Cracked it!

I believe I may have solved my procrastination problem! And it's very obvious now that I think about it...

I was setting the bar too high for myself. I had too much going on in my mind, far too many objectives. It was as though, subconsciously, I wanted to achieve everything all at once. Impossible! So I wrote down all of the things I'd like to do and achieve (in one of my new Alphonse Mucha notebooks - more on those another time!), and I'm going to take them one by one.

Number one on my hit-list is to complete the 2014 Challenge. My mission is to walk, jog, swim, cycle etc etc 2014km before the 31 December 2014. In hindsight it would have been better if I'd known about this challenge at the beginning of the year, then I would have had 12 months (or close to it) to complete. However, I am confident. And I'm doing it in aid of Alzheimer Scotland (my Just Giving page is here for anyone stopping by!).

Number 2 is to complete my Kiltwalk! I'm going to do the Dundee walk starting and ending at Camperdown Park. The Glasgow Kiltwalk that I completed in April was only (I say 'only' very lightly!) 23 miles - they had adjusted the route slightly because of the Commonwealth Games. The Dundee walk will be the full 26 mile marathon. It's going to be unbelievably difficult but I'm ready for the challenge!

Oh dear...

...I've become the Queen of Procrastination. Even as I attempt to type this post I'm being distracted by Friends on the TV.

I started out this blog with aspirations of writing about my career/creative adventures as well as all the fun I'd have along the way. Truth is, fun is all I've been having.

To be perfectly honest, I've never been that much of a motivated person. Even through uni, at times I really had to push myself to even pick up a book. I feel terrible being this young and lacking motivation. The problem is, I have all these goals and things I want to achieve, but I'm never going to get there if I don't move my backside!

Oh the heat...

This afternoon when I left work around 4ish, it was 27 degrees centigrade. 27 degrees in Central Scotland...I may as well have been abroad!! It has cooled down outside considerably since then but it's still 26 degrees in the damn house! And I can't make it any cooler! We are not prepared for this type of weather here. I have no air conditioning and no fans...just silly windows! Anyway, let's try to forget about the heat.

One other thing I wanted to share was my new found love of very bright nail varnish on my toes (I used to always wear dark or neutral colours) and anklets!

It doesn't look like it there but that is a very hot pink and I'm loving it! I think I'll need to invest some time in photo editing though ...

TT 2

Can't believe it's Thursday again! It's been a very quick week indeed. So my Thankful Thursday is just a quick one...

Me time! Right now I'm extremely thankful for this. After having been strapped down by two jobs I'm finally able to spend time some time on 'me'. Although this will come to an end in the next month when My Man comes back home permanently from working away. So right now I'm milking it for all its worth!  I'm more relaxed, I'm able to do what I want when I want and I get to have early nights! I'm planning on getting back into yoga and I'm going to start swimming again soon. Slowly but surely I'm reclaiming myself :-D

Thankful Thursday 1

Aside from bubble tea and this blog, 'Thankful Thursday' is my other new thing. I'm thankful for a lot of deep and meaningful things and from time to time I'll write about them but this spot will be reserved specifically for the ones that simply put a smile on my face.

Today's is Laura Veirs album July Flame. It came out a couple of years ago and it has always been a little special to me for various reasons. When I left the house this morning for my back shift in work (10 hours of pure fun yippee!) I didn't feel anything specific. The minute it started, that smile just grew. It's probably the most summery album I own, without even trying - it isn't a typical, upbeat summer album. You would have to listen to it to understand.

So tomorrow I'm heading in to Edinburgh after work for an hour or two - the intention is to meet The Man when he arrives off his train from Plymouth. I'll have been cruising the Waverly train station market and seeking out a Bubble Tea cafe by the time he arrives. Can't wait!

Whirlwind of a Weekend

As my partner and I have become used to, every weekend is over before we even have the chance to realise it's here. As I have been working away too, we both arrived home late on Friday. Whilst munching on a bag of chips with brown sauce we rushed to get a couple of washloads done and hung up. On Saturday we had the one-in-a-million chance to take our time as we got ready to go my partners' sisters' house - we usually do this every week in a baby-sitting capacity but not this weekend. We arrived back home again late in the evening, got ourselves settled in and had an early night. We were up again early this morning as The Man had to catch his train back down to Plymouth where he's currently working through the week. After he left I decided to busy myself with some housework - since being stationed in Newcastle, the house hasn't seen a duster or a decent spray anti-bacterial surface cleanser (love the stuff - for all your cleaning needs!). Despite this I made sure I was very good to myself and did my nails while watching Friends for about 5 hours (I'd like to say 'give or take', but really it was more 'give' than 'take'!)

So tomorrow, I'm back to my normal office. No more commuting, no more sanitising the hotel room as soon as I arrive (seriously, I wasn't joking when said I love anti-bacterial surface cleanser! Sad, I know...), no more unnecessary spending...Although the one non-necessity I will miss, is Bubble Cha, in Newcastles' China Town. Amazing. I'd like to say that the fruit variety of bubble tea is my new obsession but I don't think there are any Bubble Tea making establishments nearby. I'd love to learn to make them myself but it's knowing where to source the pobbles (little sacks of fruit juice that pop in your mouth) and flavourings etc. I would have loved to try their variety of milk teas but being very sensitive to dairy, it really would not have been a sensible venture...my favourite non-dairy cha was the peach green cha, with cherry pobbles. Oh how I miss it...and it's only been two days!!

Good afternoon!

So here it is! The very first post on my new blog. I say that as though anyone at all should be familiar with my previous blog. I started it earlier this year and only managed four or five posts. I didn’t have nearly enough time to devote to it and although I felt I was on to a winner, the blog itself never actually felt like ‘me’.
I will be updating he look of the page as I go along but for now I’ll introduce myself…

# My name’s Michelle – the ‘J’ in the blog title is for my middle name and the ‘B’ is what I hope my surname will become…

# I live in gloriously sunny (for now) Scotland with my partner

# I am 27 years young

# My current work role mixes case-work, customer service and training delivery – I am, at present, working 
in Newcastle Upon Tyne doing just that (more on that later)

# I am extremely keen to learn and try new things – I have a plan to become rather crafty and knowledgable (ha, let’s see how that pans out!) in the near future

# I recently had to give up my second so now the above will have the opportunity to materialise. This blog will follow my adventures and endeavours in that respect.

I think that should do it for now. I’m all ‘facted’ out. I’m under no illusions that there are thousands of other blogs out there for readin’, and I don’t expect anyone to feel compelled enough to ‘follow’ me yet, or continue reading, but if you do happen by, say hi