Decisions, decisions….

Posted: May 22, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: blonde, brunette, food, IBS, stress, yoga | 8 Comments

(pics sourced from weheartit)
Blonde or Brunette?!
What do you think? Whenever summer rolls around I think about going blonde… but maybe I actually suit brunette better?
I have decided I need to implement a bit of a health kick. I have quite high stress levels due to my work & I never really relax properly. I occasionally get irrational with Mr J over the silliest things & last Sunday I sat on the floor at work bawling for about 10 minutes because I felt so frustrated & tired & overwhelmed. So my friend Malini & I have decided to give Yoga a go… I can’t wait, I’ve always wanted to do it but never have. The class we’ve found is only 5 minutes down the road from work & it means that at least once a week I’ll get out on time & hopefully will relax well & get a good nights sleep!
I also suffer from IBS so whenever I am particularly stressed out I end up with a stomach like a beach ball! Certain foods trigger this and so can alcohol.. I already know that if I drink beer I’ll have a poorly tum the next day! I’ve decided to try to eat better… I eat fairly well anyway but I eat pasta a lot which can make me worse, and oddly chicken can trigger it, so more salad, vegetables & smoothies… less bread, meat & pasta… all my favourite things.. **sigh**
I am beginning to feel as if I’m at a crossroads in my life… I kind’ve landed on a career path that I’v wandered along & it’s done me well but I think it’s time to go my own way, I’m just not entirely clear on what exactly that is yet. The place I work at has fantastic values…
  • Getting good quality food to people at affordable prices
  • Using seasonal produce
  • Sourcing locally where possible but not afraid to go global for quality
…but it’s too big for me. We seat 220 people in one sitting & on a Saturday we’ll turn that 5 times. That’s HUGE!! I’d like to scale down for definite… I fell in love with this place on Monday & it’s reminded me thats the sort of place I’d like to be. Smaller, more initimate, more about the food and the people than trying to run a huge place! I’m beginning to put some ideas together in my head but I really need to figure out how to put a business plan together, how to pitch it, how to get funding… small steps! The other part of the jigsaw puzzle is if Mr J & I have a baby… maybe I’ll change my mind all over again! I just very much feel as though this chapter of my life is starting to draw to a close….
I guess we’ll just wait & see 🙂

Pink Friday

Posted: May 21, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: ash cloud, Bill's, Italy, Tapas | Leave a comment
(All pics sourced from weheartit)
Hi peeps… I guess I’ve got a bit of catching up to do! It’s a scorching day today & I really should be out enjoying the sunshine but sometimes the heat just makes me feel lazeeeeeeeeeeeeeee….
I was supposed to fly to Italy on Monday morning but I was thwarted by the invisible ash cloud for the second time… so we spent the day in Brighton instead! We wandered down to the pier & wasted some time on the slot machines & we had breakfast at Bill’s which is absolutely fantastic! I wish there was one in Oxford! We had beer on the beach & then finally had lunch at Jamie’s on the company… a fab 3 hour lunch! Basically myself & the other Italy trip-goers got to meet up & get to know each other whilst consuming obscene amounts of food & now the trip has been rescheduled for June.
I did have to go back to work as the trip was cancelled but I was off yesterday so I’m feeling so much more refreshed! I’m working tonight though 😉 We also went back to the Tapas bar I mentioned here for my friend Helen’s birthday on Wednesday night. The food really is delishhhhhh! OK I really haven’t done much for the last week, tee hee… Hope y’all have a lovely weekend xoxox
See previous Pink post here x

Blog Crush #1

Posted: May 11, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Bleubird Vintage, Blog Crush, Eye candy, food, green, In season, thrifting, vintage | 3 Comments

I read so many blogs & all for different reasons.. so I decided to share some of them with you, explaining why I love reading them… & so begins my Blog Crush series! #1 is Bleubird Vintage with the charming Miss James…

The blog is soooo lovely! Miss James shares her love with thrifted & vintage goodies, updates on her Baby Bird (yep, she’s pregnant) & snapshots of her family life with her other half & her kids. It’s definitely one of my favourite eye candy blogs… Any out there that you want to share?
PS. For those of you in the UK there is now an ‘In Season Now’ list in my right hand sidebar letting you know what food is in season… I’ll keep this updated on a weekly basis 🙂

Happy Monday

Posted: May 10, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: college, food, GCSE, Happy Monday, Health Care, Nutrition, Science | 4 Comments
(all pics sourced from weheartit)
Hi all… I’m back from my trip home which really didn’t go as planned as I ended up with a 4-day migraine so I didn’t do my planned walk, didn’t catch up with many people & had to cut my trip short. Oh well! I did have the pleasure of looking after my friends daughter whilst I was there & she is just absolutely adorable! I think I’ve fallen in love! 🙂

