Dream Diaries

I've always been one of those people that's been able to remember their dreams really vividly. I think it must be because I'm a light sleeper, as barely anyone else I know is able to remember their dreams as clearly as I remember my own.

I'm fascinated by what dreams mean and what they're caused by. I sometimes have really strange lucid dreams - the only way I can think to describe this is that it's like being half-in half-out of your dream, and so you're conscious enough to be aware that you're dreaming but you're also still completely submerged in the dream. 

Due to this interest in dreams, I have decided to keep a diary of all the dreams I remember when I wake up in the morning. I do it as soon as I wake up, so I don't forget them throughout the day, and record every little bit of detail I can remember. If my dreams are really strange, I'll perhaps spend a bit of time searching the internet to find out what exactly it means. 

I started doing this last year, but lost motivation about a week in. However this summer I've started doing it again and have actually managed to keep it up this time. I love going back to last year's dreams and reading them over, because sometimes they actually jog my memory as if they're something I consciously experienced - rather than them just being a dream.

I love doing things like this - it's now become a little routine that I have in the morning, that instead of getting up straight away and getting my breakfast, I spend 5 or 10 minutes recollecting my dreams from the night before and writing them down.

I find it weirdly therapeutic, and I have even got a few of my friends doing the same thing - which means sometimes we have really interesting discussions about our dreams from the past few nights!

#hairgoals

Since Christmas I've been slowly getting my hair cut shorter and shorter, which seems ridiculous after spending the last four years trying to grow it long.

As much as I loved my longer hair, since having mine cut short I haven't had any regrets. Obviously there was the initial 'Oh my god what am I doing' as I saw a huge chunk of it fall to the floor of the salon, but that was quickly followed by a 'Oh my god why did I do this 2 years ago'.

I don't want to sound really pretentious about how getting a new hairstyle makes me feel like a new person, or that it's as if I'm starting afresh - I don't want to be too heavy-handed with the symbolism, but I will say that short hair is honestly so much more fun and so much less maintenance than long hair.

Before & After
(I am aware that this make me look like I've highlighted it as well,
but I think it was just a combination of natural lightening from the sun
and the difference in lighting in both pictures)

I especially love it now, as I've got to grips with styling it properly. I particularly love putting it in a top knot, which is also great now that the weather is getting warm. The other two styles I mainly go for are slightly wavy or full-on curled (by 'full-on' I mean tightly curled, I don't know why I couldn't have just said that in the first place).

Aside from the days where I wake up and my hair refuses to do anything but look like I've had a bowl-cut, I'd say cutting it short is one of the best hair decisions I've made in a really long time - it has now officially reached my #hairgoals standard.

Home for Summer

One thing I did miss about home - the view of the sunset from my
bedroom window.

I've been dwelling on how to write this post for the past few days, and no matter how I've thought about tackling it none of my ideas have seemed right. 

Being home is an odd one for me; I'm happy to have time off from university, and I enjoy being back with my family and old friends, in the place that I called home for 18 years of my life. However, leaving Lincoln, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

University has certainly been a challenge. Homesickness mixed with feelings of stress and doubt did sometimes make me think "I just want to go home", but now that I am home I know that I wouldn't change my decision to go to university away from home for the world.

I've definitely got an amazing life at university. I'm doing a course I love and the friendships I've made are close ones, and it's hard now that I'm home not to miss that. I'm find that when I think about going back to Lincoln, all I can say to myself is: "I can't wait!" and that makes me feel guilty - because surely leaving my family, lifelong friends and familiar habits behind should be something I can wait for?

I don't know, I'm still finding it difficult to process being away from home and having a great time and feeling good about having a great time.

I've decided that my time at home should be a productive one - I'm blogging more frequently, I'm going to gym, I've started driving lessons again and have booked a test, I'm going on holiday (which may not be productive, but I'm looking forward to it all the same), and I am attempting to find a job/gain some work experience somewhere. 

I've found that filling my time up - and making sure I never have days where there is nothing to do - is the best thing I can do while I'm at home. I'm trying to find an equal balance between relaxing at home, working and seeing my friends, and so far it's been going great.

I know that coming home is good for me. It has been and will continue to be good for recharging my batteries. And as much as I'm looking forward to going back to university in September, I think part of the fun is waiting for it to arrive.

Losing Half a Stone?!

Source: TipsTimesAdmin, Flickr.

When I went to university my lifestyle changed in many different ways, the most noticeable of which was that the amount alcohol I consumed in a week increased a lot.

