Hi friends! I've had this post in my drafts for a while, and I can't wait for you all to read it! I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease when I was 14, when it was a lot less well-known than it is now. I've experienced so many odd questions and remarks from people, as well as some interesting experiences in hospitality settings. I thought I'd write a little post on 14 things every coeliac can relate to! Please share with any coeliac friends or family, I'm sure they will have experienced some of these things too! I've also included some facts at the end of this post, which will hopefully help people to learn a little bit more about Coeliac disease. (PS don't be offended by how sarcastic I am, I'm just bitter about not being able to eat real doughnuts and pies x) 14 Things Every Coeliac Can Relate To 1. Burgers with no Bun A lot of restaurants have gluten free burger ingredients, but no buns. Which is totally fine (it's totally not) but I always get jealous watching the other people at the table eating their burgers in a normal burger-y way, while I'm cutting up my naked beef, cheese and tomato... 2. Getting excited in the Free From aisle when you spot a new product (!) The gluten free aisle is very exciting I'm not going to lie, especially the freezer section! (I'm still praying for more affordable sausage rolls though.) I vividly remember the first time I saw gluten free tiger bread, jammy dodgers, and gravy granules. Exciting times! 3. Paying extra in restaurants for dodgy cardboard bread. Paying an extra £1 for a slice of Schar bread is not what I want during my breakfast date thanks. But I'll do it anyway because I really want the poached eggs... 4. Especially when it's half the size! £6 for a toastie that's the size of a postage stamp, whyyyyy! 4. Being really REALLY sick of gluten free brownies. Coeliacs, if you know you know. This situation is made even worse when the non-coeliac person you're with excitedly tells you 'ohh they have gluten free brownies here!' and you have to pretend you're excited and really want a brownie... For the 53rd time in your life. 5. When people think being on a gluten free diet will help them lose weight... Um, everything is filled with sugar. They pile sugar into the bread, biscuits, everything so that it doesn't taste like cardboard! Unless you're eating a completely natural gluten free diet, it's definitely not going to help you lose weight. 6. The people who try to tell you about those 'gluten tablets' they 'saw on the web'... I don't have anything to say here, apart from the fact that 'medication' like this obviously doesn't cure coeliac disease. 7. When people make you feel like you're boring, difficult, or embarrassing! I've been in so many of these situations where people think you're choosing to do this to cause a scene, or because you're fussy. No matter how many times you explain your condition to these people, they'll probably never get it. Best to accept that people who make you feel like a burden are not your friends. The people I have in my life now will be the first ones to double check with waiters when I forget (I do this a lot...) 8. People giving you sympathy and saying things like "Oh that must be terrible, I couldn't do that!" I think people mean well when they say these things, but it just further reinforces the idea that we are choosing this life. We had no choice to 'do it' or not! 9. "Oh are you still doing that?" Yep, will be the rest of my life... Please don't ask me again! 10. "How come you can eat potatoes but not pasta?" Just because they are both carbs, doesn't mean they are made of the same thing... Potatoes are vegetables. There's no wheat in there. 11. "Is this gluten free?" "Yep, it's vegan!" That's definitely not the same thing. It's so worrying when people in hospitality answer the gluten free question so confidently wrong... 12. "Oh yeah I totally understand, bread makes me bloated too" This one just makes me want to pull my hair out. Bread hasn't even made me bloated before... Just violently sick and aggressively anaemic. But yeah, totally the same x 13. "Everyone is coeliac these days aren't they?" Yeah you just pay the membership fee, easy peasy! 14. When someone goes out of their way to make or buy you something gluten free Every coeliac knows that this feels like Christmas Day. Thanks friends x Some (not so) Fun Facts About Coeliac Disease
Thank you for reading! I hope this post has given you a little giggle, and maybe helped you understand this condition a little more. Let me know if you've experienced any other frustrating or funny reactions! Hope you're having a good day! Love Sophy x
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Hi friends! I feel like I start every post with 'sorry I haven't posted in a while', so I'm just going to stop doing that and get started with what I'm supposed to be saying... It's been a minute and lots has happened in the world. Instead of talking about that, lets talk about crafts! During lockdown 1.0 (I don't actually know what number we're on now) I discovered a love for creating things. I started off colouring and painting and then when we moved last May, I began making little things for the flat! I'm going to talk you through 5 of my favourite craft projects that have kept my mind busy and given me lots of cute little items! Mrs Hinch Stick Heart Project Just after we moved into our flat, Mrs Hinch was posting about her wall art made from sticks. It looked really easy and like something we could do together so we decided to give it a shot! We went to our local little park to collect the perfect sticks, and used cardboard from a moving box. You're meant to use hot glue but we didn't have a gun at this point so just used PVA (It worked fine!) And we bought a little tester tub of Johnstone's 'Ballet Slipper' paint from B&M. A very cheap project! What We Used Sticks from the park - £0.00 Carboard - £0.00 A Pencil Scissors Tape (any kind of tape will do) PVA Glue (B&M) £1.00 Tester tub of paint (B&M) £1.59 Total = £2.59 What We Did We drew half a love heart onto a square of cardboard with a pencil and cut that out as best we could. We then put the cut out piece on top of another square of cardboard and traced around it. Then cut around the second piece of cardboard to try and make them even. We stuck our two halves of cardboard heart together with tape on both sides. After that, we stuck sticks around the outside with PVA glue to make the outline of the heart, and then put the sticks wherever looked right in the middle. We cut the edges off some, although we didn't have to do this with many. Once we decided on their positions we stuck them down. We did a little bit each day and collected more sticks as we went. Once we were happy that the heart was filled with sticks, we painted it with our tester tub of paint. I think we did about 3 coats leaving it to dry in-between. To hang it, we just carved a little hole out of the back with a knife then hung it on a nail! Seasonal Wreath Projects During Autumn last year, I decided I wanted to make an 'Autumn' wreath with leaves and flowers. I had a look online and decided to go into Hobbycraft as they seemed to have lots of different kinds of plain wreaths. I bought a big orange flower from The Range, along with some tiny pine cones. Then I ordered skeleton leaves and synthetic maple leaves from Ebay. I loved finding all the wee bits and bobs and while in Hobbycraft, I also got myself a pink hot glue gun (win!) What I Used Rattan Grapevine Wreath 30.5cm (HobbyCraft) - £4.00 Orange Flower (The Range) - £1.50 Mini Pine Cones (The Range) - £0.69 Skeleton Leaves (Ebay) - £2.00 Synthetic Maple Leaves (Ebay) - £3.00 Hot Glue Gun + Refills (HobbyCraft) - £5.00 Scissors Total = £16.19 (Expensive because I bought my glue gun, but if you already have one this will be a cheaper project! You