Lovely Sunshine.

The title of this post could be a little deceiving. Let me clear things up, we have absolutely not been enjoying any lovely sunshine. Nope. It has been grey, cold and raining all day! This title refers to something else entirely…

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been tagged for some blog awards so I thought I would complete the tags 🙂

The gorgeous Leelu tagged me for the first award (you can read her post here!) as did the lovely Jessica (her post is here!) and then Lisa Taylor of the Writer’s Block Party blog tagged me in the other (read her post here!).

The rules of the first award are as follows:

a) Link back to those who nominated me
b) Tell you 7 things about me
c) Nominate a bunch of other great bloggers

So here are my 7 things!

1. I love scented candles. They’re just so beautiful and I adore the way the scent fills the room. Something about a lit candle is so magical and scented candles really help to relax me. As well as relaxing me, they also seem to help when I have headaches which is lovely. I currently have two gorgeous candles but I would love some more, I will probably be putting some on my Christmas wish list (yes I’m already thinking about December!).

2.  Although I suffer from both chronic pain and chronic fatigue I dream of one day being able to run. Who knows if it will ever come true but it’s up there on my bucket list. I’m not talking about being able to run a marathon, I’d just like to be able to do a 5k run…

3. Sometimes I daydream about having my own little cafe or cake shop because I love to bake. It would suit me perfectly but I can’t imagine ever taking the plunge. I just like to dream about it, imagining how it would look and the lovely things I would bake.

4. Whilst I love the summertime (ignoring the fact that we haven’t had any summer weather) my favourite time of year is still Christmas. It’s just so wonderful, in my family we have many traditions which I adore and I love the way the holiday can really bring everyone together. I love all of the preparations and the build up. Buying gifts for those I love is something I really like to do so it’s a fantastic time for me 🙂

5. Something that may surprise you is that when I was younger I used to be a really pessimistic person. I don’t know if it was just a teenage thing or something else entirely but at one time I immediately saw the bad side of things and never saw things in a positive light. It’s really strange to think about now as I am such an optimistic person these days!

6. Although I don’t know for sure now, the two career paths I can really see myself pursuing in the future are either working with children in some capacity or writing. I don’t know the specifics but I can’t really imagine any other options that would really make me happy in life.

7. I am incredibly open and honest person, I really struggle to mask my emotions. Whilst I know it can be annoying occasionally I am pleased that I am emotionally open, I think it makes me more approachable and easier to relate to. I can’t lie, it makes me feel ridiculously guilty and I’m usually really easy to read anyway!

As a recipient for the Sunshine Award, I have to answer the following questions:

Favorite number: I always think this is a slightly bizarre question but for reasons I can’t really explain I like the numbers 3 and 7. No idea why though!

Favorite Non-alcoholic drink: This is difficult, in the winter I love hot chocolates, in the summer I like to sip on vanilla lattes 🙂

Facebook or Twitter: I prefer Twitter although I don’t post much on it, I just love it as a medium to find interesting links and articles plus it’s nice to have the instant connection and communication with people. I have a Facebook but other than the fact that I use it to organise social things I would probably delete my profile.

My Passion: I have many passions but if I had to pick an absolute top of the list it would have to be literature. Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while (or have just read the little blurb on the right-hand side!) will know that I study English literature at university and I just love to read. Books are such an important part of my life, they are a lifeline when I’m struggling, they are entertainment, they are learning tools, they are escapism…

Favorite pattern: This is a bit of an odd question but I’ll roll with it. My favourite pattern to wear is either horizontal stripes (preferably in blue and white) as well as polka dots. If we’re talking numerical patterns or something like that then I really don’t know, I’ve always found the Fibonacci sequence fascinating. My room is filled with floral patterns so I clearly love those too.

Favorite Day of the Week: My favourite day of the week is either Monday which I know sounds odd but I love fresh starts and I love making goals and plans for the week ahead, or Saturday because I always have the day free and I often get to spend it doing something fun with Tom!

Favorite Flower: I love flowers so I have quite a few favourites: I really like white or pale pink roses, I love forget-me-nots and snow drops, and I really love lily of the valley because they are so delicate and they remind me of my grandmother 🙂

Okay there you have my answers, now here are the bloggers I am tagging!

Danielle 
Emily
Tessa
Alexandra
Christina
Laura
Haley

I hope you enjoyed this post 🙂

Tell me a fact about yourself or answer any of the questions you fancy!

My Fitness Problem.

I have a problem with fitness.

