Quiet Days.

There is a day that I like to have, every once in a while; a day that is set in contrast to those hectic, busy days. It’s a quiet day. A day that I can call my own. A day that allows me to take it as it comes, to take it easy. I like those days.

Today is one of those days. A day without a plan, but I shall plan as I go along. The other day, I spent an hour or so sorting my room out, and I think I shall continue today. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, I will have a pretty, clean and calm space again. Slowly, but surely. Pretty much my mantra these days. In a life that requires things to be done quickly, I tend to take the opposite approach. Slow. I don’t know why. I mean, I do things quickly, and I can work to a deadline, and I am beginning to match the boy’s fast pace in life…but there’s something about the slow pace that reaches to me and fits with me. I don’t like to be rushed. I like to have time. And whilst this isn’t always possible, I know that on days like today, I have time, and I can do things at my own pace. A cup of tea pace.

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the blog. Over the past few months, I’ve been putting self-imposed deadlines onto myself, with my Sunday Night Inspiration posts and 10 Things I Love posts. Although I love both of them, I think I’ve reached the point now where they won’t always be a weekly post(s). They’ll mature into as and when posts, posts that I can do when I have the time. The reason for this is because at the moment, I am going through a lot of changes in life, new responsibilities, new directions and a lot of busy days. This blog has always been a place of calm, for me, and over the last 6 months or so, it has become a place where I can record inspiration, happiness. That, that right there, is what I want to continue. So, although I might not always have the time for those lovely, long Sunday Night Inspiration posts, I am sure that it won’t become silent on here. I will find a way for inspiration to seep in.

It might be in the form of a photograph, either my own, or by a photographer that I am currently loving. It might be in the form of a quote. It might be in the form of a link to another blog, or website that I am in love with. It might be in the form of advice. It could be anything and everything, whatever is inspiring me at that moment in time. Over the next few months, I hope to take a few day trips, to the seaside, to a part of London that I don’t frequent, to Cambridge, to the zoo…anything goes, as long as it can be crammed into a day. I want to take more day trips, because they inspire me; and they calm me. Last month, when we went to Norfolk, and I took some time out to go down to the beach by myself, I felt absolutely lovely and calm, I felt at one, at ease. There is something about the seaside that does that to me, and I adore it. The only thing, is that living in London, the closest seaside is Southend, and it’s not one of my favourite places. If I can find a way to inject my life with a bit more sea time, then I’ll be a very happy, content and calm Sarah. Well, that’s the aim, anyway.

Today, on a day when I am taking it as it comes, I am looking forward to cups of tea, cupcakes (the big sis made some “Cookies and Cream” cupcakes the other day, and there are plenty left…and the best thing? They have Oreos in them!), my room getting a few steps closer to “perfect”, photo editing, making some goals and plans…and, sheesh, Sarah, stop with the plan making, already! Take it as it comes. Quiet your mind. Relax. Put your hearing aids in, and listen to some music. Breathe. Enjoy. How are you spending your day? Your weekend? I hope it is a good one, a relaxed one. And if it’s not, then purposely take some time out to relax. I’m raising my cup of tea to you all, this one is for you, and our quiet days.

365: Day 89

On a lovely, sunny day, if nothing else is on the agenda, do you know what I love to do? On a whim? Go to the park. A lazy afternoon, spent in the park, in the sunshine…? It’s one of those simple pleasures in life. The park offers flowers, grass, relaxation…and my favourite thing? People-watching. When you need a bit of time to breathe, and escape from the stress of life…go to the park. It offers the perfect remedy.

365: Day 85

Yes, yes, I was there… The weekend just gone was lovely. It was the first time that I’ve been away with the whole of the boy’s family, and it was really nice. Sometimes it’s good to get away from the hustle and bustle, and hectic pace of life in London. It’s good to relax, to breathe clean air. Then, to come back to London, feeling refreshed and ready to start again…

365: Day 34

Today has been a strange one; I’ve been indoors, waiting for the house to turn warm. This morning, I could see my breath. Luckily, the heating got fixed, and now I’m perfectly, happily toasty. Happy Friday.

Hugs and Love

Time for…

…tea! Oh, what a joy it is, to sit and stare at the world going by, with a cup of tea in your hand. What a joy!

(Image from WeHeartIt.com)

Seeking…?

