blogging – Page 4 – Lessons I learned after I turned 30

Another year is over, a new one just began…and a new name, welcome to Eleni’s world!

What a year it’s been. I’m so happy I have blogged throughout of it and just before it’s over, it’s time to look back and reflect.

A new year, a new month, or even a new day is not the only time to make changes. At any moment you can turn the page and make a new start. But reflecting and reminding myself what I learned over the last twelve months and letting the past go afterwards it’s the perfect way to start the year.

Last January up until early April I wasn’t coping that well. I can barely remember anything from those dark months other than a horrible, unsettling feeling, with depression and anxiety reaching dangerous heights I couldn’t control. After I posted about it, it all became easier. Not immediately, not in an instant. It doesn’t work like that. I tried hard. I pushed myself.

I went home for a week, it always helps, I made it to One Sound 2017, which was a big milestone of my road to recovery and by my birthday I felt better than ever.

In June, after I came back from my summer break home for my annual sea and sunshine fix, I climbed Snowdon and raised money for a great local charity and I had a great rest of the summer seeing Richard III at Salisbury Cathedral, volunteering for the graduation, Southampton Pride and singing for Summer in the Square amongst other.

In July I discovered Yoga and Adriene Mishler and it was one of the best things that ever happened to me, not exaggerating to the slightest. I can’t wait for Adriene’s January 30 day yoga revolution, starting on the 1st!

In September my highly anticipated, incredible holiday in Rome and Florence with my sisters finally happened, followed by a great day at Friendsfest.

Later on I made amazing new friends through Women Who Do, I tried Hot Power Yoga (I can’t wait to get back into it after I move closer) and finally did Blogmas for the first time.

It was also a year full of delicious food (Lakaz Maman, Carnicero , Enoteca, Kupp, the Real Greek and of course a taste of Italy in Italy were some of the highlights).

It’s been a great year with many ups and downs, good and bad moments, rejection, disappointment, frustration but also lots of music, love, fun and laughter with colleagues, friends and family and that’s exactly how it ended, having fun with friends and family, my loved ones. (the Christmas party, the last Christmas meal of 2017 in Southampton, Christmas baking with the family, a day trip to the gorgeous village of Lefkara, Christmas with the extended family, co-hosting a festive radio show with my sis and our guests little nephews and niece singing Christmas songs, catching up with friends and spending New Year’s eve at home, after 8 years!).

I don’t do New Year resolutions, but I now know what I want to do next, I learned how to be patient and cope until I get there and I have my friends, old and new and my family who love me and support me, so I have no doubt 2018 will be much better than 2017.

Exciting changes coming up, moving in a new flat in a couple of weeks, more plans I’m hoping they will follow through, oh and a small announcement just before 2017 is over.

What I learned before/after I turned 30 has changed and became much broader over the last year and a half so it’s time for a new name, as you might have guessed.

Welcome to Eleni’s world!

A big big thank you to my incredible colleagues, friends and family. I love you all.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope 2018 brings you whatever you wish for and even if it doesn’t, enjoy every moment!

Namaste

Eleni

Blogmas day 15- Christmas jumper day

Happy Christmas Jumper Day!

I get a new Christmas jumper every year for the last 3-4 years. I just love them. I want my children and grandchildren if I ever have any to have a collection of mum’s and granny’s Christmas jumpers.

Today was a good day. It was fun, we had a laugh admiring each other’s Christmas jumpers and we had lots of chocolate and other festive treats.

It was lovely to see my old colleague Jo who dropped in with her adorable three year old. She smiled at me and gave me a hug as soon as she saw me. I don’t know why, but I get along with babies and children much better than adults!

Now it’s time to get ready for our last Solent Christmas party. All my favourites except my dear Andi will be there, I love you Andi! it’s bound to be a good night.

I’m leaving you with my favourite jumpers of the day, Mike’s Stranger Things (my favourite out of all I’ve seen today) and A101’s jingling office elves (although Rob looks more like a thug, Rob the Robber). I hope we raised a decent amount of money for Save the Children.

Eleni

Blogmas day 14- The first Christmas meal

It’s not 5 o’ clock yet and I’m home, snuggled on my sofa. There’s so much to do and I will get on with it but for now I’m enjoying this precious time. I’m never at home that early, unless I’m off sick or I have other obligations.

