2015 Annual Happiness Tips Reviewed

Hello all,

So this is the post where I look back on my annual happiness tips 2015 and see how I feel about them as we speed into 2016 - can you believe how fast this year has gone!

So let's look back to the first of January when I suggested to myself to:

1. Be healthy but don't make myself crazy with worrying or feeling guilty when I am simply enjoying my life!
2. Be happy for what I have in life and remember that everyday (but at the same time it is ok to be sad every now and again - just not more often than I am happy). 
3. Be more creative more often; blog, do more photography, spend more time colouring and do more Lego building! 
4. Do something amazing every month; from seeing friends to travelling or just having an excellent experience at home with my family  

And how did they go; well it's been up and down on all fronts really; apart from doing something amazing every month as I think I will write my last post on that - a retrospective look on the year, if you like.

I do feel much happier generally about things; and as I have gone on this year I have felt myself shedding the fear a bit. So I have at least made a start on this one.

I also have worked out that I can go to the gym three times a week and not break. I will therefore endeavour to do that every week next year and hopefully my health improvement will happen in 2016 too. I already felt that the commitment to it is making me more motivated in general.

Creativity has been explored but not really fulfilled this year. This is certainly something I want to work on more next year. I have some more public speaking that I want to do and then hopefully creativity will grow from there.

And other things for next year; well I think I am just going to work on me in whatever order I need at that given moment. And so far my best achievements have been when I have had no plan at all so maybe I need to stick to that more! 

I hope with whatever plans you make for 2016, you make sure to look after you! 

Love,

Amber xx

Closing this chapter...

Hey there, how are you?

Dramatic title Amber - I hear you. And I am not leaving this blog forever - be sure of that.

This blog was my Carrie Bradshaw moment, and I have discussed most things on here and laid my soul out. And I owe it a lot more than you know.

But I am not heartbroken any more. I am a single girl heading out into a new year with literally the world in front of me.

I am really looking forward to 2016. I have a good feeling about it.

So what am I going to do on this blog if I am closing this chapter for now:

• My series about heartbreak is done. I was going to write about the big moments but I can't really offer more than I said in my past three posts; surround yourself with friends, let it out but don't let it ruin you and eventually, when the time is right for you, it will stop hurting. You can't force yourself out of it if you aren't there yet but you will be. 
• Will you stop writing about love and life? No. I never promised you a schedule on this blog and I think I have lived up to that. This blog was always me talking to the universe and when I need it; it will be here. I will write when the moment is right. 
• So is this the end. No. Not even slightly. My voice has changed as I have grown that is all. I will write my update on my Annual Happiness Tips and another post before the year is out - taking it to 50 posts on this blog. I will also check back in every so often. Also trust that whatever I work on for next year I will keep you guys updated. 

If you do need me - I will be here.

Love for now, have a safe and happy holidays,

Amber xx

In my lonely hours, days and weeks...

Thank you Sam Smith for giving me the inspiration for this post title.

Being one half of a whole heart is how I felt when I was in a relationship. 

I was given +1's, asked how they were as many times as I was asked how I was and we spoke every day. So when we broke up, that whole became two halves again and I felt very much alone.

Single is the term society has branded us who are partner-less and if you have always been single then that's one thing, but the transition from couple to single is a hard leap to make. It can feel like someone has cut your arm off. And it can take ages before you begin to recover. I was single for 17 years before my relationship so I was actually good at it. And it took me the best part of a year to feel like I had made it back to myself again. 

In the days after the break not calling or texting them; cleansing your social media and seeing all that stuff that holds so many, now painful, memories everywhere is so unnatural for you. 

And then there is at the moment, when you shut the door to your bedroom, or you are alone before your housemates come home and the wave of loneliness comes upon you. And it can knock you for six (and completely shatter your progress of healing). 

When I was alone I went into analysis mode; picking apart everything to find what was to blame, remembering everything I held as a memory of "us", torturing myself remembering how happy we were and resisting doing everything that felt natural (calling or texting them).

