I’m back – Life Update, Self-Hosting Plans & The Future

Hello everybody! How are we all doing? I’m back, if you haven’t noticed, I haven’t posted in almost a month! Yes, this is coming from the same girl who posted everyday without fail… so what’s been happening? Well, where does one begin!

I’ve decided after much thought and consideration, I’m going to go self-hosted. After reading a few blog posts on it and checking out the pros and cons of it all, I’ve decided to just do it. It was always the long term plan and I’ve decided to push it forward a little. So that’s why I’ve been so quiet, I wanted to keep all my blogging ideas until then. Please note, I’m in no rush to go self-hosted and I know it’s a big change so I’ve decided to launch my self-hosted blog in May after my exams and assignments are all handed in and I have some time to really put my all into my blog.

Since being back at Uni and going into semester two, I just feel like I’ve had no time to do anything. I’ve formed some great friendships and we spend more time together after uni now so the evenings are booked up! Plus, my new years resolution was to join the gym and I have been going before college most days, yey me. I ran 20 minutes without stopping on the treadmill last week, my new record.

If you’re wanting to start running and get fit, I recommend downloading one of the couch to 5k apps, they are really helping me train. I’ve started gym classes too, my favourite one is called ‘Fit for Life’ and it’s a mix of everything and very intense. The gym makes me feel so good about myself and I can feel my confidence creeping back to me.

I got my semester one results and I passed and I done really well, shocker. Hard work definitely pays off. I’m not the smartest in my class but I’m definitely the most hard working and I have to put my head down and attend every single lecture to get my results but I’m not afraid to commit to it. I used to think I was so stupid and people would occasionally laugh at things I said but then I realised my intelligence lay in other places – I am very emotionally intelligent and I learn visually and I learn through stories. I have to write things 100 times to remember them and if I’m not interested in the subject it may take longer and that’s ok.

Promise me one thing, you’ll never let people tell you you can’t do something because you haven’t got the ability to do it. Put your head in those books and work hard because you will surprise yourself with your abilities! You most definitely can prove people wrong over and over again if you believe in yourself.

Life has been fun recently, I’ve gone bowling with friends (which I lost), touring around my city eating delicious food and being surprised by all the vegan options and only last Saturday I went to my sister’s Beyonce themed 30th birthday party. Also, two of my best friends got engaged and every time I think about it, I want to cry, they are the real life Monica and Chandler and deserve all the happiness.

I’ve been watching shows like Riverdale, which is getting better and darker and well, it needs to stop taking breaks. I’ve also started watching The People VS OJ Simpson and it’s so good, I’ll definitely be updating you all when I’m done. I’ve been to the cinema multiple times this year so far and I’ve a blog post coming about my favourite movies.

How great is it to be a Vegan in 2018? I’ve been a vegan for three years now and all the options that are being announced weekly is incredible. I must do a post of all my favourite new Vegan foods (the list will be long).

I’ve also become addicted to watching TedTalks? Do any of you guys watch them? Honestly, I could watch ten in a row, there is some really good stories and educational speeches you should watch. Let me know in the comments if you recommend me watching any!

If you are in Europe at the minute, please take care of yourself in this weather and please please be kind to the homeless (humans and animals) donate if you can, buy them a warm drink or a sandwich. If you own a pet, please bring them inside. I stood outside last night waiting on a bus and it was so hard to bare, I can’t imagine what they are going through.

I’m not quite sure what this blog is, but I’ve filled it with my life and me blabbering on and some pictures I’ve taken recently! Please leave comments about any of the topics I’ve addressed, I’ve missed blogging and it feels so good to be back! 🙂

Lots of love,

Belle x

How To Stop Doubting Yourself..

Hi beautiful people, how are you all doing today? Today, in Limerick it is a beautiful unexpected sunny day. To wake up to no rain in Ireland in winter time, never mind a clear blue sky, it’s enough to keep you smiling all day long.

Last night, my sister sent me a job offer and it sounded like the perfect job for me. A couple of months ago this job would have scared me, I would have instantly thought to myself ‘I’ll never get it’ and never even try, I wouldn’t send my CV because it would ‘only be getting my hopes up’ and so I’d sit back looking at jobs I didn’t want that would probably make me miserable day in and day out (I know this because I’ve worked those jobs all my life).

Do you what I did this time? I wrote an email, I sent my CV and I tried. I may never get this job, but I tried. I believed in myself and thought I could do this job, I could do this job well and if they don’t see that, that’s their loss. I also remind myself that if I don’t get it, it wasn’t my turn yet, it was someone who needed it more. It’s nothing to do with me, as a person, I may not just be ready yet.

I can’t say I’ll never doubt myself again, but I can now speak to myself and tell myself ‘no, I deserve an opportunity like this, I’m going to try.’ So I thought I’d share my story and some tips with you guys in the hope that you all can take a little bit or a lot from this and start believing more in yourself, because, believe it or not… YOU’RE WORTH IT!

1. Wake up each morning and when you look in the mirror say something you like about yourself so instead of saying ‘not another spot or my eyes look so black today’ say to yourself ‘my eyes are beautiful’ or ‘this lipstick really suits me’ or ‘my hair looks good today’.

2. Take on board things that are going wrong – an example I used in the first point was a new spot, bad skin – start drinking more water and cleaning your face regularly, see if there is some food you need to cut out to stop this from happening. If you have dark eyes and you wake up tired every morning, simply go to bed earlier, until you have a new routine.

3. Stay away from social media – I allow myself an hour and a half on social media everyday, this includes Whatsapp. I was wasting so much of my time on social media scrolling through other peoples photos wishing I was somewhere else, wishing I was on a beach or wishing I had a different look or different body, while I lie in bed not moving and enjoying the life I had. Put the phone down and enjoy your day. I still think an hour and a half is a lot.

4. Change your diet – I can honestly say, a healthy body is a healthy mind. Stay away from sugar and bad foods as much as possible. If you feel good in your body, your mind will feel good and your attitude towards yourself will change.

