The day I started running

Amazing wonder woman running costume by The Princess Runs

I was the girl in school who liked art and drama and chose table tennis and trampolining over hockey and netball. I was the girl who had about twenty excuses as to why I had to sit out of my Games lessons. I pretty much had a period every week so I didn’t have to go swimming. When I hit adulthood I was still a skinny little thing so I managed to carry on avoiding exercise as I had noone to answer to but myself. Now however, at the age of 28 my body has had other ideas. All those years of chocolate cake and icecream have caught up with me.

I always wished I was good at team sports. I like the idea of netball, hockey, football and even tennis. Yet I hate being bad at things, and I’m not naturally sporty. I’m naturally rubbish at all of these sports and so I continue to avoid them at all costs.

I’ve had stints at the gym and stints with exercise classes and I’ve got a collection of fitness DVDs but exercise is never something I want to do. Until now.

I’ve recently felt really inspired by two of my friends who took up running. I’m not going to go into detail about their situations, but lets just say it’s pretty damn admirable how far they’ve come. As a result, I wanted in. I could see the positive impact it had on both of them, not just physically but mentally too.

I’ve tried running before. I actually really enjoyed it but I didn’t pace myself and as a result I burnt out quickly and couldn’t get over the “pain” barrier.

So this time - I tried to prepare myself mentally. As a worrier, I found myself asking stupid questions like ‘Well my jogging bottoms don’t have pockets....what should I do?” So I asked the internet. I decided to hold my house keys in one hand and my iphone in the other and as it was a short run I didn’t take any water.

The major problem I have with running is pacing myself. I’m also really good at going “Oh god, I’ve been running for ever - I’ll stop now” and because of that attitude I always end up giving up. This time I downloaded an app called C25k (couch to 5k). The app starts you off by alternating walking and running and over the sessions decreases the amount of time you spend walking. The great thing about it is you can listen to your music and it will interrupt it to tell you when to start jogging/walking again.

After downloading the app, I then set about making myself a running playlist on Spotify. I adore Spotify. I pay for the service because it’s just such good value for money (£9.99 a month - unlimited songs and offline playlists for your iPhone) and using it for my running playlists means I can have a complete mix of different songs. Why I mention it, is because it’s actually one of the biggest motivators for me. After putting together the playlist I couldn’t wait to get out for a run purely so I could listen to all of the awesome songs I’d put on there!

So today I got up, into my running clothes and left my house before 7am and I did it. I went running. Ok it was jogging and walking but still. I did it. What’s more, I really enjoyed it. The park was empty apart from the few runners who had also got up early for a morning run and my playlist was excellent!

Afterwards, I felt amazing. I know it sounds stupid to say I was proud of myself when it was literally only 30 minutes of exercise, but for someone who pretty much hates most forms of sport it felt like a real achievement.

So this was my first run. I’m documenting it here in the hope that I won’t give up and that if I do and post about it you’ll all yell at me to get back out there and try again.

For now though, I can’t wait until my next run. Long may it continue.

My playlist - be warned it’s full of everything from Sublime to the Saturdays to Haddaway!

So you want to go freelance?

Morning all - just wanted to quickly drop by to let you know about a guest blog post I recently did. A few people have asked me lately about going freelance so thought I'd post about it here too.

If you are considering going it alone and want to figure out if the freelance life is for you then head on over to Freelance Advisor to read my post 'So you want to go freelance?'

Happy Friday everyone!

An obsession with skulls

I really like skulls. I'm not sure why and I'm not sure how it started but I do. As a result my house is filled with them. You know when someone becomes renowned for liking something? Well that's me and skulls. Quite often my friends or family will say "Oh I saw this skull and thought of you....". Which is awesome and I've had some amazing presents as a result. I am very picky with what skulls I like. There are lots of bad skull designs. I should also point out. I like skulls - not skeletons. There is a difference.

So I thought I'd give you a little tour of my collection.

My skull shelf in our lounge...



The hearts one I painted myself. The little white and black ones are actually salt and pepper shakers bought for me by my lovely friend Sam.




The silver one I found in a junk shop....




I had the amigurumi skulls made for me by the lovely Beth over at Fluffer Nutter Crafts. 



The mugs were both gifts. The cream one was bought by my best friend and the pink one was bought for me by Tom's sister. I can't drink out of them though. I have a weird thing about odd shaped mugs.




I've had this skull stool for about 10 years! Anyone in Brighton remember Cissy Mo in the North Laines? I used to love that shop. For along time I wouldn't let anyone sit on this stool. I'm much less precious about it these days.




You may remember this slipper box from a while ago. My stepdad recovered it for me in this gorgeous Alexander Miller fabric.




This light shade is probably one of my favourite skull related items. It's quite subtle but such a great pattern.




The artwork on our walls doesn't escape either. Tom and I saw this picture in the British Museum and knew we had to get a print.




I was so excited when I found these embroidery patterns over at Polka and Bloom.

My best friend made me this amazing cross stitch. I absolutely love it and it's the first thing to greet people when they walk in our house.




