A week in my life – October 21st 2019

Good Morning everyone, happy Sunday. I hope you’ve all had a nice weekend?

This week’s blog post I’m going to talk about what I’ve been up to over the past week. I’m still incorporating a more simple approach to life and enjoying/appreciating the little things more. It’s definitely making me feel calmer and more grounded.

This past week has been quite busy (in a good way), I did have to book a days holiday though on Wednesday as I knew my fatigue was going to be bad. So, lets get into the week shall we?

Monday.

After work I popped into town to visit my Aunt 🙂 it was spare of the moment trip and it’s always so lovely to spend time with her, we get on really well.

We went to my local cafe in town — I rarely go into the ‘high street coffee shops’ because I love discovering the simple ones instead. We had some delicious food and coffee of course and then went for a stroll around my town centre.

We always go to the Cathedral because it’s just so beautiful and peaceful, it always makes me feel calm.

We then had a look around the shops and then I walked back to the train station with her where she left to go home. It really was a wonderful afternoon.

Tuesday.

Now, this had been arranged for a little while. Tonight I was going out for dinner with some friends, I knew it was going to be quite late so I booked the following day off work to allow myself to recover and rest. My boss is really understanding and usually, unless it’s not possible allows me to use my holiday for fatigue days.

So, on Tuesday. My friend picked me up from work and we went to her house before the meal to make travelling easier. We had a really relaxing afternoon and she’d even made up her spare room for me in case I needed to have a rest before we went out. I’m so lucky to have such wonderful friends.

We had a lovely dinner out and had a great catch up.

Wednesday.

Today was all about REST. My fatigue was pretty bad and I pretty much spent the whole day in bed. I did have a relaxing bath, which made me feel good and I managed to sleep a bit.

When my fatigue is bad, the one thing that I know to do is rest. I find that if I push myself further with fatigue then it just makes me worse.

Thursday -Halloween.

Another spontaneous afternoon/evening. After work today I met my sister in town, my mum and sister came over to mine for Halloween to watch scary films with me (we like horror films) and we always decorate my front room to get in the mood — it’s great fun.

When we were in town we went for a lunch at my local Pizza Express where we had an offer for free doughballs and two pizza’s for £10 which is so good. It was delicious.

We also had a look around the shops and I purchased a couple of little luxuries for myself and we went to our local department store to have a sneak peak at their Christmas section – I took a picture of my Christmas tree inspo.

After that, she took me home where I decorated the front room and then they both came over bringing food with them. We saw some ‘Trick or Treater’s’ and gave them some sweets, then turned the lights off and watched a scary film.

Friday.

Friday or Fri-yay as I like to call it. After work today, I completely relaxed and rested at home. When George came home from work we watched a film together and just spent time together – I love that, I really love spending time with him.

Saturday.

Again today was a simple and relaxing day, because my week has been quite busy I wanted my weekend to be calm and simple.

Again spending time with George and Arthur too 🙂 We had a Chinese take away for dinner and watched The Hunger Games together.

And now it’s Sunday, which you know I love because I love planning for a fresh new week. I hope you have enjoyed this weeks blog post — also, are you enjoying the way I write my blogs now? Like Weekly Updates?

Let me know how your weekend has been.

Lots of Love Always.

Hannah xx

A week of simple luxuries.

Good Evening. Happy Sunday, I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend?

I’m a little late for this weeks blog post, the reason is because I have been focusing on me. Listening to my body and giving myself simple luxuries every day.

I think it’s so important to give yourself some self care time, the simple luxuries that I gave myself this week weren’t expensive or used energy. On the contrary they helped me gain more energy because I listened to my body.

So… what simple luxuries did I give myself this week? I’ll go through them now.

Monday.

Every Monday I make myself my favourite breakfast — its usually pancakes with maple syrup. Having a delicious breakfast makes me happy and really sets me up for the day, if my day ends up being stressful or hard then it doesn’t matter because I started the day happy.

If you start your day complaining then chances are, you’re day is going to be filled with complaints. If you start your day with happiness for the smallest of things then your day will be easier to manage both mentally and physically.

