Hey, let's talk about....routine

I love thinking about something to waffle on about on a Wednesday, a little bit of a midweek discussion & thoughts flying around in my head..

 

My thought literally popped in to my head this morning at about 8 o'clock when I was messaging my lovely friend Ally (hey Ally, I know you'll be reading this) & I thought you know what I have a fair bit to say about the subject so here goes....

 

Routine

 

Image found on weheartit

 

Sometimes a break from our routine is exactly what we do need but what happens when that break goes on a lot longer than you expected? Once I had finished my NVQ in 2009 I planned to have a little break, in all honesty thinking I would be able to get straight back in to everything..oh boy, how wrong was I. I thought oh I'll take a little time out & then get into a job, oh yes Anna it is just as simple as that. No, it really isn't at all. I have been out of work since completing my NVQ, I do occasionally work for my parents. But that is just as & when they need me, so nothing set in stone meaning no routine. The only routine in my life I have really is driving & blogging...believe me, we all need a little bit of routine.

 

Image found on weheartit

 

So you know the whole excitement of the weekend coming round & then suddenly going in the blink of an eye. Well, yes I really miss that. Every day feels the same. Some thing recent in my life has made me think sooner or later this routine will be easy to grab. I really want to get back in a routine. Will it be hard to get in a routine? Yes, it really will. But you know what, once I have that routine back in my grasp, I'm going to hold on very tight! It will be so worth it.

 

Do you have a set routine?

Do you get the excited feeling for the weekend & the Monday blues that might follow?

 

Let me know in the comments.

I really do love hearing your opinions.

 

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

My Driving Journey - Lesson 33 & 34

Really, 34 lessons gone by already?!

Where does the time seriously go! (okay then granny Anna, you can be quiet now).

I can't believe how much I've learnt & to be honest with you I feel like my confidence has grown during this time too. Win, win if you ask me.

 

 

Tuesday 15h October

So today we drove to the next village & I got to practice a reverse round a corner, this went pretty well. Since the next village has a lot of speed bumps I never really fully know what speed is best to aim for since regardless some of them just throw you. After this we headed to the other side of town & I got to practice a 3 point turn & both times I made it round in 3, I love it when that happens. I did accidentally hit the kerb once when reversing but I suppose atleast you know when you've gone too far back & I'm pretty sure I'm not the first person to bump into a kerb & I know for sure I won't be the last. After this it was time to head back home & one more manoeuvre was ready to be practiced...a parallel park, I do quite enjoy these but just like everything else it won't go great every time. It did actually go pretty well though today.

 

Thursday 17th October

Ooooh, today was the day of a dum dum dum....mock test! I obviously have never done one of these & I wasn't really too sure how it would go. Sharon went by explaining exactly how the test would work & obviously that each examiner is different, grading wise. Some will be really strict & others might let things pass as a one off, then the next time it happens it will be a minor. I managed to get 9 minors, which I suppose is okay since she did a mixture of how the examiners would be. I don't really feel like it was one of my best driving lessons to be fair. A few things did go wrong but we have to make mistakes to learn from them. I did find it funny how we was quiet in the car because obviously some examiners will want silence. Well can I just say I do not deal well with silent situation. I found myself giggling a little bit & if you was in our car you would think we had had a fall out. We are usually non stop chattering from the minute I get in the car to the minute I pull up at home. How on earth am I going to cope on the actual test?

 

 

So there is a run down of my lessons this week (well technically last week). 

It still feels weird actually adding questions to the end of these posts because I didn't start my blog to gain readers, I just started as a way to express myself & get out whatever was driving me crazy in my head. But I am so grateful for the people who read my waffle & hopefully enjoy it. I really enjoy communicating with you so let's get down to the questions, shall we?..

 

How many lessons/hours did you have until you passed?

Which manoeuvre did you find easy peasy?

& which manoeuvre did you find to be a tough cookie?

 

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

Sit Down Sunday - 20th October 2013

Sit Down Sunday, what is that you say?

Found out a little bit more by clicking here.

 

Image found on weheartit

 

- supportive family & friends

- communicating with the lovely blogging girls

- receiving surprise parcels

- new opportunities

- positive feedback

- Nicholas McDonalds beautiful voice

- new slippers, toasty toes

- my blog, to express myself

- Activia little breakfast pots

- shortbread, yum

 

What little things have you enjoyed/been grateful for this week? 

Let me know in the comments below.

I love hearing what you have to say.

 

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

Just had to share this video with you..

Short & sweet post, I was going to blend it in with my other post today but it just didn't fit at all so I thought I'd post a quick separate one just to share this video with you.

