The last post from my 20's

Hello. It's been nearly three months hasn't it? I'm writing on the last day of my twenties, because tomorrow I turn 30! More on that shortly, let me catch you up on the past few months.

I've attended many birthday celebrations of friends recently, we all have our birthdays within a four month window and with us all turning 30 we've done a bit more than the standard night out. We went to the national water sports centre in Nottingham for one. This was lovely place with all sorts of outdoor activities to partake in, we did the high ropes, crazy golf, segways and rafting. (On a side note, I do not like segways, mine tried to run me over). Another friend had a rainbow themed party and others had a bbq and a garden party. I've also completed another placement for uni and then finished for the summer. I've been on a little caravan holiday to Norfolk, which I enjoyed more than I expected. We definitely chose the right week and got brilliant weather, apart from a few epic thunderstorms. I'm currently working at my holiday job but apart from all that I think that's about it really.

Which brings us to today and tomorrow. We're going to go out for the day and then at the weekend i'm having a big bbq. I'm doing a 90's/tropical theme!

Whilst I don't think i've done much in my twenties is some areas of my life, in others I reckon i've done alright. I've graduated from uni with a history degree, spent a year in Australia, moved to Manchester with a friend, worked in France, Italy and Austria working ski and summer seasons, had various jobs including working in hotels, a university and various shops and i'm now two years into uni again studying a profession.

I don't know what to expect from the next decade but I want to continue caring less about others opinions, travel more (day and weekend trips) and in the words of Jenna Rink be 'thirty, flirty and thriving!' Cheers!

 

 
 

How to get all those odd jobs done

I moved into my flat over 18 months ago. It's a one bed flat that came unfurnished and decorated very plainly. When I say unfurnished, it didn't even have a fridge or a washing machine. But I couldn't find much else available in my time-frame and budget and to be honest it's not that bad, it could be a lot worse. Although it is a 45 minute walk into town, with a massive long hill to deal with (I'm talking the type where you have to take several breaks at the bus stops along the way) it's actually pretty quiet. I don't get much noise, apart from the neighbour (and I can't figure if upstairs or downstairs) watching TV in the middle of the night. It's also right next to a little station and the bus stop too. So it could be worse.

My issue is that 18 months on it still looks like i've just moved in. Some of it is down to me. I'm very unorganised, I have no ability to style a room and I have very little storage so all my belongings are just out there making it look very messy. But there are a few little things I can't do myself.

5 gadgets I want for the kitchen to help me eat better

Cooking for one can sometimes be a tiresome process and I often find myself being lazy and sticking to the same foods that are quick and easy to prepare. I need to change this up a little. I also make no secret of my aim for a healthier lifestyle, although in recent months i've found it difficult to maintain all elements of one. But some new kitchen equipment will help me kick start eating better again, mix up my meals and help introduce new foods into my diet. These 5 gadgets i've long wanted, although if I got them all, i'm not exactly sure where they'd all sit on my worktop!

Juicer - The fruit I normally eat are bananas and occasionally apples. It's not that I don't like apples but I just never seem to touch them and they can be sat in my fruit bowl for 2 months and I still won't have finished the packet! If I had a juicer by Panasonic however I could literally just throw one in and drink the juice and be done with it. I also don't eat oranges unless it's in a juice form so this would come in useful here too.

The daily commute

We all know about the woes of public transport. Have you ever heard someone say 'yes I really love my commute'? Probably not. I've had a lot of jobs over the years with various journeys to work, some excellent and some a little tedious. The ideal one was when it was only a 20 minute walk away. That was the best as not only was it free, but it was quick and it was exercise. The worst are probably the ones where I had to get a bus, then a train, meaning I ended up leaving the house about 2 hours before I actually started work. I've put to together a little list of  the bad things about using public transport to get to and from work:

Watching, Reading and What i'm Excited for!

Watching 

American Ninja Warrior// Some of the courses in the US version are insane, they seem much tougher than the UK ones, not that I could complete in those either! I've been watching clips on YouTube, especially of Jessie Graff, she is amazing. Take a look here:Jessie Graff - American Ninja Warrior

5 TYPES OF HOLIDAY I WISH TO GO ON

Do you ever find yourself fed up with going to the same place every year? Perhaps not fed up, but more ready for a change and ready to try something completely different. I know I sometimes do, so I thought I would compile a list of the 5 types of holiday I want to go on.

