I’m not in a great headspace today.

I’m still so tired and I have the cold.

In true Julie fashion, I fight it all of the way….

Why am I so tired?

Why am I always tired?

Why does it affect me so much?

Why can’t I stop yawning?

There’s a kid inside of me throwing a right strop….

I’m not fasting, I’m eating regular meals… maybe still not the best of nutrition all the time but certainly, no worse than most people and yet I am exhausted. (Of course I’ve put on most 9lbs already….)

I get plenty of sleep. I’m dead to the world.

I’m close to tears all morning as I get ready.

The voice inside my head is not kind at all.

What’s wrong now?!?

It’s raging with me.

I’m raging with myself. (You’re such a drama queen).

The tears started as soon as I told Craig I wasn’t feeling great and I was a half hour late to work as a result.

I’m tired and sad all day at work. The tears are never far away.

I had to stay late for a campervan rental return tonight and then had to go for a food shop.

I felt a bit better later on in the day…

Hmmmm…..

I’m nothing if I’m not authentic.

I haven’t done a morning FB positivity post for a few days as I haven’t felt positive enough… I sat with it for a while this morning but just couldn’t.

I don’t want to drag other people down yet here I am…. Dragging you all….

I did a 3 minute breath work meditation which helped calm the incessant chatter a bit.

I feel like I make life very hard for myself at times.

I never cut myself any slack… I want nothing less than perfection.

I want to be a woman whose heart is at peace and I know I am in control of that.

I am in control of how I respond to things, how I respond to others, yet I still can’t cut myself some slack when I just feel off.

Food for thought.

I feel better for writing this down… so that’s got to count for something.

Thanks for reading if you got this far without rolling your eyes 👀

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I woke at 6.30 and again at 8.30 and finally got out of bed at 9.15am.

Check me.

Lying in all over the place!!

That’s what happens when an early bird stays with a night owl 😆😘

It’s been fascinating to revisit all Linda’s university memories, less face it. I hardly have any…. I mean, virtually none.

How does that happen?!?! How does one of us remember it all and I’m just completely blank?!

I don’t have the best of long term memories to be honest, I have so much going on in my head that’s there’s not a lot of space for the past. 😆😆

So I got up and had my shower and headed up the wee hill into Piltochry. It took me all of 10 minutes. Such a great location for a house!!

The cherry blossom in the Memorial Garden, is in full bloom.

The Main Street is very rarely this quiet!!

I wandered about the town for a wee while, taking random shots.

Back out in the middle of the road, still not that busy!!

This shop had a huge queue outside it last night as a bus trip stopped off for ice cream and Scottish sweeties 😆

I stopped for a Soya Vanilla Latte…. It was really lovely to people watch for a bit.

So as I was walking back down the road…. I took this photo which I thought worked perfectly with the two people walking through the trees…

As I rounded the corner she was stopped to take a picture and I actually plucked up the courage to walk up to her and say I’d taken that photo of the trees and they just happened to be in it….. she was over the moon!! That could have gone the other way fast as it is a bit stalker-ish but thankfully, she took it exactly the way it was meant to be. She now has the photo!

I’m still cringing a little bit but I’m so pleased they have the photo.

I went right down to the River Tummel.

Love the reflections.

So back to Linda’s for brunch and we sat chatting for a few hours before I headed off.

And 2 hours drive through some lovely Scottish countryside… I am home!

Khaleesi going in for the big lick and ruining the selfie 😆😆

I’ve had a lovely weekend and thanks so much to Linda for making it so special. She gave me such a lovely room and cooked such lovely meals, a girl could get used to that…. Not a dog hair in sight. 😆

It’s nice to see my gang too!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

The sunshine is coming this week and I cannot wait!!!

Stay safe everyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🫶🏼💙

I didn’t get to bed until midnight so I slept like a log and woke at 8.15am.

A positive lie in!

I reminder when we lived together I was the early bird to Linda’s night owl! She had an epic sleep so I got up, showered and snuck out and left them sleeping.

It’s not sunny but it’s a lovely day with no rain.

I cannot believe this is just outside Lindas’s back garden. It’s so calm and still and quiet.

I climbed the 100 steps again and honestly… there were 101!! Unless I lost count. I tired to run up them but had the wrong trainers on… that’s my excuse 😆😆

I went into the Pitlochry Dam visitor centre. It was built in 2017 but I don’t think I’ve been here since then.

It’s got an exhibition on the building of the dam and the importance of hydro electric, bringing power to the Scottish glens in the late 40’s and early 50’s.

After the war, the majority of households in the Highlands had no power. Men returning from the war had no work and the Hydro Power Scheme brought work and many people to the Highlands. Business was booming.

When at full capacity, Pitlochry Power Station can supply electricity to 12,000 homes. I watched a wee video!!

I headed back to Linda’s for brunch and we finally got out the door by 1.30pm!

We managed to fit so much into our afternoon on Linda’s Magical Mystery Tour.

We started off at Pitlochry co-op and then headed to drop shopping at Linda’s mums house. It was lovely to meet her!!

