My Sparkling Summer Resolutions

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It’s been a busy few weeks since we got back from Singapore. The other day I got home from work, feeling stressed and claustrophobic, desperate for fresh air and a bit of time away from the world.

So we packed a bag with some supplies, left the phones at home, and jumped on the tube for a quiet date night on Clapham Common…

I’m not very good at balance. I’m more of an all-in or all-out kinda girl on most things. Drink too much, feast or famine, exercise 5 times a week or not at all… It’s probably not the healthiest of lifestyles.

Since we got back from Singapore, everything’s been a bit GO GO GO! Work, friends, events, blogs, emails, accounts, spreadsheets, contractors, finance plans, business trips…

Gary and I haven’t really stopped since we landed, and so we’ve not really had a chance to spend any proper time together. The evenings we are both at home mainly involve crashing on the sofa to play on our phones and watch TV (we’ve just started ‘American Gods’ and omg it’s so good! And so confusing! But so good!).

Then I’ve also found myself on nights out and eating too much food (#foodbloggerproblems), drinking too much, and not doing anywhere near enough exercise (translation: none).

I feel sluggish and tired, and it’s time for a change.

Swedish people have a word for balance and moderation. They call it lagom. Like a lot of Scandinavian words, it doesn’t have a literal translation to English, it’s more about a feeling (like hygge!).

Lagom, very roughly, means “just right”. Not too much, not too little, but just the right amount. (Maybe Goldilocks was Swedish?)

To celebrate the art of lagom, Rekorderlig Cider are launching a 28 day UK tour of their Rekorderlig sampling vehicle.

They asked me to talk about what lagom means to me, and also sent me a couple of ciders to try. So on Tuesday Gary and I laid out a blanket (one of my giant ASOS scarves!), cracked open a couple of chilled bottles (mango-raspberry for me, wild berries for Gary), and just spent a happy couple of hours playing Scrabble and relaxing together in the evening sun.

Life’s all about balance. You eat a cake, you eat a salad. You have a wine, you have a water. Work hard, play hard. Moderation is the key right?

Well I’ve realised this week that I am well overdue some moderation and balance in my life. So here are my summer lagom resolutions:

1. I’m going to work hard in the day, then step away from my phone, my followers and my feed in the evening, to spend more time with my favourite people.

2. I’m going to go for walks on my lunch break. I need more sunshine and fresh air, and my body needs to balance out the hours it spends sat in front of a computer!

3. I’m going to sleep more during the week, so that I don’t have to play catch-up on the weekend.

4. I’m going to try and be moderate with my food choices. So if I know I’m having fried chicken, mac’n’cheese, bacon-wrapped tater tots, and ice cream sundaes for dinner… then I’ll have fruit for breakfast and soup for lunch. Balance.

5. I’m going to cut down on drinking. So if I say I’m going for one drink: I need to only HAVE one drink!

I want to focus on making balanced choices. No cutting out, no making myself miserable cos I can’t eat pasta or drink prosecco with my friends. Just moderation. So that I don’t crash and burn. So that I’m happy and energetic and ready to take on the world (and the internet).

That’s the plan anyway!