Or maybe fitness has a problem with me.

I know, I know. I workout quite a lot when my pain levels are low.

I don’t mean that I don’t enjoy working out – I do. I just have quite a big problem with my fitness capabilities: my stamina.

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For instance, let me show you last week’s workouts:

Monday – Rest day. I was pretty drained from my weekend with Alice.
Tuesday – 1hr 30 of Pilates.
Wednesday – Level 1 of 30 Day Shred.
Thursday – 10 mins HIIT workout + 30 mins Upper-body strength workout.
Friday – Was going to be 40 mins at the gym but I woke up really sore and as I had to get the train that afternoon it wasn’t really possible.

Doesn’t look too bad right?

I mean, ignoring Friday which didn’t go to plan, I would say that wasn’t bad and actually pretty damn good for someone with Fibromyalgia! But the problem is that I am really struggling at the gym or when doing any other form of cardio.

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The thing is, none of my workouts really help me build up my stamina and the issue with my situation is that often my pain prevents me from staying on any of the cardio machines (or cycling) for very long. Obviously because of this I never get a chance to really build up my stamina. Back before all of my problems started developing I used to dance every weekend and was pretty with walking and cycling, as things got progressively worse I had to stop being so active and my stamina has never really recovered. I’m trying to build it back up but it really isn’t easy!

Not to mention that when I’m going through a particularly ‘low’ patch with high levels of pain and fatigue I just can’t find the energy to do much exercise, if any. So obviously this has a big negative impact on my stamina and endurance…

Basically I’m in a bit of a conundrum!

Aaaand this is where you, my lovely readers, come in 🙂

I know a lot of you are serious fitness buffs and I want your advice. How on earth can I build up my stamina levels with all of my restrictions??

…..

In other news I have had a really lovely time with Tom this weekend. Today was our last day, I’m back on the train tomorrow morning for a 3-hour trip and then straight to a drama seminar!

I love being here, it’s great to get away from the ‘bubble’ that is my university, it’s a beautiful place, and Tom never fails to make me happy.

It’s bittersweet really.

I hope you all had a great first day back at school/uni/work!

Advice? Suggestions? Anecdotes of personal experience?
Also, any exciting happenings this week?

7 Confessions.

Hey hey 🙂 I hope everyone has had/is having a lovely weekend! I’m having a really fantastic time here with Tom, it just feels wonderful to be together again. Long-distance relationships can be good in some respects: the time you spend together feels more special, but in others it’s just so exhausting. But, hopefully we won’t have to be long-distance for much longer. Can’t reveal the details yet but there might be some changes in the pipeline for me…. Anyway here is a little post I had planned for you. Seeing how we are in a pattern of ‘getting-to-know-me’ posts, here are 7 confessions:

• I eat the same breakfast everyday.

• I am glued to my phone. Luckily not literally. I just can’t leave the house without it or I feel naked. It just goes to show the way technology has changed things in our society.

• I have twelve cookbooks, three of which I bought at the Oxfam bookshop by campus… and I have my eye on two more.

• I have bitten my nails for as long as I can remember. I have a clear memory of a specific incident, aged 3 at nursery, of being told off for it. I desperately want to stop – it’s a horrid habit. Unfortunately I do it when I’m stressed and to be honest that’s most of the time at the moment! Please don’t me.

• I don’t do core work enough. Even though the doctor said it would help my back. As consequence doing Pilates and then the next day doing Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred left me SORE.

• I have had the same since I was 11 years old – Sense and Sensibility.

• I love my veg but I don’t really enjoy salads. I know, I’m supposed to be into a healthy lifestyle… Let me explain, I don’t like salads with lettuce. I just find it hard to swallow the stuff!

So there you have it, my 7 random confessions 🙂

What’s your confession for the week?

5 Weeks.

That’s how long it’s been since I last saw this gorgeous guy:

I sure have missed him!

But this evening I am hopping on a train and traveling up north to spend the weekend with him 🙂

I’m so ridiculously excited about it, I’ve spent the week telling pretty much everyone I know. I can’t help it, I  just can’t wait to be with him again.

So today because I missed writing my own post yesterday I have a fun little questionnaire planned.

The other day the lovely Laurence from Fit Peanut tagged my in her 11 Things post but I’ve already written one here. So I thought, why not just answer her questions so that you can all learn a little bit more about me (as if you weren’t all already sick of hearing about me!)