It really has been a slow start to the month/year so far… I had been feeling a tad lost and seemed to have lost my footing a bit in terms of things I need/want to do, but I woke up early today (my sleep was annoyingly disrupted by my cold…grrr!) and I was tossing and turning, thinking and couldn’t switch my brain off once I had started. I think I’ve had a bit of the “January blues”…but I really want to shake it off this week and be more productive! There’s a few things I want to do:

(1) work at my Primary school, with the deaf children…probably just for one or two days a week but it should be good as it could help me on my way to becoming a qualified Level 1 BSL tutor…we’ll see…

(2) keep the Jewellery venture going…we did really well with the party in December, so we need to make some more pieces and look at markets etc…

(3) make a budget plan so that I can afford to do a bit of travelling this year – Barcelona, UK, New York…

(4) put my head down and get on with Uni work, which seems to have gotten a little side-tracked recently – ooops…

(5) get my room sorted…it’s slowly getting there…

(6) GO OUT! Been cooped up indoors a bit lately…so I need to go out and breathe some fresh (cold) air…

(7) make a list of things I want to get done this year (Level 1 BSL tutor, photography, uni razzle dazzle, work…etc…etc…)…

Sometimes, making lists can be really productive because you can see what you need to do, rather than sitting and worrying about all the things you need to do. I love making lists, even if I don’t get all the things done – at least you’ve MADE a list! The list above is inspiring to me because it’s showing me what I need to work at to achieve and it’s partly building on things I’ve done over the last few months. For me, I need to have things to look forward to, to work towards, whether it be a day-trip somewhere or getting a certain amount of work done, I just need to have things that I feel I have worked towards and earned.

I’ve come to realise that with voluntary work, you can only give as much as you can and as much as is healthy…I think last term, I gave TOO much of my time to the beloved theatre company and almost feel as if I hadn’t got as much back from it. Voluntary work should be something that you find rewarding, and whilst for the most part, I did find it rewarding, I also felt that at times my help went unacknowledged. Which is why I think I need to prioritise and find things that I think will be worthwhile, to the cause and to me as well. Although the theatre company will always have a place in my heart, I think I may need to move on and find other causes to work with. I’m in a place right now where I’m not completely sure what it is that I want, what path I want to follow…so I need to dip my fingers into different paint pots and find something that I’m truly passionate about.

Choosing the right path is incredibly difficult, I think too much pressure is put upon young people in their late teens/early 20s to KNOW what they want out of life, but the truth is often that they feel confused and don’t always know what they want to do. Unless you have your life mapped out, unless you know for certain which path you want to follow, I think it’s a very confusing time in your life. You have to be a lot more responsible and sometimes it’s as if a lot is expected from you, which is fine but what if you’re unsure about what to expect from yourself? Some days I think I know what I want, and then other days I feel a bit lost and don’t really know where I’m going…I think it’ll be another few years before I’m comfortable with it all; before I can say that I’m happy following a certain path or two. For now, I think I’ll just keep on trying different things…there’s no textbook on how to live your life, so live it how you want to!

I don’t know what I’m seeking but I know that I want to be the happiest I can be. I just need to work out what will make me happy in life.

Happy Days and Nights

Ready, steady…GO!

Let’s make December a good one. It’s the month when people start smiling at one another in the street…or at least, it does in London, when normally, Londoners avert eye-contact. Having said that, recently, the kindness of human nature has been surprising me…a lot. And I’m glad because it means that when you least expect it, someone will help you out. Today, for instance, le mere was trying to sort out her finances so that she has slightly heavier pockets ready for Christmas shopping…and the man she spoke to on the phone about her credit card payments, was, quite honestly, absolutely lovely with her. He advised her to do this and that and not to worry about the card payment, just to cancel the direct debit and focus instead on the mortgage and other bills. And this was coming from a well respected Bank, which is saying something Maybe we overlook the kindness of strangers sometimes because most of us were brought up with a “don’t speak to strangers” attitude, and up until recently, I had been following that rule – but mainly because it’s rather embarrassing when someone asks you for directions and you haven’t a clue what they’re asking for – maybe this is actually a PERK of being deaf though?

