Then and Now

So this is what I've been doing for the last year:

Juggle every day
Give up refined sugar
Exercise every day
Write something creative every day
Meditate every day
Cut down on TV and Facebook every day

Write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days

Give up on gossiping, bitching, moaning and criticizing for thirty day.

Practice violin every day.

Spend only eighty pounds in thirty days

Read every day

Take a photos and keep a diary every day

Ultimate challenge (combining all my favourite challenges)

That's it! That's this year summed up in thirteen different 30 day challenges. Pretty awesome. It's been a few weeks now since I finished my last challenge, and I must say it's quite strange not having a challenge on at the moment. But it has been perfectly timed as now Uni is over and I've been having a little bit of a holiday!

Before properly abandoning this blog, I just wanted to do one last post about how much this year has meant to me, and how much good has come from it. I think deciding to do this was perhaps one of the best decisions of my life, it's led to a lot of positive changes! When I think of the person I was and the way I felt about myself a year ago and then think of who I am now, well there are a lot of differences! Here are a few:

Achieving My Goals

Then

All talk and no walk. I knew I had talents but I wasn't doing anything to utilize them. I was dreaming of all the things I might one day do, but wasn't attempting to do any of them.

Now

I feel like I have taken some giant leaps forward this year, mostly within my writing. Not only have I managed to keep up this blog, but I've also got two notebooks full of poetry, some of which I perform now and again, and I wrote 36000 words of a novel. Sure, most of those words were a load of crap, but hey, that's a massive step closer to that dream than I was before! I'm also writing for the online publication The New Female now, which I know I wouldn't have been doing if I hadn't have flexed my writing muscles in this blog! I feel like writing isn't something I think about any more, it's something I do. I am a writer. It's even on my business cards.

But even outside of writing, I have taught myself this year that I can do pretty much anything if I put my mind to it! I learned how to juggle for god's sake! And that knowledge has given me so much power: I am a go getting gal and I love it.

Health (Body and Mind)
Then

Pretty unhealthy eating habits, swinging from extreme diet to biscuit binge, and ultimately feeling pretty shitty about my body. Quite a few unexplained mood swings, and a general feeling of blue about life.

Now

My first few challenges kick-started my love for good nutrition and exercise. I am now in my sixth month of no sugar, and feeling a lot fitter! Yes, I did lose a bit of weight this year, but that's not actually the biggest benefit. My body has changed a little bit, but my attitude to my body has changed a lot. My first priority is health, not my dress size. In fact, recently I have gained a bit of weight and it's really not bothering me, because I feel great on the inside. A healthy body means a happy head, this happy head really aint got time for body shaming any more. I can't say that I am super healthy all the time, but I have to say, when I do slip into a bit of a junk food phase, it's not as satisfying any more. I begin to crave spinach. Seriously, I treated myself to a loaf of bread the other week and I actually had to force myself to get through it. I never thought that I, worshiper of toast, would ever say that.

Meditation and reading have also helped me so much! I love that balanced feeling I get from meditating, and I feel so much better now that I put more energy into reading, and other head healthy activities, rather than watching the TV all the time. It's very easy to let your mind slip back into a restless place, but now that I know what it's like to have it at peace, I am always striving for it.

So much balance. So much awesome.

Confidence

Then

Outwardly, I had a lot of confidence, but really I was pretty insecure. I didn't feel like I knew myself very well, or even liked myself that much. I knew I was a good person, but I still didn't put a lot of value of myself.

Now

I love myself. And I'm not ashamed to say it. Self love is awesome! I feel so assured of who I am, what I want, and what makes me happy. Through these challenges, I've figured all of that out, and I can treat myself with the love that everyone deserves. I am a stronger person because of it. Sure, I still have my insecurities, but I also have the ability to tell myself that that's ok. I fuck up sometimes, but I have the ability to forgive myself. I have been treating myself with utter love, and as a result: I think I'm pretty great.