I also gave myself time to relax when I got home from work. I had an easy dinner and watched some films on Netflix and the biggest thing of all… I had a restful evening without using my phone. You all know that I switch my phone off at 7pm.

Tuesday

On Tuesday my simple luxury was allowing myself to rest without any guilt. There have been so many times recently when I’ve come home and been super busy.

Just because I’m feeling good at the moment, doesn’t mean that I don’t battle fatigue or nerve pain every day, some days I guess I become numb to it all and that’s when I over do things. So, on Tuesday I had a restful afternoon in bed watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was wonderful.

Wednesday

Wednesday I was actually unwell (not MS related). My simple luxury was getting a taxi to work so that I could reserve my energy and then when I got home from work, I was back in bed resting, however, I did paint my nails that made me very happy — I love painting my nails.

Thursday

Thursday was a big luxury, mum and I went to our local theatre in the evening to watch a performance called ‘Gaslight’ it was a great evening out and we had such fun.

Friday

Friday or Fri-yay as I like to call it, involved after work going to visit our wonderful friends who have not long come back from Disney world. It was great listening to all their adventures and see their photos, truly magical. We ate Chinese food and have a great catch up.

Saturday

Saturday my simple luxury was spending time with my best friend. We love watching horror movies together and eating some tasty snacks. She also cut my hair for me and now I have a fringe! What do you think?

We had a lovely afternoon and I treasure my friends and family so much.

Sunday

And here we are, Sunday. My favourite day of the week, although you already know that. Today’s simple luxury was waking up when the world was still sleeping, coming downstairs and just relaxing with Arthur — It’s so nice to be calm and quiet for a while.

I then had a great video call catch up with my dad (we do this every Sunday morning, it’s our ritual) and then George and I took some time out to watch a film together, we made some popcorn, closed the curtains, got a cosy blanket and turned our front room into our own private theatre.

I didn’t take any photos of this as I was just living in the moment, which is all about living more mindfully and simply.

And there we have it, a week of simple luxuries. Did you give yourself any luxuries? If so, what did you do? I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog post and I will be back next week for another catch up.

Have a wonderful week.

Lots of Love always,

Hannah xx

A restful, yet productive Sunday.

Good Afternoon everyone,

How are we all? I’m currently sat in bed writing this blog post with a nice hot chocolate while it rains outside.

This blog post is going to be about my ‘Restful, yet productive Sunday’. Working 5 days a week albeit they’re only the mornings, fatigue still causes havoc in the afternoon and if I (personally) wasn’t organised I could see myself falling into some bad habits.

Sunday’s are probably one of my favourite days of the week (apart from Fri-Yay! lol). Sunday’s for me are all about resting, relaxing, recovering and preparing, planning and organising.

First thing on a Sunday is all about quiet peaceful mornings, where I usually get up early (yes I’m an early person, although I never have heaps of energy) go downstairs, feed Arthur who is ALWAYS cuddly and attentive in the mornings and sit on the sofa with a cup of warm water — I’ve read that warm water in the mornings really aid hydration.

I always like to make a delicious breakfast that’s every mornings by the way. I find that when I have a great breakfast to look forward to, the day is usually good. On Monday’s I always have pancakes. This morning I had warming porridge with some cinnamon stewed apples from the other day, walnuts, sunflower seeds, wholegrain peanut butter and a drizzle of golden syrup (you can’t be good ALL the time!)

Once I’ve had my restful morning, it’s time to start planning for the rest of the week. For me since my last relapses, I spent so much time in bed not being able to do much at all so therefore now, I treasure every hour the day gives me. I don’t over do things (well sometimes I do) and I am getting really good at pacing. But you can fill your day with such wonderful things, even if they are small things. Right now, I’m warm and cozy in bed.. fresh bedding on, fresh warm lounge clothes — okay they’re pyjamas and a hot chocolate, see little things can bring such joy.

I always plan my week and meals in my Bullet Journal, I’ve spoken about this a lot and there are blog posts where I talk about Bullet Journalling in more detail. Once I have planned my week and meals, I get started on preparing my meals for the week.