I've even managed to get skulls in the bathroom. This amazing shower curtain was from Beadesaurus.



The kitchen only has a few skull related things. In fact - I think I need more. I got these great little tupperware boxes from Paperchase a few years back.




Of course, baking has to include skulls too.




Even our coasters have skulls on them although I'm yet to find any nice skull placemats.




Some cute little skull napkins also greet out visitors who come for dinner.



A very good friend of mine bought me this beautiful brooch for my Birthday. It is probably my favourite out of all of my skulls.




I use this skull lunchbox to house my make up.




Although I've had several given to me as gifts. So they also house my craft supplies.




Pretty much any drawer you open has something with a skull on it. Like these two cute little skull purses.




My jewellery box has a skull on it.




Of course I do have lots of skull jewellery too. I'm really picky about skull jewellery though.



This brooch was made for me and the ring was a gift for my birthday.




Some teeny tiny skull stud earrings.




I love this silk scarf - and it was from Peacocks in a sale!




Then of course there are the bags. I really love skull bags.







My feet can't be left out...




Even Tom has been roped in to my love of skulls. We both have skull key toppers for our house keys!




Do you collect anything? If you do - how come? What started it?

Friday Night Crafting

There's nothing better than surrounding yourself with fabric......

and excellent company....

...choosing some gorgeous fabric....

...and getting to work on transforming it into something else...

....like a strawberry brooch....

....or a little black kitty....

Crafting makes me happy. 

The winner of the giveaway is...

Lauren from Belle du Brighton!

Massive congrats Lauren - I'll be in touch to get your prize to you! In the meantime - everyone should go check out Lauren's blog because it's awesome!

Body Hair - Should women embrace it or remove it?

I recently watched Cherry Healey: How to Get a Life (FYI - I love her). This episode was all about looks and part of it was focussed on body hair and how the majority of both men and women feel that women should get rid of it. 

Image source: The Guardian

I started shaving my legs young. I was 10 *waits for you to get off the floor*. Yep 10 years old and I remember it as if it was yesterday. I was supposed to be going bowling for my cousin’s birthday and told my Mum I didn’t want to go as I didn’t have anything to wear. She suggested an outfit (my purple tshirt with orange cut off dungarees - high fashion I’ll have you know in 1994) but I refused because I didn’t want to show my legs.”Why not?” she asked me and so I told her - “My legs are too hairy”.

I can’t remember whether I asked my Mum if I could shave them or she suggested it; either way I was really upset. I remember Mum doing it for me though and showing me how to make sure I didn’t cut myself. I wore my orange dungarees that night and I went bowling - and all I could do the whole night was sit and stroke my legs; I couldn’t believe how smooth they were! I was so happy! A marked contrast to the few weeks prior to this event; when I came to realise I was in fact hairy.

It was on the school playing field at lunch break and we were all mucking around when my “supposed” best friend at the time noticed my legs and started taunting me “Hairy legs! Hairy legs! Hairy legs!”. That was it; that was all she said - but it was enough to make me incredibly self conscious about it.

Like most people who are unhappy with a part of them - I was always on the lookout. I used to constantly stare at other women and girls’ legs to see if they were hairy. I felt like a freak. Even though I was embarrassed I had to start shaving my legs, I was also so incredibly happy I wasn’t hairy anymore. A few months later “supposed best friend” and I were hanging out with some other girls when one of them turned to me and said “Do you shave your legs?”. I was mortified - I didn’t think anyone knew! Blushing, I told her I did and to my surprise she replied “Yeah me too”. I felt such relief that I wasn’t the only one and felt kind of cool knowing we were both doing something grown up!

From there it was a slippery slope, as through puberty, hair started sprouting up all over my body and just like society taught me; I whipped it off as fast as I could.

So why do we do it? When I think about it I want to say “Yeah - but I really don’t like being hairy” and maybe that’s true but is that only the case because it’s the norm? My whole life everyone around me has said “body hair on women is disgusting and must be removed”. Now I’m in my late twenties (and therefore should know better) I’ve tried rebelling against this - and if I don’t want to shave my legs I won’t. In fact sometimes I’ll stick my legs in Tom’s face yelling “Look how hairy I am?” just to see him be disgusted so I can throw the figurative book on feminism at him (Tom actually isn’t disgusted just in case anyone is getting cross at him). The point is, that even if Tom said he didn’t mind, at the end of the day I would still go and shave my legs. I’d make
my stand but then once I’d proved my point, I’d go and do it anyway. It doesn’t make sense.

What I find hilarious is doing my bikini line - I mean it looks good for about 5 minutes and then it rapidly transforms into a big old angry red rash which to be honest is just as bad as it looking like a forest. Yet I still do it.

Whenever I get an opportunity to let my body hair grow (aka when Tom lived in London, or goes away without me) I do it. But it’s not the hair growing I find liberating, it’s the act of removing it all when I decide it’s getting too unruly.