The morning was over in a flash. I finished a piece of work I urgently needed to for a meeting tomorrow and I spent the rest of the time laughing with colleagues, smiles and cuddles with the gorgeous little Chloe, the happiest baby I’ve ever met, I love it every time she visits, and then it was time for our team Christmas meal. The last time we all had a Christmas meal together before the new AS structure kicks in next year.

Some people were shaken, others baffled and worried. I care about my colleagues but I’m sure everything will be OK. I have no strong feelings. I really don’t. I’m hoping, fingers and toes crossed that everything will go to plan and I’d be doing something different, much more exciting in 6 months time.

Back to our lunch, the first Christmas meal for 2017. The lovely Leanne organised a Christmas Lunch at All Bar One, at the Watermark complex. They had the most interesting menu compared to the other options and we were offered free Prosecco, I was excited about it.

I’ve never eaten at All Bar One before, I usually go there for a drink as I prefer a restaurant, ideally local/independent when it comes to dining. But I love the interior design especially the bright orange sofas and the service is always good when it comes to drinks.

It wasn’t today. I’m not sure if it’s because they only had one waiter (it wasn’t that busy) but it took them two and a half hours to serve a pre-ordered three course meal. And it wasn’t that good unfortunately.

The starter, mushrooms on bruschetta tasted as if they came out of a tin and they were cold, were they supposed to be served cold?

The main was OK. The turkey and the veg were nice, nothing mind blowing and I have the sneaky suspicion the roast potatoes and yorkshire pudding were pre-made. The cranberry sauce looked like poo and it was definitely not freshly prepared.

The best dish was Ajay’s cheesecake. It was tasty and the secret layer of chocolate was a pleasant surprise but it was a little bit too sweet for my liking. Warm cream would have made it better.

We could have had better food for the amount of money we paid but it wasn’t all about the food today. I loved spending time with Emily, Suze, Matt, Suzanne, Sati and the rest of the gang, sharing Christmas and other funny stories and having a laugh.

Now it’s time for some girly things, tidying up and rest before Christmas Jumper day and the Christmas party tomorrow night. I cannot wait for our Christmas do, forget about all my worries and drink and dance the night away with some of my favourite people.

Thank you to all the lovely people who are reading my blog, it always makes my day when I bump into someone who is following my posts and tell me all about it.

Eleni

Blogmas Day 13- Are we there yet?

Is it Christmas yet?

I don’t know about you, but I’m already exhausted. All I want to do is to stay in bed all day, wrapped up in my duvet. I can’t do that until the weekend. If I get the time.

The Christmas gifts have all but one arrived and wrapped, everything is sorted for the work Christmas do and at the weekend I’ll be prepping my luggage for my Christmas home adventure.

All I need to do now is get through this week until next Thursday and I’ll be finally home so I can forget all about my favourite people leaving soon, my flat move and all the worries, organising and packing that comes with it-if anyone wants to help I won’t say no- and a million other thoughts on my mind keeping me up at night.

It’s going to be a short one today because I need to rest and unwind with my guitar and some yoga.

A big big thank you to everyone who prepared and dropped their care packages in A101 over the last couple of days and thank you to the lovely Molly who collected them in the afternoon. They will be given out to the homeless at the food bank this coming Monday.

I look forward to our team lunch and half day off tomorrow. I hope Ajay’s infamous cheesecake lives up to our expectations!

Namaste

Eleni

Blogmas day 12- Share the love

My dad always worried about money.

Not because he had any ambitions to get filthy rich, live in a mansion or have luxury holidays. But he always went above and beyond so we can have a comfortable life and not miss out on anything.

He had two jobs since I remember. He worked hard to provide for his sisters and his mum after his dad left them when he was just a teenager. Then he fell in love with my mum and although they both worked for years he always had two jobs. For us.

We never lived in a fancy house or drove expensive cars but we never felt poor or underprivileged. When we sometimes struggled my dad felt bad because we ‘don’t have enough money’, ‘we are poor’ and I always used to say ‘we are not poor dad. Our fridge is always full, we have nice clothes and shoes, books, a car, a phone, a TV’. I’ll never forget the smile on his face every time. He felt our love and gratefulness.