5. Exercise – It could be a 30 minute walk or run everyday or a Yoga class to weight lifting, work out. Body confidence can get you far. Again when you are happy with how you look, you feel better in yourself. I know getting out of bed early to exercise is hard and I know your mind is telling you not to do because it’s hard and you’ll fail but do not listen to it. I promise that feeling you get after you work out, once you get your breath back and the sweating is gone is unbeatable, it’s so worth it. I have to tell myself everyday ‘get up and go, it’ll be worth it’ and I’m never wrong.

6. Stop comparing yourself to others – Life is not a race. You are on your own path. They are on their own path. Remember that. You are doing the best you can, you are doing you.

7. Forget what everyone else is thinking or doing and think about you – I struggled with this one at the start of this year when I started going to the gym, I was on the treadmill using an app to help me train to run 5k so I was walking and jogging. The people beside me were running so fast and non-stop and I suddenly felt embarrassed and then I went ‘no, you are not doing this’ I turned my head right round and found a spot on the wall and I stared at it and I concentrated on the music playing in my ears and I worked my butt off and trained the way I needed to to get to where I wanted to be. Ignore your mind telling you what other people are thinking, you’re not a mind reader and you sure as Hell should not let what YOU THINK someone else MIGHT be thinking stop you from living your best life.

8. Motivation is hard, to get, to keep and to fight for it – I do it on the daily. Motivation can be found in different places, for instance when I feel unmotivated and need a peep talk I go on to YouTube and I search motivational speeches and I stick my earphones in and I promise you it works every time. I used that one especially when I don’t want to clean – it works everytime. Music is great for motivation, make a playlist of your favourite songs, it’ll work a treat.

9. This is going to sound a bit out of nowhere but take a piece of paper and a pen and write down your death date. Yes, you heard me, your death date. Let me explain this a bit further, a lot of us either fear death and do everything to avoid it and in doing so sometimes we miss out on things, others have a very ‘YOLO – You Only Live Once’ attitude that can be amazing but sometimes we are just running from the fear of not living each day to the last and leaving a mess behind us, we run from responsibilities and never really settle. Which ever one you are, you fear something and if it is death or the feelings around missing out then do yourself a favour and take some time to think about when you’d ‘like’ to die, once you’ve written it done, get another piece of paper and start writing out ten things you want to do or see before you die. Make sure to have some easy ones in there too, because once it’s done you can cross that out and put another one there. Once you have your death day, if it goes past that then it’s a bonus. I found a real relief in this – I’m not sure if you will, but I hope you do. (Stole this idea from a lecturer of mine!)

10. Write down something at the end of the day that you’re grateful for, even if it’s for the warm cup of tea you had or your new pair of PJs, write it down and every month look back and remind yourself of all the wonderful moments you had this month. You are also ending your day on a positive note.

11. Take some time each day to be mindful, to be in the moment. If it’s reading a good book and only thinking about the story line or going for a run and only thinking about the music or walking along the beach and just listening to the waves. Meditate if you can, I understand it’s hard to stop your mind, I myself need to listen to guided meditation just so I can concentrate on someone else’s voice and what they are describing. I can not stress enough, the importance of looking after your mental health.

12. Challenge your defeated attitude – there is many times when I work out that I think to myself ‘I can’t do this anymore’ but I do it, I keep pushing through because I know it’ll be over soon and the more I challenge myself the more results I’ll see. So, many of us try things we really wanted but think we are going to fail so we don’t really try at all. I have a friend trying to quit smoking and he never lasts more than a day because he already has it in his mind he can go two days, so he’ll get to one day and won’t challenge himself to get past the second day. He will tell you he’s quitting for 24 hours, that’s how much he believes it.

13. JUST SAY YES – Say yes to new experiences. Say yes to new adventures. I know your anxiety is telling you every little thing that could go wrong but challenge your anxiety and ask it ‘what if I go and have the most wonderful time?’ because here’s the thing you could have the most wonderful time. Do not push yourself and know your limits but if you want to go somewhere and your anxiety is telling you don’t go, don’t listen to it and if you do go and it wasn’t a good move, take it as a lesson not a regret. Take it as a story to be told.

14. Always do your best – Trust yourself, believe in yourself and listen to yourself. If you are always doing your best than there is simply no more than you can do. No body knows what your best is except you, so no one can tell you what your best is. Do you, don’t doubt yourself and have your own back.

And that’s all for today, I hope this helps you in one positively in one way or another. Thanks so much for reading.

Lots of love always,

Belle x

A Small Aldi haul | Vegan | Bits and Bobs

Hello beautiful people. How are you all doing on this lovely Sunday night? I hope you’re all having a chilled one getting ready for the week ahead, I know I am.

If you didn’t know I’m a student and I live in student accommodation with no car, which means I do my shopping in small easy to carry loads. So I was doing some shopping on Friday and I was impressed by how many Vegan options Aldi was starting to have, you can no longer say being a vegan is expensive when Aldi have literally so much for so little.

I thought I shared what I picked up on the day. Here’s my bits and bobs!

I’ve started the gym and we all know protein is essential for muscle repair. Apparently when you exercise you actually tear your muscle fibers and protein is needed for the recovery. This bad boy was only 3.29 euro.

HOUMOUS IS LIFE – DON’T EVER FORGET THAT. 89 cent I mean, come on!

More Protein! Cause you know, got to try them all.

This beauty is CRUELTY FREE!! YESS!! And smells delightful!

These two Bounce V Life Protein Energy balls are delicious and only 1.49 a pop!

I’m going to put it out there – I’m not Beetroots biggest fan but I LOVE  a beetroot burger and this is my favourite one. 1.99.

My current favourite tea is Green Tea and Jasmine – so gooood! 89 cents.

These are soo good – I even eat them cold. Sweet Potato Pakora, yummm-mmmee. 1.99.

And the dairy free milk or choice this week was unsweetened Almond – I usually mix it up weekly but almond is my favourite. Aldi also have Rice, Oat, Soy and more.

MORE YUMMY HOUMOUS!

Another DELICIOUS burger for only 1.99.

Spirulina Powder is a superfood and you should sprinkle that stuff everywhere you can! 2.99.

Carrots and hummus – best snack there is. 1.19.

And some milled Flaxseed! For some Fiber and Omega 3s please.

And that’s all for today! I hope you enjoyed! Please note all products are Vegan and well recommended!