Then I began to hunt the Internet for blogs and message boards of people who were also going through the same as me and how they got over it. I was desperate not to feel like I was crazy for feeling like this. 

And I found loads. And I breathed a sigh of relief - through many tears - that I wasn't some crazy person. I was one of many hearts broken, searching for hope.

I was so comforted by that and clung to them like a loved toy. This is why I am writing this so that if anyone else needs my help; my story is documented here. All you have to do is take a moment to search online and a world of heart break opens up to you. 

Like I said when talking about not having strength and borrowing it from friends; filling silences became key. Anything from TV to music to physically going out with friends and hanging out with my parents all night to avoid being in my own head with my thoughts. That's why college was so important; it forced me to concentrate on not letting my emotions ruin my education; I was down but I wasn't out. 

I loved music for helping me through the moments when I had to be alone. For the purpose of this post I have collated a Spotify playlist of songs that helped me heal and drown out the thoughts/tears and some are new that I would of needed back then too. This is linked here if you want to give it a listen. It's great if I do say so myself. 

The key I found to surviving heartbreak is realising that this timeline is completely unique to you but at no point is anything you feel unusual - no matter how crazy you think it is. One day you may feel better and crack a smile; the next you'll feel as if you are back to square one. There is no rule book for heartbreak.

Looking back I remembering thinking "When will I ever feel normal again?" And then one day I just did. I can't even tell you when that was. I was able to talk about my relationship and not want to cry and my life carried on. 

Another thing I found important is to keep talking; and I had very good sounding boards that listened to anything I needed to get off my chest. I couldn't of coped if I had to bottle it all in. Giving yourself a period of time a day to wallow when it gets to hard not to and then stopping and forcing yourself to do something else. It takes dedication but it is really important! 

The next post is about tackling big milestones; Valentine's Day, birthdays and anniversaries. This is a skill in itself. But that's for next time...

Lots of love, if you need me I'm here,

Amber X

Strength in numbers: when you don't have any, borrow it

Wake up. That happened. Oh yeah. (If you don't know what I am talking about click here to read the previous post.)

Go through the motions of getting ready, interrupted by bouts of sadness that knock you sideways, and get yourself to college.

You tell your nearest friend first - now it's out there and real. 

The hard part. Someone asks about the two of you not knowing and you just break down. 

You have managed to keep it in. Not any more. 

"Oh my god... Come here have a hug...are you alright?...what happened?...let it all out" 

My next piece advice; and one that will come back time and time again in this journey, is if you don't have the strength to pick yourself up - borrow it from friends. Use the hugs, the knowing looks and the silences they create for you, to release all your feelings into. Because even if they haven't had this happen to them, they just know what to do.

Some told me that it was brave to go to college the day after it ended, I disagree, it was 100% vital that I was not alone for that first few days. I recommend that if you go through this, you need to let your life continue and try as much as possible to fill the void that presents itself. 

You will, unfortunately, dwell on the pain when you are on your own. And I found that there are actually lots of times in normal life when you are alone. However when I was with friends or even forced to think about Chaucer for a couple of hours, it was enough to distract the mind, even for just a short while.

I also want to take this moment to thank my friends and family for all the tears and pain they absorbed on my behalf, thank you for all the kindness that you had no idea was so important to me then and thank you for not expecting me to "just get over it".

It was the first 48 hours after where the love that surrounded me protected me from imploding completely. It was set to not always be that plain sailing, but looking back I know how important it was to me not to feel totally alone in the scary world...

Next time is the first bump in the road, when the isolation set in...

Until then, I'm hear if you need me. You are more than welcome to my strength if you can't find any of your own. 

Love,

Amber xx

Explosion - that moment when everything shatters

In that moment when the glass shatters, your world just stops.

I remember feeling sick; feeling angry and feeling terrified. 

Confusion is an understatement. 

As they sit in front of you, you no longer recognise their face. As far as you know they are an alien that has torn your heart into pieces. 

