2015 Reflections....

Hello my Friends,

Once again another year has past (is it just just me or are they moving faster!!?) It feels like yesterday that I was sitting here writing my 2014 Reflections. Oh Well Here we go again I guess.

This year has been a massive year of change for me not all good but not terrible.I feel like a learned a lot of life lessons and I learned a bit about myself ... Again not all good but not terrible... I feel like the latter half of the year just flew by as I was just trying to keep up with my own life!!

What I learned in the past 12 months..

I learned that sometimes you just need to ask for help and guidance and that is OK. I learned that the wall I use to keep from getting hurt is much stronger than I realised and that is something I need to work on. I learned its easy to fall for someone you barely know (which up until now never thought was possible) but I also learned that things do not always work out the way you want them to (& thats not necessarily a bad thing) I learned that even at the ripe old age of 25 I am nowhere near being a proper adult but thats ok too. I learned that bravery comes in many forms & sometimes the bravest of people do not show it at all. 

I learned that not all change is bad. I changed jobs and made some wonderful friends. I moved back home due to housing crisis and got to spend a bit more time with family. I have reconnected with people from my past which has been both good and bad but once again not terrible. I got to complete a couple of things before my 30 before 30 and more on the way!! Another thing I learned about change is that it can happen over night almost both for better and worse and there is nothing you can do about. I learned that I have a massive problem with relaxing and that is something I also need to work (I see many massages coming my way in 2016 haha) 

Finally I learned that not only do I need to relax but I need to live in the present more, worrying about the past and trying to anticipate the future really leaves you with nothing but with a headache and anxious feeling in your chest. As my mam always says if its meant to be then it will be. Shes right I need to learn to sit back and let the universe work its magic.

Highlights for me! 

• Going to Galway for 3 days with my family, Staying in The G and Going horse riding again!
• Living with my brother & sister for 3 months! So random how it worked out but alot of fun!! Like old times (sort of) just for one summer!!
• Changing jobs and meeting so many new great people. Some i have become very close to!! Awesome!!
• Spending time at home again, back to my roots, where I came from. Its had its challenges and ups and downs but I know once I move out chances are I wont be moving back again so this has been good!!! 
• Finally getting tickets to see Russel Howard. Hes someone I have wanted to see for ages an also its a great way to kick off the new year of fun and adventures!!  

My Goals last year

Blogging & Youtubing

Although I kept up-to-date with other peoples blogs and youtube channels I was not very consistant with my own blog nor did I get my channel up and running again. This is for a lot of reasons but is something I would like to rectify and get back on track with this year.

Saving

This is something I definately got better and more specifically budgeting but it is something that I will continue to improve in 2016

Travel (Getting on a Plane)

Still have not managed this but I have not forgotten about it at all. Time and money more than anything else have been the reason for this not happening.

Read More

I did read some great books during the year and I will try to up my game this year!!

Pass my Driving Test

Not yet! Oh well soon, soon.....

Gymming

Ok not even going to lie... totally did not do this but I really want to get back into it as I love it when I do it but then other things get in the way and living an hour from the city doesnt help. But this year I will be reporting back to guys with all the different classes I attend!!

So there you have it! doesnt look like much progress if Im honest (Goal wise anyway) but I dont even feel bad because this year has been so crazy for me with change!! Mentally this has been a really challenging and important year I feel. Besides like I said last year - If at first you dont succeed there is always tequila!! haha!! This year though Im going to make me more of a priority, What I want to do..Who I want to spend my time and what goals I want have completed in the next 12 months.

I will see you 2mro with my post on my 2016 - Resolutions and Goals.

Chat soon x  


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HAPPY HOLIDAYS

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2016 - Goals & Resolutions

Hey There!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Once again welcome to my first post in of the year. 2016... how wierd is that to say!! I have a feeling that this year is going to be an awesome. You know why?? Because I plan on making it one. Last year was a complicated year and I learned many life lessons that is why I feel like this year is going to be a good one. I am stronger this year, I have grown! 2016 bring it on. 

