(My Photo Calendar)

Today is 1st February which means that somehow January has flown by! As promised, I have avoided the January blues and I have forged ahead in my new freelance writing career. I have also somehow been able to stick with Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred DVD. Thanks for the words of encouragement on Twitter!

I have also managed to not live with my boyfriend for 6 weeks so far and it seems to be working pretty well for us. We always lived together in Costa Rica but it wasn’t that simple to just move home and carry on. I gave up full time working to try going freelance meaning that I didn’t really want to be paying rent if I could help it. This has meant having to live back at home again with my mum and my brother. I have enjoyed it though and it’s definitely working for me. I’d rather splash out on train tickets to London to see Mark rather than rent and bills etc in one of the most expensive cities in the world! He, however, has decided that he cannot live at home as his family’s house is pretty full as it is and they are currently going through major building works. Therefore he has recently found himself a one-bed flat in North London and will be moving in as soon as he can get the keys and the Internet connected. Priorities.

So I’ll always have somewhere to stay in London and we should get some quality alone ‘normal’ time when I am there which is fantastic because there is nothing worse than approaching 25 and having to visit your boyfriend/ girlfriend at their parents’ house. Doesn’t it just make you feel like a teenager again when you just want to live your life? I’m looking forward to nights snuggled up watching entire series of Lie to Me and Modern Family and more of ‘our shows’. Then I can run back off home, not pay the rent and watch Downton Abbey with my mum. We just bought the entire series 1+2 on DVD and are working our way through as neither of us has ever sat and watched it from the beginning.

I love my little desk area and my routine. My brother keeps himself to himself most of the day (he is running some band rehearsal studios and has just started up) and my mum is out at work, meaning that for most of the day it is just me and the dogs. I do have a tendency to have far too many tea and cookie breaks, not to mention leave the daytime television running in the background when I work, but apart from those self inflicted distractions, I am relatively undisturbed.

I really feel like I have made the right decision to move back from Costa Rica. It kills me sometimes when I think of those amazing road trips that we took, just hopping in the car and driving to some of the most stunning scenery in the world, but there is nothing stopping me from going back there or somewhere similar some day. I am working hard to forge a career where location isn’t an issue; where I can be anywhere and write and discover amazing things all around me. Being at home (literally) makes the best financial sense for now. I’m not saying that I don’t get down occasionally but it doesn’t last that long. I felt much worse graduating from university and wanting to make my mark on the world whilst being stuck at home and still dipping into The Bank of Mum and Dad. That was depressing as I graduated into an economic crisis where people who wanted to be writers or gain experience had NO chance of moving out and living off an internship wage. I’m getting there now though. Going abroad was one of the best options at the time to see the world and gain some life and work experience.

I’m also really enjoying being in England, hence my new series of ‘Why Britain is Great’ posts. I have a couple of trips coming up to Paris and Venice with my Mum. Plus a quite a few to London. European city breaks are the best way to see a lot in a short period of time. So, I’m pretty excited about what’s in store over the next few months.

Happy February! x