There can be a reason; but trust me knowing the reason doesn't make it any easier to swallow. 

When they leave; if you haven't already; you breakdown. 

I don't think I have ever cried as much as I did. And I sobbed and sobbed. I couldn't even stand.

I have cried a lot at death but death is very final, and I at least have always been able to pick myself up after death. But at this moment that my heart literally broke - the pain was so real I thought I had been stabbed. 

The initial few hours felt like days themselves. I am pretty sure I cried myself to sleep.... 

Considering I am looking back at this moment over a year and a half later, forgive me if my memories are hazy of those first few hours. I have summarised them into these sentences and I think my head is saving me from reliving it over and over again, which is a blessing. 

Did I know it was coming? Earlier on that week I had a feeling and I am pretty sure I knew what was coming - something inside of me just didn't feel right any more. My first piece of advice is if you feel something act on it - trust yourself. 

Could I have prevented my heart break? No. I was in love and you see the world through rose tinted glasses, I didn't think it would happen. 

Will I ignore my head again? No. But this pain taught me a lot about myself, including that I should trust my instincts and that I maybe psychic. I can't say I recommend it but it is a good thing to learn and how you come out the other side is more important but I guess that's why I am writing these posts.

If you understand me at all then I am very sorry...but we are not alone.

The next day (this event happening on a Monday) I got up, got dressed and went to college, don't ask me how - you'll have to wait until the next post. 

Luv,

Amber xx

The Relationship Bomb: The Break and the Aftermath - A Series...

Dear Readers,

I started this blog a few years ago in order to impart some advice that my friend at the time told me was blog worthy. It was relationship advice, and at the time, I was talking as an external observer; to put it simply; I was and always had been...single. 

The caveat to this was that I had actually been in love; that good'old unrequinted kind that repeatedly kicks you in the heart until you can move on; which is hard when you only move on from your own feelings and not someone else's betrayal of them. Maybe I will write my next post after these about it. 

Anyway I digress; this post is heartbreak 101 from the initial bomb drop on your life as you know it to the place where at least I am now the 18 months on stage.

I will stop where I am now as I no longer consider myself broken - I had my heart  broken yes but I feel like I have recovered now; and this post is my manual which at least I followed and what I did to mend my heart and I hope it will be helpful to you all.

A note to my readers who haven't had a relationship heartbreak; the stages of losing a partner are very similar to the stages of grief over a loved one I have found so they may help you too; also if you ever have to break up with someone this may also affect your heart too and I guess you can see it from the other side - this is not meant to make anyone feel bad however; relationships do have to end no matter what sometimes; but I will come to that in a later post.

This post will form the overview of the next few posts and unfortunately I can't give you a regular schedule as these need to come from my heart at the moment they do; I want them to be as honest as I can be. But I hope you stick around and I see you soon.

Love as always,

Amber x

I'm a human being...

I make mistakes like anyone, I embarrass myself and then in trying to style out the embarrassment probably embarrass myself some more, I get sad, I fall in love, I make friends and one day I hope I will make a family. 

I probably need to get used to this soon. 

Recently I have found myself worrying a lot about things that really don't matter in the grand scheme of things. I don't know everything and when you are out of your comfort zone then by it's nature you don't know what your doing and you are just learning as you go along. 

I am perfectly imperfect. 

My cat, Woozle, is sitting on my lap as I write this and she is the definition of someone who just owns who she is. She seriously doesn't care if she doesn't quite make the jump onto the coffee table, or can't catch a bird, and the only time she is stressed is when she is without food for more than 2 minutes. I would love to be more like her, and I am trying. 

I'm not sure if it is teenage anxiety that has just caught up with me now, or if it's just something else I have to deal with for the moment, but I hope to get to the place where I can just turn the worry off and turn the "I don't give a shit" dial up instead (my mums phrase, she's awesome) I know I will of made it. 

I'm getting there slowly I think. New territories still leave me on shakey ground sometimes; but little by little I'm on my way. 