She lives in the village of Moulin just outside Pitlochry. A lovely village that has a very long history.

This is a gravestone of Linda’s ancestors!!

These tulips were stunning. It started to rain!!

This is the Moulin Kirk. It’s closed to visitors just now….

But…. Linda helps look after it and I was lucky enough to get to see inside it!

We then drove up onto the moors and I spotted this Grouse. The female was there too but a lot more camera shy!

Back down into Pitlochry to

Then round to the side of Loch Faskally to the boating area. We shared the largest scone with cream and jam!!

The rain makes it really atmospheric.

Next stop was my favourite place, the Faskally Wood and Loch Dunmore.

The reflections are off the scale… stunning!

The rain stopped while we walked around which was lovely!

It’s just such a lovely place to be, so quiet and so still and so calm.

We saw two herons and this is maybe the best photo I got as we fumble with photos and videos!!

The fern starting to grow.

Heron again!

I also loved this wee tree…. The promise of growth.

Back on Loch Faskally.

Faskally House drive by…..

We headed out to Loch Tummel to the Queen’s View. The rain was torrential so we sat in the car until it passed….. it was so worth the wait. I’m not sure I’ve ever been here but wow….. look at the rain pass over Glencoe in the distance. A very special moment.

What a view!

I saw my first red squirrel too 🐿️ I couldn’t believe it and highland cows!!

I’ve had a lovely day and Linda had told me so much history of the area. She is related to everyone, knows everyone and just knows everything.

She honestly knows more than I ever knew!!!

She’d make a great tour guide and I love that.

Now for a lovely home cooked meal and a cosy fire!

Stay safe everyone 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🫶🏼💙

I was still shattered when I woke this morning….

I was straight up and out with the dogs. It was a lovely morning and we met Rachel two doors down and walked with her and Nacho.

I was tired and grumpy and having a good chat and a walk really helped my mood.

I can help everyone else when they’re feeling a bit out of sorts but when I’ve got a lot to do I just lose myself in the anxious mess…. I didn’t even have a lot to do this morning, I just couldn’t think straight to do it.

Back home and showered I started to pack for Pitlochry.

I’m staying with my friend Linda from University.

I set off at 10.30am headed for Craig’s house in Kilmarnock that we’re putting up for sale. I was meeting the estate agent. I was down there for a few hours before I set off for Pitlochry.

Linda was finishing work at 4pm and I am not kidding. I drove into her drive at 4pm…. On the dot, without even really trying 😆

It’s now 8.15 and we are still talking….. so this is a quick one.

This is at the bottom of Linda’s back garden.

This is the sunset from last night! our weather is not to be as good as this over the weekend.

We managed to get a lovely twilight walk around the Pitlochry Dam,, across the top, down past the Fish Ladder and down the front of the Pitlochry Festival Theatre. 🎭

The view from Pitlochry dam.

Loch Faskally.

On the dam.

The fish ladder was built to allow the Salmon to swim up a large tube from the River Tummel into Loch Faskally to spawn. They then swim back down the ladder to the river with their babies.

I have never seen a salmon on the ladder and Linda reckons she has seen one in her lifetime of living here but apparently.

Down past the pretty Festival Theatre.

The buildings round about are so pretty.

We walked over the Port-na-Craig Suspension Bridge otherwise known as the green wobbly bridge and boy…. Did it wobble 😆😆😆

The reflections are beautiful on the River Tummel.

A lovely end to a lovely day!

So good to reconnect!

Stay safe everyone 😘🫶🏼♥️

I am shattered today! I didn’t get to bed until after 11pm…. That doesn’t happen often.

I woke up at 5am still feeling like I was driving 😆😆 trundling along in Bertie Beetle!

My good deed was done and thanks so much to Gayle for being my co-pilot. We left at 6.10 and got to Alloa at 7.30 via McDonalds 😆 then East Kilbride and home again.

I dragged myself out of bed at 6.30 and honestly felt hungover which seems very unfair. 😆

I was really busy at work again today, so that kept me going and I felt focussed and clear headed which is good going on less sleep.

I forgot to say I had a call with the Doctor yesterday to follow up on my blood tests.

My high cholesterol is not high enough to worry about but should take care of itself through a change of diet. She recommended a 12 week NHS free programme which could help.

Now obviously I know what to do but I’m just all confused with my not fasting and trying to eat healthy but not consume too many calories either. I also seem to struggle with punctuation when I’m tired!!

I’ll get there. 😆

I don’t even have the energy to take our Henry Hoover XL Pet out of the box!!! I’ve not used it yet…. You’d think I’d have the house all done by now. 😆😘

I was meant to meet Lea for coffee tonight but had to cancel. She is so kind to be so understanding. I need space in my week, to decompress, to breathe. I hadn’t had any this week, my fault, but it was just too overwhelming.

So here I am, back in the sunroom, the Henry hoover still boxed and I’m going to have a very early night.

And relax.

Tell me you have Border Collies, without telling me you have Border Collies.…. A tennis ball in the shower!

