#100DaysofHappinessChallenge > DAY 3

Day 3 > Bubble Bath.
I had my 2nd Insanity fitness class today and although I'm loving it, it is not getting any easier.
A big bubble bath and some scented candles were exactly what I needed.

#100DaysofHappinessChallenge > DAY 2

Day 2 > Brand new Tank Girl graphic novel announced
I am beyond geeking about the fact that the creators of Tank Girl, that include the amazing illustrator Jamie Hewllet of Gorillaz, are creating a brand new graphic novel!!!
I love it even more as it is totally funded by a kickstarter fund which I contributed to so feel like  I had a part to play in it's creation oh yeah and  I receive a signed copy of the 100 page A4 book when its released at the end of April!!!!
Happy? I'm bloody ecstatic!

#100DaysofHappinessChallenge > DAY 1

Day 1 > Fave retro movie date.
kahuna burgers / 5 doller shakes / preacher man / pulp fiction /  my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die / as you wish / Princess Bride / Kelly Le brock / movie date / sloans / he doesn't even have a license Lisa / Weird Science / we got one / stay puff man / slimer / Ghostbusters

2014 RESOLUTION > APRIL GOAL

So it's the 1st of April tomorrow and I've been thinking about what this months goal will be.

I had heard of the 100 Days of Happy Challenge that was popping up on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as my friend is now on Day 52 but I noticed it the other day and I thought it would be a perfect goal to achieve.
I will be mostly using Instagram and you can follow me to keep up to date with how I'm doing but don't worry I'll be posting on here too.

As well as the #100Days I will also be taking part in an AB-pril Fitness Challenge that my local fitness trainer has posted on Facebook . She's so motivating and you can also find access to diet tips, exercise routines and YouTube videos to follow. You should definitely check it out.

What's your goals for April?

2014 RESOLUTION > MARCH GOAL

My goals in January and February focused on creating a more positive mind and spirit so I decided that I would work on a healthier body in March.

I didn't want to go on a diet, I wanted to instil a truly healthier lifestyle as I had recently been diagnosed with an intolerance to sugar. This isn't very inconvenient as, when you start reading your food labels you discover that, sugar is in EVERYTHING!!!
It doubly sucks as I am a cheesecake fiend so I pretty much had to say bye bye to all my sweet treats.

The main reason for doing this was I had begun to notice that after about 6 weeks of "clean eating" I got sick of making good food choices, I just didn't want to think about it and eat all the "good" stuff I couldn't, so I binged and then totally regretted it for the week after. I felt bad physically and emotionally, major guiltfest.
The second time this happened I knew that this wasn't a healthy way to live either and I decided to make some changes.

I was the most serious I've ever been about working towards a healthier lifestyle and after a bit of research (Google, what did we do before Google?!) I found the Whole30 program.

It's a free, healthy eating program that you follow for 30 days, the main rules are:
- No sugar
- No alcohol
- No dairy 
- No grains
- No snacks
- 3 meals a day

It's a variation of the Paleo diet where you eat "real" food which helps you sort of "reset" your body and get rid of all the bad habits you've picked up.
I tried not to focus on what I couldn't have and looked at what I could have; every meal is built up around a portion of protein; beef, seafood, chicken, pork or eggs with as much specified vegetables as you like.
I also read the book "It starts with food" which was a great support tool as it breaks down food choices into 4 categories or questions you should ask before you eat it;
- does it promote a healthy psychological response
- does it promote a healthy hormonal response
- does it support a healthy gut
- does it support a healthy immune system.

I always need to know the "why" before I do something and then I can get fully behind it because I know the reasoning behind it and understand it better.
It was a great challenge, especially as I am not a great lover of vegetables or salads but I found my tastes changing and choosing salad as a meal, this is a big step for me.
It was a lot of work to  plan your meals and  cook them all from scratch but it was definitely worth it as it felt more like an investment in yourself rather than a chore.

I completed the 30 days and I feel the best I've ever felt: mentally and physically. 
I also feel that I've made lifelong changes to my attitude and relationship with food that I'll carry on.
if you want to make a change to your lifestyle I can't recommend this program enough! Seriously if I can do it, anyone can!

2014 RESOLUTION > JANUARY GOAL

It is the end of March already so I decided to recap on my resolution to not set a resolution at the start of the year.
I decided to mix things up in 2014, instead of stating one big resolution to keep to for the WHOLE year I decided to give myself little goals to meet every month.

I've really enjoyed it but at the start of every month I'm like "I've got to do this for 30 whole days? No way will I do it" but I have and it has made me feel so much more accomplished than I think I would feel if I kept it up for say 6 months, got bored and then resolved to try again next year, where's the empowerment in that?

I'm one of those people who over thinks situations and has a million and one things going around in my head at one time, sometimes this works for me when I need to multi task but it was becoming more draining than useful so in January I set myself the goal to try meditation.