And who can not be happy when they get to look at this face every morning:

Lots of love guys and girls, I hope you are all well,

Amber x

Being brave and making choices that you never thought you would...

Hello all,

I got told that I made the brave choice by not going to university when I left college a year ago, but I hadn't thought I was particularly brave, I thought I was scared, messed up by a few years that had been too hard and I felt lucky to be standing when it was all over, not really the traditional description of brave.

And I had no clue what to do, I still make it up as I go along - fake it till you make it has never been a truer phrase. But somewhere in between the faking it, I started making it. My confidence has come on leaps and bounds, and I am better than I was before. But I am still not there and I think it will take a few more "brave" decisions before I do.

You are not the sum of all the bad decisions you make - that was what my mum told me when I was feeling embarrassed. She is right, you are a constant improvement on the version of you that came before but no one will hold you to your mistakes, you grow and you learn and everyone will forgive. If we all walked out of the womb perfect then we would live in a strange dystopian novel.

So sometimes it is good to make decisions you never thought you would; I was sure I was going to be at Cambridge studying Natural Sciences, I was going to be President of the USA, I was going to be married to Justin Timberlake (don't worry Jessica he's all yours), I never thought I would volunteer for a year, get the urge to travel, enjoy eating kale (I know) and like blow drying all 100 feet of my hair. The good thing about decisions you make is that they change you yes, but even when they give you what feels like a bad thing, in time it is because you weren't supposed to be that way, and that is how life tells you to divert off that path a bit.

The great thing about making your own choices is the only person you answer to is you. I said no to the teachers who told me I had to go to uni to make my life, and if I am wrong well then that is all on me. This week lots of people got their A Level results and I hope you all did well and are on your way to your own lives - wherever that may be, just please make yourself happy. Don't feel like you have to have it all planned out at the age of 18. Life changes and you will too.

If you take nothing away from this rambly blog of someone who is still learning every day then take this, be bold in your choices, be confident in yourself and if it all goes wrong then it just wasn't supposed to be. Do you, and own who you are. (and I think I need to take my own advice more).

Lots of love,

Amber x

Thank you parents...reflecting on 19 years of life...

Dear Mum and Dad,

I have been alive for 19 years as of yesterday and I want to thank you for giving me the best 19 years I could ask for.

I haven't just been living for 19 years, I've grown, developed, formed into my very own person, went through trials of being young and now a young adult (an oxymoron I think) and will continue to be alive for as long as possible. 

I want to thank you for protecting me from harm, giving the space to grow and find myself and support me when I thought the world was against me. 

You are my constant rock and I love you and our fluff ball with all my heart. And when yesterday I was getting all the well wishes all I wanted to do was thank you for getting me here.

So thank you again - love you xxx

And so I made it to 19, wow, I wonder what the next year will bring. 

I am also pleased to announce that I have gone through 19 birthdays without bad weather! Which I think is a triumph even if a few were touch and go in the mornings! 

Happy birthday fellow July babies! Best wishes to you all! 

Speak soon guys,

Amber xx

"Have courage and be kind": Why Cinderella is more than a damsel in distress...

Hi all,

With live action fairy tales being announced one after another this year, it seems that Disney-mania has sparked all over again. The geniuses of story telling are always finding new ways to draw us into the fairy tale world that some of us never want to leave, from the animated movies of Cars and Finding Nemo, to the musical creations of Frozen and Tangled.
But the new live action Cinderella hit a nerve with some people who claim the story is more about how women are passive and quiet until they are saved by a man, and this is hardly a good idol for young girls. And it is to those thinkers that I want to write this blog, because for me Cinderella has always been my princess and these are the reasons why:  