Yes I happened to have my phone nearby…. This is what life is like in our house.

They love the shower until they have to get in to it themselves! 😆

They’re also staring at me until I point the camera at them 😆😆

So not much else to report. I’m off to Pitlochry this weekend to stay with my friend Linda from university. Really looking forward to it!

Have a lovely Thursday night!

Stay safe everyone 😘🫶🏼♥️

What a lovely meal and catch up I had with my Auntie Marion and Gordon last night. It was lovely to catch up and get a good chat.

The food was lovely too…. Except I forgot to take photos. We ate at the Riverside Lodge Hotel where they are staying.

I was home by 9pm and in bed by 9.30!

The alarm went off at 5.25am as I was running with Lynsey. This is a bad photo but the moon 🌙 was amazing this morning. So clear! Just a shame that the zoom out the window wasn’t clear!

Our run was stunning this morning, it was colder than we expected but as the sun rose it was just beautiful.

We ran through Spiers Old School Grounds. I wanted to take photos everywhere but I tried to limit myself.

My favourite gate looking very pretty this morning.

And again as 1 photo is never enough! 😆

This was us done! ✅ I found it hard today with tired legs and a bit extra distance but I only walked twice 😆

And the sun from my front door!

And my shadow!!

I took the dogs out into the garden when I got back.

I loved this photo of Khaleesi…. Her wee face, proud of posing in front of my favourite bush!

Could this next photo have be any more excited?!?

Finally a new hoover!! I’ve heard a rumour that the standard Henry is rubbish with long hair so this one better be good or it’s going back!! 😆

I’ve told Craig that I have to have the first hoover.

A brand new hoover picks up more than ever and I cannot wait. I am that old!

Work went so fast, I honestly don’t know where the day went.

Ellison and I sat out at lunch and it was lovely and warm.

To be fair I did spend HOURS trying to fix my printer. I’ve lost the WiFi link to print and I tried everything!!!!

I’ve given up.

We updated the drivers and now they don’t see the printer. I tried to uninstall the drivers…. I couldn’t. So dull even just typing about it!! If anyone is an IT Guru please help me but assume that I have switched everything off and back on again a gazillion times!!

I’ve had to give crochet a miss tonight as I’m off on a mission to help Craig get some paperwork signed by his brother and sister.

I’ve asked Gayle to come with me as we have to hit Alloa and East Kilbride tonight!!

Girls on a mission.

Roadtrip on a beautiful evening…. Must remember the paperwork to be signed!!

Hope you all have a lovely evening!

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️

Just a quickie tonight!

I’ve just finished work and I’m off to meet my Auntie Marion for dinner.

She’s over staying in a hotel nearby… I thought I’d do this now rather than waiting until I get home… although I don’t plan on being late, you never know!

I slept like a LOG last night. I always sleep well but this was really deep. I woke with a thumping head and couldn’t shake myself awake.

I drank a whole bottle of water and my headache disappeared…. I was just dehydrated! it’s amazing how you can affect your body like that.

It’s been a good day. Busy at work. And I’m off!!!!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I got up early this morning to start some strength training….

There are dots to that last sentence as I didn’t do it justice at all but the getting out of bed was something I guess.

I meant to plan my course of attack but I forgot… so I got out of bed without any clear direction.

I did 10 on my knee push ups off the side of the bath in jammies.

I did 20 tricep dips off the edge of the bath…. Still in jammies.

I had a shower.

I got dressed.

I found two tins of Heinz baked beans and I did 20 bicep curls.

I did 10 tricep pull ups with my beans.

I did 10 forward lunges on each leg.

I did twenty squats.

I felt ridiculous at the time but actually as I write that, I’m gonna take that as a win and it’s a whole lot more than I’ve ever done since I left the Fit Body Farm.

I sat and did Donna Ashworth’s journal prompt for the day…. Turning negatives into positives.

I ate a lovely healthy breakfast. Overnight oats with chia seeds, almond milk and Impact Vanilla protein powder, with desiccated coconut, banana and walnuts.

It was really tasty.

I had all 4 puppers watching my every move! Freya was just the closest one.

I cuddled them all and kissed them goodbye.

I felt a huge wave of anxiety wash over me.

A real fear from within.

A sense of impending doom.

It was spiralling out of control.

What if, what if, what if?!?

Breathe.

What if what?!?

There’s nothing to worry about or feel panic about.

Work was going to be absolutely fine and absolutely was.

I was worried about Khaleesi waking the neighbours on their day off, with her excited barking.

I was worried about Craig’s car going into the garage.

I was worried about my drive to work.

I don’t know what it was or where it came from but I didn’t like it.

I cuddled and kissed the dogs again. (Craig’s was still in bed so don’t think I was just ignoring him!!)

It seemed to dissipate over the course of the day.

Now that I’m not fasting, I am very conscious that my weight may be heading in the wrong direction.

I think I said I started to track my calories on My Fitness Pal…. I haven’t been doing it every day but I’ve tried to log everything today.

That lovely breakfast clocks me almost 500 calories!!!