Because I have more energy in the mornings as opposed to the afternoon, I try and get everything done that I need to in the mornings. This week for lunches I’ll be having Cheesy Mexican Bake from one of my Slimming World books. It smells delicious.

George and I then get some of the housework done and out the way again, preparing for the week — getting clothes ready for work, putting fresh bedding on the bed etc.

Once that’s done, its time to rest and relax for the remainder of the day and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 2 hours. We got everything done this morning so that this afternoon I can rest. George is so supportive and understands that I need to rest in the afternoons, but I also know secretly he wants to relax too and why not… Sunday IS… day of rest after all.

So, for the rest of my day. I’ve had a bath and washed my hair, painted my nails and given myself a little mani, watched a movie in bed, made a delicious dinner and had a calming, relaxing evening before sleep.

I really hope you enjoyed my blog post this week. Let me know what you do on Sunday’s — not judgement here, if you’ve been in bed all day watching Netflix then good for you, we all need to be more gentle on ourselves and start enjoying the little things. Living more simply is definitely my favourite way.

See you all next week.

lots of love always,

Hannah xx

Having a slow week.

Hello everyone 🙂

Happy Sunday, how are you all? I hope you’ve had a lovely week and a great weekend.

This week for me has been a slow one. Not in the sense of ‘It’s been a slow/long week’ but in the sense of that I’ve just slowed down and have taken a little more time for myself.

I haven’t really been posting on my social media channels and just been taking time for me. I think we ALL need this, whether you have a chronic illness or not, I find that if I’ve been on my phone or technology for a while I just end up feeling tired, a little stressed and sometimes overwhelmed. When I get this feeling, I switch off.

I turn off my phone at night at 7pm anyway because I generally don’t need it after that time. If there’s an emergency then the important people have George’s number, I just find that I sleep better and instead I’ll journal, watch relaxing videos and just do things for me.

I also had a bit of a bad day MS related on Wednesday/Thursday with nerve pain or fatigue. I managed to go to work and then when I got home I literally went to bed and completely rested all afternoon — I definitely felt better for it.

I basically think that we all need time just to slow down and relax. Everything right now is so fast past, so digital and just so hectic. Sometimes, stopping and taking time out really helps/nourishes not only your soul but your body too.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I’ll see you all again next week 🙂

All my love

Hannah xx

A trip to London with MS

Hello everyone happy Monday, I don’t normally post on a Monday however, this weekend has been all about relaxing, resting and ‘resetting’ — that makes me sound like a PC!

On Thursday my Aunt and I went to London, I had been sent tickets to visit the State Rooms after a slightly disappointing experience at The Royal Mews (we won’t go into that) so we decided to make a trip out of it like we always do.

There’s a story behind the tickets, I had told my Aunt that we were going to The Royal Mews because she loves horses (she has three ex race horses herself) and we both LOVE our Royal family so we just had to go. She got to mine and we set off for London early so we can take our time and look around, however, when we got there I surprised her and said that the tickets were in fact for The State Rooms tour and not The Royal Mews. We would go to the Royal Mews afterwards because like I mentioned, she loves horses.

Now that you know the story behind the tickets, I’ll now tell you all about how I had a wonderful day in London despite MS fatigue and nerve pain, which I deal with every day.

Firstly, the night before I made sure was restful and not too busy. I had a relaxing evening and an early night ready for our adventure the following day.

To avoid the rush hour, we made sure that we left in plenty of time and just took our time. I find that stress really triggers off my symptoms, especially fatigue so that’s why I always try and remain calm and allow myself plenty of time when I travel.

Making sure we get a seat is vital, there’s no way I could stand for the duration. Again this is why we leave with plenty of time so we can make sure we find a seat. I always carry water with me and some energising date balls to keep my energy levels up, along with nerve pain medication if the pain gets too much.

When we arrive in London the first thing we do is find somewhere for coffee/tea to relax and get ready for some walking :). We always go to Fortnum & Mason’s in St Pancras, it’s hidden out of the way and we love it, however, on this day it was not open as it’s being refurbished so we found a new place, which again was just tucked out the was and simply wonderful.

