5 favourite memories from my skiing trip in Bulgaria

On the 25th of March a I left for Bulgaria with about 60 students and teachers from my high school. On the trip were a mixture of different year groups, all of mixed abilities of skill in both skiing and snowboarding. We went for a week and it was such an amazing and unforgetabke trip that I decided to pick 5 of my favouite memories from the trip and share them with you. I could  have written an entire essay but luckily for you I've kept it as short, sweet and simple as I can. I hope you enjoy readind about my favourite experiences of my week in Bansko!

1. Learning how to ski in the beginner group is a great memory in itself. The opinion of our instructor Kosta was a bit mixed within the group, but personally, I found him to be such an amazing character and I completely vibed off his enthusiasm, humour and personality. I really thank him for giving me such great confidence and teaching me how to ski! At the beginning of the week, I didn't even see us going past the nursery slopes; and trust me the first few days of learning was dire and so dry. Yet on the last two days that we were up on the slopes and I managed to complete a red run, which I wouldn't have even dreamed of doing beforehand!

2. One of my favourite memories on the slopes was on a blue run. It was empty of people apart from our group, so as we were skiing along Kosta shouted from the front that for the stretch of snow ahead we should ski straight and feel the speed. I'm telling you now, feeling the wind blow straight through you at that speed, with you arms outstretched at your sides feels so exhilarating! I couldn't help but feel so alive. I'm a sucker for a good adrenaline rush and that was a feeling I will not forget. I almost started welling up from utter happiness.

3.On one of the nights, we had planned to travel down to some mineral baths. So that evening we headed on the coach to our destination. As we were driving and looking around, we couldn't help but feel that the area looked a bit dodgy. But never the less we pulled up feeling rather skeptical and got changed in what I can only call a changing room the size of a toilet room. It was not classy at all. It's safe to say that none of us wanted to be there, we had complained throughout the entire coach journey, and we couldn't believe that the three different sized pools that we saw outside were supposed to be "natural mineral baths". However, as soon as our bodies hit the water everything changed. IT WAS SO WARM! As well as so relaxing. All I can say is don't judge a book by its cover because the time we spent there was an absolute blast.

4. For the last night we spent in Bansko, we headed into the old village to have a traditional Bulgarian dinner. The town was absolutely beautiful, I just wish we had someone to explain its history, the beautiful buildings, and why the trees had string tied to the branches. The starter was delicious, however I wasn't too keen on the main course. I'm all for trying new food and learning about new cultures though, which is more than I can say for the majority of people I knew there! But my favourite memory from that night was the trio of men playing a harmonium, clarinet and drum. They played us a mixture of classic bulgaian songs as well as other well know tunes such as the macarena and the chicken dance song! I cheered them along the whole way and they brought with them so much entertainment and hapiness!

5. Last but not least, a highlight of my trip was getting to know everyone! In school everyone seems to stick to their own group of people, however when on a trip together people are a lot more laidback and open. I spoke to a variety of people younger and older than me and everyone seemed to get along! I spoke to people on the plane, in my ski group, and just in general, who I've seen around school but would have never thought of making conversation with before. For that week we spent together it was like we were one big family.

How I became productive.

Only recently have I seen a peak in my productivity. A few months ago, I was one of the laziest people when it came to doing homework and revising for tests. But thankfully, I came to the realisation that things needed to change. A lot of my friends have noticed my productivity increase, and often ask me how I did it. So I'm going to tell you some of the things which I have done to improve my productivity.

A couple of weeks ago, I printed off monthly calendars throughout the months March to June. I blue tacked them onto my wall above my desk and filled out all the dates when I have exams. This motivates me to get work done, as each time I cross out a day done, I can see how close I am to my next exam. This is really helping me realise how close they're actually becoming, resulting in me really knuckling down.

The next thing I do is something I don't think many people consider. I used to change straight into my pyjamas or a lazy outfit as soon as I got back from school. However, I've come to realise that for me the way I dress affects the way I work. If I'm dressed lazily, I'm likely to work lazily too. So I've started to change out of my uniform and into something comfy yet casual. I find this really helps.

To-do lists are my saviours. Writing down a list of things to do honestly makes productivity so much easier because watching each thing being crossed off the list is ever so satisfying to do. It's like releasing a wee that you've been holding in for a very long time, you know?

Lastly, what I like to do is work in a clean space. Clean room clean mind am I right? I shouldn't really be saying this right now actually, because as I'm writing this my room in an absolute WRECK. But!! I think I should be excused, as I had a 5-hour art exam and I'm using this evening wisely to do NOTHING. (Oh and to write this blog post).
On that note, I better get productive and clean my room!
What are your productivity tips that I could put to good use?
Lauren xx

Why I've been gone

I've found myself avoiding this for so long. I went a week without blogging, then a week turned into a couple of weeks, which then turned into a month, which therefore ended up with me pushing any thoughts of my abandoned blog to the back of my mind. Because with each week that went by, the harder it was for me to open up Blogger again to write. But here I am. I'm not entirely sure what happened if I'm going to be completely honest with you. I do know that I had a dreaded block of creativity and that I was also put down by a lot of negativity that I saw on twitter. I witnessed a lot of drama and spits between bloggers, which was not nice to see and put a dampening on the idea of blogging again. I even stopped reading blogs for a while too, because each one I read made me feel guilty about my own lack of writing.