Now I don’t want to go down the route of counting calories, but I know my body and I only need to look at food to put on weight. I need to find some happy medium now that I’m not fasting. I can’t eat everything that I fancy. It’s also amazing how all these healthy things add up.

Projected after dinner today I’ll be at around 2000 calories. (It’s already way more!)

I found a weight loss/maintenance technique that really worked for me…. Until I wasn’t eating enough and then read it’s not great for women…..

I sometimes think I have too much time on my hands to mull all of this over. I want to give myself the best shot in life and I have absolutely no idea whatsoever is best for me right now.

I don’t want to shoot up in size right before summer. By now I’d be bagging some big fasts for help me get summer ready.

It’s hard to change what’s become an inherent process in your life.

First world problems eh?!

I type all this…. Get up out of my seat and finish a bag of Cheese-its and then get started on some honey nut clusters…. The struggle is real 😆😆😆

I finished the Let Them Theory on my drive today.

I’m so taken by it. All the years of getting stressed by other people not doing what you want them to do, not acting how you want them to act.

Mel Robbins isn’t re-inventing the wheel here, just reinforcing the obvious option that we so often overlook. we get to choose what’s right for us.

We get some kind of kick out of moaning about our lives, the more we talk, the bigger we make the issue to be. We embellish the story and pass it on to anyone who will listen.

We could choose to “let them”…. Let them be the adults that they are and live their lives they choose to live it. Let them show you who you who they really are and let ME decide how I choose to respond.

How many hours do we spend in our lives raging about things that other people have, or haven’t done.

Let them.

There’s obviously WAY more to it than that. I’m really excited about the ethos of it.

We get to choose what we accept in our lives.

We sometimes forget that.

We are the only person we will love for the whole of our lives. We choose how we share that love. What a powerful statement.

So that’s me…. I think that was more than enough for a Monday!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

We don’t celebrate Easter except that Craig did get me a lovely egg which is long gone!

I couldn’t wake up this morning.

Correct that, I was awake but I lay in bed until just before 9am. I didn’t even look at my phone. I just sort of dozed and enjoyed every minute of it!

Of course there was the odd woo woo woo woo woo from the dogs to keep me from fully dropping off. 😆

When I finally got out of bed I had a lovely protein enriched breakfast. I’ve been having 3 small scoops of large oats with almond milk and a scoop of vanilla protein powder. I mix that up with a we milk frother that I have.

I put some desiccated coconut, a banana and some blueberries in it too…. With a few mixed seeds. I’m really enjoying breakfast. It feels like a treat and I’m getting used to it as I’m actually hungry for breakfast in the mornings.

After breakfast I sat and caught up on Danna Ashworths daily journal….. I was a bit behind…. Then we took the dogs for a good run up the hill.

It was really cold in the sunroom, with the back door open so I wrapped up warm.

It was a lot warmer than it seemed…. I may have had too many layers on! 😆

It’s a beautiful day.

In Scotland, the sunshine often changes our plans. We tend to head outside if we think we’re going to get a sunny day. We see so little of it at times.

The dogs had great fun and splashed around in a big muddy puddle… I’ve no photos of that 😆

Once we got home I decided to start weeding the garden.

It’s pretty bad after the first heavy rain this spring.

Before

After.

Before

After

It’s not perfect by any means but it’s a lot better than it was. After a couple of hours, I was burst!!

It’s just such a beautiful day.

This was not forecast at all.

We’ve sat out in the sun for the rest of the day.

The beer garden next door is buzzing with voices as there’s a kids Easter event going on.

It feels like summer.

My forest flame is blooming red in the sunshine.

Here’s the big one down the bottom of the garden! The colours are amazing!

And all of a sudden it’s 4.20pm.

What a wonderful last day of the weekend. Back to work tomorrow. At least the traffic will be quiet as the rest of the world seems to have the day off.

And yes I know I get every Friday off…. But that doesn’t make it any easier 😆😆

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

I’m not moving until the sun goes down 😆

I have flip flops and shorts on…. I’m making the most of it. 😆

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️

Another lovely sleep but I woke at 5.45am…. I’d like a lie in tomorrow please, putting it out there!!

Claire and I were running at 6.45am. We went a different route today as Claire had left the car at the train station.

I couldn’t believe it was exactly the same distance as our normal run, 5.43kms!!

And it’s mostly all downhill!

Considering how wet it’s been recently, we had a dry run. It was cold to start off with but we soon heated up.

The highland coos were out!

I had to zoom in a lot!

And we got a lift home!!

Of course when we drove past the field that the coos were in, they were right up the fence. That’s always the way when I’m in a car 😆

The run was great start to the day!

I went down to the little gift shop and had a lovely wee morning. There are so many lovely things in the shop and I forgot to take any photos.

Back home after 1 and I walked through the door to silence.

I thought they must be out back….

I get to the back door and no sign.

I take a very deep breath and let it out slowly.

I am alone.

I sit down in the sunroom, which is covered in dog hair and just relax.

I don’t completely relax because there is a lot of dog hair….