Thanks for reading.

Lots of love,

Belle x

My 2018 Reading List

Hello dear friends! How are we all today? I know people have been saying that this January has been going on and on for AGESSS but I’m loving it (bar the weather of course) there is just something I love about a fresh start and I see January as the Mondays of the year. January is a time to begin again or continue on as you were – but it’s a chance to start over and do you and I love that.

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy books and that’s kind of the same thing.” That right there is one of my favourite quotes in the world. Not all books will capture your eye, but it’s the ones that capture your heart that change your world and bring such happiness into your life.

I don’t read enough, not enough for pleasure, I read papers and academic studies but I find myself not making enough time to read a story – well I’m about to challenge that and try read at least a chapter of a book a day – wish me luck.

So, I’m kind of creating my own book club for me and I’ve done some research on some books and I’ve picked three books I want to read this year – if you’ve read any in the list please leave comments and reviews or if you have any suggestions, I love suggestions.

1. So, number one is The Gospel According to Blindboy in 15 Short Stories by Blindboy Boatclub. I came across this book when I seen it was listed in the top ten books of 2017 and I knew I needed to give it a read, plus I know live in Limerick and the writer is a local boy.

Amazon describes this book as…

The Gospel According to Blindboy is a surreal and genre-defying collection of short stories and visual art exploring the myths, complacencies and contradictions at the heart of modern Ireland. Covering themes ranging from love and death to sex and politics, there’s a story about a girl from Tipp being kicked out of ISIS, a van powered by Cork people’s accents and a man who drags a fridge on his back through Limerick.

Whip-smart, provocative and animated by the author’s unmistakably dark wit, it is unlike anything else you will read this year.

‘Mad, wild, hysterical, and all completely under the writer’s control – this is a brilliant debut.’ Kevin Barry

‘There is genius in this book, warped genius. Like you’d expect from a man who for his day job wears a plastic bag on his head but something beyond that too. Oddly in keeping with the tradition of great Irish writers.’ Russell Brand

‘One of Ireland’s finest and most intelligent comic minds delivers stories so blisteringly funny and sharp your fingers might bleed.’ Tara Flynn

‘Essential, funny and disturbing.’ Danny Boyle

2. Some Kind Of Wonderful by Giovanna Fletcher. I adore this author as a person, I follow her on social media and although I’ve never read any of her words, she has been recommended to me by my sister who has the same taste as me in well, everything.

Amazon describes this book as:

“When the love of your life says you’re not The One, who are you?

Lizzy and Ian have been a couple since the first week of university. Now, after celebrating a decade together, everyone thinks they’re about to get engaged.

Instead, a romantic escape to Dubai leaves Lizzy with no ring, no fiancé and no future.

Lizzy is heartbroken – but through the tears, she sees an opportunity. This is her moment to discover what she’s been missing while playing Ian’s ideal ‘better half’.

But how much has Ian changed her, and who should she be without him?

Determined to discover who she is at heart, Lizzy sets out to rediscover the girl she was before – and, in the meantime, have a little fun . . .

‘Engaging, witty and heartbreaking’ i

‘A fun read with a big dose of girl power’ Sun

‘Her funniest, freshest and BEST yet’ Isabelle Broom, Heat” “

3. Wilde Like Me by Louise Pentland. Again, I adore the author as I follow her on social media and her journey on YouTube as a Mum and boss. I’ve seen such great reviews of this book on my Twitter feed.

Amazon describes this book as…

“A warm and engaging debut . . . [Robin Wilde is a] chatty, winning yet poignant heroine. * Sophie Kinsella * I’d love Robin Wilde to be my new best friend. In fact, I feel like she’s become it through these pages. Wonderfully written and full of humour that had me laughing along from start to finish. As a mum, as a woman, you can find yourself wondering whether it’s only you that feels a certain way or does questionable things, but this book stilled my pondering mind. We’re all in this together. Plodding through the murkiness, the judgement, the excruciating emptiness and insecurities of not being good enough . . . only when we know these are universal worries will we learn that all we actually need is a little self love. Funny, heartfelt, tender and empowering! I can’t believe this is Louise’s first book. I’m thoroughly excited to read more! — Giovanna Fletcher ”

And, that’s all for now, there will definitely be more books added to thd list but let’s just start off with these three. Again, please leave reviews and recommendations in the comments, they are always appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

Lots of love,

Belle x

The Teenage Years | I was a bully, I was bullied & I simply hated school

If I was describe my teenager self in one word it would simply be… disaster. A walking, moving disaster. In Primary School they don’t really prepare you for what is going to happen next and let me tell you… a lot is about to happen, well it did for me.

I went to a Catholic all girls school, my first teacher there was a nun, as the years went by, the bitching got stronger, my group of friends were seen as “the freaks” and I was an overweight girl with bad teeth.

When I finally got to go to the dentist and sorted my teeth out (to later destroy them some more by smoking) everything started to change for me, the dentist simply told me I needed to give up sugar or my teeth would all fall out. So, I did, he worked on my teeth and without the sugar, I lost weight, so I became quite decent looking, I grew a little bit of confidence – or at least it seemed I did.

The summer of sixth class everything changed for me and it was almost overnight, I got introduced to a group of girls from out of town and me and a few of my friends formed a friendship group. So, I was going from the “freak” group to a “popular” group and I lived up to it.

We started secondary school together and our group became bigger and soon it included boys, I had my first real crush and kiss and friend kiss my crush and bitch fight. I felt the need at one stage in school to get involved with everything, I was so insecure and the fear of being dropped would overcome me.

School was tough, I went from a good student to a terrible student. I had no interest, I loved being the class clown at the beginning and then I just didn’t care. All I cared about was going drinking at the weekend.

After a nasty break up with an ex who was older than me and out of school, I doubled my drinking and barely ever attended school. I went on nights out before my Leaving Cert exams and was shitfaced. I was so lost in life, I was heart broken and my heart wasn’t in school. Teachers had given up on me and I had given up on myself.

When I look back at some, not all, of my school memories I cringe. I used to fall out with people for the silliest reasons and vice versa. I used to be so rude to teachers and honestly, it breaks my heart now that I would have ruined their day the way I went on – please note they did s**t to me too sometimes, so I didn’t see them as someone to respect, bar one or two who put me in my place and listened to what I had to say.