After our first pit stop (yes we have a lot of tea/coffee breaks) we ventured to the tube station. I’ve ridden the tubes a lot since being with George and we’ve now figured out how to get a seat. Firstly — don’t travel during peak time, you’ll never get a seat. Avoid the times 7:00am – 10:00am and 5:00pm – 6:30pm — I don’t know if these are the actual times of rush hour but we’ve made the mistake once of getting the tube at this time… never again!

Secondly, walk to the end of the tube, most people always seem to get on at the front of the middle so the seat are limited, however, if you can walk just a little further to the back you should get a seat.

The tubes are great and so quick, they always put you pretty much exactly where you need to be. We got off at Green Park and had a lovely walk through to Buckingham Palace.

The queue for the State Rooms’s tour was long but thankfully they had a seating area where we sat and waited to go in. We weren’t allowed to take and photos whilst having our tour but I didn’t mind, I was to busy gazing around the simply amazing rooms — yes we saw the Throne Room and it was just magnificent to imagine the Monarch’s who sat there over the years, especially our Queen 🙂

It was also nice to see that there was seating throughout the palace if people needed to sit down. In the Great Ballroom I sat on a bench for a while just taking everything in, then continued on our walk around.

Once we had finished the tour, the palace had set up a little cafe in the gardens where we had another cup of tea and some cake 🙂 what made me smile even more was that all the disposable cups, plates and crockery was completely compostable as they were made from plants.

After having a sit for a while we had a brief look in the gift shop and around the rest of the gardens and then proceeded to The Royal Mews. When I last visited (on mine and George’s honeymoon can you believe it!) I got my ticket stamped, which meant I was able to return all year for free! I think anyone can do this as well.

My Aunt LOVED the Royal horses and we even saw a couple being led into the riding school, which was amazing. You also got to see the Royal carriages and the breathtaking Golden carriage! There were also benches placed around The Royal mews so I was able to have a sit down and rest.

The other thing that I do when I go to London is pick no more than two things to do whilst I’m there, London is so exciting, so big and so exhausting. By making sure I don’t over do it I’m able to thoroughly enjoy my time there.

Once we had finished at the Royal mews, we made our way back to St Pancras and had a delicious lunch at the same cafe and the food was just delicious, we thoroughly enjoyed it 🙂

After a delicious meal we made our way to our train, again made sure that it wasn’t peak time, got a seat and enjoyed our journey home 🙂

The few days after going to London definitely took it out of me and I pretty much kept myself to myself to just rest and recover.

I think we all deserve a special trip occasionally and I believe that with every limitation, there is an adaption!

I hope you enjoy the pictures that I took of our adventure and I can’t wait to have more in the future.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I’ll see you all next weekend.

All my love always,

Hannah xx

Adventures whilst living with MS

Good Afternoon everyone, Happy Sunday. How are you all? I hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend?

My weekend has consisted of relaxing, spending time with George, seeing friends and family, changing my wardrobe from summer to autumn and just having a restful time.

This week just gone I had a great adventure when a friend took me to the seaside one afternoon after work. We live about 1 hour away from the beach and I really love going, especially when it’s a little more peaceful.

When we got there we had a little walk along the sea front, stopped for my first ice cream break and a catch up and then carried on our little walk. I collected some wonderful shells that I found on our walk, I love things like that.

We ever went for a little paddle in the sea, it wasn’t too cold which was nice. After getting rather windswept we went and had delicious fish and chips in the restaurant that overlooked the sea. It really was so wonderful.

We then had a little walk around the local town and there were some lovely shops, however, I’m taking part in second hand September, which means I’m not buying any new clothes or items that I don’t physically need.

I’ve also donated some clothes this weekend, whilst I was having my wardrobe clear out and came across clothes that I’d forgotten about and was going to get rid of. I’m so glad I didn’t.

After our walk it was back to the sea front where we sat looking at the sea and I had my second (and last) ice cream — I mean…. when at the sea side, you’re allowed ice cream. I also had it in a cone so I was being conscious about the environment – also the cone is my favourite part.