Reasons to go on a cruise this summer

I've been on two cruises now and I want to go on another. I want to go all out and go on one of those huge massive ones with the shopping mall down the middle and slides, they look amazing! Here's the benefits and reasons why I think you should book a cruise this summer based on my past experience:

1. All you can eat

There are several places to eat on a cruise. You can go for the formal sit down meal with a choice of a couple of restaurants. Food and service is impeccable. Or you can opt to eat in the buffet, which is pretty much 24 hour. Very nearly. Food is offered not just for evening but most of the day too. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, burger and fries by the pool are all offered. Oh and you can also get room service. It depends which company you are with but on my one last year with P & O there was no charge for the majority of room service items. Sure, it's only a small section of food, but it's nothing to be sniffed at when you can't be bothered to get up and dress for breakfast or fancy a snack in your room after a hard day's exploring!

Upping the exercise game

One of my runs last summer - I can't wait for the days be longer again!

I started placement a couple of weeks ago and i'm slowly getting used to those 6am alarms. I decided that this would be the time (the week, not 6am itself!) to up my exercise game. See, I don't know about you, but I find the time I am busiest is the time I can achieve more.

Since November i'd been running approximately twice a week but I wanted to up the exercise to four times a week. So last week i'd planned:

- a home workout
- a fitness class at the gym
- a run
- parkrun

I only managed the first two though because I injured my knee during the Bodyvive class. I have a funny knee anyway but this class turned out not to be the friendliest for my knee. So the rest of the week and weekend I was resting it. But weirdly I missed running. Who even am I?

This week I had planned:

- a swim to ease my knee back in
- a run
- parkrun

I didn't do any of these, instead switching to other options. I went to a Clubbercise class. I rather enjoyed this one and it was more low-impact than Bodyvive, and so putting less stress on my knee. I also managed a 4k run/walk this morning followed by a low-impact HIIT workout. So a bit different from what I had planned but I had to go with what I felt able to do.

I've still been hitting my 10k steps a day, which is maybe why my knee never quite feels right. I'm finding it hard to rest completely though as i'm rather addicted to my fitbit and feel lazy and restless not doing any form of exercise. I guess this is another healthy habit i'm creating!

This coming week i'll try to do a couple of the HIIT sessions, Clubbercise and hopefully a run.

Check back soon to see how the next week goes and do let me know in the comments what exercise you enjoy.

Establishing healthy habits

My laptop keyboard has weirdly started working again, so let's take advantage of that and write this before it stops again.

I've been 'losing weight' for nearly ten years now. I've never been on any actual diet but always gone for the exercise and healthy eating approach. Whilst this works, i've never been disciplined enough to maintain, hence why my weight is up and down like a yo-yo and I do good only to go and wreck it the next month. I'm currently back on the weight loss attempt train but what I realised the other day is that I have finally developed some healthy habits. You know how they say it needs to be a lifestyle change and not just a quick-fix? I've realised that there are a few things I now do no matter what part of the yo-yo i'm on. These are:

1. Porridge
I started eating porridge about 5 years ago but only when I was trying to lose weight. In the last year though it's become my breakfast staple no matter what. It's cheap, nutritious and really does put the hunger at bay better than any other cereal. Once you get the hang of the milk/water to porridge ratio it's also incredibly cheap if you buy the big bags compared to other cereal.

2. Portions
More veg and less carbs. I'm now filling my plate with more and different types of veg and cutting down on the potatoes slightly. I'm always going to be a massive potato fiend, but i'm scaling back a little and having a few less roasts or wedges.

3. Protein
It took me so long to realise this but protein is so important. It helps us feel fuller for longer and helps muscles grow and repair themselves after exercise. This is a really important one for me because I get hungry a lot which leads to horrible migraines. I'm working on lunches at the moment, as it's the one I find hardest to put lots of protein in.

So there are my 3 P's. The three habits that are now changes for life for me, whether i'm binging on Christmas chocolate or back on the weight loss wagon. I hope I can report more healthy habits in the future but I reckon for now that's a good start! I'm really interested to know what habits anyone else has though or ideas for filling lunches to take to work?