We always had each other, we always had love and we always appreciated what we had.

Today I put together my care package for the homeless. These people know the real meaning of poverty, they go through it day in day out. I can’t even comprehend how incredibly hard must be to live on the street, in the freezing cold, with no food or shelter.

I hope nobody had to experience it. But these people do. And I might do one day. It’s not that uncommon for someone to lose their job, their only source of income with no savings or anyone to support them. I can end up on the street, you can too.

If you can afford to spend a fiver or a tenner and buy some essentials, or donate some of what you have at home, put them in a box and bring them to A101 by tomorrow afternoon, or contact me or the lovely Molly who is collecting the packages to drop them to one of the food banks across Southampton. You can even drop your package to one of the local Sainsbury’s. Details here.

Of course we shouldn’t just help at Christmas. But since everyone is more generous at Christmas, why not grab the opportunity?

Namaste

Eleni

Blogmas day 10- Once there was a way to get back homeward…

Sunday evening already. The weekend gone in the blink of an eye.

I’m exhausted. Mentally and physically. But all worth it.

It’s been a great two days.

Last night was amazing. I haven’t laughed so much in a long long time. From Agnes the cuddly loving surprise guest dog, Geraldine’s ‘Polar Espresso’, Jaba’s 45 second effort to come up with a single word to Cyprus modern history and Russian politics conversations.

I consider myself lucky to have such beautiful, fun, caring humans as friends. Oh and Chris loved his gift. How could he not! Thank you Chris for a lovely evening, definitely one to remember.

Today, at 12pm the gorgeous, sweet Dan walked in the middle of John Lewis in Southampton, holding his shopping bag and a Moz cuddly toy and started singing Elbow’s cover of Golden Slumbers, the soundtrack of the John Lewis advert. And 150 of SingForce and SingNow singers joined in.

I got goosebumps all over my body, I almost cried whilst singing. I can’t wait to share some footage when is out. To see so many of my colleagues and old friends from SingNow come together to sing such a beautiful song was just wonderful. Cuddles and catch ups afterwards made my day. My heart melt.

After a cup of tea with my favourite it was time for another viewing.

This time it went brilliant. It’s not in the best area but the flat and the room itself were stunning. And I’ll have the bathroom just for myself. I doubt I can find somewhere that nice. The potential new flatmate was great. Nice, polite, honest, open, happy to share his Peruvian coffee although he just met me.

It’s incredibly hard for me to make any decision and I know if I don’t push myself I’ll end up stuck again so I decided to go for it! What’s the worst it can happen.

Change will always be scary but unbelievably exciting.

Shout out to my best friend again for coming along with me. I don’t want to think how much I’ll miss you, I really don’t.

It’s been overwhelmingly emotional today.

Here’s to the last full week of work before Christmas. It may not be easy but it will definitely end well with our annual Solent staff Christmas bash. It will be my last one and I have a feeling it will be the best so far!

Namaste

Eleni

Blogmas Day 8- Thank God is Friday

I can’t even describe how happy I am that Friday has finally arrived.

It’s been a long, uneventful day. Other than some crumpets that mysteriously disappeared from the toaster…

At lunchtime I met my lovely new friend Charlie for a cuppa and a chat. It’s pretty amazing when you make new friends you get along from day one.

Oh if you are wondering how my first viewing went last night…

It was alright. Sort of.

The flat looked great on paper (online). Professional photos with stylish furniture, 2-bed flat so only one person to share the communal areas with, it seemed clean and well maintained and it’s on Northlands road, one of my favourite areas in town.

I asked Shebz to come along. I felt a bit nervous and I didn’t know what to ask and what to pay attention to.

As soon as I walked in, I introduced myself but the owner never revealed his name. At any point. Weird right? Apparently a friend put the ad on Spareroom for him… the whole thing seemed bizarre.

The flat looked nice. But not as nice as the pictures. The pictures were taken off the sale ad a year ago. The furniture and decoration belonged to the previous guy.

The owner was OK. He asked weird questions but I guess he was overwhelmed by the random questions and quirkiness of people viewing his flat over the last month or so. I don’t know how I came across!

I can’t say much more, as I respect his privacy. We had a good chat though and if we end up living together it won’t be that bad.

