I’ll Be Missing You

I think a lot about my future.. I try not to think too hard about my past.
Sometimes I randomly remember people.. Friends that are no longer here in this world, the impact they left, their families and how they shaped who I am today. A lot of the people I think about I went to school with, grew up with, played out with.. They all passed on so young.
I am thankful for the life I have because a lot of people haven’t gotten to live it. I am grateful for life, even though at times I take it for granted. I miss my friends – Everyday.

This is for Rebecca..x

A Week in Review: #24

I woke up on Saturday morning at around 5:15am to the smell of burning. It was weird because I woke up and then I breathed in and immediately I was awake. My mind started going into overdrive as I mentally went over the switches of all my kitchen appliances in my head. I started to panic. I looked over at the window and saw smoke billowing past. I jumped out of bed and pressed my face against the window. It took me all of 1 minute to realise that it wasn’t my apartment that was on fire. My relief quickly subsided and a panic set in. I opened my window and looked out. There were several firemen running around the forecourt below and a fire truck was being guided onto the premises. In my haste I grabbed a pair of jeans, some shoes, my jacket, phone and keys and headed out of the door. I got to the stairs and started heading down. I got down two flights of stairs before I encountered any firemen telling me to pass on quickly and get outside. I stood outside in the rain texting a friend a minute by minute play by-play of what was happening. Another fire truck pulled up and more men jumped out and started running towards the forecourt/car park area – some time later a paramedic arrived to treat someone for shock I assume.

The second fire truck pulling up outside the front of my building..

I stood in the doorway of my apartment block waiting for them to tell us it was okay to go back in. We stood out there for about an hour before being told the blaze has been extinguished and we could go back in. I got back up to my apartment thankful that it had not been more serious but I was now too awake and I couldn’t get back to sleep. I started cleaning because what else can you do at 6:30am. I stuck my head out of my front room window and saw the firemen were discarding burnt/fire damaged units, the extractor and kitchen appliances from the burnt out apartment down into the forecourt. I closed my window and continued cleaning. After some time I managed to tire myself out and headed back to bed. By this time it was probably about 9:00am. Around an hour afterwards I was awoken by the mailman calling the intercom to alert me to a package. I threw some clothes on and again ventured downstairs. I got back up to my apartment and caught up on a few more hours sleep and got up and set about my day. At around 3:00pm my doorbell rang. I look through the peephole and there stood two fire safety officers wanting to come in to inform and check on residents after the incident in the morning as well as make sure everyone had functioning fire alarms installed. I let them in to test my alarms, explaining that I had only just moved in and they were free to roam. They went over some safety advice with me and I asked them quite a few questions in response. They explained that the fire was started by a drunk man and his friends returning from a night out, wanting to cook something, putting a chip pan on the cooker and going to sleep. It sounded like a television commercial that warns of the dangers of drinking and cooking – it was surreal. Thankfully, no one was injured and that is the most important thing.

My week has been eventful and ended with a bang – quite literally!
This is however the start of a new week that I have incredibly high hopes for.
I am yet to finish unpacking my apartment as I am still trying to get my furniture together and bought but I am hoping that I can get it sorted out by the end of the week..

I am pooped.. Work in the morning and it is definitely past my bedtime.. There is my little update.
Toodles!x

Worship Wednesdays #12: In The Morning

Recently, I have been stressed as you know about my apartment and overworked (I feel at the moment) at my job.
I have to remind myself that everything will be okay and I will get through the day, home in the evening and the next day is a new day that will be amazing!
Today I am sharing a song I have been listening to recently called In The Morning by Mary Mary. I’m not as happy as I used to be but I am getting there.. I am certainly not sad!

Without further ado.. Here it is! Enjoy x

A Week in Review: #23

This week has been a tough one.. I don’t know if you noticed, but the last time I blogged was last week Sunday.
I’ll try to catch you up really quickly..

So on Sunday 31 May at midnight the contract for the apartment I was living in expired and I had not removed my belongings. My ex-housemate had moved her things out and left that morning so I was the only one there.. The problem was that I had nowhere to go. I called round friends and people I knew and that situation wasn’t working out so I ended up figuring out an alternative and going with that.
In the panic of needing to move I called on my friend for help and on Monday night after work she came over to help me. I loaded a large majority of my belongings into the boot (trunk) of my car and was about to drive it before I decided that I would probably be better off leaving my things in my car and leaving my car in the underground car park of my building. The rest of my belongings were loaded up into my friend’s car and she took me where I needed to be.

It was a long week in the sense that I couldn’t cook. It was a long week in the sense that I was tired constantly and not able to concentrate at work because I was also not having breakfast or snacks and that was frustrating. I had dinner a couple of times last week and that was probably it. Lunch consisted of a chicken and stuffing sandwich with a packet of crisps and a drink – if I had the time.

Whilst all of this was going on I was hoping that my new apartment would be ready in the time that was indicated as it was supposed to be ready the previous week and I was left disappointed. As the week progressed I was trying not to concentrate on my growling stomach and more on my work whilst I tied up loose ends with the old apartment and made my payments and signed contracts for the new.
I was staying late at work because I needed to get work done, then loitered a little bit longer before I decided that it was most probably time for me to go home.
Towards the middle of the week I got the news that I would be getting the keys for my new place by Friday definitely. Before mid-week it was “we’ll try our best to get the keys to you before this date” or “we are hoping that it will be ready by Friday” so when I got that “we can do Friday” phone call I was definitely ecstatic.
I got the keys as promised on Friday and at the same time got the news that the old house wasn’t in the greatest state and needed to be cleaned, so I also grabbed the keys for the old place and gave it a deep clean – as much as I loathed doing it because it wasn’t my mess I had to in order to be able to ensure that I’d receive my deposit back on the apartment. Needless to say I wasn’t very happy about that.

