Being Number 1

My first blog in a while…. I’ve had a really crazily busy few months, a new job and running my own business has meant that my working day now starts at 4.15am and finishes anywhere after 6pm. Now don’t get me wrong, because I run my own business, I will NEVER complain about being busy and am grateful for each and every one of my clients. However I got a huge wake up call the other day, when I realised out of all the things that were a priority in my day, I wasn’t one of them!

  I’ve spent the last four months accommodating everyone and anything. Just before I went on holiday, there was a moment when I honestly thought I was going to be really poorly. 

  Ironically a trip to Las Vegas, a city that NEVER stops and is pretty much 247 helped me slow down and take stock. 

As I got on the plane, I realised that they last time I’d picked up my Kindle was months ago and I was only a few pages into a book that I had been dying to read. Yet reading is one of my favourite things to do! As a child, I devoured book after book, getting the train to uni, I read anything I could get my hands on. These days I have a bookshelf full of books that have perfect spines. (I believe the sign of a true reader is one who has a bookshelf full of books with cracked spines and well-thumbed pages)

Some of my favourite, well read books!

  I wondered why on earth I wasn’t doing the things I enjoyed? In Las Vegas, we walked for miles, in and out of the different hotels, various tourist attractions, museums, bars, restaurants and we laughed…. we laughed a lot! They were those proper belly laughs that leave your face in a permanent state of happiness.

  BUT, there’s always a BUT isn’t there? It was whilst I was away, I became aware that one of my friends, had done something that really upset me. As I moaned to my sister over a glass of wine and a bowl of dubious looking nuts, I realised that the best thing to do was to mention it.

  I think I fall into the “old reliable” category with some people. I don;t hear the word "thank you" as much as I should, it's expected I can wave my magic wand and make stuff happen, or some friends don't realise that a text every now and again to see if I'm OK, would be nice.  I think some people see my generally positive outlook on life and they think it / I don't matter / wont mind!

Well all fat people are jolly, so even if it does make me sad, I wont be sad for long!

So I decided to say something, the response, was something along the lines of “sorry your upset, but we only invited 35 of our closest friends”.

  It was a bit of a wake up call, because I realised that over the last few months, I hadn’t even made my own top 35, so why should I make anyone else’s?

  I’d planned and cancelled gym trips, because someone needed something from me, I’d sacrificed time cooking and planning healthy meals and eaten toast because I was too tired to cook anything else and there’s certain family members who have forgotten what I look like!

  So I’ve decided its time to start putting myself first for a change, which is really why I’ve started writing the Slinky Blog again. Blogging helps me focus on getting fit and healthy and reminds me what I’m trying to achieve.