Next it was arcade game time! Here in the UK most sea side places have arcade games from slot machines to rides and the great 2 penny machines (they’re my favourite) you use 2p’s to try and win a prize — I won George a little plush R2D2 🙂

Finally around 5pm it was time to get back in the car and head home, I’m so grateful that I had my blue parking badge that enabled us to park on the sea front almost so even though I did a fair bit of walking, I didn’t need to walk a long way to get back to the car when I was exhausted.

The following day I really was exhausted, however, I knew I would be so before hand I had prepared lunch for work, I knew what I was having for breakfast, work bag was packed and clothes laid out so I looked after future fatigued me. I also got a taxi to work.

I think with any chronic illness you should be able to enjoy yourself. I know for some its really difficult, which makes me feel so grateful to be able to do these little things. I know my limitations and I planned for them, I rested a lot before I went out and the following day I made sure I didn’t over do it and rested wherever possible.

I’ve lived with MS for almost 5 years — wow I can’t believe that! I think I’ve finally figured out what my limitations are therefore I can make adjustments to be able to enjoy myself and have self care/ self love time — I really think, even the smallest thing that makes you smile, do it once a week as it makes such a difference to our mental health.

I hope you all have a wonderfully, relaxed week. Take care of your body and mind and the rest will work itself out.

Lots of love always,

Hannah xx

Sustainable shopping, Sisterly fun and family time

Good Morning everyone, happy Sunday! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week and weekend?

It was my sister’s birthday last week and as her gift from George and I, I went to visit her and stay the night. I went Thursday just gone, I went on the train and it was a great journey.

She lives near Lincoln so we met there for a little retail therapy and some delicious lunch. I’m still trying to being low/zero waste when it comes to shopping and I decided to pop into Lush to get some zero waste beauty products.

I had just finished my usual Shampoo and face cleanser and decided that I wanted to purchase new ones that were sustainable and didn’t come in plastic. The ladies in Lush were just wonderful, they helped me select a couple of products that I was looking for and even sister got a new cleanser.

I got a cleanser called ‘Jade Roller’ which takes off my makeup and another makeup remover that was designed like a cotton pad — it was so cool and you can use it to remove makeup by getting in wet and rubbing it between your hands and it will form a balm type consistency, which will remove your makeup.

The shampoo bar is also a conditioning one too and I’ve used it once already and love it! It smells delicious and makes my hair super soft! It’s so funny how you use it too, you basically get it wet and rub it all over your head until it forms a lather and then you massage the lather into your hair (like you would with any other shampoo).

What I love about these products is that they will last me a long time and it’s my first step to zero waste beauty 🙂

I also purchased this gorgeous cloth bag that is made out of pieces of material designed to help the environment. The best thing about it is that you can use it multiple ways and get a little guide on how to make different wraps and bags.

I didn’t need anything else during our shopping trip so we headed for some lunch in this beautiful vintage inspired tearoom called ‘Bunty’s’ You get to it as if you’re walking to Lincoln cathedral up the steepest hill I think I’ve ever seen! I definitely found it a struggle, but the determination side of me wanted to get there and achieve it and we did!

We had a delicious lunch and cake at Bunty’s tearoom and then continued up the hill to look at the cathedral — it was such a gorgeous building.

In the evening we had a lovely pamper session where we used our new Lush products and did a face mask 🙂 it was so lovely spending time with my little sis.

On Saturday I was quite tired and resting in the morning and then I got a phone call from my pops who was surprising me by bringing my Nana to see George and I! George has just received a new job offer at work that he’s wanted so badly and he works so hard so when they accepted him, we were all so happy and proud that my pops also said he was treating us to lunch.

We went to this lovely garden centre where we had some good food and a look around. I love garden centres because I always find them relaxing and peaceful — I was also finally allowed a Bonsai tree!! 😀 George said that I was allowed on if I looked after it, so we chose one and it came with a booklet and now it has pride of place in our living room.

We had a truly wonderful day with dad and nana and loved every moment of it 🙂

I’ve put some photos below of the lovely times I’ve had over the last couple of days.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I’ll see you next Sunday 🙂

Lots of Love

Hannah xx

Sustainable living, SecondHand September and a day in Nature.

