My self-care list

No-one likes being ill, or feeling run down or unhappy - including me! I'm off work due to illness today, so I thought I would cheer myself up a bit and come up with my self-care list.

1: Stay Snuggly

I love to sleep. Especially when it's cold and horrible outside, and my bed is warm and comfortable! If I have to drag myself out of bed, I'll pull on a warm onesie and curl up somewhere comfortable.

2: Relax

Spend some time doing nothing. Chill out and read a book, journal, write, anything. as long as it's nothing too taxing.

3: Binge-watch a series

Switching my brain off and watching every episode of friends or another TV series feels soothing and indulgent. I have nothing else to do right now, I'll watch 10 episodes of fictional characters please!

4: Hot beverages

If I'm feeling up to it, going to a coffee shop for a hot chocolate with a book feels great. It stops me going stir crazy after being cooped up in the flat alone. If I don't want to go anywhere, I always have a plethora of different teas and hot chocolates to choose from at home, and a giant snuggle mug to go with it.

5: A long shower

I love a long, hot shower. It clears my head and feels divine - especially when coupled with some great smelling shower gel. I feel all fresh and new afterwards.

6: Fresh Pajamas

Clean and comfortable pajamas. Need I say more?

7: Comfort food

This is a bit of a controversial one. comfort food can mean a lot of different things, for me it's usually something warm and delicious. Something savory, or something sweet mood depending! I'm trying to move away from comforting myself with food, but here it is anyway.

8: Chat to someone

Be it my other half, a friend, or anyone. Having a chat makes me feel less alone, and moves my focus away from feeling sorry for myself,

NaNo Fail...

So early into NaNoWriMo, I was struggling to find time to write. It got harder and harder, and everything else needed to come first. So, I decided not to beat myself up about it, and not finish this year. There's always next year, or the year after...when I have a little more free time. Sooo 5895 was what I hit on my word count this year. Maybe I'll get there next year, maybe not. I'm okay with that. 

NaNo update

It's day 11 of NaNoWriMo. I am so behind, I've written just over 5000 words and I should be heading to 25,000! It is extremely difficult to find the time to write. I think I overestimated the amount of free time I would have to do this. I've also been slow, I didn't plan anything so I'm writing as I come up with the plot. It's slowing me down as I think about what happens next. At this point in time, I don't think I'll hit the target by the end of the month. I'm feeling disappointed and a little unmotivated, but I'm going to try and keep writing, and see how far I get.   

NaNoWriMo...

Happy Autumn all! It's almost November, which means people in their thousands will be participating in NaNoWriMo. As you can see above, this stands for National Novel Writing Month. Through November, you commit to writing 50,000 words of a novel. Your novel. From your own brain straight onto the computer/paper/parchment...If you want more information you can head over to the website: nanowrimo.org

This year I've decided to take part. So far I have no idea what I'm going to be writing, not even a vague plot idea. So I have a lot of planning to do before November 1st rolls around! I've pulled together a notebook dedicated to NaNoWriMo for my notes & plans, and intend to just write with abandon and see what comes out. I'm looking forward to the challenge, despite it being a slightly daunting one.

If there are any other NaNo's out there, my username is BeckyBoops :)  

WHAT A WEEK.

I have not had the best couple of weeks...things have been a little insane.

2 weekends ago, the bicycle I've been using to get to work was stolen. Someone got through my bike lock with bolt cutters, and cycled off into the sunrise. Luckily I hadn't spent loads of money on the bike, but it's still incredibly annoying and inconvenient!!

The week following I was obsessively searching for a new bike on gumtree, without having any luck.

At the end of the week, I was driving back to Kent. Andrew and I had been singing along to Let It Go from Frozen, laughing at ourselves once The song was over when we came to a stop in traffic, and 2 seconds later were hit from behind. the following week was an amalgamation of calls to and from insurance, organising repairs and pickups, hire cars, and all the rest. On Friday, we heard from the repairs company letting us know that our car is a write off. Our reliable Hogan is no more, after only a year - and there's nothing we could have done about it.

Now we're in a position where we need to find a new, reliable, economical car ASAP before we have to give our hire car back...on top of this, I need a bike to get into work with.

So. Freaking. Busy. 

Menorca 2016

What a busy couple of months! There's a lot to catch up on, most importantly - my holiday!

I went to Menorca with my family, we stayed in a villa at the top of a steep hill - the views were beautiful. Walking up to the villa was hard work, especially with all the shopping! I think this was the first holiday I lost weight by the end of it - not a bad thing! We did so much swimming, walking, lounging and sunning ourselves. Also bought ourselves snorkels, so we could check out the fish off the beach. It was so much fun!