I was a complete beginner so to help me I used the website Headspace which offers guided meditation for modern living, it has a cool app you can download to your phone so you can grab some clarity wherever you are, great for when you sleep in so you can do it on the train (which can be a real test).

Let me be clear that when I decided to meditate every morning for 20mins, it wasn't an easy decision as "I am NOT a morning person" I repeat "NOT a morning person". 
I love my bed, I love my sleep and to fit in a daily meditation I had to get up at 6.30am every morning. It was hard at first but totally worth it, as almost instantly I noticed that I was less stressed and able to deal with difficult and people more calmly whereas before they would have definitely pushed my buttons.

I also noticed when the 30 days were up I had incorporated this single task into my routine so it was easier to carry on doing it, people say "if only I had an extra day" or "I need more time" but I'm starting to think the key is to make more of the time we do have to fit the things we want to do into our lives.

You can keep track of your progress which is great and so far I have completed 87 sessions and 23% of my Headspace journey. Looking forward to completing 100% by the end of 2014.

SHOW EVERYONE SOME LOVE

Over the last couple of weeks I've looked at self love and sisterly love but today I started thinking about the love you feel towards other people. 

As soon as I say that my mind instantly goes to my boyfriend and my best friend, the people you get on with and choose to have in your life because they're fun and they'd do anything for you and you them.

What about the difficult people in your life?

You know the ones, the family members that say inappropriate things at the wrong time or 

the friend that doesn't agree with ANY of your opinions and you start to wonder why your even friends.

How do YOU act around them?

Are you constantly on the defensive or try to limit the amount of time you spend with them? 

How about the next time you think about that difficult person you focus on the good things you love about them, go on there must be something! 

Send them love instead of negative thoughts and see how it changes your feelings towards them and then the actual relationship. This might sound like a lot of hard work and you might think why should I even bother, but think about how good YOU will feel when your not tense or aggravated before you are due to see them or when your in their company.

It's easy to love the lovable people in your life but why not show the unlovable's that you rate them too?

My friend "McDougal"s (if you read my TGROW post you'll have already heard of her,  

she's a fountain of knowledge and my "go to" if I need some straight talking advice) 

favourite quote is ~

"You get more with sugar than you do with sh**" 

Why not give the people you least enjoy spending time with a little sugar? 

You never know it might sweeten them up. 

SISTERLY LOVE

All the couples celebrated Valentines Day last week and it got me thinking about the different types of love there is; mainly the love we have for our family.

I'm lucky enough to have 2 sisters and we've been there for each other through break ups, redundancies, house moves and land mark birthdays. There are times when we have been close and times when we have been distant. But the thing I love most about having sisters is that I know they will always be there for me regardless. There are so many stories that we talk about when we are together that we will never share with anyone else.....well maybe when we're 80 and then we'll start with "mind that time?"

I started writing about my 2 sisters and what I love about them but then I thought why not interview them instead. Danielle was sick this week so I let her off with it (which was just as well as Domonique gave me a ton of great answers) but you can read Dom's answers to my Q&A below. Enjoy!

                                 I'd like to think I'm a good listener, I always seem to be the first person someone comes to when they need some advice or a sounding board which I cherish. With that I also try not to be judgemental, ensuring I keep open minded in regards to people and certain places or situations.

                                 This is a hard one because I feel like we have alot together. However one that particularly sticks out in my mind is the Halloween I dressed up as Cinderella and you were both the ugly sisters. I remember it was your last year celebrating Halloween as you felt "too mature" to dress up anymore (which in reality you were, haha) but we had rehearsed this entire monologue for every house we visited and at the time in my element I thought you both must have been having just as good a time as I was. However with hindsight I can imagine you were cringing incredibly and only doing so to appease me so for that I'm grateful! 

                               Of course it has to be their conflicting personalities, wouldn't life be dull if you had two sister's with the same opinions, personalities and sense of humour? I feel fortunate that I get to hang out with two completely different characters and will always feel inspired and enriched in totally opposite ways when I do. 

                                 I know it sounds rather stereotypical but there really isn't a day that goes by that you find yourself feeling lonely. 
No matter how quiet your day is, there will always be a txt or a phone call. Also it goes without saying that you will always, always have your very own little army behind you, ready to help take on any battles you may succumb to in your life. Personally thinking of life as an only child is pretty inconceivable. 
One of my favourite description's that sums up being a sibling is taken from Goldie Hawn's memoir. She writes; 
"You realize that as siblings, you are the only people in the world who can reference your lives from a similar perspective. No one else has that ability; no one else lived inside those walls, knew your parents as people and is able to laugh or cry at the same things in the same way." 

                               Aside from the cocktail of medicines on my nightstand, I'll usually find solace in my heated blanket, good book and a movie - the older, cheesier and funnier the better in my opinion.

