A change in season

You have to love autumn right?

I probably say this about every season but autumn is my favourite! I love the wardrobe change, cosy jumpers, boots, hats and big jackets.

It’s also the best time ever for walking and running Rex out. There are so many wonderful parks and woodlands out there and the colours are always magnificent. The beaches open up to let dogs run wild so you get that wonderful fresh air in your face! And pub lunches seem to taste so much better and I have no guilt about the many Sunday roasts I will eat!

My garden is now packed up and ready for winter, the pots are in my new pop up greenhouse and I think the lawn has had its last mow for the year but the autumn colours are out and it’s lovely! As you’ll remember the garden was my big project for this year and I’ve loved seeing it develop – next year will be even better and I’ve already got a plan of action for it – no change there then!

I find autumn quite a reflective season. The year is coming to an end and we have to prepare for the cold months ahead. It’s about closing out the past and taking some time out before we think about the next steps when the vibe of spring and fresh starts arrives!

I’ve had quite a year and as we approach the final months I’m now thinking about what’s next. I have just started my third ‘inspire journal’ and as I look back on the targets I set over 12 months ago, I’ve achieved most of them and that’s great because until I stopped, read and reflected I hadn’t realised I actually had.

So now I want to find my next adventure and some new goals. I have some ideas and probably need the winter to work them through but they’re already manifesting – getting itchy feet and hoping for a summer of travel again :0)

I’ve been reading some super books, one of which is called Prognosis by Sarah Vallance. It’s her story about how she fell from a horse whilst not wearing a hat and sustained a brain injury that left her with an IQ of 80. It fundamentally changed her life. It was tough but she worked and worked and worked to keep going even on the days when it seemed impossible. It’s really inspiring – my back story is nothing like hers but sometimes days have their challenges and you just have to wake up the next day and start again. And that’s why I do want to think about something new for 2020 – it would be too easy to plateau now I’ve finally got the work and home life balance I wanted. I just want each year to be more exciting than the previous one!

In the meantime I am super excited about some great times out with my pals – we’ve got so much lined up in the diary; dinners at mine (I love hosting!) and lots of great nights out planned. I also seem to have a significant amount of afternoon teas booked in for some reason!

I still have my book to finish and my mindset has made me think I need to treat that as a job not a hobby and maybe within the next six months it will be ready for publishing. I’m excited because what I’ve done so far I’m really chuffed with! I’ve got a little bit more time on my hands in the weeks ahead so I plan to really attack it for the rest of the year.

I’m just about to take me and Rex off on a super luxury staycation. I can’t wait – it’s a dog friendly hotel set in fantastic grounds and I plan to walk a lot, eat and drink a lot, get pampered a lot and shut out the normal world and all this pesky Brexit malarkey for a bit! It’s only for three days but I’m ready for some R&R – that’s Reflection and Relaxation as Rex doesn’t really understand the word ‘Rest’!