AD - Press Trip | I had such a great weekend at @p AD - Press Trip | I had such a great weekend at @pottersresortsfivelakes with @slwilson84. It was an action packed three nights with a full activity and entertainment programme, great food, lovely drinks and beautiful surroundings. 

The staff go above and beyond to make everyone feel at home and they ensure that everyone has the best time possible. I don’t think I stopped smiling all weekend.

The best thing about Potters holidays is that everything is included in the price you pay. Four meals a day, all your drinks - including wine, Prosecco, most spirits and soft drinks - great accommodation and so many activities. 

I’ll write a full review soon but for now here’s a little Reel of our weekend
I always have a lot of questions about accommodati I always have a lot of questions about accommodation when we stay anywhere as a family so I thought I’d share this little tour of our room at @windjammerlanding which was a pretty perfect place to stay.

It’s the ‘Ocean View Two Bedroom’ which was like a little house, with an upstairs and downstairs, built into the hillside. Both rooms had outdoor space and their own shower rooms. Such a great option for a family.
A little photo dump from our holiday in St Lucia. A little photo dump from our holiday in St Lucia. We’ve been back a few days now but still miss the heat, the food, the pool, the constant sounds of wildlife and the lovely people. It was such a great holiday and I’m sure we’ll be back one day.
And just like that, Athena is 12! What a joy it is And just like that, Athena is 12! What a joy it is watching her grow and what a wonderful young woman she is becoming. We could not be more proud. Love you Pickle, have a great birthday.
We’ve just got back from two glorious weeks in S We’ve just got back from two glorious weeks in St Lucia staying at @windjammerlanding and it was just the holiday we needed. Two weeks of sunshine and relaxation in what must be one of the most beautiful islands in the world. 

We can’t wait to go back again in the future. Here’s just a little snippet of our trip.
AD - Press Tickets | We had such a nice day at @na AD - Press Tickets | We had such a nice day at @national_motor_museum despite the rain! The children loved the Little Beaulieu play area and we loved exploring the National Motor Museum and Top Gear exhibit before having a ride on the monorail! We went on an old open topped bus, explored the Beaulieu Manor House and loved the gardens. 
Beaulieu is always a great day out - whatever the weather. This summer they have a whole ‘Summer of Fun’ planned, with activities most days - parades, bird shows and hundreds of sculptures within the grounds too. If you’re looking for a day out this summer definitely think about heading to Beaulieu.
AD - Press Tickets | Tonight we took the kids to t AD - Press Tickets | Tonight we took the kids to their first concert - but it was so much more than just a concert! @abbavoyage is incredible. With CGI ABBA and a live band, it’s like being at an ABBA concert 40 years ago but with modern lighting, effects and sound. ABBA look and sound real, it’s a mind blowing experience.
The set includes all the songs you know and love as well as a few less familiar ones.
You can’t take photos during the show which actually made a refreshing change. A whole arena focused purely on the show and soaking up the moment. It’s definitely something the four of us will always remember.
Now, I’m off to sing Dancing Queen all the way home.
AD - Press Trip | We had such a great day at @phdo AD - Press Trip | We had such a great day at @phdockyard today. They have a fantastic Ultimate Explorer ticket that lets you visit all the attractions as many times as you like for 12 months - and after a day at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard we can see that you need more than one day to really do everything!

We explored HMS Warrior, HMS Victory and the Mary Rose Exhibition - which is incredible! We also saw where ships are built and restored and spent time in Action Stations where the kids climbed and did an assault course.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is such a fun, educational day out with something for all ages - we can’t wait to go on their harbour tours next time we visit!
AD | WIN!! Would you love to win a holiday? To cel AD | WIN!! Would you love to win a holiday? To celebrate #100YearOfARoads National Highways have launched their #ARoadsToSummer competition! It's all about celebrating summer holiday moments, time together, fun in the sun, days out and more.

So why not be in it to win it? To enter, all you have to do is send @nationalhways a DM on here with a photo or video of your favourite holiday moments. You can also comment on their Facebook or Twitter #ARoadsToSummer posts with your holiday photos. I've shared a few of our favourite photos to give you some inspiration.

The best six entries will each win a £500 @nationaltrust holidays voucher! SO what are you waiting for? Dig out your favourite holiday photos or take some new ones to share!

The #ARoadsToSummer competition runs from 24 July to 10 September 2023. Winners will be announced in September 2023.

Good luck!
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Resolutions/Bucket List · January 2, 2019

19 Aims for 2019

Last year I wrote a list of 18 aims for 2018 and instead of being things I could really tick off, they were actually things like character traits and lifestyle choices that I wanted to work on. Now that I’ve had a year of working towards those aims, and making little changes instead of resolutions, I thought I’d put together a list of 19 updated aims for 2019. So here goes:

This year I’m planning to read more. I read 19 books in 2018 and I’d like to read more than that this year – maybe two a month as a little goal. I love reading and it’s one of the few times I actually switch off completely from work and social media.

I’m planning to run every month this year which may seem like an odd goal – as running every day, every week or running a certain distance would be better goals to most people. But, I go through peaks and troughs with exercise and I can easily go two or three months without running before starting again and running most days. 2019 is going to be about consistency and I want to make sure I run throughout the year.

I’m also aiming to have more baths as they are something I really enjoy but always tell myself I don’t have time for them – opting for a quick shower instead. This year I’ll be making time for a bath – and maybe even read a couple of chapters of a book when I’m in the bath too!

I would like to bake more this year. I always aim to do a bake of the week with the children and we do that fairly religiously during term time. But, I would like to bake bread and push myself out of my comfort zone with baking – maybe trying cinnamon buns and more technical cakes instead of just fairy cakes and cookies.