I remember walking to class one day and out of nowhere a girl was thumping me in the head and pulling my hair and I didn’t even know who it was, I started pulling her hair back until we got pulled away. Then, I seen who it was. Apparently, her little sister overheard me in my own house say that this girl was weird, I didn’t say it but what does that matter to a teenage girl, she did what she thought was best and jumped me.

I was so upset, they sent her back to class and sent me home. I was crying my eyes out and I was so angry when they told me this because it felt like I was being punished, instead of having someone talk to me about what had happened and to see if I was ok, they left me alone as if I had done something wrong, I’ll never forget that day. If one person had of asked me – they would have known I feared violence. I feared embarrassment. I feared being alone.

That day was the day I lost hope in myself and in my school. Let me tell you though I wasn’t an angel, so they had written me off long before that. This wasn’t my first fight, I was a bully. I wasn’t the one who texts you non-stop or stalks you or comes at you day by day, but what I did is I would fall out with you and not speak to you and so would some of my friends and all because you liked the same boy as me.

It honestly is fucked up because I was such a different person back then, but please let me tell you, this was the way things were then, as sad as that is, I knew no different. I acted the same way I seen others act and all I wanted to do was fit in. I was a bully and I was bullied too. Older girls bullied me, my peers bullied me and my teachers bullied me and I done it right back.

I didn’t see it as bullying, in fact, I didn’t even know what the word meant. I heard it being thrown around every now and again, but no real lesson was thought on it, which I think it definitely should have be.

As the years went on, this whole strong anger thing stopped, I learned a brilliant trick, I learned to breath and count to five before I react – it really helped me and still does. I found my real friends in 6th year and we stuck together and everything changed, I stopped caring about the boys, my school or the future and I just wanted to have a good time.

I don’t blame the school for me losing interest, I think they could have done better in some areas, I think they should have a qualified counsellor or psychotherapist in the school for people like me to talk to. I blame myself in some areas, but I also understand why I did the things I did, I was young, insecure and I was lost.

You might look at me different because I used the word bully, but I have had to recognise that that was what I was doing and that was what was being done to me and not one of us knew what we were doing to each other. We thought this was normal behaviour. How sad is that.

Through this time I self-harmed, I attempted suicide twice and I binge drank every weekend – I was not OK and I recognise that I didn’t even know I wasn’t OK – I didn’t tell anyone in the fear of someone believing I was making it up for attention and sadly that’s what they would have said.

Why are you writing this blog might you ask? Well it’s therapy first of all, secondly I want to share my story and thirdly I want to educate. Bullying is serious and we need more education around this, I have seen bullying happening in offices with people who are supposed to know better. There also needs to counsellors and psychotherapists in school and I don’t mean guidance counsellors – they are not qualified for that job nor do they want that job.

The school system works for some, but not for all. It didn’t work for me. It didn’t work for me because I had mental health problems with no idea what counselling was or what a psychotherapist is. The first time I learned about suicide was when I found out someone I know committed suicide, her year got a talk about it, the whole school should have had a talk and a counselling session.

We didn’t have social media like we do now, I was a Bebo kid so I can only imagine what it is like in schools now for teenagers. We need more support on kids. I was lucky, I began to see my problem eventually and I challenged them. I also grew up and developed more and seen what was right and wrong.

Insecurities can do a lot to a person, they can take over your body and mind and we need to teach kids, all kids, to talk and to share more. You wouldn’t believe all the things I kept inside. I was screaming on the inside. All I wanted was attention. All I wanted was to be loved. All I really wanted was to feel loved.

So, if you are reading this and find yourself going on the same self-destructive path as me, talk to someone, talk to anyone and if that is not successful, please, please, please don’t give up, talk to someone else. If you are reading this and you think she’s like the people who are bullying me – tell someone, they probably don’t even know what they are doing and you deserve to be heard and you deserve more. If you tell someone and they don’t do anything, go higher. Be heard, be listened to, fight back the right way.

The people I have bullied… we got through it, but there is times I feel guilty and I will always be sorry. I feel sad that I used to take part in such events but I have to remember, I’m older and wiser now and I’m learning, constantly and changing into the person I want to be… a happy one.

The time is now, the time has come to drop the stigma around mental health and fight for us all, it’s 2018 and we all deserve better.

I would just like to add that my school life wasn’t always bad, I had great friends who I’m still friends with and many memories shared with them that will last with me forever, but just know, school ends and life goes on. I was stuck in a bubble, don’t be afraid to pop it. You can get through this.

Thanks for reading.

Lots of love, 

Belle x

73 Questions With Me – Inspired by Vogue

Hey errbody! You’ve all probably heard of Vogue’s ’73 Questions With Me’ however if you haven’t it’s an interview Vogue do with celebrities and post them on YouTube – you should have a look on their channel, maybe one of your favourite celebs has done one, I enjoy watching them. Anyway, they ask you 73 questions ‘on the spot’ which I think they have prepared and it’s usually closed questions so the answers are quite short. YouTubers last year started doing parodies of the interview too and I’ve seen some bloggers do it too and I really enjoyed reading them so I thought ‘Imma do one’.

1. What country in the world would you love to visit?

America

2. Name one thing you can’t live without?

Laughter

3. What’s one thing you like to have with you everyday?

Earphones

4. What’s one cause that is dear to you heart?

A lot, but at this very time the Times Up and #MeToo movement and the Repeal the 8th movement.

5. What’s your favourite colour?

Blue

6. Who’s the funniest person you know?

I would say it’s one of my lecturers, he makes me laugh multiple times a day.

7. Who would make you most starstruck?

Every single celebrity, but if I was close to Beyonce I probably wouldn’t be able to move or speak.

8. What’s your favorite movie?

It’s between four – Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman, Beauty and the Beast and now the Greatest Showman (I am OBSESSED)!!

