If U Care SHARE

If U Care Share Foundation is a charity in my local area which aims to provide support around the prevention of suicide, to deliver services to those affected but it, and promote a positive mental health attitude to our local community. Set up by two parents who lost their son through suicide, the charity have grown and now provide prevention, intervention and support services.

I'm lucky to have never suffered from a mental health problem, so have never used the If U Care Share services personally, but I have a close friend who has. She moved away to university in 2012 and soon returned home after suffering from depression and anxiety. For a while she's struggled to fight her problems, but with the help of If U Care Share she's managed to suppress some of her problems, raise awareness of mental health and is going back to university in September.

The foundation relies on fundraising and donations to provide it's services to the local community. It's currently in the final of the National Lottery Awards and needs as many votes as it can get to win the award. Winning would provide more awareness for the charity and would result in a cash prize which would help the charity grow further and save even more lives.

I know a lot of people in the blogger world have struggled with mental health problems, and if you haven't personally you probably know someone who has. It'd be great if you could take two seconds to vote for If U Care Share and help them raise more awareness for their great work. I'd be very grateful if you could, and I know they would too.

The link to vote is http://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/project/if-u-care-share-foundation

S x

Weigh In - 24th June & 100 Happy Days...Day 100

I managed this week to remember to weigh myself on Monday morning, intense last minute dance rehearsals after a busy day of work ruined my blog posting however. I may have to re-think my schedule when I move.

Anyway, sticking with my maintaining regime for now I had another on track week. I was really good with my diet until the weekend came and I was treated to amazing home made brownies from Omar's mum and then a few glasses of wine on Saturday night for my friend's birthday.

With no real rush to get home last week I extended my interval training a bit longer and managed a good 45min workout overall. It was nice not feeling like I had to get home at a reasonable time for everyone else to have food, so I'm looking forward to being in my own place and back in control of everything.

100 Happy Days - Day 100

Reaching day 100. I was hoping something completely out of the ordinary would happen in time for my final happy day. Unfortunately it hasn't. So my 100 happy day is happy because I completed my challenge.

I thought I'd have got bored of this a long time ago, and yes I did take some breaks where I didn't have much to say, but I've completed it! Thinking about what makes you happy does make you take a different view on your life and what thinks actually do matter to you.

I tend to be the type of person who sees the bad in things more than the good, and if I had a 100 day complaint challenge I'm sure I'd have no trouble completing it, but this has definitely made me more positive towards things.

I'm proud of myself for finally completing this challenge, and look forward to the next challenge I do.

100 Happy Days...Day 99

Day 99 - My Neighbours

Some people find it very weird that I'm so close to my neighbours. I don't. I think it's nice. Having grown up with them in my life for such a long time they have become a part of my extended family.

 Here's a picture of us celebrating my 21st birthday.

Weigh In - 17th June

In my sleepy state, I managed to forget yesterday to weigh myself. So, here I am a day late, with news of a little loss. I think I definitely need to reassess everything again over the next few weeks, diet, gym routine etc. But maybe I'm best off doing that when I'm in my house and have more control over everything. So for now, I'm sticking with maintaining (loosing where I can) and increasing my water intake.

It's so hard drinking the 2litres a day I'm recommended to do. I'm not a big fan of just plain water so once I've drank about half a litre I loose interest. I've been cutting back on the fizzy drinks though and opting for dilute juice instead where I can, which is helping me get closer to my limit.

I had another attempt at interval training last week and still felt as motivated as I had the previous week. Definitely going to keep up with this routine for a while and see how much progress I make.

My stretching has seen me make some progress too. I managed to do a heel stretch, something I've never even been close to doing before. It wasn't perfectly straight and I'd definitely like it higher but definite progress. Unfortunately I'm too wobbly to hold it long enough to take a picture but I'll work on that.

All in all, a relatively ok week.

100 Happy Days...Day 98

Day 98 - Random Moments

My car is in desperate need of a wash at the moment. It's filthy. It's taken since Friday for me to spot it amongst the dirt, as the sun had to fall in the right place, but my wonderful boyfriend left me a message. 'Loser x' it said. How romantic is he?! But he did make me smile. Thanks Omar x

100 Happy Days...Day 97

Day 97 - My Dad

When I was fourteen I nearly lost my Dad in a car accident, ever since then I've always been grateful for the fact we've had this extra time together. We do still have our moments where we annoy each other, argue etc, but the majority of the time we get on pretty well. So here's to my Dad on this Father's Day, for being the best Dad I could hope for.

