I've recently been learning about the musculoskeletal system of late and I've learn some really interesting things about how our bodies adapt and more importantly how our joints and muscles adapt to ageing.

These interesting discoveries (that you can have for yourself over at Furturelearn.com) have been making me question my posture and the amount of exercise I do, not even close to being enough.

the main ways, the course sates, to still being able to move in old age is to not really stop moving. They use the phrase 'move more, sit less' quit e a bit and this then  makes me not only question the amount of moving I do as a career and freelance designer but also how much of our world now revolves around sitting down and this 'desk job nature' my generation has somewhat adopted. With technologies and even jobs that wouldn't have existed that require us to sit down more might mean that there could be higher rated of osteoarthritis when we all get old.

I'm not immune to this 'sit down' lifestyle (she says, sitting in an armless chair, slouching) and anyone who knows me even a little would know I'm fundamentally lazy and prefer using my hands to do things than walking or moving too much.
Does this mean I'll have a higher chance or some kind of arthritis when I'm old and how much of that can be attributed to my genes?

They say you grown into your parents, if that's true Ill be doing pretty well in my forties and if i can manage to drop the weight I'm working on loosing, I'll hope to still be moving well into my 70's.

Let me know you're option down below in the comments:

Do we move less than we used to?
It is our fault or has technology allowed us to take a sit down?
Do we have higher chances of developing some kind of joint problems in later life as a result?

I'd be genuinely interested in what you've all got to say.

Cheers.

I'll be honest here. I have a two pages of a notebook with ideas of what to write but sometimes I'm really just not feeling it. You know those days where your work, responsibilities and day to day life is the only thing keeping you from spending the day in bed with snack and Netflix. The days where you'd just like to be alone but that's not really possible.

I think we all have those days. I tend to pin mine to one of two things. The first is physical exhaustion . A busy few days has really tired you and you really need a day off. The other is just a down day. Your mental health for whatever reason is at peak and that's 100% okay. It's the one things  most humans have in common. Down days happen with or without reason and sometimes you can't pinpoint why your not feeling 100% and that's okay too.

I'm a firm believer that you should pay attention to those days, seriously listen to your body and try to figure out what it's looking for, if anything and if it's not then just take a day. Your mental health is as important and your physical health. Your brain need time off too occasionally and that really is okay.

It's good actually to just stop sometimes, look away from whatever you're working on and just breath.

If fact, I'll make that today's task...

If you feel yourself getting stressed, anxious or angry (any negate emotion) just stop, sit down, put your hands in you lap, close your eyes and take three long, slow deep breaths.

Trust me, it'll help.
Enjoy the peace and quiet sometimes.

Cheers

Firstly we assume that there is no option of immediate escape, endless food and clean water. I'd have a day to purchase everything I need and the thing's I've chosen to take will help me to pass the time and keep me occupied until rescue.

I'll return famous as the girl who lived for years on a deserted island where food would magically appear.

First, I would take a packet of pencils, you know the ones where you get like 50 and they've all got erasers on the end because I, will need erasers. With these and my second item I can spend time honing my awful drawing skills and can sell all my artworks when I return because I'll be famous... and then rich.

My second item is a multi-pack of sketchbooks, like the ones we used to have at college that are wrapped in plastic in sets of 20 or something. This solidifies my drawing skills improvement idea.
also if I need to make a fire, paper makes pretty good kindling and can use up to half of my allotted sketchbooks this way.

Thirdly I would take My iPod with headphones because I'd get so sick of the silence and then of my own out of tune singing I'd probably go insane.

I would also take a solar panel charger so that when my iPod would start to run out of battery i could lay out in the sun and have music forever. This is my fourth item and possibly the most important.

The last thing I would take to a deserted island is a bag of Werther's Originals because I bloody love them and even thought I'd tell myself to ration them so I could have one everyday for longer they'd probably be gone in a few days at most.

I'd demand a life time supply of these with my new found fame and live happily on my riches and exquisite drawing skills.

I turn this to you now.
If you knew that food and clean water would be provided but you didn't have access to electricity what five things would you take to a deserted island?

Have a good think and jot them down below in the comments,

Thanks for reading, catch you in the next one.

I get this question a lot.

Every time I'm introduced to someone new which is pretty frequently these days what I 'do' is not really an easy question to answer given that my 'job' isn't really considered a conventional job and I am technically paid by the government.

 I am a full time career for a family member.

I usually I defer to my graphic design degree and the freelance work I've been doing with Hoop & Threads (a interior design company based in Camberley) for the last two years.
This seems like a good answer and it's left there.

The truth is I met Erin - she owns the company - through gumtree I think, when I was fresh out of college with a design degree and no idea what to do with it. Initially what we had agreed to was student portfolio building work but quite quickly I found that it wasn't sustainable and we came to the conclusion that I must be paid some for my work.

Over the last two years we've worked on this from wedding decorations, she's also helped me source other freelance work like logos and other company branding. We've done several launches of new collections and designs and a total company re branding which has an official Facebook relaunch this weekend.



The one thing that is very overdue is an actual meeting.