Life Satisfaction

Then

Bored. I was bored! I loved my course and I loved my friends, but I didn't really feel like I had much else going for me. No interests or hobbies, no achievements outside of uni. I felt bored with life and also bored at myself. I felt like a boring person. I spent most of my spare time watching TV and letting the world slip by.

Now

What do I do in my spare time? Let's see... I read, I write, I juggle, I work out, I practice my violin, I meditate. That's a pretty satisfying list of hobbies, and they have come directly out of my challenges. But some other things have come out of them too. I'm always giving myself new projects to do now. I plan a lot more trips and activities than I used to. I go outside a lot more. When I'm bored, I find something interesting to do. I strive to achieve something every day. I have had a total attitude adjustment! Sure, every now and then I will veg out in front of the TV, but pretty soon I get tired of that. I can't sit and twiddle my thumbs the way I used to. I am officially a proactive person.

And this is all I really wanted. I wanted to give myself a kick up the bum and change my life for the better: and that's exactly what I've done. And that's the best part: I did all of this. Anything good to have come out of this year is down to me. I brought all of this positivity in my life. I brought happiness to myself. And knowing that just makes me feel like a superhero (hence all the self love I mentioned earlier)


There's one last thing I want to mention. One more amazing thing to come out of this year. When I started this, I was hoping to do myself some good and maybe give my friends something fun to read. What I wasn't expecting was to have a whole bunch of people getting in touch with me to tell me that they've been inspired by what I've been doing, and that it's given them a kick up the bum too! Some people have even told me that they've started doing their own challenges.

To know that all of this has not only done me the world of good, but has also had a positive effect on other peoples lives... That's a truly amazing feeling.




Quite rightly, I'm very proud of all I have achieved this year.

What's next?

Well.... Off to the next adventure! I am so pleased to be able to tell you that I am going to be starting a new job in Germany this August, touring English theatre to German schools. It's an eleven month contract, so I've pretty much got another year of craziness in front of me, travelling around the south of Germany with a bunch of actors! It feels like the perfect thing for me to be doing right now, and I am so unbelievably excited.

And yes. I'm going to do a blog about it. You can read it on my super fancy new website eleanorbuchanan.com

As far as the challenges go, well I don't think I'm ever going to stop challenging myself. Maybe it won't always be with 30 day challenges (although now this year is over I suddenly have a load more ideas! Talk to a stranger every day, sketch something every say, practice origami every day, the list is growing) but now I know that there is nothing more satisfying than setting a goal and then achieving it. So I'm going to keep pushing myself as hard as I can to be the best person I can be. And I have a feeling that I am going to be very, very happy.

Thanks for reading guys, it's been a pleasure writing for you.

Love love love love love.

Ellie.

X

Finishing With A Flourish

Well that's it! My final challenge is officially over!

This is me right now:

GLORIOUS

My apologies for not posting more about my challenge this month. I was sort of busy you know, doing it.

As well as finishing Uni - that also happened.

So a year ago today I started this whole thing - and what a ride it has been! I have so much to say about how wonderful this year has been for me... but I think I'm gonna save it for another blog post. Or two. I mean, I really do have a lot to say.

But for now I just wanna talk about this month, this challenge.

It's been much like all the others were this year: Fantastic!

Did I manage to get everything on my list done every day?

Of course not.

In fact, in the middle I took a full on hiatus from the challenge in order to finish my last assessment for uni.

But, as usual, I got a lot out of it. This challenge was fairly unique in the fact that it's one I know I intend to continue with, potentially forever! And so this month wasn't really about getting it perfect first time, it was about finding a way to make it work.

Last week I realised I wasn't really sure what I was and wasn't getting done each day, I wasn't keeping track, so I made a little calendar for the week, and ticked each task off each day. I'm pretty sure that last week was my most successful in the whole month, so I think that system works well! However, should I find in the future that I need to try something else, I will. You never know what is going to happen. I'm sure there will be times when I won't be able to commit to all of these things - but as long as I keep trying at every opportunity, I'll be getting somewhere!