I certainly don’t have the answers. I hate removing body hair. I hate how long it takes, I hate that it never actually looks nice and I hate that I feel I have to do it. Yet I also hate being hairy (and I am in a lot of places I don’t care to admit) and find it unsexy and unappealing. But do I only feel this way because it’s how I’ve been taught to think? Because I hate the idea of that even more!


What do you think? Do you remove body hair or do you keep it? Do you think women should remove it or do you rebel against the idea? 

Taking Risks

I'm not one for taking risks unless they are calculated. I absolutely cannot go into something blind unless I know there is a back up plan. No matter what risk this refers to I just cannot take the attitude of  "what's the worst that can happen?" I wish I could. I wish I could be care free and bound along in life throwing caution to the wind. But no matter how much I try, I can't do it and caution is always there, lurking in the back of mind screaming at me "BUT WHAT IF YOU DIE?!!!" Dramatic I know - but that's how my brain works.

Image source: My random stuff

When I decided to go freelance it was a risk and a big one at that. What if I failed? What if I wasn't good enough? What if everyone thought I was rubbish? What if I couldn't do it? I was terrified. I really didn't think this was something I could pull off. So I started talking to people outside of my immediate friends and family; people whose opinions I trusted, people who worked in the same industry as me and people who would be ridiculously blunt if they didn't think I could do it.

The reaction I got was surprising. It wasn't just that people thought I could do it but it turned out that I'd accidentally opened a few doors of opportunity as well. A good few people I spoke to had projects they thought I'd be perfect for or had a contact I just *had* to speak to. So the risk I was considering taking became calculated.

There were further calculations. Tom and I sat down with our monthly budget and worked out what would happen if I wasn't bringing in any money. The answer? We could survive and we could survive for at least three months without having to substantially dip into our savings. 'Okay' I thought 'This is turning into a possibility'.


There were lots more conversations with Tom, my family and my friends. I mulled it over. I thought about all the benefits the life of a freelancer could bring and I thought about all the things that would be hard and scary. I made lists, weighing up the pros and cons. I questioned myself some more. In the end I made a decision and I jumped.


I jumped right into the deep end.
I threw caution to the wind. 
I took a risk. 


And now? Well, it's early days; five weeks to be precise. Five weeks where I have worked my butt off. You see, that's the thing with risks, they only work if you make them work. So now I'm fighting for what I want because it really does seem like this was the right choice to make. Yep, I now pretty much work a 10 hour day, yep - I might have won lots of pitches lately and have work coming in but that's not guaranteed every month like a permanent job, and yep - I might have to blow off all my plans because a deadline requires me to work late into the night. But you know what? I couldn't be happier. 


This choice, this risk - it feels like me. It feels right and I feel sure. So I'll keep on fighting for it - because so far, this was a risk worth taking. 

***

Have you ever taken a risk? Did it pay off?

Pretty shoe tutorial and an awesome giveaway!

I love a good DIY shoe tutorial! There’s been many on the blogosphere of late – glittery shoes, painted shoes and now I present you with an easy peasey way to brighten up your shoes thanks to FunkKit stickers.





You will need:
• FunkKit stickers
• Scissors
• Pair of shoes/trainers
• A pen

Step 1

Choose your design.

Step 2

Peel off the backing from the transparent plastic and place on your shoe where you want the sticker to go.

Step 3

Using the pen – draw the shape you want.

Step 4

Peel off the plastic and place onto the pattern.

Step 5

Cut out the pattern

Step 6

Peel off the plastic (and the pattern will come off too).

Step 7

Stick the pattern onto the desired area of the shoe and smooth down making sure to get rid of any creases. (If you do get creases don’t panic, it easily peels off and doesn’t lose its sticky so you can restick it.)

Step 8

Peel off the top layer of transparent plastic.

Step 9

Dunnah! Beautiful shoes!!!





I picked these shoes up at a carboot for £2 and I absolutely love them now! After I pimped them up Tom said to me “Ooh are those new?” THEY ARE NOW!

I’m also really happy with how my trainers came out too

Before:



After:



This awesome camera pattern matches the colours on the trainer so well!

Giveaway!

Like this tutorial? Well then it’s your lucky day as FunkKit have kindly sent me some stickers to giveaway to my lovely readers!



I’m very jealous of both of these patterns – cupcakes AND skulls. Awesome – and how cute are these little robots?!

Anyway – enough gushing. If you fancy the chance of winning the cupcake, skulls AND robot stickers then just head over to the FunkKit gallery and tell me which pattern you like best.

For extra chances to win:

• Follow me on Twitter
• Like my Facebook page
• Follow my blog (RSS, email, BlogLovin, Hello Cotton…whatever you like)
• Follow me on Pinterest
• Tweet about this giveaway e.g. “I’ve entered the @skullsandponies giveaway to win a set of FunkKit stickers” with a link to the giveaway
• Like FunkKit’s Facebook page
• Follow FunKit on Pinterest
• Follow the FunkKit blog

Just make sure you leave a comment below for every extra entry otherwise it won’t be counted.

The closing date for the giveaway is July 14th 2012. Good luck everyone!