Wow I’ve had the best day! I didn’t get to sleep until about half 10 last night but was bouncing out of bed at 5am for the Fit Body Farm.

We did a Hyrox time trial this morning and I was paired up with Kirstin and we had to get around the following as fast as possible.

• 1000m run
• 50 burpee broad jumps
• 100 forward lunges
• 1000m ski-erg
• 30 hand release press-ups
• 100 wall ball target throws.

We just took turn about and got through all that in 30 minutes but I was really buzzing and fired up by it. It was one of those loving life workouts.

I came home on fire and decided to take the dogs straight out… I had a tight time schedule this morning!

Sooooooo… I decided to run around the dog walk…. Yep you heard me. 😳😆 I ran the dog walk loop after everything we had done at the Farm…. I couldn’t believe it either.

It was a lovely morning despite a bit of rain at the Farm.

I took blogging to a new level here. I am jogging and taking a photo at the same time. What the hell has happened to me?!?

I only stopped to let them sniff and take photos… of course.

So all of this by 8.30am!

Then hopped into the shower and got ready to head out.

The most important bit of news is that I managed to easily get into a pair of size 14 jeans that I had in the “too wee clothes drawer”…. I decided to go up there and see what I had. I’m so chuffed…. Sadly the jeans are ripped at both knees… obviously trendy at some point in my thinner life but hey they did up so I am wearing them…. To death, most likely. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣

Next stop was to Viv’s Nails in Glengarnock to change my toes from red to green! Random. They’re a kind of turquoise blue-green. Very different.

Straight out of there to The Little Coffee Caravan and picked up a Coconut Milk Latte…. And forgot to get decaf again…. Uh oh… buzzin’ even more and then headed I through Glasgow to Falkirk and crossed the Upper Forth Crossing at Kincardine as it’s officially known. I did not know that until I looked it up!

Had a long chat with my mother in law on the way. Great to catch up as I hadn’t spoke to her for ages.

I was off to visit my Auntie Jac and Uncle Ewen.

I’ve not mentioned this before but my uncle was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer at the end of last year.

Throughout February he underwent radiotherapy at the Beatson Institute in Glasgow every day for 4 weeks. This is a 50 minute drive through the worst traffic in Glasgow there… and back. They drove through all the February storms including the snow, strong gales and sideways rain. The second fortnight was pretty rough on him.

He’s been home for a week now and struggled to get the correct pain relief… until today… it would seem!

It was so lovely to see them both and he actually seemed really bright and jovial. He even came out for lunch with us which was a really nice surprise.

We went to the Saline Shaw Farm Shop & Cafe and it was soooooo good. Click on that link to have a shifty…. It’s just such a lovely rustic place and the food was amazing. I had the Croque Monsieur. Highly recommended!

It’s 7pm and I am still stuffed! So full. It was lovely.

Even the table flowers were super cute.

It was just so lovely to get to speak to them both and to see him smiling. Fingers crossed this is him on the up. They both deserve it.

I left at 2.30 to drive back down the road and had a long chat with mum on the way back!

When I got back I started on the housework… hoovering and tidying done!

And then…. I went over to the Village Hall to help set up for the Bongo Bingo event to raise money for the Hall.

Think they are all gonna have an amazing night!! The guy asked if any of the neighbours are likely to complain about the noise…… eh naw…. As all of us that live across the road have been involved in it.

I want to want to go as I think it will be a great night but I am not going because it’s just not my thing. Complicated huh?!? I’m nothing if I’m not complicated. 🤣🤣🤣

So a movie night for us I think.

So hope all the bingo gals have the best night and shake those glow sticks…..and hope you all have a great weekend.

I’ve had a lovely, busy day…. And now I’m in my comfies.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Ok so I started this at lunch….

I’m listening to Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast again and she’s interviewing Tuppence Middleton the actress in the new ITV drama, Our House (which I’ve not seen yet..) and Downton Abbey.

They talk about craving solitude and not enjoying social occasions and it really resonates with me.

It’s not that I don’t like people, I’m usually spending time with people I love but it’s the effort required for a social occasion that’s overwhelming for me. Ask me to dress up?!? Oh my actual word….. that’s the worst thing ever in my mind.