The best thing about this month is that I have really gotten into a habit of pro-activity. When I'm bored or have some free time, my mind instantly goes to 'what can I do that will be useful?' Sometimes that will be something from my list, sometimes it will be something else that I need to get done (like write this post for instance) but very rarely am I tempted to go for the old sit and watch TV approach. I think this month, well, this whole year really, has really adjusted my attitude, and made me a much more proactive person.

And when you are that busy, proactive kind of person, the days when you say 'fuck it' and throw all your duties out of the window for a day of movies and pizza, become a lot more special and a lot more satisfying. Because let's face it, we all need days like that sometimes. And I definitely had some this month.

So in conclusion - let me remind myself what I wanted out of this challenge:

To exercise more
To make meditation and reading (i.e. looking after my brain) a part of my routine
To have a few more poems in my notebook
To improve on juggling and violin
To keep a journal regularly

Have I achieved all of those things?
Absolutely.

I didn't do it perfectly, but I did do it. And I'm gonna keep going, always open to change, always open to more challenges, but always reminding myself that these are the things that matter to me and I have to work to make them a part of my life.

So that's that on my final challenge. Soon this blog will be done with completely, but watch out for a little more in the next month, just reflecting on the year as a whole. Like I said - there's a lot to talk about!

Till then, taraa.

x

Day Five of Forever

Hello!

So here is an update of how I am fairing on this challenge - five days in.

To give you a clue to the general tone of this post... I feel like a super happy octopus.

Exercise and Meditation

So far this is going swimmingly! Granted I am not doing as intense exercise as I did in my original exercise challenge - but I think my strengthening and stretching routine is exactly what my body needs right now and it fits into half an hour which at the moment is all I can afford. Meditation is going great :) I no longer have to set myself a timer - I generally come to a finish by myself at about twenty five minutes. It's been a little while since I did it this regularly, and I have to say it is a discipline worth doing daily. I really find my mind clearing and strengthening more and more each day, and reaching new levels every time.

Violin Practice and Juggling Practice

So I have been alternating between Juggling and Violin each night (although I did both today!) and I actually think that this way is better than when I was practicing daily. I apply this more to violin than juggling, I could juggle any time and be happy doing it, but with Violin its really nice to just do it every other day - it's a more pleasurable experience. I've been doing between forty five minutes and an hour each time, which is more than I did during the challenge, and I think that's simply because I'm enjoying it more. And because I'm enjoying it more I'm doing better quality practice and therefore improving :) big yay.

Poetry Writing and Reading 

I was hoping to be jotting down some ideas for poems every day. So far I haven't quite managed to do that, so I need to pay a little more attention to that area. Same with reading, I just need to find more opportunities to do it!

Keeping a Journal

This is an interesting one. I like to do this last thing at night, but writing a journal is a pretty private experience that one should take ones time with, and if my boyfriend is staying over I'm less inclined to do it. I thought about it, and I've decided that's ok, as long as I keep it up regularly enough.


Overall, I'm feeling really positive and happy and so in control of my own life! I'm getting so much done (hence why I feel like a super happy octopus) and it's just so great to feel like I'm using my time in a valuable way instead of letting each day slip by.

Tonight, I'm going to have a little writing session and get my poem of the week off its feet! And add that to my list of awesome things I have done this week.

I'll post another update soon, until then, taraar!!

My Final Challenge

Hello folks!

So I started this year of challenges in June and it is now May - so we know what that means! This challenge is my final challenge of the year. So let's make it a goodun. Technically I should have started this on friday - but the last few days have been a bit hectic and I wanted to get off to a good start, so I am starting tomorrow instead!

