What Sophie Said

Before Christmas, one of my very favourite people Laura announced she was going to run the London Marathon.  It's maybe worth mentioning that after her half marathon she informed me she would never run ever again as the experience had been so dreadful! I find anyone who runs a marathon pretty amazing - it's such a mental challenge as well as a physical one, so I thought I'd ask her some questions in the lead-up to the big day. What on EARTH made you decide to run a marathon? I was contacted by one of the fundraising team at Francis House Children’s Hospice about 8 months ago, asking if I’d be interested in applying to take part in the London Marathon in April. I’m really not sure why, but I said yes!  I’m always up for a challenge and thought it would be a fantastic way for me to get fit, and tick something off my bucket-list, whilst raising money for a really good cause.  Have you always been the sporty / runner type?  Not at all! ...

January felt like a seriously long month, and I've got to admit to feeling a bit down in the dumps on more than one occasion. I think the Photo a Day challenge saved my Instagram from being bare and bleak this month, and enjoyed having to think about the prompts every day. My round-up of the first half of the month is HERE , and here are days 16 to 31: Day 16: New love Day 17: Comfort food Day 18: My mood Day 19: Cosy clothes Day 20: On my table Day 21: New me Day 22: Winter wonderland Day 23: Where I slept Day 24: Together Day 25: A resolution Day 26: To do Day 27: Guilty pleasure Day 28: Me today Day 29: Looking up Day 30: Reflection ...

Storytime today! Because one year ago today was potentially one of the most nerve-wracking days of my life. At the beginning of January, I had started a new job based just south of Manchester. I knew I would be working with both my office and colleagues in the London office, but I don’t think it had quite registered that that would involve trips to London. You see, at that point, the only trains I had managed post-anxiety were 5 minute local-stopping trains. I had never travelled to London alone. I’d only been there a handful of times in my life. I’d never stayed alone in a hotel, apart from trips with family where I was maybe in a room next door to my parents. I was doing pretty well in terms of my anxiety, but those were still big hurdles. Anyway, when it was dropped into conversation that I’d be making my first trip to the London office in a couple of weeks, I replied just as casually that yes, of course that was fine. It would have to be! I knew I would find a ...

I was fairly late to the Instagram game and am still getting in the swing of things, so Amelia's (x Amelia x) Photo a Day January Challenge seemed a great idea. There's a daily prompt, and so far I've only been late on one day, which I don't think is too bad... If you're taking part, leave me your Instagram name so I can have a nosy! Here's my photo round-up of days 1 to 15:- Day One: New Year's Morning Day Two: Mirror Image Day Three: My Inspiration Day Four: White Day Five: Outside Day Six: A Winter Favourite Day Seven: Smile Day Eight: New Year's Focus Day Nine: Important People Day Ten: In My Bag Day Eleven: Blue Day Twelve: My World Today Day Thirteen: A New Year Treat Day Fourteen: 3.35PM Day Fifteen: Warmth

The return of the blog means the return of my monthly challenges, as they were great motivation last time. Having just returned to this little corner of the internet, I thought I’d get September off to a strong start, and blog every day for the month. I’ve seen lots of my favourite bloggers do similar things over recent months and years, and I think it’s a great way to challenge myself and get back into the swing of things. It will also hopefully help to guide me in the direction I want my blog to be heading in. The creation of lots of different posts will reveal the things that are on my mind and that I feel most comfortable writing about. So there we have it. Day one: DONE. Only 29 to go…

The beginning of a new month means it’s time for a new challenge, and this one revolves around food. When it comes to lunches, I’m really fussy. I don’t like a huge variety of sandwich fillings, or a lot of typical dressings like mayonnaise. This makes my typical lunches – I take a packed lunch to work each day - very uninspiring and repetitive. I want to try and break out of this trap, and cut down on the amount of bread I’m taking as lunches, in favour of other alternatives. Realistically, you can’t change everything overnight, so this month’s challenge is: Try out two new lunch options per week. This could be leftovers of different meals, salads, wraps… I’m currently on the hunt for inspiration! If I can do more than this, great, but the aim is at least 8 new ideas. As always, I’ll be taking pictures and filling you in at the end of the month. Do you have any tips? What are your favourite lunches? 

Another month has flown by, and it’s time to fill you in on the results of my fifth monthly challenge. The challenge for April was: To walk to and from work (3.5 miles each way) every day, and not take the bus. I did it! There were 3 occasions – either the journey to or from work – that I had a lift from one of my parents as they were coming to the house or going in that direction, but every other time I have walked. I’ve not set foot on the bus. Here’s my top 5 benefits of my walk to work month, which is a routine I will 100% be sticking to: 1. Saving money – A bus pass costs money. The walk doesn’t. Simple! 2. Exercise – Walking a brisk 7 miles each day is already feeling so much easier, and my legs are toning up. 3. Wakes me up – I arrive at work feeling fresh and energised because of all the fresh air. 4. Time to think and reflect – As someone who has been dealing with panic and worrying, I’m finding it really helpful to have these periods in the ...