CENTERPARCS

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I was lucky enough to experience Centerparcs and I can offically say I have caught the 'Centerparcs bug' and I can totally see what the hype is about! It is truly amazing and the most fun I have had in a LONG time! I know I'm pretty late with the whole Centerparcs vibe but I'm sure loads of you can relate if you have been! 

Through school I was never a sports fan and anything fitness related really did turn my stomach so I could never imagine Centerparcs being my thing and whenever I heard good things about Centerparcs I let it go over my head however I have somehow changed and the idea of cycling around all week amongst other sports related activities literally excites the hell out of me! (Mainly the thought of being able to eat copious amounts of food and not feel massively guilty! Although, I'm pretty sure I ate over 10x my body weight). Hey ho, it's Monday tomorrow. New day and all that.

When we arrived we went straight to the Cycle Centre and picked up our rides for the week. 

HAHA. Yes, we did get a tandem! (After a day of having normal bikes, I realised bike riding seriously isn't my forte and I could only picture myself with two broken legs and no front teeth). So after a little bit of persuasion Oli agreed that we could get a tandem. Who knew going up hills would be so easy?! ;)

Segwaying was defintely one of my highlights of the week! Imagine riding to work on one of these?!

Closely followed by our spa day and afternoon tea! 

This was my first ever Spa day at Aqua Sana and it most definitely did not disappoint! The Turkish Saunas and the beautiful scenery around the swimming pools were breath-taking! 

Our Afternoon Tea was incredible and it included warm scones (mmm, making me seriously hungry!), a selection of sandwiches, a macaron, lemon drizzle cake and a tiramisu! Accompanied by a peppermint tea! 

Not forgetting our full body massages (I'd like one every day, please!) and shellac treatments. I felt like a princess! 

The Pancake House! 

Pretty sure this picture speaks for itself... Amazing. 

This was actually Oli's pancake (jealous). Mine didn't look quite as good! 

Not forgetting the most amazing salad and dessert at Café Rouge! 

Paysanne Salad followed by Chocolate and banana torté with salted caramel ice cream. (It tasted even better than it looks)

I'm sorry if this post bored you slightly but I just thought I'd share with you all what I've been up to this past week and to let you all know how amazing Centerparcs really is! I hope you all had a fab half term and a happy halloween! Now back to reality! 

♥

xxxxxxx

WORRYING IS POINTLESS

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'It's not fair.'

'I don't understand.'

'Why do bad things happen to good people?'

We’ve all got this ridiculous obsession of putting on a brave face. Forever telling people ‘we’re okay’, ‘we’re fine’… Because you know, we aren’t fine. Probably not even close. In the short term we take the easy way out by painting on a smile and pretending we’re on top of the world. We’re all victims of this. Why is it ok to set ourselves back and to cause ourselves more emotional damage than we’ve already got? We end up running away from our troubles until they come back and haunt us. Most of the time it’s when we’re in bed and it eventually turns in to crying ourselves to sleep.

Life is a continuous roller coaster. It goes up and then it goes down, repeatedly. (For me anyway, but I’m pretty sure it happens to us all).

We have to deal with some kind of tragedy day in, day out. Whether it be having a flat tyre, forgetting our lunch or most tragically dealing with the loss of a loved one. We all go through it. Yet we all have our individual ways of dealing with the outcome of the situation. 

We find ourselves asking questions... Shouting questions... Sometimes even screaming them. Waiting for an answer to be given to us. 'WHY?', 'WHY ME?'. No one knows. Life is an amazing thing yet so incredibly confusing. We're all put on this Earth and given life yet no one really knows any reasons as to why. We're left to deal with the shit that is thrown at us with no explanation or idea as to why it's even happened. You hear these things on the news, but seriously. Me?

Plane crashes, car crashes, illnesses?

In reality life is all about timings. Wrong place wrong time kinda thing… The invention of a time machine would be the answer to it all but unfortunately my non-scientific brain cannot successfully think of a fully functioning invention, as much as it pains me to say. Each morning I wake up in hope that I have developed some bewitching powers and somehow managed to change the world… But no, still hoping and wishing that that day will come!

How do we cope with the anger, frustration, sadness, confusion and all the other emotions that we're left with? 