 

This morning Jonny Benjamin on Twitter shared this video with his followers. It was a response to The Sun Newspapers article that caused quite an uproar with their headline '1,200 killed by mental patients'. I do follow a fair few of people who have been affected by poor mental health & well you can imagine they wasn't best pleased to say the least.

 

But Jonny has created this video in response called Sometimes (I'm Schizophrenic)/All Of The Time (I'm Just Human). I think it is a real eye opener & just proves that we are all human.

Please watch it, it is fantastically created.

 

What did you think to the video?

Has it made you look at people affected by mental health difficulties a different way?

Let me know in the comments below.

 

Thanks for reading.

Feel free to share the video around too.

 

- Anna ♥

Changes..

Changes, do they scare you too? I know when I was younger, pre high anxiety I didn't really think about change, at all. Yeah, things changed but I just kind of went with the flow of things. I suppose in a way I still do. But what happens when things aren't looking great for you but your scared to make any changes? That is when you might have a dilemma on your hands. If I speak to you personally you will know what might be changing for me, I won't be saying anything on here just yet though.

I absolutely love flicking through weheartit especially when I'm on the hunt for an image for my posts. For this post though I managed to find six (I closed the app & looked no further, otherwise we may have had a huge collection), the more pictures the merrier I say. So I hope you like pictures & quotes.

 

 

This quote is so true. I feel like I sometimes find myself moaning about my high levels of anxiety. Just to let you know I'm starting to class my anxiety as high levelled because we all have anxiety, it's just when it is higher it becomes a pain in the bum. So yes, I moan about my situation..let's be honest, who doesn't? But instead of moaning I'm going to try my best to actually change my situation, change my life for the better. Yes, I know it will not be easy but you know what....

 

 

We have all heard & probably been told the saying, "things don't get better overnight". Rightly so too, things really do take time. Yes getting the negative thoughts & the what ifs out of my head wont be easy, shutting them up/swapping them for positive ones though will definitely be worth it in the end. I will be glad to look back & think how tough times were & be proud of myself when I have got through them & have life back on track that little bit more, not on hold anymore. I know how easy it is to listen to & let those negative thoughts control you but believe me, if we all just change those thoughts around..will things be a little bit brighter? Surely....

 

 

& well lets be honest if it doesn't push us in the right direction, where will it push us? Exactly, it can't push us backwards so what do I/we have to loose? Absolutely nothing. Once your affected by something it is so easy to let it control you, such as I'm currently letting my anxiety control me. I don't want to fight it anymore, I don't want to beat it off with a big stick. What I do want to do is take it on a journey with me to getting better & being able to cope better. I don't want to stay the way I am right now, I want to be back to the me before hand with lower anxiety levels. So I will be taking it along on the journey & if we just happen to separate paths along the way that is absolutely fine. 

 

 

I thought I'd add share these quotes with you because I think they all are very true & honest. 'If you're avoiding the pain, you're also avoiding the joy', how true is that? Life is up & down, sometimes we have to experience pain to then experience joy. The first example to pop in my head is when a woman gives birth, I can't imagine that is a painless experience but can she run away & hide? No, she has no choice..it is coming out whether she likes it or not. So then once the pain is gone she will experience the joy of having a new born baby & the future ahead.

 

What do you think about change?

Be honest, are you happy with how things are?

Are you scared of change too?

 

Let me know in the comments below.

I genuinely love hearing from you.

 

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

Hey, let's talk about....swearing

 

Swearing

 

I took to Twitter at the beginning of the week to get others opinions on swearing. I started blogging for me, a place to have a voice.. somewhere to express my thoughts inside my head. Never did I think I'd actually have any readers. But I actually have regular readers now & it is great. Thank you guys! So every now & then (I think I was planning on doing it towards the start of every month) I like to get others involved in my weekly series of 'hey lets talk about....'

 

Over the past year or so I have noticed that my dad swears a heck of a lot. I'm not sure whether I'm noticing more because I'm at home more, if he has always been like it or if it is as he is getting older..I don't actually know. But I tell you one thing, it drives me potty. Yes, I'm sure we all swear every now & then but when it becomes a ridiculous unnecessary amount I think it is uncalled for.

 

 

Here is what a few others have to say on the topic....

 

Jess

"Basically I'm not bothered about it. I tend not to do it because I don't wanna come across as more aggressive (unless that's what I'm trying to do). I've no problem witnessing it unless its ridiculously unnecessary, in which case its annoying!"