could probably also use PVA but the wee bits are fiddly thats why I went for hot glue) What I Did I pulled the petals out of the orange flower and stuck these around the back of the wreath to give it more depth. I then stuck on the maple leaves around the front in alternating colours. Then I layered the skeleton leaves on top and dotted the pine cones around. I literally just stuck everything down, made it look nice, and waited for it to dry! Before I even took the autumn wreath down, I knew I had to make a Christmas one! I did the same thing - bought a wreath from Hobbycraft, some bits and bobs from the range and some snow spray from B&M! I loved making the Christmas wreath and it hung on our door from November-January! What I Used Artificial Fir Christmas Wreath 46cm (HobbyCraft) - £5.00 Artificial Holly (The Range) £1.00 Mini Pine Cones (The Range) - £0.69 Artificial Robin (The Range) - £0.69 Snow Spray (B&M) - £2.00 Hot Glue Gun Scissors Total = £7.38 What I Did First I twisted the artificial fir in a circle so it was all neat and facing the same way. Then I pulled apart the holly leaves/berries and stuck them around the wreath. I dotted the pine cones around and then chose a place for the robin! I then sprayed the whole thing with some snow spray for extra effect! Waited for it to dry then swapped it with the Autumn Wreath. (I'm definitely going to make a 'spring' wreath next! Suggestions welcome!) Coffee Vase Project I've discovered I find it hard to throw out glass jars... Renee absolutely hates this newfound trait and she hears the words 'No, we could definitely use that for something' on the daily... I decided the shape of this jar of coffee would make a great vase, so I went for it! What I Used Empty Alcafe Coffee jar (From Aldi but I obviously had it in the house already) - £0.00 Leftover Johnstone's 'Ballet Slipper' tester pot (B&M But also already had it in the house) - £0.00 Sunflower Napkin (Tesco, but again, already had some) - £0.00 Clear drying PVA Glue (Had that in my house too, shock.) - £0.00 Total = £0.00 What I Did First I soaked the jar in boiling water to remove the glue from the label, then scrubbed off what was left. I dried it then painted it with a couple of coats of the tester paint (Inside and out). While it was drying, I carefully cut out the sunflower and bee shapes from the top layer of the napkin. I then decided where to put them (this bit took the longest), then I put clear-drying PVA glue on both sides and sort of pasted it on. Left to dry and voila!! I was obsessed with the fact that I made this for a long time (still am...) Boob Pot Birthday Project For my birthday this month, we obviously couldn't do anything exciting, so Renee said she had something fun planned for us to do at home! On the morning of my birthday she presented me with a block of clay and some tools! We decided almost straight away that we wanted to make little boob pots we've been talking about for so long! It was actually a lot harder than expected and both pairs of boobs are dodgy in their own way... It makes them unique?.. What We Used Das Modelling Clay (Amazon) - £6.00 (We used maybe a quarter of this on our two pots so £2.00 ish) Luter Clay Tools - (Amazon) £10.99 Acrylic paints (already had these at home) - £0.00 Paintbrushes (Also already had these) - £0.00 Bowl of water Total = £12.99 (Only an expensive project because of the tools!) What We Did We used one of the tools (sorry I don't know what they're called) to cut our blocks of clay. Then we made it into a sausage shape and pinched the edges to make a dip in the middle. We both had multiple tries because it was really hard to get the right depth! We then used the tools and water to smooth out any cracks. We made our little boobs and scored the clay to make sure they were stuck on. We left them to dry for a few days turning them over a couple of times. Once dry, we painted with red/white acrylic paint to get a pastel pink colour. These pots are very rough and only vaguely look like boobs, but we haven't done this before and I love them anyway x Advent Calendar Project For as long as I can remember, my mum has been filling a homemade advent calendar for me with little treasures and sweets. She loved putting time and effort into it during my childhood and I thought this year that I could repay the favour. I decided to buy a plain advent calendar box, decorate it and fill it for her to open each day of December! What I Used DIY Advent Calendar (Roov.com) - £7.49 Poster Paint (B&M) £2.00 Stick on Wreaths (HobbyCraft) - £1.00 Stick on Candy Canes (HobbyCraft) - £1.00 Advent Numbers (The Works) - £1.00 Paintbrushes - £0.00 Hot Glue Gun - £0.00 Snow Spray (B&M) - £2.00 Total = £14.49 ( & I spent about £3.50 filling the boxes) What I Did This project was the hardest and most stressful so far because I used the wrong kind of paint for the base! I used poster paint because that's all I could find in the colour I wanted, but it literally did NOT dry and my hands were permanently blue! Anyway, I painted the whole thing blue and waited (unsuccessfully) for it to dry. After blow-drying it and eventually wiping half of the paint off... I hand painted some snowflakes across the calendar with white acrylic paint I already had in the house (this dried much better!) After this was dry, I stuck my advent numbers on random boxes. I then stuck the little wreaths along the top and candy canes down the sides. Once it was all dry, I sprayed the whole thing with snow spray. I filled it with a mix of sparkly tea lights, Christmas scented wax melts, chocolates and candy canes. The stress (and blue paint) was worth it when I gave it to my mum and she was so surprised and grateful! She then texted me every morning of December to tell me what was in her advent calendar each day :) I hope you enjoyed reading about my little craft projects. I've got lots more happening at the moment so a part 2 might be needed! This year I'm planning on doing: a spring wreath, some pebble art, making my own spa products, making some birthday gifts for friends, and a scrapbook of my year in Australia. `
Watch this space! Let me know if you have any other ideas or if you make anything I've talked about! Lots of love, Sophy x Hi Friends! Look at me posting twice in one week! Craziness. I wanted to write a little bit about our recent little getaway to The Borders! We packed so much in to the three days, and I've added some links to some of the places we visited! Back in August when life seemed like it might be alright, we booked (for the second time) to go to Dublin for a few days. We decided to book for the October holidays as I'm off work then, and it seemed like it was going to happen! A few weeks before, the world started going crazy again and our flights were cancelled. We were really gutted about it so decided to start looking for a self-catering wigwam or pod in Scotland. We found the most adorable place in Coldingham (In the Scottish Borders) for a reasonable price and not too far a drive. I'll talk about the pod a bit later on but first I want to talk about our road trip down! We left at 7am on a rainy Tuesday with coffees in hand, and a strict Sophy schedule in the notepad. After the second attempt of driving away (realised we'd forgotten something important before we'd even left the driveway on attempt number one) we drove to Crammond beach first to "watch the sunrise"... There was no sunrise as it was really cloudy, but this didn't dampen our spirits. It was so nice to be awake and out in the fresh sea air before 8am. We stopped for five minutes before carrying on through Leith to Portabello beach. The weather had started to clear up and it was becoming a crisp (and a bit dryer) Autumn morning. After our short stop in Portabello to eat some car snacks (obviously) - we carried on to a very important stop... M&S! ~ I received a really