The best part of the holiday has to be spending a morning doing something I never thought I would do. I went scuba diving...in the sea. From the beach. It was...terrifying and amazing all at once. I was not very good at staying the right way up, or with staying at the right depth. Our diving instructor took me by the hand to help me stay in the right place and not be left drifting behind. I was really grateful for his help. Once I wasn't worried about rolling over/drowning/my head exploding, I was able to look around and enjoy seeing the ocean wildlife. It was so surreal, and incredible. I can't get over how bizarre and beautiful it was. There was one moment, when we heard this loud noise coming from all round us, we had no idea what it was until we saw the underside of a speedboat going overhead...eerie.

We all had a wonderful time, it was really relaxing and I'm so glad to have been able to get away!

My Wasted Wardrobe...An Introduction

Anyone who's been reading for a while may recognise My Wasted Wardrobe as the original name for this blog...When I changed it to BeckyBoops I wanted to keep MWW as a regular feature, so here it is! Enjoy.



I have a lot of clothes. A lot. my wardrobe is rammed, I have boxes with clothes in them, as well as several drawers of clothes. Not to mention the permanently overflowing washing basket...and this is after getting rid of 3 black bags of clothes (1 to my sister, 2 to charity). I think it's safe to say I am a clothes hoarder. I have clothes that don't fit, but I can't get rid of because I want to be able to wear them. I'm not as bad as I used to be, and I have given away quite a lot of the clothes that no longer fit. But still, I have so much clothing.

I'm working to shed some weight, so the more weight I lose, the closer I'll be to wearing clothes I have kept, and the more clothes I'll be able to get rid of. Through July I'm aiming to fit into a couple of dresses that are a little too small, one of which I'm planning on wearing to a wedding at the end of this month. My Wasted Wardrobe posts are the place to be to hear about my clothing challenges. I'll be posting pictures of the clothes, and me in the clothes (where possible!) so keep an eye out for that.

I'll be back soon with some pics of the dresses I want to wear at the end of the month!

Penpal Epidemic

Through bullet journalling I've discovered the joy of having pen pals. I excitedly check the post box every day to see if I have any new letters, and I enjoy writing to people from all over the world. It's so exciting to get letters from strangers, and getting to know them via snail mail. I enjoy writing, and letter writing is helping me to get back into it.

I've written to quite a few people, not all of them have written back, but that's okay. I've received quite a few replies and letters from people, and have gone back and forth a few times with some people too. I'm keeping a log of letters received and posted in my bullet journal, but when I started to get more correspondents I thought I'd better find a way to organise my letters and keep track of hobbies, birthdays, interests etc.

I got a cheap and bright wallet folder organiser, and have turned this into my pen pal storage folder. I've also dedicated a notebook to pen pals, which includes notes on their interests and a post log. This should help me keep track until I get to know my penpals better! As well as put one of my many notebooks to use...I'm a bit of a stationary hoarder, especially since I started to bullet journal.

I currently have 5 letters pending replies, so I'm hoping to spend the weekend catching up on those!

If you come across a penpal group...definitely join it. It's fun to write, and who doesn't love getting post that isn't bills?!

Starting a Bullet Journal

I recently happened across the phenomenon known as a 'Bullet Journal'. I saw this first on Basically Innocent's blog, and instantly wanted to have one of my own. From what I've been looking at online, I would describe a Bullet Journal as...a calendar/diary/journal/to-do list all rolled into one neat notebook that you can get as creative as you want with. This is most definitely my favorite thing ever!

I started with the key - a list of symbols I would be using in my journal, and what they mean. I stuck with the original symbols suggested on the bullet journal website, as I wanted to start simple and modify once I was used to the system. Following this logic, I set up my bullet journal following the BuJo website, and got cracking...

It's been over a month, and I can say I'm a full on bujo-er, and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon!

Here's some pics of my pages, hope they inspire or intrigue you enough to check out the bullet journal system  and give it a try yourselves :)

The Empties Challenge! February Edition

This month I've gone through a few products, though one or two of them are actually really old and I'm pretty sure they've gone off - so they're not technically empty...but I'm getting rid of them anway!

1: The Body Shop Shower Gel - Pink Grapefruit

This took FOREVER to get through. Not a bad thing though - if you want a long lasting, great smelling shower gel, this is the one. I do think they are a little overpriced, but when they're on offer they're worth spending that little bit extra on. In this case, I received mine as a gift so I was more than happy with this high quality shower gel. The scent is really noticable - in a good way. after using it it lingers lightly on the skin, leaving you smelling and feeling fresh. Overall a great, long lasting product!

2: L'Oreal Elvive Extroadinary Oil Shampoo and Conditioner

I bought this duo to help nourish my damaged, dry hair. However, the ends of my hair are dry and damaged, but the roots of my hair tend to be healthy and can get greasy easily.I loved these products, they smell nice, and made my hair feel lovely. The downside is my hair needed to be washed more often, because the oils in the shampoo and conditioner made my hair get a bit of a build up of oil. I would recommend this product to people with dry hair, not to anyone with combination, healthy or oily hair. A nice product, but it didn't work for me - I had to substitute in other shampoo and conditioners to control the buildup!