100 Happy Days...Day 96

Day 96 - Seeing Omar

After what feels like forever, I finally got to see Omar this weekend. Knowing that we were going to see each last night made the day at work pass much more quickly. A quiet night in watching The Big Bang Theory, Bondi Vet and Once upon a Time, whilst eating one of our favourite meals (lasagne and garlic bread, yum!) was just what we needed. Living so far away is such a pain, I can't wait to be a ten minute drive from him.

100 Happy Days...Day 95

Day 95 - Hump Day!

Best thing about today is it's Wednesday! Which means it's only 2 more sleeps till Friday, and only 2 more sleeps till I get to see Omar. It feels like I haven't seen him in forever.

After an odd day in work, which resulted in my leaving the office dancing with two of my team to The Ugly Bug Ball, I celebrated hump day with another interval training session at the gym. Followed by a relaxing night talking house stuff with my Mum whilst watching Law and Order.

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

Weigh In - 9th June & 100 Happy Days...Day 94

Despite this week being another maintaining week, I actually had a great NSV today. Went to get change into my dance stuff for class tonight (which was such a great class) I found that my leggings where extremely comfortable today, my leotard didn't feel like it was confining me in places, and my tshirt hung nicely. I looked in the mirror at one point and thought, wow you have lost weight. The scales just didn't agree however.

Last week I got back to the gym and changed up my routine a little to do some interval training. I've read a lot about interval training in the past, and my boyfriend has tried to convince me to do some before but I've never considered doing it myself. Last week was my first try and I loved it. The time passed a lot quickly because I was only ever focusing on doing something for 2 minutes maximum.

I alternated between a leisurely walk to get my heart rate normal again, 1 minute sprints or 1 minute walking on a really high incline. I don't tend to do much incline work so I really struggled with this, I could feel my knee pulling slightly, but the whole workout was so much harder and more enjoyable than what I had been doing. I was still feeling the after-workout feeling when I got to bed that night too much was a great feeling. My best advice though if you're doing this on a treadmill is to not turn the speed up too high on your sprints, there's a chance you may fall off (I nearly did!).

I took a week out of logging my food last week as it was becoming more of a chore than something I enjoyed, I'm going to start back today and get back into the habit. I didn't go crazy on what I ate on my week off, I was pretty good, I just didn't want to write it down.

I've also started using an app called Water Balance which works out how much water you should drink on a daily basis and lets you log it. I used to think I was pretty good at meeting my limit but since I've started logging I've realised I'm not. According to the app I should be drinking 2.4litres a day...I'm lucky if I get half of that. I definitely need to cut back on the Diet Coke and Milk (I love milk so this will be hard) and get more water in my diet.

So, although the scale didn't show a loss I think this week's been pretty good. Here's to another good one.

100 Happy Days...Day 94

Presents from my Mum. My favourite moisturiser ran out the other week and when I went to get a replacement I was told that No7 had discontinued it. I was absolutely gutted and until I find something I really like I've been borrowing my Mum's. But to my amazement, she came home from work today with a bottle from the Boots near where she works. They didn't know anything about the product being discontinued and had some left in stock. So happy and can't wait to put this on in the morning. Thank you Mum!

100 Happy Days...Day 93

Day 93 - Canadian Grand Prix

What a race! I can easily say that Canada never fails to bring excitement. Congratulations to Daniel Ricciardo, a spectacular first win. Very unlucky for team Marussia loosing both cars so early after winning their first ever points last time out in Monaco.

Such an enjoyable race full of excitement.

Picture taken from SkySports

Book Review - The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Warning: Make sure you have tissues when you read this. There's only ever one book in my life that has made me cry (On the Edge, by Richard Hammond if you're wondering), this doubled my list to two.

I don't know why I even chose to read this, it's not a book I'd normally opt for. I much prefer fantasy books with magic and worlds far away from ours, but this one caught my attention and I'm glad it did. 

The story is focused on Hazel, a teenage girl diagnosed with a terminal illness hoping experimental drugs will lengthen the time she has left. Terrified of the thought of being a Grenade to her family and her friends, she is such an inspiration remaining strong throughout everything and putting the feelings and future of others before her own. She shows that to fight through difficult times, you need a positive attitude.

After meeting Gus at a support group she didn't want to go to, her life takes a surprising turn and she falls in love the way you fall asleep; slowly then all at once. At first I wasn't sure I liked Gus but I, like Hazel, very quickly fell in love. 

