Tag Archives: positive

The road to slim…

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Afternoon lovely readers!

So this is a completely self-indulgent post, or at least more so that my usual ramblings post.

Its simply about me!

Some of you will know, well all of you if you read the blog, that I am somewhat harsh on myself when it comes to my body and image. However today has marked a real achievement, I have lost just shy of 2 stone. Not only am I lighter, I am also healthier, happier and an all round nicer person to be around.

Its been easy to be honest, eat better and move more. I decided I would exercise for 30 minutes a day, which I have managed to do, bar a few days of horrid flu-ness. I have used MyFitnessPal to record every single thing that I eat & drink, no pretending or lying just honest. Its amazing the effect really thinking about the foods you eat has on your life. I never thought I would forgo biscuits for fruit or bread for salad, but there you have it!

Thanks to some lovelies at work telling me how ace I look today I decided to foray into the world of fashion posts. Thanks to Amy for her wonderful location ideas and photography skills. So here we go, the girl who hates full body pictures, in all her glory!


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My dress is from ASOS  and is a gorgeous jersey swing dress, teamed with my Primark faux-fur gilet, slouchy black knee-high Carvella boots and of course my obligatory Micheal Kors rose gold watch. Below I even braved it without my gilet! Note my knees are also visible!


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So it’s a simple post, just to reward myself for feeling awesome about how I look. I have a fair way to go to get to my goal, but I am on my way and that feels as awesome as I am sure reaching my goal will be. 

I had to include this picture – I feel like a superhero!

superhero me

I want to thank those of you who have been ace and supportive and made me yummy healthy tea when I have been to see them, to my mum for being ace and doing it with me! Who has herself lost an ace amount of weight before she heads of on her epic trip (more of that later)

So here’s to the next 2 stone and the rest of my life

E x

No More

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When I was a little girl I was told, as I know a lot of girls are, that I was pretty, had beautiful unique eyes, had hair grown women dreamed about, and that I could do anything I wanted with my life. I accepted it because I was told it by the people who loved me.
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Dad & I 

So what happened between then and now. I have the same eyes and the same thick hair, and I am doing everything that I want in life. and yet I struggle.

I struggle with the fact that despite being told throughout my childhood the things I mentioned above, and many more, the only one that I held on to and has shaped me is the one about my ability to do anything I want with my life. I am doing exactly as I wish with my life. Everything I have done in my life has come from me, and yet when I look in the mirror it isn’t my accomplishments I see, it’s the things I think I have failed at.

How come I managed to turn all that positive reinforcement and support about my abilities and capabilities to achieve anything into a real life existence, yet as I sit and write this I am plagued with feelings of inadequacies about my looks that I have led me down a path to being overweight and horribly unfit.

I think that a lot of it stems from the fact that as girls we are taught by the people outside our home life that it’s the things we achieve in school that define us as we age. We are taught in school so that we can continue upwardly through life, to achieve success. In all that though I think certain messages are lost. I don’t think that girls are recognised for their naturally abilities, only those that are taught by others.

Yet as soon as we are grown those wonderful lessons we were taught, the incredible volumes of knowledge we have had imparted onto us over the years fall by the wayside and we are left with an overwhelming feeling of dissatisfaction that no amount of pay rises, promotions and big offices can over quell.

I judge myself based on the viewpoint of others. I only believe I am a good friend, if those around me tell me so. I only believe I am attractive if the people I find attractive find me so. I am only ‘right’ when someone tells me I am.

I don’t know if any of you reading feel this way, if you don’t then apologies, but I have decided in the last 40 minutes, although its been coming for some time, that as long as I am happy with the person I am, what I see in the mirror and my actions towards others then the opinions of others become null and void.

At the beginning of 2013 as the clock stuck midnight I made a promise to myself;

no more

No more trying to be someone else, no more trying to be the best at things that don’t matter and instead focus on the things that do, no more spending time angry that certain people in my life don’t behave the way I think they should, no more despising the reflection I see in the mirror. No More.