Hello everyone, happy Sunday! I hope you’ve all had a great week?

I’ve had a lovely weekend with friends, family and my boys :).

Yesterday, I went with a friend to visit my Aunt at her summer house with my grandmother. My Aunt has horses and the summer house is situated in the field where she keeps them.

It’s so peaceful and relaxing and this is where I spent most of my time leading up to my wedding.

I’m also taking part in the Oxam charity challenge called ‘Second-Hand September’ which is a campaign that they doing in order to help the environment, where you don’t buy any new clothes for the month. You can however purchase items from charity shops or second hand (hence the title).

I feel very strongly about this and for a while stopped spending my money in retail stores like Topshop, H&M and Primark because these are just a few of the clothing brands that are labelled as ‘Fast Fashion’ and are causing great harm to the planet and environment by mass producing clothing.

It’s funny actually, I bought some Pyjama’s from Primark a while ago and as soon as I got them I just felt odd — I didn’t ‘need’ pyjama’s and I was giving my money to one of these corporations. (Now I just want to point out that this is my choice, I am not trying to enforce my way of thinking onto anyone, however, if I can show how great second hand shopping is, not just for your wallet/purse but also for the planet.)

Over coffee with a friend, I decided to take the pyjamas back and got a full refund, it’s funny because as soon as I took them back, I instantly felt better.

Yesterday, when I went to spend the day with my Aunt and a friend my entire outfit was either old or second hand and I felt great in it.

We had a wonderful day. We made delicious treat, each making our own thing — I made Vegan Strawberry pie, my friend made homemade shortbread and my Aunt made chocolate brownies — they were delicious!

We then picked fresh raspberries, walked in the woodland where I walked every morning before the wedding and drank lots of tea.

It really was a wonderful day and I wanted to share that you can really do a lot on very little money. I think that the pictures below speak for themselves 🙂

I hope you have a wonderful week and I’ll see you all next week to talk about the adventure I have with my sister for her post-birthday.

Lots of Love

Hannah xx

How a simplified life helps my chronic illness.

Good evening everyone, happy Tuesday! I hope you’ve all had a lovely weekend?

I know some of you may be wondering about the title of this blog post? Before I get into talking about “How a simplified life helps my chronic illness” I’d just like to say a little disclaimer.

This is what works for me, I have found that changing not only my mindset but also my lifestyle really rewarding and really benefits my chronic illness. We are all different and all need to find what helps us, however, if you find anything in the blog post helpful, reassuring or just interesting then please try it and let me know what you think.
Having a relaxed morning routine

Having a relaxed morning routine really has helped my chronic illness. I know this isn’t sustainable for everyone, however, I make it a priority in the mornings before the hectic day begins to make time for me.

I wake up, have a glass of water and then look at my phone — I know most of the health bloggers tell you not to look at your phone first thing in the morning, but I say do what is best for you and you alone. I like to look at my phone in the mornings because during the day I’m usually too busy to check it and in the evenings I turn off social media etc by 7pm.

Once I’ve given myself 15 minutes to wake up I then do some stretches. I stretch for 15 minutes everyday and always in the mornings, sometimes I stretch just before I go to bed also but recently its only in the mornings. This stretching really helps with flexibility and my nerve pain funnily enough. When I first started it was really painful to stretch, especially in my back but the more I practice, the easier it became.

I always make myself a cup of tea to have while I get ready too and I basically just do things I want to do in the mornings and when I’m getting ready I’m a lot calmer.

Minimal Makeup during the week

I used to LOVE makeup. I wouldn’t leave the house without it, however, since I’ve got older I’ve come to realise that there are more important things in life and wearing makeup every single day really isn’t good for the skin.

I also had so much makeup, like my draw was full! So I declutterd it a while ago and now I have a nice simple makeup collection, consisting of: 1 Mascara, 1 Eye Liner pencil, 1 Eye shadow pallett, 3 Lipsticks (for each season), 1 blusher, 1 bronzer, powder foundation, concealer and powder, 1 eye brow product and a setting spray. Now this may sound like a lot but I use all of them and now that I’ve shortened my pile I’ve noticed that my makeup only takes me 10 minutes in the morning to do, sometimes even less time!