1. She had to marry a man to make her life change, how old fashioned of her. Well, look at the time her story was written in. When Grimm and Anderson wrote their tales women were very much defied by their status below men. You had to marry to be free of your family or live a life alone. So yes she has to marry a prince but that doesn't make her have less worth, it just means she has to go a different way about it than we do now. Just because this is how she had to do it then doesn't make it a blueprint for life, it just shows that you should try find happiness and be free of upset and pain. 
2. But she just sticks around and gets badly treated, she seems to suggest this is an ok way of life? To that regard I say this; Honestly have you never done anything for someone you love that leaves you worse off than before? Cinderella makes a promise to her father and wanted to make her family work even though they were ungrateful and unkind. She is loyal in the face of adversity but when she reaches her breaking point she leaves. I think in that regard she is possibly the most human of all of the princesses, and shows that she is not an unbreakable saint, she has a limit and when they push her over it, she leaves.
3. And we all don't have fairy-godmothers who help us in our times of need? No we don't, but some people have faith which guides them, some have the stars and astrology, and some make decisions based on a flip of a coin; all Cinderella's fairy-godmother does is facilitate her decision to go to the ball (admittedly by using magic but that doesn't make it any less valid) and it teaches that having a little bit of belief in anything, even if you just believe you can do anything you want, it is both important and worthwhile to do so. 
4. So in this magical world where mice turn to men and glass slippers are comfy; we are supposed to believe that there is a message we can live by in this movie? Yes you are. The message is the thing that Cinderella herself lives by and that is "To have courage and be kind". You don't have to serve, marry or wish on anyone to be able to do that. And at the end of the day, if you can have courage to do scary things and be kind to everyone you meet, then you will probably achieve your goals or dreams - label them as you wish. 

So the blonde, blue eyed, beauty in the pretty dress is not relatable to most people, but the message transcends cultures and lives, and that is the power of fairy-tales and Disney. If you disagree then let me know in the comments - but please be kind, this is a space for discussion not hate.

And also I love the pretty dress and the handsome prince - because a girl can dream! (Although I would hark back to the old Cinderella and if I had a choice my dress would be pink)

Hope you are all well, 

Lots of Love, 

Amber xx

Waking up...

Dear Aphrodite, 

This morning I woke up at 6:30am - early for even the most well slept individual I think, and I had six and a half hours sleep , so I am not the most rested I could ever be. However there is a nack with waking up I've found so I thought I would share it. 

1. If you need a soundtrack to wake up - don't set it as your alarm tone, it will make you hate it. Also if you listen to the same song over and over, again you'll just end up hating it. To battle this I have my default alarm (which yes I hate) but then after I had opened my eyes and sat up I started listening to the Mood Booster playlist on Spotify, which this morning played Wake Me Up by Avicii - basically the best song for this morning as it was upbeat and said all the right things. 

I think playlists which randomly shuffle of all the songs that could lift your mood (or just wake you up) mean that you don't listen to the same song constantly so your brain shouldn't negatively link it to waking up early but still cheer you up (only at least from personal experience - I have no science to this thinking). 

2. Eat. And have a drink - you need it. When I wake up I feel empty most of the time - but the kitchen is downstairs and it forces me to get up. Even if by the time I get into work the food has evaporated and I have to eat a banana at my desk, I feel more ready to take on the day with some food inside me.

And I can't really function without a cup of tea in the morning (I wish I could drink coffee but I can't) but if I can't have tea, water is a good alternative especially with lemon in to make it zingy! It just leaves you all hydrated and ready to set off for the day - or preps your voice to sing in the shower if that's your thing (yes I do that it's great!).

3. Give yourself plenty of time to get ready to be early. This is a tricky one. If you have to leave the house at 8 and it takes you an hour and a half to get ready - wake up at 6. That way if you have to fight for the bathroom, your outfit doesn't look the way you wanted, or you have a disaster with your hair or makeup; you have a spare thirty minutes to fix it. 

I am really bad at this, but I do find it makes me more calm as I know if I have no energy to get ready fast then I can take my time (to some extent). Mornings are so much better if you don't have to rush - and that extra time can come in handy if you have something to do that you don't want to do when you get in. 

4. Pack your bag the night before. It just helps. Or if you don't know what you are wearing so haven't thought if your bag will go (I do worry about this) at least if you have all the stuff to go in it ready then you can just chuck it in when you do know what you are wearing. 