It has been a very stressful week but I have definitely made it out of the other side. I don’t know if I am stronger or wiser or anything like that but I definitely know it feels good to finally have the keys to my new place where it is mine and mine alone. I was a very open and trusting person before this and I hope I can get back to being that way again.

It has been a long time since I have posted something so lengthy but I just thought that I’d let you all know what was going on.
In the spirit of a new apartment and everything, here are some photos.. As the post definitely wouldn’t be complete without these.. Let me know what you think.. And yes. It doesn’t come with any furniture.. It is a blank canvas for me to do with it what I wish.. I just wish I had better style haha.. I am a minimalist by nature..

A Week in Review: #22

And patience.. May I please have some more patience..

Image source: http://www.lifequotes.com

 

Worship Wednesdays #11: No Music

Image Source

I mean I say that but today I have no music to share.
It certainly hasn’t been a great day. I have been sad and it has been emotional.
Nothing terrible happened per say but then neither did anything great..or even good.
Music is usually my remedy but today it was lost on me.. My mind waning on other things. My faith is low. Hope is almost non-existent and my smile hidden.
It has not been a great day. I know I’ve already said that but repetition emphasises my point.
Today I tried to drown out my thoughts.. It didn’t work as well as I’d hoped and so I ended up listening to the noise of my thoughts.. The rest of my world silent..
Today there is no music and that’s okay. It will start again.. Hopefully some time soon..

A Week in Review: #21

Yesterday feels like it happened so long ago..
I woke up at 5:15 as I do everyday and couldn’t get back to sleep.. So I just lay there. I was due to meet a friend at 8:15 so we could get the train to Leeds to go shopping so I cleaned my room and waited.. Anyway, we got to Leeds just as it opened at 9am and grabbed breakfast (again.. I’d eaten when I got up earlier) before hitting the shops! We shopped all the way until 2pm before we headed back and I got on the train to London. It was a relaxed weekend and now I am on the way back home from an amazing event called Vocals & Verses: The Prelude. It was a nice night of acoustic sets, spoken word and ah-mazing singers..
I am content in myself for now.. How was your weekend?

Cheerleader

Today I have chosen a fast and upbeat song!

Everyone should have their own personal cheerleader.. Someone who keeps them upbeat and encourages them when times get tough.. Fighting in their corner..

Anyway.. This isn’t a sad song.. It is actually upbeat and fun!

It came on the radio last week and everyone got up to have a dance.. I really do like the beat – this is the remixed version.. The original is slower and much more relaxed.. My personality draws me to this version and now I share it with you.. I think the trumpet makes the song..

Enjoy!

A Week in Review: #20

Did I tell you I was moving?

I can’t remember how much, if anything; I told you about my housing situation so I’ll give you a quick overview 🙂 Moved into the apartment I am in now a year ago at the end of this month. It is a two-bed so I moved in with someone who I used to work with. Things happened, we fell out and now we’re going our own separate ways. I have found an apartment, but the only issue is that it is unfurnished. Yesterday I bought a bed. Now I have to figure out a way that I am going to collect it and also where I am going to store it until I am ready to move. Definitely excited that I will not be sleeping on the ground in a week and a half though!

On top of all that’s happening on the housing front, I am also super busy at work and outside of work at the moment because we have a conference coming up at church.. The biggest one of the year and it is going to be wonderful but it is definitely going to be hard work.

Last week, as with a number of weeks previously, I have been drowning in paperwork. It is going to be very busy this week as the paperwork I gave out I will be getting back in the droves! I will definitely need assistance.. Whether anyone will have any spare time is something that I will have to find out.

It is hard for me to not come home, get into my pajamas and climb into bed. Every time I don’t do that I am very proud of myself. The fact of the matter is I do too much and probably need to pull back on the reins a little. I love the fast-paced bustle that is my life but sometimes it is okay to stop too..

I hope this week is a great one!

Worship Wednesdays #10: Declaration (This Is It!)

My goodness it has been a busy week!

I have been pushed, pulled, reached the end of my tether, felt overwhelmed, inadequate and inept. Was stressing about my job, finances, moving into a home with no furniture and a whole host of other things and then I decided to stop. Took a moment, closed my eyes and just inhaled very deeply before exhaling calm.
I don’t feel like I easily get stressed, but with everything going on I started to feel as if everything was getting on top of me and I couldn’t breathe. It hasn’t been a nice feeling as you can imagine.

In my trips with Penelope (my car) I would play “The Fight of My Life” by Kirk Franklin. The song I want to share with you is the first track (second really because there is a 30 second intro) called Declaration – This is it!
This song sums up the fact that I am refusing to be defeated. I am refusing to be downtrodden and overwhelmed – not just in my working life, but in day to day life overall. I am refusing to believe my finances will be stretched so far that I will be worrying about surviving. This song is literally what is says – a Declaration – of faith, trust and belief in whatever is coming ahead of me.

I hope you love this song.. Believe it or not, this evening was the first time I watched the video.. I like it.. It’s kind of cool.. The dancing is..

Make your declarations, whether it is to be happy, apply for that new job, improve your finances, get out of the depression – I’ve been there, trust me – just make the declaration and say – this is my new start – this is it!

I hope you enjoy this!