Christmas shopping

I love Christmas and giving presents...it's just the process of buying the presents that I really do not enjoy. Why is it that no matter how early we start organizing, we always seem to end up stressing at the last minute? It's just who we are.

I decided I would start planning earlier than normal this year around early November so that I knew exactly what I was buying. Each month I have to budget my money (as I'm a student and poor) which makes it even more stressful for me as there is always the worry I am going to overspend and end up having to live off pot noodles for the next month.

If you're like me and a people pleaser, you have to make sure that all the presents you buy are going to be something they will love and actually appreciate instead of something that will be pushed to the side and forgotten about. As I am the most indecisive person in the world this doesn't help the process of choosing presents which is why I have to plan so far in advance. I tend to shop around for a good few weeks until I finally decide on something which is good enough in my opinion.

I tend to do 80% of my shopping online as it saves me having to deal with the mass of crazy shoppers plus I don't have to go outside in the cold...what could be better? The only problem with this is if your order arrives and you're not happy with it. There'so many things to consider!

It's the fact that once you have bought it and wrapped it up there's no turning back and that scares me a little. There's always that inkling in the back of your mind worrying that they're not going to like what you've bought and that's it then you've basically ruined Christmas.

Joining The Gym

Never in a million years did I think I would join a gym. The thought of exercising in front of people made me really uncomfortable and self conscious and I was convinced I would never do it.

However, I decided that I would give it a go!

As I had more time on my hands at university this year, I thought I may as well do something productive. Of course the part I was most looking forward to was buying new gym clothes...

My first trip to the gym wasn't as productive as I may have liked, I was pretty clueless as to what all the machines did so I was simply getting to know it and trying not to break anything...

I could already tell that some of the people in the gym were only there to show off, mainly the muscly guys who literally only do weights and try to make as much noise as possible whilst they work out. Grunting loudly to try and get everyone's attention. Like shut up?

You also get those who pretend that they are working out when actually they were just sat on their phones tweeting 'Hardcore sesh at the gym' whilst chatting to their friends. I know their game.

As I got into more of a routine and got used to going to the gym I got really into it and tried to go about 3-4 times a week. I would do about an hour a day until I was a sweaty, hot mess and could barely stand up. Despite this, I actually really enjoyed it...not only did it take my mind off things and help me de-stress, I felt so much healthier!

It's become my new craze, I'm just hoping my new Victoria Secret body is on it's way soon.

Food shopping

Never did I think twice about where I would shop for my food, I always thought any shop would do, as long as they sold food it was totally fine right? Wrong.

As a student I don't have the most money (I think that part is pretty obvious) and therefore have to stick to a specific budget per week...this was harder than I thought. It's a bit overwhelming when you go from living at home, where your mum does the weekly food shop, to having to make your own decisions on what to buy and what meals you'll make. Of course, you go a bit overboard at first. Pretty much everything you like the look of goes into your basket and you're not really thinking ahead until you get back with your shopping and realise you don't actually have any food to make a proper meal. But who cares because I have cake and instant noodles right?

At the beginning of the year I was completely clueless and therefore ended up spending way more than I needed to. This was mainly due to the fact our flat started out doing our food shopping together, then sharing it and cooking meals for the four of us. My speciality was spag bol and I don't mean to blow my own trumpet but it was pretty good...However after a month or two we decided this wasn't the best approach as we often had disagreements over who had eaten more food than everyone else...I mean I was usually the main culprit. I like to eat is that such a crime?

Lidl then became my best friend. It was my second home. It had everything I needed for cheap prices and it was the closest shop so I didn't have to walk as far...what could be better?

The only criticism I would make about Lidl is the bagging system. It stresses me out the fact they scan the items so quickly and expect you to pack at lightning speed. By the time they've put all of my shopping through I've only filled a quarter of the bag and I am then asked to pay which delays it even further. The rest of the customers in the queue behind me are then tutting and getting impatient which causes major stress.

I still need to master the art of Lidl packing.