1. Dark chocolate or Milk chocolate?

For me definitely dark. I like mine to be 60-70% so not super bitter. But milk chocolate gets too sickly for me. Strangely enough I do like white chocolate which is pretty sickly! My favourite chocolate has to be dark chocolate pralines though. Mmmmmm.

These will do:

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2. When did you feel proud?

I felt proud last Friday when I got the results of my courseworks back and not only passed them all but got really good grades 🙂 I really wasn’t expecting to do so well seeing how much I struggled last term and so, although I hate saying things like this as I’m always worried about sounding big-headed, I was pretty proud of myself!

3.Do you have any siblings?

Yes, one sister called Alice, she’s 16 next month. We’re born three years apart minus a week so March is a busy month for our family! I love my sister to bits, we’re really close and she’s a hilarious person to hang out with 🙂 She came to visit me here at uni last weekend and we had a fantastic time.

4. Harry Potter or Twilight?

HARRY POTTER. I can’t even compare them. Although I didn’t mind the Twilight series as books they just completely lack the imagination and the character of the Harry Potter books. Not to mention that I grew up with Harry Potter, the books were with me from age 8 through to age 14 and they still bring me immense enjoyment when I read them. Not to mention that they effectively taught me to love reading (clichéd I know).

5. Have you ever gone to France (my country!)?

Yes heaps of times! I’m half French (my Mother is from the North of France) and I have a lot of family there. We have been several times a year since I was born, both to visit family and just on holiday. I love France and the culture there. It’s a very big part of me 🙂

6. Do you believe in friendship between guys and girls?

I believe in friendship between anyone. That is to say that I don’t think it matters what gender, race, culture, family background, upbringing etc you have, your friends don’t have to have lots in common with you. I have a wide mix of friends and I don’t really pay much attention to their gender. Having said that I do think that sometimes in relationships between men and women sex can become an issue: one person may find themselves becoming attracted to the other.

7. Left or right-handed?

Right-handed.

8. If you had a chance to switch bodies with someone you admire, would you do it?

No I don’t think so, I can imagine it would do more harm than good. I struggle very much with low self-esteem and I wouldn’t want to break the tenuous control I have over my insecurities.

9. What is the weirdest thing you do in your everyday life?

I don’t know if I do anything that weird! I’m not a terribly exciting person 😛 I have a daily checklist on my whiteboard that some would find strange I guess!

10. Did you ever check you ex-boyfriend’s facebook page?

I don’t really have any ex-boyfriends (Tom and I got together two days after my fifteenth birthday) so I don’t have this issue, thank goodness!

11. If you won the lottery, would you keep working?

If I was doing a job I didn’t enjoy I would quit that but I am fairly sure I’d find myself something to do that I loved, even if it was poorly paid or part-time because I would get so bored without something structured to do. It would mean I could stay at home if I had any children though which is something I really hope I’ll be able to do!

So there you have it, another little insight into my mind…

Fascinating wasn’t it 😛

Thank you for the questions Laurence!

Answer any of the questions you fancy or elaborate on one of my answers 🙂
Any exciting plans for the weekend?

11 Things.

Earlier this week the lovely ladies Laura and Tessa tagged me in their 11 things surveys and as I love surveys I thought I’d give it a go 🙂

Here are the survey “rules”:

#1: You must post these rules.
#2: Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
#3: Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

So, 11 things about me:

1. I love to dance.  I had ballet lessons from aged 3, and took lessons in modern theatre and contemporary for a while. I even volunteered as an assistant teacher in the younger classes for two hours every Saturday morning for a couple of years. I only stopped about four years ago because of my condition. Not many people know that I used to dance.

2. The part of my facial appearance that I obsess about the most is my eyebrows. I always have incredibly neat eyebrows. They are always neatly plucked and shaped. I pretty much always carry my eyebrow pencil and comb with me along with my eyeliner, mascara and lip salve. Like I said, it’s an obsession. If I could change them I would make them more arched, unfortunately to do that I’d have to pluck them really thin and I hate super thin eyebrows!

3. I love to collect notebooks, pretty paper, journals, pads… I have more than most people could find use for but I love them. I write lists, I organise things, I find inspiration, I jot down random musings, I write (really) short stories. I always carry a notebook and a pen on me, I’m lost without being able to scrawl quick little notes wherever I am.

4. I love to bake but I don’t get the chance as often as I’d like. I’m desperate to have a better kitchen so that I can try out some new recipes, there are tons of baked goods I’ve never even made once and I just want to learn everything I can!

