Tag Archives: ramblings

Can We Please Stop Making Our Pleasures ‘Guilty’?

This is something that I see on a near daily basis. ‘Listening to X is my biggest guilty pleasure!’, ‘I have an unhealthy obsession with X!’; we are constantly putting down the things we love. This is the official definition from Google:

‘guilty pleasure (noun)

something, such as a film, television programme, or piece of music, that one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard.’

Now I don’t know about you, but I can’t actually see anything in that definition that implies we should feel in the slightest bit bad about what we like. Sure, what we like might not be commonly appreciated, but that doesn’t mean to say we shouldn’t like it anyway.

So why do we call them guilty pleasures? Do we really feel bad about liking them? We certainly don’t seem to be too embarrassed by them if we’re tweeting about them or putting them our online profiles, so why not just own the fact that its something you like?

Its far from a secret that I love Disney, right? Well that’s because I talk about it all the time. I love talking about it, I even take pride in it, so when I see people claiming that Disney is their ‘biggest guilty pleasure’, I can’t help but take a little offence in the fact that they think its something that they should be embarrassed by or feel guilty about. I’ve talked before about referring to certain food as ‘guilty’ or ‘cheat food’, and personally I don’t think its any different when talking about other aspects of life. We’re imposing our own negative connotations, rather than just enjoying life.

If you love listening to Spice Girls, good for you! Like to put ketchup on pancakes? Ok! Just be confident in who you are and what you like.

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I Can Be Body Positive While Still Wanting to Change Mine

2017 has been a huge year for body positivity. Its been at the forefront of a lot of brand campaigns, its been discussed a great deal more in the media and I’ve seen so many more people I know talking about it on social media and embracing it.

I think every girl knows what its like to hate their body. From a young age we’re faced with pressure to comply to certain body standards, and made to feel awful about ourselves if we don’t fit in. I actually remember lying about my weight when I was in primary school. That’s right, I was no older than 10 or 11 the first time I lied about my weight because I knew I weighed more than the other girls in my class and I didn’t want them to make fun of me.

I remember being nervous about going shopping with my friends when I started secondary school because I didn’t want them to see me picking up clothes that were sized larger than my age, and I remember one time, when I was finally passing my real chunky phase, feeling so happy that when my friends said I should try on a dress that I actually fit into my age/size. I wore t-shirts over bikinis at the beach when I was a teenager, especially if there were going to be boys around, and I’d always make sure I was behind the camera to ensure I was never caught in any photos.

Let’s just say, body positivity has never come easily for me, but I have never judged anyone else on their body. If I see any girl of any size doing her thing I’m like YASS GIRLLL OWN IT; I love seeing body positivity in others, and even if that person isn’t particularly body positive themselves, I’ll happily be their cheerleader.

Over the last few years, however, I have been learning to own my body. My confidence has been growing courtesy of going to the gym, getting fitter and eating better, and seeing the changes that has come from these actions. You see, I’m still trying to change my body to make it look how I’d like it to look, but that doesn’t make me any less positive. The changes that I’d like to see in my body are purely for me, because I want to feel healthier, but also because I want to love my body a little bit more, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be body positive now.

This year, for the first time ever, I posted a photo of myself in a bikini on social media. Hell, I even stood up in front of a whole bunch of people in said bikini for that photo to be taken. I’m wearing clothes I never thought I could wear because I’m more confident with my body. Yes, I’d like to be a little less squishy round the edges, but the fact is I’d be perfectly happy if my size didn’t change at all. I am body positive now, and I think you are all beautiful too.

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How My Blog Planning Has Changed Through The Years

It’s always October that I find myself thinking a lot about my blog and how much it’s changed. In just over two weeks this little space of mine will be 4 years old, and I will never stop being grateful for all that blogging has given me.I look back to the early years with a lot of fond memories. I wouldn’t like to call myself naive but I think that’s exactly what I was, but innocently so. Back then I wrote how I thought I should be writing, and when I look back I cringe over how the words don’t even sound like they’ve come from me, but back then, same as I do now, I wrote because I loved doing it.

Back in the day I had no idea how to schedule a blog post, and in fact there were a few days within my first years of blogging that I published about 6 posts in a day because I had no concept of the importance of staggering my content. In those days I didn’t even know how to check my blog stats, let alone worry over them, and I didn’t think I needed a Twitter account – cute right?

For the first year or so of my blog, I just wrote whenever I had the chance. There was no real pattern of much of a schedule, and pretty much everything was posted on the same day it was written without much of a thought. It was simple and I was happy doing that.

When 2015 came around, I wanted routine. I was still LottieDoesDisney back then and I still thought all I could write about was Disney, but came up with an ingenious blog plan and routine for the coming year. For each week I would honour a particular Disney movie, and represent said movie in various inspired posts through the week – I think Monday was an intro, Tuesday was fashion, Wednesday was DIY Thursday was food etc. I don’t even think that lasted two months.

The problem with this is I felt too restricted, and by this stage I was wanting to branch out and write about more topics, and this sort of schedule wasn’t allowing me the ability to do that. I quickly ditched that, although I never stopped writing about Disney, and change was creeping in, but it wasn’t long before I was introducing new schedules that were just as tight as the old ones.

2016 came and again I planned the year out carefully with a bunch of series that I was sure I’d see through, some weekly, some bi-weekly and others monthly. At the time I loved thinking that I was so damn organised, but if for any reason the posts couldn’t be written, I felt like I’d failed the system. Knowing I had to have a certain post written by a certain day of the week made everything feel forced, and I fell out of love with the writing, so I decided to let go.

I still plan, and I always aim to keep at least a week ahead of the game, but I’m far more relaxed with my blog schedule. I am, in fact, writing as many posts, if not more than I ever have done, but I don’t pressure myself and the words just flow much better that way. I try to have 3-4 posts for each week planned at the start of each month, and that allows me to fill the spaces with the spontaneous and off the cuff posts, which often tend to be the most popular.

I’ve always said it and I always will: I just enjoy writing and being a blogger, and what’s funnier still is I always say I’m grateful for what my blog has given me, but I guess really it’s what I’ve given myself.

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I Went Viral

Guys, I have actually no idea what’s happened in the last 48 hours.

Whether you follow me on Twitter or not, there’s a good chance that you may have seen a tweet of mine that unexpectedly took the Twittersphere by storm.

It was Friday morning, and while I was stuck at work, I was waiting for the good news that my ASOS parcel had been delivered. My DPD driver Paul was due to deliver between 9:31 and 10:31, and I’ve never had any issues with DPD so I felt like my parcel was in safe hands. The text came, and I glanced at it quickly presuming it would read that it had been delivered safely, and most likely signed for by my mum, but what I actually read made me to a double-take.

I enjoy a bit of delivery humour, and I’m full of stories from experience with various delivery companies, and this text didn’t bother me in the slightest. I had a little giggle, then quickly shoved my phone back in my pocket before I was caught out by a manager, but I did think other people might get a kick out of the text, so on my lunch break I decided to post a screenshot of the text on Twitter and share the lols.

Since then, everything has felt like a whirlwind.

Within a few minutes of tweeting the image, responses were rolling in. There were a handful of retweets, some replies and a good number of likes, to which I didn’t think much, but by the end of Friday I had 2K likes, and as I’m writing this now on Saturday evening, the post has almost 4,000 retweets and 23,000 likes.

I am absolutely flabbergasted. Little old me with my 2,500 followers would have never expected this sort of response from a single tweet, and since it reached what I can only describe as viral status, there hasn’t been more than a minute when I haven’t received more notifications of likes, replies and retweets. For this very reason I have no idea if anyone has actually been talking to me on Twitter because I am just swamped!

This is crazy right? I know it’ll probably fizzle out over the next few days and I’m certainly not letting this go to my head, but I am just astonished at how entertaining the internet has found this text! Did it make you giggle?

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Things I’ve Done Since 22

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to meeeeee, happy birthday to me!

I’m not really one for celebrating my own birthday too much; I actually share my birthday with my youngest cousin who’ll be 9 today, and I’m more about making sure she has a great birthday than caring about mine. For me a birthday just means another year older, and another year to fill with adventures and achievements, and this last year has been pretty great. Shall we reflect?