9. Favorite movie in the past five years? 

It’s between Beauty and the Beast and the Greatest Showman

10. A book you plan on reading?

The Gospel according to Blindboy in 15 short stories

11. Favorite TV show that’s currently on?

Stranger Things

12. On a scale of one to ten how excited are you about life right now? 

8

13. Twitter or Instagram?

Twitter

14. What’s your favorite food?

Vegan Pizza or Vegan Chilli Cheese Fries

15. Least favorite food?

Tomatoes (bar in a sauce)

16. What do you love on your pizza?

Vegan Cheese, Mushrooms, Sweetcorn, Onions, Olives, Spinach, Red Pepper and Mixed Herbs and dipped into a Vegan garlic mayo sauce

17. Favorite drink?

Smoothies or Juices or tea

18. Favorite dessert?

Any, as long as it’s vegan

19. Coffee or tea?

TEA

20. What’s your favorite band?

One Direction

21. Favorite solo artist?

Beyonce, Beyonce

22. Favorite song?

Macklemore – Same Love, Black Eyed Peas – Where is the Love, Beyonce – Flawless and Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway

22. If you could sing a duet with anyone, who would it be?

Beyonce or Eminem

23. If you could master one instrument, what would it be?

Piano

24. If you had a tattoo, where would it be?

I think on my side, where my bra strap would be 

25. Dogs or cats?

Doggies 

26. Best gift you’ve ever received?

A camera.

27. Best gift you’ve ever given?

HelloWorld tickets to my little sister ❤🌟

28. Last gift you gave a friend?

I bought my friend Angel cards, crystals and incense as her secret Santa 🎁

29. What’s your favorite board game?

Ant & Dec Saturday Night Takeaway

30. What’s your favorite country to visit?

I love Scotland, New Zealand, Cambodia, Australia and Vietnam to name a few 😂❤

31. What’s the last country you visited?

Scotland ❤

32. Heels or flats?

Flats all day, errday.

33. Pilates or yoga?

Yoga, however, I’ve never tried Pilates.

34. Best way to de-stress?

A long walk or a hot bath.

35. If you had one superpower, what would it be?

To fly

36. What is your most favorite thing about yourself?

My blue eyes.

37. Who do you miss most?

My GanGan ❤

38. What are you listening to right now?

The Greatest Showman Soundtrack ❤

39. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?

My sister Sarah. ❤

40. Who was the last person you sent a text to?

My sister Sarah. ❤

41. A sport you wish you could play?

GAA.

42. Scary film or happy endings?

Happy endings ❤

43. Favorite season?

Summer ❤ Winter (Pre-Christmas)

44. Three people alive or dead that you would like to have dinner with?

Beyonce, Emma Watson and Peter Kay.

45. Where were you born?

Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland. 💚

46. What is the farthest you have been from home?

New Zealand. So far, far away.

47. Lipstick or lip gloss?

Lipstick 💄

48. What would be the title of your autobiography?

Oh no, she didn’t.

49. Favorite sound?

My baby cousin’s laugh.

50. Favorite animal?

Dogs or Elephants 🐶🐘

51. Who is your girl crush?

Demi Lovato, Beyonce and many more

52. What is your favourite Ice-cream?

At the moment, it’s Ben & Jerries Vegan Brownie Ice-Cream

53. Do you think you’re strong?

Physically, no, but I’m working on it. Mentally, yes, but like everyone I have my moments.

54. What was the last book you read because everyone was reading it?

Holly Madison – Down the Rabbit Hole

55. What film made you cry the most?

A lot of movies make me cry, the most recent one was Uptown Girls (and it wasn’t my first time seeing it), but cry the most has to be either Fault in Our Own Stars or My Sister’s Keeper.

56. What was the last thing you ate?

The Happy Pear Vegan Shepherdless pie. Yummy.

57. Mountain hideaway or beach house?

Both

58. Favourite sport to watch? 

Football, GAA or rugby.

59. Hair colour?

Brown

60. Eye colour?

Blue

61. Last film you watched?

The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

62. What Book are you reading now? 

The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller

63. Where are you living now?

Limerick, Ireland.

64. Blow Dry or Air Dry?

Air dry.

65. What was the best thing to happen you this month? 

Meeting my new lecturer, who is mind-blowingly intelligent.

66. What is something that recently moved you?

Halsey’s speech at the Woman’s March 2018, plus all the protesters and their signs.

67. If you could teach one subject in school what would it be?

Emotional Intelligence.

68. Top 3 style icons?

Zoella, Tanya Burr and Perrie Edwards

69. What is something you can’t do?

Swim

70. What makes you laugh no matter what?

People doing impressions

71. What did you want to do with your life when you were 12 years old?

Be a teacher.

72. What is an important life lesson for someone to learn?

It’s ok not to be ok, it’s ok to ask for help.

73. What do you do on rainy days?

Ideally cuddle up, watch a good movie or YouTube and chill out – but it rains most days in Ireland so I get up and start my day.

And that makes 73! That was fun. Have you done this before if so leave your links in the comments, I’d love to read them. If you haven’t why not give it a go, I’d love to read your answers.

Thanks for reading.

Lots of love,

Belle x 

Embarrassing Period Story, Cramps & All the Emotions

Hey there lovely people. Hows your day going? If by chance, it’s going bad… I’m about to tell you a story that may make you feel better about your day. You know those stories that you’re like ‘well at least that didn’t happen to me’, yes well this is one of those stories.

So, yesterday was a really nice day – I reunited with some old friends, got to see their new baby and had to say goodbye to my friend moving to Australia but I love spending time with him because he is so much fun. Anyway, so it was a really nice day. Near the end, I could feel the cramps creeping in and I thought ‘crap’.

Firstly, it was three days early and secondly I was wearing a white G-string. We left and I said goodbye to him and walked straight into Boots to get painkillers and pads. As soon as I walked into the chemist, I felt it, it had happened – my period had arrived. Little did I expect you could see it all over the front of my pants, I looked down and all over my vaginal area of my Mom jeans was covered in blood.

Lucky enough for me, my friends were late so I had a massive Penneys’ bag that I just put in front of me and ran to the self-service. You could not buy Panadol there which meant – I would have to live with the pain, great. I got the pads and ran to the bathroom. Another, lucky thing was I happened to buy leggings in Penneys while I was shopping so I could change.

