Woody Wonders

How's your mental health holding up in yet another stage of weirdness? Everyone keeps saying "things are slowly returning to normal" but they're not though are they?  Things just keep getting more weird and I feel that we're becoming divided into two camps now.  Whereas in one camp we have those people who are thinking "f*** it, I'm not going to be told what to do anymore, I don't give a flying hoot about anyone else, I'll do what I damn well please" and then in the other camp we have the more cautious approach and trying to do the right thing in protecting others and themselves. In a strange kind of way, it was actually easy to cope with things when we were in full lockdown, because everyone was on a level playing field, in exactly the same position. I really wanted to do some 'normal' shopping the other day, to actually see and touch things, instead of viewing a picture online and then being disappointed when yet another cardboard...

  Do yourself a favour and be more curious As you know, I always like to write about subjects that have affected me personally over the course of the last week and this week is no different.   Do you ever get so bogged down with the basics that you forget to take time out to think about how you can actually do things better?  I know I do, especially at work when I get so engrossed in something that I simply forget to stop, pause and ask ... why? In preparation for a 121 with my boss last week, I was reflecting on what I'd done recently but most importantly, how I could improve going forwards.  That's when it hit me, I need to be more curious.  I always do what's asked of me and on time (usually!) but I'm so focused on actually doing the tasks that I don't stop and question why I'm doing something.  I don't mean from the point of view of being annoying and saying 'yeah but why' every time I'm asked to do something.  I coming from a point of '...

Don't let anyone say that you can't Following on from last week's blog which focused on how to be less judgemental, I'm going to have a little rant this week as it's still very much along those lines. Apologies in advance as I am going to focus on one specific area but I'm pretty certain we will all have experienced some kind of prejudice during our lives. For some unknown reason, it's become perfectly acceptable in the western world to write people off when they reach a certain age and, in particular I'm sorry to say, this mainly applies to women.  Women become 'veterans' at age 35 in running categories and are also classed as 'geriatric mothers' when having a baby at this age.  How insulting! So it's very easy to understand why we develop a complex about age and find ourselves saying "No I can't do that, I'm too old".  It makes my blood boil.  Who exactly are these mysterious people that suddenly decide we're t...

 ... Rubbish.  Good things come to those who  work hard to achieve what they want in life! When you only look at something on the surface, it can often seem like it's effortless, easy, that someone has it all, been extremely lucky, whatever you want to call it.  What lurks beneath the surface is a whole different story. Someone who I 'exited' from my life a long time ago (No, not in a buried under the patio kind of way!) often used the phrase "oh it's alright for you / him / her / them" .   I grew to hate that phrase with a passion, it's so judgemental and it makes my stomach turn even to this day when I hear it.  Yes, you can have moments of 'luck' during your life and we've all been in the right place, at the right time and something amazing has happened but no doubt you worked hard to actually put yourself in that position in the first place. At the age of 50, I'm finally a homeowner again and back on the property ladder but it's bee...

My life is still bonkers! Unless I get completely carried away, this is going to be a fairly short blog this week as I'm absolutely exhausted but in a happy, satisfied physical way rather than mentally exhausted which has been the norm recently. Following a mini-meltdown last week involving tears and tantrums with all the house issues, me and Mr Bob took ourselves outside, gave ourselves a good talking to and have attacked this week with complete gusto.  We finally said to ourselves "so what if the blah di blah falls off, so what if the so and so is not working, it's fixable, everything is feckin' fixable so why are we putting so much pressure on ourselves". We did have the opportunity to put this new found approach into action as we started the week with no hot water.  Deep breath, ok, it's fine, we'll just contact the boiler company.  They can't get to us for another two days.  Fine, just hose me down after my run.  Not a problem. Once the boiler was...

Life is complicated enough so do yourself a favour and simplify your health and fitness routine This week I'm going off-piste from the house dramas because, quite honestly, I'm boring myself so goodness knows what everyone else is feeling like.  Instead, I'm going to be talking about health and fitness, an area I'm quite au fait with and one which you might get more use out of rather than my house escapades! Looking good and feeling great is an ongoing project, it's not something you can dip in and out of when you feel like it.  Our lifestyle choices affect our skin, hair, nails, body image, gut health, sleep patterns, mental health and so the list goes on.  Which is why it's really important to be consistent, not always easy when life gets in the way. Exercise is hugely important but it's also worth reminding yourself that nutrition plays a significant role in your health too.  If this is an area you are neglecting, then along with a decrease in your workou...

It's a great feeling when you're within  touching distance of the other side I was determined not to be a house bore this week but quite honestly that's all my life consists of right now, along with work and running.  Sad ... but true. However, after almost 4 weeks of what can only be described as 'challenging' to say the least, I feel like we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Having said that, it still hasn't been all plain sailing this week as we had to call a plumber out 3 times, yes 3 times!!  I feel like I've missed my calling in life, I can sniff out the smallest of leaks before disaster strikes.  Hopefully, we've seen the last of the plumbing problems and we can now move forwards with decorating. Saturday was a major breakthrough as we finally got the flooring finished in the hall (when I say 'we', I actually mean Mr Bob's son, highlight of his week coming round to help us on the weekend!!) and we sorted ...