179. 12 Things I'm Grateful For

1. Having an amazing, close-knit family who support me through every decision and every mistake I make and who I love spending time with. I truly believe family are the most important thing in life and I wouldn't change mine for the world.

2. Still being in a strong relationship with S after 5 and 1/2 years together, finally living together in our lovely home, and knowing that very soon we will become more than just a couple - we'll be a family, and knowing that I've chosen someone who will make an incredible, involved and loving father to our daughter.

3. Living in a beautiful home where I feel safe, comfortable and that I look forwards to returning to whenever I'm away.

4. My small but perfectly formed group of close friends who each lift me up and make me happy. 

5. A job which, at times, challenges me but is, for the majority, a fun and relaxed job, where I can help people, learn new things and spend time with lovely people. Plus, it pays the bills. 

6. Baking, reading, blogging, eating out, long bubble baths, catching up on my favourite shows on Netflix and all those other little things that I get to do on my days off. 

7. My health, mind and body for only ever giving me minor niggles and keeping me ticking over, able to move about and with enough energy and drive to get out of bed each morning.

8. This beautiful weather that we're currently experiencing up North and the fact that there are so many stunning places nearby where we can enjoy it.

9. How much my anxiety, in particular social anxiety, has decreased over the last 6 months or so. The fact that I look forwards to trips out and very rarely spend a whole day in the house is a massive achievement for me, not to mention the lack of sweaty palms and a racing heartbeat when I'm somewhere busy.

10. Having this little blog where I can write about what I want, when I want, with no pressure and the lovely feedback that I receive from fellow bloggers and even friends and family who read it. It makes it all worthwhile.

11. Feeling our baby girl moving about inside me. It's the most incredible feeling.

12. The amazing experiences I've had so far in my life and those that are just around the corner, such as a trip to Liverpool in October and a 4 night stay in a Yorkshire cottage next February.

What are you grateful for?

123. Lifestyle // Tributes

Last week, I lost my Grandad to cancer. It had been a long illness but one that seemed to make very little difference to his quality of life, or how healthy he looked, until the end when things deteriorated rapidly. Faster than I'd ever have imagined. 

Just over a month after I saw my Grandad for the last time, he passed away, peacefully in his sleep, in the same house as he was born, with his wife and two children comforting him. 

The point of this post, however, is not that I have lost someone, but the impact that it has had on my philosophy on life.

Instead of a funeral, my Grandma decided we should hold a Thanksgiving service to celebrate his life, rather than mourn his death. This was held on Friday afternoon, several hours after the burial, and it left me feeling incredibly inspired.

So, why? Well, my Grandad was an amazing man. He traveled the world, he had a long and loving marriage, he built a successful career for himself, he had many passions, he had hundreds of friends from across the globe and he one hundred percent made the most of his life. He loved, respected and cherished life. 

The incredible turnout for his Thanksgiving service and the beautiful words his friends, family and colleagues had to say about him, amazed me. I had known that he was well liked and knew many people, but to hear that he had influenced or enriched so many peoples lives really moved me.

I truly believe that sometimes something tragic has to happen in order for you to discover something more positive. Whether that be a thunderstorm which produces a rainbow, or a death that produces a new lust for life. Something that makes you appreciate what you have, and what you could have if you try hard enough.

This loss has truly inspired me to make the most of my time on Earth, to stop wishing my life away and dreaming of what could have been, and instead making damn sure it happens.

Life is short and it is precious.

I want to be sure that I have helped and loved. 
I want to have experienced things I could never even dream of.
I want to have changed things for the better.
I want to have learnt to love myself, so that I can truly love life. 
I want to have been successful, whether that be through work, love or family. 

Above all, I want to create a life that I am proud of. 

Even if I'm just half as proud of my life, achievements and experiences, as I am of my Grandad's then I know it'll be a worthwhile existence.

106. Lifestyle // Sunday Summary

I hope you've all had a wonderful week, enjoying the fleeting sunshine that we've been lucky enough to receive, and making the most of the Easter break. Although I don't get an Easter break as I'm not at school or university any more, I don't work Bank Holiday's so I have a couple of short weeks at work (yay!). I've also got tomorrow off work as I'm visiting family in the Lake District, so next week is just a three day week *dances to celebrate* Anyway, I digress...

This week I'm going to run through what I'm grateful for this week as I think it's a lovely idea and I've got quite a lot to be happy for this week...

1. Spending time with Becca; catching up, having a giggle & making plans

2. Watching The Grand Hotel Budapest. One word to describe it? Quirky.

3. Catching up with family that I haven't seen in a while.

4. Getting started on season four of Breaking Bad & lots of nights in, snuggled up watching it with S.

5. Spending three days in the beautiful Lake District.

6. Feeling healthier & better than I have in a long time.

7. Realising the importance of family & their health.

8. Finishing the fantastic Looking for Alaska - review coming soon!

9. Going two weeks without biting my nails!

10. Long weekends off work.

11. Delicious cocktails at The Dalesman, Sedbergh, Cumbria.

12. Incredible support from my family, friends & followers.

13. Receiving positive news from work.

14. Getting my first taste of Ugandan cuisine. 

What have you been up to this week?

26. BEDM // Bad Advice

Afternoon lovelies.

Unfortunately the bank holiday is over and we're all back to work again today, which is a shame. Although I have the week off, I'm stuck in the house as my boyfriend is working, my friends are all either back to work or finishing off their exams at university, and I don't even have any money to go for a coffee and read a book somewhere. 

Hmmph, as you can probably tell, I'm not really feeling it today. I'm not sure what has set it off but I'm sure I'll be feeling better by tomorrow.

Anyway, today's topic for BEDM is 'Bad Advice.' I've really struggled with this topic; I was thinking about it all day yesterday and really wasn't sure what to write about. However, following a conversation with my boyfriend last night, it dawned on me that I have been subject to some bad advice and, unfortunately, I chose to take it.

The bad advice I received concerns a really personal, emotional time in my life and so I won't go into too much detail about it. Both out of respect, for myself and everyone else who was affected, and for the sake of my emotions.

Two years ago, I found myself in a really difficult situation. I had just found out something and didn't really know how to react to it. I had no idea what to do next, what to say or what to be feeling. I confided first of all in my boyfriend and best-friend who were very supportive and gave me the kind of advice I'd been hoping for. At this point, I felt that I knew exactly what I wanted to do and had no intentions of changing my mind.

However, when I brought up the issue with my family, they were less supportive. I do need to say, they were helpful and they were only thinking about me, but they urged me to change my mind. I suppose they were going down the whole 'think with your head, not with your heart' root but, to be honest, I tend to think with my heart rather than my head. 

It's amazing how much of an influence your family can have over you. Whilst I was so grateful for the advice from my boyfriend and best-friend, I felt like I needed to take my families advice. We're constantly striving to make our families proud and this is an example of that.

I did - or rather, didn't do - something that I wanted to do, because my family urged me not to. Now, two years down the line, I just wonder what would be different if I had followed my heart. My parents have even said this to me, my mum even once said that she wished I'd stuck to my original decision... but you can't change what's already happened.

I know this post isn't really great as I've not given any detail but some of you may be able to tell what I'm writing about and, even if you can't, I'm sure you can understand the point that I'm making. From this bad advice, I learnt one good piece of advice: listen to your heart.

Love, 

Becci xox