  • I quit retail – after 4 years in the same job, last year I finally said goodbye to my B&Q orange apron and traded it in for an office job, hello change!
  • I’ve been on bunch of incredible holidays with my favourite people – Walt Disney World, Disneyland, a Disney Cruise and Disneyland Paris, plus some mini adventures in between
  • I went on my first solo venture to Disneyland Paris – while I did see some friends while I was out there, my DLP trip back in January was the first time I’ve fully done DLP by myself and I had such a lovely time.
  • I got to work with the Disney Store – I know it was months ago now and I keep going on about it, but it was an absolute dream blog collaboration for me and I had the best time doing it!
  • Another 3 half marathons – that’s another 39.3 miles, not to three 10Ks and any training runs in between
  • I’ve become more comfortable in my own skin – my body confidence has been up and down for as long as I can remember, but I’m finally accepting and learning to like how I look, and I have even been confident enough to post photos on social media of me in a bikini on holiday which is something I never would have done a year ago.
  • I launched yet another small business – after umming and ahhing for ages, I finally opened LottieBounds, where I sell my Disney inspired creations and I’ve been so happy with it!
  • Our first anniversary – not only did I reach my first one year anniversary ever, but I did it with the most perfect guy
  • Matthew moved in – sure, we haven’t got to the stage of moving out just yet, but we’re finally living together and we have our own little space to be together in after so much time apart

A few of these may seem small to some, but for me they are the defining moments of the last year, and I’m excited to see what I’ll do before I’m 24..

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Things I Would Do Differently on my Next Disney Cruise

Yep, I’ve hardly been back from my first Disney Cruise and I’m already thinking about the next. No, I’ve not got one booked, but I’ve got some plans and ideas, which led me to think about some of the things I learned on this trip, and what I would do differently next time.

Properly research ports and excursion options

I opted for the ‘take each day as it comes’ approach on this cruise, which lead to a nice chilled trip and lots of hanging out on the ship, but I think next time I would want to spend more time going ashore and visiting some of the amazing locations that Disney Cruise’s visit.

Spend more money

Due to having other trips coming up this year, I had to keep to a fairly tight budget in terms of onboard spending. Next time, I’d like to do a few more of the paid experiences on the boat such as dining at Palo, treatments at the spa and have a few cheeky cocktails by the pool!

Wake up earlier

Disney beds are always the comfiest beds, and on the cruise ships that’s no exception, so it was all too easy to sleep in every morning, and while cruising is all about relaxing and not having to always get up early, I sometimes feel like a lie in is a morning wasted, and I want to experience more of the morning activities!

Show more appreciation to the servers

I cannot commend all of the cast members on the ship highly enough, they absolutely raised the bar for me, but the servers were really incredible. You have the same server and assistant server every night, and this means they really get to know you, and you get to know them too. They are all so lovely and hard-working, and while at the end of the trip you get to show your appreciation with tips, next cruise I think it would be really nice to also pack small little gifts for the servers who make the whole experience so special.

Do more activities

Cheesy as it sounds, I kinda regret not going to a game of bingo, and I wish I’d been to some of the interesting talks that they had going on. Don’t get me wrong, I had a blast just hanging out on deck and meeting all the characters but I’m all about getting the full experience so next time I think I’ll be trying out more different ways to spend the time.

Have you ever been on a Disney Cruise?

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When I Grow Up..

Next week I’ll be turning 23. I’ll be another year older, and maybe wiser, but I’m still just as unsure about the rest of my life as I’ll ever be.

Remember when you were little, and you were so sure what you’d be when you grew up? Sure, you’d probably change your mind every couple of years, but at the time it seemed like anything was possible, and you’d probably be excelling in your field by the time you were 25. Childhood innocence meant you weren’t thinking about what degree you’d need to get, or how you’d pay off astronomical student loans, and your main concern when it came to housing was whether your house would have a bouncy castle room or a room made of chocolate. You were free to dream.

Over the years, I’ve wanted to do and be a number of things, and as another birthday approaches, I’ve been reminiscing a little..

‘I want to be a vet’

This was the first job I remember wanting. I was animal obsessed as a kid (some things never change) and to me being a vet meant playing with animals every day. Apparently I specifically wanted to be a vet for cute animals such as cats, dogs and hamsters, and refused to work with snakes or anything else that I deemed yucky or not cute.

I can’t remember at what stage I stopped wanting to be a vet, but I think it came along with the realisation that its not all playing with cute fluffy animals, and that I’d probably be traumatised the first time I was faced with having to put someone else’s pet down.

‘I want to be a fashion designer’

I think I was around about 9-10 when I started drawing clothes. I’d always loved being crafty and attempting to ‘customise’ stuff, and I got a sketchbook and started to create my first ‘portfolio’. This wasn’t a career I was overly vocal about, and I think the only person that I actually told this to was my sister, who I seem to recall told me it was stupid.

While the ambition faded fairly quickly, my love for designing and creating apparel never did, and today I’m selling my creations on Etsy, not to mention frequently wearing them myself.

‘I want to be in a girl band’

Toward the end of my primary school days, me and my two best friends at the time formed a band. I created the music on some PC software I had on my computer, and we’d sing along over and over and dream about performing in front of audiences.

The band probably lasted all of a few sleepovers, but I continued to write songs and perform until I was about 15-16, but I knew nothing would ever come of it. My confidence was knocked by some goings on in my personal life, and now I save my singing for solo car journeys and being home alone.

‘I want to be a photographer’

I’m fairly certain this one fizzled out as quickly as it came on, but I have always loved taking photos. I remember creating a website and some crappy little business cards, but at the time the only photos I ever took were probably on my dad’s little digital camera.

Photography is still a huge part of my life. Its a huge part of my blog and its something that I genuinely love doing, so while I won’t be making any big bucks out of it, me and my camera are always going to be firm friends.

‘I want to be a forensic scientist’

This was probably my most serious career aspiration. Inspired by my love of detective type TV shoes and my love of chemistry at school, I had really thought that this was going to be my career.

It stuck with me through my GCSEs, but during my first year of A-Levels I was starting to discover that university wasn’t the only path I could take after sixth form, and I was itching to be out of education and in the real world, and forensics just became another pipe dream that I was now over.

As for where I really am today, I’m just coming up to a year of being in my first proper salaried job, albeit still in customer service. I don’t love my job, but there’s a lot of change coming up in my life and I know that my time will come.

One day.

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8 People You Need to Befriend in your Office

Its now almost been a year since I traded in my soul-crushing retail job for my first taste of office life. Time flies, huh?

I’ve learned a lot about office life this year, but I think everyone knows that a key part in any job is finding how to survive the daily grind with as little stress and with the minimal effort required, and I’ve discovered that there are certain people in every office that are worth keeping on the good side of to help with this.

The smoker

You don’t have to smoke to appreciate the perks of being friends with a smoker. These are the people who normally have a good supply of chewing gum, mints and perfume, should you be in need, and are also equipped with a lighter for that inevitable moment when no-one’s thought about how they were going to light the candles on yet another office birthday cake.

The grazer

You know how there’s always that person that seems to be munching on something whatever time you look at them? Yep, that’s the grazer, and they’re gonna be your saviour on the days you’ve skipped breakfast. (I am definitely a grazer – I have a whole drawer in my desk dedicated to snacks and you can hit me up any time for some Belvita, rice cakes, nuts or hot chocolate powder!)

The scary senior

In my experience, in any workplace there’s one supervisor/manager who most people will tread very lightly around for fear of any upset. Now I’m not saying to be a total suck-up, but earning brownie points and being on the good side of this person can put you in a very good position should you ever need their help or a favour!

The tea addict

Know of someone who can’t go more than about half an hour with an empty mug? They’re back and forth from the kitchen doing tea/coffee runs all day, and generally they’re more than happy to fill up an extra cup if they’re going that way..

The part-timer

There’s nothing worse than trying to find someone to cover a shift that you can’t book off, especially because chances are everyone else in the office is probably already working the same day. Enter the part-timer – their reduced, and therefore more flexible hours means they tend to be happy with swapping as chances are it’ll benefit them too.

The know-it-all

For the times you’re stuck in a certain situation and aren’t entirely sure how to proceed, its handy to be fairly tight with that one person who seems to know every procedure and practice inside out and back to front to help you with the next step.

The great debater

Is there someone in your office who loves the opportunity to jump in on a debate, or just has to get there side across in an argument? Well it might be annoying as hell sometimes, but in other situations they can be particularly handy. There’s a guy on my team who’s like this, and if I ever have to call back an unhappy customer and don’t particularly fancy it, he’s normally more than happy to take it over.

The optimist

There is nothing worse on a bad day at work than being surrounded by people who are just constantly negative. Whether you’re in a bad mood yourself or not, its draining and it sucks for general morale. Find the sunny people and stick with them!

What gets you through the day?

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Things That Happen When You Start to Think About Moving Out

So I’ve hinted a lot recently about big changes coming up in my life, and undeniably the biggest of these changes is that very soon I will be flying the nest, and Matthew and I will be moving in together.

While this might not seem like a big deal to some, it will be the first time I’ve ever left home; I didn’t go to university, and places in my town are so expensive even to rent that I was much happier living at home and saving up for when this time came. With that in mind, now we are in the process of not only trying to find our own place, but also brace for all the adult stuff that comes along with it – mortgages, show home visits and what not – a few more things start to happen..

You sign up for an Ikea Family card, and any other loyalty schemes you can find

The B&Q Club, Tesco Clubcards, you name it – anything that could either get you some money off or earn a few reward points suddenly seems like the best idea in the world.