Freya is moulting just how….

Really badly. 😆

All to soon they are all home.

That sounds awful…. It’s not meant to but it isn’t every day I have the whole house to myself.

I’m not sure where the rest of the afternoon has gone but it’s 5.30pm!

Oh I did buy Craig’s 50th birthday present, with his help, so that took a bit of time. It’s not until July but I can’t tell you how much more relaxed I feel about it not that I’ve got something!!

So yeah, quiet night in as that’s how we roll. 😆

Have a good one!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I had no plans at all for this weekend.

In my head today was going to be a rest day.

It ended up being and unexpected date day with Craig.

He didn’t have a great night and woke with a migraine like headache and felt pretty rotten.

When I decided to take the dogs out late morning, he came with me for fresh air.

It was actually bitterly cold today so I wore my fleece lined trousers which I had packed away for winter. 😆

We let the dogs off lead in the field for a good run around.

I wasn’t on form either as this is the best photo I have!!! 😆😆

We headed back down and had coffee.

He was feeling much better after the walk.

We decided to head down to Irvine and go to the golf driving range at the Gailes Hotel, this afternoon.

We never do anything like that but had talked about it for a while.

It’s £13 for 100 balls and it was really lovely to have a laugh together.

I don’t do that often enough.

I don’t laugh much and I usually hate “playing games”. I’ve never been competitive in the slightest.

We had to queue to get a “booth”… if that’s what you call them. You get a tv screen with games to play and we started with Angry Birds!! You hit your shot and just like launching a bird on Angry Birds, your aim knocks down the structures on the screen. 😆

I was rubbish…. 😆 He’s wasn’t great to start off with, but his aim improved with every hit.

Everyone else”s screen was serious 😆 I loved that hours was Angry Birds. 😆

We then took a shot a the range game and Craig hit 232 yards while I managed a 99 yards!

We then went through to the GG’s Coffee Shop and had a late lunch.

We haven’t done anything like that in ages and it was really lovely. We both used muscles we haven’t used in years!

I realise this whole blog could be read with innuendo 😆😆😆

I couldn’t get a heat when we got home. The house was really cold.

Oh ok then… don’t mind if I do…. Thanks to Craig for this beauty.

I sat and had some chocolate……

The forest flame is still going strong.

And then I decided to go to bed…. Got jammies on, the electric blanket on and it now 6.50pm and I’m writing this!!!!

What a great nap.

Craig came up as well… I’d have slept longer if the electric blanket hadn’t fried me…. I’m already looking forward to going back to sleep later on.

It’s wet and windy outside. Perfect weather for napping.

So an unexpectedly lovely day spent together.

We need to do this more often. Craig’s been working so hard he is exhausted and a change of scenery is as good as a rest, though the rest helped a lot too.

Hope you all have a lovely Friday evening.

Stay safe everyone 🏌️🏌🏼‍♀️⛳️

I woke at 5.10am this morning and couldn’t get to sleep, I didn’t get up as I was enjoying my bed too much and couldn’t complain as I’d slept the rest of the night.

Of course I’m shattered now.

It’s been a really busy day at work and I felt rushed trying to finish everything before the weekend.

This really made me laugh…. It’s so me these days….. this that I’m done multitasking 5 tasks, I just want to stare at a wall! 😆

The good news is that Gayle and I are heading out for a wee drive and a bite to eat and I’m really looking forward to that.

Maybe catch a sunset at Largs again.

Sorry this is a quick one!

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I did not want to get out of bed when the alarm went off this morning. I could have cried.

I felt so tried and actually quite sore. My joints are a bit achey and I still felt a bit off.

I am never going to not run when there’s only 2 of us running….

I just felt so sorry for myself.

I got up.

I got dressed.

And I got right out there and ran 5.42kms.

It felt hard.

My legs were really tight and heavy.

But….

I did it.

And….

I loved the chat!

It was very Let Them Theory centric…. Since we’re both listening to the audio book.

Lynsey also sent me a really good link to one of Mel Robbins podcasts, which I’ll share with you. The female body reset

It’s really interesting and challenges so many things that we grew up thinking. Lynsey sent me it because it talks about new information on fasting. I listened to it as fast as I could. (pun actually not intended! 🫣🥴😬😆)

I hope to put some of it into action over the coming weeks… I might need to listen to it again to remind myself of everything 😆

It was torrential rain on the way home from work today. I got soaked and managed to aquaplane across a giant puddle. That gave me a wee fright. The roofs were filled with muddy rivers after all the lovely sunshine we’ve had.

So I’m off to meet the Crochet Hookers in a half hour. Looking forward to a catch up.

How lovely are the colours in this, let along the sentiment.

I’m off to hook 😆

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I’ve been so tired today….

I slept like a log and woke a whole 7 minutes before the alarm. I didn’t wake once through the night.

I didn’t feel rested at all.

It was one of those mornings and I could barely open my eyes and felt sluggish all day.

I’ve felt confused.

A bit hungover which is incredibly unfair after so many years without a drink.