kind gift from one of my students a couple of months ago, as a little thank you for her private lessons her mum got me an M&S voucher! ~ We decided to use this voucher to buy lots of food for our few days away. We bought a cheese selection, crisps and dips, cake, wine, you name it! At this stop, we also went to Starbucks for a classic PSL (It is Autumn after all). We drove through Musselburgh, and on to one of my favourite stops: Aberlady Bay Nature Reserve! The sun was out by this point and it was actually really warm. We walked along a dodgy pier to get to the little grassy trail. We spent about half an hour here before trying to find Luftness Castle... Every castle we tried to visit on our trip was either inaccessible or very expensive to even get into the grounds. We agreed to come back and spend longer at these castles in order to make the visit and the expense worthwhile. We stopped briefly at Gullane beach which was beautiful, before going on to North Berwick. North Berwick LawWe decided to factor in some time to climb North Berwick Law, and I'm so glad we did! This was a definite highlight for both of us. It's not a massive hill - being only 187m - it was the smallest of the Marylins so far. It was quick, steep, and very slippery! Although, unusually I only fell on my bum once! There are wild ponies who live on the Law which was really amazing to see, and when you get further up, there are ruins of an old telegraph station and watchtower. There are boards all the way from the bottom to the top telling you some information about the history of the hill and what it was used for. The reason it exists is actually due to a blob of lava from Arthur's Seat! You can tell that it's been formed from lava, as the rock formation looks like charcoal and it's very uneven! Once you reach the top, there are lots of touristy signs that you've made it (like Arthur's Seat but even more!) I would definitely recommend going up The Law if you get a chance, it was pretty easy and only took us 55 minutes all round. DRIFT.We previously booked lunch in North Berwick to make sure we'd get a table as we knew everywhere would be really busy! A friend recommended this amazing little cafe just beyond North Berwick called DRIFT. The actual building is an old shipping container that has been converted into a modern little cafe. We ordered some coffees and brunch rolls! (They even had gluten free rolls that didn't taste like cardboard!) We absolutely loved it and the view from the window was amazing! The PodThe little pod we stayed in was called The Rambleshack and it was in the wee village of Coldingham. It was a lockbox/self checkin situation so very covid safe, and very easy! There was a little bench top, sink, fridge, toaster, kettle, and microwave! (Honestly they squeezed so much in there!) There were also a couple of plates, bowls, mugs, glasses, some cutlery, along with some other random items. There was a little table next to the amazing round window, and this table converted into the bed! The bathroom was a teeny wet room with a toilet and shower. The pod was really clean, cute, and had everything we needed! Once we'd settled in, we got straight into our M&S spread (Of course). Then... the disaster happened... So we were just peacefully drinking our wine and enjoying our holiday, when I bumped the table and threw everything on it up in the air... There was a massive vase with lavender and lots of water, half a bottle of prosecco, and a giant glass of red wine. I really can't explain how far the wine travelled.. Fully up the walls, on the blind, in our hair, on our clothes, all over our bedding, the floor, anywhere possible. As predicted, I sobbed for the next five minutes while Renee tried to panic clean. I eventually got a grip and started to help, before declaring approximately 54 times that we should just leave and drive home (dramatic???) After a solid hour, we'd managed to get the wine out of most furnishings, apart from our clothing, bedding and hair. The owners were so kind and brought us down some spare bedding so at least we could sleep on dry sheets! We went to sleep with better expectations for the morning. However... We awoke to find there was no hot water, and after the owner checking it and telling us he'd have to call an electrician, we used our great teamwork skills to wash each other's hair with a big bucket we found in the microwave. This took a good hour longer than it was meant to but made for hilarious memories. After we finally made it out the door, we started our adventure for the day! EyemouthWe started our day in Eyemouth by walking up to Eyemouth Fort. It was really interesting and we learned lots about the history of it. It was a great walk up and the views were amazing! We did a little photoshoot at the top (classic) before doing the sunny walk down and across the beach. We walked along to Eyemouth Harbour and saw the 'Widows and Bairns' sculpture. A memorial to the women and children left behind when 189 Scottish fishermen were lost at sea. We were really excited to see a seal as we were walking along the harbour, and learn about some of the wildlife on the shores of Eyemouth. We also saw Gunsgreen House and Nisbett's Tower, which both played a big part in the smuggling trade of Eyemouth in the 18th and 19th centuries. After learning lots along this trail, we walked back to the High Street and bought a few souvenirs from some cute little shops. We loved Occasions Florists the most! St Abbs & ColdinghamAfter spending most of the day in Eyemouth, we drove to the little village of St Abbs for a coffee and some amazing views! I was honestly stunned and how beautiful this place was. We then drove back to Coldingham and visited the surf beach. We found some cute beach houses and then had a walk through the town where we found a tiny antique shop absolutely packed with treasures! We then had a walk through the old Coldingham Priory before heading to the local pub for a meal. We walked home through a little Heritage Trail and then had a much calmer second night, eating the leftover cheese, and thankfully not spilling any wine. Our Trip Home - DunbarWe checked out early the next morning and had decided to drive home via Dunbar, as there were lots of little things we wanted to see. We're very rarely in East Lothian, so decided to make the most of it! However, before we even left the grounds, of course there had to be a final disaster to top off the stay... As I was walking out of the pod and over the decking, I got excited because I saw a dog... I'm not exaggerating when I say I literally flew in the air before falling on my bum. The decking was slippery and I was doing a little half run, so along with all the bags, I had some significant airtime before landing with a loud thud. Renee came running back in from the car, and by that time I had somehow bounced up and was pretending nothing had happened. I got a massive bruise as a souvenir, and we both agreed this was a very relevant end to our slightly disastrous trip! On the way home, we stopped at Dunbar Castle, The Harbour, The Fortress, and The Bridge to Nowhere! It was raining really heavily so we didn't stay long at each stop and decided that we'd like to spend a whole day in Dunbar next summer. North BerwickWe knew we wouldn't have enough time to explore North Berwick properly on the way down there, so we factored in some time on the way home. We went to Tea At Tiffany's for a coffee and to dry off for a bit, then had a look round all the little shops. We loved the classic sweet shop The Sugar Mountain and we enjoyed looking through all the charity shops. We also had a quick stop at the beach for some photos before getting back in the car. We drove through Musselburgh and met one of our friends at Luca's for an ice cream, before getting a chippy once we were back in Fife. A great end to our trip!