Pinterest boards appear

Rather than spending evenings scrolling for holiday destinations or beauty tips, suddenly its all about decor, furniture and kitchens, plus any home DIY pins you think you’ll actually be able to accomplish successfully.

You start to evaluate your DIY skills

Suddenly thoughts like ‘how do you even put up a shelf?’ and ‘can I be trusted with power tools?’ pop into your head at random times and you fear that everything might just have to be held together by duck tape..

Important discussions occur

If you’ve never permanently lived with your soon-to-be new housemate, you’ll end up having long conversations about whether you’ll be a ‘shoes off at the door’ kinda house, or if you keep ketchup in the fridge or in the cupboard.

You start to panic over hosting people

Having your own place means that inevitably people will visit from time to time, and in these times its always vital that tea and coffee is stocked and there’s milk in the fridge, and does this mean you should always have biscuits in too? Is it rude to not have biscuits?!

Cashback websites become everything

Now that you actually have to worry about your own bills, when weighing up which companies to go to for things like power, broadband and insurance, its all about who works out as the best deal when it comes to that all important cashback.

You realise how many things at home you take for granted

Sure, you’ve thought about what furniture you’re gonna need, and you’ve basically decided on your dream home’s decor in your head already, but did you think about the fact you’ll have to remember to buy an ironing board, a dustpan and brush, batteries and ziploc bags?

If you’ve recently moved out and have any tips, please drop me a comment!

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Things About Me That Bother Other People

Let’s face it, no one’s perfect, right? Fact is, you’re never gonna please everyone. You can be the nicest person, the best at your job, be a style icon and make the best cakes in the world, but there’s always going to be one person who doesn’t agree with something that you do.

Its ok to have different opinions – they’re opinions for a reason – and chances are you’re not gonna lose friends over liking or disliking something small, but you might be met with a few ‘what?!’s and ‘I can’t believe it’s. I’m no stranger to these reactions to certain things, and these are the ones I get the most ‘backlash’ from:

I don’t drink tea or coffee

Simply because I don’t actually like them. Coffee is something that most people don’t really seem to care about, but being British and not liking tea seems to be some kind of treason for some..

I haven’t seen that movie

There are a whole lot of movies I’ve never seen. I mean, no one’s seen every movie to have ever existed, but often when it comes to films that most consider to be ‘classics’, I haven’t the foggiest. To name a few, there’s Pulp Fiction, Slumdog Millionaire, any of the Bourne or Rocky movies and most films based on Nicholas Sparks novels..

I can’t do anything above lemon and herb at Nandos

I have such a low tolerance for spicy food and for some reason this really ticks people off. I’m a straight up lemon and herb or mango and lime, and when it comes to curry I won’t stray from a tikka masala or a korma, and even then I’ll probably drink a bucket of water.

I’m not really a drinker

I’m not tee-total, but I hardly drink anymore. When I do, I’m a total lightweight and I’m not even kidding when I say I feel the effects of one Koppaberg quite quickly, and to be honest that’s part of the reason that I do say no to that first drink. I’m totally ok with not drinking, but when I’m out with others there always seems to be at least one person that isn’t happy about it.

I can’t stand reality TV

With the exception of this year’s Love Island, I can’t cope with reality shows. Big Brother, I’m a Celebrity, even X-Factor, they all just drive me insane and the rest of the world’s evenings seem to revolve around them.

I’m not big on Halloween

While I like to carve a pumpkin, that’s pretty much the only thing about Halloween that I enjoy. I’m not a huge fan of Halloween films, I don’t much like spooky stuff and I definitely am not the sort of person who wishes away summer waiting for it.

I like the TV volume on 17

I do not feel the pressure of the whole ‘tv volume ending with a 0 or 5’ thing. On our tv at home, 17 is the perfect volume for daytime telly watching, or if its something that needs a little bit more then its 23-24. Soz.

Do any of these bother you at all?

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Things To Do When You Hit A Block

I know I cannot be alone in suffering from regular bouts of the dreaded ‘block’. Whether it be writer’s, artist’s or just a general creative block, its the worst feeling when there’s just nothing going on in your head, or at least nothing that will translate into anything you’re happy with.

Know the feeling? Next time, why not try a few of these..

Take a step back and clear your head

A watched pot never boils and a blank page doesn’t fill itself.

Don’t force anything

There’s nothing worse than trying to force results. I look back at blog posts and I can spot the ones that I bashed out just because I felt I had to write something, and I’m not entirely proud of them.

Do something silly

Just for a moment, stop taking it all so seriously. Write a funny limerick or doodle something stupid, create something crazy just for the sake of it (but like I said, don’t force it) – just doing something can start getting those cogs turning again.

Take a proper break

If you can, totally walk away from what you’re supposed to be doing; take an hour, a day, a week even. You won’t find the cure instantly, but not being so in the zone for even a little bit of time can do wonders.

Remind yourself why you love what you do

Just take a few moments to list some of the things that make you love doing whatever it is that you do, look back at some of your favourite pieces of work or read nice feedback you’ve been given by others – take a minute to actually feel proud of yourself!

Know that this will pass

At the end of the day, remember that this is just a block. Whether any of these steps help you or not, they eventually go away anyway and you’ll come back fighting, so don’t fret!

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A Bloody Shame

Normally I would start a post like this apologising for the content. I’m not going to do that today because this is something that I don’t think I should be sorry for talking about. PS I will apologise for the awful pun of a title.

Two hours into my shift on Saturday, I realised that despite being fully prepared given the situation, I had bled through my pants and my trousers. I realised this while I was stood at the desk of one of my team leaders asking for advice on a situation with a customer, and I was mortified. I quickly adjusted how I was stood, rushed the conversation and dashed to the toilets, where I promptly burst into tears in a cubicle.

Two minutes of hormone and embarrassment fuelled sobbing later, I pulled myself together enough to attempt to think clearly. Despite all the team leaders in being women, which is a wonderfully rare occurrence, I couldn’t bring myself to tell anyone what had happened. I wanted to go home, but there was no way I was going to admit the reason for needing to leave, so instead I cleaned myself up as best I could, and thanked my lucky stars that I was wearing loose trousers with a fairly jazzy pattern so the patch of red on my crotch wasn’t visible unless someone was paying close attention to it. I wrapped my big cardigan around myself and went on with the rest of my day.

As the day went on, and with every time I had to leave my desk for whatever reason, only to be very careful of how my cardigan was hanging and if I was walking quick enough that no one would be able to focus on me long enough to potentially spot my red spot, I couldn’t help feeling ashamed on more than one level.

Why could I not just admit to someone at work what was going on? I could have gone home, changed and been back within 15 minutes, but the fear of having someone that I work with know about my little ‘accident’ meant I sat and spent my day on edge. But on the other side I couldn’t stop thinking: why should I be ashamed?

Periods are a natural and normal part of life for women, yet for as long as I can remember, I’ve been made to feel embarrassed by them. It was embarrassing learning about them at school, and embarrassing when you had to miss swimming because of them, or when you had to ask around to see if anyone had a spare pad or tampon when you got caught out.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m not really ever embarrassed to be on my period. I’ll tell my friends if I’m having really bad cramps, and have no issue asking for supplies from people in the office these days, but that’s not what this is about. Its not to do with how we see our own periods, but how other people do. While no one at work seemed to notice my stain today, I would have almost liked to see how different people reacted. Would I be met with pity and support, or would there be whispers when I walk away? I shouldn’t have to question this. I was too ashamed to share my problem with someone else, and that’s not ok.

No its not ideal having a patch of blood on your trousers but also why should it be a problem if you do? Its not your fault if Mother Nature calls early, or you’ve sat awkwardly and therefore a leak has occurred. Its not by choice, its just life and I’m so done with people being judgemental about it.

Let’s end this stigma.

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An Open Letter to Anyone

Dear stranger,

Hey, how’s your day going? I’m asking you this in case no one else does. If it’s been great then I’m so happy for you, you’re incredible. If it’s not been such a good day, I’m here if you ever want to talk.
I may not know anything about you and your life, but I bet you’re a good person regardless. I’ll always believe the best in you. I know it’s not always easy to see the best in yourself.

I want you to know that you are always good enough. Your hair looks great and that outfit looks amazing on you, and if anyone doesn’t think that then they’re just being ridiculous. You can look and wear and do and say whatever you want. Never apologise for being you.

I also want to remind you that it’s ok to not feel ok all the time. Whether your glass is half empty or half full, you can always top it up. Please never feel alone.

Whenever you can, recycle, turn off anything electrical that’s not in use and don’t litter. These might seem like insignificant things but in doing so you’re saving our planet and providing future generations with a life. One person can make a difference and you can be that person.

You will always be unique. Try not to compare yourself or your life to another person – they are just as unique as you are. Life is unpredictable, and that’s ok.

Tomorrow is always a fresh start.

I wish you all the best, always.

A stranger

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Would anyone miss me?