My sister was waiting outside the shopping center for me and dropped me to my bus – that’s right I had to get a two and a half hours bus to Limerick and I was in agony. I know not everyone gets really bad cramps, but I get so ill, really really ill. I hate painkillers, never use them, I brave every pain I might get until it comes to cramps because I simply can’t cope with the pain.

On the bus, it was horrible, really horrible. I would have got off only it was an express. At the same time I felt like I was going to faint, shit myself (sorry for the grossness) and that someone was inside my stomach stabbing me. I passed out for about twenty minutes from the pain and the rest of the time I was wanting to die.

When I got to Limerick, I couldn’t believe I made it. I had to get a take away and use their toilet while I waited and to try and not faint from the pain. I am a very patient person, but I had a low tolerance for the girl behind the counter (in my head), I could feel myself getting furious at her but not realising my food was ready and handing it to me, which wouldn’t usually happen, but on your period, well I can be a different person.

I eventually got back and took a pain killer and my appetite was gone. I barely ate the food. Eventually I passed out and woke up at 6am in agony.

I knew my period was on it’s way because my skin was breaking out – but it wasn’t as bad as it usually gets so I thought I still had time.

I get it this bad at least every second month – if I don’t have painkillers, I don’t sleep, eat or function. I’ve been sent home from work, school, I’ve had to lay down on the streets before with people thinking I was going to pass out and I usually have to lie down on my bathroom floor practically naked until the painkillers kick in.

I love being a woman, I really do but for the first 24 hours of my period I dream of being a man. My face is covered in spots, I’m angry, I’m upset over nothing, I usually eat A LOT, I’m in pain, I feel like I’m going to pass out and it’s days I need to do things, I need to go to Uni or work or whatever.

Today, I was supposed to go to a gym class and I had to miss it even though I really need to go, if I had of gone my body just wouldn’t have healed. You might think I’m being dramatic – my Mom used to, she used to think I used it as an excuse to leave school or college until one day she seen me lying on the bathroom floor pale as a ghost with tears running down my face and she never questioned it again.

I don’t know if I have a low tolerance for pain and the pain isn’t that bad, but I really don’t think that’s the case, I believe it is an extreme pain.

Why do we have to go through such an experience each month? Why couldn’t it be easy and we wouldn’t even know it was there? Oh, if only.

If you have any remedies for period cramps, PLEASE send them this way. Sorry for the grossness today, but I just need to talk about it and vent a little about my life. I also hope that if anyone else gets their periods as bad as me they won’t feel alone in it.

Thanks for reading ❤

Lots of love,

Belle x

What Is Happiness?

Recently, in one of my classes my lecturer asked us to take a moment and think about ‘what happiness is to me’. Her plans is to record all of our answers and combine them all together into a video, which I think is an awesome idea.

She didn’t say how long it could be and when I sat and thought about what happiness is, I couldn’t put it into one sentence. To me, happiness is a bunch of moments, it’s moments in a day that get us through the day. It’s the moments that in that moment nothing else matter, it can be linked with excitement or relief or other emotions – but usually for that moment it shines through and you can see it on a person – they glow.

I believe we all just want to be happy and that at the end of the day when we grow up we all just want to be happy, it’s the end goal. Sometimes we can get wrapped in other people’s happiness without thinking about our own happiness and how different that is. People are different, we all want different things in life.

Here’s some things that remind me of happiness…

Happiness is a drink of cold water on a hot day.

Happiness is a hot bath after a long day.

Happiness is a sunset or sunrise that lights up the whole sky.

Happiness is my dog’s reaction when he sees me, his tail swinging back and forth, his high pitched excitement barks and his twirls he does in front me that resemble a happy dance.

Happiness is the arrivals at an airport, it’s the moment two people see each other after not seeing each other for quite some time, it’s the holding back of the tears as they run to each other and hug.

Happiness is seeing two elderly people hold hands.

Happiness is the moment a Mother holds her baby for the first time after giving birth, as the memory of the pain fades away. Happiness is the moment she looks at her partner as they stare down at the baby and her in amazement.

Happiness is the moment two parents see their adoptive baby for the first time.

Happiness is the moment the groom/wife looks up and sees their spouse walking up the aisle to them, it’s the moment they catch eyes and they share a look of love.

Happiness is eating really good food.

Happiness is cuddling your pet on the sofa.

Happiness is the person you have a crush on asking you out.

Happiness is the initial moment you see a view, may it be a beach or a view from a building or mountain, it’s the moment before you take your phone out to get a picture, it’s the moment you think ‘wow’.

Happiness is the moment you realise your reading a good book and you simply can not put it down, it’s the moment you realise nothing in the world matters right now except what happens next in this book.

Happiness is getting in to your warm bed after a long day.

Happiness is discovering a new show and falling madly in love with it and repeatedly telling yourself ‘just one more episode’.

Happiness is running home because you seen your favourite show just released a full series.

Happiness is that moment at a concert when the act asks you to put all your lights/phone in the air and you look around you and the view takes your breath away.

Happiness is an unexpected gift.

Happiness is that moment at a concert when the act holds the microphone out to the crowd and the crowd sings each lyric word for word and in that moment you have never heard anything more beautiful.

Happiness is passing a test you thought you failed.

Happiness is being offered your dream job.

Happiness is seeing the waiter/waitress bring out your food.

Happiness is seeing someone you love feel happy.

Happiness is the excitement on Christmas eve as you head to bed early waiting for Santa to come.

Happiness is running down the stairs with your family as you see all the gifts Santa left you.

Happiness is sitting around the table with people you love.

Happiness is hearing a baby laugh.

Happiness is seeing a baby walk or talk or do something for the first time.

Happiness is that moment you reach the toilet after running to get there thinking ‘I’ll never make it’.

Happiness is laughing so hard at something you can’t stop and your belly starting to hurt.

Happiness is a good movie.

Happiness is being in the arms of someone you love.

Happiness is being excited about the future.

Happiness is seeing old friends and knowing nothing has changed between you.

Happiness is finding that new song and connecting to every lyric.

Happiness is being out dancing and hearing your favourite song come on.

Happiness is take outs on the sofa.

Happiness is being at a comedy gig and laughing your head off.

Happiness is finding money you forgot you had.

Happiness is not having to set an alarm the next day.