We had the most amazing little holiday, and enjoyed having a break from real life, responsibilities, and our phones. I can highly recommend everything that we did (minus the wine disaster) and this was the perfect budget Scottish getaway. We probably spent £200-£250 on the whole thing (including booking the pod, a full tank of petrol, all our food, coffee stops, and souvenirs.) I've linked different things throughout if you're keen to learn more about anything I've written about, or if you're interested in going to any cafes or shops we went to. Let me know if you have any questions or comments!! Love Sophy x Hi Friends!
Really sorry about how awful I've been at this blogging thing.. I really thought I'd be better at this! (lol) This is just a little update post for you all, and it's basically me planning what I'm going to be posting over the next few weeks. I'm currently sitting catching up from World Ballet Day last week. If you know me, then you know I am obsessed with World Ballet Day and I watch as much of the stream as I can religiously every year. (If you're unsure, World Ballet Day is in October every year and it's when some of the world's most famous ballet companies live stream their rehearsals all day - super exciting if you're a ballet freak like me.) Anyway, the fact that I haven't watched the stream this year might give you an idea of how busy I've been... Life has been a bit crazy with teaching, class planning, and written work for my qualification. Renee is also working full time, and so we're trying to still spend time together and do fun things whenever we can. We went on a little wigwam holiday last month and I can't wait to write all about it! We had several disasters (classic) but we also had the best time! We saw lots of amazing sights, learned a lot about Scottish history, and most importantly, spent some time together without our phones. It was an amazing little reset and I've actually really struggled to get back into normal life again. We also did some super cute Halloween activities last month. I think I'll do a wee post about some craft things we've done and are planning on doing, because I love sharing that stuff. So look out for that if you're interested in crafting! We went pumpkin picking at Cairnie Fruit Farm last week, which was very rainy but really cute. We then spent the day carving our pumpkins and making Halloween snacks! (Blog post coming soon on this) I also just need to confess that I only did one week of '5K a day'. I just couldn't be bothered, not sorry... I really can't believe it's November already! This year has totally disappeared, and I know we all feel like we haven't achieved much, but remember that whatever you've done this year is an achievement. This is the weirdest time of life, so let's make sure we're not too hard on ourselves! More posts coming soon, I promise! Love Sophy x Forth One are running a '5K a Day' fundraising challenge this October. I've been hearing all about it every morning on the radio for the past few weeks, so I decided to have a look on their website to see what it was all about! I decided not to sign up as a fundraiser because I know everyone is struggling at the moment, and so I don't want to start asking people to sponsor me for something random like this. So I've come to the agreement with myself that I'll pretend I've signed up in order to convince myself to do it every day...
So what Actually is '5K a day?' In order to complete the challenge, I have to walk, run, or cycle 5 Kilometres a day. This can be done all at once, or in little bits. For example: a short run in the morning, cycling to work, and an evening walk. Renee has put her bets on that it'll last 2 weeks tops so I need to finish it to prove her wrong! Here's my progress so far: Week 1 01/10/2020 I started my morning with a 0.6K walk to warm up, then I ran until I got bored (1.2K) and walked the 0.6K home. Thursdays are my day off and this week Renee was off too! So we watched a film together - Enola Holmes on Netflix, I would highly recommend - and I had a ballet class in Edinburgh in the evening. It's just over a kilometre to the studio from the bus stop, so after having a look in the shops I walked down with my friend to ballet. We had a little catch up over some drinks before walking back up the hill again. This was a great first day of the challenged and I ended up running/walking 6.6K in total. 02/10/2020 I went for a run this morning while Renee was still asleep, and today (after my 0.5K warm up walk) I Ran 1.35K which I found really tough for some reason! We went food shopping - which by the way was a whole 1K of walking! - and I taught for a couple of hours in the evening. I also went for a little night time walk before picking Renee up from work. Today I ran/walked 5.1K in total. We also had a really exciting deliver today of our new fitness trackers! We've been looking in to them for ages and decided on a Huawei Band 4 Pro. They have built-in GPS, sleep tracking, heart rate and oxygen monitoring, message notifications, and lots of workout tracking options. So far I really love it and I've realised how full on my job is through my steps!! 03/10/2020 I went for a super early morning run today after dropping Renee off at work. I find running so much easier when it's early because there are less people and cars around. I also feel much more fresh in the morning and I love starting my day with a run! (When I can be bothered). I ran 1.5K and walked 1K this morning. I taught for 6 hours (Which actually turns out to be the equivalent of a 9K walk!) and then came home, ate a pizza and regretting none of my choices (You've got to have a balance right?) 04/10/2020 I started work at 9 this morning, and I was struggling to wake up so I didn't fit in my morning run today. I taught until the afternoon, and then ran (1.7K) around my parents' area before having dinner with them. I then went for a walk in the evening (3K) and picked up Renee from work. 05/10/2020 I had to drop my car off for an MOT this morning (it failed...) so I went for a run as soon as I got home. I did my usual 0.5K warm up walk and then managed a 2K run (!) Before walking the 0.5K home again. I went for a wee 2K walk before leaving for work and then taught for 4 hours. 06/10/2020 This morning I went for an 8am run and managed just over 2.1K (3.1K including walking), and then convinced Renee to get wrapped up with me and come for a walk around the village. We walked 3.7K so I was really pleased that I'd already completed over 5K before 11am! (I'd also already done my 10,000 steps for the day!) We had a chilled day watching TV before work for both of us in the evening. 