On a slightly different note, I’ve been thinking about my health/job/lifestyle quite a bit lately & am debating going to college. My health has definitely been below par for the last few months, I’ve been incredibly tired & run down & my skin is so dehydrated that I resemble a snake! I’m wondering if tiredness & the fact that I’d ‘stopped’ were what caused my migraine. I’ve been working 10-13 hour days 6 days a week in a job which on paper is great but in reality is quite stressful and demanding & relatively thankless. I work in a food environment which I love, and everyday is different which I need but I think it’s taking its toll & perhaps I need to slow-up. I’ve always been interested in Nutrition & how your diet affects many different facets of your life but having gained a double D at GCSE Science getting onto a Nutritional degree is almost impossible (read as: going back to school to do GCSE again, aarrrggghhh, or completing an Access into Science course, arrrrgggghhhh, & then doing a Foundation course & then doing a Degree!) so I’ve been looking at alternatives. I’m more interested in passing on beneficial nutritional knowledge, what to eat for optimum health, how to educate children to eat well, teaching Joe Bloggs what is in season & how to cook it than the science behind it all. Most Nutrition degrees are very science based but if I go into Health Care then I can specialise in Public Health or Nutrition so I’m currenty reassessing.

Going back to college would have to be part-time as I need to work & am not daft enough to give up this job without something solid to go into! I do enjoy my job, I’m just not sure that I can keep up the pace anymore! Anyway I’m off to to some more research & weigh up my options… hope you all had a great weekend, happy monday!

Pink Wednesday!

Posted: May 5, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: family, friends, pink, waendal walk | 2 Comments
(all photos from weheartit)
I won’t be posting for the next few days as I’m off to Northamptonshire to see family & friends & to do the Waendal Walk. I’ll be helping look after this gorgeous toddler…
& I’m really hoping to catch up with these two…
(picture taken in 1984… they’ve both grown up a bit since then!)
….Especially hoping to see my brother because I haven’t seen him this year & it was his birthday last Saturday. & I’ll be the luckiest girl if I can fit these guys in too….
Marie is one of my best friends & I haven’t seen her for about a year! I have a lot of catching up to do… so I’m off to finish packing & I’ll be back in a few days with (hopefully) lots of photos for you! Hope you all have a great week xox
See previous Pink post here x

Red… Yellow… Blue??

Posted: May 4, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: blue, Conservatives, education, General Election, immigration, Labour, Liberal Democrats, recession, red, yellow | 2 Comments

So politics isn’t something that I would ever usually talk about. To be quite honest it’s something that I don’t really pay any attention to. To be honest I’m 32 years old & I’ve never voted. As a child I grew up under the Conservatives & Maggie T & as an adult I’ve lived my life under Labour with the charismatic American-loving Tony Blair & the not-so Gordon Brown. In my own reality there hasn’t been a huge difference between the two. Margaret Thatcher provided us with a strong female role model, privatisation and a decline in the manufacturing industry, New Labour finished it off for her. Tony Blair’s ‘New Labour’ didn’t seem that different to the Conservatives before them to me. It’s only now, after a few years struggle that you see the evidence of Labours social ‘for the people’ policies… but is it too late?

This year, with the televised Leadership Debates, interest has surged, particularly against younger people & those in my age group who haven’t really paid attention before. Nick Clegg is hugely popular & the Liberal Democrats are a force to be reckoned with. I’m quite lax & never really watch the News but now I’m glued to the screen & I’m buying the paper every day! We have so many issues to address right now in this country & people want change but it’s very difficult to figure out who’s really going to give us that. And will it be for the better or for worse?

There is so much that needs addressing right now… immigration, classroom sizes, unemployment, the recession, illiteracy, poverty, outsourced businesses, housing, the economy… & on a personal level, who will benefit us more? Mr J runs his own (small) business, we rent because we can’t afford to get on the housing ladder, we haven’t got children yet but are planning to in the next year or so, I earn over £20k so am likely to get hit by Labour in taxes, but Mr J’s small business will be a financial struggle under the Conservatives… & the Lib Dems? I have absolutely no idea! Well on Friday we’ll find out whose turn it is to run the country… I have butterflies in my tummy!

(all pictures sourced from weheartit)

Sunday Sweetness

Posted: May 2, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: family, mum, Operation Shoebox, rain, Sunday Sweetness | 4 Comments
(all pictures sourced from weheartit)
I’ve actually got a Sunday off! We are off to Swindon today for Mr J’s grandmothers birthday. I’m really looking forward to seeing my would-be sister-in-law as she’s pregnant & I haven’t seen her bump yet 🙂 It was meant to be a BBQ but I don’t think todays weather is too accomodating for that!
Speaking of family, my mum is a co-ordinator for Operation Shoebox please pop over to her blog to see the letter of thanks that she received from the soldiers… I’m so proud of her 🙂
I do love the rain so I decided to go for some cute rain inspired Sunday Sweetness today… I’m in love with the frog umbrella!
I hope you’re all having a lovely weekend.. catch up soon… xoxox
See previous Sunday sweetness here