My choices of goals for this year are going to reflect this "take on the world and make it a better place" attitude.  

Now if you read my last post you are probably thinking "You could just take your list from last year and complete that?" & You would be right I am going to continue to progress through that list until they are complete also but New Year - New List!! 

Here are my Goals and Resolutions for 2016

Blogging and Youtube

Yes this title is the same as last year and yes those goals are still in place but this year my aim is to try and spread more joy and happiness throughout my blogs and channel. Create more fun and laughter and a more welcoming place to be. Just have more fun with it! One of the series I want to do this year is one I saw on another blog (please forgive me, I cannot for the life of me remember which blog. Please leave it in the comments if you know!!!) & I thought it was a fantastic Idea! Basically every month you create a post talking about all the fantastic things that happened that month!! what a brilliant way to take stock each month & remember all the great things that are going on in your life instead of having them all pass you by. 

Plan Something to look forward to each month

This is also going to tie into blogging. Each month I want to plan something fun to do. I find that alot of the time I let life pass me by as I am so focused on all the things I HAVE to do, which dont get me wrong they are important too but once a month atleast everyone should be doing something that they WANT to do. 

Find a nice place to live

I have spent the past 4 months at home with the intention of finding a suitable place to move into after Christmas. Fun fact about me - I hate not having my own space and place. It makes me irritable that most of my stuff is in storage and Im antzy to move out. Dont get me wrong my parents are wonderful and have done everything to accommodate me but after 8 years living out of home it takes some getting used to. Also weirdly enough  its like a visualisation of the fact that your life isnt the way you thought it would be by now, you know? Anyway at first I decided that anywhere would do as long as I was safe and comfortable now the more I have stayed at home for a couple of months my opinion has changed I want to find the right place. lets face it, Its a lot money and at the end of the day you dont even own any of it so instead of rushing out the door Im going to find the right place for me! I mean I have a nice comfortable (albeit an inconvenient distance from work) place to live so why would I rush out to pay money for a place that was worse... makes no logical sense really!

Getting Healthier

Yes I know everyone says it this time of year but I really need to! I eat all the wrong foods, work crazy days and hours, rarely exercise properly or see fresh air or daylight. Its really not good. I have been thinking about alot recently but with Christmas and everything it just didnt seem possible. Now however everything is going to relax a little so I will have more time to plan and learn a new routine and way of living... #excited!!

Organisation

Yes as many will know I am queen of lists but yet I still feel like I am behind myself a lot of the time, Im going to use January specifically to organise and tie up loose ends I have before I move out & I am going to take you with me on this journey next month as I am going to make January 2016 Organisation month here on my blog. I mean really what is the point in moving out if you are still catching up on yourself. When I move out I want to completely independant and have everything organised and sorted to the best of my ability!

Getting my car sorted

This something that I have wanted to do for so long now but I feel like something has always come up and pushed it aside. Well this year again with the theme of "Strong Independent Woman"  I want this to be one of the loose ends I tie up.

There comes a point in our lives where have to learn to be a grown up! By no means was I ever completely irresponsible (well within reason I guess) I mean I have lived out of home for 8 years, But I think this maybe my year to truely start sorting out all that adult stuff that we avoid!! Hey I might learn something new! & You never know It might even be fun! 

So thats the plan for my 2016 although lets face when do plans ever go according to plan!? Still though I am excited to see what this year has to offer as I said in the beginning - BRING IT ON!!!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you all a fantastic New Year!!

Chat soon my Beauties x

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS

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St Stephens Day Reflections! 2015

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone has had an amazing and festive Christmas!! I hope it was filled with good food, great company and lots of fun & laughter!! 

This year Christmas seems to have passed me by a little bit... dont get me wrong I have had a lot of fun & a really good Christmas but it seems to have whizzed passed me in the blink of an eye. I have seemed to let work and personal drama take over a little bit, meaning I did not get to complete many of my goals I had for this festive season, Blogmas included. 