5. Most importantly: SMILE! It makes you feel better, it makes everyone else feel better. 

I commute so I understand that some mornings are more trying than others - and I do have a good rant from time to time, it's healthy I think, but at some point you have to just draw a line and have a good day, and a simple smile can help that. You can even accompany it with a upbeat mantra which you recite to yourself - mine is "Today is going to be a good day" - which is simple and to the point, also works wonders on your outlook on life. 

So that's it my tips for waking up and having a lovely morning. 

"It's a beautiful day" - Michael Buble

Have a super day readers! 

Lots of love,

Amber xx

Dear those who used to bully me,

Dear my old bullies, 

You didn't break me. Not even close. 

I spent years trying to fight you back, change myself and just disappear. But I should have just stayed true to myself because I am truly an awesome person and you nearly made me forget that. 

I wish I could go back in time and tell you all to F*** Off! And then do my best to just ignore you. But I was too fragile back then and I couldn't find the strength too. Or when I did you just laughed and I felt like crumbling. 

I am a strong, outspoken lady. And you should have respected that. But you were jealous I guess and I can't fix that. I can't change your inherent need to make people feel weak so you feel less so yourself. I wish you hadn't just targeted people who refused to be sheep with you all.

Some day I hope you will all realise and change, but I am glad you are no longer in my life so I really don't care either way. 

I am myself and I spent too much of my younger years not being true to me, but I am now who I should be and I am annoyed it took me as long as it did. It's better late than never though.

If you are being bullied, I know it is so hard and I am really sorry that you are experiencing what you are. This may or may not help to know that you are probably not alone but, whatever you do, stay true to yourself, the bullies want to make you feel powerless and that way they win. 

If you are strong enough then stand up for yourself, but I know that is not the easiest thing to do. Also tell someone, your school may not be able to permanently fix the issue but if you can find a way to fix it they should be willing to help. And you will always find someone who cares, there are even good places online that you can go to to look for advice that are anonymous. 

It will also end. Not as soon as you want in some cases, but you are not stuck in one place forever and it won't always be like this. I went through a bad two years but it did end, and little by little I put myself back together like a lego model. 

Looking back on that time I don't really think I could have changed anything, I wish it hadn't affected me so but it made me stronger today which I am thankful for now, as life is really hard sometimes, and the strength that got me through the bad years has served me well since.

Taking this back to where I started;

To the Bullies of the World, stop it. 

No seriously stop it. 

If you have issues that you want to work out, taking it out on others will only make you feel guilty, it won't solve them for you.

You need to find the confidence to be different, stand up for the kid that is being picked on for once! You can make a change for good; don't be sexist, homophobic, racist or just shitty. Be nice, kind and caring. 

Little by little the world gets better, but it won't if no one does anything. 

Your sincerely,

Amber x

On the eve of St Valentine's....

If you haven't got a date for tomorrow, don't despair. 

Tomorrow is about more than who you date, it is about LOVE, and you can love more than one person. I love my family, my friends and my cat, that love is what defines me, not my relationship status. 

You are never really alone, apart from inside your own head I guess, but there is always someone who loves you, they may just not bombard you with a dozen red roses on one day of the year. 

Tomorrow for me is a day where I celebrate LOVE. That crazy four letter word that will be plastered everywhere and then dispersed into the ether. 

Love is amazing, it keeps us alive. 

I also don't buy into the idea you can be too young to be in love. I have loved a lot; I love my family and I have loved people when they had no idea, and that has spanned 18 years. 

I have loved my mum since I came into the world, and I wasn't too young for love then. 

So if you are young (and you can feel young at any age too) or are experiencing a new love and someone tells you that you aren't in love when you feel like you are; don't listen to them, they don't understand how you feel most likely, but the thing about love is it's unique to the beholder, we all feel it in different ways, so that doesn't mean it isn't real. 

Love is great, and we as humanity should learn to love each other, that way the world would be a better place. 