Instead here are my 2013 vows (not resolutions)

- I will not stop watching airbrushed american television shows that make me feel bad about how I look. Instead I vow to read more of the authors who inspire me, follow the lives of women who work for the bodies they deserve and find time to work on myself.
- I will not dye my hair over and over again longing for it to be something it never will be. Instead I vow to be kind to it and treat it well and most of all not try to have the looks of someone else, but create looks of my own.
- I will not pay to have plastic stuck to me nails because I think that the best way to have long nails. Instead I vow to grow my nails with patience and treat them well.
- I will not use fake tan or sun beds. Instead I will embrace my beautiful pale skin which I have recently realised actually suits my green eyes and dark hair.
- I will not read more into the tweets, Facebook statuses or other social networking site posts of my friends. Instead I vow to spend time with them; honest time so that when they post arsey snarky posts (which they still will) I will know that its nothing to do with me.
- I will not eat junk food. Instead I will allow myself a treat whenever I wish as long as it’s a small amount and I can justify eating it.
- I will not continue to allow my body to deteriorate. Instead I will exercise for 30 minutes every single day. Be it a brisk dog walk, a dance class, a swim or whatever else I wish.
- I will not see the success of others as a failure in me. Instead I will celebrate success with them and strive harder to focus on my aims and goals and not take my eye off them.

love what you do

Finally I will not deny myself any experience, opportunity or emotion. Instead I will go through life open-minded, honestly and with every intention of becoming the greatest version of myself possible.

Would love to know what you feel about this?

E x

PS don’t forget you can still enter my Instant Print business card giveaway 

Is it just me?

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I love quotes; motivational, thought-provoking, compassionate or funny. I am a fan of them all.

Want to know what I’m not a fan of? Over use and under action. I’m one of those people who actually take heed of the quotes and find something within them to take with me either on a day-to-day basis or when I’m in need of a little support.

However, recently the likes of Facebook, twitter and Instagram have been littered with quotes, flippantly used, put out into the world, copied and pasted and I’m not sure of the reason people post them?!

Think one of the ones that really pushed me over the edge recently and prompted this rant, appeared on the blog header of a beauty blogger.

Roosevelt Quote

I’m sure when Roosevelt was standing up for an end to racial segmentation, or pushing for the US to join the United Nations or maybe when she sat in the first seat of United Nations Commission on Human Rights she wasn’t thinking this quote would be used to promote a beauty blog! To say the blogger has entirely missed the crux of the quote is potentially the biggest understatement possible. It infuriates me, maybe it shouldn’t, but Lordy does it!

It’s not just the misuse of the quotes, but the incessant use of them, the plastering of them everywhere, and the lack of follow through. I’m not saying that every time you write something inspiring that you must run with steely determination to accomplish something on the back of the quote, but surely by putting them into the world without action you are slowly diluting their message.

I think more what infuriates me is the lack of action, if you are so inspired by the forceful thought-provoking words of the past why are you just posting them on Facebook, why aren’t you acting on them.

So I will share my favourite quote, I hold dear to me and act on, most if not all days.

“Everything will be alright in the end, if it isn’t alright, if it isn’t alright it isn’t the end”

Everything alright in the end

Yes I know it’s not the most powerful of quotes, but as I watched my mum sink further into depression and grief at the loss of the love of her life I searched for comfort for both of us. This seemed to appear out of the blue at the perfect time, on the front of a greeting card. But it helped, it helped me know that if I carried on helping, doing what I was then mum would pull through. Because when it comes down to it, the thought of reality is far more scary than the reality itself.

It’s a great few lines to carry with you in life. To remember that however awful something feels, however difficult, it will pass; things might not be the same, but they will be OK.

So do you have a favourite quote? One you hold dear?

E x

PS don’t forget about my Instantprint giveaway – open for another 5 days!

I’m Sorry…

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january

Dear January,

I am writing to confess. I’ve been a bad person.

First and foremost let me apologise. I have been so cruel to you in the past. I have bitched behind your back, I have wished you never existed and I have wanted to leave you behind.

But you stood by me, you held fast and showed me how wrong I truly was.

So, January I would like to take these few hundred words to thank you.

Thank you for providing the big wigs at television HQ with a needy and wanting audience, as such we are indulged in the wonderful drama of Ripper Street, the whimsical wonderland of Mr Selfridge and the insatiably addictive Girls.

january

Thank you for giving us a fresh start, for offering us a plain piece of paper and the chance to start anew. A literal clean sheet in the form of a new dairy or calendar – the horizon before us is now clear to be filled with wonder and amazement.

