Friday Favourite #6 The Q&A 5 Year Journal

Early this year there was a little bit of a craze in the blog community around the Q&A journal.

But just in case you've been living under a rock i thought i'd through in my thoughts.

The basic concept of the journal is that every day of the year asks a question and under it there is space for 5 years worth of answers. Its a simple concept but also quite a clever one.

I reckon it'd be interesting to look back and have a snapshot of how life and probably more importantly my perspective on life has changed. Kind of like writing little notes for your future self.

Maybe it is the fact that i'm evidently trying to have a bit of a early mid-life crisis (see HERE and HERE) but i'm hoping that i can stick to keeping this diary as every time i pick it up it somehow gives me a bit of hope for change in the future (oh dear i've gone all deep again!) Seeing those blank spaces wondering what i might fill them with......

Are you doing a Q&A journal?

i got mine for £6.19 from Amazon HERE

And so it begins...

Today is a little bit of a difficult day for me.

Its Payday.

Its pathetic I know. Having a payday should be a reason for joy, laughter, merriment.

But this month, which i think is the first month ever, i'm filled with fear.

Last months musings about the state of my finances made me wonder about what im missing out on in life. Don't get me wrong i'm still definitely wanting to achieve those things but this fear im feeling is to do with the fear of not being able to not just run out and buy everything in sight.

The theory of not buying random stuff when you have no money is very easy to deal with, the reality of having money in the bank and trying to persuade yourself you still don't need those things is very different.

I knew this would be hard so I've assigned myself a small budget (£40) for buying a couple of new things so i  thought it'd be easy to start and make a change but there's a whole world of pretty things swirling around and my inner teenager is throwing a proper strop about not being let loose in Primark.

The girl that has everything and nothing...

WARNING: Incoherant babbling is about to occur.

Have you ever had a moment in life where everything suddenly became as clear as day.

I've just had one.

A while ago i posted about the whole spending ban phenomenon that seemed to be sweeping the blog community and my slight confusion about the concept and whether or not it was a completely great idea or just a one way ticket to a boring existence.

I wrote my piece and then pay day hit and i went on a mass spending spree, i bought stuff, all very nice stuff that i am happy to have in my life but at the end of the day its just stuff. The money i spent on that stuff could have paid off that pesky credit card that although i never use but still takes up 30 quid of my money every month to chip slowly away at the balance on it which was caused by me buying........ something....i cant quite remember what.

And that's when it hit me. I LOVE STUFF but in a very short space of time i'll forget all about it. A new lip gloss is not going to change my life, I hardly ever wear the stuff but I have 8 of them and really that's not ok.

I'm very lucky to have all the stuff i have. I work hard enough for it, I own my own home, I have more clothes in my wardrobe that i could find occasions to wear, i have more makeup than i could get through in a year, but most months by the time it gets to the 15th i'm working out how to make the £10 quid i have left in the bank feed and entertain me until the 25th (payday). And as much as i like beans with toast (yes 'with') its hardly an inspiring way to live.

I think what i'm finally realising is that when I'm old and grey i wont remember the 10,000 tops i got in Primark but i will remember nights out with my friends, the random weekends in foreign lands and the opportunities that i can jump at because i don't have to worry about stretching my pennies to breaking point.

Now i'm not planning on rushing out to sell all my possessions but i think i might not be adding to them for a good while. If i paid off all the things i have already it would afford my life so much more possibility than i feel i have at the moment and right about now sat in the flat on a cold Sunday night the concept of having 'possibilities' is far far more attractive to me than anything else in the entire world.

So, back to the spending ban idea, i think I've come to the conclusion that, for me, not buying some stuff now would not lead to a boring existence but randomly i think not buying 'stuff' could lead me to a whole new more exciting existence. I don't like the term 'ban' so i think i'll go on a splurge on payday, i'll work out exactly what i want to buy tot up the value........... and promptly pay that amount to my credit card bill.

The practice of this might be more difficult than me sitting here pondering about it, but right now, at this current moment, i really do feel like the girl that has everything and nothing at the same time.

Fell off the wagon....

So blogtober day 2.

As the title may suggest all my healthy new plans from yesterday have already fell by the wayside.


This happened.....

And this is just my one!

And while that happened there may have been a few glasses of gin and tonic washing it down.

I was at my friends helping her plan for her wedding and trying on my bridesmaids dress (I REALLY need to get back on the healthy wagon :-s)

So obviously we had to have a few drinks and watch don't tell the bride. Reception at the space centre?...Yes please!!

Odd thing happened on the way home.

I jumped in a black cab and the driver already knew where I was going.

Anyone else think that's kind of creepy?
How's your blogtober going?

Tweet me @cotton_buddle

Fat Girl Slim

Now before I get into this I would like to say i have absolutely no knowledge of nutrition or the medical implications of losing weight. Please see a qualified professional if you are thinking of losing weight.

Nor would i say I'm actually fat, I'm just a sucker for a catchy title.

OK?......then onward we go.

I was reading a post over at missbudgetbeauty and was inspired by what i read.

For quite a while now I've been feeling somewhat out of sorts when it comes to my weight. As I mentioned I'm not what i call fat (though others may have their own opinions on this) but I'm a good 14 and as someone who has spent the majority of my life hovering about the 10 mark this feels big to me.

I'll be honest I don't eat well. I like a wee Mcdonalds breakfast, I'm fond of a cake with my meal deal at lunch and I'm almost on the Dominos delivery drivers Christmas card list.

The only saving grace i have at the moment is that i walk to and from work.

But that is about to change. The bus to my new work place goes near enough door to door. Something will have to give before my jeans button does.

There is an important social event coming up at the end of October and I'm a bridesmaid at a dear friends wedding next June.

Both of these things require photos being taken......
I'm determined that my bingo wings will not feature in them.

I used the app My Fitness Pal before and managed to lose 7 lbs relatively easily.

The app is basically a calorie counter (and FREE!), you put in a few stats, height, weight and age and it works out how many calories you should be eating.
Now instead of being a rigid number you can 'earn' extra calories by doing more exercise. Its really really motivating. You can even add friends to the app to keep each other going.
I think the thing i like most about it is that i have a free app on my phone which means I can keep track of things on the go and i can just scan the barcode of whatever I'm eating there and then.

And as an extra boost, as you finish each day it estimates what you'll weigh in 5 weeks time if you continue as you are (really accurately as it turns out)

So i think I'll go back on the wagon...

So in the spirit of publicly declaring my commitment Monday night will be weigh in night:

I'm currently  159lbs and i want to be 135lbs    24lbs to go!!

Though since I've just been invited to the two for Tuesdays at my friends I'm not sure how this will go :-s

Who's with me?!