However I am not going to beat myself up about it, instead Im focusing on the future. There is a new year around the corner after all. A recent tragedy has taken place close by me and it has made me look back and reevaluate things, appreciate things, and think more about what I want from my time spent on this planet.    

Goals I managed to complete - 

• Get in contact with people that may have slipped my radar recently... 
• Do my Christmas shopping early (majority of this was done early with some last bits and pieces Christmas week - I still count it as a win!!)
•  Spend more time and effort on personalising each Gift I wrap and Christmas Card I write. - This one I enjoyed and will continue to do!!
• Go Ice Skating Again! - Didnt manage this one yet
• Watch Elf! Again not yet!! 
• Read Christmas Books........ Always next year I guess.....
• Watch the Late Late Toy Show! This is one I was really upset I didnt get to do....
• Stay Organised so I can make the most out of my time and funds this Christmas Season! Honestly did this to the best of my ability... for the most part but next I will try harder
• Make more time for the people I love and who are most important in my life!  Same with last point
• Be Present! Live in the moment! Breathe and Enjoy the most wonderful time of the year!! I really did enjoy it even though it was crazy and kind of a whirlwind.

Before the end of the week I am going to look back on my goals and see how far I have come (If at all) and I am going to think about what I want from next year too. Honestly I think this is what everyone should take a little time to do at the end of each year.

So much happens in 12 months but rarely do we take the time to notice it. I mean you could use landmarks like your birthday or New Years Eve but as side from these how often do we stop and look at all we have in this world. Im not specifically talking about material things, although they are nice and some important (for example clothes and a roof over our head) but Im talking about all the people in our life that we hold dear to us and other things we cant buy like our health & Safety.      

Some people do not have the luxuries that we have and sometimes that is easy to forget. This however is the perfect time of year to remember that and all that we have to be grateful for. 

Anyway I just wanted write a lil post to say Hello, Happy Holidays & I hope that everyone is enjoying all the luxuries they have in their life right now!! I will be back very soon my loves!!

Chat Soon x

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Thank You For Reading

xox    

Festive / Christmas Goals for the 2015 Holidays!!

Hello Everyone, 

I cant believe that Its the first of December ALREADY!! WTF!? How can this be!? The year is nearly coming to an end.... 

Anyway this year I decided that I would do Blogmas. So welcome to Blogmas Day #1!!! I will not be documenting everything I do everyday.. for that you can add me on Instagram HERE or Twitter HERE but instead I will be promising to upload a festive filled post every single day up until christmas just for YOU!    

I have been planning this for a while and will have all kinds of festive filled goodness for you to get your teeth into! 

Today I have decided to tell you all of my festive / Christmas goals for the 2015 holidays

1. Get in contact with people that may have slipped my radar recently... Wish them Merry Christmas and find out how they are getting on. Maybe meet them for a coffee or hot chocolate.
2. Do my Christmas shopping early (this one I have already started) No panic buying or running around on Christmas Eve.
3. Spend more time and effort on personalising each Gift I wrap and Christmas Card I write. No last minute work to get the job done.
4. Go Ice Skating Again! Last year I went and Fricken Loved it!! Must do that again!!
5. Watch Elf! Yes I must be the only person in the WORLD who has never seen elf but I will be changing that this year!!
6. Read Christmas Books. I always say I will but I never. This year however I plan on reading them and giving you guys the reviews so that ye will have time to pick them up if they are any good.
7. Watch the Late Late Toy Show! Last year I never ended up watching it and it just wasnt the same this year I will definately be watching it!! 
8. Stay Organised so I can make the most out of my time and funds this Christmas Season!
9. Make more time for the people I love and who are most important in my life!        
10. Be Present! Live in the moment! Breathe and Enjoy the most wonderful time of the year!! 

So those are my Festive goals for this month!!

Have you got any goals for the holidays!? 

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Choices, Choices, Choices......