Fresh air every day

I always make sure that I get fresh air every day. Whether that be walking to work or just being in my garden, fresh air is really important and really helps my chronic illness, especially when I sleep.

I’m fortunate that currently I am able to walk to work — when I do walk I never rush and power walk (I can’t really do that) but because I don’t rush etc its always such a lovely experience. I take my time when I walk, look at things around me and take it in particularly if its a beautiful day. I also either listen to a pod cast or music, I rarely speak to anyone when I walk to work as I find this is my meditation time and time to relax before the busy day begins.

Meal Plan and Prep

I can’t tell you all how much meal planning and prepping has helped my chronic illness. When I’m struggling with fatigue and brain fog, I just need to look in my bullet journal and I can see what I have planned for the weeks meals. It just makes life so much easier, cheaper and healthier.

I always prep my meals for the week or at least part of them on a Sunday with the help of George, I know that my weeks are usually busy so the last thing I want to do when I get home is spend ages making dinner. I have found this to be really, so helpful.
Planning for the next day

Have you noticed the theme yet? I lead a very planned lifestyle.

I find that planning and preparing really helps my chronic illness. Although I am human and sometimes planning etc just goes straight out the window and all I can manage is lying in bed watching Netflix, however, it really does help in the long run.

When I plan for the next day, I just go through my bullet journal and make sure everything is prepare. Food, clothes, what I’m going to have for breakfast, makeup etc.

This also gives me more time in the mornings to relax and have ‘me time’.

Everything is usually all laid out for the following day everyday, especially when I’m working the next day.
Phone off by 7pm

Like I mentioned in my simple morning routine, I turn my phone off or on areoplane mode at 7pm every night (I’m slightly more flexible at the weekend). This is because I allow myself the morning to catch up on Social Media and any messages and I also use my phone when I come home from work during the afternoon and I find by 7pm I don’t actually need it any longer.

By doing this I have noticed a dramatic difference in my sleep, doing other things like watching a nice film or bullet journalling I’m taking my mind away from reality, while I wind down.
Having a more simple mindset

I firmly believe that overthinking and worrying about either the past or future can play a massive role in, not only for our mental health but our physical health also. The majority of us are always stressed out or worried about something causing us to become stressed or tense.

I’m not telling you to sit on the floor and meditate for an hour a day, I’m telling you to slow your mind. Just take a step back and try to live in the present moment, yes that does sound silly and sometimes impossible to do, however, I have my motto ‘Not My Problem’ that I practice and use every day. I also try and practice mindfulness every day too, whether that be when I’m walking to work, watching a YouTube video or writing blog posts.

When I do feel like I’m getting stressed I put everything down — all technology etc and I just sit, wherever I am, I sit and close my eye and just listen to what’s around me. I focus on what I can hear while I take 4 breaths through my nose into my tummy and then exhale slowly. I then focus on 5 things that I can see, 4 things that I can feel, 3 things that I can hear, 2 things I can smell and 1 thing I can taste. I always finds that this brings me back to the present moment. Also… TALKING or WRITING down your feelings, this is huge and I find that once I have either spoken about how I feel or write that down, it makes me feels a lot better.
Being grateful

We ALL have something to be grateful for every single day, yes even on the bad days there is something to be grateful for. I always write down 1 thing that I’m grateful for every day, today I was grateful that I got a lift home from our office meeting.

I’m grateful that I have eyes to see out of, grateful for a sense of taste and smell, grateful for the loved ones I have around me and all the supporting friends I have. I’m grateful for everything I own and for my cat Arthur — definitely grateful for him.

Focusing on what we are grateful for will absolutely change our mindset and allow us to become at peace with everything around us.

I don’t earn a big salary, have a big house or even drive/own a car but I’m so happy and content, because I’m GRATEFUL for everything that I have around me that I don’t need anything else to fill my happiness circle.

