July Review.

How is it the beginning of the month again already? Seriousy, time is flying by lately!

I’m a little ashamed to say that my goals have been so far down my list of priorities lately that I had to go back and look at this post to remind myself of what they were!!

* Listen to 5 more TED talks – I haven’t done this, which is silly really because it only would have taken a few hours of my month, but I’ve been far too interested in lounging around in the sun!

* Get in 10 varied workouts. – Done, done and done. Thankkfully my role at the summer school and having an hour of sport scheduled in to my routine afternoon helps with this one.

* Update my iTunes. – Done.

* Post 4 times a week on TTF  – Think I’ve just about managed this one despite my brief disappearance last week – Yay!

* Read 2 books – I am a little ashamed to say that I gave in to all the hype of ’50 Shades of Grey’ just because I really wanted to know what it was all about – if you’re interested I’m not completely sold on the books and haven’t yet decided whether I’m going to read the rest of the trilogy. Sucessfully completed this goal though, and am already half way through my next one – I am so glad to have my reading back on track.

How did you get on with your goals in July?

❤

Sophie

Ps – Thank you so much for all your lovely supportive comments on this post the other day – this is exactly why I love having a blog 🙂

Honesty Is The Best Policy.

I’m going to be straight with you here – I sometimes hide the truth about my workouts and eating habits from TTF. There, I said it.

Recently, I have been eating far too much cake, drinking far too much wine, and lounging around on the sun far too much when I should be exercising. My C25K efforts have pretty much disappeared, and I am quickly falling back in to the trap of thinking that playing a leisurely game of badminton at the weekend will fulfil my exercise requirements for the week.

It’s not that I don’t want to make the effort, and I don’t want to lose a few pounds and get a bit fitter again. Trust me, I really really do. I’m just struggling to find the willpower. I know that that piece of cake on the staffroom table won’t make me feel much better, and I probably won’t even enjoy it that much, but I am constantly tricking myself in to thinking that ‘just one slice won’t hurt’. Maybe one slice wouldn’t, but 20 of those ‘a little bit doesn’t matter’ moments certainly do add up, and they do matter.

So I need your help! Please hassle me, please question me about why I haven’t been working out, and please help motivate me to get out of this slump. I am determined to get 4x45minute sessions in this week – that used to be normal for me so I know it’s do-able.

In 2 weeks time I am going away and will be trawling around European cities all day every day. At the moment I’m tired just thinking about all that walking, and I don’t want my trip to be ruined in any way because I couldn’t be bothered to walk across town. I know 2 weeks won’t make that much difference, but it’s all about attitude, and every little helps right?!

Let’s do this.

How do you motivate yourself when all you want to do is sit in the sun and eat that last slice of cake?

❤

Sophie.

PS – Those of you that follow me on twitter will know that I didn’t win the euromillions the other day – sadface 😦

#99. Buy A Lottery Ticket

There is a special lottery draw in Europe this evening, and 100 people are going to be made millionaires. If ever there was a right time to purchase a Euromillions ticket, this was it right?!

Thought For Friday.

Happy Friday Everyone!

25.07.12

Wow, I can’t believe the last week has gone so quickly and I have totally ignored TTF 😦 Life has been a little hectic to say the least!

Summer school is now well and truly underway, and it’s going really well. There is a lot more time to chill out and play sport and get to know the students than we get in term time, which is always a bonus. One of the things that I love most about my job is being able to talk to the kids about what things are like for them at home, and learn all these cool new words and facts about other cultures. It’s only making me more and more excited for my brief travelling stint next month!

Talking of which, I can’t believe that 2 weeks tomorrow I will be jumping on the plane to Athens – I mean seriously, where has the tme gone?!! There is still so much more planning to do – hostels haven’t been booked, travel insurance hasn’t been paid for, but I did start on my ‘to do’ list yesterday by adding some new material to my kindle (‘One moment, one morning’ and ‘The single girls to-do list’ if anyone’s interested!). Oh well, it’s all part of the excitement!

I actually have loads of pictures to share and things to tell you about but I don’t want to overwhelm this post (which let’s face it, was really just a way to let anybody who cares know that I am still alive and kicking – just too busy enjoying the sun to be blogging!) so I will save that for later on in the week.

How have you all been? What’s going on?