I’ve had a headache but I’m putting that down to not drinking enough water today as work was so busy.

I can’t believe that this could be a hangover from all the sadness yesterday but all the ladies involved yesterday seem to feel the same today.

We have also been watching the show 1883 that had a really sad last episode so I was balling my eyes out at that last night too 😆😆

So lazy night for me tonight and sorry once again, I’m not full of wisdom tonight.

My head is pretty empty.

I’ve taken a photo of my lovely forest flame which is in full bloom just now. I love it… it’s my favourite bush…. Other than the rhododendron up the hill 😆

The rain through the night sounded biblical at times. I’m being dramatic (who me?!?) but that’s only because we haven’t had rain for ages…. It woke me a few times.

It was still quite dark when I got up. I’m working from home early this morning as I’m attending my friend’s funeral.

I’m at my home office desk from 7am.

I’m constantly being pestered for pets, Freya says auch mum don’t take my photo…. 🫣🥴

I left at 9am to get to the Crematorium for one of the most lovely and yet saddest funerals I’ve ever attended.

Shelagh was my kinesiology wifie as I affectionately called her. She was diagnosed with cancer a few years back and I was her last patient…. She sadly lost her valiant fight on Friday and I found out when I was at Eilean Donan castle last weekend.

I cannot tell you the profound impact that Shelagh had on my life.

I’d gone to the doctors in September 2018 and was diagnosed with anxiety…. Someone gave me Shelagh’s name on a piece of paper and told me to look up her business Enhanced Wellbeing.

We never found out who that person was but it sent me on a journey that I’m so incredibly grateful for. Shelagh was the first healing and guiding light that I had ever met.

I had never met anyone quite like Shelagh.

No matter what I told her, she said everything was ok. She said that those things had to happen to get me to where I was today. She was so caring. She had such a lovely voice. I always felt calm around her.

Health kinesiology is something I still struggle to explain, but Shelagh worked with me for over 4 years to clear learned behaviours and old patterns that weren’t serving me.

During lockdown she held a Tapping group where we all zoomed in and practiced tapping… I could never get it to work for me but we had a lovely group and all connected in a lovely way.

I met Shelagh out of therapy in July 2021 to go wild sea swimming! She’s always wanted to do it and I was really keen to try. I was really nervous as she knows all of me and I was yet to learn anything about her outside of her work.

I needn’t have worried.

We had a hysterical time.

We’d arrange to meet at Ardrossan beach, sadly when the tide was out and we couldn’t get to any deep water to swim…. So we literally lay back in the cold water and floated in little more than bath deep!! What a giggle.

I am very proud to say Shelagh included this photo in her service today.

Look at those smiles.

I was Shelagh’s last client at Enhanced Wellbeing in February 2022. She told me that she’d been feeling very unwell and knew something was wrong. She was going to be taking some time off.

I felt (selfishly) like I had lost my life line. I’d grown to rely on my monthly visits…..

She called me out of the blue when I was in Oban with mum, Dad and Craig. It was 19th February and she told me she’d been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and wanted me to hear it from her.

This was where we were when I took her call.

For some reason I wanted to remember that moment…. So we took photos…. I was so touched that she’d chosen to call me, I will always think of her there.

I was devastated for her but surprisingly upbeat. Shelagh was the most positive person I’d met and I was certain she could beat it.

We arranged to meet several times over the years as her treatment progressed.

I found it difficult to ask what I really wanted to know and I picked up the bits that I could. I am very awkward around people who are losing their fight with life. I wish I’d been better at it, I wish I’d known what to say.

We began meeting for lunch at Kilbrinie Loch hub. Walking when she was well enough and just having lunch when she didn’t have the energy.

I took her for a drive to Portencross and we paddled in the freezing cold sea… dodging jellyfish. 🪼

I invited her to a crazy drag night our village hall and she had a blast. She loved it. I have to say the drag was not that good but she just enjoyed every minute.

One of the times I met her, she told me that the cancer had never gone away and she would probably get a few years.

I skirted around that topic so much, I was super positive and told her if anyone could beat it she could… again.

I text her the next day to apologise for my flippancy.

Fast forward to the start of January and she tells me the cancer has spread.

Heart breaking.

She has been full of positivity. Full of life. Full of joy at the tiny things.

She celebrated her 60th birthday with family in December. She had a wonderful time and always talked about how much support she had from her husband and daughter.

They have lovely photos together from her 60th. She looked so healthy and so full of love and joy.

So last Friday I was in Eilean Donan Castle when I read the text from her daughter to say she has slipped away.

The world has lost a shining light but even as I type that I know that everyone at that funeral today, is better for knowing her.

She planned her own service and wrote her own eulogy.

I was crying sitting in the car park watching the amount of cars drive in. The place was heaving.

And this is what she left us all…..

With a promise to live life to the full.

To appreciate all that nature has to offer.

To have fun with our families and friends and appreciate the small things in life.

Her light spreads so far and wide. How fitting that light is my word for the year.

If I could be half the person she was I’d be happy.

Thank you Shelagh for everything.