When bad things happen we’re sure to go through every emotion known to man, even emotions we didn't even know existed! We end up on a road to oblivion with no knowledge on what way to turn. Feeling like we’re on our own. But turns out this is normal. Truth is our questions are forever going to be unanswered. The answer is whatever we want them to be. Stay positive... Everything happens for a reason, right?

Its okay not to be okay. It’s SO okay!

The feeling of worrying and being alone is probably one of the most stressful and frustrating emotions. Yet the most pointless of them all!

  Life is still yet to make sense to me. All I know for sure is that laughing, being with people you love, having manners and wearing nice clothes is all that really matters! 

♥

xxxxx

THE BRITISH TAG

Seeing as we're so far away from each other now (a two and a half hour drive *heartbroken emoji*) doing a blog post together isn't going to be very easy so we thought we'd do The British Tag! We have seen a few other bloggers and YouTubers doing it so we thought we'd jump on the bandwagon!

We hope you enjoy pointlessly reading about what our fave biscuits are and whether we drink tea or not! We'd love too know what yours are!!

♥

Crystal 

1 - How many cups of tea do you have a day and how many sugars?

I'm not sure if this is breaking the whole 'Being British' thing but I don't actually like tea! I drink 1-4 cups of green tea a day, at a push! Coffee is ma thaang.

2 - Favourite dunking biscuit? 

 McVities Caramel Digestives... Dur?!

3 - Favourite part of your roast?

OMG Roast Dinner is my all time fave meal! But it HAS to be the roast potatoes! (The most unhealthy part, yeah I know!)

4 - Cockney rhyming slang?

Can you Adam and Eve it?!

5 - Favourite sweet?

Definitely more of a chocolate lover but I love Percy Pigs and Humbugs!

6 - Favourite quintessentially British pastime?

Watching The Great British Bake Off... Does that count?

7 - What would your pub be called?

The Jam Scone Inn. Lol

8 - No.1 British person?

Colin Firth 100%

9 - Favourite shop/restaurant?

Harrods!?

10 - Favourite word?

Darling! 

11 - What British song pops in to your head?

If you wanna be my lover!

12 - Marmite?

LOVE. I would probably eat it out of the jar, given the choice.

Salma

1 - How many cups of tea do you have a day and how many sugars?
I like to mix it up with my teas - usually I have a coffee in the morning and green tea during the day and night. I do drink tea if there's no green tea in - black, no sugars (boring I know)

2 - Favourite dunking biscuit? 
Ooo this is hard!! If you know about the penguin dunk then that's my fave thing to do. also caramel digestives are divine. 

3 - Favourite part of your roast?
Gravy smothered veg!!

4 - Cockney rhyming slang?
Hank Marvin... (All the time)

5 - Favourite sweet?
Cherry Drops. 'cherrydropissalma' was my bebo name... Cringe!! Lol

6 - Favourite quintessentially British pastime?
Going for Afternoon Tea! #yummy

7 - What would your pub be called?
Sal's Trusty Tavern

8 - No.1 British person?
David Beckham *droool*

9 - Favourite shop/restaurant?
Gotta go with Monk on this one, Harrods! (If I had a larger purse)

10 - Favourite word?
Indeed

11 - What British song pops in to your head?
'Yeeeah you really got me goinn' You Really Got Me - The Kinks. Tuune

12 - Marmite?
Not a lover, not a hater - smack bang in the middle, depends if I fancy it.

A GUIDE TO RUINING YOUR LIFE

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The feeling of being 'stuck in a rut' and feeling like you're on a road to no-where is a well felt feeling of mine! And I can't imagine me being the only one. In reality very few people are in the position to be able to visage what they will be doing 10 years down the line... And yes, it is an extremely scary thought. What with thousands off to uni in hope they land their dream career and people with their 9-5 jobs in hope to accumulate enough money to do all the things in life that are a MUST. Such as getting a Range Rover in every colour and visiting the Maldives whenever we're feeling low! We can dream, right?

However seeing this quote on more occasion than one has given me a glimmer of hope! Who are we kidding? I can't even successfully load a dishwasher so the chance of having my life together is nil. Also being in two minds about life makes the whole situation 10x more confusing. 

Stay in and save our money in order to be able to do all of the nice things in life?

Go out party all day and night? After all life is way too short!

