ask for help every now and then from professionals, rather than friends or family, in order to gain some perspective. I’m okay with this. I ask for help to cut my hair, to swim better, to make sure my teeth are all good and when I have pain. I don’t deal with everything a long as I am not an expert on those things. I don’t understand how the mind works, so I need to ask for help. I think its good I’m also curious and interested as I do read up on things I get talking about with them – this time is transitional analysis :)

I have also started a mindfulness course and doing some more reading about that through Headspace. I finding the breathing meditations very relaxing and calming. Body scanning not so much – in fact on Monday I was tense and uncomfortable for the whole 15 minutes we did that exercise. I like Headspace though as it fits in with my life. I have done the free Take 10 exercise series a couple of time. I just find I don’t keep it up. This is something I would like to change, so I am going to give it a go at different times of the day to see what works best as right before bed is not working. I am thinking of lunchtimes.

I really wanted to get across in this post that I am okay. I struggle from time to time, but I am strong enough to ask for help and take it.

I hope I can show people that it is okay not to be okay and that asking for help is not weakness, it is the bravest thing you can do for yourself!

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