1 November 2014 | At this moment in time I am craving rest and relaxation.  Snuggling up on my bed with my laptop and my kitty makes my heart very happy.


2 November 2014 | This little animal makes my heart so happy. I loved sitting at the window with Smidge watching the rain drops roll down the window.


3 November 2014 | I am thankful for new experiences. This morning I woke up in a hotel in Newcastle and had breakfast in the restaurant listening to music by Elvis.  Never would I have thought I would say that.


Hope you've remembered to be thankful this week.

It has taken me a little longer than I had hoped to bounce back following my Psychology exam. A little over four weeks have gone by and I am still finding myself feeling exhausted. I haven't made much progress on my to-do list and my house still feels pretty messy. I've made no move towards making a start with Christmas. I just don't feel like myself. I haven't for a while now.

I've spent a lot of the past four weeks thinking about how I am feeling and about how I want to finish off 2014 as I head into 2015. I have about seven and a half weeks left to get myself to the place where I want to be. Now I know that seven and a half weeks doesn't give me enough time to change the world, however it is enough time to do a few key things that will make a really big difference to my next year. Right now I am putting together that list and making some final decisions. Ill share them once I have got there.

Last night I went out with some friends for dinner. I love these ladies. They take me just as I am. I was talking to one of them about some of the things that I am going through and feeling at the moment and it was good to put a voice to the feelings. Sometimes it takes hearing your thoughts to be able to move forward with the next step.

During my drive home, I realised what I felt at that moment in time and what I needed. My hair is long and I love that I can do so many pretty styles with it, but it had also started to become a hassle. It took me ages to wash it and style it. Looking after it was becoming a chore. In that moment I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to let go of my long hair - release the heaviness and embrace the easiness, the lightness. I wanted my hair, which is one of the things about me that I really do love, to feel like a treasure once again.

So I got up this morning, called around to a few hairdressers and managed to find an appointment. Pretty good considering its a Saturday. I knew exactly what I wanted and dug out a few different photos to show the stylist. She did such a fantastic job. I LOVE my new hair and I feel exactly how I wanted to. My hair feels light, easy, manageable. It was a good decision.

10:05 | Just heading out to weigh in and Smidge decides to climb the tree in the front yard and then
            got stuck. Crying pitifully for me to get him down, I had to stretch on my tippy-toes to
            reach him and bring him to safety.


10:33 | Weigh in results where that I had stayed the same. That is the second week in a row and I was
            feeling pretty disappointed about it.  Staying for the meeting didn't make me feel any better
            but I know that it is good that I stayed despite how I felt.


14:45 | Wohoo! The 1st of the month means Ali Edwards sends out the months One Little Word
            prompt and video. Due to studying for my exams I haven't done any work on this since July
            however I decided to start with November, as it is the freshest in my mind, and then work my
            way back.  This is the first year that I have done One Little Word and I have really enjoyed it.
            I will be signing up for 2015.  The tree experience obviously knocked the life out Smidge as
            he was fast asleep next to me.


16:45 | My dad turns 60 on Saturday and so my parents are going to Venice for a few days to
            celebrate. My brother and I decided to give them some Euros towards the trip so I nipped to
            town to pick up some currency.  On the walk back to the car, I noticed that the moon was out
            and I couldn't resist stopping to take a photo.


17:22 | Quickly filling out my Dad's birthday card before heading over to my parents for dinner.


20:42 | Mom was so kind and after dinner she gave me a back massage. My shoulder is still giving
            loads of problems and hopefully her magic fingers will have done the trick by tomorrow
            morning.

13:10 | Some new clothes have arrived and they are hanging up to be tried on later. I have purchased
            so many new clothes this month that I really need to stop now!


14:30 | As it turns out I ran out of milk so needed to make a quick stop at the local grocery store
            down the road from my house. While I was out I decided to stop and pick up some cat food
            for Smidge.

16:05 | Work is finally finished for the week but now the house chores begin. I normally wouldn't
             showcase my dirty dishes but this is what my kitchen looked like and I wanted to keep things
             real, as they say.


17:35 | All the house chores are done for the day so I decided to take a ten minute tea break before
            making a start on my next task.  This little guy wanted my attention and wouldn't take no for
            an answer........although how could I possibly say no to this cute little face.


18:20 | I wasn't feeling very hungry but had taken out salmon fillets so decided to cook them and
            some pumpkin.  It didn't look very pretty but it sure did taste delicious!

19:46 | Friday evenings are always food menu prep and shopping list creating.  This weeks shopping
            list is not very long but I bet that a lot more things will end up sneaking into my shopping
            cart Saturday morning.


20:15 | My back muscles have gotten even worse through the day so I think another hot bath is in
            order to try to release the muscles.  Its times like this that I wish I didn't live alone.

20:45 | I decided to turn off the TV for the evening and spend some time doing something else.  I was
            flitting between climbing into bed with my Kindle or catching up on my August One Little
            Word 2014 prompts.