These are the challenges I have completed (or at least attempted) thus far:

Juggle every day
Give up refined sugar
Exercise every day
Write something creative every day
Meditate every day
Cut down on TV and Facebook every day

Write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days

Give up on gossiping, bitching, moaning and criticizing for thirty day.

Practice violin every day.

Spend only eighty pounds in thirty days

Read every day

Take a photos and keep a diary every day

(Technically that's my One Year Twelve Challenges done, as I did two the first month! But hey, let's stick one last one in there anyway.)

Looking back on everything I've done this year I feel a bit like this:

And now just one more to go! I really want to end the year with something special - go out with a bang.

A lot of these challenges were about creating habits. Some of which have stuck with me (now in my fifth month of not eating sugar!!) and some of which haven't (that pesky violin practice went as quickly as it came). I've learned a lot about myself and what kind of person I want to be through these challenges, and I want to make this last month a sort of mega-challenge. I want to combine some of my favorite challenges together, and try and start creating a routine that includes them all.

So here are the things I really want to include in this challenge:

Exercise
Meditation
Poetry writing
Violin practice
Juggling practice
Reading
Keeping a journal

(I would include not eating sugar in that list, but I've managed to keep that up anyway, so I wouldn't consider it a challenge any more.)

So these are all things that I really want to make a regular part of my lifestyle. If I've learned anything this year it is that I am at my happiest when I am being productive, and so I want to start pushing myself in all these areas. The tricky part has been trying to figure out how to fit it all in!

This challenge happens to be falling in my very last month of Drama School! What a perfect month to end my challenges on, just before I step out into the big wide world. I am hardly in for lectures any more, but I do have a pretty hefty project to be getting on with - my business plan. So even when I am not in for uni, I am pretty much considering my time from 9 - 5 my 'office hours' - where I dedicate my time to business plan, applying for jobs, and projects. So I need to find time for all of this challenge stuff in my mornings and evenings. Here is what I have in mind...

Exercise and Meditation

I know that I am at my best both physically and mentally when I make time for both of these things every day. Since both of these challenges I have kept them both up to a certain extent - but I want to go back to doing them both daily. Time wise, I think it would be reasonable to fit in half an hour of strength training and stretching, and half an hour of meditation every morning. I'd also like to fit in cardio a couple of times a week, perhaps when I can afford to start 'office hours' a little later in the day. Right now I'm avoiding running because I have very sore knees, but there's always zumba!

Poetry Writing, Violin Practice, Juggling and Reading

So essentially, these are my hobbies and skills. If I want to improve in my violin and juggling I need to practice regularly! And if I want to progress with my writing I need to push myself to write and read as often as possible. But what to do? I can't do them all every day. So I've decided to alternate between violin and juggling each night. It'll be the first thing I do when I get home from uni, practice for half an hour. As for writing and reading... well, I always have a book in my bag for whenever I'm in the bus or just have ten minutes to myself. That seems to work pretty well, it's aided me in reading a few more books since my reading challenge in march finished! I also take my poetry book everywhere, but that doesn't necessarily mean I write in it that often. So to aid me in writing a bit more, I just want to spend a few minutes each day, whether on my lunch break or maybe just before going to bed, jotting some ideas down. Then, over the weekend I must turn one of my ideas into a fully formed poem. A poem a week sounds reasonable I think!

Keeping a Journal

I wanted to include this because I want to use it to keep myself going. This is potentially my hardest challenge yet. It's going to be tricky to keep track of everything and keep motivated! But I think if I organise my thoughts every evening, even if its as simple as writing down my tasks for the next day, I think it could be a real help to me.

Some other thoughts...

I'll sort of be going back to my challenge of avoiding TV so that I can fit all this in. I'm definitely cool with that! As I whole I definitely watch less TV now than I did before, and I really don't miss it! That being said, you should always make time for some good films and documentaries, so I'm gonna give myself Friday and Saturday evenings for some good viewing time. I think by restricting myself I will choose what I watch a bit more wisely! And of course, bringing in some more challenges, I would like to continue to monitor my bitching and moaning, and to limit my spending. But I don't think I'm going to set any solid rules on that - just try and keep it in mind every day.