07/10/2020 Today is the final day of week one, and so far I'm still feeling motivated and positive. I've worked out that if I increase my running distance by just 0.1K a day I will be at almost 5K by the end of the month. This is keeping me keen and motivated and I want to keep this commitment to myself (and prove Renee wrong!) However... Today I decided to have a rest. My body was tired and sore and my watch tells me I'm usually doing an average of 10K through my steps anyway... So I took some time to rest today after work :) Check back next week to see how week 2 has gone! And let me know if you think I'll make it to the end of October! Love Sophy x Hi friends, I realise I have been MIA for the past week, so sorry about that! Dance studios were allowed to reopen (yay) on the 31st August, so I'm now back to teaching almost every day. It is SO GOOD to be back, but there is also so much to do! Anyway, I had nothing to write for Food and Fitness last week because Renee cooked me literally every meal (she's good) and the only fitness I did was running around being a fairy with my wee dance classes. I thought I'd do a wee post this week about our recent hillwalking adventures! Throughout August, Renee and I decided we'd like to start tackling the Marylins of Scotland! We've climbed 5 so far, and we're trying to bag another one each time we have a day off. If you're unsure, Marylins are hills that are at least 150m, but not classed as Monroes. (So basically the smaller hills). Arthur's Seat (251m) ~A classic touristy first hill walk, but PACKED with people~ The first hill we climbed was Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. We just did this during a day out and with a picnic. I had done it before, but Renee was really keen as it's obviously a tourist point of Scotland! Overall, it took us just over an hour for the whole walk. It was a hot and sunny day, which made it harder than it was. The sun was right above our heads and there were also a LOT of people along the path. I liked the start of the ascent because there was lots to see and lots of little side paths to explore. Once we got further up though, I didn't enjoy that you could see how steep the hill was. I much prefer when you just keep walking and have no idea of how difficult your next section is. This bit felt like it went on forever and the people really started to annoy me (classic). When we got to the top, the views were amazing, but again it's just always so busy you never spend too much time up there. We started to walk down the other side, then had our picnic in a little nook of the hill. During the descent, I discovered I am not very good at walking down hills... I can't count how many times I slid on the stones and fell on my bum! Once we got further down, there was a really nice little valley section, which brought us back to the path we started on. We then sat in Holyrood gardens for a couple of hours before returning home. It was a nice day out, but I'd recommend not climbing this one on a hot day.
Lendrick Hill (456m) ~This was a really funny day and a story we now tell all the time!~ We parked the car in a little parking area at the bottom of the hill, and set off up a forest road. There wasn't a verified route for this one, so we were just following a map. After going the wrong way and almost getting stuck in a forest, we carried on. We started playing the alphabet game to give us something to focus on while we were walking up. We realised at this point that the map told us to veer to the right, going directly up a muddy track through the middle of the trees. This was the steepest track we have climbed so far, and it was really slippery from the mud. We continued to play the alphabet game to stop us from panicking about the sharp drop and mud below us. We stopped a couple of times to catch our breath on the way up, and the view through the trees was beautiful! Once we reached flat ground again, the walk to the top was easy! There was a little section of hilly ground and heather, and then a quick and steep climb to the summit! The views from the top were 360, and we hadn't seen any other people at all along the way! This was a really great moment, and we spent some time at the top taking pictures and admiring the view. We decided that we could not go down the same way as we had come up, because we'd definitely just slide down the mud track... So we found a route that some other walkers had done previously. It suggested following the tiny track alongside the fence until you reached the bottom, easy!! (Not...) It was alright at the start, we were walking and eating our lunch at the same time, so that distracted us from the uneven, boggy ground below us. We were in great spirits and we chatted and laughed for the next little section. As we were descending, I noticed that there was a massive patch of ferns ahead of us. I knew there would be no way around the ferns, but kept quiet for the moment. Once we reached the patch, we discovered the ferns were round 6 ft tall, and we had no option but to go through them! We pushed through all the bushes and did our best not to get hit in the face by branches. Renee stopped suddenly in front of me, as she noticed there was a large section of 6ft nettles ahead... She then said the words 'Sophy, we're going to have to climb the fence...' Now, this fence was higher than the ferns so must've been at least 7ft, it was made of thin wire, and did not look very stable. I thought about what Renee had said and responded with 'No, we can't because there's ferns and nettles on the other side too!.' But then she said 'No, I mean we will have to climb along the fence sideways... Like crabs...' So thats what we did! Climbed to the top section of the fence, and sidestepped along. It was unstable, and we almost fell backwards lots of times. If anyone could've seen this ordeal, it definitely would've been comical. I was singing the alphabet under my breath to keep myself calm, and Renee was hysterically giggling. At some point, we realised the fence wasn't strong enough to hold us anymore and we'd have to jump down. I jumped/fell down first, scraping the back of my knee on a big nettle, then Renee jumped down and got her foot stuck in the fence. Once we had dealt with that, we started laughing and realised this would be a funny story. We survived the rest of the dodgy descent, and emerged from the forest soggy and scratched but still smiling! This walk took us an hour and 25 minutes, and I would recommend doing this on a dry day, and finding a different route for descent... We are loving exploring random areas of Scotland, and climbing the Marylins along the way! So far we have learned: Higher hills don't necessary mean more difficult. Sometimes the lowest hills have the hardest routes!; I have to be really up for the walk, otherwise it will end in tears...; and games along the way definitely help!