(I’m glad I got the chance to say all of this to her too).

I’m exhausted. I had to work until 6pm to send a rental van out.

It’s been a long hard day.

But a memory I will hold forever.

Stay very safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

I woke early with lots of big plans. I was excited for day ahead.

Instead I’ve been more tired than I expected and been a lot more restful.

Hardly surprising considering I walked so far yesterday.

We sat and had coffee together. Khaleesi always likes to be in the middle of us. She loves cuddles.

We took the dogs out to the fields and they had a great run and a play in the burn. my photos are rubbish 😆😆

Calaidh ended up in deeper than she realised! She had a wee swim but of course we didn’t catch that on camera. She likes water but not out of her depth.

Khaleesi had a good run but had to go on the lead at the end to protect her legs. Her wee face when she runs is so lovely to see.

Last night I made a Thai Prawn Red Curry for dinner and I had the left overs for lunch. The leftovers should have been split into two but I ate the lot. It was really good, I really enjoyed it.

I sat outside for a bit but it was pretty cold.

I mixed the rice through it but actually the next time I make it, I will do it without rice .

I really enjoyed making it. I had a Tesco food shop delivered on Friday night and I have more things to cook this week.

After lunch I had a nap…. A bloody lovely nap.

I really needed it and it’s 4.30pm and I still have more nap left in me 😆😆😆

I’m so sleepy… Khaleesi is resting on my feet. 🫶🏼

Awww now she’s come up for cuddles!

So not much happening today.

I’ve cleared the bedroom which had become a bit of a dumping ground and I’ve put away the dry washing…. But it wasn’t as much fun as I expected it to be 😆 yeah I know, I hear myself.

So I’m very much enjoying watching Queen Charlotte (Bridgerton series) on Netflix. You may also know that I don’t watch the news at all so I am super excited to find out that there’s a season 4 of Bridgerton in filming!!! (I know I might be mikes behind the times….) I never watched it when it came out as period dramas were never my thing. It’s only been in the last few years that I realise that I love learning about our history, even in a fictional way.

I hope you all had a lovely day no matter how it turned out for you.

Stay safe everyone ♥️♥️♥️

Wow….. I’ve been like Forrest Gump today….. just running and walking until after 1pm…. I didn’t stop.

I woke at 6am and ran with the girls at 6.45. We did 5.3kms and I ran my second fastest 5k.

It was a beautiful morning and the first time I set out in a T-shirt straight away.

There were 5 of us! I found it hard but I kept going most of the way.

Gorgeous sunshine. ☀️☀️

I hung a washing out and put another on then set off up the hill with the doggos.

We had a really lovely walk. I really enjoyed it. I might do a reel later.

They are all sleeping as I write this at 4.30pm, that’s the sign of a really good walk!

Very modern gate!

The gorse is looking beautiful. It’s so yellow and fresh and brand new looking. A strange way of describing a plant but I know what I mean.

Loved these tracker tracks.

Look at this beautiful daffodil. I loved the intricacy of it. Perfection.

They’re just so pretty.

You don’t see these daffodils very often.

I did have dogs with me on this walk just took photos of everything else!!

By this time it’s 10am and I start clearing out my clothes again…. In the back garden of course!

My neighbour Holly messaged to say she was going out for a walk with her niece, Aimee, if I fancied joining them….

I did. I left everything out the back.. it could wait.

Holly is doing the April Dog Walking Challenge for Stand Up To Cancer. That’s the link to her page if anyone would like to donate.

It was so lovely to join them today. Here we are outside Nosh in Barmill where we stopped for a coffee…. What a treat!

We stood in the Barmill Park and drank it in the sunshine.

Leo and Calaidh had a drink in the burn

This was a walking action shot!

I took this photo over someone’s wall! 😆

Calaidh’s knackered!

I made myself a salad for lunch… you can maybe tell by the light that it clouded over this afternoon. I hope that’s not the last of our sun but our forecast isn’t looking great.

I’ve decided to try and log my food in My Fitness Pal again to try to get an idea of the amount of calories I’m consuming and also the nutrition level I’m hitting. I’ll see what that shows me.

I am streets ahead of where I was a fortnight ago…. I have so much more energy. That means a lot. It’s lovely to get so much done.

4 loads of washing done today ✅

Clothes all cleaned out and sorted through ✅

And all those steps ✅

It’s been a lovely Saturday…. And still the dogs sleep 👏🏼👏🏼🫶🏼

Have a great evening!

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️

Slept like a log last night despite a Diet Coke at about 7pm last night. That could have gone so badly wrong 😆

I set my alarm for my usual 6.10am as I had to shower, wash my hair and drive to the other side of Edinburgh for 10.30am.

Ok so I was a wee but early but you just never know with the traffic.

I left at 8am and got there at 9.30am…. I spotted Britannia out of the window of Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre.

I had a Lavender Oat Milk Latte in Starbucks as I waited for Mum and Dad…. and forgot to ask for decaf. Dammit.

Mum had pre booked tickets and we headed on board at 10.30.