Happiness is racing someone into the ocean.

Happiness is your favourite team winning a game.

Happiness is achieving a goal.

Happiness is everywhere.

Happiness is simplicity.

I could continue on with this list, because happiness really is everywhere. We treat happiness as a destination, a place we’ll go to and never leave, unfortunately we might go in and out or even just go there on holiday but we can visit as much as we please. We treat happiness as this big massive thing when actually it’s lots of little things and moments that make us unable to take the smile of our face, it’s the sense of inner peace and even if it only lasts moments, it’s enough to get us through the day.

Some of the happiest people I know have no money, they barely get by week to week but they are so rich in other areas of their life, they are loved. We are all different, we are all looking for happiness, but we will all find it in different areas, but we’re all looking for it.

I ask you all to take a moment and think to yourself ‘what happiness is to me’ – you might surprise yourself.

Make sure to leave comments! Thanks for reading!

Lots of love,

Belle x

Netflix and Chill – What I’ve been watching recently

As most of you know, I like to watch a lot of movies and TV series, mainly on Netflix – as well, this isn’t my first post like this. There is many joys in life and one of mine is finding a good movie that makes my heart happy or a TV series I simply can not live my life until it’s over (hey, I never said it’s a healthy obsession).

Below are a list of things I’ve been watching from November until well, now. I will include a brief description of what I believe the movie was about and simply advise if I enjoyed it and would recommend it to you guys! I do realise taste varies and something I might not enjoy someone else might and vice versa. Let’s get into it shall we…

TV shows:

Friends – I can tell from my Twitter news feed, Snapchat and Instagram stories that everyone was over the moon when Netflix released all series of Friends on New Years day – what a way to begin 2018! If you haven’t seen Friends, it’s a TV series about six friends Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, Joey, Rachel and Ross. During the series you follow each character as they face certain difficulties in their lives break-ups, divorces, babies, jobs and lots more. Although the series is full of drama, the main thing is humour, the humour the show brings is bound to make you laugh out loud each episode. I love this show and have done for many years and I would definitely recommend this one!

Stranger Things – OMG!! This show! It literally blows my mind. I went into this show not knowing anything about the storyline and I was shook. So, I don’t want to give much away. Actually, I don’t want to give anything away, I want you all to have the same experience as me. Watch it, thank me later. I will just say that the Duffer brothers (creators of the show) imagination is astonishing and I am obsessed with their work.

Riverdale – I mention this in most blog posts I do like this, because it’s that good. Riverdale is based around Archie, Jugghead, Betty, Veronica, Cheryl and their friends and family. I see Riverdale as a murder mystery with lots of twists. The second series is even darker and there has been so many shocks, twists and turns and I’ve not expected one thing. I really recommend this show!

Movies: 

The Jane Austin Book Club: Five woman and one man come to together to form a book club that they only read Jane Austin books, each with different opinions and ideas of what Jane meant in each book. Each person doesn’t realise how much this book club will mean to them and how beautiful friendships will form. I really loved this one and I now really want to read Jane Austin – I feel like if you’ve read a lot of Jane’s work you might even enjoy it more. That being said I hadn’t read any and I loved the movie.

Love, the Coopers (Christmas with the Coopers) – I wasn’t going to put any Christmas movies in, but I watched this one yesterday because I didn’t know it was on Netflix and I got so excited I had to watch it – I didn’t care that it was January, so as I watched it in January, it’s added to the list. The movie follows a family as they come together for one day and it seems no body is really looking forward to it. With Emma dreading spending time with her sister Charlotte, their Dad hating how competitive they were towards each other, whilst his granddaughter is hiding out in the airport dreading the thought of going home and lots more. I love this movie very much and I really recommend watching it or at least watching it in December.

Notting Hill – A romantic tale of an unlikely meeting of a Hollywood superstar and a travel book shop owner. Soon, that meeting turns into a budding romance and love sparks. This movie brings lots of heartbreak also with the pair realising it’s not easy to be together. This movie is a classic, I highly recommend.

Love, Rosie – Rosie and Alex have been best friends since they were little, it’s very clear that Alex loves Rosie and vice versa. The two seem to tell each other everything but yet the two never seem to tell each other how they feel. Life gets in the way for these two and they find themselves on separate paths, with that being said they always stay in contact, who knows what the future holds for Rosie and Alex? You’ll have to watch to see. I love, this movie, I love it a lot.

As Good As It Gets – The very structured life of a sour (to many he’s very mean), obsessive-compulsive author is put out of sorts when he’s drawn into the lives of his favourite waitress who is a single Mother and his gay neighbour. In the opening scene, I did not like him, I really did not – but I grew to love him and understand him and his ways. A very heart warming movie with lots of humour along the way. Highly recommended, highly.

Sydney White – Sydney heads off to college in hope of joining her Mother’s sorority to feel more connected to her Mother. When she finally joins the sorority she realises that the girls in the sorority are actually very mean and all part of a clique. Soon, she finds herself kicked out her sorority and finds shelter in a house (that is falling apart) with seven outcasts. I enjoyed this movie and loved to see someone fighting for the underdog. It’s definitely a teen-drama kind of movie, which I enjoy.

Just My Luck – Boy has no luck at all, he is the definition of bad luck. Girl is annoyingly lucky and everything just seems to fall into place for her. Girl meets boy and some how the roles are changed, however, girl doesn’t know who she actually kissed because it was at a masquerade party. She sets out on the hunt to find her mysterious kisser and get her luck back, whilst he’s right under her nose. I love me a rom-com and I love that McFly are in this movie too.

Date With Love – An actress needs her image cleaned up after a fall out with her boyfriend on the red carpet, she’s in luck when a young boy asks her to be his prom date on a clip that goes viral. Soon, she finds herself attracted to his English teacher and the love story begins. I like this movie but I didn’t love this movie.

The Fundamentals of Caring – This movie really warmed my heart, I was moved by the relationship between this young boy and his carer. A humourous story of how  a beautiful friendship is formed. Both characters realising they needed each other, they saved each other. They begin a road trip together and they find more friends who need help and a beautiful bond is formed. Watch it, thank me later.

And that’s all… for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed my list, thanks for reading!