So there we have it! Those are my rules and guidelines for my Ultra-Super-Duper-Awesome-Mega-Challenge (the official title). It's a big one. I'm essentially trying to throw myself into being the busiest and most productive (and therefore, I think, best and happiest) version of myself. I'm trying to see if I could maintain all these habits properly, and build a lifestyle wildly different to the one I started with this time last year. It's a bit scary to be honest, but in a good way!

Now I'm under no illusion that I will manage to keep this up every day. If a trip to the cinema or a dinner with friends stops me from getting everything done, then so be it. This challenge is not about ticking every day off, it's about carving a realistic lifestyle for myself, and that includes random changes of plan! That's why this is probably going to be the hardest challenge for me to keep track of, but I have faith that if I really commit myself I'll do it. Most of all, I just hope that this challenge turns out as well as I want it to, and gives me that 'I'm so happy to be moving forward' buzz I've had from so many of my other challenges. There's a lot riding on this one! I'm excited.

Here is hoping for a fantastic month to end a truly fantastic year.

30 days left....

Three Good Reasons To Keep A Journal

Hello hello hello

So I'm nearly at the end of this challenge, and it's been a pleasant experience. Taking photos and keeping a diary admittedly hasn't been very challenging, but it's been a nice thing to do at this very busy time of year! So I thought I'd cap it off putting a few more photos up and telling you my three reasons to keep a journal.

So here are some photos.


Lovely flowers :) I've started to think a lot more about angles and everything now, and I liked getting low for these, it sort of felt a bit Alice in Wonderland esque - when she's tiny and in the flowerbeds!


I realise that I hardly ever put a subject in the middle - I almost always have it to the side with a big space beside it. Just something I like doing I suppose! Does this mean I'm developing a style...?

And another thing I apparently like doing is capturing sunlight between trees! I love getting direct sunlight in pictures and having that strange glow. It allows you to see something you can't actually see properly in real life because otherwise you'd go blind - which would be unfortunate. But yes, when the sun is out I love to get it in the shot. I love how its sort of between two big branches, like the tree has the sun wedged into it. Some great shadows too. I am quite an outdoorsy person so it's been nice to be capturing some of that this month.









And now...

Three Good Reasons to Keep a Journal

1. It stimulates your creativity. Even if all you are doing initially is sitting down to write about your day, you are still sitting down with a notebook and a pen in your hand. Things are much more likely to happen when you give yourself the tools. Since keeping my journal I have written a couple of new poems, so there you go.

2. It helps you to keep focused. You can use a diary to write down all your appointments and contacts and keep yourself organised, but you can use a journal to actually remind yourself what you want to achieve and why. Every night I have been writing down three things I want to get done the next day - and I've been doing them. It's nice to go to sleep looking forward to what you're doing the next day. I feel like I've been waking up with loads of purpose because of it.

3. It can be therapeutic. Now when I was younger the ONLY time I wrote in a journal was when things were going badly. Now, I'm using it for a more positive purpose, but it does still have it's use in that respect. When things get shitty, it's good to write down how you feel and then read it back, it helps you to get a bit of perspective. Also, when you're having a bad time your thoughts can be a mess and your mind is just racing. Writing stuff down helps you to slow your thoughts down and figure out what you really think.

And there's not much more to say on the subject! It's been really nice, and I hope to keep these habits up. I'll be announcing my next (and last!) challenge soon. Till then, taraar.

Some Pictures and Some Thoughts

Phew! I am having the busiest time of my life right now. I'll be leaving universtity soon, and so begins the desperate search for jobs, the praying that an agent will take me on, and the mighty mighty business plan.

So I haven't found much time for blogging, to be honest! But here I am with a precious spare hour, and I thought I would share some pictures and thoughts with you.

