Always make the effort...

I think it's important that we always make the effort in every part of our life. It could be anything; our education, our job, our relationship, our goals. If we always know that we tried, did our best and put effort into everything we do we can never feel guilty about the outcome.
It's not easy to put the effort in all the time, not unless you really want something and are motivated. We feel guilty when we know we could have done better. I feel that way about many things, but I know there's no one to blame but myself.
It also goes that if you're going to do something you should do it well. If you choose to help some one you shouldn't do it half-heartedly, you should show someone that your happy and willing to help. If your working for someone, doing a job, you should be the very best of whatever that role is that you can be. If your in a relationship and you love someone you should never stop showing them that. If you've got a goal to achieve something, it's up to you put the work in to getting to your goal.

My Thoughts on The New Year

It's the start of another new year, 2013...that sounds strange. I had the most wonderful start to the year, and I really hope the rest of the year continues to be just as amazing.

Although I believe that if there's something you want to change about yourself, your life, then there's no better time to make that change than right there and then. You can give yourself a fresh start at any time, start over. Every day is a new day, another chance to make that day and everyday after better than the ones before. Even though I think this, I do also think that the new year is a good time to reflect on the previous year and think about what you would like to achieve and improve on in the following year to come. Which is why I wanted to use it as an opportunity to write about the things I would like to do this year.

Put more time and effort into my studies at University.

I want to do well and get a good degree from going to University. In the long term it will make it easier to get to where I want to be in life, what I want to do. I find it hard to be motivated sometimes and don't always enjoy doing the work even though the topics being studied may be interesting. I know the work has got to be done, but I always get distracted far too easily and end up doing other things. So simply for my own benefit, I would like to put more time and effort into my studies so that I can do the best that is possible from me and I know I will pleased with myself if I do.

Don't be so lazy and be more organised.

 Sometimes I feel like I'm far too lazy, which is not a good thing! I want to be more motivated, do things there and then not keep putting things off. This means being more productive, using my time better, not thinking "I'll do it later" but get things done now. I would also like to be more organised. Not just as in keeping my notes organised so I can find everything...I'd like to think I do that pretty well already, but a more organised life. Making plans and sticking to them, that way I would get a lot more done.

Make healthier choices and cook more.
Quite simply, I would like my diet to be healthier. One thing I would like to do is to try and incorporate more vegetables into the meals I make. I would also like to to aim for three proper meals a day and less snacking. I would like to try out some new and different recipes and for most of my meals, to make everything homemade. I used to not buy any cakes, biscuits or desserts and just make them myself. I would like to do this again as it normally works out cheaper and healthier.

Experience new things.

This is something I want to do a lot more of this year. Doing things I've never done before, going to places I've never been, meeting new people, trying foods I've never eaten before, learning new things...experiences, creating memories. I'd love to travel, see another country, another culture. Do a lot more of what I love, maybe find new things I enjoy and love. I'd like to have a lot more moments which make me just think...wow.

Read more.

Reading is something I remember always enjoying. Reading fiction books for pleasure, quotes to inspire, a factual article which interests me and makes me think about something. Reading can teach you something new, take you to another time, another world, inspire you, make you feel something. For all these reasons, I would like to get back into reading and read more often in my spare time.

Write more.

I've always written a lot. When I was little I loved writing stories, I remember they would go on forever and never have an ending, I would just write and continue the story as I imagined it. Then throughout most of my teenage years I loved to write song lyrics. I would write them about anything, things I dreamed of, feelings I had, things that had happened. I have whole notebooks just full of songs I've written. Then last year I started writing this blog and found that I loved writing about anything, my life, my thoughts on things, experiences. I would love to write more. It's a way I can be creative and express myself.

Take more photos.
If you knew me well, you'd probably think I'm crazy to say this, that I already take too many photos. Recently though I've been taking hardly any, in fact my camera is quite rarely used nowadays. I used to take a lot and really enjoyed it so I would like to get back into it. I'd like more to look back on, just for the memories. I'd like to get some more photos printed and create another album. I'd also like to take some more of those photos I can just be creative with and proud of for how they look.

I know that changes don't happen overnight and it's unreasonable to think these things can happen instantly, but I am going to try to work towards doing these things over time.

Is love limitless?

Is there any limit to how much we can love someone?
Can it keep getting stronger and stronger over time, an unbreakable bond?
Can love be unconditional?
Is there anything we would not do for the one we loved the most?

Graffiti...vandalism or art?

I got out with my camera today, which I've not done for...too long! It was really nice to be taking photos again and thinking about what would make a good picture, what angle to take it from, what to focus on etc. While I was there I took the photos below, and wondered what other people's opinions of this where...is graffiti vandalism or art?