I’ve always been a firm believer that numbers aren’t everything when it comes to blogging. I write because I want to write, and only write about what I want to write about, and that’s how it always has been and always will be.

The last year has been incredible for my blog. I’ve seen such massive growth since I started almost 4 years ago, and the start of this year brought even more; more content, more quality, more readers. I was riding high and smashing record after record, growing not just in terms of my blog stats but also in my confidence. Then June happened.

As my life outside of blogging changed, I was struggling to keep up. I felt under pressure to produce new posts, and I felt myself slipping into a less prepared and more haphazard version of myself. I was banging out posts the night before, or even on the day, and reusing photos because I hadn’t had the time to take new ones. If I’m honest, I wasn’t proud. I decided to step away from my blog and take a break, but with that came the inevitable guilt; the feeling of failure.

I pushed myself back into blogging after just a week away from the keyboard. In all fairness, I felt at the time that I’d given myself enough of a break, and threw myself back into 5-6 posts a week, but while I went back in on a high, this last week has seen another low.

Despite feeling more on top of my life and having fresh new content that I was proud of, and was working ahead on my schedule, the numbers just weren’t racking up like they used to. I feel crushed. While I write because it’s what I love to do, I feel like a chef who’s cooked a beautiful meal but everyone’s already full. It feels wasted. It’s not that I don’t feel appreciated, it’s just that I feel that I’m not entertaining anyone anymore, and ultimately that’s what I want my blog to be doing; making people happy, inspiring people, or just giving them something to read on the train home from work.

I don’t know if I could ever bring myself to give up this blog – I’ve worked long and hard to make it what it is, and I am still seeing some small progression, but I can’t help but think: would anyone notice if I wasn’t here?

I hate being a negative ninny, especially on here, but I just needed to vent. If you have any thoughts or have ever felt similar, I’d love to hear from you.

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12 Things I’ve Learnt from Working 12 Hour Shifts

So two weeks ago I binned off the 7.5 hours, 5 days a week working routine, and traded normality for a 3-day week rota. Now I’ve not cut down my hours, so it doesn’t take a genius to work out that to be able to fit the same number of hours in, I’ll now be working 12 hour shifts. It also says that in the title of this post, so I kinda gave that one away.

At first, I thought I was mad for even considering the change, but two weeks down the line I’m settling into this routine pretty nicely, and I’ve already discovered a few things, and noticed a few changes..

I achieve nothing with my evenings anyway

It turns out that it doesn’t matter whether I finish work at 5pm or 8pm, I still get the same amount of stuff done when I get home from work. Spoiler alert, I do pretty much naff all.

I never have to worry about what shift I’m on

Its pretty impossible to forget 8am-8pm..

I never get asked to stay on an hour or two anymore

When you work from open to close, the plea for people to stay on for a little bit of overtime doesn’t get sent my way anymore!

I’ll still always get asked if I’m doing overtime

Whenever someone finishes before me, I can guarantee I’ll get asked ‘aww, how much overtime are you doing today?’. Nope, just my regular shift, thanks..

Snacks are essential

My desk drawer is stocked with Belvita, nuts, hot chocolate powder and a bunch of spare spoons for when I inevitably forget to bring one in for my morning yogurt. Gotta keep those energy levels up!

And I make myself much more comfortable

I’m talking shoes off under the desk, dressing a little bit more casual, and I’ve recently acquired a fleece blanket which I wrap myself up in on colder days and evenings. Snug as a bug in an office.

Anything to break up the day is welcomed

Team meetings, extra training sessions, one to ones, pretty much anything that takes a little bit of time from my regular work is an absolute blessing!

Suddenly regular length shifts seem easy peasy

On the weeks were I also do weekend shifts, which are only ever 6-7 hours long, those days seem to absolutely fly by.

I’m actually a lot more patient with customers

I don’t know if I’m just resigned to the fact that I’m stuck at work til 8pm anyway, but I’ve become a lot more patient with customers and a lot more relaxed about the parts of my job that I used to find a bit stressful.

I have way more stamina than I thought

When I first agreed to switch to these new shifts, I honestly thought it would kill me within a few days, but I actually took to them like a duck to water, and even my manager said she’s impressed with how little I’ve moaned during the transition.

Its not as tiring as I thought either

Sure, its an office job where I’m sat in a chair so it was never gonna wear me out too much anyway, but I still expected to feel a lot more worn out than I do, so yay!

The extra days off are so worth it

Ultimately the reason I took the change was because it means most weeks I have 4 days off a week, so I can dedicate more time to my blog and my small businesses. It also means if I do want to work overtime I don’t have to work 7 days a week to do it!

Sure, I am only 2 weeks in and adjusting to the change, but I’m already so happy with how this is working out for me, and it should mean much more content here, so watch this space!

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Things I Don’t Understand on Twitter

Back in the day, Facebook was my staple social media site. No matter what I was doing, I’d always have a tab open so that I could keep up with everything that was going on with the people in my life. Now I can’t stand the thing, and Twitter has replaced it.

Considering how long its been around, I’ve only been on Twitter for about two and a half years, and while it was an absolute maze to me at first, its second nature now and I’m totally proficient in retweeting, hashtagging and chatting away until my little heart’s content – even though most of the time I’m probably just silently scrolling/stalking.

That said, however, there are a number of things I see cropping up across Twitter on a near-daily basis, and they’re a total mystery to me..

Rant accounts

Yes, I know everyone uses their Twitter as a way to vent feelings, or express unhappiness at certain companies/brands, but that’s not what I’m referring to. What I mean are those accounts that have clearly been set up with the sole purpose of talking smack about a particular company or issue. I once had to block someone (who didn’t even follow me) because every time I tweeted something about Redbubble (and I only have nice things to say about Redbubble), he would reply by trying to attack the brand. Upon clicking on his profile, I soon realised that this is all he does on Twitter, and his entire feed consisted of replying to people tweeting about Redbubble. Whatever your beef is, get over it mate.

The constant begging for an edit button

I know the pain of a typo or auto-correct malfunction, but I cannot stress enough how bad an edit button would be on Twitter. Let me put it this way:

Imagine you see a funny tweet. You innocently retweet it, as does a whole bunch of other people. The tweet has now gone viral, and the original writer now decides to use their famous moment to get a point across. They hit that edit button, and change the hilarious tweet you just had to share into something offensive. Now you, and all those other innocent retweeters have just shared something potentially awful, and you might not even notice..

Sure, the majority of people might just want to go back and correct a minor mistake, but it does have some serious repercussions if abused.

Copying viral tweets

You know when one of those tweets appears in that ‘things you missed’ or ‘things you might like’ section of your feed, just cos its got about 11K likes and retweets. You laugh, maybe you also RT, but then you forget all about it. Next thing you know, about 6 people on your feed have either written their own version of it, or print-screened the original to try and claim some fame of their own. Everyone sees what you’ve done, boo.

The classic follow/unfollow game

Now I don’t always remember to check my notifications to see who my new followers are, but I’ll normally have a little look to see if its someone I might want to follow back. Sure, sometimes the reason I don’t follow back is because I’ve forgotten, or skimmed over the notification, but it could also be because I’m not that interested. The thing with Twitter is that it doesn’t have to be a two-way street, and I’ve written about this before, but if I haven’t followed you back after your third attempt at following me, not only does it mean I’m not interested but it also means I’m not playing your game. Chances are you’ll unfollow me again anyway, so I’m not gonna make an effort to try and support you if you don’t actually care about supporting me.

Am I alone in my feelings?

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Random Thoughts I’ve Had During Pretty Little Liars

Finishing a tv series might not seem like a significant achievement to some, but after battling with Pretty Little Liars for years now, and being very late to the game in the first place, I AM FINALLY FINISHED.

Not unlike many other viewers, I still have a lot of questions, but I’m not one for sharing spoilers for anyone who hasn’t yet finished, or anyone who might want to get into it, so instead I’m going to pick apart some of the silly little things that I’ve never understood..

  • Why are the girls parents NEVER around?
  • And what kind of setting spray are these girls using for their makeup?
  • It was a victory if I put on a dress for high school, why does everyone look like they’ve just stepped out of a fashion shoot?
  • And why has there never been a repeated outfit?!
  • For a small town, a hell of a lot of stuff goes down
  • But also, a hell of a lot of people go unnoticed, which isn’t very small town
  • How do these girls afford everything when they never seem to be going to work
  • And seriously, WHERE ARE THEIR PARENTS?
  • I’m all for being stubborn and trying to fix my own problems, but why would you not involve the police in some of these situations
  • How on earth can they go from a murder one night to totally fine the next day?
  • And how on earth did Aria’s parents just accept the fact that she was dating her teacher without too much of a fuss?
  • Why do some characters just suddenly disappear from the programme? And not because its part of the plot..
  • How do they have access to all this ridiculous technology?
  • And is it even possible to text from a blocked number?
  • Who even builds these crazy hidden rooms and lairs etc?
  • The only real difference in the last series is that they sit around drinking wine rather than coffee
  • I know this is just a story, but how could anything be so twisted and far-fetched?

