So, here we are. New Year’s Day 2023. As ever, it’s a period to reflection and for many, a time to make new plans for a new year.
Lent 2022
What I am learning about giving things up is it comes with a raft of questions surrounding the behaviour in the first place.  Why did I feel the need to eat chocolate and cake every day? What need was it fulfilling?
It’s not OK, I’m not ‘just fit’
 Is that generally what people think - that fitter people are just fit?  Do they not realise the level of effort involved in being 'just fit'?  Do they not understand the choices that fit people make on a daily basis?  There is no fit person I know that is 'just fit'. I can't imagine that there are many people who are.
The Wheels on my Wagon go Round and Round
I've rediscovered the delight of exercising with good friends and the feelgood feeling that it gives me. Once again my priority is my health.Â
February 2022
February has been and gone. Here in Albufeira, there are signs of spring and of the holiday season beginning. Most bars and restaurants will be open by the end of March and there is spring cleaning going on all around us.
What are your non-negotiables?
I have struggled to knock drinking on the head altogether, there are moments where I still get sucked in.
January 2022
Well, it would be fair to say that I have already failed on one of my 22 for 2022. That of writing a blog post once a week. January has passed me by in a blur. Here in Bristol it has been fairly mediocre!Â
22 things for 2022
I have put together a list of things I would like to do in 2022. I've tried not to include too many habits, although there are a few and I have tried to include things I would really like to do, not things I think I should.
A month without FaceBook
I learned just how much time I spent on Facebook. Â How many times I just reached for my laptop and before you know it a good hour or two had disappeared into oblivion and I had achieved precisely nothing.
Angelica Anxiety
This past week hasn’t been one of the best.  Equally, it hasn’t been one of the worst.  But as the week wore on it became more and more apparent that the only way things were really ending was with a bit of an anxiety induced meltdown.
Evidently, I’m angry.
Over the weekend I had a row with a neighbour over the bins.  Admittedly we had parked in her parking space, which is always annoying, but despite apologising and moving the car straight away she wouldn’t give up with the shouting.  So, in true grown up fashion I shouted back.  About the bins.
I have Invented the World I see
I have an Olympic standard ability to spot the negative in everything that I see, so it’s highly unlikely that I will ever see a positive version of the world.  Why go with the positive when you can glean a negative out of a situation.
March in Review
March has been a bit of a mixed bag. Cutting out sweet treats was an epic fail.  There is no other way to describe it!  On top of the odd twix here and there, I also did some baking during March.  I do love baking but find eating it all a bit overwhelming.
The Guilt-Pain Connection
Apparently, there is a correlation between guilt and pain and in order to release the pain I feel, I need to let go of the guilt.  I am more than willing to try anything in order to achieve a pain free life, but this is at the limits of my beliefs, if I’m going to be honest!
De-Activating Facebook
This past Saturday evening (19th September 2020), I de-activated my Facebook account. I’ve been wanting to do it for a while, but was doing an online course that had a corresponding Facebook group and I wanted to see that through. It’s not been an easy decision.
How Deep is your Faith?
There is also the issue of having a purpose in life. I won’t be leaving my mark on this world in the way most people do – that of having a child or grandchildren to remember them by.
Should Says …..
I’ve wrapped myself, no, I've bound myself, with all of these ‘shoulds’ that have bombarded me, and sadly, are becoming bigger and faster and more frequent in this modern world
Surrender
During lockdown I underwent a bit of a spiritual journey. I’ve always been a bit inclined towards the spiritual, as I have mentioned before, but lockdown provided me with more of an opportunity to read and to reflect.
A Journey out of Lockdown
This week I travelled to Stoke-on-Trent to visit my parents, for the first time since lockdown began. At the time I thought it was a really good idea, unfortunately, the reality of the experience turned out to be very different.
Lockdown Days
So, we are still in lockdown in the UK. Rather than staying safe, we are staying alert, whatever that means and is open to interpretation.
Life in Lockdown
As like many other people across the world I am in lockdown, or quarantine, or whatever it is you happen to call it. I am in the British version of lockdown. If you’d asked me 12 months ago, how I would have responded to this situation we find ourselves in, it certainly wouldn’t have been humming songs!
Fibromyalgia, it would appear.
Like many people, I thought Fibromyalgia was a bit wishy washy - primarily because of so many people that I’ve met who apparently suffer from Fibromyalgia and who also happen to be a bit wishy washy, along with the number of people who’ve read the list of symptoms and have decided that’s what they are going to have.