Get in touch if you have any funny hill stories, or if you'd like anymore info about the walks we've done! Hope you're all having a great September so far! Love Sophy x Wilde Like Me, Wilde About the Girl, and Wilde Women are a trilogy of contemporary fiction novels written by Louise Pentland. They follow protagonist Robin Wilde along her adventures through motherhood, work-life, and love. The books touch on a lot of issues, while still following a lovely, easy to read storyline.
About the Author Louise Pentland is a blogger, Youtuber, and author who creates content about beauty, lifestyle and motherhood. She is well known in both the blogging and Youtube communities, and is now quickly becoming a best-selling author! She released the first book in her fiction series in 2017 and her books have all been Sunday Times Number One Bestseller! I've loved watching Louise's videos for years! I play them on my laptop while I'm cleaning, or doing my make up. They're very chatty, happy, and easy to watch. I also love listening to her podcast - 'Mother's Meeting' while I'm driving. The podcast is somehow relatable, even if you're not a mum, and it is an easy listen while you're in the car. Wilde Like Me I was quite late to the party audiobook-wise, as 'Wilde Like Me' was the first book I've ever listened to! (Behind the times, I know.) I absolutely loved listening to this book, as I could follow the story easily while I was running in the mornings, making dinner in the evenings, and any possible opportunity in-between! It was read by actress/storyteller, Fiona Hardingham, and I think this brought the story and characters to life even more! The first book introduces Robin Wilde, a single mum facing what she calls 'The Emptiness'. Robin is a great mum to 6 year old Lyla, but is really craving having someone in her life who is 'always on her team'. Robin works as a make up artist's assistant at a small UK company. A job in which her mum believes isn't good enough. She is divorced from Lyla's father, and just trying to get through life. The story follows her little family through a tough year, and we get to be part of their best and worst moments. Plot The plot was relaxed and easy to follow which I really loved, however, at the same time, there were unexpected twists that kept me on my toes. I loved watching Robin build in confidence throughout the journey, and I enjoyed learning about all the people she met along the way. I felt connected to the characters, and I think they really carried the story. By the end, I felt I knew Robin and her family, and listening to this book became a really happy part of my day. I love how real and relevant this book is, and it really made me laugh out loud at points with the choice of language and comedy. There are some dark themes throughout, but overall, I'd say I was left feeling positive and smiley after listening to each chapter. Characters I loved getting to know all the characters in this book! From 8 year old Lyla with her brutally honest comments, to artsy Auntie Kath always willing to lend a hand. My favourite character - although cliche - has to be Robin. She is so relatable and I really enjoyed that we got to see what she was really thinking (as the book is written from her perspective). She is so down to earth and a really kind-hearted soul. I loved listening to 'Wilde Like Me'. I felt like I became attached to the characters, and I couldn't wait for the next book in the series to arrive! I would give this book 4*! Wilde About the Girl I decided to order the paperback of 'Wilde About the Girl' as I wanted something to physically read while I was sitting in the sun. As soon as I started this book, I felt like I was catching up with Robin, and every time I picked it up, it was just like having coffee with an old friend. Plot The second book in the series follows Robin as she settles into single motherhood and starts to enjoy her life more. Robin has come back in 'Wilde About the Girl' more confident and self-assured, and this helps her to succeed in work situations, and with her personal happiness. We watch her go through some traumatic times which make her stronger, and we also get to follow her through some great moments in her life! The faster pace of this book really kept me hooked, and I read it so quickly! Characters We continue to follow the characters from the first book, and as they grow and develop, we learn more about each of their stories and how they link. Robin goes through an awful loss in this book, and we see how her relationship changes with each character during this time. Lyla has made some new friends throughout her time at school, and we watch Robin deal with the influence of these new friends on her little girl. Robin is much more fiery in this story, and I felt proud of her every time she stood up to someone who was trying to knock her down. I enjoyed physically reading this paperback during the summer, and found myself reading big chunks at a time. The faster pace really had me hooked, and I felt like I really related to Robin in this story. I would rate this book 3.5* Wilde Women I chose to listen to the audiobook of 'Wilde Women' as I'm running more now, and love listening to books while I run! This audiobook was read by actress, Anna Acton, and although I did prefer Fiona Hardingham, I did really enjoy the way this audiobook was read. The third and final book in the 'Wilde' series follows Robin as she struggles to juggle work responsibilities, a new relationship, a struggling friend, as well as normal family life! Plot In 'Wilde Women', Robin has climbed up the ladder at work, and is dealing with the pressure of having more responsibility. She is loving her job, and being able to inspire others through her make-up artistry as well as her attitude, but the juggle struggle is real! Her relationship with Edward - who she met in the previous book - has it's ups and downs, there are big decisions to be made, and fitting him in is harder than expected. Lyla continues to grow and is becoming more and more observant, so Robin has to answer a lot of tricky questions in this story! We watch as Robin's friend Lacey struggles with a new baby, and learn that Auntie Kath has been keeping a family secret for decades. Out of the three books, this storyline definitely has the most unexpected twists! Characters We learn a lot about the characters in this book, and I felt really empathetic towards each character as they all go through their own hard times. Robin has gone from being needy to needed, and by the third book, she is supporting both Kath and Lacey with their struggles. Robin has really grown in confidence, and she is now self-assured enough to give people advice, instead of constantly needing advice as before. Robin has always been a good mum, but now we see that she really feels good about her parenting decisions. As always, the book is written really honestly, the characters are relatable, and as a reader, I felt connected to each of them in some way. I really enjoyed the unexpected twists in this story, and I loved learning more about each character's history and personality. Louise Pentland's writing style has definitely developed more by the third novel, and it ended the series beautifully. I would rate this book 4.5*! Summary As a reader, I love following a happy, easy storyline across a couple of books. So this series was absolutely perfect for me. My favourite thing about the trilogy, was the way it was written. I loved that it was so informal and chatty, and felt like I was reading about friends' lives. I enjoy feeling like I know the author and the characters, and that's exactly how I felt with the 'Wilde' series. There are some dark themes throughout the three books, but they have been written about really sensitively, whilst