Have you made it to the end of Pretty Little Liars?

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Its Okay to Have an Instagram Life

Everyone knows there’s two sides to life: the life you actually live, and the life you share on Instagram. One is polished, with perfect lighting and edited to highlight the best bits, and the other is all the messy stuff in between. We all know which is which.

People spend a lot of time joking about things being ‘Instagram-worthy’ or having an ‘Instagram life’, but life isn’t always Instagram-perfect, and that’s more than just common knowledge; its fact. Even if you don’t have a carefully tailored theme, you still choose to share exactly what you want on your profile, and let’s face it, has anyone seen someone post a photo of them doing laundry or 8 hours into a Netflix binge.

And d’you know what? That’s ok.

There’s nothing wrong with cultivating a perfect Instagram feed. We all know that no one’s life is perfect, but its nice a small outlet where you can put together all the pretty and happy moments of life. Now I’m not talking about being false – especially with all the recent blogger photoshop drama – I just think its part of our nature to show only the good bits, and I don’t think there’s any problem with that. Its an outlet, not a documentary.

Putting together my Instagram feed gives me so much happiness. Sure, it comes with the annoyance of the constant follow/unfollowing and the struggle with growth, but I would still say its my favourite social media platform because I’m a visual person and I love taking photos and posting them to Instagram. I love finding Instagrammable spots, or putting together cute shots just for the purpose of posting. It makes me happy, and whether its all entirely accurate to how my life actually looks, ultimately happiness is the goal, right?

On the flipside, I think I’m probably the most honest when it comes to Instagram stories. Sure, I’ll put the photos that I want on there, but recently I’ve also been using it as a way of sharing my venting my feelings through chatty Insta-stories, and I love seeing other people doing the same.

I’ve learnt over the years to not compare myself to the lives that I see on Instagram for this very reason; I know that the life I put on Instagram doesn’t reflect, so I don’t expect everyone else’s to. I just hope everyone is happy.

My life might not be totally together but at least my Instagram feed is cute.

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My Disney Park Pet Peeves

Its no secret that I love a trip to Disney. Every trip, to any park gets me so excited to be back in the magic, but occasionally there some things that other guests do that grind on me a tad and today I’m gonna have a little vent.

Guest who give CMs complicated cameras

There’s nothing wrong with having a fancy camera, but if you’re going to give it to a cast member to take your photo, at least have it turned on and set up how you want it. One time I saw a girl give a CM her Instax mini, still in some weird complicated case, and the poor woman had to try and work out how to get into the thing, and then work out how to actually use it.

People who sit down in queues

My sister is the biggest culprit for this. Now I totally get sitting down if there’s been an announcement of some kind of delay, but if you’re in a line that’s moving steadily (albeit slowly), I don’t see any point – all that happens is that you have to stand up again every few minutes to move forward, or do an awkward butt-shuffle along the floor.

Smoking outside of designated areas

Yes, I’m looking at you Disneyland Paris.. Disney are nice enough to let you smoke in the parks, the least you could do is stick to the set areas, rather than doing it in every line or public area.

Ruining the magic

Just because you know that there’s someone beneath the fur, doesn’t mean you have to make sure everyone else knows. Hearing guests say things like ‘that’s a different Cinderella than the one we saw yesterday’ loud enough for every kid in the vicinity to hear is not cool.

Being rude to CMs

There’s nothing cool about rude to staff in any situation, and Disney is no exception. Cast members will always do whatever they can to help you, but they aren’t responsible for a long wait time, closed rides, or whatever it is that has annoyed you. I hate seeing guests who think that they can throw a tantrum over any little thing and get their own way, and hurling abuse at CMs is just disgusting.

Line jumping/saving

I have absolutely no issue with people needing to duck out of queues for a quick toilet trip, and I also don’t mind if you bring your kid into the line a little bit later because they’re not good at long waits, but nothing is worse than 5-6 people pushing through saying that they’re family are further down, when it was just one person saving a spot for the rest of the group.

Walking around in chains of 4+

There’s nothing wrong with being a big group, but if you’re all walking side by side and no one can get around you, just be a little bit considerate of those who might want to get passed.

Holding up your iPad

It crushes my soul a little bit when you’re trying to watch a show or fireworks, and you can’t see because everyone’s just holding up their phone and filming something that the majority of them won’t even watch back. This feeling is tenfold when there’s that one person who holds up an iPad..

Apologies if this has come across as a minor rant, but I’m sure we all have those little things that bug us! What are yours?

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Dear Customers..

‘Have Courage and Be Kind’ Cinderella 2015

I have this real love/hate thing with customers. Given that I’ve worked in customer service, in one form or another, for the last 5 years, and haven’t chewed my own arm off yet, there must be something about it that does it for me, but as anyone who’s worked in a customer facing role knows, its not always a stroll in the park..

So consider this an open letter. We’re all customers and consumers, and whether you’ve experienced the other end of the conversation or not, these are all things that we can bear in mind.

I can almost guarantee that the first person you speak to is not to blame for your problem

The person at the front desk, the shopfloor staff or the person who answers the phone; unless its a teeny tiny company that only employs two people, the chances of that person being responsible for whatever it is that you’re not happy about is probably one in a million, so don’t start roasting them personally.

And just because we can’t do whatever you want us to do, it doesn’t make us inadequate, stupid, or bad at our job

We cannot negotiate fixed prices, go against store policies or make magic happen. We’re not being stubborn, and we’re not incapable of unique thought, the chances are we can’t do what you want us to do for a reason.

And if we’re short staffed, we’re definitely the last person responsible

We’re the person who didn’t call in sick, and we’re the person having to pick up the slack for the people who did.

Please remember that we are humans and more than just a uniform

Don’t think that your custom pays our wages and therefore you can treat us however you like. Please refrain from snapping orders (or fingers, which I’ve had before..), or speaking about us as though we’re not there. When working on a checkout once, a woman told her husband that I ‘wasn’t hired based on intelligence’. Oh, and she did that while stood at the checkout with me.

Also, if you see someone in a uniform, maybe stop and check if its a uniform for the store you’re in before you shout at them for help – a guy once yelled at me to help him on a self-checkout machine at Asda, and I have never worked at Asda..

Take a second to think about the day we might be having

I always try to think about how a customer might be feeling. If you’ve had a bad day, I don’t expect you to be a total ray of sunshine and I’ll try not to judge you for being a little bit rude, but I would hope customers return the favour.

In my current job, I sometimes deal with accounts where the customer or a member of their family has recently passed away, and it is never easy. I can’t just move onto the next customer without a care in the world when I’ve just been speaking to a grieving widow.

The reason we have limited opening hours is because we have our own lives and families

Please don’t bitch when we’re rushing you because you walked in the door 2 minutes before we were due to close. Chances are we stop getting paid from the minute the clock strikes shut, and we’re probably dying to get home after a 9 hour day.

Insulting us or being rude to us doesn’t help any situation

It does not encourage us to do our best work, and the number of times I’ve been personally attacked by a customer only to hide in a cupboard for 10 minutes, or even burst into tears then and there on the shopfloor is more than what is ok.

A little bit of patience and kindness goes a long way

A ‘thank you’ or ‘take your time’ means the world when we’re running around trying to help you and 3 other people.

We love being able to help

Our job is helping you, and with the best will in the world we can’t always do that. We don’t get any sort of pleasure out of not being able to help you, but when we can its such a good feeling, so please appreciate that.

When you’re lovely, you make our day and you make us love our job

Generally, people will always talk about a bad experience, but they will rarely share a good one. Its the same for me with customer experiences; I have a wealth of bad customer stories, but if you asked me to tell you about my best customer service experience, I think I’d struggle. That said, I genuinely do LOVE lovely customers, and if I spoke to the lovely ones all day I would 100% love my job.

Even if you may not be remembered for it, be the good customer.

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What Wonder Woman Wears

First up, I just want to prefix this post with a little disclaimer: I am a strictly Marvel > DC kinda gal, so I apologise up front if I say anything that isn’t accurate to the greater DC world, but Wonder Woman is the first DC movie I’ve watched in probably about 5 years or so! Also, there’s no spoilers here!

So I went to see Wonder Woman at the weekend; despite being a Marvel fan through and through, I actually thought the trailer looked pretty good, and while I’d rather chew off my leg than watch anything Batman or Superman related, I was pretty open to some kick ass girl power.

Seeing it over a week after its release date, of course I saw an initial response throughout social media, and to be honest, a lot of these tweets and posts were of very little interest to me as they discussed the plot and rated (or slated!) the film overall. What did keep catching my eye, however, were the people discussing the outfit that teenage boys reading comic books have dreamt about since 1942.

‘How anti-feminist’, ‘Why is she fighting in such a skimpy outfit’, ‘This is a step back for strong female characters’. SHUT. UP.