So for tomorrow, love-birds be merry, treasure your loved ones and celebrate that wonderful thing of falling in love. Cupid send out your arrows and Aphrodite, I call on you to help those that feel lonely to remember they are loved above all, because they still have more love to give. 

Best wishes my loving friends,

Amber xx♥

Taking leaps and saying yes!

Sometimes in life you have to risk things, somethings you just can't plan for, and sometimes the best answer to shall I do this is YES! 

Hey everyone, 

So I am having a really nice time at the moment and it is because I just keep saying yes (within reason) when opportunities arrive. 

I am a pretty big worrier but I always manage to land on my feet (eventually) so I really ought to stop worrying as much and take more risks. To be honest, most of the awesome stuff that I have been up to recently is down to me just taking that inital scary leap and it all working out ok in the end. 

It is therefore I recommendation of this blog to say yes more often and worry less, if you want good stuff to happen you have to stick your neck out at least some of the way. Nothing happens to people who just sit and wait for life to start happening, you have to grab opportunities with both hands.

Remember however that nothing in life is easy, and nothing is guaranteed. Leaps of faith are that because there is always some element of the unknown, and life can and will creep up on you to put a spanner in the works.

And if it does, take it from someone who has survived a fair few myself, don't worry, because opportunities you are meant to have work out, while ones that don't point you towards your real self. 

I always thought I would go to Cambridge and study science and become the worlds best scientific researcher, but as the door was closed when that moment came, instead I unlocked the human rights driven, legal mind from within me, and now, miles from Cambridge, I am more true to myself than I would be if it had worked out as I had thought. And I am 100% sure I am happier now than I would of been too. 

So reach for the stars when you can, and then you'll always sparkle. 

Hope you are all well,

Love Amber xx♥️

Annual Happiness Tips 2015... Not New Years Resolutions!

Hi all, Happy New Year!

I've been doing some decorating on my fashion blog and so I wanted to launch the new year with a simultaneous post on both blogs at the same time, especially as this post bridges both topics well.

I haven't forgotten this blog however, but with this being my more personal musings I have been posting on here less often in the past year as it has been quite an emotional ride. I will be more active on here this year as I have a better hold of myself now than I did before.

Anyway to the root of this post which is about my Annual Happiness Tips 2015.

My big problem, and I think most people's problem, with New Years Resolutions (NYRS from now on in this post) is that everyone tries to make them, but tends to break them within the year, some don't even see out January.

Resolution in the Oxford English Dictionary is "A firm decision to do or not to do something", so by making and then breaking a resolution, you nullify the term in its entirety. Most people seem to make NYRS that are frankly untenable in their daily lives and then curse the tradition when they break/fail to meet their decisions made on January 1st. I always find myself saying I will never eat chocolate again, then diving into the leftover box of Celebrations; or that I will blog three times a week and then you don't hear from me for months. It is as if the tradition has become a joke in modern day life, so enter my Annual Happiness Tips.

Annual Happiness Tips are my version of NYRS as they are simple suggestions that I want to make every year to make myself happier, but and most importantly of all, they are only tips, they can be ignored, broken, interpreted etc. anyway I like. So no more pressure, hassle or guilt, basically my idea of perfection.

This year I have made four tips to enhance my life in 2015 and I have written these in my journal and will share them with you all now:

1. Be healthy but don't make myself crazy with worrying or feeling guilty when I am simply enjoying my life!
2. Be happy for what I have in life and remember that everyday (but at the same time it is ok to be sad every now and again - just not more often than I am happy). 
3. Be more creative more often; blog, do more photography, spend more time colouring and do more Lego building! 
4. Do something amazing every month; from seeing friends to travelling or just having an excellent experience at home with my family. 

If you hate making NYRS like I do, I hope that Annual Happiness Tips will make life better and take the pressure off at this time of the year,

Happy 2015 everyone, I hope you had a lovely festive season and are looking forward to a brilliant new year!

Lots of luv,

Amber xx♥