                                I'd really love to have all my family still around; happy and healthy. It would also be a nice surprise to have a large majority of my ambitions and goals list ticked with the addition of my life serving up a good amount of excitement, adventure and contentment as the last thing I'd want to be is bored and unfulfilled.  

                                That even though at the time a situation or experience can feel like the end of the world, believe it or not , it will make you a better, stronger and more resilient person that can draw from those experiences and grow as a better individual ready to take on the world.  

                                My dog Lily- she truly is a little ray of sunshine and always does something adorably funny to entertain. I may be pathetically too attached but to know her is to love her.

                                I have so many that motivates me in their own different ways but the one that's my classic go to feel good track has to be Tina Turner "Nutbush City". 

                               I like to live my life regret-less as I'm sure you do too. However we all know that sometimes certain situations slip through the net. When looking over your life is there anything in particular that you can say you regret or at the very least wish you could do differently? 
I honestly believe that every experience, good or bad has helped me learn and grow. Plus I have a habit of needing to do things the hard way to make sure I definitely do want to do it the other way, if that makes sense. But if they hadn't happened I don't think I would be the person I am today, who I quite like (queue epic 80's power ballad lol).
However If I could go back and change anything I wouldn't worry as much about what I thought people thought of me, half the time they're not thinking anything as bad as you think and are trying to deal with their own "stuff". 

DARKNESS CANNOT DRIVE OUT DARKNESS; ONLY LIGHT CAN DO THAT.

2 pairs of trousers, 2 tops, a jumper, a hoodie, a jacket, 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of gloves, 2 scarfs, ear muffs, wellies and a ticket to "Electric Glen" at Rouken Glen.

It's a light installation event that was taking place in Rouken Glen but on the day of the event there was rain (as per in Scotland) and sleet with the promise of snow. I was actually checking the website every hour on the hour to see (I mean hoping) it was cancelled. When I was having no such luck I actually suggested we don't go, to which I got the reply "there's no such thing as bad weather just bad choice of clothes".
So off I popped to turn myself into the mitchellin man!

It snowed for a bit but I was so warm it actually looked quite pretty.

There was a cute walkway through the park where you passed coloured trees, patterned pathways and multi-coloured waterfalls. It took about an hour to walk around and I had a well deserved hot chocolate when we'd finished.

I'm so glad I made the effort, can you imagine if you cancelled plans because the weather wasn't ideal? 
You wouldn't do anything!

SHOW YOURSELF SOME LOVE

"People accept the love they think they deserve"
My favourite quote from one of my favourite books "Perks of a Wallflower"

Apologies for the MASSIVE image of me. I'm not actually that fond of getting my photo taken but how could I write a post on loving yourself and then let my insecurities take over?

So what's your thoughts on Valentines? a day where you can show people how much you care? or just another day? I believe we should show love EVERY day but you know how it is, we get so caught up in our lives we forget and need an allocated day where we are reminded to do this.

However the one person you should treat well every day is yourself! If your not happy with yourself how can anyone else make you happy? 
We constantly look to external factors to make us feel good internally, this can work temporarily but for a long term fix you need to accept some responsibility for yourself.

Sorry if that sounded a bit heavy and harsh but it's true. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture or take a long time to work on.

I've found that it helps to ~
Start small / Start now / Be honest / Do it every day.

1. Do something that makes you truly happy and brings a smile to your face, listen to your favourite song, do a stupid dance when no-ones around or meet a friend for coffee.

2. Don't over think what to do or make excuses for why you can't do it, just do something!

3. Be honest about what makes you truly happy and do it!
Do not let fear convince you that you will look stupid or that others will judge you, it's about making you feel better not them!

4. The key to making the "feel good" feeling stick is consistency, when you feel down you might go straight to the chocolate, hit the gym or call a friend but what if you were doing these things when you felt good too? It takes a lot of work to fit something new into your routine every day but it will be definitely worth it in the long run.

Another fun exercise to help you to start thinking about the promises you can make to yourself that I found on 
Gala Darling is to write your very own Self Love Manifesto. 
Start it with "Radical self love is...." and just write.

My personal manifesto is:
Self love is meditating every morning. 
Seeing the positive in every situation.
It's about fuelling your body with nutritious, healthy food and water but not feeling guilty if you swap it for cheesecake once in a while. 
Being authentic and not apologising for your approach to life. 
Self love is exfoliating and moisturising. 
Living your dream and pushing boundaries whilst having fun. 
Surrounding myself with supportive and loving people. 
Having a weird dance that NO-ONE will see but makes me laugh every time I do it. 
Doing what's best for me.
Self love is about being an individual and being connected. 
Learning lessons that are never finished and always evolving. 
Self love is about celebrating the small and big things that happen.

You can never have too much love in the world but why not start with yourself?