still being very real. I finished the series feeling like Robin was my friend, and I felt proud of how far she'd come, and how much she'd grown throughout the series. I would really recommend the 'Wilde' series if you enjoy informal writing, easy-to-read storylines, and lovely relatable characters. Overall I'd give the series 4*! Let me know if you've read any of the books in the series, or if you have any questions or comments! As always, you can contact me via any of the channels on the contact page :) Love Sophy x Welcome to week 2 of Food and Fitness! This week hasn't been super productive, and I'm going to blame it on the government 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme. If you're not in the UK, this is a scheme set up by the government which gives funding to restaurants to allow them to offer 50% off food. Which basically means if you go to any restaurant or cafe on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, you will pay half of what you usually would (very dangerous). This has been set up to help the hospitality sector which has struggled during lockdown, and also to encourage the public to start getting out and about again. We have taken FULL advantage of this scheme. We went to an Indian restaurant on Monday night with my parents which was AMAZING, then went out for lunch at a cafe on Tuesday with a friend, and dinner and drinks as a little date night in Edinburgh on Wednesday... So basically, if I don't get anywhere with my healthy journey, we can blame the government? Food Due to living the high life, we didn't eat too many meals at home this week (oops), but something I'd like to tell you about is this recipe! Baked Basa with Potatoes and Veg - We made this meal on Tuesday night and we got all ingredients from Aldi! This probably cost us around £2.50 to make, and it was amazing and healthy! You can click here to read the recipe. Breakfast smoothie recipe - I've also been making lots of smoothies this week and wanted to share this recipe that I found for a healthy breakfast smoothie! Click here to read the recipe. I'd also like to chat about some healthy snacks I've recently discovered. I'm trying to consciously swap unhealthy snacks for healthier alternatives, and only eat when I'm actually hungry (Although, I say this as I'm eating a biscuit with my tea) I've compiled a little list of healthy snacks, where to get them, and the prices on my Recipes Page. Fitness This week has been manic as we finally received a date for the return of dance studios!! So I've been making sure I'm ready for that, and teaching my (hopefully) last classes on Zoom! I have actually managed to complete week 7 of Couch to 5K - much to my own surprise - and I can now run over 3.5km in 25 minutes. Looking back, this is absolutely crazy. I ran for the first time ever in May this year, and now I'm running for 25 minutes without stopping! I never ever thought I'd be able to do this, so if you're keen to start something, whether that is in relation to health & fitness, or anything else, just go for it! What's the worst that can happen. There are only 2 weeks left of the programme now. Week 8 consists of running non-stop for 28 minutes (3 times), and week 9 is when the 30 minute runs happen! I will keep you all up to date with my progress for the next 2 weeks. Throughout the 7 weeks of 'Couch to 5K', I've found that listening to either podcasts or audiobooks has been much better than listening to music. It gives me something else to focus on other than how long/far I've run, my speed, and my breathing. I find listening to something I'm engaged in makes running so much easier and would recommend this to anyone who may be struggling. I've just finished the third audiobook in the 'Wilde' series by Louise Pentland, and my next blog post will be a review of the series! This week, Renee and I have also been on a few hill walks. She is super keen to start walking up bigger hills, and I'm trying my best to have a go too. I don't think I'll be bagging Munroes anytime soon, but I do enjoy the view from the top! This week, we walked up Benarty Hill in Kelty, Bishop Hill in Kinross, and Lendrick Hill in Kinross. I'm going to do a separate post about some walks we've been on, so let me know if you're interested in that! I struggle with the motivation of getting up there, and I usually want to throw Renee back down the hill everytime she says 'this is good fun!', but I'm trying my best to push through because I know I'll be proud of myself when we get there! As always, you can send any questions or comments via any of the channels on the Contact Page, or leave a comment below. Let me know about any great meals you've made this week, or if you have any hill recommendations! Thanks for all the feedback on my last post too, I loved it! Love Sophy x Hi friends, it's gay chat time!
I came out at the age of fourteen, which - in hindsight - is actually quite young. I was so completely sure of myself and breezily just telling everyone 'I have a girlfriend.' I just said what I felt, and most of the time it was fine. I remember high school not actually being that bad! I was expecting homophobia from my peers, but most comments I experienced were laughable, and it was mostly people asking silly questions instead of actual hate. Some teachers were actually worse than pupils, and of course I can't mention names (damn) but there was one in particular that said something I still tell people about today. After I left school, I actually ended up in a relationship with a boy (shock horror, I know). For some reason, my friends were absolutely raging about me being seemingly 'straight' again. It lasted 9ish months and then I realised I was definitely 100% gay (I think I did know this all along). With me deciding and telling everyone I was definitely a lesbian this time, the next wave of weird comments started when we reached the age of going out clubbing. People are drunk and stupid and say the weirdest things that they (maybe?) wouldn't say when sober. Although most comments came from the males, I will say, some girls said some weird things too! So let's talk about some classic things that lesbians hear a lot! 1: "No offence, but I just feel weird about you getting changed for PE with us" A classic high school comment. For some reason, a lot of teenage girls believe that gay means pervert, and that now you've come out, you're going to blatantly stare at them in their sports bras. Obviously ridiculous, and proves that a lot of girls are very self-centred. Which leads me on to number 2... 2. "Does that mean you fancy me then?" Similarly, some girls believe that once you come out, you are then attracted to every single girl in your class, their mums, and your teacher. (Okay I fancied a fair few of my teachers, but not the point.) No I don't fancy you. 3. "Aw no way, I wouldn't have guessed that!" or "You don't look like a lesbian" People throw this one out there as a compliment, as if you should thank them and be grateful you look 'straight' (???) Honestly what does look like a lesbian even MEAN?! 4. "I can change you" or "I like a challenge" When men say this, I honestly just can't believe they don't realise they are behaving like T-Rex level predators. IMAGINE saying something like this to someone!! 5. "You're too pretty to be a lesbian" Again, this statement makes no sense, there is no correlation between beauty and sexuality. Usually people are trying to pass this off as a compliment, but it just ends up uncomfortable and embarrassing when they can't explain what they mean. 6. "Threesome?" No. 7. "That is such a waste" In my opinion, this is one of the worst. So many men have said this to me, and it basically translates as 'Well this has annoyed me because now I know you won't have sex with me.' It comes across as stroppy and rude, never mind entitled and predatory. 