I've done a lot during my little break. I visited Poland for a week and took a huge amount of pictures for Instagram. I had a week of mocks in school last week too and hence found myself drowned in revision. I've also got a ski trip to Bulgaria to look forward to near the end of March, and the idea of that has helped me to keep going every day. Apart from that, it's just been work work work. And no I'm not talking about the Rhianna song.

But enough about me, what about you guys? I hope you're all feeling fine and dandy, with trips to look forward to and amazing people surrounding you. However if you're feeling down, a bit blue, or under the weather, I hope that turns around for you so that you can start feeling like yourself again. If  you have the time why don't you comment all the things you're looking forward to this year, how you're feeling, and maybe tell me something you're grateful for too?

To make up for my lack of words over here for the past few weeks, here are some photos I took in Poland. (They were taken on my phone though so don't expect too much haha)

I've seriously missed blogging, and I hope I keep this up now.
I love you guys.
Lauren

Ways to start your day off right!

Mornings are tough. Especially waking up knowing you've got a pile of work to do when you'd rather be woken by birds cheeping away outside your cabin in the woods, or to the sound of the gentle sea of the Maldives.  Reality check. It's the middle of Winter and neither of these things is happening anytime soon (unless you're part of the lucky few), so it's pretty safe to say we need to motivation in the mornings to start the day right! Here is how you can do just that!

• Wake up with some stretches! You can download a yoga app and go through a full routine which is what I've started to do, or simply stretch your body by touching your toes or doing some lunges. It's a great way to awaken your body.

• Eat a big breakfast that will fill you with energy to see you through the day, so that you're not nodding off at your desk, or find yourself napping when you're not supposed to be. Seriously though breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.

• Write a to-do list of all the things that need to get done. Therefore, you have a clear visualisation of how to make sure that you're doing everything you need out the way, and this can help limit the stress you might feel about getting it all done. Also, the satisfaction of ticking one thing after another of the list is great.

• Make yourself a morning playlist full of energetic songs that make you want to get up dance while you're getting ready or eating breakfast. This can put you in such a good mood, trust me! The song that gets me ready for the day is Peanut Butter Jelly by Galantis, it just makes me want to dance around my bathroom! (and sometimes I do just that).

• Drink your water boo! Hydration is so important, especially when you want to start your day off the right way! Some benefits of drinking water in the morning include rehydrating your body making you feel more refreshed, as well as refueling your brain so it's easier to be more focused.

Those are just a few ways in which you can start your day of better, all of which I use myself! I hope your mornings are full of sunshine, and that it carries on shining throughout the day! Are there any tips that you would include on this list?

Much love,

Lauren x

Tips to making and keeping resolutions!

So in my last post, I talked about the importance of switching off in time for the holidays, and I myself decided to take a little break from the blogging world and twitter. But I'm back! We're already 5 days into the new year and I'm pretty sure a lot have you have made new years resolutions. Hey, maybe you haven't but either way I have come up with some tips and tricks to making and keeping up with your resolutions in order to make this year the best one yet!

1. Make resolutions that you believe you can achieve. There's no point in making a resolution that you don't think is even manageable. BUT YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IF YOU TRY HARD ENOUGH!

2. The best resolutions are those that will most importantly benefit you, and even benefit others. Whether that is beneficial to your physical or mental health, or providing help to those in need.

3. Don't be generic. If your aim is to lose weight, your resolution could be to go to the gym at least once a week. If you aim to go out more, your resolution could be to visit a place you've never been before once a month. If your aim is to see each day in a happier spirit, your resolution could be to smile at someone new every day.

4. Instead of making your resolutions at the beginning of the year, why not try making resolutions every month? This way you can alter your goals or even change the way you want your year to be. You don't have to stick to one thing, that's why I find switching things up now and then can really help you become more motivated!

5. If you're truly passionate about sticking to your resolution, keep constant reminders of why made that decision nd to keep you motivated. But don't just keep it in your phone notes where you're not likely to see it again, put them in places you look every day; your lock screen, your mirror, the fridge etc.

6. Remember that everyone slips up. Hey, you might have slipped up already! But just because you made a mistake doesn't mean you can't pick yourself back up and move on. Heck, my resolution was to wake up when my alarm actually goes off and not twenty minutes later, but I've already overslept once aha! But I'm not going to let that defeat me.

7. Similar to number 4, resolutions don't have to start at the beginning of the year, the beginning or a month, or on a Monday. If you feel like you want to make a decision to help change your life, don't put it off and wait until it's a new week or month. Start now. There's no better time otherwise, you'll end up putting it off!