❤

Sophie.

Checking In.

I am still alive! It’s been a hectic few days in Sophie-world (hence the lack of posting!) but I am still going strong, and will be back tomorrow with a regular update!

Stay cool ❤

The Book Chat & Guest Posting.

Life has been so hectic that I’ve missed the last few installments of The Book Chat 😦

But I’m jumping back on the bandwagon today! This week’s prompt is to share your favourite reads of the year so far, as we are already half way through 2012! (Seriously, where have the last 6 months gone?!!)

Two things sprang to mind when I saw this prompt – apart from the ‘aaahh, life is moving too fast’ panic – and they were ‘Room’ (Read my review here), and the ‘Hunger Games’ series.

I was completely and hopelessly addicted to both of them! The first HG book in particular, I devoured in a single weekend! I love love love feeling that way about a book, and will quite happily cancel other plans/be a complete slob all weekend to be a bookworm!

Your turn! Favourite 2012 reads?

I am also looking for some guest posters to keep TTF alive when I hit Europe next month. I am very open to ideas on topic as long as it vaguely fits in to my space – goals, travel, books, films, food, university stories, exercise and healthy living would be at the top of the list!

If you’re interested, leave a comment or email me at leach_sophie@hotmail.co.uk.

❤

Sophie.

Summer Blog Swap: Chris @ Ink Spot Stories.

Hello lovelies 🙂
I hope you’re all okay – I know I’ve been a bit awol lately, and still really want to tell you about my weekend, but today is a little different as I’m taking part in the 20sb Summer blog swap!

So meet Chris, from Ink Spot Stories.

 

Timing isn’t my speciality, but this summer night I was living the dream and asked a hot girl out…at the worst moment possible. It was great timing for me but unfortunately not so great for her.

This happened to me while I was in high school – the awkward years when I hadn’t found myself but I had sparks of a confident and happy self.

It was a Friday night and one of the new friends I was hanging out with at my new high school invited me out to party with him and a couple of his friends. Dave talked the girls up and talked about how they were down for a good night out. I was just out to try and forget the problems within myself so I went along. The girls came and I knew that Dave wasn’t lying. The two other girls didn’t matter but Mandy was the one I wanted. Me and Mandy just started to click right away. She was smoking and drinking while I was just continued to drink my RC Cola. In case you’re curious, it’s a pool hall that we went to. They let kids in until 11pm then they ID anyone in the place.
Anyway, the group of us walked from the mall up the road towards the pool hall/bar. I was chatting up Mandy the whole walk. Hell, I tried to sneak a kiss but she blew smoke in my face! I nearly gagged but I shook it off and took my first step into this bar. There was Dim lighting and a bunch of pool tables. The smoke was everywhere. At times wanted to leave but this woman was something different and my heart pushed me on. A couple (as in six!) games of pool later, we got kicked out of the place. We all returned to the mall to kick it before I had to commute home. The booze flowed and drugs were smoked by everyone except for me that night. Finally, I decided after my nerves getting the best of me to risk it all and ask Mandy out on another more private date. She stumbled back a bit before grabbing my arm and walking away from the rest of the group. We walked around the corner and just stared at each other. The cold night air was pretty warm for a July night. I nearly jumped as she held my hand. There was a short but brief conversation about how we saw each other. I couldn’t wait much longer because the last bus was coming and I felt like there was enough of a chance she’d say yes that I asked her for a actual date. She giggled then answered with, “You’ve got the worst timing. I would so say yes but can you ask me again when I’m not so drunk.” And to add insult to the moment, she turned and threw up. I walked over, held her hair back then the tyre of the bus screeched. I couldn’t risk having to walk home from Kanata so I stuffed a piece of paper with my number on it into her pocked and ended my night barely making the bus.
Poor Chris! I’d love to hear how it all worked out in the end…..pop over and say hello at his blog!

I’ll be back tomorrow with Thursday’s Book Chat 🙂

❤

Sophie.

Next Goal.

This is my next goal for the summer months – along with re-starting the C25K programme (I’m just starting week 2!)

(Source)

Bring it on – time to get rid of the cider and chocolate digestive belly!

What are your current exercise goals?

❤

Sophie.

Thought For Friday.

Happy Friday Everyone!

❤

Sophie.