We have a village Bongo Bingo fundraiser, tomorrow night, for the village hall and I just can’t do it. Everyone who’s going will have such a blast… I know they will and yet I just can’t. I guess the not drinking makes it a bit harder. I can’t lose my inhibitions. And I have many!!! i have to carry them all around with me!

So it’s nice to listen to something and hear them say that it’s ok not to be the life and soul of the party. Here’s the podcast for you.

Happy Place – Tuppence

I’ve never liked it. I tried to pretend I did… pretend to myself that is…. But I know now that I never have.

When I was a kid and was a flower girl or bridesmaid I lasted for so long and then burst into tears, the attention always got too much for me.

It’s funny because I really thought I wanted to be in the centre of everything all of my life and yet actually the opposite is true. It’s nice to embrace the real me and accept me for who I am. Oh man come on… this is a moment! 🤣🤣🤣

So I’m very late today. Work was really busy again and it didn’t go my way at various times in the day…. I felt like I was swimming in treacle. I just want it all to go to plan and be perfect and of course it never will do. I need to learn that’s ok too and just deal with it.

Then I drove to Silverburn to meet one of my oldest friends, Lea (she’s very young actually but been around and there for me for a LONG time!) for a cuppa and give her a birthday pres in time for her birthday next week.

We had such a good chat. It was so lovely to catch up and we had a good giggle too. It was the quickest 3 hours ever! Good for the soul.

Starbucks for dinner. What’s not to love. Oh and I had caffeine too…… uh oh. Buzzin’ 🤣🤣

So it’s now 10pm and I have the 5am alarm set so I better try and sleep.

Wish me luck!

Stay safe everyone ☕️ ☕️☕️

Jeez that’s the rain and wind back on…. The beautiful clear skies of the weekend are long gone. The Tartan HQ portacabin took a pummelling today. The door was rattling something shocking 🤣🤣

With everything that’s going on in the world, this next one means a lot.

I went back to the Fit Body Farm this morning. It was dry way back then at 5.30am when I left the house.

It was a great workout this morning though I struggled to dry my hair at the end of it! Thin my shoulders will be feeling it in the morning.

The rest of the day has been a blur! It’s been really busy and I never even stopped for lunch. There just didn’t seem quite enough hours in the day today. That’s what comes when you work a 3 day week!!

Not complaining….. only one more day until my weekend.

I’ve got the Crochet Hookers tonight…. We’ll in 20 minutes actually… I’ve come home and cleaned the kitchen, made dinner (check me!) and have been watching Sweet Magnolias…. What a sweet but cheesy show!

Sorry it’s a quickie tonight but there’s really nothing much to report on. That’s a good thing… no anxiety. Calm and in control… check me again.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Back to work today. No stunning views today… just a portacabin in a yard in an industrial estate 🤣

I slept with the electric blanket on…. Didn’t actually realise until 5.30am when I woke up in a total lather. Will change the bed tonight methinks.

Today is International Women’s Day.

The day flew in at work. I spent lunch out in the van which was a nice wee change. The sun was shining at that point so the van felt nice and warm.

The wind has been gusting all day and it finally started to rain when I left to come home from work.

Ooooh now I love this next one about the ego. I have learned this a lot over the last year or so listening to Eckhart Tolle.

So much of what we say and how we react to people is our ego talking… being defensive.

I was the most defensive person ever. It’s how I functioned. I worked in a world where you had to defend your actions every minute of the day…..or so I thought. I even did that at home. Took every comment or criticism as an attack… when it wasn’t.

We need to realise that so much can actually be left unsaid. There’s no need to attack defensively with words when someone says something you disagree with.

This next one is so true… I held on to the old me for so long. I thought I was defined by my career. I took so much pride in what I did but never in who I was or who I am.

I never lost anything leaving my old job. I fought so hard to keep it when it was the one thing I really needed to move on from.

I have lost that defensive ego and it’s a huge weight lifted. I don’t need to prove anything anymore and that’s a wonderful feeling.

I am home.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Two road trips in one weekend?!? Cos that’s how I roll…. Honestly it’s been such beautiful weather this weekend that I couldn’t resist it.

Claire was off today too so came with me in the Loch Lomond adventure.