I believe the main issue surrounding these negative thoughts are the media. DON'T get me wrong, I have OCD when it comes to the Daily Mail. Refreshing everytime I get a chance and oogling over celebrities and their perfect worlds. What with Kylie and Kendall being two of the most talked about teenagers on the planet, we don't have much hope in feeling positive about our bog standard, day-in-day-out lives.

Truth is... We needn't have bog standard, day-in-day-out lives. Go and do whatever makes you happy!... Making excuses for ourselves is too easy. (Easier said than done, I know!!) Following our dreams seem way out of reach but really, we're all just too lazy to pursue them! It just takes that extra bit of courage to reach them! We're too easily sucked in to others opinions, whether it be our parents, our friends, the media or a randomer you over hear talking in Topshop changing rooms! 

Our time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - living with the results of other peoples thinking! Don't let others paths of life make you lose track of your own. Most importantly find the courage to follow your heart and intuition. Somehow them two things already know what you truly want to become... Everything else is secondary and irrelevant!!

" If today were your last day on this earth, would you do what you're about to do today?" - Steve Jobs. 

Have fun following your dreams! 

xxxxx

JUST WHY?

Excuse me, please... Oo sorry, excuse me... Hi sorry, can I get passed?

HELLO?

MOVE!?!

You're all with me yeah?

Ok. We all have a pet reeve, right? Well in my case I tend to have a few things that really tick all of my boxes. Don't get me wrong... I'm pretty easy going but we're only human and there is only so much one can take?

If people were to keep their irritating traits locked tightly away behind closed doors I'm sure the world would be a much calmer place.

I thought I'd share with you things that seriously grind my gears!! I'm pretty certain I'm not alone. (I hope I'm not anyway, otherwise I will feel pretty mean!)

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1 - THE DAWDLE

If you fancy taking a leisurely stroll down the street with a pushchair fit for quadruplets, then that is absolutely fine... But please move so I can get past you! I don't get it. It's a public footpath yet certain people make you feel like you really shouldn't be walking on pavements?! Jesus.

Oh and pleeease put your umbrella down. I came out with two eyes, I'd quite like to return with two aswell!

2 - MATE

Ah, lovely! You've spotted a friend!

I'm all for stopping for a quiet chit chat, but seriously. Shouting MATE or some other delightful nickname one end of the high street to other, really isn't appropriate. Especially when I am standing a metre away from you and I jump 10ft in the air.

3 - NO WORRIES, YOU'RE WELCOME

It seems a vast majority of the population never quite got to grips with the words please and thank you! You should try it sometime, it really isn't too difficult!

4 - DO YOU EVEN HAVE A LICENCE?

Give way to your right and all that? WTF are you doing?!

ITS GREEN. GO.

You'd rather have a fag than let me know which way you're turning? Indicate!!!

5 - GROSS

Nothing better than being absolutely starving, going to a nice a restaurant and ordering some food that you reaaally fancy!  

But of course, it's not that simple.

That guy in the corner... He keeps picking his nose?!

OMG seriously, close your mouth when you're eating!

Eww, baby sick.

6 - COOL, YOU LIKE PUNK ROCK

I don't!! Headphones are made for a reason.

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It's only natural to have a rant every now again, right?

Don't get me wrong, I'm no saint but I really do find it amusing how we all have this amazing ability to grind each others gears so well!

♥ 

xxxxxx

DID SOMEBODY SAY RUN?

... Aaah! The thought of doing The Great South Run a few years ago would have literally made me run a mile! (In the opposite direction, to which I then would have collapsed on the floor). 

During school I was pretty well known as a serial 'P.E not do-er'... Writing myself notes for a 'bad foot' or whatever other mystery injury I could think up. Funnily enough doing so made me pretty damn good at forging my mums signature. Also plays a part as to me being a bit of human pork pie. 

Thankfully our habits changed and we're on too something good...

So, on October 26th 2014 Frog, myself and our third leg of the tripod, Ella will be running 10 miles for our chosen charities. It took a bit of thinking on my part but as we've spoke about it before... life is way too short so I thought why the hell not. The charity that is linked to The Great South Run this year is for Diabetes, as much as I am aware that this is a very horrible illness we have chosen to raise money for separate charities that are close to all of our hearts.

 I have chosen to raise money for the British Liver Trust in memory of Jadey. 

I feel very strongly about the importance of raising awareness for this and to get the knowledge of the different types of liver diseases and illnesses out there. I speak on behalf of myself and I know how ignorant I was to it all. It's ok, it's never going to happen to me, or anyone I care about. Things like that only happen on the TV, right?