Lots of love, 

Belle x

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My Struggles with Blogging and Social Media

Hey errrbody. How are we all doing? Before I begin the blog, I just wanted to state that I am in a very good place in my life. I started back at college this week, with new lecturers (who blow my mind) and new subjects (which fascinate me). I’ve been catching up with friends in the evenings after college and even though I didn’t think I was ready to come back – somehow it was just what I needed.

I began writing in this blog June last year, after a very long time of wanting to write a blog, I posted my first one and it felt great. I began blogging on my phone because at this time I didn’t own a laptop, nor had I ever owned a laptop, so I didn’t really know what my blog looked like on the big screen.

To put my blog into a category, I simply wouldn’t be able to, but someone once described it to me as “BlogAlongWithMe covers lifestyle, social issues and human interest” and I really liked it. At the end of August I started blogging every single day because I wanted to build my blog, I wanted to find my place as a blogger. I wanted to see what I liked to write about and my style of writing.

I came to a stage where I was afraid to not post in a day, I was afraid to not hit a certain amount of views and I was afraid of failure. So, what happened is, although 95% of my blogs were great blogs, well thought out and well written (ok, they had their mistakes, but they were OK), there was that 5% that were rushed and unorganised.

That 5% were blogs I didn’t need to write and I didn’t want to write them either and I was only doing it to stay consistent and blog everyday. During Blogmas I missed two days, but posted those days on another day, so I still had 25 posts that month. On the 26th of December, I had this guilt and voice in my head all day saying “write a blog, you need to write a blog, what are you going to write about?” and I had ideas, I knew what I could write about, but I just was exhausted, mentally and physically.

December, for me, was full of assignment due dates, birthdays, exams, shopping and family. On Christmas day, I made the whole dinner myself which meant, for a large portion of the day I was on my feet rushing around and getting everything together. Now, I enjoy cooking so it was all good to me, but it is still a lot of pressure, especially with this being my first Christmas dinner I cooked all by myself.

The 26th was my friends Christmas get together and let’s just say that began in the pub at 4:30pm and I think I arrived home at 6am. It’s the one time of year, all my friends from home (all from different groups) are in the same room and it’s lots of fun (too much sometimes). So, I missed a day of blogging and then the 27th was the big hangover of the year and it was spent trying not to vomit, regrets and Netflix.

Always in my mind was this blog and I knew myself and I kept telling myself ‘I need time off’. Christmas to me, is a time with a full house and a time to be in the moment and not stuck in my laptop (which by the way, I bought in September for college), also my sisters would definitely not allow me to have my head stuck in my phone or laptop for long periods (not everyone knows I write this blog).

Somewhere, along that time I decided I was taking a break from blogging, that I needed to relax and enjoy my time off. This was both a good and bad idea for me for quite a lot of reasons. Yes, that time off was needed, but here’s the thing about time off, the more time off you have the more you start to think and soon things turn into over thinking and soon you just shut down.

I was in my head too much. I started to follow bloggers on Instagram, these were girls who were doing so well blogging and had thousands of followers on Instagram and were travelling to such beautiful places and I was jealous, I’m not going to lie, I was looking at their life and thinking I want some of that.

I found myself scrolling through their feeds and wanting their clothes, everyone of them had great style and I began hating everything I owned. I wasn’t thinking about anything but the pictures, I wasn’t thinking about how long these girls have been doing it for, how this is their full time jobs and how a picture definitely does not always tell the truth.

The biggest thing I had to remember is actually what I wanted out of my life. I had to say to myself “do you want their life?”, “do you want to drop out of your course to become a full time blogger?” and “can you handle people’s opinions on everything you do?”. Once, I asked myself these questions, it was like a penny dropped.

As much as I admire their life, I honestly believe I would just want to travel, eat good food and have nice clothes, but I know that all of that alone, would make me happy for a while, but not always. I spent time travelling and in search of myself and I didn’t find who I was or where I was supposed to be until I started to study and I was unbelievably happy. The kind of happy that I dreamed of. That happiness that makes me want to run to college everyday.

I believe I could handle people’s opinions of what I do, but I can see on some people’s Twitter or Instagram comments that it’s not always easy and even though you might have a thick skin and be able to take on a lot, we all have our insecurities. Insecurities that we can control and take care of – but when multiple people are writing your insecurities under a picture of you which you happened to love – I can only imagine that it gets too much sometimes.

I applaud people who are able to shrug this all off, but I believe you shouldn’t have to. I really wish that people would find it in their hearts to not be so cruel under people they have never met or know nothing about or anyone really photo’s, it really says more about the person leaving the comment than anything else.

There might be a time in my life when I want to become a full time blogger and I am working toward this but right now I’m happy where I am. I let myself get stuck in my own insecurities and I found myself wishing I was someone else, when actually being me is pretty good.

I want to take this time to say that I admire, look up to and respect all the bloggers I follow on social media and this was nothing to do with them – they are out their living their lives and for a moment I was just getting, well, jealous. Not, angry or green eyed but more of a sad feeling. This had nothing to do with the people in the photos but more of where they were and what they were getting up to.

Social media is an awesome place but we do have to be cautious with it too. It is definitely ok to take a step back and evaluate where you are and where you want to be. I needed to do this. If I had said to myself that ‘in fact, yes, I want to drop out of college, become a full time blogger and take this very seriously’ then I would have had to begin a plan to do so. I would have to make some change in my life, because, that’s what I wanted to do and if that’s what I wanted to do I wouldn’t be happier doing anything else and I would have just been wasting time and energy.

We all have different journeys in life, things can change for us so often. We are all just on the search for happiness and looking for ways to become happy in this life. I was away from my course, I was exhausted and I was busy and I began to question where my life was going, but when I came back to college this week, I remembered I’m in the best place of my life I’ve ever been and I need to let myself be happy.

Blogging is a massive part of my happiness and I will continue to write and share my journey with you all (if you’ll have me). I have decided to not blog everyday but at least three times a week, I’ve also decided to only write what I want or need to write about and not to write just for the sake of writing. I’m excited for the new year.

Thank you all for being here and listening to me! I hope you all are having a wonderful beginning to 2018.

Lots of love,

Belle x