Thank you for giving us the hideously bitterly cold weather which means being allowed to have the heating on longer, allows us to unashamedly wear onsies and drink too much hot chocolate.

Thank you for the plethora of inspiration you give to magazines and newspapers, without you January there would be no “fad diet”

So here is my promise January, I promise to be kind to you, to think of you often and to speak only good things when people enquire as to how you are.

So here’s to you January!

All my love

Emma x
January lover!

P.S I will be posting every day in February. Every post will be at least 300 words. I will be taking requests if you want me to write about something, review something etc

So that’s it, that simple

My Match Weekiversary!

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My match.com ‘weekiversary’ has passed and I must say after Mr Shadow Penis things are beginning to look up!

week

I must firstly inform you though of the delightful creature who appeared in my inbox late last week. Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe him, handsome movie star good looks and witty banter, I thought hello! I’m on to a winner here.

Fast forward around 3 hours and I’ve learnt that although he is a barrister day-to-day, in the evenings he is a ‘butler in the buff’ what joy I thought! However things took a kooky turn when he informed me that he doesn’t wear an apron when he does it, and usually it’s just one on one with a woman. Now I am not a prude by any means, but surely to you dear readers that seems a little…odd?

With further probing I discover that actually if he had it his way he would be naked all the time and finds that it’s the best way to get to know someone! But “rest assured” he said, you don’t need to be naked on our first date. Phew!

So the date is booked with Mr Naked Lawyer and I guess I’l just have to see what happens. Oh did I also mention he sent me a run down of what I can expect from our first five dates…I’l share a little with you!

“Date 1 – I will be naked, you may not be. I will allow kissing without tongues and light fondling

Date 2 – I will be naked you are more than welcome to be in underwear but not naked. You may pleasure yourself as may I but you may not touch me. I can ejaculate on your body”

Now I’m all up for fondling and all the rest, just not sure I need it scheduled in like a dentists check up?! As a very good friend said… it’s all a little Christian Grey.

Mr Naked seemed to spark some flash of change on the site, suddenly I decided that I should just be bold and email guys I liked the look of, my male friends are always saying women should be more forward. I’m pleased to tell you they’re right!

So as it stands I have a date with a reconstructive surgeon from here on known as Dr Slick, a guitar teacher from Leeds now known as Mr Stratocaster and am chatting with a guy who we’ll call Mr Potential.

Don’t worry il be keeping you up to date on the courting as and when they happen.

Until then! Happy Thursday

E x

Opera North – Otello

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The whole idea when I started this blog was to see the world and be in awe of something, anything. I always thought that meant standing in front of Niagara Falls, or watching the sun set over the Canadian wilderness, both of which I have done in the last 12 months. However last Thursday proved me wrong, that actually it isn’t always vast landscapes or astronomical feats of nature, but sometimes simply the incredible talent of individuals.

I never thought I would liken myself to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, however just as she sat and watched the opening scene of Aida, her eyes filling with tears and her face lit up with the sheer astonishment of what she was witnessing, I sat as the lights flashed across the stage and the roar of voices began.

Those of you who know me, know I love nothing more than tragedy in my movies and books, I get enthralled in the tales of the devious, the inner workings of the deceitful and the power of jealousy. So when I saw Culture Vulture’s had space on their Access All Areas Otello evening at Opera North last week, I jumped at the chance. The thrill of live theatre mingled with the incredible classical musicality of Verdi and you have quite simply handed me my perfect night of entertainment.

Otello is known as one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, the story of deceit and jealously, ending with a strangulation and blood shed. Iago is quite possibly the most revolting of characters, his entire purpose in the play is to ruin Othello, he does so by filling his head with the green-eyed monster and doubt leading him to believe his beautiful devoted wide Desdemona is cheating on him with Cassio an arrogant captain.

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Ronald Samm as Otello and David Kempster as Iago - Photo credit: Clive Barda

To add even more wonder to the evening I got to meet the incredibly enigmatic and enthralling David Kempster, who played the dastardly Iago. His passion for the opera and his clear love of the Opera North home at Leeds Grand was so inspiring. His presence on stage was mesmerising, to have met him and found him so personable, to then watch him snarl and scheme throughout the whole performance.