My opinion is that as long as it's not anywhere inappropriate (e.g. road signs, on someone's property) then it's art. It's a way someone can express themselves, their creativity and imagination.

Life!

Love life.
Live your life.
Be happy.
Make others happy.
Have fun.
Fall in love.
Love with all your heart.
Don't worry.
Dream.
And never,
Ever,
Forget to SMILE!

Cadgwith Regatta

This year the Regatta wasn't as good as usual. It was surprisingly quiet for Regatta, just like it would be in Cadgwith on a lovely sunny day but we didn't have the sunshine. Most of the events took place but I did notice that there wasn't so many people taking part.

It was a shame really as this is usually one of the biggest events of the year in Cadgwith. I don't think there has been a year of my life that I have missed this event. It's normally a day that's so lively and gets all the locals together for a little competetive sport and socialising.

Brittany, France - the place, the culture, the people, the life.

I am currently on holiday in France visiting my grandparents. I've taken my brother with me and we came across on the ferry to Brittany last Tuesday. We're staying at their house in central Brittany until next Friday.

It's a lovely place to be here. The countryside is beautiful and the land is a lot less populated than it is back in the UK. I love that they've still got huge forests out here, and seem to use a lot more renewable energy than we do. I love the style of houses out here and culture that's still kept strong. They have an attitude that if it's not broken then there's no need to replace it, so many people still use old things that we wouldn't. The bakeries here appear to be so traditional, baking fresh bread everday, and also the crossiants, baguettes and fruit tarts (made with patisserie custard which I love!). They also seem more self-suffient than the British, many tending to their own vegetable gardens and keeping animals for produce. The way of life out here is far more relaxed than what we're used to. All the shops in the towns and cities close at midday for their lunch break, but this would be almost unheard of in the UK. It's a lovely place to live out here and a great place to be growing up for the children. The kind of place I'd maybe like to live myself one day. (Just need to learn the language!)

My favourite French dessert.

Lady at the Bus Stop

While waiting at the bus stop today I met a lovely old lady. She told me she was going to be 100 years old next year. I wouldn't have known if she hadn't have said, but how great it would be to reach that age.
She asked if I was from Cornwall, so I said I was. She said she was from a different country from me. Wales is where she was born and spent the first 15 years of her life. I thought it was nice that even though she'd spent most of her life in London she still considered herself to be from Wales.
She carried on to tell me some of the things she had done; that she'd been married for 56 years, had grandchildren as well as great-grandchildren. That in their house there was never any arguing, fall outs or bad language.
It was lovely to listen to her.

What would happen if everyone wore the same clothes?

If everyone wore the same clothes we would no longer have such a thing as fashion. No notice would be taken of the clothes we wore; it would be of no interest to anyone. Only a persons face and features could be used to distinguish them from the crowd. More importance would be put onto natural beauty rather the the fake visage we create. We wouldn't love someones style, we would love their personality. From a distance, everyone would look like clones.
Although this in fact is not true, as no matter what the person is wearing we are each unique. Our clothing is an extension of the individuality of who we are. We all choose what we want to wear and the image of ourselves we present to others. Clothing allows us to express our originality and without it we would crave this ability. A person shouldn't be judged by what they wear; what they wear should be read as part of their character.

Smile!

I was walking through the city centre yesterday and saw a guy wearing a T-Shirt and holding leaflets who looked like he was promoting something. So I kinda tried to avoid him, but as I walked past he said to me "Smile", so naturally I did, "...There we go, much prettier". Such a lovely thing to say and so unexpected, I was smiling for a long time afterwards. Amazing how something so simple can brighten your day.

I always like to see people smiling and enjoying themselves. I think that's one of the most beautiful things to see, to see that someone is happy. I hate it when I've taken pictures of someone and they've said they look terrible smiling because you can see their wrinkles and I just say no, you happy when you're smiling.

Always remember to smile!

Pinterest

I have developed a slight obsession with Pinterest. I love it! It's like an online version of making collage boards of things you love, but even better as you can share what you love with others and get ideas from what other people love. I'm such a dreamer and have made scrapbooks before of things I love so this is perfect for me! Follow me on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/beanyjane/ or view my boards to see what I love and am inspired by.
I also love how easy this website is to use and how easily you can organise your pins onto different boards. I love finding inspiration for my dream home, discovering places I want to travel to, foods I'm inspired to make, creative ideas of things to make or do and beauty and fashion inspiration.

Some of my favourite pins:

Emerald Gorge, Oregon

Looks so relaxing.

I love long curly hair.

Blackberry and Lemon Cheesecake