Travel #BEDN 21

I haven't really travelled.

I've been to Disneyland Paris when I was younger and Austria on a school ski trip but other than that I have only been on UK holidays. I've been to lots of places in the UK but by no means have I been everywhere. Not even close.

 

I am in the position that next year I might be able to go on a holiday with The Boy, here are my current suggestions.

 

1. Hire a campervan, pick somewhere and brum around it.
   
2. Go to Cornwall, because I miss the Eden Project.
   
3. Look at the Fjords in Norway
   
4. Take the train to Barcelona.
   
5. Get one of those interrail tickets.
   
6. The Isle of Wight, chines, St Michael's mount. It's all good.
   

 

So even there I've picked three 'local' trips.

The thing is, is because I've never done it, I don't know what to expect. It feels overwhelming. I don't know how to book a flight or a ferry or n international train ticket. I'm not confident finding places here, let alone a hotel in another country. I'm terrible at languages. What are you allowed to pack? I'm terrible at packing light, no matter how hard I try.

 

I'm sure it's not actually that hard. Google translate will surely be a big help right?

Maybe I should start with a package holiday?

I don't know.

I have a friend at work who is always looking for good deals on flights and hotels and does it all herself but I wouldn't know where to begin!

I see all the adverts for last minute deals and flights and so on but I just can't get to grips with it all.

 

Dear world of people who know what they are doing, please help!

What is the best thing to do? What are your top tips?

 

I'm sure The Boy would look after me, I just need to commit to a destination and go for it!

 

Love Charlotte x

Broken up for for Christmas!!! (Blogmas Day 23)

Woooooooo hoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

 

Broken up for Christmas. That is a whole 12 days before I have to be back at work again! I cannot remember the last time I was off for that long. I am SERIOUSLY excited.

I am planning a relative lie in for the morning. I say relative. I have to get to get up to do a couple of bits and bobs but I won't have to get up until at least... Um... 7.30? 8? And then maybe I can go back to bed for a nap!

Oh I am so rock and roll.

So rock and roll in fact that today I feel the need to share with you the epic-ness that was my office's FUDDLE!

Seriously, check that out.

It has a flipping cheese board! On an actual bamboo chopping board!

And a whole roast chicken!

And, of course my contribution of homemade lime and coconut cake.

 

We went for fruit and crudités over boxes of chocolates and biscuits. But what else would you expect from a fuddle where 50% of the contributors were teetotal at the work Christmas do where the free wine was running freely.

And it was a jolly nice time. We all really enjoyed the sharing atmosphere and it definitely helped the last day go much more pleasantly than previous last days.

I am going to suggest we make the fuddle a much more regular thing. It was fun and it would be nice to have something to look forward to more often.

 

I want 2015 to be the year of the fuddle.

 

Love Charlotte xx

 

 

Back to Work Survival Tips

Hello! I have made it through the first day back relatively chirpy and unscathed. I know, result!

 

I am very aware I had a lot of luck and given different circumstances it could've been a nightmare but good fortune was shining down on me so I figured I'd make the most of it!

Here are my tips for getting to the end of the first day back without crying in the kitchen. (I have done this. It's not fun and highly awkward when people come in to make a brew).

 

• If possible go for a hike or something the day before. If you tire yourself out then you'll find it easier to drop off at the appropriate time for getting up, rather than staying up late like you probably have been. Plus it's a nice way to end the holiday with one last fun activity.
• Remember to set your alarm the night before. Maybe set two. After all you've just gotten out of the habit of getting up early and now you have to force yourself back into it.
• Hope for a sunny day. Yes it's annoying to be at work and not the park when it's sunny but it's always easier to get up when it's bright rather than rainy.
• Have a decent breakfast. I failed to have breakfast at home so I treated myself to a bacon bagel. There was no way I was making it through my inbox without this:

• Pray for a quiet day. This is where I lucked out. I came back to work on the last day before a big deadline. It could've been manic but luckily, my colleagues had obviously bucked down while I was off and there was a sensible amount of work waiting for me.
• Take your lunch break. I know it can be easy to feel like you have to work through lunch but don't. Get out. You are legally entitled to that break-make the most of it!
• If you can get a treat for the afternoon because the memory of breakfast isn't enough to sustain. Me and my admin buddies had genuinely booked 'Costa Monday' in before I went on leave.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cooler anyone?

• Make sure you get your train. (Or bus. Or get back to your car before the ticket runs out). Even if that means running and finding out that even after only a week off you've gotten pretty unfit.
• Listen to something you enjoy. Whether it's music or a podcast or the sound of the sea, it can really help your mood.
• Walk home. I appreciate this might not be an option for you but I find the walk home is a good opportunity to detach from the working day and get back into 'your' time.
• Arrive home to 'Share a Come with Sis'

 

The cynic in me says that this can't last and that tomorrow will obviously be extra rubbish to make up for today. But I'm loving August so far so I'm trying to stay positive. There's no reason I can't have another good day. After all, the worst one is out of the way!

 

I would love to know what little things you do you to cheer up your day, I'm always looking for tips and tricks to try out. Oo alliterative!

 

Pip pip,

Charlotte x

 

 

Stop the ride. I want to get off.

Hello there lovely.

 

Is it just me, or does it sometimes feel like the world is never going to stop spinning? If anything it feels like it's speeding up. The days flash by like the background of a Scooby Doo cartoon!

 

Get up.

Go to work.

Run errands on your lunch break.

Go back to work.

Run for jam-packed sweat box train/bus or sit in MASSIVE traffic jam.

Do chores when you get in.

OR. Ignore chores, watch dross TV and then feel immense guilt and stress caused by pile of left over chores.

Sleep badly due to worrying about doing it all again.

Repeat x4

 

Then the weekend.

Your time. To do whatever you want. See your friends and relax.

But those chores are still there.

And which friends do you see? And can you really afford to do all that fun stuff? If you've not got your own places with bills to pay, you might be desperately trying to save up for one.

And the problem with a weekend is that there's never quite enough time for the working week to fall away. It's always there, niggling at you.

 

I think it can be difficult to let yourself take a break. Or a least I find it difficult. If your job is anything like mine, taking time off tends to mean you come back to an overflowing inbox and a horrendous amount of work to do. There's never a good time to take leave. Sometimes it just feels easier to keep going.

And then I feel like I want to get as much out of if my weekend as I can. I've earned that weekend! So that ends up jam packed and busy too.

But I wasn't designed for this. I'm a worrier and a stresser and my mind races ahead of me with things I want to do... while I jog on after it, stitch in my side, wheezing trying to keep up.

 

Sometimes you just need to shout STOP!

 

This week, I am on holiday. The proper kind. No distractions. No obligations. Just pottering along and having chance to recover from the non-stop ride that is the world. It's been less than a day so far and I already feel like my mind is slowing down, like I can focus on what I want to focus on. I'm going to make the most of this before I have to strap myself back in and start the whirlwind all over again.