Lazy

I’ve been getting Lazy.

That might be hard to believe for some of you, as I have mentioned (somewhere?) that I am training for a marathon. But I’m not referring to my training, more around the house. The marathon seems to have given me an excuse to get lazy around the house. I run therefore I do not need to hover. Makes sense thought, right? RIGHT?!?! No. It does not make sense.

I’ve noticed that the mess that is accumulating in our bedroom – the supposed sanctuary. Clean bed clean head - is that the phrase? The mess normally gets moved to the spare room, but an impromptu visitor last week meant I cleaned the spare bedroom. BUT in doing so moved the mess to our bedroom. Does moving the mess to another room count as cleaning? No, it does not.

Anyway, I plant to do the following:

1) The no excuses Win Today and Win Tomorrow checklist, this is more fitness focused (where you complete a checklist the night before, i.e. make lunch, layout gym gear etc. or complete a checklist during the day, i.e. drink water, ate a healthy snack etc.) but I feel this will help me get organised with the house AND running. They break things down into small steps.

They also do very inspiring podcasts, too. If you need pumped up or are feeling sorry for yourself listen to these guys, seriously, they really are great at not making you feel bad, but at the same time inspiring you. I listen just because I like feeling awesome about myself.

http://noexcusesworkouts.com/

 

Snippet of the Win Tomorrow sheet:

2) Fly Lady: Your house did not get dirty/cluttered in a day - it won’t get clean in a day. So she suggests every day, pick a zone and do 15 minutes in that zone. But every night, you do your dishes and shine your sink. Every. Night. I have did this before and it works (for me anyway). After the wedding when my house descended into absolute CHAOS (I ain’t lying), I set my alarm for 15 minutes and would stop once the alarm goes…within a week one room was sorted. Too about a month but I got my house into order.

http://www.flylady.net/

xoxo

Bounce Back Tiger

Okay. Mr Mars and I are emigrating! Looking to be end of August, we have a country, but we have no idea where we are going go live. The visas will hopefully be sorted soon. I'm trying not to talk about this too much until it is certain but it was always on the cards (see here).

 

Instead of thinking about packing up my life, I'm thinking about Christmas...

Mr Mars and I stopped doing presents for anyone unless you are a parent or under 21.  We had to draw the line somewhere - it was getting ridiculous! And I might have mentioned; I do not handle stress well. There was also the small matter of DEBT and having no money. Stress free and helped the debt. Best decision ever to stop presents!

Anyway, since we will be away and since I have some ideas I have decided to start looking into Christmas presents. I don't want to be shipping stuff from abroad as soon as we have arrived.

Last night, I was too cool and stayed at my parents. After I drank all their red wine I made a midnight purchase of the following from the Early Learning Centre for my unborn niece/nephew.  I don't like spending a lot on babies as they don't know any different!!! I do like interactive toys, like things they can touch or listen to, or things that involve water or ball pits etc. Or presents where they can skelp themselves in the face...

Early Learning Centre: Bounce Back Tiger

How organised am I? Get it on Monday and will wrap it and leave it with my sister.

1 down, 8 to go...

xoxo

It is the weekend! Time for some dark chocolate and raspberry muffins!

Morning All!

What a crazy week I have had. Anyway, I love a Saturday morning. You feel like you have the whole weekend ahead of you (all two days of it).

My weekend can be summarised like this:

Last night my work put free drinks on for everyone, you know, and then pretended they had not made 10, yes TEN (I thought it was 6 or 7), people redundant during the week. Fortunately I did not know the area (or anyone) that was impacted, but still, it is a horrible thing. I had some free drinks and a good catch up with some people. Believe it or not, it was nice.

I came home to Mr Mars who had made a sausage casserole (vegetarian sausage) and dark chocolate and raspberry muffins - picture below. They were delicious. A tad overdone but the moist raspberries in the inside made up for this. In doing so he used up some raspberries that were about to go off and some dark chocolate that has sat in our fridge for quite some time. High five for lack of wastage Mr Mars!

This morning I have put a wash out, just made some fresh coffee (I ground the beans and everything), have I mentioned Mr Mars and I are coffee and tea snobs? Comes from us both having worked in coffee shops during our uni days. I'll put a picture up another time, but if you want a good coffee in Glasgow you need to go to this place called Papercup. YUM. 

I'm just about to top up my GiffGaff mobile phone account. Then once my coffee fix kicks in and I am suitably wired, I'm planning on heading out for a run! :o)

Then it is off to Mr Mars' parents to celebrate his Dad's birthday and a belated Father's day. I need to buy cards. Going to possibly use the card below as a Father's day card. Because it is random and cool and I want to. Then off out for some dinner tonight!

Tomorrow we are off to Knockhill race circuit to watch some motorbikes...vvvvvrooooom! Don't know what Knockhill is? Link HERE. I'll hopefully get some pictures.

In amongst this I have been de-cluttering and offloading any item of clothing I remotely do not like/wear to the homeless shelter. I can hear the clothes quivering in the drawers with fear. It is time to get ruthless, people. If I do not have it, I cannot be lazy and just chuck it on. People have noticed a change in me already. You look well, they have said. All because I have been making the effort to put on my better clothes that suit and fit me and were not hand me downs, freebies or 20 years old. This and putting on some cheap Beauty UK eyeshadow. Do you know how many people commented on my eyeshadow? That I got for free, but even to buy only costs like £2.99?!? I was wearing earth child if anyone is interested. Pretend to be interested, please.