Hey There Friends,

Today I have a Midweek Motivation for you! Its been a while since I have done one these I admit, But I got you covered this week!! Today I want to talk about choices. In the modern world we live in it gets easier and easier to do the things we love and stay connected with the people we love. We are all aware of this. This is not ground breaking news and no ones going to read this opening paragraph and go huh I never knew that. However these are not the choices I am talking about today.

Today I want focus on the little choices we make everyday. All the decisions and choices that lead to the bigger things. With every new day springs a whole host of new decisions and choices... What to do today? What to eat? Who to spend the day with? What to I do that will benefit me the most? 

Recently I have noticed that I have a tendency to make big long term plans but not make little short term ones leading up to it in order to achieve the long term ones... I hope I am making sense here and you are still with me. For example I want to travel.. a few problems with this plan.. work.. money.. passport out of date... just to name a few. So now I have decided to that each week I would make a small goal of saving & to do something productive to get me closer to that holiday.

While thinking about this new strategy it got me thinking "What about the choices we make everyday without even thinking about it?" Where we choose to work? Who we put our time and effort into? " We do all that without thinking! I like to think of the episode in How I Met Your Mother (I am sure I have mentioned this before in a past post) Its call the Lucky Penny. Its where Ted has an important job interview in Chicago and misses his flight and it can all be traced back to finding a penny on the Subway. I love this episode for 2 reasons - #1 Is the reason I have mentioned it in the past which is that Its funny how the universe seems to have a plan and something you did a week ago or even longer can have a ripple effect and affect something in your future (If you would like to read that post you can just click on the link here - The Universe Has a Plan Right?) but #2 I also love it because it reminds you that every choice however insignificant it may seem can alter your future. 

Ted picked up a penny on the Subway and ended up missing an important meeting a week later... more complicated than that but if you have seen the episode you will know what I am talking about. So this is my message today - Everyone has a choice to be who they want to be! Everyday! So many choices that sometimes we forget we even have them. They are all mixed into our daily life and it is only when they are big and asked directly we don't recognise them. Of course we have many things that have to be done but it does not mean we cant incorporate other things into our life which are just for us no?

Take a minute and think, are you happy? if not, why not? whats making you anxious or sad? What could you change? Even something small just to incorporate into your life. You never know the smallest change you make might be the biggest one!!

When you make any choice remember who you are! Remember what you want! Dont ever sacrifice your own Personality, Being, Self worth, Goals or Morals for something or someone who is not worth it long term. Remember your word is your honor... so choose wisely my friends.       

Have you made any choices or changes recently in life?

Have you seen any benefits by doing so?

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A world at war....

Hello Friends,

As a general rule I never watch the news, not because I want to be ignorant or oblivious to the world around me. Its actually the opposite. I found I was actually getting too involved in it. I found myself worrying about all these things that had no impact on my actual life apart from empathy for other peoples situations. I would worry about things like the ebola crisis.. watching for new reports and updates... lay awake thinking about all those poor people in war torn countries. It would put me in such a down mood and make me anxious. I realised this had to stop! So I stopped watching the news! I figured if something significant happened I would hear about it through friends, radio randomly on, Magazines or any of my social media. It worked! I stopped lying awake at night thinking about situations that had no real impact on my life and Scared me into an anxiety attack. I know it sounds harsh like I dont care about the rest of the world. I really do... thats a lot of the problem. Nothing is more frustrating then thinking about a situation that you cant fix!!     

Recently however the news has been harder and harder to avoid the news! Where I work they have taken to having SKY news on the in the back round on the TV and it is always about destruction and devastation! Regardless with or without the TV on I would have heard about the horrific events that took place on Friday the 13th in Paris. Truly heart breaking imagery! My thoughts go out the poor people involved! 

What are we doing to ourselves! Why do we insist on hurting and killing each other!? Money, Power, Politics, Religion... none of these seem like good enough reasons for any of the catastrophic events that have taken place in the last couple hundred of years!!

I was talking to dad about this and I realised something. The world is always at war, always has been. Maybe not the scale of world war but every country has an army for a reason whether they are in war or not they are always prepared... Every war, civil or worldwide is always generally the same one country wants something and the other is defending themselves and all the poor civilians get caught in the cross fire... collateral damage. Its sad really.