A good product, but not for me! 

3: Avon Naturals Body Whip - Vanilla / Honey

I've had these body whips for a long, long time. So long that they have now, unfortunately gone off. They're both about half used, and have separated. I did try mixing it back together, but they didn't smell right, so it was time for them to go!

That's all I have this month...not sure I'll have many empties for March as I have just opened new toiletries when these ran out...but there we go. I'll try to use something else up perhaps...

No-Spend March

I'm challenging myself!

I'm going to cut my spending through March - this mean no more cheeky coffees, or anything else for that matter. I am on a spending ban - other than necessary items like food and petrol. My rules are below, join me if you fancy it!

Rules:
Only buy what you need to live - food and petrol.
No more coffees or lunchtime food trips
Use as much food as you can from what is already in the cupboards/freezer
Use spare time to go through clutter and chuck/keep/sell things

I know full well I am going to find this difficult, especially as I tend to bulk buy food and binge eat. So I have a couple of techniques to help me along the way...
1. Go for walks at lunchtime instead of driving anywhere (saving in petrol and reducing temptation to buy things!)
2. Don't bring my purse out with me
3. When tempted to spend, set a 15 minute timer and do something else that will occupy my attention, when the timer goes off re-evaluate how tempting it is. If youare still likely to spend, set the timer again and distract self - repeat until able to resist! PS - this works for food cravings too...

I'm tracking spending in my Bullet Journal (more on this later) so I'm holding myself accountable! I'll let you know how I get on with this...

Happy March everyone! 

I stopped dying my hair for a year and this happened...

At new years I was challenged to avoid dying my hair for a year. I accepted the challenge, and took the opportunity on new years eve to dye my hair one last time. Now, over a year on, I have successfully avoided hair dye.

I have been tempted to break the challenge...every time I see a hair dye aisle in a shop I go and stare longingly at all of the different colours. To anyone who has seen me doing this I must look very strange! I do feel like I want to dye my hair, but at the same time I'm enjoying not having to worry about keeping my hair colour vibrant and fresh, and there is the added bonus of no longer spending money on hair dyes every month!

I was worried about my roots coming through and really hating the way they look, but it hasn't been too bad. A part of me quite enjoys being able to see my roots - it's like a progress tracker. I am all about visual progress trackers! My hair hasn't grown as much as I thought it would, but I can see that it is getting healthier. The more it's grown out, the more it looked like I had dyed it ombre - especially when the brown colour I dyed it at new years faded to show the blonde underneath again.

I like how it looks, I have my curls back and I like having fresh smelling hair. No more chemical-smelling hair for me! Following that thought, no more stained towels, smelly bathroom, or stained fingers either...bonuses all around.

So here we go - I got pics with my hair straight so you have an easier time seeing the colour and length.

You can see in the 2016 picture that the ends of my hair are blonder - this is where the brown dye faded adn the blonde underneath came through. my roots however, are all my own colour. From roots to around my ears I should say - I don't think it's just my roots anymore!

I was originally going to dye my hair as soon as possible, however, I decided to keep going and make it 2 years without dying my hair. I am curious to see what the colour ooks like when it's all my own...plus I have my wedding to think about, so I want my hair to be in the best condition possible.

PS...apologies for the crazy smile, I had to replicate the frist pic sooo there it is again.

The Empties Challenge! January Edition

New year, a new month of empties! Though to be honest, I haven't got through quite as many products as I expected to...

1: Tresemme Karatin Smooth: 7 Day Smooth System Conditioner

I bought the whole set of the 7 day smooth set - the shampoo, conditioner, and the heat activated serum. I've made my way through the conditioner the quickest - no surprises there. I dont know many poeple who use shampoo faster than condtioner! I can't comment on the efectiveness of this product without mentioning the other products it was made to be used with. Using the conditioner alongside the other related products is meant to keep your hair smooth for 7 days - even if you get your hair wet in that time frame. You may be aware that I rarely straighten my hair, but when I do, I used these products. I got pretty amazing results with them, my hair looked like I had used GHD's on it - and I don't own GHDs. It was sleek, smooth, neat, and stayed that way while in humid conditions. It lasted a few days with me sleeping on it, only needing a brush and quick top-up straighten until I washed it again. I was really pleased with the results - way back when I used to straighten my hair all the time, everyday it would be a challenge to restraighten it after it curled up again or got any moisture near it! Big change from back then - I was able to do my hair in 10 minutes or less. However, there is a downside of these products - it leaves residue in your hair - like a coating of karatin. This made brushing my hair very difficult as I would have to very carfully brush through the product buildup.
I have used the shampoo and conditioner without straighteneing my hair afterwards - I was left with smooth non-frizzy hair that I left to curl naturally. I still ended up with product build up though, so my curls got a bit snaggley and tangled, especially overnight after sleeping on them. I reverted to only using one or the other, alongside a different shampoo, and this moreor less solved the issue. no product build up, and slightly smoother hair for a couple of days. Honestly, I think 7 days is pushing it, but perhaps this would work better on someone who doesn't have curly hair?