This book is so well written you can't help but connect with the characters and want them to enjoy their lives the way they should be able to. Although I kind of predicted the storyline in some aspects, the story still put me through an emotional roller coaster. Raising questions about the impact I'm making on this world, who will remember me once I've gone and how I'll be remembered. It definitely makes you think twice about everything. 

Cancer is something we can't get away from, and you're very lucky if you don't know someone who hasn't been affected by the illness. What the book addresses though is how people react to those unfortunate to be suffering from the disease, and what it is actually like for the families who are left behind. That's something you probably can't understand unless you've been in that position yourself, but this book gives a really good insight.

This book is a great summer read, I'd recommended to anyone who likes a story you can connect with. And if you don't like reading, then the film is out on the 19th June so you can still experience the story.

100 Happy Days...Day 92

Day 92 - Sales

I love shopping, who doesn't? But I love it even more when there's a sale on. As I've had some good news on my flat and it might be ready within the next 4-6 weeks I took a trip after work to Dunelm Mill to take advantage of their sale. Coming home with a pair of curtains for my bedroom and a new set of quilt cover and pillowcases. I'm getting a bit more excited again, keeping my hopes up I'm in soon.

May Monthly Round Up, 3rd May Weigh In & 100 Happy Days...Day 91

I can't believe how quick this year is going, it's already June! Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?

I'll apologies now that this is going to be a bit of a long one, I missed my weigh in yesterday and I'm a little late on the round up so thought it'd be better to combine them together. So, here goes...

Goal Number 1 - Complete the Operational Level of my CIMA Qualification

I finished my exam! Yey! I can now have a normal life back. I just have the long wait until result day. So for now, I'm not marking this off as complete until it's passed, but fingers crossed that will be soon.

Goal Number 2 - Move into my own Home

The wait for my flat is now starting to get boring. I understand how pregnant woman feel when they're fed up and just want it to be the day you've spent so long waiting for. I still don't have a roof on my flat, the move in date has been pushed back to July (no exact date as of yet), and I'm getting a bit tired of constantly being asked questions about it. Plus, fridge/freezer shopping is not a fun shopping trip. I'm hoping not much longer now.

Goal Number 3 - Loose a stone in weight

Ok so here goes my weigh in. I gained a little this week, but as I've proved the last few I can loose it again. I'm back at dancing and the gym, when I stop being an idiot and forgetting things I need to go, like my sports bra or my trainers. I need to be better organised and pack my back the night before not on a morning when I'm rushing around crazy. After not being to the gym in a while I was surprised that I hadn't lost my running ability as much as I had previously. This slow build up I've been doing must be working.

I've been doing ab exercises maybe once a week around revision and although my ab appearance probably doesn't look as it did after my challenge, I've still got quite a lot of the strength. I'm just going to keep going, up the amount of exercises I'm doing each week and hopefully get back into a weight loss streak.

I'm going to a Christening in July and plan on wearing something I already own to save money. I have a few things in mind for what I'd like to wear, but I'm not sure they'll be a good fit. I'll try them on at the weekend and make a decision, they might motivate me a bit more to make sure I look good in them.

Goal Number 4 - Get my Splits on Both Legs

I'm still working on this and found some new stretch advice to follow. This was a Pinterest post I found that has been a great help.

I also found this which I'm quite enjoying too. These stretches feel really good.

Goal Number 5 - Learn to Cook

I've not made anything really fancy this month. My most adventurous cooking attempt was to take some chicken breasts and coat them in a Maggie's So Juicy Mixed Herbs spices (rather than cooking them in the bag in the oven) to be cooked on the barbecue. They were very tasty.

Plan for June

June's plan is to get back into a gym routine. I've been very lazy the last month and that's not good. I'm going to go for 2 gym workouts a week and then dancing as extra. The only downfall I see is it being quarter end at work and that cutting into gym time for the last week of the month. I'll just have to be extra good when I can't get to the gym.

My dance show is soon so if I can improve my core strength and flexibility a bit by then that would be great too.

And to round us off, a bit of 100 Happy Days - Day 91

Pinterest posts making you smile. So I just set up my Pinterest account, go check it out if you get time, and this post popped up on my feed today and it made me smile. A Lhasa Apso as an Ewok. It reminded me so much of my Gemma that I had to smile. How cute.

100 Happy Days..Day 90

Day 90 - Car Anniversary

This weekend is the one year anniversary of buying my own car. It's shiny and blue, and I'm pretty sure I spend more time with my car than I do with any person each week. He's been well and truly used over the past 12 months with over 18,000 miles done, and I'm sick of the site of motorways because of it, but I love my little car and I love driving it.

Here's to another happy year.