Some of my photos are lazy and rubbish, some are kinda artistic and cool. But the important thing is that I am taking them! Here are some of my favourites from the last week and a half.

I went for a few morning walks and this is one picture that makes me feel really happy! This place is right by my house in York, I used to go running there all the time. And striding across it early morning filled me with all sorts of positivity, especially as it was such a beautiful day! This pictures stirs up that hearty feeling I had that morning. Early morning walks are good. I may even make a challenge out of them.

Here is another photo of the same place, but on a very different morning! Beautiful, but in a different way. I really love this picture, I think it's one of my best. There's a wee artist in here somewhere! All of my best photos for this have been taken outside, and to be honest it's made me quite appreciative of the beauty of the world around us - I'm glad this challenge has made me go looking for it.


Another good example of that would be this tree! This photo doesn't quite do it justice, but trust me guys, this is an effing great tree. Gorgeously silver. I had been staying in a rented house with my boyfriend and his family for his sister's wedding, and this tree was just outside. I didn't even notice it until the last day. A friend of the family was helping unload left over wedding stuff from the car, and he stopped to have a good look, which of course made me have a good look. And we both marveled at how eerily beautiful this tree was! So I took a photo. I love how photos serve both as a record of your experience but also something on its own. In many ways this photo can't come near the original view, but in many ways it is more beautiful too. I think the camera has brightened the blue somewhat, making a really pretty photo that I wasn't quite expecting. So I have the image vs my memory - both slightly unreliable reflections of a nice moment experienced, which is now gone.

And here is a photo that I wanted to show you more for the content rather than the artistry - I bought a brilliant new suitcase for me to fit my life into! As a self employed actor I need to be travelling light - and so I invested in an uber case that I could realistically go on tour with. I was such a nerd when I got home, I couldn't wait to pack it, so I put all my stuff from the big holdall I had brought home for the holidays into it. And I packed it all fancy so that it would look nice. And there's still loads of room! This perhaps wasn't the most productive use of my time - but I am the queen of active procrastination. And at least I'm mostly ready now for going back to Birmingham on Sat. While I was packing it, I was imagining all the jobs I might do in the future where I will be living out of this bag - and I got super excited. Sometimes it's really nice to do something like that, something that excites you about the future. This week has been a good week for things like that.

And now, let me tell you a bit about the diary writing part of this challenge! I have a lovely story for you.

So I was originally doing the diary writing on my PC - because I wanted to use the pictures. And I actually started to enjoy it! Long gone are my teenage years when I would use a diary to moan and lament about how dreadful my life was. This is different now, it's simply a record of my activities, my feelings on the day, and my plans for the next. It feels like a really nice way to wrap up the end of the day, just getting some thoughts down onto a page, and I go to sleep thinking of my plans and hopes for the next day, and also the future. It's been a good thing for me to do at this point in my life, when the future is very much now! However, it's not great doing it on a computer, as staring at a screen and typing is not an ideal bed time activity. So I decided to go classic and use a notepad.

I have loads of notebooks on my shelves many with barely anything written in them, so I dug out a beautiful one my friend gave me for my eighteenth birthday. I took it to LIPA when I did my foundation course, and used it to write down funny quotes my housemates said. So the first ten pages are full of quotes, but the rest is blank. Reading the quotes that I had almost forgotten, I was filled with that gorgeous nostalgic feeling you get when looking at old photos. What was even better was that I hadn't written down who said what, so many of the quotes I can't remember, and can't even picture who said them! But still, because I wrote them down they are here nonetheless, making me laugh and remember the awesome times I had.

My favourite was this: "If you draw on an X instead of writing it, well then that, my friend, is a kiss - unless it's drawn on a map, because then it's probably important."

I don't know who said that - but it's wonderful.

