Headspace

Talk about emotional baggage...I honestly don't know how they let me onto an aeroplane with my ready-to-burst suitcases of weighty issues. It really is so incredibly easy to get caught up in your own thoughts and give all your energy to feeding your problems.

I've felt like this recently. Questions of 'What if?' and statements of 'I don't understand' and 'if you look at it this way...' were consuming me, and in all honesty I've had a face on me like an unloved pug.

Yep, major case of sad eyes. Oosh! A change is gonna come!

I read about Get Some Headspace in an old copy of Elle and thought, 'Oh boy, this could be the ticket to fixing my internal monkey!'. Just so you don't think I'm a complete loony, I had a conversation not so long ago with someone about our internal monkeys - you know, the little monkey inside your head that reflects your personality and mental wellbeing etc. My internal monkey was lying in the corner of my mind in the foetal position, clutching a handful of crayons. And it didn't really look like a monkey, it looked like one of those weird goblin things off the old Sprite adverts...

Bad times eh?! So yes, internal monkey needs therapy.

Get Some Headspace was founded by Andy Puddicombe, expert in meditation. He has put together a fantastic website with tools and voice recordings to guide you into the habit of meditating each day. I wasn't really sure about the whole meditation thing to begin with, but after following his 'Take 10' programme I could definitely tell the difference. In 'Take 10', Andy encourages you to take just 10 minutes out of your day for 10 days to sit quietly and clear your mind. Once you've completed this, you then have the option to move onto 'Take 15' and 'Take 20'. I'm currently up to Day 9 of Take 15, and I feel fantastic. I cannot praise this website highly enough, and there's so much helpful information on there. No more sad eyes, no more fixating on things I cannot change. Just a clear mind, better sleep, and being much more productive at revising for impending Psychology exam - cheeky bonus! Women and children first, emotional baggage overboard.

For more information or to start the Get Some Headspace 'Take 10' programme, please go to

http://www.getsomeheadspace.com/

p.s. You can even link it to your Facebook account so your friends can track your progress

p.p.s. my internal monkey is now sitting up and happily scribbling away in her colouring-in book

Showcase This

Yesterday I was worried I'd have absolutely nothing notable to blog about today...and then I went to 3rd Degree Festival in Liverpool.

I went to support my very talented friend's band Evelyn.Is, and boy did she rock that stage! I felt like a proud mummy when she introduced the set by playing her harp, intimately draped on the stage floor. Her sound is atmospheric and moving, and needless to say, I was an emotional wreck 45 minutes later when I greeted her off stage!

It made me so happy to see someone I love doing something that they truly live for and were born to do, and not only that but kicking the ass out of it. You can follow Evelyn.Is by searching for them on Facebook.

In other less interesting news, I was so pleased today to realise that I have reached Aligner 29/29 for my Invisalign treatment, which means I potentially only have 2 weeks left until my dream smile!

I started treatment in March 2010, and since changing aligners ever 2 weeks from that point I really thought this day would never come! My bottom row of teeth finished months ago and look fantastic - in fact, when I smile, I can hardly believe they are my own after years of hiding my spacing issues and being called 'gappy' by an evil ex (is there any other kind of ex?).

I have my review in 2 weeks to see if I need any refinement - you Invisalign geeks will know what I'm talking about! If the result is perfect, then I will have all my attachments removed and move onto the retainer stage. So, I will keep you updated and hopefully have some super shiny before and after pictures to show you soon!

If you have any questions about Invisalign please feel free to ask - I could honestly go on about it all day long.

Shoe-gasm

Today has been a happy day :)

Today was the first time (drumroll please)...

a fellow blogger commented on one of my posts! Not just a friend that I have emotionally blackmailed into following me *fake enthusiasm*. A person found me, and liked me, and is following me. I am WELL CHUFFED. And that's how I started my day at 7:47am!

Please go and check out fellow blogger Ashley's blog at http://www.ashleyborysewich.blogspot.com/ - I am such a whore for beauty blogs so this is right up my street, naturally.

Another reason I am super smiley today is that I can't wait to go home to my new babies. After much deliberation about whether my credit card could handle a manic depressive shopping spree, I splurged. And oh baby, did I splurge good and hard.

Love at first sight, right?

And if I didn't have a damaged tendon in my ankle I would be wearing these to the supermarket, to work, to play, and even to bed. If I trip over the damn cat again, I swear it's war!

These beauties are £79.99 in River Island - they've sold out online, but you can still pick them up in store if you're hot on it ;)

Guess What...?

Aaargh! I can hardly contain my excitement to tell you, that I simply cannot wait until my usual blogging day (Wednesday) to hopefully spread some cheer.

Not usually one to blow my own trumpet, but attempt #2 of making le macarons KICKED ASS! So here's me, blowing my own trumpet. Parp!

I don't like to be rubbish at anything, I take it very personally and last week's failed attempt left me with a throbbing vein in my head and an insatiable desire to eat the entire contents of my fridge to lift my spirits. Onions excluded of course. So when my little babies grew feet and started to rise, I smiled wider than a kid with a cardboard box. Big time.

Filled with Baileys buttercream to make them extra special, I gave these as a gift to Mama Gill for her mummy's day - and the mega squidges she gave me tell me they were a hit :)

Other than that I'm still feeling pretty pants at the moment. I keep having incredible urges to do the classic Ron Burgundy "I'm stuck in a glass cage of emotion!" scream from Anchorman (incidentally one of my favourite films), but fail to see a way to adapt this into a suitable expression of emotion in the office environment. Another day, perhaps.

So I'm off to buy shoes instead...oh my, I can already feel the rush!