One Month of Sustainable Living
So this is the end of my first month of trying to be a little more sustainable, or at the very least buying less. It was also far easier for the first part of January as we were in Albufeira and there is nothing to buy and I mean nothing. Coming back to Bristol was more of a challenge,
Walking in Innsbruck
This past week we have been on a city break to Innsbruck. Yes. you heard that right, a city break to Innsbruck. Earlier in 2019 husband and I decided we’d like to go somewhere with snow and I always love a mountain. A quick google search later and we discovered that Innsbruck is, in fact, one of the up and coming city break destinations.
Going Cold Turkey
So, this is how it goes. We get invited for an evening out. The day of the evening out I have to sleep in the afternoon in order to have the sheer oomph to get through the evening. Then I get ready, we go out and ‘sociable Steph’ arrives.
My Recommendations
Whilst I am in the fortunate position that I don’t have to go to work and so have the time to spend researching different areas that interest me, I don’t have a bottomless pot of money to spend. So I am careful to find things that are free, or cheap, or at the very list provide me with what I consider to be value for money.
One Year of Sustainable Living
I'd intended for this blog post to be about 20 things I was going to do for 2020. I started 19 things for 2019, but admittedly, lost enthusiasm half way through the year. But, I thought, 2020 has a nice ring, so thought I'd dust my list off and try again. But then I started wondering as I pondered over my list, trying to find 20 things to do this year, 'Is this actually the way to go'?
Looking backwards, and forwards!
Bucket list item number 1: a trip to Iceland to see the northern lights. I've shared my photo with you, and I swear that is the northern lights. Sadly, I didn't have a camera up to the job, but they were there and I saw them. As for the stars, for me and my aspirations of being an astronaut, that was almost as exciting as the lights themselves.
Learning to walk
As you know, I’ve been having a few issues with a bit of a flimsy pelvic floor, but I’ve also been struggling quite a bit with sore hips and a bad back, particularly after long walks. The problem stems from the sacroiliac joint.Â
Partied Out…..
I'm one of those people with a pudding stomach, yet I can’t face another dessert this side of Christmas!
Back to Basics …. Again
I've been suffering with a bad back for the last week or so which has reared some problems from the past. I had hoped that the back would mend itself, but in the end I did have to seek out some treatment.
The end of Summer
Since I last wrote, much has happened. As you know, I'd started to get myself stuck in a rut. For some reason I cannot comprehend I get majorly stressed out by social media, and feel myself being sucked into a rabbit hole. Consequently, I've taken a break and focussed on me and trying to remain… Continue reading The end of Summer
Where is the joy?
As adults play becomes less acceptable and becomes lost in the detritus of life, but having read around the topic for the past couple of weeks I can see how important it is, and particularly what a difference it makes to me and my engagement with the world.
My Anxiety
Apparently, it's not normal to have a voice in your head all day, every day, replaying every minute detail of the day that went wrong and how you might otherwise have managed it
Marvellous May
What a month it turned out to be! Â It's absolutely whizzed by and I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment
My menopause and I!
My menopausal symptoms seem to be back with a bang. Â This time I am more determined to do something about it.
Changeover Week!
The week when we change over from Portugal to Bristol. Â These weeks are normally fairly hectic and this time was no exception.
Getting there!
On the whole I no longer stress about every little thing and manifest it into a huge disaster in the space of three seconds.
Compare and Contrast
I am in the very fortunate position of spending my life living in two amazing places, both very different, but sharing many similarities
Walking around Faro
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to go on a guided walk around Faro with a company that offers FREE guided walks of 2 hours around the city.
What makes you truly happy?
One aspect of my personality which I would love to change is the negativity. Â I can place negative spin on to absolutely everything - in the blink of an eye.
OCD and Me
It would appear that I have OCD characteristics, which has been a revelation to me. It would appear, however, that it was obvious to most people other than me!
Essential Oil essentials
I’ve recently begun investigating Essential Oils. I also love learning and have been doing an online Aromatherapy course. So all in all, what’s not to love?
Dreaming of sleep
I have decided that I would like to tackle sleepless nights next - to my mind having a decent nights sleep will improve the brain fog situation, if nothing else.
Loving Exercise
I love exercise. I’d forgotten quite how much I do enjoy exercising. I’d also forgotten quite how much I enjoyed using my bicycle for my commute.
Walking back to Happiness
How have I ended up here? Every time I exercise I seem to end up injured.
What if there is no plan?
I used to think that my lack of a plan was some kind of failing. Or that it was some kind of self defence mechanism. If I didn't have a plan I couldn't fail and I would never be disappointed.Â
It's a Wonky Life 