8. Have fun with it! Resolutions don't have to be something that makes you sick to your stomach! Enjoy and embrace your choice to make a change!

I hope these tips will help you! Have you made a resolution this year?

Much love,

Lauren xx

The importance of switching off

This Monday I was sitting at home wondering why I didn't feel the least bit festive. It just felt like a regular day, nothing special, even though I knew that Christmas was four days away. While I was scrolling through facebook I saw a post saying: "Christmas is in four days and I've never felt less Christmassy in my life. It related to me so much, it was exactly how I was feeling. I felt more festive in November than I did then! No matter how many times I listened to the Micheal Buble Christmas album or watched a Christmas movie,  I wasn't in the festive spirit at all.

I read the comments to this post, hoping for some scope on the situation and what others had to say.

"Maybe if there was more snow on the ground and fewer bills it would feel like Xmas lmao"

"Bills ruin my fun every holiday lol"

"It's nothing to do with age. Christmas should be kept in December. It's so commercialized, they were selling advent calendars in September! The spirit is ruined by materialism."

But there was one comment that really hit me and struck a chord:
"It's because you're all on f**king Facebook scrolling through endless pointless sh*t procrastinating from getting up and doing something festive like carol singing or Christmas shopping or wrapping or watching Christmas films with the family because you'd rather like or share a video of someone doing it on Facebook to show that you're "festive""

He's right though isn't he? We're all distracted by social media as if we've got nothing better to do! And it sucks, it sucks so bad that we've been brainwashed and taken over by the internet during a time that we should be focusing on spending time with family, laughing and living. Like truly living, without a mobile phone in hand, doing something little like playing a game monopoly and arguing because someone is cheating, or going out for a walk to look at all the Christmas lights.

Switch off. Seriously I mean it, it makes all the difference. Yesterday I managed to do so much just by leaving my phone alone! I watched two Christmas movies with my siblings, played monopoly with my sister and laughed at how she bought every street she landed on! We even created a dance routine to "All I want for Christmas" and performed it for a mum like the good old days. I wrapped the rest of Mum's presents as well as write up the time schedules for the Christmas dinner so that all the food would be taken out and served on time. I can't say I had my phone switched off for long, I turned it off for about an hour until I turned it back on. However I only had it there to answer messages and that was about it. And finally, after I thought there was no hope of feeling Christmassy or festive, the feeling of festivity flooded in and I felt so happy and excited.

I seriously suggest you give your phone and the internet a break this Christmas. I will be, and I know that it will make me feel so much happier. I wish you the merriest of Christmases and a fabulous new year.

Much love,

Lauren

Steps on how to survive being ill during the holiday season

So Christmas is finally around the corner and you're starting to get immensely excited until you get struck down with banging headaches, a stuffy nose, and a sore throat that makes your voice sound like you haven't had a drop of water in days. Sound familiar? It's definitely the case for me right now, and I'm well and truly pissed. If you're ill right now, I know how you feel sister! So I've come up with a few ways to survive being ill during the holiday season.

Step one: Brace yourself for this... stop feeling sorry for yourself! I know I know, you feel like crap and want to rip your throat out, but people in the world are going through much worse than you right now. Try and be grateful, as hard as it may sound it's good to realize that it's not often that it's deemed acceptable to lay in bed all day! Take any time you get off to your advantage instead of bathing in self-pity; trust me it will only make it worse.

Step two: Take action! If you feel something coming on, your hunch is probably right. But you can be a step ahead and take action before the illness tries to fully take over your body. If I ever start to feel a bit worse for wear I straight away break out the Lemsip. If that fails or your already at the stage of complete ickiness, then the following steps should help you out.

Step three: Break out the Christmas movies! They're bound to cheer you up, what with all the happy stories of white Christmases and Santa. At least, they can distract you from the realization that your nose is probably as red as Rudolph's right now.

Step four: If you can keep your food down and if it doesn't hurt too much to swallow, then you better break out the snacks. Being ill is going to seriously mess with your energy levels, so forget the calorie intake and eat away! When I'm poorly sick I'm and avid ice cream eater. Who am I kidding? I'm always an avid ice cream eater!

Step five: Hydration, hydration, hydration. I'll admit it, I'm pants at remembering to drink a good amount of water every day. However, it's even more so important to get some water down yourself when you're ill. If not, you might just end up feeling worse, so always have a glass of water near you at all times!

Step six: Reeeelllllaaaaaaxxxx. Don't worry about those Christmas presents you haven't bought yet, that paper you need to finish, or all the work you're supposed to be doing. Being ill is a bit like your body telling you to have a break, spend a day or two with yourself, and to look after yourself. Yeah maybe it's a funny way of telling you but hey. Putting yourself under stress will not make matters any better.

I hope you're all feeling well, but if not I hope these steps help you out! 

Much love,

Lauren xx