As the saying goes behind every great man is a powerful woman and boy is that true in this case it was Elena Kelessidi, who played Desdemona. I cannot begin to describe to you the incredible power of Elena’s voice, to have the force in a single voice to be heard in the very back seat, with a full orchestra and still convey the silent torment of knowing your husband is about to kill you for an adulterous crime you never committed. The love between them at the opening act was so intoxicating i felt myself literally on the edge of my seat, knowing what was about to befall their love.

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Ronald Samm as Otello and Elena Kelessidi as Desdemona - Photo credit: Clive Barda

Of course there wouldn’t be a true theatre or opera experience without the rousing sounds of an ensemble cast lightening the mood, especially if there are adorable children involved. Cue the wonderful chorus singing to Desdemona about her beauty and grace. The set added wonderfully to the drama of the piece, the 1940′s costumes were exquisite and the choreography of  movement on the sage in both the monologues and the ensemble numbers added to the perfection of the evening. A huge congratulations must also go to the incredible people behind the scenes, Conductor Richard Farnes, Director Tim Albery, Set and Costume Designer Leslie Travers, Lighting Designer Thomas C Hase, Choreographer Laïla Diallo, Fight Director Will Tristram

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Elena Kelessidi as Desdemona (centre) and Ann Taylor as Emilia (far right) with the Chorus of Opera North and children’s chorus - Photo credit: Clive Barda

It is rare that I have nothing negative to say, this time is one of those times. A truly wonderful experience and a great way for a newbie to both the world of opera and Shakespeare to begin their love affair. Otello is running at the Leeds Grand until 16th February and can book them easily on the Opera North site and have a look at all of the other amazing performances they have on during 2013.

One of my 2013 resolutions is to go and be in awe of the talent Opera North has to offer.

Let me know what you thought if you have seen Otello or if you are planning to go see it.

Em x

4 days down….27 to go!

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4 down

So if you read my initial post about match.com earlier this week you will know that I am on a months trial of the site to see if it can boost my 3.5 year stalemate.

I come with tidings of hilarity and horror! Prepare yourself!

It was all going so well, over 100 views of my profile, 37 winks and 14 chaps chatting to me, I was thrilled. I totally understood the benefit of online dating, in the whole 3.5 years of being single I didn’t get a percentage of the attention I have had on the site.

However, as is always the way, things never do run smoothly in my life. So let me begin with some of the delights on the site, how about the 2 guys on there from Harrogate, who I know have girlfriends who have been ‘active’ on the site in the last few days…hmmm interesting! Then there are the guys who appear to have taken their profile pictures in the dirtiest mirror in the world, or decided that the picture where they are one of 30 people is a suitable one to attract attention. But I think the highlight in terms of profile picture goes to this chap – whose face I have blurred out for legal reasons! But if you are brave have a little look down at the bottom right hand corner……

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Not sure there is much I can say about that! And for the record that’s his profile image, not something he sent me!

But in all of this I think that the most disturbing has to be the guy who asked me out, we made great plans to go to comedy club, he was witty and we have similar interests. We should have been going on our first date tonight, but yesterday the very exciting opportunity to go to Opera North to see Otello came about thanks to Culture Vultures (I will be blogging about this in the next few days); sadly that meant I had to email mikey78 and let him know that we would have to rearrange. The email was a sweet one, his response ..not so much!

He called me most names you can think of including, a cock-tease (not sure he knows what this actually is) bitch and self indulgent. He was even less amused when I responded telling him that we wouldn’t be rearranging the date!

He topped that though, he went straight to Match and reported me as a fake profile! Cue and interesting few emails from Match. In fairness they were really great and understood my frustration with the whole matter.

So all in all an interesting first 4 days on the site. However I will continue with a positive mental attitude and as always humour.  Even if I don’t find love, I am finding a whole world of stuff to blog about!

You can follow the day to day tweetings at @emglobetrotter if you prefer my rants limited to 140 characters!

Until next time….

E x

Bitch, Slut, Whore….

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Slut; an immoral or dissolute woman; prostitute.

Whore; a woman who engages in promiscuous sexual intercourse, usually for money

Dear Readers I need your help – could someone please tell me when it became acceptable to call other women & girls ‘SLUT’ ‘WHORE’ ‘SLAG’? Now may I just preface this by saying I know this isn’t a new occurrence in the world, and yes I have in the past passed judgement on a stranger without having any rights to. But it seems to me that all of this has now got out of hand. Worst of all it’s not coming from guys about girls, its girls about girls.