Unfortunately not.

Knowledge 1 - Ignorance 0

Liver related illnesses are the fifth biggest killer in England alone and it is the only illness that manages to kill more and more people each year. 

Salma has chosen to raise money for Mind - The Mental Health Charity to raise awareness on the importance of mental health.

I also feel very strongly about the importance of this charity. It is one of biggest killers out there yet once again. IGNORANCE springs to mind. 1 in 4 people suffer from a mental illness and it can happen to any single one of us at any single moment. A little help from one another and the willingness to listen is sometimes all it takes. 

Please head over to our JustGiving pages. No matter how small, any donation is so greatly appreciated.

https://www.justgiving.com/CrystalGulliver/

https://www.justgiving.com/Salma-Abouelela

Anyway it's time to pack away the caramel digestives (noooo), get used to living in our running shoes and ensure we have an endless supply of water!

We really are so so grateful for any donation, or even anyone to acknowledge what we are trying to accomplish. 

♥ 

xxxxx 

WHAT IS THE POINT?

... Is a question I have been asking myself over and over again. Yes I know questioning our existence is the first sign of going crazy but hey, crazy I am. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that has all sorts of questions flying in and out of my head on an hourly basis.

I look and all I see around me is people suffering, people crying and people clock watching - waiting for their working day to come to an end. Although there is an abundance of good in our lives it seems very rare to be able to find balance, happiness and peace. So really, what is the point? We live to work and work to live. We give up our dreams in order to make a living. Of course making money to sustain our needs is inevitable but we forget how special life really is.

I anxiously sat on the train whilst on my way to visit my Sister in hospital and I found myself looking at those around me. Those napping, those talking on the phone and those reading. Each one looking quite content but in reality we all know each and everyone is most probably dealing with their own description of hell, yet having to power on through day to day life. Despite us being fully aware of this people still aren't nice too each other. Why not? Every one is so ignorant to other peoples lives and we're all in our own bubble. Forgetting about the things that really matter. Being nice really doesn't cost a thing, it pays.  

I looked at myself in the reflection and reflected on my own life and I realised we all cling on to hope. Hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Happiness is just another day away, right? We race and chase in hope for more money, more success and most importantly more happiness. Yet really the thing that is most important to every single one of us is health. 

We pace through life as if we're invincible, as if we're to be around forever. We treat time as a cheap commodity and take one another for granted. We compete with one another, we compete for beauty, money, ownership and sadly we compete for each others happiness. We cling on to other peoples opinions which result in our way of living being rapidly changed by one's perception. We get stuck in jobs we hate, as if life is one disgusting habit. In our never ending race to survive, we become oblivious to the important things and become glued to routine. A routine that only very few people want to be apart of. 

Moral of the story...

Live in the moment. Life really is a gift to us, yet so cruel and it can be snatched away at any given time. The preciousness of our time with the ones we adore most is what is mostly taken for granted. 

As most of you are probably aware I lost my sister very recently - something that I can't even begin to put in to words. The sad thing is that it takes something so tragic to happen to make me realise that life really is so precious and completely unexplainable. I'm using this opportunity to take this emotionally draining journey to inspire me and to learn what really is important. 

It's time to restructure our lives (at least for me and my family). To restructure how we live, how we prioritise things, how we can contribute and most importantly how we can learn to live more fully in the moments we are blessed with. 

Surround yourself with amazing friends and family that you could never imagine yourselves without <3

Meaning of life - insert your own

Please, please, please all get yourselves on the Organ Donor Register if you haven't already.

https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/

We couldn't save my sister but hopefully one day we can save someone else's <3

Forever in our hearts, mine especially xxxx

<3 Xxxx

MONKEY AND THE FROG

Where do we even begin?! A new project is in hand for the Monkey and the Frog and after endlessly admiring the blogging community, it was only a matter of time before we took the plunge and tried it out for ourselves. We are doing something a little different, a joint blog! You can expect to see an insight into our not so interesting lives; from what we're wearing to what we're eating (expect a lot of that, we ❤️ food!) We're extremely excited to be a part of the blogging world and have plenty of fun ideas, so stay tuned and bear with us whilst we embark on this journey. We hope you'll enjoy it as much as we will!

Lots of love, M&F xxxxxx