They work the whole “attraction” through a set of stairs outside the ship so you go up and down the stairs, or lift, following the audio guide. It’s very informative, clear and concise and I didn’t get bored listening to it… until down in the engine room!

You should know by now, I will not remember everything as I’m busy taking photos but I’ll try….. 😆

Walking out to the ship.

On the bridge.

Either I have a big head or this was a kids hat!!

Hmmm that’s not the best look….

The Admirals quarters.

We are in convoy!

Listening to their audio.

This is the Queen’s favourite room, the sun lounge.

Her bedroom.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s bedroom.

The honeymoon suite and the only double bed on the ship. Where Charles and Diana stayed on honeymoon.

Chilling with Dad… can’t remember what this was?!

I think this was the Officers dining room.

Followed by the main dining room.

All the clocks are stopped at 3.01pm which is the last time the Queen stepped off the ship.

Mum said she was really upset having to give it up. I’m not surprised.

This is her office.

His office.

What a wonderful staircase.

The formal lounge.

Back outside to the stairs to head down a level.

As you go down the decor changes and I can’t help but feel the class level hit…. I’m not going to get all political as I loved the Queen and what she stood for in our country… but I do find the next levels a bit difficult.

The men slept in such tight quarters and were away from their families for long periods at a time. Maybe they had way better conditions than other sailors on other yachts or ships. It’s just so very different from life upstairs.

The Royal Yacht Britannia circumnavigated the globe every year that she sailed.

There are a lot of bars!!

Officers sleeping quarters.

The laundry room is enormous. The staff had to pay to get their clothes washed and the Royal washing was done on a different day to everyone else’s.

Back outside for a photo opp!

Then in to the spotless engine room.

Shower rooms.

A seflie on the gangway!

I’m so glad we went to see the Britannia. I love doing things like this with Mum and Dad… making memories.

It’s a lovely day out and it was extra special as the Scottish sunshine continues to shine.

Should say we had a lovely lunch on board. Sandwiches, soup and cakes. No pics.

I left to head home and 2pm and it took me 2 hours. The traffic was really busy.

Craig’s out tonight so he was already away. I sat outside for a bit and now I’m doing housework.

I have oodles of energy and I can’t sit down while things are a bit of a mess.

Friday night housework could be a thing?!?

Have a great weekend.

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️

What a lovely run of good weather.

Another beautiful day…. I thought it was colder when I sat out at lunchtime…. All by myself. I’m missing Ellison as she’s on holiday.

I had to keep my hoodie on as there was a bit of a breeze.

I had a lovely salad for lunch.

It seems warmer tonight.

I’m back out on my seat in the sun.

We don’t get much done in Scotland when the sun shines. We have to make the most of every minute outside.

I should be doing housework, tidying up but instead I’ve sat down. It will just have to wait.

I’m going down to Largs with Gayle tonight in her very lovely new car!!

Looking forward to a wee trip out in it and hoping we get a lovely sunset.

I can’t believe it’s my weekend already. I could get very used to a 3 day week!

You can tell I don’t have much to say today. 😆

That’s a sign that all is well….. apart from having to tidy the house at some point, there is nothing to moan about.

That’s always a bonus.

I’m off to Edinburgh for a wee day out with mum and dad tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to that!

I’m sure there will be plenty of photos!

Have a lovely rest of Thursday!

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️

It’s 6.04pm and I’m sitting outside in the garden.

I’ve just had salmon with Korean BBQ seasoning, along with roasted asparagus and broccoli for dinner.

With being away, I forgot to say I got the blood test results before lunchtime the day after, super fast.

Everything was clear apart from raise cholesterol… I’m so glad predictive text picks that up with the chol 😆😆

I have a follow up doc appointment on 23rd.

I feel a million times better than I did.

Within one week of improving my diet, the acid reflux had gone and I suddenly felt like I had woken up.

It’s such a great feeling when you go from feeling rotten to feeling better.

I have bags of energy again. ( she says yawning 😆)

We all know that diet affects us but I had no idea that it was the food I was eating that was making me feel so sluggish and low.

It makes complete sense now.

I’m not being 100% healthy but my meals are regular and healthy, I’m still snacking a bit too much in between.

I will change a little bit at a time to try and make it a sustainable habit.

So Lynsey and I ran at 5.45am this morning and I kept going all the way. It was a good run.

This was my ride for the day.

It’s been so strange driving the van again, with a gearstick and the Beetle is automatic, but I did love it!

I had to leave via the back door this morning, check the wee faces at the window, wanting to come with me!

My favourite Forest Flame is starting to bloom. This plant just makes me so happy.

Work was busy but I got lots cleaned up today. Threw a whole bag of rubbish out this morning. Feels good to clean my workspace…. Now just have the house to deal with.

I feel an “I have oodles of energy blitz” coming on again soon.

I’m looking forward to it.

I’m off to make breakfast and lunch for tomorrow and have a tidy round the house…. As soon as the sun goes down behind the bamboo!

Have a lovely evening.

Stay safe everyone ☀️☀️☀️