Long Days and Changes

I stayed with my parents over Christmas and New Year, and since I've got back, the days suddenly seem extremely long.

When I was with my family I spent most of my time chatting or watching things, or going out (thanks Kaz for pushing me all those times in my wheelchair), and of course rested when I was near collapse. Now it is back to just me, alone in my flat.

I realise that probably sounds a lot more drear than it is. It's just that I can't work out why I now seem to have a lot more hours than I did before visiting my family.  I am resting just as much, more actually; but the rest of the time I am (mostly) more focused on achieving what I can between rests.  Even over the weekend where I pretty much slept the whole time to recover from my 'holiday', the days seemed so long.

On the one hand this is kind of nice as I have a lot more time to play with (I know I don't really, but that's how it feels), and therefore I've been doing a little more. Of course the consequences to doing more, is that I'm in a lot more pain than I'm happy with.  I guess it'll take me a little while to rebalance myself.

However, I am trying to be more aware of my time. After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result (or something along those lines). While I'm not claiming in any way to be sane, I do want to instigate small changes into my life. Now my health is starting to improve I want to make sure that continues, but I also want to make myself ready for when I find I am able to join the rest of the world (getting a job, learning to drive, etc). I don't think it will happen this year (and that's not me being pessimistic for those of you into positive thinking), but I do feel this year is going to be a major stepping stone to my future (okay, technically every moment is a stepping stone to the future, but you know what I mean).

I plan to do a few posts on the changes I'm making, but other than that I honestly don't know what else will find its way onto this blog, so I guess we'll find out together.

Sunday Shout Out: MUA Heaven and Earth Eyeshadow Palette

Since getting interested in make up in the past couple of years, I have really wanted a Naked palette by Urban Decay, but due to the price it just wasn't going to happen.  So imagine how excited I was to discover that the new brand MUA, has a 'dupe' palette, and at the ridiculously low price of £4.

Over the Christmas period I was able to do some shopping, and when in Superdrug I finally picked up the palette I had been lusting over, and so far it is as amazing as I'd hoped. I love all the colours, which are fairly neutral but there are enough of them to lend itself to many different looks.  I have a feeling that this palette may become a favourite in 2014.

MUA stands for Make Up Academy and is sold in Superdrug in the UK (I don't know if it's available elsewhere). There are a few different palettes, but this is the only one I've actually seen in a shop, as the brand is still fairly new so not everywhere stocks a large selection in the brand.

And if you're curious, I have not been asked to do this post, I haven't been compensated for it in any way, I just love the palette and wanted to share it with you all.

1 Word for 2014

For the past couple of years I have chosen 3 words which I aim to focus on other the coming year.  At the beginning of 2013 I chose the words Positivity, Prioritize, and Love (you can read the full post here). Honestly, I'm not sure I was as focused on them as I wish I had been, but there is nothing stopping me from keeping them in my mind this year as well.

I have spent some time trying to think of 3 words for 2014. I have found only one that resonates with me. At first this bothered me, but then I realised that if there are no other words then it doesn't matter, and I certainly shouldn't force words to focus on.

So this year I'm just having one word to focus on: Perseverance.

Over the past couple of months I have slowly been making progress on many of my plans. Many of the plans are ones I've had for years, but I've never managed to get past the beginning stage.  It seems I have finally found a way of continuing, making tiny steps, and I'm determined to continue in this way. This year I'm going to persevere with a few projects (of course I'll share progress with you when I'm ready), and hopefully start building up my future.

Out of 2013 and into 2014

At the beginning of 2012 I was filled with overwhelming enthusiasm for the coming year. I felt excited and ready to face my best year ever.  2012 turned into one of the worst years of my life.

At the beginning of 2013 I didn’t really have a whole lot of expectations.  I was still struggling with a break up, moving, money issues and health problems. I didn’t dare expect anything as I didn’t want things to come crashing down any further.

2013 has been a year of transition – physically (I moved again in June), mentally and emotionally.  Without noticing, the year has passed me by without me noticing much at all; but when I look back I can see how things have changed for me.  I am now living in a friendly little flat I rent, and which I can see myself living in for a long time.  I am beginning to see an ever-so-slight improvement in my health.  I am less stressed. And I am starting to feeling hopeful again.