I’m gonna spell something out for all the people missing the point on feminism: women can wear whatever the hell they like. Does it matter what she’s wearing, if she’s inspiring a whole new generation of girls to become superheros?

I, in fact, loved that the Amazons wore what they wore. It displayed their fierceness, it showed how their bodies were strong and toned, not just skinny, and these are ideals that are so much more important for both children and women.

Would it make any difference if she was in a turtleneck and mom jeans? You’d probably find people complaining that she was too covered up and wasn’t allowed to express herself.

She saved lives. She stood up for herself. She made a difference. She had a heart and a conscience and a brain. Her outfit makes absolutely no difference in her achieving any of these results.

On another level, let’s talk about how this is the first major superhero movie to be directed by a woman. Patty Jenkins smashed it. Also, can we talk about how Gal Gadot was PREGNANT during part of the filming for this movie? I mean, if that isn’t totally incredible then what is?

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8 Reasons Cher Horowitz Is a Great Role Model

Clueless might be over 20 year old now, but we all know that as a chick flick, its as timeless as Paul Rudd himself. And while to the untrained eye, Cher might come across as a stereotypical 90s spoiled blonde, when you read between the lines, I think we can all stand to remember some of the important messages she portrays.

She wears whatever she wants

Who can honestly say they wouldn’t love her a catalogued computer system that puts together outfits for you? Not to mention she owns whatever she wears and that kind of confidence is something everyone should have.

She actually knew what she was talking about

While her school debates weren’t always the most eloquent, if you actually listen to some of the topics that she speaks about, she’s not chatting rubbish.

She always had the best intentions

Making over Tai may have had ups and downs for everyone involved, but ultimately she did it to help a new girl fit in and gained a true friend from it.

She had boy standards

She knew she wasn’t interested in any of the boys at her school, and she was totally ok with that, rather than chasing random guys for no reason.

And she wasn’t afraid to say no

Telling Elton to get stuffed and getting out of the car after he tried to force himself on her is a hugely important thing to portray for young girls to learn from.

She did mind that Christian was gay

Even when she did fall for a boy, only to discover that they were both interested in guys, she wasn’t at all phased and stayed really good friends with him, rather than getting mad.

She always looked after her dad

After losing her mum at a young age, Cher took it upon herself to make sure that her dad was eating right, supported him with work and cared for him endlessly.

She just wanted people to be happy

Setting up her teachers, welcoming Tai, championing a school charity project.. You can call her a bit ditsy or think her self-centred at times, but Cher ultimately was just a nice person who wanted to make a difference.

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Room For Everyone

I think its safe to say that if you’re connected to the blogging world in any way, you’ve all read or at least heard of THAT interview by now. If you haven’t, here’s the Readers Digest version: a big influencer pretty much called out the whole blogging world for copying her, and said there’s no room for any more bloggers in the world.

Now all thats really happened as a result of this article is that she’s alienated a whole bunch of her following, made herself look bad, and united the rest of the blogging world against this idea, but its raised something that I’d like to share my thoughts on.

Whether you’re talking about the blogosphere, or the small business world, or just general friendships, nothing is mutually exclusive. Reading one blog doesn’t prevent you from reading another, buying from one shop doesn’t mean you can’t buy from another, and gaining a new friend doesn’t mean you have to drop one. The fact is, the more the merrier! It introduces diversity and different points of view; 50 bloggers could review the same product and no 2 posts would be identical. Hell its like saying that just because I already own a whole bunch of highlighters, I can’t buy another!

I design and make things which I sell on Etsy, but if I see something similar being sold by another store and I love it, I’m gonna buy it, because it means supporting someone else’s dream. If I see a blogger write a post that’s similar to one of mine, I’m gonna read it to compare opinions.

We need to stop this idea of competition, and welcome and support one another. The best bloggers are the one’s who engage with others, and I’m always grateful for every like, read and retweet. I’m always going to do my best to be supportive to others and give back to the community that has always been so kind to me.

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Getting my Butt Into Gear

As usual, I have been suffering a serious case of post-holiday blues. I don’t think I ever really got over my holiday back in February, and now having come back from another trip I feel yet another week behind myself; struggling to find motivation, or enough hours in the day.

I’ve gotta shake this.

I always find when I go on holiday, without fail I get this weird surge of motivation to buck up and get my ass back into a routine, or I find a tonne of inspiration or decide to make a change. This kicked in at the very start of my trip, and I spent the majority of the flight out to LA scribbling away in my notebook. Upon my return home, however, it’s all gone out the window..

The difficulty came out of the fact that I went straight back to work the next day, still riddled with jet lag, and then on top of that, found out that a bunch of my work shifts had changed, which already threw my plans out of sync. I’ve been really struggling to get out of bed all week, and have little to no motivation to kickstart any of the activities on the action plan I wrote on the plane.

No more.

While I can’t help the jet lag, I can help myself. It’s time for me to pull myself together and stop feeling sorry for myself. I don’t want to be the person who hasn’t got any blog posts scheduled – that’s never been me, but for the last month or so it’s a daily occurence. I’m noticing changes in my body because I’ve been either skipping gym sessions or not having time for them, and this always makes me feel worse. I need to make myself happier again, and here are a few things on my plan of attack:

– Sort my Etsy store out – I have a bunch of new pocket and ear designs to get out, and I’ve just released my custom Minnie Mouse skirts, but I also need to sort out getting a proper logo and some business cards so I can promote myself better.

– Declutter my kitchen – my little kitchen has been driving me mad because I haven’t had time to give it a proper re-organise, and have lacked the time to do so, but I’ve written a step my step plan of what to do so I’m just waiting for a day off to get it all sorted.

– Get my blog back up to scratch – is ashamed to have gone from the blogger who has everything planned weeks and months in advance to the person who knocks something out the night before, and while I would never publish something I thought was sub-standard just for the sake of it, I’m also not as happy with some of my recent content as I have been before, and I think my stats are reflecting this. Time for change!

– Put more time into THFC – I hate that I’ve let The Happiest Fitness Co suffer as a result of my slump. I love my small business but I just haven’t had the time to give to it recently, but this is going to change so watch this space!

The next couple of weeks are gonna be busy but it’s the kind of busy I look forward to, and I know it’s gonna make me feel so much better in the long run! If you’ve ever been through something similar or have any tips, please drop me a comment!

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My Thoughts on the Response to the Tinkerbell 5K

For those who don’t know, during the Neverland 5K at the Tinkerbell Half Marathon weekend, there were no character stops available on the course for runners. There are a few different rumours flying around as to the reason behind this last minute change, but the backlash was fairly substantial. Here are my thoughts on the matter..

The Tinkerbell weekend was my 5th RunDisney event, and race #9 and #10. I’ve been doing RunDisney for two years now, and while the characters are certainly a perk, the reason I participate is just to run.

During my first year of events, I didn’t actually stop for any of the character opportunities, and I still had a great time taking part in amazing events in incredible locations. Characters aside, you get exclusive access to almost empty parks, as well as a lot of backstage areas, which are pretty damn cool. Also, while the character ‘meet’s are cool, they are incredibly rushed. You’re pretty lucky if you get a few words out of the characters in the process of in-photo-out-go, for which you’ve probably queued 10-15 mins for, if not longer.

When I heard there were no characters out for the 5K, and may not be any for the 10K, I was a tiny bit disappointed, but having run this particular course before it didn’t bother me because I know its my favourite out of all the RunDisney courses that I’ve run, and to be honest, the little runner voice inside my head was actually pretty excited by the thought of running a better time, as stopping for 3-4 characters generally bumps up my finishing time by about 20-30 mins.

I can appreciate that Disney races do come at quite a premium compared to other races, and that participants have high expectations for the on course entertainment, but I consider the characters to be a perk and not a requirement, and in the same way that events can be cancelled with little to no notice due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, other changes can be made with no notice.

This is all just my opinion on the matter, and the fact is, I’m just happy to be in Disney, and grateful for the fact that I’m able to run.

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Do What Makes You Happy

Here’s the thing: I love being creative.

I love designing and I love creating things, and while I’ve never been much good with pen and paper, whenever I make something that I am totally happy with, and that loads of people compliment, it gives me such a great sense of pride, I can’t even put it into words.

For those of you who don’t know, I have a humble little Etsy store where I sell handmade magical creations from pocket tees to custom skirts and Mickey ears, and anything else that takes my fancy, and recently its this little store that has brought me the most happiness.

I also run two small business, the newest of which being The Happiest Fitness Co, where I design and produce magical inspired fitness and leisure wear. It combines two great loves of mine: Disney and fitness, and it just reached its 1st birthday!

My other small business is actually my longest running, while I find I rarely talk about it on my blog or social media. Did you guys know I’m also a cake decorator? I’ve been doing this since I was 16, alongside school and sixth form at first, and then alongside working.

I may not know exactly where my life is going, but I know I will always continue to do the things that I love for as long as I enjoy them, and I will work my little butt off to make a future for myself doing the things that make me happy.