5. I used to hate the fact that I have very curly hair, when I was in my early teens I often used to straighten my hair (which takes about half an hour!). I guess we always want what we don’t have at some point in our lives. However now I love that my hair is curly, I wouldn’t have it any other way! I think curly hair is the best when it’s styled nicely 🙂

6. I adore buying people presents and it’s not a purely generous, selfless thing! I just love spending ages coming up with ideas for people’s gifts and then going shopping for them. Of course I also love the moment when you see their reaction upon opening your present too.

7. My mother is French, she’s from Northern France and my grandparents and uncle still live over there. We go to France several times a year, both to visit them and to go on holiday and I love it. My maternal language is French although my English is stronger through living here. I love having the mixture of the two cultures and being fluent in two languages has great perks!

8. One of my favourite quotations is an ancient Chinese proverb ‘The more you know, the less you need’. I think it is just so true. It can apply to all kinds of knowledge; academic, spiritual, nutritional, physical, knowledge about yourself, about happiness, anything…

9. Although I’ve been an avid reader for many years I haven’t always loved reading. When I was little I used to hate learning to read, my parents used to scold me when I practiced my reading with them because I used to just make the story up to go along with what I saw in the pictures! It was actually Harry Potter that got me reading in Year 3 (aged 8) and from then on I devoured books. I’d read several classics already at age 11.

10. Continuing with that theme, I also haven’t always loved to eat. When I was little I was a ridiculously fussy eater, there were so many foods I didn’t like! I would be sat at the table for hours with veg on my plate refusing to eat. But my mum persevered, she carried on trying to get my sister (who was also really fussy) and I to eat new foods and she succeeded. Now I love to eat and I love trying new foods, there are in fact very few foods that I really don’t like 🙂

11. I have now been suffering (un-diagnosed) for almost 5 and a half years with chronic pain and it has changed the shape of my life. It could be arthritis, it could be fibromyalgia or ME or something else entirely. For the moment the doctor is treating as fibromyalgia. Until the age of 14 I had never been to hospital, now I can’t remember the number of times I’ve been there. I don’t know what the future holds for me, I don’t know if I will be able to do all the things I dream of doing. It all sounds terribly negative and in many ways it is: I’m always in pain, sometimes in agony, and I’m exhausted most of the time. However, it has taught me so much, and it has made me view life and the world in a completely different way. And I can truly say that there are some positives: I’ve learnt to become an optimistic person – I always try to find the positives in life, I don’t take anything for granted anymore because I know what it’s like to lose something that we all take for granted, I value my health more than ever, and I understand and care more for the people in society who have some kind of disability! Life is what you make of it!

Here is a mixture of the questions Laura and Tessa asked:

1. What is your dream travel destination?

I’ve always had a dream of traveling around India, I’m not entirely sure where it comes from but I love Indian culture, art and food. It would be such an amazing experience, I really hope I get to go one day! (Second place has to go to Rome, I’m desperate to visit the city as I adore Italy and it is full of amazing things to see and do)

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2. If you were throwing a party for yourself what would be your theme?

Oh this is a fun question, I’d love to have a Midsummer Night’s Dream themed dinner party. It would espouse my love of Shakespeare, nature and delicious food. Just think how beautiful it could be – wreaths and garlands of greenery, flowers everywhere, dozens of candles, silk spreads, beautiful clothes and all sorts of gorgeous mezze…

3. What is something you never leave the house without?

I never leave the house without my phone, my lip balm, my kindle, my hand cream and a pen and notebook. (I’m aware that that is more than one thing!)

4. What workout are you currently loving?

I’ve only just started getting back in to my workouts after some time off but at the moment I’m loving my upper body and core strength workouts.

5. Tea or Coffee?

Coffee. Always with milk. And preferably a flavoured syrup too 😉

6. What would be your “last meal?”

My last meal would have to involve pasta, of course, so probably a vegetable spaghetti dish and for dessert an apple puff pastry tart. A simple meal but one of my all time favourites.

7. Sum yourself up in 5 words…

Caring, passionate, generous, optimistic, determined.

8. If you could go back in time, which time period would you visit?

I would love to go back in time to the Elizabethan era, I’d love to see Shakespeare’s plays as they were meant to be performed (English nerd!)

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9. Who would be invited to your dream dinner party?

Shakespeare (obviously), Jane Austen, Mother Theresa, Queen Victoria, Mary Woolstonecraft, Charles Darwin, Maria Callas, Pavarotti, Aneurin Bevan, Harper Lee, and of course Tom. It would make for some truly fantastic conversations!