All of this, just feeling of contentment and peace helps my chronic illness the most and of course I have bad days, we all do with chronic illnesses. Especially with one like Multiple Sclerosis that’s so up and down all the time and that can affect everything through your central nervous system — btw I’m not saying that MS is the only condition like this, I just don’t have any of the other conditions and don’t wish to comment about them as I do not live with them, I talk about MS because that is what I have.

Talking of Multiple Sclerosis… I’m grateful for having it. Since being diagnosed with MS I have made some amazing new friends, realised who my real friends are, learnt that I’m a strong mother f**ker, can achieve anything, won a national award, learnt about gratitude and mindfulness, learnt to appreciate the smallest things in life and discovered what inner peace truly feels like.

Without MS would I have discovered all of the above? Maybe, but possibly not because I was leading a totally different life to what I am now.

Simplicity is the key, living a generally simple life and reducing my stress has absolutely help my manage and deal with living with Multiple Sclerosis.

I really hope you’ve enjoyed reading this blog post, please let me know what you thought and also let me know if you try living a more simplified life.

L

ove always,

Hannah xx

A little life update.

Hello everyone, happy Sunday. It’s currently 18:01pm here in the UK, how has your week been?

I know the last blog post I wrote was about mine and George’s wedding! Can’t believe we’ve been married almost 2 months — time really does fly (obviously in a great way) Married life is great, to be honest nothing’s really changed 🙂 the only thing that has changed is that when George calls me he always says ‘Hello wonderful wife of mine’, which makes me smile every day.

Yesterday I had a big achievement — I worked my first 9-5 work shift in 2 years! No I’m not increasing my hours, I just offered to help them out this weekend. I knew it wasn’t going to be too busy and I was working with a great friend. It has knocked me a little today, which I knew it would so therefore I’ve been relaxing in bed this afternoon watching movies — I’ve just finished watching ‘Searching’ that stars John Cho, it’s filmed as if you’re looking through a webcam and it’s about a father desperately searching for his daughter who has been missing for 5 days.. it’s gripping, intense and had me on the edge of my seat — I like suspenseful films. I’d highly recommend it.

Imagine got from Google.

Also, a while ago I watched a documentary on Netflix called ‘Minimalism – a documentary about the important things’ this too was amazing — staring the minimalists, two guys who went from being in the corporate world earning a lot of money a year to giving it all up to focus on the important things of life. That too is a real eye opener and shows you how the world is with regards to consumerism and people just buying things to fulfil life.

It really made me look at all the things that I have, I’m grateful for everything that I have, however, I wanted to start following this lifestyle. I love de-cluttering, especially after listening to my audio book Marie Kondo ‘The Magic art of tidying up’ I actually de-cluttered my entire crockery collection a couple of weekends ago. I actually had enough to set up a small cafe! I went through it all and whatever didn’t ‘spark joy’ anymore I neatly packaged it up and put it in a box for charity.

I was left with only the things we needed and that I truly loved. It was so liberating. I really am loving living with less, it makes me appreciate what I have, stops me from spending money unnecessarily and keeps my mind calm.

I’ve also started learning to live a more sustainable lifestyle, I’ve started saving jars after they’ve had produce in them (jam, peanut butter, olives etc) washing them out and using them for other things (quinoa, pasta, cous cous etc), also walking to work as much as I can and having ‘no spend days’.

For me, it’s really great to live for what I need, save money and feel grateful for everything that I have in my life. This is my ‘why’ power for continuing this lifestyle.

Tomorrow I’m going to be talking to my MS nurse about a potential new treatment — Gilenya. This isn’t a definite medication change as my neuro told me that it was my chocie, however, after having the small relapse in March this year, he said that new treatment is an option.

I’ve already got some questions to ask my MS nurse or for her to speak to my Neuro about, but until I’m completely happy then I’ll be sticking with Copaxone. If any of you have had any experience with Gilenya, I’d love your advice 🙂

Anyway, I’ve spoken/written a lot this evening so I’m going to sign off now and will see you all soon 🙂 you can also follow me on Instagram, where I love to connect and build our chronic illness community — it’s such a positive place for me where I’ve met lots of new friends, like here and Twitter 🙂

Have a wonderful new week.

Lots of love

Hannah xx