I didn’t go to the Farm this morning as we were late to bed. Of course I was wide awake at 6.05am….. should have just gone. Craig and I had coffee out in the white and frosty garden before Claire and I left at 10am.

We headed for Rowardennan on the east shore of Loch Lomond. It was freezing cold and partly cloudy when we got there and pretty chilly when we got there.

This is the car park you would use to climb Ben Lomond. It’s the end of the road.

Lovely view right up Loch Lomond.

This photo made us giggle so much as Claire sat so perfectly on the bench!

The water is so crystal clear. It was beautiful.

We headed back down the road to Balmaha and had lunch in St Mocha.

What an a amazing coffee shop! Honestly the food was sooooo good.

I had a haggis, cheese and chutney toastie it was super tasty. The oat latte was one of the best I’ve ever had.

The interior of the café is so rustic it’s lovely, light shades are colanders. So simple but effective!

Claire then bought us some cakes to take away! More about them later!

Right next to the cafe, shop and restaurant there’s a lovely wee memorial garden dedicated to Tom Weir the famous Scottish climber, author and broadcaster… he presented Weir’s Way.

Balmaha bay isn’t the prettiest but it was lovely to watch the ducks and the swans!

Check the colours on this duck…. Wow!

Actually the bay looks really good in these pics…. Just had to look past some long grasses and some rubbish….

Then on to Milarrochy Bay and to see the famous tree!

It’s such a beautiful place. it was so special today as it was so very still when we got there.

I wanted another arty shot of the bobble hat!

It was so calm… the wind dropped and the Loch was so clear. It was hard to tell where the sky stopped and the Loch started!

We got the deckchairs and crotchet blanket out the van and took a walk round the bay.

We parked ourselves here.

We had our cake!

The view just kept on coming…..

Then as the sun starts to come out it feels much warmer…. Then the breeze picks up… the water starts to ripple very gently… you can see it coming across the water.

Now almost at the shore.

And now its beautiful but freezing!!!

Toooooo cold!!! Back on the road again….

This time to Helensburgh for sunset and a wee bag of chips!

We were too cold after about 5 minutes that we ended up back in the van!

What a perfect end to a perfect day. Great company and a great wee road trip for the day.

We are so blessed to have all of this on our doorstep.

Back to work tomorrow. The weather is due to turn. Here comes second winter….. 🤣

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️

I’m feeling reflective this lovely Sunday morning. Didn’t wake up until 6.38am which if no half bad for me. 🤦🏻‍♀️😆

My first thoughts turned to yesterday and as usual my Sunday morning FB feed gives me everything I needed to hear.

I often get asked how I find all the wee images and quotes I put in the blog. I have my FB feed set up to fill me with positivity now. No more trying to keep up with the Joneses… I don’t want what others have, I don’t see any feed that triggers me in any em way and if it does, it’s gone… so I digress…. This morning FB is the gift that keeps on giving.

Oh ok then…. New beginnings you say? Could this be the turning point in my daily blog where I actually realise that writing about my travels cheer people up rather than me my whinging when I have a bad day. (don’t worry I’ll always be honest and if it’s bad I’ll say as I have to speak my truth.

Well no-one can accuse me of not being real. You get it warts and all. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣

Now that’s an interesting one. I felt very alone yesterday but I wasn’t lonely. I felt conspicuous, I felt awkward.

Well yes… Brené Brown…. That summed up exactly how I felt yesterday. Extremely awkward, like I was being watched, judged… the negative committee that meets inside my head had a 3 line whip for attendance yesterday and they were all waiting for me to fail, to embarrass myself. What if I blew a tyre, what if Abbie wouldn’t start, what if I drove off the ferry ramp (ok this one’s a stretch even for me) but you get the jist….

I have been bored by my lack of activity at weekends recently. Yet not enough to actually plan anything in case I am tired and need a nap. This weekend I’m pushing past the boredom and fear of tiredness. Yet so many times yesterday I panicked thinking how crazy my decision was.

There was a tiny spark yesterday that showed me how to change. I pretty much talked to myself all the way round the island.. you’ve got this girl… and despite it all… I did have it.

It’s ok to be me again….. strong words.

When I look back over the years, Uni, Business degree, Receptionist, Buyer, Senior Buyer, Account Manager, Contract Manager, Commercial Manager, Group Commercial Manager….. none of that was me.