I’m going for another viewing in the next couple of days. 2-bed flat again, a guy flatmate again, but in a different area, close to Ocean Village, closer to work than any place I’ve ever lived. After my first viewing yesterday I feel more confident, although I still don’t know how to decide which stranger I’d want to live with. It will always be a gamble.

It might not be a big deal for others, but it is for me. I never lived with complete strangers, it’s exciting but scary!

Anyway, I’m now sat on my sofa, having my Friday pizza and after that I’m doing some Christmas gift wrapping as I was so incredibly tired yesterday after I went home so I didn’t do any. My flat is a mess to say the least, full of boxes and packets.

Here’s to the weekend.

Namaste

Eleni

Blogmas bittersweet day 4

Day 4…

Blogmas is turning into a personal journal, it feels like a daily therapy session.

Today I was in a good mood in the morning, quite rare for a Monday.

Royal Mail delivered the little Christmas tree I ordered first thing in the morning just before I left for work, which cheered me up.

Andi, one of my favourite people at the Uni, the older brother I never had, was back at work today after his two week holiday, I really looked forward to seeing his little face peeking over his PC and in the afternoon the whole department would get to decorate the office with brand new decs and a REAL tree!

I’ve put together a Christmas playlist, we were to bring in festive snacks, biscuits, mince pies, cheese (I have to give it to Donna, she went all out!) and Sarah was bringing delicious mulled cider. I couldn’t wait! It was going to be a great Monday for a change.

As I mentioned before, my best friend Shebz is going away soon and today she handed in her notice. I knew about it months ago but today it got real. I’m extremely happy and proud of her, getting out there, travelling, exploring the world, like she always wanted to but I’m equally sad as I won’t see her every day, go on our adventures, chat about random things for hours, advise and comfort each other… When I get the time I’ll post a blog just about her!

What I didn’t know was that Andi is also leaving. I can’t describe how happy I am for him. He is an amazing, sweet, sensitive, intelligent man who deserves the best and he can finally now move on to a more rewarding, challenging job in London. But I will dearly miss him. I wasn’t prepared for this although as soon as he said he had some news the first thing I said was ‘Are you leaving?’ I just knew.

I was in shock and went through waves of sadness and happiness all day. The Christmas decorations, music and food (especially the Cheese Christmas trees dipped in Camembert cheese) definitely lifted my mood and the office looks festive and lovely.

Now, after re-scheduling my PT session ( I couldn’t possibly exercise after all the cheese and mulled cider) I’m at home, desperately trying to put my thoughts and feelings in order.

After Christmas, two of my favourite people are leaving Southampton and I feel more stuck than ever. But that pushed me to make a decision, and it’s not easy for me to do, that’s why I’m still here.

I was thinking about it over the last few days but today I decided if I want to move forward, something’s gotta give. The most realistic way to save money fast so I can go into a more interesting job or try my lack elsewhere is to move to a shared flat or house. It’s a big deal for me, I love living on my own and it’s not going to be easy. I’m sure I’ll be OK though.

I contacted my landlord to hand in my notice as my contract expires in January. That only gives me a couple of weeks to find a new place before the Christmas break. But my landlord offered to let me stay on a month to month basis so I don’t have to rush!! Not many landlords would have done that, his kindness melted my little heart. Thank you James. I can now enjoy my Christmas holidays and come back and look for a new place.

Life is full of surprises and today was a great example.

It’s been a bizarre day… A bittersweet Monday…

Namaste

Eleni

Hello November

Happy November!

Winter is almost here. Crispy cold in the morning, dark when I leave work. And Christmas is coming, I can feel it in the air.

New month, new beginnings again for me. And I could not be more grateful.

About this time last year I didn’t want to leave the house, I struggled to find any motivation to do anything, I didn’t feel like blogging or doing anything else for that matter.

A year later, it couldn’t be more different.

October was busy but exciting.

From trying Scandinavian food with one of my favourite friends, trying new cafes in town, dinner and drinks with my favourite work friends to meeting new people through social media and face to face such as the lovely Selina who is a freelance consultant for Arbonne, and the inspiring Beth and Mel, who just started their skincare company, Cherish.