This was a bit of a serendipitous moment for me, because its showing me the value of writing things down, so that you still have the memories years later. (even if they are only gentle reminders!) When I started this challenge I said I was fairly cynical on the effects of using a diary - but now that cynicism is gone. Now that I feel I am in a good place to actually keep one, a positive place where I can use the diary to keep me moving forward, I think it's a really great thing. And now I have seen how wonderful it is to be able to read these recorded moments again.

And I find that when I am writing, ideas begin to spill out of me. It's like the writing of my thoughts helps to slow them down and organise them, and suddenly I have a steady stream of new ideas, simply because I am writing. And of course, those ideas can go straight down onto paper too. I actually think keeping a diary could help me to become a better writer. Now there's a thought.

So yes, wonderful thoughts on this challenge, which I wasn't actually expecting. I felt like I had kind of wussed out this month because I needed something easy, but it's turned out to be perfect!

One last thing - I'm adding a mini challenge. Next month is my last month and I have a special mega challenge all planned out, but I came up with this the other day and thought it was great so I'm throwing it in - a fifteen day challenge! To keep me going through this busy time and to help fight off laziness and procrastination: I must complete at least one thing on my 'to do' list every day. Yesterday it was making a CV, today it was applying for some jobs (and I've ticked this blog off too!) - a productive few weeks ahead.

Thanks for reading, much love to you all.

xx

The Photo Diary Challenge

Happy Easter Everybody!

I didn't really announce this challenge and I am now six days in, but actually I think it's worked out quite well because now I have something to show you.

I was looking at this list of challenges that accompanies the ted talk that inspired me to start this whole thing. It was good to look at it again. I wish I had looked more because there are some on the list that I wish I had tried this year, but never mind I have forever to try them :) Some I think I am not quite brave enough for (talking to a stranger everyday for example!) but maybe that's a good reason to do them.

Anyway, I had a scan and I saw 'take a photo every day' and I thought brilliant! I can put my new camera phone to good use! It also reminded me of the 365 day photo challenge I see on facebook, which I really like. I think it's a really nice way for people to share their lives with eachother and also get a little creative. Then I saw 'keep a journal' - something I attempted to do in my youth but never stuck with, and I thought why not. So I've combined the two and I am doing a photo diary each day.

Here are the rules:

No Selfies

This is not me saying I hate selfies. Far from it. I think selfies are good fun. But I just don't want to use them in this challenge because I want it to be 'look at what I've seen and experienced today' not 'look at me with this cool thing'. So no selfies. And also, I have to take the photos myself, so basically I am not going to be in the photos.

The Journal Section is Not for Public Reading

I may occasionally post some extracts on here, but I'm being very careful when I write the journal NOT to think of it as something someone else is going to read. Over this year, this blog has essentially become my journal, but obviously when I write it I'm writing it for other people to read. This is just for me. Now, as a fairly open person, I don't have any deep and dark secrets that I desperately need to confess to a journal. However I want to see if there is anything in having a little written self reflection every day. I'm actually fairly cynical on the idea (which I don't think most people would expect!) I'm really not sure if there's much use or good in keeping a journal, but I have never really done it regularly, so I'm putting it to the test.

And so, here is my photo of the week: Which is actually todays photo, because I wanted to share with you the madness of easter in my house.

Ok. So basically, we are big children and my mum is one too. And she loves buying us this stuff. Like, she really goes in on it. We get more now than when we were little (because let's face it giving a kid this amount of chocolate would be a baaaaad idea.

There are three piles, me, my sister, and our lovely friend Ailish who we've known since we were babies and we spend nearly every easter with. Usually the piles would be identical but this year there is one hilarious difference. Because I loved my no sugar challenge so much, I have committed to it for a full year now. Which means no chocolate today. So that pile on the right, full of fruit and nuts and nakd bars, is for me. I love my mum. She is actually the greatest person.

Hope you all have a lovely easter, and I'll post some more photos soon!

Twenty four days to go

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