And that is this weekend's round up! Links, photos and all! I'm a good blogger aren't I?

xoxo

Cancelled lunch, a Lush purchase and a BAD surprise

I'm still oh so tired. I'll try and be up beat.

I was going to bring in lunch today. But a friend said they were going to treat me to lunch (I paid last time). I pondered over taking something in case they cancelled but then thought "it would be a waste".

Obviously I subconsciously knew my friend better than I think, as he cancelled on me this morning. Completely understandable, I ain't perfect, but this left me without lunch. And having to buy lunch. Grrrr when I could have flipping brought it in for free. I've been buying a lot of food recently (one breakfast, lunch and a dinner = a lot for a debt free wannabe). So am keen to avoid this when I can.

So I decided to take this opportunity of a free lunch hour and having to go out AGAIN to buy lunch AND to change my name on some of my accounts and get myself organised. Something I have been keen to address in my continuing attempt at being organised. I already had my marriage licence on me so decided to nip round the banks and get my details updated. I have about 5 different names AND addresses. Things like this do not help someone who already resides in the land of chaos.

Cashier: Can you confirm you address please?
Me: Can you give me a clue - what county have you got...?
Cashier: This is not who wants to be a Millionaire.

I also nipped into Lush (oops). I have ran out of Dry Shampoo so purchased this Lush one that I had heard wonders about. Does not help that I am already a lush addict, any excuse really. £3.25. Smells of lemon and grapefruit. Lush.

I rarely buy toiletries (partly because I am trying to clear out approximately 1,127,584 that live in my house and also because I got so many for free recently). But I use dry shampoo a lot. I love it. I have a mane that resembles a baby horse - I need all the help I can get keeping it under control.

All in all a productive lunch hour. Good purchase made. And some organisation sorted out. I feel clean and not just from the dry shampoo...

THEN, when you are skipping along feeling clean and organised. BAM.

You get back to work to be hauled into a meeting and told of 7 redudancies that have been made. Imagine, me, colour draining from my face, as I look down at my STUPID lunch time purchase. When I could have been skipping back to the office without a job.

I feel sick. I don't really feel this week is going to plan so I intend to get through it in a blur of red wine and lattes.

xoxo

Dragons and challenge event supporting!

My oh my. I am tired. I am so so tired.

I just had to turn "Can't pay? We'll take it away!" over as I started crying. That is heartbreaking. I understand people have bought things when they have not had the money - but to throw them out of their HOME? Breaks my heart. A solider as well - who risked his life for this country, thrown out onto the street. HEART BREAKING.

Moving off the sombre start...

Spent the weekend supporting my brother in one of these challenge events - where you walk/crawl/run/hike a ridiculous distance. Never mind him, he is fine, I am the one who is beat up and exhausted.

I feel like I have wrestled a Bear. I might have. After 48 hours of sleep deprivation I can't be sure whether those Bears I saw were hallucinations or real... I'm pretty sure they were hallucinations as I saw Dragons too, and unless I live in an episode of Game of Thrones, I don't think Dragons are real... are they?

Either way I am here to tell the tale, so I must have won :o)

Check this out, I have competition:

How cool is that? I took a moment for me to establish whether it was real or another hallucination, but when I realised it was real, I nearly crashed swinging in to get the picture! Blogging knows no boundaries! 

Another cool moment was this...

Can you see him? Let's try again...

A lone piper practicing his bag piping in the middle of the Highlands... it was too cool! How often does that happen? Eh? Let me tell you, not very often. Not. Very.

Lastly, another couple of beautiful pictures at a crossing, I loved this lone white cottage sitting there in amongst the most beautiful setting. Ohhhh to one day live somewhere like that! 

Imagine living here and then having this bridge and river right beside you...

And lastly, Mr Mars waiting on Brother Mars...hiding from Midgies:

xoxo

Wordless Wednesday (kind of)

Standing. Eating my breakfast on a pillar. Because the passport office won't let you in with food and drink...

So you go back outside. You stand by that pillar and eat your breakfast with the pigeons in the car park.

Nobody puts blueberry muffin in a corner.

xoxo

Bag strip tease! Dah da Dah da...

Soooooooooo

I was given a £50 voucher for a large department store. Which means GUILT FREE SHOPPING. Mr Mars also got one, but he bought a coffee bean grinder with his. Because he is a coffee pervert. Although I cannot slag him too much as I actually get some benefit out of his spend.

I had already bought a top with it and as it is going to expire soon so I was looking for a treat to buy myself. Because I'm awesome and I deserve treats. But really because Mr Mars are moving soon so it needs to be spent before we go (I divulge more on this when I know it).

I love a plain, simple, classic envelope clutches. I've had my eye on a few. None within budget. Yes, I have budgets.

This one popped up in the sale, within budget AND I luuuuuuurve navy. It's so sheek. So classic. How can a colour be classic? Trust me, it can.

So my bag strip tease. It felt like a present and technically it was, but we all know it is not the same when you buy it yourself!

Dah da Dah da...

Dah da Dah da...

Dah Dah Dah DOOP Dah...

And a naughty peek inside, shhhh.

I love the inside, this will (obviously) be for nights out so I love that I can put my cards etc in the bag instead of taking it with me. Although I have a gorgeous Coach purse (crazy debt days) that would match it perfectly.

xoxo