Yesterday was one of the best days I’ve had in ages. For a while now, I’ve been thinking about the old Uni bunch, and how much I was missing them and wanted to catch up with them – yesterday was this day. About an hour or so before we met up, I was getting slightly scared to be honest, because I hadn’t seen them in so long, at least not altogether, so was worried it’d be a bit overwhelming but it was absolutely lovely in the end. Just as I walked in to the theatre we went to, they all seemed to JUMP on me and cover me with hugs, forward, backward and side-ways! Seeing them, made me miss them even more but I’m not so sure if I miss the course though, despite them all saying that they’re enjoying it a lot more this year – but at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal experiences and the simple fact was, that I didn’t like the course itself, not the people though, and I hated being away from the friends and, most importantly, the family I had back home. Going away for University isn’t for everyone. But it’s nothing to be ashamed of! It’s important that you do whatever is best for you. I don’t, however, regret going away last year because I’ve met some amazing people and some of them will be friends for life. So, no, I don’t regret it one bit. I only wish that I had the courage to bite the bullet sooner and decide to leave before the summer term ended, because then I wouldn’t have been worrying throughout the last term about whether to leave or not – I would have just made my mind up and enjoy the last term. But, y’know, life is funny like that!

Today is my big sister’s 25th Birthday – Happy Birthday! Hope you get a lot of chocolate, and enjoy the company of the cats We’ve mainly been drinking tea and playing with the cats…it’s been nice so far…and tonight we’re either getting a Chinese take-away, or opting for a cheaper version from ASDA or Sainsbury’s and settling down to watch Coco Before Chanel, the men are just going to have to watch it – Birthday girl gets the dibs anyway!

And now, I’m feeling awfully hungry, so I think it’s time I went and got a bowl of pasta – what else?!

Go girl, seek happy nights to happy days… – Romeo & Juliet

(the meaning is referring to her Wedding night, but I like to think it’s also to do with finding happy nights and days…but hey, hum, everyone interprets things differently…)

Two buses at once…

I’m experiencing a common case of waiting for ages for a bus and then two or three come along at once, in the format of blog posts. It is now past the mid-day point…and I think it’s about high time I went and made some lunch – pasta, of course.

Just a little post to say I’ve updated the following pages:

About Me…
Photographs
The Wish List

Have a good Wednesday.

The funny old Wednesday

Wednesdays have always been a bit of a strange one. It’s halfway between last weekend and the following weekend, well, at least until mid-day…which is in 20 minutes. This week, so far, has been a bit of a strange one too. Monday was a bit of a lazy one until the afternoon/evening. Tuesday was an especially strange one, in which I encountered annoyance, uselessness and love. Which is a bit of a strange mix, if you ask me.

Annoyance, because my old University had yet to process my “withdrawal”…despite the fact that I had informed them back in AUGUST. Gosh, they take an age to do anything there. Uselessness, because I was meant to be helping with the signing, but ended up doing ZILCHO and hanging around all day for nothing, I felt. If I had known, I may have stayed at home. Strike that though, because my wonderful friend was there…and our other friend designed our “babies”…even though that would most probably never happen biologically, because we’re both girls…and the the third friend is slightly on the gay side. Plus, I have my boy! Love, well, because of what I’ve just talked about. So despite feeling annoyed/angry and useless, it was worth hanging around in the end because a smile was planted back onto my face and watered all afternoon/evening.

Today…well I’ve got a bit of catching up to do with the course…and then off to the beloved theatre again…then possibly seeing a friend tonight…but two parts of that equation is uncertain at the moment. Also meant to be having lunch with another friend but I’m not sure. I’m currently lacking in the the funds department…so having to be incredibly crafty with the pennies I have. Or lack of. Tomorrow night, I’m meeting up with a good friend from the Uni gang, we’ve not seen each other since June or May…and she opted to leave the Uni before I had even made my mind up…I think the fact that she left helped me because I could see how happier she was after she had made the decision…but at the end of the day, everyone is different, so each decision is different. I’m looking forward to seeing her though, it’s been too long. We’re going to have a evening picnic…with hot chocolate in thermos!

I think, once today gets going, it’ll get better. I do actually like Wednesdays…and I always find lots of smiles in the afternoon…but tonight is the last time for smiles until next term…well, unless I help backstage during the Xmas show run. I’ll probably be backstage anyway, because of the friend mentioned earlier.

Hope everyone’s Wednesdays are going well…here’s to the mid-way point between last weekend…and the next. Raise your glasses.

And, today’s the day to REMEMBER.