So I guess as I go into 2014, I am feeling cautiously hopeful. I don’t expect next year to be amazing, but at the same time I know it is still a possibility; a lot can happen in a year after all.  I am not planning on jumping into 2014 all guns blazing with the result of burning myself out. Instead, I am simply making the quiet choice to continue making small progresses with my life and hopes and dreams, as I have been doing for the past few months.

And as I go out of 2013, I am grateful for the slow, almost imperceptible, transitions that have happened within my life over the past year. I know I needed this year to get back into place, ready to face the next stage of my life.

Being Who I Am

Sometimes I look at my life and wonder who am I? When did I become the woman who eats salads and fantasizes about joining a gym (granted, this probably has a lot more to do with the fact that I can't do it, than because I want to work out)?

But then the rest of the time, I can't imagine being anyone else. I feel completely and utterly myself; as if this is, of course, where I was heading all the time. Even though I may have different friends and hobbies and struggles, I am still exactly the person I am meant to be, the person I was always meant to be.  Knowing that makes life that bit easier to cope with, because I know who I am and while I don't know where I'm going exactly, I'm certain it is exactly where I'm supposed to go.

Christmas Planning

As you all know, I am a huge fan of Christmas. This year, however, I am finding that for a couple of days I have been really excited for it, and then suddenly that feeling went away. I have been yoyo-ing between those two states for the past month at least, and now it’s finally December.

Saying ‘finally’ December is a bit misleading as this year it has almost crept up on me, despite having bouts of ‘Christmas mania’. I mean, at the beginning of November I was making all my plans and looking forward to being remotely organised, and yet somehow I didn’t find the time through the whole month to actually start on the Christmas preparations. So as usual I am left with lots of wonderful ideas, and very little time.

I’m determined not to panic. I am not going to go completely mad and try and get everything done as I know that will only lead to me getting ill, and honestly I want to be able to enjoy the holidays with my family. But nor am I going to give up on all of my plans. I still want to make an effort this Christmas, especially as last year was such a disaster (from my perfectionist’s point of view anyway).

Today, while I am making sure to include plenty of rest, I am hoping to start putting up a few decorations. It’s going to require a little practical thinking as my ceiling is far too high to actually reach (nor do I have anywhere to store a ladder), but there is plenty of wall space so I’m looking forward to what I come up with. 

As I said, I’m determined to not physically overdo it (especially after yesterday), so it will likely take me at least a week to put up all my decorations, but that is completely okay. Just because I remember doing all the decorating on one day when I was a child doesn’t mean I have to follow that tradition. Instead, I need to find my own way of doing things that allow me to work around my health, because nothing is worth putting that at risk (except maybe visiting friends and family, but that’s a different matter).

I am also hoping to do some baking this year. Last year I never managed to make anything, but this year I am focusing on one or two recipes so I don’t have to rush. I’m still trying to come up with a main course for Christmas dinner, though, as this year it is not just me that’s vegetarian, in fact one of my siblings has gone vegan. I can’t resist a challenge so I’m sure I’ll find something (though if you have any ideas, please share below).

Are you super organised when it comes to Christmas/holidays? If you have health issues, how have you found ways to work around them?

Having a Bad Day

Lately I have been doing so much better, that days like today are a horrible reminder of how fragile my health is. Today has been a really bad day. I haven’t had a day like this in a long while and I had forgotten just how much being trapped in the bed sucks.

I know my day has been such a struggle due to doing far too much yesterday (you know, doing a little more writing and moving around that little bit extra), but that hasn’t made it any easier to deal with. If anything, the fact that I’ve been improving made today so much worse, as until this (hopefully short) relapse I had almost forgotten that I don’t have a normal life. I knew I wasn’t ready for work, or anything as major as that, but the fact that I was improving made me feel I had a chance at a ‘normal life’ again.

Of course, one awful day in comparison to every day being like this shows that I am improving; and I am holding onto that, even as I am unable to do anything beyond lying down staring into space and sleeping (which evidently has made me able to write this). But it also reminds me that I can’t take it for granted, and that I will likely have to live the rest of my life weighing activity against rest and possible relapse. That has been the hardest thing to cope with today.

Saying that, I got through it and I am still managing to feel fairly positive (and I don’t even care if it’s drugs preventing me from the depths of depression right now). Each day may not be a new chance when one is paying for yesterday’s activities, but if I take away the length of time of 24 hours, there will always be a new chance to fight again and make my life into what I want.