That's right... I've known Erin for the last two years and we've yet to meet in person, the beauty of social media has meant that we've actually become very good friends and we'd know what each other looks like but I think its kind of sad I think and really should be organised.


Head on over to Hoop & Thread Official Etsy Store for the wonderful range of home decor items available. - Hoop and Threads


Truthfully, I'm not actually sure how I got into design. I choosing GCSE's at school with no clue what to do and and even then it was just when in doubt do something you'll enjoy so I did art and textile along with RE and Business - wasn't my choice. Going on to college so I continued art and the found graphic design I guess. Sometimes it happens like that.

Either way I'm very grateful to have found Erin and her company and to have given me the chance to find my style, I guess. Finding the sort of designs that I enjoy spending time on and making design fun again.

If you're interested in any more of my design work, I feared some of my work with Hoop and Threads and work from my college days over on My Portfolio.

I'd love to hear how you got where you are, in life, in work, in love. write me a story down below or send me a link to your blog or site and I'll head over and give it the time it deserves.

I think a good percentage of the population can cop to having at least one bad habit at some point in their lives. I'll certainly admit to still having some bad habits and - I guess - making some bad choices about what I do with my body. I have been a full time smoker and was for three years between the ages of 18 and 21, I've recently dialled back to only smoking socially which I've considered a good thing, I still smoke but less that I was and that's the lesser of two evils i suppose. I've also had a bout of biting my nails. Past these two I wasn't really sure what other bad habit I might have shown or what else is considered a 'bad habit.'

A quick Internet search sent me to Pavlok.com and their list of  more that 150 things considered bad habits. So a few more of these apply to me like spending a lot of time aimlessly scrolling social media or cracking my knuckles and interrupting people ( I'm bad with this and I'm very aware it's awful conversational etiquette).

Though upon closer inspection of this list I have to say that I think it's a little strict. Things like watching TV right after work and snacking or masturbation and eating after 8pm. Sometimes eating late cannot be avoided, and wanting to wind down after a stressful day at work by watching trash TV is really pretty normal. I'm  pretty sure unless you have a will of steel snacking is something almost everyone does. Masturbation is also something pretty much everyone does whether they say otherwise, if it's very regular that it could be construed as a habit but why is it bad when it's not negatively affecting you or people around you.

The oxford English dictionary defines a habit as:

A settled or regular tendency or practise, especially one that is hard to give up.

So, things like using your phone a lot in social situations could be hard behaviour to change and there for considered a habit, bad or otherwise. But things like eating meat or humming to yourself  (if it's not annoying anybody) shouldn't, in my opinion be labelled as bad habit if it's just a choice individuals make about how they live their lives.

I think theses kinds of list that are labelling these things as bad are causing anxiety or worry, intentional or not, to people with these 'habits' or lifestyle choices and I don't think that's really very good. 

If you get a chance head over a scroll through THIS list yourself and comment down below what you think should and should not be called a 'bad habit' and if you've got any habit that you're aware of  and know you should change but can't or don't really want to. 

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I've had some down time lately while mum has been working on her wool selling business which means I will do one of two things while I keep her company in the 'office' (which in fact is my bedroom with two desks in it).

My first option - having asked mum if there's anything I can help her with, three times just in case- is some design work with my friend Erin who also works a full time job. Design isn't always so easy if I'm not feeling particularly inspired or the shop she works at is super busy and we can't really communicate well. My second option is to today my desk and all the storage draws around it, again.

I was really struggling on how to be productive when I'm not designing and in this search for something to do I found Futurelearn.com. This truly magical place is full to the brim with all kinds of free courses ranging from two week long to six week long courses on a large variety of subjects, from anatomy and English literature to pre-university courses and politics. These courses are supplied by a number of actual universities from across the world and though most are English universities, I recently took a course supplied by the University of Cape Town.

It really does depend on how much time you have free to take on some of these and how you learn best as to which kinds of courses you might take on and if you know that it might take little while to get through some of the sections per week there is always the chance to upgrade your access to the course for £35 which means not only will you always have access to the course but once you've completed it you'll be sent a certificate of completion as proof that you've taken it.

The vast range of courses also means that you are able to take course that might help you get ahead in your job but also some that are purely out of interest.

I started on future learn with a course about the brain because it's always been something that's fascinating to me and this three week course has multiple start dates which accommodates fitting it in around all sorts of other commitments.

It takes just five minutes to have a browse knowing all the listed ones in the courses section are completely free and just maybe you'll find something that piques your interest enough to give a free online course a chance. It's honestly so rewarding to learn new things and if you're anything like me a lot of these courses will appeal. I had to write mine down and it's double sided...


You'll also be able to interact with leading professors from all over as well as other enthusiastic learners who can answer any extra questions and really help to expand your learning experience and challenge your thinking. If you're a little nervous about starting a new course along, Future Learn also suggests that you do this course with someone you know and that way you can ask them if you don't understand something instead a stranger. A study buddy if you will.

So head on over take a quick look at the site and take a look at the 254 free courses available because they are worth taking a browse. Head over to https://www.futurelearn.com/courses to get started now.

And if you can, name one thing that you want to know about that has nothing to do with what your currently studying or doing as job down there in the comments.

Have a good day all, the weekend will be here soon.

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