As much as I enjoyed, and still do enjoy, drinking, I realised towards the end of my first year that drinking as much as I had done wasn't healthy, and the fact that I was no longer going to the gym due to being unable to afford a membership meant I could no longer get away with it.

When I got home from university, I decided to swap my lifestyle for a better one in the hope that I could kick my unhealthy habits before they got worse. I joined a gym and started eating far better than I have in a really long time. After around 6 weeks I found that I had lost half a stone, which is around what I put on while I was at uni in the first place, so I've decided to compile a list of what I did in order to lose the weight and become healthy again.

Exercise:

My regular gym session includes around 40 minutes of cardio, 15 minutes of toning and 15 minutes of strength-building. However I make sure to switch up my routine every time I go, because otherwise I've found it doesn't have an affect. I also force myself to work up a sweat and get properly out of breath, because I don't think there's much point in me paying for a gym membership if I'm going to slack off and not work my hardest.

I also do a class once a week called meta-fit, which is kind of like the Insanity workout as it's really short bursts of intense exercise for half an hour, and the class finishes off with half an hour of intense ab work afterwards. Although I feel like I want to die 10 minutes into the class, I love the feeling that I have properly worked out afterwards.

Diet:

This is the kind of stuff I snack on
  now, rather than chocolate

I didn't so much go on a diet in order to lose weight - I just changed my diet for a healthier one. Rather than snacking on crisps, biscuits and chocolate, I now snack on fruit, yoghurt or combine the two and make myself a smoothie. I no longer eat food that I know will leave me hungry in another hour or so, for example eating a proper breakfast that I know will keep my going til lunch.

I make sure to have 5 fruit and vegetables a day, and I attempt to drink 2 litres of water a day to keep myself hydrated (although I struggle to do this everyday as drinking is something I'm really terrible with; I often forget to do it). I also don't have 11pm/midnight snacks any more like I used to, choosing instead to have a cup of tea before getting in bed.

The benefits:

I didn't want to call this 'the results' as I think that results are something you achieve and can then keep forever, like exam results. But weight loss is different as you have to keep doing what you're doing to stay at the weight your at. Probably one of the hardest things about dieting/exercising, is knowing that it isn't quick fix and you can't just do it for a month and then never have to worry about it again. It's something you have to keep up constantly.

The things I have noticed about my body since I started is that I now tone up a lot easier and quicker, my skin has got clearer in time for summer, I feel more energised and less like I want to nap the day away, I'm more motivated to get things done, and also that I feel a lot happier - in general I'm just less stressed, and if I ever do get stressed I know I can go to the gym to work it out.

If you're considering attempting to change your lifestyle in a bid to get healthier, or even to lose weight, I would definitely recommend it. It's never too late to start. I'm not going to lie and say that it's the easiest and best thing I've ever done, and even thought there are times at the gym where I have no motivation at all and I just want to eat a massive chocolate bar, I do still think it was a good decision for me to make.

June favourites

I know I've been very very absent from this blog for what seems like a lifetime, and rather than do a huge apology post that only a few people would actually be interested in reading, I've decided to just do a favourites post instead by way of saying sorry.

Top left - I had been seeing sandals like this in people's summer hauls and then inevitably found myself wanting a pair for myself, I found these in Primark for £10 and I adore them. They're like a normal gladiator sandal but with a slightly twist as the string pulls them in as far as you want, which I think gives them a really cool edge.

Bottom left - My family and I have booked a holiday to Spain in August, and so like everyone else who's naturally pale I've been making sure my skin tans slightly before I get there using the Garnier Summer Body gradual tan lotion. The build up to a natural looking light tan is great, and helps make my skin feel smooth too.

Middle - I know I'm late to the party, but I finished Gone Girl at the end of June and I still can't get over how incredible it was. I always love books where the people in it seem quite self-destructive, but I've never read a book that has gripped me so well. It's safe to say the whole book is basically one massive car crash of a plot, where nothing goes right and eventually gets the point where you keep reading just out of morbid interest as to just how much worse the character's lives can get.

Top right - At the beginning of June I treated myself to some lovely pastel/pale coloured nail varnishes, and these two from Rimmel are definitely my favourites out of all the ones I bought. They're quick to dry, last for ages, and match the beautiful weather England has been having recently perfectly.

Bottom left - The only necklaces I really have a huge statement ones for when I'm going out, so I decided to buy myself this lovely delicate one just to wear on an everyday basis. It matches everything, and just makes me feel as if I've made that extra bit of effort to look nice - even if I'm not doing anything particularly exciting.