10. What is a weird and/or interesting quirk you have?

Weird and/or interesting you say? Well a weird quirk I have is that I set one of my alarms to be 20 minutes early so that I make sure I stay on time and I know when it goes off in the morning that if I want to I can have an extra lie-in till my phone goes off. I’m not sure that’s terribly interesting though 😛

11. What is a goal in life you are striving to achieve?

I want to get a good degree. If I get through uni and manage to achieve a 2.1 or a first then I will be over the moon because physically I am really struggling with day-to-day life, let along with my work and it will be a huge achievement for me!

Now for my 11 questions:

1. What is your favourite thing to bake?
2. Who is your favourite fictional character?
3. Arts or Sciences?
4. What is your main goal for 2012?
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you choose?
6. Strength training or cardio?
7. Favourite quotation?
8. Which famous person would you most like to meet and why?
9. Sweet or savoury?
10. Which film do you always turn to and why?
11. What is your greatest achievement to date?

And I’m going to tag these fabulous ladies:

Emily @ What Emily Did Next

Sarah @ Every Day’s A Picnic

Leigh @ PeanutButterNutter 

Anna @ Food Fitness And Frolicking

Chloe @ LightOnMyFeet

Danielle @ The Oxford Comma

❤

Now it’s your turn, answer whichever questions you fancy, I’d love to hear your answers!

A Surprise At The Hospital

I have to say, despite never having had a particularly traumatic experience at a hospital, I’m really not a fan of them.

I guess I’m just used to coming away having heard something depressing.

Today wasn’t very different.

Surprise!

I went in for physiotherapy and ended up having a blood test…

Not a happy bunny 😛

I’m such a wimp when it comes to needles and blood tests are the worst. I hate the sensation, it just makes me really squeamish!

So yeah not a fantastic way to start the day. Things improved though.

For lunch I met with three of my favourite girlies, possibly for the last time before I leave! Although I did not enjoy my time at Sixth Form much I made some truly wonderful friends and I’m really going to miss them 😦

Lunch was a greek style pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes, courgette and a herby tomato sauce (I didn’t eat the feta – not really a cheese fan).

As well as my usual:

A skinny iced vanilla latte. And I ordered a small (and paid for a small) but I’m fairly sure I was given at least a medium (exciting isn’t it :-P).

My arm was hurting me whilst in town and I soon found out why:

I don’t think the guy who took my blood did it right, I’ve never had a bruise like that after a blood test! Anyway else come out like that before?

Oh well I did get a couple of nice additions for my uni stuff:

Nice, cosy slippers to keep my feet warm through the winter whilst I’m away. I get cold really easily and so I’m a little worried that the heating in my hall won’t be fantastic. Which is why I also bought this next item:

A new hoodie, in size 16 :-P. It’s sooo comfy! (Sorry for the slightly rubbish photo by the way)

Sorry for the short post lovelies but I really need to be off to bed. Being prodded and poked at always makes me really sore and I’ve got lots more shopping to do tomorrow!

This is a more serious question than usual, I mention my physical issues a lot but I’ve never really elaborated and a few people have asked about it. Although it would be tough to write about, would you be interested in a post explaining my condition?

Sophie x

More About Me In 5-4-3-2-1

Gosh if only you knew how much I miss the blogging world even when I’m on holiday!

The absolutely lovely Tina at Faith Fitness Fun posted this survey a little while ago and it looked like fun so I thought I’d join in 🙂

If you’ve never checked out her blog before you really really need to, she’s funny, she always speaks from the heart and is 100% real and her blog is fabulous!

5 Words to Describe Myself

• Loving
• Generous
• Determined
• Happy/Optimistic
• Honest

4 Favorite Foods

• Weetabix
• Raspberries
• Pasta
• Avocado

3 Things I’m Most Proud Of Accomplishing

• Getting in to university
• Overcoming my fear of meeting new people
• Managing to live a normal and positive life despite the pain

2 Favorite Workouts

• 30 Day Shred
• Upper Body Strength exercises

1 Thing to Expect From My Blog

• Positivity. For me the aim of my blog has always been to help me have a more positive outlook on life, afterall, the blogging community is itself really positive and supportive :-). Although having said that, I try to be open and honest on here too so I’ll never lie about feeling down or having issues!

Answer one (or more of the questions) yourself and let me know a bit more about you 🙂

Sophie x