In the last 3 weeks I have seen 5 of my friends on Facebook discuss a girl we all went to school with, the said girl is dating one of the ‘mean girls’ ex boyfriends and they have all taken to bad mouthing this girl so badly on Facebook that I have noticed this morning she has deactivated her account. Now it cannot be coincidence that as the ‘mean girls’ were ripping strips of this girl, she decided to leave Facebook.

These girls; note I say girls and not women, as I can only see this behavior as that of people who aren’t grown up enough to be a touch more eloquent; I get that they feel they are protecting their recently dumped friend, but let me make something crystal clear, the aggressive attention should not be focused on the new girlfriend, but on the ex boyfriend surely. Did the new GF even know the guy when he was with his ex? We have been out of school 10 years and yet this feels a lot like it did when I was when I was 17. The difference now is that it’s not just friends on her Facebook  maybe work colleagues or family. It’s not isolated to the school common room like it was in 2002, now its out there for the whole world to see.

Even more upsetting that the 27-year-old girls behaving like school bullies is the recent increase in status’ of friends nieces and nephews and cousins of mine; suddenly it seems to be the norm to call their friends ‘Slag’. When I asked my cousin about this she said “I don’t get it really, but I don’t want to be the only one not doing it, so I do.”  This makes me so sad, I wanted to shake her and make her see the harm that she might be doing not only to herself but to her female and male friends. What chance do her female friends have of growing up and valuing themselves if their friends call them these awful names, even if only in jest. And the guys, what about them? Will they grow into the kind of guys who call the women in their life their ‘bitches’ ‘hoes’ or ‘birds’? Will they understand the way it makes those girls feel?

The reason all of this makes me so mad, is that 10 years ago I was the one being called the names, to name a few we had; slut, slag, whore, bitch, fat, ugly, gold digger, witch, tramp, hooker.  I was non of these things, yes I had boyfriends, yes I made bad decisions, but I didn’t deserve that. But I have moved on and learnt to value myself, but after leaving school I saw myself how they saw me, only good for an easy shag, because since I believed them I was ugly and fat. Fast forward 10 years and I am stood in a bar in Harrogate and bump into a guy I knew at school, who although drunk managed to introduce me to his mates, however he introduced me to these friends as “This is Emma, the easiest girl from school” WOW what an introduction. Luckily i have enough wherewithal to just walk away and not hold it against him.

When I asked on my Facebook page and twitter what women thought about the way some women speak to each other I got a range of replies;

“ I’m not sure how any of those terms can be endearing, I’ve heard people using some of them in normal language with their friends…I think it’s disgusting! Wouldn’t want someone calling me any of them, in a friendly way or not!” SAH on Facebook

“When I was teaching I had to deal with this a lot (I had a horrible Yr10 form). I think a lot of it stems from America TV and film – they seem to use it there more often and not to the same effect. It’s more of a casual comment. Unfortunately it’s being used on a day-to-day basis now. Personally, I hate it!!” Sophie, Facebook

“Deeply insecure, needing affirmation that they are not like that themselves” from Laura Jane Connor 

However, there were a few who seemed to think it could be said in an endearing way, that they didn’t mean it in a cruel way but that it was almost a pet name, something that I really do not understand.

So I am planning on making sure that those words never leave my lips, whether I am discussing someone I know or not. Instead I plan on saying this to everyone I know – thank you Aibeline Clark for this.

Screen-Shot-2012-03-16-at-10.45.50-AM

 

So seriously let me know what you think, I really want to know!

E x

 

 

30 ish before I’m 30 ish!

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Sure you have all seen loads of these lists before, well here is mine!

However I am missing 8 things, and would love suggestions for things you all think I should do!? Can be as daft as you like but you have to have done it yourself so recommending me to do it!

Cannot wait to see what you all think!

I will of course be documenting some of these things on here, so the better you make the suggestion the better the blog post!

So the current 22 are here – some I have already completed as I wrote this when I was 21! Not bad for 6 years!

- move into my own house
- earn 30k
- fall in love
- learn to play guitar
- take photography course
- run half marathon
- be on tv
- speak in front of 500+ people
- be in a stage production
- learn Italian
- spend a whole 48 hours technology free
- pay off my credit card
- sky dive – done
– own my own business – done
– work in America – done
– travel to Canada – done
- see every movie on 100 films to see before you die
- get a dog – done
- kiss a girl
- trend on twitter
- interview someone incredible for my blog
- get back into my size 12 jeans

So need 8 more…….