What makes you happy?

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Daily Thoughts of a Blogger

Its safe to say that blogging is definitely more a way of life than it is a hobby. Once you enter the world of flatlays and food photography, you also enter a whole new mindframe, and you’ll probably find the same thoughts popping into your head on a daily basis..

  • Good morning world, is it sunny enough to take good blog photos today?
  • Will I be able to get a good enough selfie to justify the amount of time I’m spending on my makeup?
  • OOH LOOK, my Instagram follower count has gone up!
  • (10 mins later) Never mind..
  • Should I branch out and use a different one of my way-too-many lipsticks? Nah..
  • Has my scheduled post actually gone live at the right time?
  • And did I remember to schedule any tweets for today?
  • Ooh, a post idea! Write it down, quick!
  • Why has no one read today’s post yet? Does it suck?
  • Can I get a sneaky photo of this shop display? It would work so well with my Instagram theme..
  • I wonder how many times I day the staff here watch people photograph the food
  • I want someone to take my photo but is it weird to ask?
  • Why am I not Zoella already?
  • Just sat down at my laptop and now all the inspiration I had earlier has disappeared from my head
  • I won’t spend my whole evening on Twitter *three hours later* oops
  • I checked Instagram 2 whole minutes ago, so I should definitely check it again, right?
  • WHY HAVE I LOST INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS AGAIN?
  • I didn’t reply to a blog comment three days ago, is the person going to hate me now?
  • Why does scheduling tweets take SO LONG?
  • I’ve been great today, I should really treat myself..

And the cycle continues!

What are your daily blogger musings?

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Why Destroying Mental Health Stigma Matters

In recent years, its safe to say that mental health has become a much more talked about topic. People are being more open, battling the stigma, and great change is being made.

I think its amazing. Every day I see people on Twitter talking openly about their conditions and better still, the world is accepting them for it. Because why shouldn’t we?

Cos here’s the thing about mental health: we all have it. SHOCK HORROR. You don’t have to have a heart condition to be conscious of what you do to look after it, right? So why should you be thinking any differently about your brain?

I’m lucky enough to have never been diagnosed with a mental health condition, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have bad days, in the same way that even though I don’t have a lunch problem, it doesn’t mean I never get out of breath. We need to stop thinking that just because we don’t have a problem, we aren’t at risk of bad health. I don’t suffer from an anxiety disorder, but I do often get very anxious which can lead to lack of sleep or random outbursts of sobbing.

The brain is not only an organ like the heart, lungs or stomach, but it is the control centre for our entire body. You’re damn right it needs looking after and taking care of. It might not product blood or vomit when its in a bad condition, but the effects can be incredibly harmful if not taking seriously. Take stress for example – stress on a particular body part can lead to a fracture, which is seen as bad, right? Stress can lead to the failure of the immune system. But if someone tells you they’re stressed over something, you tell them to calm down and get over it. NO.

If you have a brain in your body, then mental health should matter to you. Take it seriously.

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A Pro/Con List for Taking a Blogging Break

When I started my new job back in November, I told myself that I’d rein it back a little and keep my blogging down to 5 posts a week, rather than the 6-7 posts a week I was publishing throughout 2016. Well.. It didn’t last very long. In fact, since then I’ve only had a 5-post week 4 times, and I quickly slipped back into my previous pattern.

I’m not gonna lie, recently I’ve been finding it a little exhausting. In fact, since getting back from my holiday at the start of March, I’ve not entirely felt properly back on my blogging game, and that combined with a slight dip in my stats over the last few weeks has led me to lose a bit of motivation, so I’m debating taking a break.

So I’ve been writing a pro/con list, and it looks a little something like this:

Pros:

  • More time for the rest of life – I can’t even hazard a guess at the number of hours that go into writing, editing, photographing and planning posts, as well as scheduling tweets, maintaining a cohesive Instagram theme. Think of all the time for other activities!
  • A chance to clear my head – taking a step away from the keyboard for a week or so would give me an opportunity to shake my constant blogger mentality, and find new inspiration and ideas. I mean, a watched kettle never boils, right?
  • Sorting priorities – my blog has been probably one of the biggest parts of my life for the last 3 years, and stepping away would give me an idea of if I still want it to be such a big part, or whether a step back would be better for me
  • No drama or competition – I don’t get involved in blogging drama, and I try extremely hard to not find myself competing with or comparing myself to other bloggers, but it would be nice to distance myself from the negative side of blogging
  • A chance to fall back in love – they say you don’t know what you’ve got til its gone, so maybe I should walk away to make myself want to come back

Cons:

  • Dropping engagement – its generally the case that the more you post, the better your stats seem to get. Regular posting has probably been the biggest influence in my blog growth over the last two years, and I’d hate to see that growth stutter.
  • One less creative outlet – blogging has always been a way of expressing myself and getting my creative juices flowing, and while I do have other hobbies that help get my creativity out, this blog has always been the place for me to word vomit everywhere and what would it be like if I didn’t force my word vomit onto others?!
  • Missing sense of pride – I have so much love for my blog, and it always amazes me how far I’ve come in my little corner of the internet, and if I take a break, I’ll miss the joy of seeing a new post get a great response, or hitting another milestone.
  • FOMO – if I’m not blogging, will I be extradited from the blogging community that I love so much? I’d hate to miss the social side of blogging, but also any blogging opportunities that might slip passed me.
  • Filling the gap – with my blog being such a big part of my life, will I find that taking a break leaves me with a sense of missing something? What if my life turns out to be even more boring than I thought if I’m not blogging?

Quite the debate, huh? It doesn’t take a mathematician to see that these lists are both equal, and the debate is still ongoing in my head so watch this space. Or, y’know, don’t..

If you’ve ever taken a blogging break, let me know your experience and drop me a comment!

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Late Night Activities


I can quite categorically say that I am not a night owl. If I decide to watch a movie after about 8.30pm, I guarantee I will not be awake when the credits roll, and I’ve even been known to fall asleep in the cinema. Me and sleep just have this special relationship, and let’s just say I’m pretty needy.

For some strange reason, however, there are a few things that I can easily stay up way past my natural bedtime doing..

Sewing

For an activity that involves a fair amount of concentration, it seems bizarre that often if I can still be sat at my sewing machine up towards midnight, but even weirder is that I tend to be more efficient and creative the later it gets!

Cleaning makeup brushes

I find cleaning my makeup brushes oddly satisfying, and of course it makes sense to do them at night so they can dry out overnight, but it is a bit of a time consuming activity at the same time, so when its a pre-bedtime thought, it normally turns into a bit of a labour of love.

Dancing

My nighttime routine often consists of plugging my headphones in and jamming around a little bit while I’m getting ready for bed, but sometimes this quick jam practically turns into a pre-sleep workout as I dance around my bedroom until my playlist is exhausted before I am..

Planning workouts

If I’m hitting the sack in prep for an early morning gym session, my thoughts will often wonder to what my workout will bring, and I can get caught up in planning an absolute beast of a circuit to kick start my morning

Making lists

Much like this one, written at 11.30pm..

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32 ‘Controversial’ Opinions

Personally, I really don’t like the term controversial opinion. Your opinion is just that, yours, and it shouldn’t matter what other people think of it.

But in the interest of entertainment, here are a bunch of mine:

  1. I hate avocado
  2. I don’t understand the hype of music festivals
  3. Also not really keen on Katy Perry
  4. Coffee is yuck
  5. I do not understand the appeal of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast
  6. I don’t really like wine
  7. I don’t find Big Brother at all entertaining
  8. Same goes for I’m a Celebrity
  9. I enjoy cardio
  10. Not everyone suits tattoos
  11. I don’t like tea
  12. I’d rather have a long shower than a long bath
  13. I like mornings
  14. I also sorta like Mondays
  15. I don’t like to openly discuss my political or religious views
  16. The customer is NOT always right
  17. I’d rather have no friends than fake friends
  18. I hate Snapchat
  19. I actually really like Bloglovin
  20. I don’t find South Park funny
  21. Not every article on Buzzfeed is funny
  22. Yes Frozen was played out too much but it is still a good movie with great music
  23. I don’t really like Starbucks
  24. Ibiza doesn’t appeal to me as a holiday destination
  25. I cannot comprehend the worlds obsession with the Kardashians
  26. Also why do movies glamourise abusive relationships and people actually see these fictional couples as goals?
  27. I prefer Tokyo and Hong Kong Disneylands over Shanghai
  28. There’s nothing wrong with taking a day for yourself when life gets too much
  29. I don’t like smoked salmon
  30. I also like my steaks on the well done end of the spectrum
  31. I think burping is more disgusting than farts
  32. I think those suitcases with 4 little wheels look stupid and prefer those with 2

Agree with me on any of these?

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Everyone Deserves Help

On Friday night, for the first time ever, I blocked someone on Twitter for posting something that I didn’t agree with.