It does seem to look like a new sweep of terrorism is taking place.. Its  terrifying to watch and read about. Them main difference seems to be is that terrorism is not the result of people looking for money, oil or to take over a country, It is simply there for the love of chaos and destruction. A body count. I have found that I have gone back to constantly checking for updates in the news. I feel anxious and stressed. 

Sometimes I just look at the Tv screen and think what is it all for? What would our world be like if we worked together and not tried to kill each other off? Share our vast wealth and knowledge with each other. I know its an idealistic dream world but I think it could be pretty incredible. 

I think the most important thing we can do is to continue living our lives as normal, the best way we know how! Dont let fear and propaganda take over. Terrorists can attack and take away or feeling of safety but the can not take away our freedom. They can not control our reactions! Yes we are going to be afraid, emotional, empathetic but we are not going to hide in fear of going out..
  

Life is tough enough sometimes even without the fear of bombs and attack. We are all fighting out own personal war. I think all we can do is try and be nice in our own lives. Even small things, acts of kindness. Unfortunately the world will never be at peace and that is just the way it is but we all have a choice. Be the best person you can be. Treat people with kindness and respect... You never know you might unknowingly help them win their own personal war and create a lifetime of peace time..

My thoughts and heart go out to the victims of the Paris attacks. Such a tragedy.  

Be well & stay safe my friends,

Lots of Love,

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The Games People Play.... & how not to let it ruin your life...

Hello Everyone, 

Recently my personal life has been totally over taken by drama in every sense of the word. In recent conversations with friends and confidants a few interesting topics came up and a few things people have said have resonated with me.

One of these things is the games people play. Everyone plays games in life weather they intend on it from the beginning or not... You are lying if you say you have never done this. Think about it.. really think about it... when it comes to getting a job or even relationships. Not everyone intends on playing games in order to create drama or chaos just for the shear hell of it. More often then not its a form of self preservation and not getting hurt. Nobody wants to be too vulnerable or break down walls for someone or something that they are not quite sure about, especially when it comes to relationships in a romantic sense but game playing does somehow seep into other areas of your life. 

I think from an early age we are taught and encouraged to play games. Its a form of power play. I remember from an early age when the girls would all sit around talking about their crushes and how they would get them, find out if they liked them back, what were they thinking... Books, Magazines, Tv shows & Movies all encourage this game playing. I mean everyone's heard of the 3 day rule right!? Yes harmless but a game nonetheless.. Its all about power and control, the way you come across to the person intended. Us girls are taught not to be too forward (clingy), Give each other names and reputations.. but its the same for the boys, men must be strong, knights, heroes. Its all about the game...    

Work is the same. CVs (Resumes) are embellished, putting your best foot forward at the interview.. then its all power play where I have, in the past, been witness to colleagues lying about each other but honestly tell me a company where that doesn't happen.

Dont get me wrong games can be fun but sometimes you need to weigh up what your end game is and whats at stake if you lose and this week I learned you make not even know what that is.. you may not even realise the what the game is.

What I have learned in the past week is that sometimes you can be sucked into a game without even meaning to because its fun, exciting and doesn't seem to have major consequences only to find out that you were not completely aware of not only the game in play but also the other players! 

People love gossip. Half truths are always more interesting than the whole truth... you get to make your own ending apparently. 

Suddenly you find yourself a part of something much bigger and ... You Lose! Someone said something which has stuck with me... the only way to stop playing is to walk away. Whats done is done and you cant change it. Perception is reality. If people see you as this then This is their reality.. Walk away, continue to be you and people will slowly begin to see the real you and the people that dont... well thats really their loss then isnt it? Even if that is hard to believe at the time. 

The Game of Life doesn't have to be dictated by other people. Your life doesn't have to include them. You have a choice. Dont let other people decide your fate and who you are for you!! You know how you are!! 

I wonder what the world would be like with a little less game playing and little more honesty....

Lots of love my friends,

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