I went to Uni as all my friends were going. I didn’t know what to do so I chose Business as my dad had worked his way up through the Bank of Scotland and Business seemed as good a degree as any. I couldn’t speak up as I didn’t have my own opinion at the time, just did what I thought people expected me to do. No more.

This makes me laugh a bit too hard. Functionally no different from a big leaf. 🤣🤣🤣

I’m always running to others to help me make sense and “fix” what I think are my problems. It feels like now is the time to start taking responsibility for them myself. No one else is going to change things for me, only me.

So that said… I’m off out into the freezing cold but beautifully sunny garden to tackle the weeds in my meadow garden.

There is not a cloud in the sky. (Zoom in to see the British Airways coming in to land in Glasgow!)

It’s really cold but weeding helps and soon I’m in a T-shirt…. It’s maybe not quite that warm but I’m determined. Remember the big leaf needs it’s sunlight to flourish! 🤣

I don’t last long…. Weeding that is…. My sudden burst of enthusiasm is taken over by a desire to sit and to just enough the warmth on my face. The dose of vitamin D. Plus there’s always an ball to be thrown!

I was then hit by the ball and the phone as I took this photo…

So I’ve pretty much given up and am sitting outside in the sun…. I realise this is Fool’s Spring and second winter will be here next week so I’m enjoying so relaxation time.

I have literally sat in the sun all morning…. I finally went in at 2pm to have my shower as we have party in the pub at 3pm.

We sat out on the beer garden when we first got there, it was lovely. At about 4.30 it turned chilly and we headed in for some lovely buffet! It was great to get a wee catch up with a lot of the neighbours.

We headed home after 6 to feed the dogs and are now sitting outside by the fire that we started earlier. We can hear the band playing in the background.

There are loads of birds tweeting and the moon is the tiniest sliver of white in the sky behind a very spooky tree!

Amen to that.

I’m so lucky to have tomorrow off work and it’s going to be another lovely cold but sunny day.

I’ve another wee day trip planned. The forecast is to be horrific again by Wednesday… that’s when second winter kicks in!

Stay safe everyone 🔥🔥🔥

It was a beautiful morning! There was a slight dusting of ice on the van when I left for the Fit Body Farm at 5.30am. For the first time in about 4 months we actually did some of our workout in almost daylight.

I really enjoyed the workout today. I was buzzing and worked hard. It feels great.

The sky was lovely again this morning and it got quite warm when the sun came out. I say warm, it was Scotland warm. 6C or something like that!

So we’re heading over to Lauder today to deliver a customers van. It’s a 2 hour drive and 100 miles. For the first time today I joined the zero club and “almost” ran out of fuel. 😱😱😱

The fuel light came on at Harthill on the M8 which was only halfway and as soon as we turned off the Edinburgh city bypass, the fuel just plummeted. I got to the point when the fuel was down to 5 miles and we still had 15 to go. I was free wheeling down the hill from Soutra. I’ve never been so glad to see a Co-op petrol station!!!! I was sitting at 0 miles for at least the last 5 miles of the drive and I was actually shaking by the time I got to the petrol station. Adrenaline is a funny thing.

Our customer had a small herd of heilan’ coos…… and I couldn’t get a photo of them!!!! They were beautiful.

So here’s a photo of one I took in Nairn just so you know what they looked like 🤣🤣🤣

We hit heavy traffic on the way back so didn’t get back to Tartan HQ until 4pm. A quick day.

It was a beautiful day when I got home. Cold but very sunny so I took the dogs up the hill for a good run. They had lovely Auntie Claire let them out again today.

My anxiety didn’t allow me to ask her to do it twice in one week but worried she would be offended if I asked someone else… this is how my mind works.. so I gave her first refusal. 🤣🤣 so grateful for her help.

They posed beautifully for her.

So back to the walk….. beeeee-U-tiful!

So a good day…. And I have the day off on Monday woo hoo!

Hope you all have a great weekend. I say that and hope that I can manage not to freak out in some way, as I seem to do when I have some time off and no plans…. I feel positive so fingers crossed I can keep it that way.