Normally, I’m very respectful of other people’s beliefs. I don’t mind what other people tweet, whether it be political views, personal feelings or just moaning about something that they hate, I generally go on the principal of ‘if I don’t like/agree with it, I just scroll past and keep myself to myself’. I see Twitter as a place for people to vent, and I like to believe that others would also respect my right to vent too, because nothing ever comes from unnecessary drama.

This person, however, tweeted something that I just couldn’t not react to. I didn’t respond, or pick a fight, I just decided to prevent this sort of thinking ever coming up on my feed again. But what was it they said?

Many of you would have spent Friday wearing red and eating cake for charity; that’s right, it was Comic Relief. And as I watched the ever harrowing appeal night show, tearing up at all of the unfair goings on of the world, I felt proud of the UK for playing such a big part in trying to make changes in the world, and doing as much as we can to improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves.

I won’t quote, or name and shame, but the tweet I read implied stated that those living in some of the poorest countries in Africa, the adults AND children dying of diseases that we’re fortunate enough to not face here in the UK do not deserve our money. Why don’t they deserve it? Because they’re not British.

Would you ever deem someone unworthy of help? Would you ever deny a dying child medical attention? I was honestly shocked that this person could seriously watch some of these clips and not even feel a little bit of sympathy to the parents who have to watch their children die, or for the children who have had to lose their parents. Does a person’s ethnicity make any difference? Shouldn’t we do whatever we can for whoever we can?

I’m sorry if this came across a little ranty, or maybe even naive, but I’ve always been charity minded and done as much as I can, and I can’t believe that there are some people who wouldn’t do the same.

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I Am NOT Blogging for the Wrong Reasons

Blog Birthday

I’ve seen a few tweets going round recently regarding bloggers being obsessed with numbers, and its true. Very rarely do I ever manage to scroll through my Twitter without seeing someone who’s just hit a follower milestone, or wishing to hit the next.

I have no issues with these posts, because when push comes to shove, readers and page views are all really important to blogging. What I do have an issue is other bloggers complaining that people who care about numbers are ‘blogging for the wrong reasons’. Nah.

I have always been fascinated by numbers. At work, I always love to know figures and targets and statistics; they appeal to my competitive self because there’s nothing I love more than being in competition with myself. Yes, I’m basically Monica from Friends.

You see, that’s how I see my blog stats – a way of beating and bettering myself. If my followers are going up, and my daily views are rocketing, that means I’ve done something right. Its nothing to do with beating others, its all me vs me. I get such a sense of pride seeing improvement in my little blog, and its the same with compliments – I don’t mind if I’m not getting them, but whenever I do its such a lovely part of what I’m doing.

Does this mean I’m blogging for the wrong reasons? Well I sure as hell don’t think so. Whether my stats are up or down, I still love blogging, and I still write because its what I love to do. But here’s the thing: NUMBERS CAN MATTER. I don’t make any form of steady income off my blog, but I know a number of full-time bloggers and freelance writers, and as far as they’re concerned, that’s what companies care about. Are they blogging for the wrong reasons? No, they’re trying to make a living.

Apologies if this has been a little bit ranty, but I can’t help but get a little bit offended when people get all ‘holier than thou’ telling other bloggers that they shouldn’t be thinking about the figures. Sure, I totally believe that numbers aren’t everything, and I always make an effort to not stress or obsess over them, but if I’m a few followers from a milestone, yes I’m gonna tweet about it, because d’you know what? Most other bloggers are lovely and I know they’re gonna hook me up.

So whether you look at numbers or not, just go out and smash it, because you’re awesome regardless.

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Why Its Okay To Unfollow

Why Its Okay To Unfollow

As society changes with time, as does social media. Its only natural that the change is reflected.

We, on the other hand, don’t always respond to these changes as quickly as they happen. In the early days of social media, when Myspace was still a thing and all the cool kids had Bebo *shudders*, we were all friends. Its the same with Facebook now; the connection is a two way street.

New SM is all about following though. Unless you keep your security settings tight, people can follow you until their hearts content, and while you get that little pop up in your notifications, you don’t get to say yes or no. And while we love watching our numbers go up and up, the old ways of social media produce a little voice in our heads that say ‘hey, follow them back’. There’s no obligation, but often it seems like a polite way of acknowledging this new person who’s watching our life. As well as this, its not uncommon to see promises of following back as a way to not only entice new followers, but also promote the idea of it being a friendship.

But here’s the thing: you don’t have to follow anyone back, and its totally ok to unfollow people. You don’t gain anything from having your feed full of content that you don’t find interesting or relevant, and its not like its a personal attack on them or their account.

Its also a case of interaction – what’s the point of following someone if you know there won’t be any interaction? Followers vs actual engagements is a huge debate on social media, and I know that I’m instantly put off by an account if, for example, I replied to a tweet by someone, and didn’t get any form of acknowledgement from them. In some cases, it does actually make me wonder why I’m bothering.

The fact is, its your feed, and your account, and you can and should be doing what you want without worrying about it. Put yourself and what you want first, and if that means unfollowing a bunch of people that are clogging up your feed with negativity or irrelevant posts, then go for it! It’ll give you more time to chat with the people that you do like to see!

If you enjoyed today’s ramblings, you might also be interested in my post on what puts me off following on Twitter!

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Putting a Positive Spin on Things

Positivity and happiness

I’ll be the first to admit that 9/10 times I’ll jump to the worst case scenario for any given situation faster than a rocket powered penguin. Yes, I stole that from the British Gas advert; I just love penguins. I digress.

To be honest, it’s just something I’m really good at. I like to think of it as preparation. I mean, if these ridiculous situations ever do come about then at least I thought about it ahead of time right? Ok, I might not have sorted a solution just yet, but in terms of the element of surprise, the ball is totally in my court.

^^ see what I did there? For a split second, I just convinced you (or at least I’m hoping so) that a quality of mine that the majority of people would consider to be a negative, or a flaw, if you will, was actually a strength. You see, I’m really good at that too.

I fall somewhere into the centre of a Venn diagram that has optimist, pessimist and realist circles, and while I think that that could be conceived as incredibly strange, I believe that to be totally normal. (Side note: I’m far from normal, and that’s ok). I guess whether the glass is full or empty, or any variation of the two, if I’m thirsty there are also plastic cups, bottles, mugs or just sticking my head under the tap if I really have to. I think what I’m trying to say is that I can always find solutions, or I can spin things in a way that will make me feel better if I can’t. And who doesn’t love spinning?

I’ve been thinking about a few of these situations recently; the ones that I’m yet to have a definitive solution for, and as I very much doubt I’m alone in some of these, I thought I’d share them. Here’s hoping they help someone!

I have no idea what I’m doing with my life.

Yep, I’m going straight in with the big’un. I am 22, and this hits home more than ever having just hit my 4th anniversary at the retail job that was meant to be a part-time sixth form/gap year job. The fact is for me, it’s got nothing to do with lack of direction; I frequently pull the line ‘oh I’m just trying to work things out, I’ve got plenty of time’. It works a treat when my parents friends or former teachers ask me what I’m up to now, but the truth is its a load of codswallop (I got the spelling of that right on the first attempt, woop!). There are a tonne of things I could do with my life, and better yet there are a few that stand out as things I would love to do with my life, and where I’m struggling is committing to just one. How on earth is that a bad thing?

Being single.

Ok, so this one isn’t true for me anymore, but trust me when I say I’ve done my time in this situation. For starters, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being single, and the 1+year between my previous relationship and my current one was the time when I truly discovered this. More than that, I discovered myself. I travelled, I made new friends, I became a stronger, more independent person, and none of these traits are going away now I’m in a relationship again. And as well as discovering more about myself, I discovered more about what I actually wanted from a relationship; instead of becoming that needy single girl who jumps at any chance, I actually took the time to think about dealmakers and breakers, and that too has shaped me.
Bonus point on this: why was I single? Because I was waiting for Mr Right to come up and smack me in the face. Fact is, sometimes you do need to go and put yourself out there; hit a few bars, download Tinder, whatever you want, just stop waiting around if you want to change your situation.

I still live at home.

And what? I’ll be the first to put my hand up and say that I love living at home. Yes I’d love to move out one day, and yes sometimes I wish that day was sooner than others, but my living situation is far from awful; I’d much rather be at home than in some god awful house share with people I have to leave passive aggressive notes for and end up living in my room because I can’t deal with awkward interaction. You know how most people have group chats with their housemates? Well so do I, they just happen to consist of my parents and sister, and I can tell you for a fact they contain just as many emojis as everyone else’s thank you very much.

How do you feel about things now? Better, I hope!

PS. I’m aware that I tend to ramble a lot in these sorts of posts. Truthfully speaking, my brain just whirrs away and my fingers tap to follow it and there’s not a whole lot of filtering going on. I think it best reflects me as a person, but I’d really love a bit of feedback on it if you want to drop me a comment!
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