Rachael
"I'm quite torn when it comes to swearing. Growing up using bad language was something I was always taught not to do however it has crept in to my vocabulary. There are certainly situations when I think it is completely unacceptable, for example using it as an insult, in front of my parents, children, strangers, elders, when complaining, debating a point or having a heated conversation when I believe it can not only be disrespectful but also unbeneficial to a situation. On the other hand if I'm feeling upset, angry or stub my toe it can also be a great release and an effective way of demonstrating just how you feel. If you must swear, always swear responsibly."

Debi
"I think that swearing is a subjective thing and it depends completely on the circumstance and company as to whether it is appropriate to use. I'll admit it; I sometimes swear. I'm pretty sure that everyone does once in a while. Sometimes all it takes is dropping something or stubbing your toe and it just kind of slips out. In all honesty, I have no problem with that whatsoever. For the most part, I tend to not worry about how people talk or whether or not they swear. However, in my mind there is a kind of scale of acceptability when it comes to what words will offend me. I know that's really stupid; after all a word is only a word, but it is true. One word in particular springs to mind (I won't say which) and I get annoyed if anyone uses it around me.
When people are unable to string a sentence together without throwing in some kind of expletive, I feel that it is just going too far. Trust me, I've known plenty of people that suffer from this issue. They can be talking about the most mundane thing and yet in slips a completely unnecessary expletive as if it makes them cooler or "harder". It doesn't and, in my opinion, the overuse of swearing shows a lack of vocabulary and isn't attractive. There are literally thousands of words in the English language. Surely you can find one to substitute that swear."

As you can see everyone has their own opinions, I didn't put a limit on what each of the girls could say. I just let them write however much they felt about swearing. I do agree with them, especially both Rachael & Debi's part about stubbing your toe.

What are your opinions on swearing?
Do you think it's completely fine?
Or maybe you think it is uncalled for & unnecessary?

Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments below.
I'd love to hear what you have to say about the subject.

Ooh, do you know Rachael & Debi both have blogs too?
They are two of my favourite, why not check them out.
Rachael can be found by clicking here.
Debi can be found by clicking here.
Go be nice & spread some love the girls way.

Thanks for reading.
- Anna ♥

My Driving Journey - Lesson 31 & 32

32 lessons, that can't be right....can it?

Oh yes that is absolutely correct. I'm pretty sure I'm becoming like a broken record now, but I actually can't believe it....

 

 

Tuesday 8th October

Manoeuvre based lesson today, I really do enjoy these & I really can't get over how quick driving lessons actually go. Today I got to practice reversing around a corner & parallel parking first off..I'm pretty sure I didn't get to practice a 3 point turn during the lesson. Note to self, I need to wrote down in my book straight away what I did & then I will remember. 

 

We pretty much finished off the lesson in a car park practicing bay parking. I think I must of practiced about 6 different times on 6 different spots (bays in driving term, pretty sure it's American..do Americans call a parking spot a bay?) I only practiced reversing in to them today & some of them were a little off but not everything can be perfect every single time. So I'm not going to beat myself up about it, I'm just going to try a little bit better next time. I did want to practice more & more to get it better but unfortunately time was up.

 

Thursday 10th October

Well I'm going to start off with the situation before the driving lesson, we are all human & we all make mistakes. I thought my lesson was at 11, just like I did last Thursday actually. Apart from this time I only actually realised when my mum had come to my room to say get up & get ready before she left for work & I was all, 'it's alright, my lesson is at 11'...Yeah, I was wrong. Infact the lesson was at 9 & when did I discover this? When mum opened her blinds & shouted to me that Sharon was outside..So my lesson that should of started at 9 started at 10 past, not bad going if you ask me. Mad dash to get ready certainly wakes you up I can tell you that much.

 

So today we basically just went on over to the next town so I could see where the test centre was. If I'm honest with you it isn't as scary as I expected. I kind of expected just one big building but it was nothing like that at all. It was just one office in a row of about 8 offices. Nothing to be scared of or worried about at all. I only got to drive to the test centre & back because then time was up.

 

During my lesson today I learnt that my weak point is roundabouts, I definitely need more practice on them. I seem to stop when I can actually go & then go when I should actually stop. Not exactly safe & definitely something I am going to work on & I'd like to think I'm not the only one who it has happened to while learning. Can I just add that I don't go out in like a wreckless kind of way.


Well that is two more lessons down, how many more to go?
I do wonder, progress is still to be made.

Are you learning to drive?
Are you considering learning?

Let me know in the comments below.
I really do love hearing from you guys.

Thanks for reading.
- Anna ♥