Stay safe everyone 💛🧡♥️

After a fairly dreich and miserable day we’re getting a lovely sunset tonight.

These are the various views from our garden!

Of course it keeps changing!

I was so close to turning left instead of right, after work and heading to the coast but it looked cloudy and I didn’t think it would be very spectacular. I think I may have been wrong!

It’s calm and still again tonight, the wind has died right back down.

I was later home. I worked until 5. Gone are the days when 5pm would have been an early finish for me. 🥳🎉

This is the view behind me. The whole sky is lit up.

I’m kicking balls for the pups.

They’re having a wee rest in between!

I had another very busy day today… yup I just said that. I’m actually working tomorrow as we’re taking a van down to a customer in Lauder.

I am now standing up on our wee table to get a better view. If anyone looks out the pub window they’ll think I’m off my head.

Wow!

Calaidh just wants the ball!

So back to work… so yeah working tomorrow and then off on Monday instead. Got so much to do that I felt like I was trying to finish up for a fortnight off tonight.

Look at these colours! 🧡💛🧡

It’s all good. I had a few internal revelations over yesterday and today. I realise I get very stressed out by delegating work. This is more because of the way I work. I can’t always explain it and I need to be sitting in front of the thing thinking how best to tackle it to get it done as quickly and as accurately as possible. I get anxious when I can’t explain what I mean or change my mind frequently as I look like I don’t know what I’m doing. The more anxious I behave the more flustered I get. Then I start to really look like I have no idea. Or at least that’s how I see it.

Craig can talk someone through how to work our tv remote…. Remotely. 🤣🤣 Now many of you might laugh here and think, big deal, but I can’t do that. I need the remote in my hand to be able to explain it. I need to see and feel the buttons to be able to work them.

Ok so I’m now heading back in the house as I’m standing on a table in the dark, writing this and the sunset show is over. 🤣🤣🤣

My head is very quick to baulk at certain mental tasks… mental arithmetic just sends it in chaos.

So half of the battle is identifying it… the next step is how to negotiate my way around it.

How ironic is it that so many of my little quotes are in sunset colours today. That is a 100% coincidence…. Funny that eh?!

Stay safe everyone 🧡💛🧡

Let’s start by saying that the doorbell went about 8.30pm last night and it was Louise from next door with 4 hot pancakes as she’d made too many!!! How amazing was that… I hoped for pancakes and they came!

I mean….. wow!

It was fur-eeeeeeeezing this morning. I was cold through to my bones. I spent most of the morning with my shoulders up around my ears… why do we think that makes us warmer?!

The van was frosty at 5.30am when we left for the Farm. By the time I went out, super hubby had already scraped my windscreen. Brownie points there.

I could already see the start of the sunrise when our 6am session kicked off and it was almost light by the time we finished.

I really need to watch my power lines in my lovely sunrise photos… 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤣

The sun was up by the time I came out the shower.

There are loads of crocuses (or croci) and snowdrops growing at the Farm.

Such a lovely venue and the morning light gives such a warm glow.

There are clouds forming already.

As I drove off down the drive I had to stop and take one last photo.

Now I only work about 20 minutes away from here… it was a lovely drive down but by the time I got there it was all clouded over and within an hour it was raining.

I had the busiest day. I never stopped for breakfast until lunchtime!

A lot of chat again at work today so I took myself round to our local wee takeaway for lunch and had a cheese and ham toastie….. and crisps…. And a cake….. it needed doing!

The day flew in.

We were very lucky to have Claire, next door, letting the puppers out today as Craig couldn’t get home. She sent me a lovely wee clip of her opening the door to them coming running out. So soeakcila.

I rushed home tonight to take them out for a walk in the rain and wind… again!

How many birds are there?!?

It’s really a very spooky tree! I saw my first daffodil this year!

It’s not the prettiest of daffies but it’s a start…. There are sooooo many more to come!

The old lime kilns looked amazing today with all the tree foliage gone before this years grow.

Such a difference from last nights sunset.

The Gateside Hookers are meeting tonight which feels like the first time in ages. We have poppies to concentrate on if we’re going to get anything done in time for November! Let’s see how we get on tonight. I haven’t crocheted in ages!

So no much else to report. I’m still not jumping through hoops of joy this week but I’m managing.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️