2: Sure Maximum Protection Deodorant

I bought this after it was recommended on another blog that I read (Hello TooFatToRun!). It was also on offer, and deodorant on offer is basically how I decide which one I'll be using... I haven't ever used a deodorant that you twist at the bottom to get the product out before, so this was a new experience for me. At first I found it a bit odd to smear product over my underarms, but actually I think I prefer it to roll on deodorant now. In terms of the functionality of the product, it did stop me from feeling so sweaty and smelly, even after a workout (obviously I was sweating everywhere else, but I didn't have to worry about having smelly pits!). It has a pleasant smell, and does the job it says it should do - you'll hear no complaints from me on the product itself. However, I haven't re-bought this product because the price of it is a little more than what I would usually spend on deodorant. whenever it's on offer htough, you can be sure I'll be stocking up on it! PS - let me know if you see this on offer anywhere? K, thnx.

That's it from me this month, but did you know that I'm on facebook? you can like my page for some more updates and anecdotes here

Happy February!

Boop's Bookshelf: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevski

Crime and Punishment checks off 'A book more than 100 years old' in my 2015 Reading Challenge.

The Author

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821 - 1881) was a Russian writer who predominantly explored human psychology in 19th century Russia in his literary works. He wrote several novels, short stories and essays throughout his life based around the social, political and spiritual clime of troubled Russia.

Synopsis

An impoverished student theorises that an extraordinary person can commit crime with no ramifications, if the result is to benefit mankind. Raskolnikov tests this theory and explores the mental impact this has on himself. 

My Thoughts

My first impressions from reading this, is that it is not going to be an easy read. Classic Russian literature is hard! all of the characters have several names depending on who is addressing them, and the names are not easily remembered. It took me a long time to get my head around who everyone was and how they were connected. We see this story through the perspective of the main character - Raskolnikov. Unlike many novels, the main character is not particularly likable, especially from the beginning as you (the reader) realises that his convulouted thoughts are contemplating how easily he could commit a murder. Raskolnikov stays unlikeable through the novel, mistreating his family and friends throughout. However despite all of that, you still don't want him to give himself up. 

He never shows remorse for commiting murder, I thought his main issue was realising that he is not an extroadinary person exempt from the ramifications of the crime he commited. he does eventually turn himself in, after wrestling with himself through all of the preceeding chapters. The punishment part of the title comes into play more with the mental torture he is afflicted with, rather than the coporal punishment of being sent away to do manual labour. that section of the story is incredibly small and pales into almost insignificance when compared with the rest of the text.

I found this a very hard book to get through, however I do feel that it was worth the read. 

My Rating...

Not particularly enjoyable, but it is an interesting read.

Happy New Year!

It's 2016 - happy new year! 

2015 has been a whirlwind, I moved out, moved again, quit my job, got engaged, went on 3 holidays, read a lot, had my appendix out, and all the rest...it's been a busy year! After having done so much this year, I don't feel too bad about not completing my 2015 new years resolutions...

2015 resolutions:

1. I will go hair dye free for a year

COMPLETED! I'll do a separate post about this with some picture updates! Yay me! 

2. I will get to the top of Ben Nevis

I made a good attempt at this. I regret not training as much as I feel I should have, but to be honest it was more my fear of being on a snowy mountainside that stopped me from completing this. I full on freaked out about being on slippery snow with a sheer drop to my right. I got higher than I did last year, which I feel is something to be proud of - regardless of not getting to the top! I won't be attempting this again this year... 

3. I will be able to run a 10k by the end of the year

I did not complete this. I did sign up to race for life 5k, but was deterred by unexpectedly getting my appendix removed! Since then I haven't done any running other than the odd bus chase! 

4. I will be regularly wearing a UK size 16 by the end of the year

We all know I didn't do this, I struggled a lot with my diet this year and had other things going on which took my focus away from this goal. Maybe 2016 will be the year I do this! 

5. I will deep condition my hair once a month

Half completed, I did well for about 5 months and then forgot to do it! regardless, my hair is in better condition so I feel that this is still a win.

I feel proud of myself. I know I didn't fulfill all of my goals, but what I have achieved I feel good about.

This year I have some new goals I'd like to set myself...so here we go! 

BOOM. I'll keep you updated on these! 

Happy new year everybody!