Low-key big living
My autocorrect changed “Designing” to “Destining” when I first typed it. Seems appropriate. I have been thinking about my goals. Endlessly. But something odd happened at work that made me think a little harder. My 40 before 40 goals are tangible, as they should be. […]
Honestly, why can’t I just hibernate? Not to be warm or miss winter – I love winter! – but I do wish that I could hide from the world at times. To not hear a voice, to not have to talk. I wish could take […]
Hmm… I has a few website issues last month, but I didn’t realise that I’d lost a whole bunch of posts in that time! Yikes! I have no idea what I wrote before, so here I go, starting again. Again.
I’ve written by 40 before 40. They are ambitious, but achievable. I’ve even got a Pinterest board for it (sorry, it’s private!). I’m starting it seriously in October as a new academic year resolution, but have slowly been doing small things every day as a way to develop good habits. They aren’t all in place yet, but I’m bringing them in little by little. I split them into categories which is helpful, but also a bit intimidating. If I’m to do a little bit of everything every night, well, there goes my night. But the biggest category is to do with writing, so that’s where I’m putting most of the effort for now. Health and fitness is next, but it can suck in September. Even December is easier, and there is just as much food!
Brain: I will complete Tale of Two Cities by in September.
Action: Actually, I don’t even think changing “by” to “in” is going to help me. I started reading a book about writing instead. Whoops.
Body: I will get my waist measurement down to less than half my height.
Action: Oh come on, there have been 3 office birthdays and two office anniversaries. There has been cake! but I’m not too concerned.
Soul: I will make a plan for Camp NaNoWriMo in July November.
Action: I’ve got y mind map, I’m reading about writing (which sometimes feels counter-productive, but it’s an enjoyable read).
Today was fun, because I went to a chiropractor. It sounds strange, I know, but I had been looking forward to it for ages. Chiropractors are amazing, especially for someone like me who is prone to migraines – these are the people who can really […]
I’ve finally begun to use a tool that has always seemed like a good idea, but never quite clicked. Mind maps. It started as a way of prepping for Camp NaNoWriMo in July, but I began making maps at work as well. It’s really ideal […]
Well. What have actually been up to this year. I’ve been loving my new job (happy 1st anniversary to me!), I’ve been playing around on some other blogs and have neglected my identity a little, a nasty habit I have which drew me to creating this blog in the first place.
So what do I do? Why do I get so easy sucked into things that cost me time, when they aren’t what I actually value? Okay, I know why it happens with the TV. It’s really cosy watching TV with hubby. And technically I know why it happens with the phone. It’s relaxing. But I don’t need that much relaxation, since it isn’t as relaxing as it seems when it gets to 10pm and I realise I’ve wasted my evening.
What I have managed to do is try out a few other things. Like Slimming World. I’ve not been doing it “properly”, it has potential to be really useful and successful. It has certainly helped me think more about what I’m eating. But I still need to work on the exercise, as usual. I’m not scooting to work because it a peak season and I sometimes need the car, but that finishes this week – hurrah!
Looking back at this blog, I’ve been thinking about what ideas I tried that have stayed with me in terms of getting healthier. So I went back to Nerd Fitness and had a look at the body weight workout, which is easy in that it doesn’t need equipment and hard in that I need to work my way up to doing a complete set because it’s a killer for my thighs! But other that the fitness element, I do want to work on any exercise that helps me with stairs. If travelling teaches me anything is that beautiful panoramas of cities involve a horrendous number of steps! Next time, I’d like to be a bit more prepared!
So, it’s time for be to get focused. Brain. Body. Soul.
Brain: I will complete Tale of Two Cities by July September.
Action: I think that’s a reasonable adjustment. It’s not like it’s hard to read, I just need to reprioritise it (read as “stop playing The Sims Mobile non-stop).
Body: I will get my waist measurement down to less than half my height.
Action: I’ve got an app to track my weight but not my waist measurement. Not that I need an app. But I’m I’m going to start measuring I need to pick a way of recording.
Soul: I will write 500 words a week on my novel draft. I will make a plan for Camp NaNoWriMo in July.
Action: I had a plan for Nano back in November, but I realised halfway through that it wasn’t working for me. But I picked out the most obvious issues and began building a plan from that. I’ve still got a lot of planning to do if I don’t want to become too much of a “panster”.
Did you watch the royal wedding? It was the type of event that was hard to avoid, but has it happens, it was worth watching! After the initial wait to see the dress, there were the sweet little exchanges, the very popular bishop, and the […]
Can this be right? It’s been 5 months since I wrote for Hermitopia? That’s horrendous!!! Actually, it’s been an crazy 5 months. There was a mini-getaway to Nice, Christmas in Portugal, snow flurries across the county, endless social get togethers, and a new car!! Now […]
Confession time: I did another order from Everything5Pounds. I have mixed feelings, and this is why.
I has been trying to resist fast fashion. Having said that, some of the items from E5P are excellent quality. The other reason for internal disquiet is that the reason I needed* to buy more clothes is because I woefully underestimated how cold it was going to be in February and ended up wearing the same jumper 2-3 times per week. That’s not exactly the way Project333 is meant to work. I should have allocated more tops and fewer dresses, and more of those tops should have been suitable for work. Lesson learned.
*I rarely need to buy new clothes, and I over justify every purchase I make.
My order arrived yesterday and I wonder whether I’ve overcompensated for my previous lack of winter wear. I’ve found myself with three new knit jumpers just as the temperature is getting back up to two digits.
But there are still a few weeks left of this season, and just as we move to the Spring wardrobe – which I’m still to select – we’ll be packing for our next getaway. No idea what to pack for that, but I know it won’t be a lot. We always go carry-on only.
Something that added an unexpected challenge to my daily clothing selection was my office dress code. Primarily because I didn’t know what it was, and once I did I risked losing my pants.
“No jeans or leggings.” For real?
It’s still winter. I have two pairs of trousers, one pair I tried on and they are too tight right now, so they give my walk a high-decibel replication of corduroy. *shudder*
I quizzed HR about it. They agreed that “jeans” is now a dubious term. When the dress code was originally created, jeans only meant blue denim. Now jeans covers a much wider range of leg covering, and at least half the organisation was probably wearing them. The point was, you couldn’t tell that they were “jeans”, they were just like sturdy, stretchy trousers.
Therefore, jeans are fine if they don’t look like jeans. How do you evaluate your wardrobe to that description?
Fortunately, I’d recently heard some friends complaining about their office dress code. Jeans weren’t an issue because their office had an excellent way of separating the comfortable, sensible jeans from the trendy-but-not-for-the-office jeans.
Clean, tidy, no contrasting stitching.
Instantly, it’s easy to know which of my jeans are fine. I don’t have any torn jeans (apart from the pair I was wearing today and discovered the thigh has just given out – damn). And I have two pairs of blue jeans with the classic amber stitching. Out they go. The black pair and the grey pair can stay.
I just hope they survive the winter.
Fast fashion. Once upon a time, the “skint” reason made sense. If my work shoes broke and there was only enough money for bills and a spare £12, I couldn’t go out and buy patent leather brogues. Buy I could by something for £9 that […]