This year I’ll make sure I focus on quality over quantity – and stop buying cheap clothes. I love a bargain but I’ve realised recently I buy a lot of cheap clothes that I wear once or twice and I would rather buy clothes made to last that I wear time and time again.

Going along with that, I would like to waste less generally. We are great at recycling and composting but we do tend to throw away food each week when the meal plan hasn’t been completed fully or where we’ve impulse bought food. I’d like to try and use up everything in the fridge each week, be resourceful and discard less on an ongoing basis.

This year I’m going to have working hours. I’ll be working when the children are at school Monday to Friday and I’ll be working Monday to Thursday evenings – 7:30pm until I go to bed. But outside of that work will be minimal. I need to get better at switching off and I need to regain control of more of my life rather than having work run my life. it’s so easy in this job to never switch off and I really need to take a step back and regain some balance.

With that in mind, I need to switch off more. I’m looking forward to reading more books, going for regular runs and watching movies without distractions.

I’ll also make sure I watch more quality TV. We often end up watching gap fill TV that we have no real interest in. Instead I want to watch new series of TV shows, watch documentaries and try and get real value from TV rather than just having anything on because it’s there.

This year I’m aiming to look after my nails. I usually let them grow, they break and then I cut them all before the cycle continues. This year I’d like to actually spend time looking after them – not necessarily painting them religiously but just filing them regularly would be progress.

I’ve also realised I need to find ways to walk more. Since the children started this school year we have had to drive to school and I really miss walking – and I am so much more sluggish because of it. I need to find ways to incorporate more walking into my weekly routine.

I’ve realised that whenever I walk anywhere I use my phone at the same time so it would be nice to walk without my phone and that will be a focus of the year – to start spending as much time as possible removed from social media. This is harder than it sounds in my line of work!

This year I need to really embrace childcare options. The children’s school have really great after school clubs and the children would love to attend them more often but I always feel like I should be spending that time with them after school. Balance is key but it would be great for them to use the childcare services available more often – especially as after school clubs at their school are free after January.

Although we meal plan each week I need to aim to cook from scratch more often as it’s something I really miss. Over the last year or so we’ve fallen into a routine of using jars of sauce far too often and I would love to start cooking properly again.

This year I want to have more time at home. We go on so many adventures but over the Christmas break I’ve realised how nice it is to just spend time at home, relaxing, doing jobs around the house and just enjoying being at home. We need to do it more often.

I always like to have something to work on and this year I want to make photography a focus for me. I have pretty much perfected my gift guide photography set up and the photos I take in those situations are great. I also take pretty decent photos on days out but I need to work on my lifestyle photography, taking photos for collaborations and being more creative.

This year I want to be selfless more often. It’s something I do anyway – I agree work purely so I have products to donate to good causes, I volunteer my time and I help people as much as I can but I want to consciously do as much as possible this year.

Going hand in hand with that is that I want to say yes more often. I’d like to embrace new experiences, try new things, go to new places and think of reasons why we should say yes rather than reasons to say no, whatever the topic.

Lastly, I want to look after the pennies. I grew up in a household with no money and the first ten years of mine and Dave’s relationship were tainted with debts. Now, we are comfortable financially and, after a couple of years of enjoying that I want to take a step back and be sensible. As the saying goes – look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.

So there you have it, nineteen aims for the year. I wonder how I’ll do – I’ll report back and let you know. Do you have any aims for the year?

In: Resolutions/Bucket List

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Comments

  1. Sam | North East Family Fun Blog says

    January 2, 2019 at 8:52 am

    Fab goals Donna. I’d like to see more exhibitions and live theatre next year as I always leave feeling inspired and alive! Plus spend more quality time with friends rather than a quick coffee x

    Reply
  2. Plutonium Sox says

    January 2, 2019 at 9:29 am

    Some great aims and many of them are things I have thought about too. I’ve realised that when I take a step back from work and read more and spend time doing things I enjoy, I end up being more productive in the time when I am working.
    Nat.x

    Reply
  3. Janine says

    January 2, 2019 at 10:22 am

    Great goals you have Donna. I started taking care of my nails last year. I used to bite them since I was a child. Finally have them in a nice state 🙂

    Reply
  4. Cora Harrison says

    January 2, 2019 at 11:09 am

    Love these goals, and also the new site layout! Happy 2019 Donna!

    Reply
  5. Tracey Williams says

    January 2, 2019 at 5:57 pm

    I love this Donna, and fantastic aims that you can incorporate into your life fairly easily. I have not really thought about my aims yet, but I need to get thinking what I want to get from 2019. Have a good one x

    Reply
  6. Angela Webster says

    January 3, 2019 at 8:35 am

    Great list Donna. I have lots of the same things on mine for this year too, I want to focus on us wasting less as a family and looking for more opportunities to donate our time or money to worthy causes. Best of luck for 2019 x

    Reply
  7. Tasha says

    January 3, 2019 at 8:53 am

    A few of these are the same as mine. I too want to read more, be more adventurous with my baking and buy better quality clothes.

    Reply
  8. Tim says

    January 4, 2019 at 7:56 pm

    Reading more and wasting less/recycling more are also on my list of goals this year. That, and trying to translate my recent weight loss into some semblance of fitness over the next few months. Now where did I put my running shoes?

    Reply

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Hi everyone! I'm Donna. Mummy. Blogger. Social Media Manager. Traveller. Lover of stars, rainbows and gin. Firm believer that tea and cake can fix most things.

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