Smörgåsbord

Cherish Skincare

I felt incredibly happy when, after my post about networking I received messages from people I didn’t expect and we are now arranging chats with coffee to get to know each other better. How great is that.

My post on how I survive work in a dead end job is now my most read post and the response I got caught me by surprise!

But it doesn’t end there.

I absolutely loved the Women Who Do Breakfast and Networking last week. And through this event I’ve met the incredible Bene, a hot power yoga teacher in Southampton and I’ll soon been trying her classes and tell you all about it. I met with Benedita and Ian, her partner and also yoga teacher, yesterday and we chatted all about yoga and her story so far. You all know by now how much I love yoga and how it helped and helps me physically and mentally. It was one of the most interesting, inspiring conversations I had in a while.

I spent last Sunday at the University, volunteering for the Open Day, which I’d recommend it to any University staff, what a beautiful day that was.

I’ve also signed up for free six month Personal Training (thank you Solent Health!) with one of our BA Fitness and Personal Training students who I actually met today.

And I’m halfway through my Salsa Beginners classes which I really enjoy.

And I’m back at the workplace choir. I finally made it back. I missed everyone, especially Dan!

These are just some of the things I got up to. I’m exhausted but I loved every moment.

I can’t believe how much I learned over the last year and improved myself. There is still work to be done but I’m happy in my skin.

I’m now confident enough to apply for a job I’m really interested in but I have no extensive ‘relevant’ work experience because I’m not scared anymore. I believe in myself and even if I don’t get it, I’ll learn something from it.

I want to end this post with a big big thank you to everyone for all your comments and love for my blog. I really felt it this last couple of weeks. It melt my tiny, little heart. To receive so much love for something I do because I love and enjoy doing it is overwhelmingly beautiful.

I can’t wait to see what else November will bring!

Namaste

Eleni

Women who do

I love social media for various reasons but mainly because I discover new things locally and I meet awesome, interesting people from all walks of life.

About a week ago I came across a post on Twitter from Docks Cafe on Oxford street in Southampton, a cute, little cafe which I haven’t been before but I really wanted to for a while as I follow them on social media because of the amazing cake photos they post every day.

They were promoting a breakfast and networking event at the cafe organised by Women Who Do (check them out) a network of professional women run by the lovely Emma Downey.

I signed up for it almost immediately. I thought it will be the perfect opportunity to meet and learn from inspiring ladies and a great chance to visit Docks Cafe. Networking over coffee and breakfast, it can’t get better than that.

Yesterday I found out the lady running the hot Yoga classes I’ve been meaning to try for a while and who I follow on social media because of all her amazing yoga related posts was going too.

So today, I woke up bright and early, excited for the event.

And it did not disappoint.

Docks cafe was incredible. Great coffee, fresh pastries-loved my pan au chocolat- lovely decoration and friendly staff. I definitely recommend it especially if you have a sweet tooth like I do (just look at their Insta!).

Every single person I met was lovely and had interesting stories to share. A couple of examples:

Charlotte is an environmental writer who recently moved to Southampton and taught me how gardening can benefit people with depression and anxiety not only because they get to spend time outdoors and do something physical but also because soil can increase serotonin, nature’s anti-depressant. Southampton Council is actually funding a project promoting gardening for vulnerable individuals who might benefit from this. Isn’t that amazing? She regularly posts on her personal blog if you want to find out more about this lovely gal.

Maria works full-time at a tobacco company but also loves anything local and posts often about events and things happening across the city. Check her Insta for everything Southampton related.

Benedita, who is originally from Portugal and moved to Southampton from London, quit her day job and started her own business, teaching hot Yoga. She is the brain behind In Balance Hot Yoga. Needless to say how much I look forward to go to one of her classes.

Emma recently moved to Southampton and is a freelance marketing consultant working with companies across the country. One of my dream jobs!

Naturally we ended up talking about food. I don’t think a day passes by without me talking about food. We are planning to start a supper club, trying different restaurants and food across Southampton!

Women Who Do

I can’t wait to get to know them all better. I left the cafe happy, excited and grateful I got to meet amazing, inspiring women.

What a great initiative, thank you Emma for organising this. If you fancy meeting these ladies, join us at the next meeting!

What a lovely way to start the day.

Eleni