8."Are you both going to wear dresses at the wedding? Something about that doesn't sit right with me." Guess what? You weren't invited anyway! It is no one else right to tell people what they should wear at their own wedding. Also we live in Scotland and men wear kilts to their weddings... So, hate to break it to you but heterosexual weddings have lots of dresses involved too x 9. "How are you going to have a baby?" or "But it won't be YOUR baby together though will it?" This one also riles me up big time. Can you imagine if you asked a straight couple how they were going to conceive their baby? What a weird question to ask. Also, would you ever tell adoptive parents that its not 'actually their baby'? No you wouldn't homophobes!! Check yourself. Of course we can't forget the classic. I can't tell you how many times I have had this conversation with people... 10. "How do lesbians have sex?" or "But it's not really sex is it?" Similar to my previous point, you would never ask a straight couple how they have sex. That is a ridiculously personal and rude thing to ask. Not only have I been asked this question by friends, I have been asked it by boys I have just met on nights out, or friends of friends I have met that day. My response has now become "Well, how do you have sex?" Because it usually shocks them into shutting up. You cannot tell someone what sex is. Each person has their own defined ideas and boundaries around sexual contact, and you cannot take those away from someone. To people reading this who have said these things or similar things to anyone in the LGBT community, please, just use google. We are not here to educate you on our sex lives, or respond to your strange backhanded compliments. You also cannot change us, and we definitely don't want to have sex with you. LGBT friends - please get in touch if you've had any weird questions or comments like these, I would love to hear other peoples' experiences. There will definitely be a part 2 coming soon, more things have already popped into my head since I wrote this. The list is never-ending! Kind words only please, Love Sophy x Hi friends! Thank you for the massive amount of support for Okay Sophy so far! I didn't think anyone would even want to read it, so I've been blown away that so many people have followed the Facebook page and subscribed to email updates. All your kind words and excitement for the blog have encouraged me even more and now I can't wait to get it started properly! I planned to start some sort of fitness schedule on Monday, but because life is life, Monday ended up being the biggest write-off ever! We literally didn't leave the couch, and ate nothing but macaroni all day, which is obviously totally okay, and I would definitely recommend that as a balanced lifestyle... So I started on Tuesday instead (who decided Monday was the start of the week anyway?!) Fitness I've been craving a ballet class for ages - weird dancer thing to say but okay - so I found this intermediate/advanced ballet barre video on Youtube. It was taught by Katrina Morgan who has a channel FILLED with ballet tutorial and follow along videos. She is a dream! I love that she doesn't talk too much in her videos, but still includes little technique reminders and the aims of the exercises. I was absolutely SWEATING during and after but it was great and a nice level of class! I've popped the link below incase anyone wants to give it a go too! x www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IXip5hM06U&t=2515s I thought I'd also chat about home workouts this week. I've always struggled to follow along to workout videos or other peoples' routines. I find that I stay more motivated and disciplined if I create my own workout plan/routine. I usually put together a combination of exercises that I find work for me, and cover abs, arms, and legs. I would just start with a number of reps or length of time (e.g. 20 crunches or 30 secs plank hold) and then increase/decrease as needed every day that I continue the routine. I won't post what my routine is, because it probably won't be useful to anyone else, but if you find you are struggling with motivating and disciplining yourself to work out at home, I would definitely recommend this! Another thing I wanted to write about this week is 'Couch to 5K'. This brilliant app encourages beginner level runners to run 5K by the end of the 9 week training programme. I've been doing the 'Couch to 5K' running challenge for the past 6(ish) weeks, but hit a major motivation struggle at week 7. The app challenges you to run a bit further each week, starting off with little 60 second runs during week one, and ending with consistent half hour runs by the end of week 9. I've been really enjoying it and I love running further and faster each run, but I'm just finding it SO HARD at the minute! I decided I needed to get a grip on Thursday morning. So I got up at 6am, got my running gear on (by 'running gear' I do just mean Nike leggings and any T-shirt I can find in the dark) and started week 7! This week consists of running for 25 mins without stopping, which is a struggle if you're not a runner. But I finally did this on Thursday morning bright and early and was super proud of myself! With any luck, I might do it again over the weekend! We'll see... Food Since we moved into our new flat, we have been really consistent with planning meals. We decided at the very start that we wanted as little waste as possible (of food and of money!) So every week before we do our food shop, we sit down and write what we want to have for dinner each day of the week. We then only buy the ingredients we need for those meals (and breakfast and lunch stuff, obvs) This has saved us SO MUCH money, stops us forgetting about (and therefore wasting) food in the fridge, and most importantly, stops that awful nightly drama and indecision of what to have for dinner. We used to be THE WORST for being indecisive and stroppy about what to eat, and would usually end up having something easy, random, and probably unhealthy. People who know me personally will have definitely experienced me waffling about meal plans (haha accidental food pun). Anyway, I would totally recommend this for anyone who wants to save money, cut down waste, and stop dinner decision dramas in their household (that's everyone, right?) Some fun things we made for dinner this week were: Homemade gluten free lamb gyros - We haven't cooked lamb before as it always seemed such a faff, but Renee's sister mentioned lamb on FaceTime today and we were inspired. Renee literally cooked and prepared all of it but we'll pretend I helped too.. This whole recipe is completely gluten free as always, and we bought all ingredients from Lidl (apart from gluten free wraps, we got those in Morrisons). It probably cost us less than £5 to make, and was so so good! If you'd like to make it too, I've posted the recipe here: Homemade Gluten Free Lamb Gyros Misty Copeland's Spinach and Goat's Cheese Salad - This recipe came from Misty Copeland's 'Ballerina Body' book. (A book that focuses on becoming strong rather than skinny, and creating a healthy lifestyle without restriction or deprivation) I would definitely recommend this recipe if you're looking to try a more exciting and different salad! Click here to go to the recipe I actually do feel like I've started to make some positive changes this week, and I'm hoping writing this blog will motivate me (and maybe other people) to keep going! Thanks for reading this week's blog post, let me know if you try out any meals from the recipes page, or if you've had motivation struggles this week too! You can contact me via email or Facebook. Love Sophy x |
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