It’s over to you all lovelies – you can comment on here, tweet me @emglobetrotter

Excited to see what you all think I should do!

E x

Although I don’t always show it…..I am grateful

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So last week was some what of a downer for me, I cannot put my finger on why it was, all I know is, I was not in a good place.

Feeling down is something that tends to creep up on me when least expected, when everything seems to be easy sailing  then without warning a dark cloud appears and no amount of joviality or relaxation seems to shift it.

Now I would never, ever class myself as depressed, mostly because I spent 5 very sad years during my teens suffering from depression, going to counselling and being on medication that made my whole world very flat. As such I know that even on my worst day now, its nothing like the dark days of then. So I know that as most things in life do, the feeling will pass.

The thing that I struggled with though was, no rhyme or reason for my deflated, sad and truly low mood. I am in a job I love, surrounded by lovely people, I have a beautiful home to live in, with the love of my life Lynyrd, I have friends I adore and to be honest I have a charmed life.

Last week though even the joy of being asked out on a date did nothing to pacify my feelings of gloom, maybe it was the hideous weather, or the fact that another week has passed and yet again I have failed at eating healthily, maybe it was the dark mornings and lack of decent sleep. More than likely it was all of those things.

Today though, not only heralds a new week but also a new month and more importantly the start of my favourite season.

Thus, new beautiful winter boots have been purchased, and the excitement is building for my Birthday Fancy Dress party. So today the new boots are on, I am embracing the Berry AW2012 trend and I am planning on blasting that hideous dark cloud into oblivion. Here is how I plan on doing it: -

I read a wonderful blog post on This Little Lady Went to London it was written by a really great guy I follow on twitter called Ryan James Lock - not only is he incredibly gorgeous he really is a champion of positive thinking and looking on the bright side of life. Perfect tweets for Monday morning drudgery. The post he wrote was entitled ’14 Ways to feel better about yourself’ It listed some really fantastic ways of being kinder to yourself and thus being a nicer person to be around. Of the 14 here are the 3 that I plan on taking forward with me this week in my bid to be kinder to myself.

1 – Every day write down 20 things you are grateful for

(this seems and inordinate amount, but once you are on a roll its not that hard)

So here are mine  - my dog Lynyrd, having a beautiful home to live in, getting to go to a job that I love every day, twitter followers who make me smile, the 40 minutes of peace on the train in the morning, sunshine this morning after all that rain, reading a book that makes me howl with laughter, my incredible friends, knowing I am a little part of  my friends new book, new winter boots that fit my calves, its the month of my birthday, the super friendly guy in Starbucks  my freedom, getting a seat on the train, having naturally curly hair that looks great just out of bed, my mum, today is a brand new start, I have people in my life who love me and finally I am alive.

Try writing your own, once you get into the swing of realising that there are all kinds of things that have already happened to you today that you have to be grateful for.

2 – Don’t buy into it 

This is a good one for me, I have been known to go rapidly  from being really happy with the person that I am and the way that I look to being shockingly down on myself simply because I have read a magazine and felt like I am not achieving enough. I am not the highest achieving creative exec at work, I am not the perfect size 10, I do not have perfect skin or have saved the lives of 100,000 children. But today, today I am not buying into all of that, I am appreciative of what I have, who I am and the fact I have the total control and freedom to do as I wish with my life, and make it whatever I chose. Something I know a lot of people in my life suffer with, something I wish I could make easier for them, but I have realised that I cannot make them happy, I just have to be there to make them see that the person that they are is just perfect.

3 – Let it go 

The past is exactly that, with all the amazing technological leaps forward man kind have made, we cannot go back and change the past, its there, its done, leave it the hell alone! Stop despising yourself for the choices you made 10 hours, 10 weeks, 10 years ago. At the moment you decided to do it, it was your choice, stand by it. At the same time take solace from Baz Luhrmann Sunscreen Lyrics  -

“Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum”

So that ladies and gentleman is my little bit of wisdom  do with it what you will, discard this email never to be read again, or take from it some small ways to make your day a tiny bit better.

Thank you all for being wonderful  reading my ramblings and being so kind. You all make me very happy, even on my worst day.

E x