Seven reasons why...

...it is totally fabulous being single

Let's not beat around the bush, break-ups are hard. Period. But there is much more to life than being part of a couple! Jason Derulo even wrote a song about the positives of riding solo ;) I'm one of those girls that is happy in a relationship but also happy being single, but I'm also a strong believer of only being in a relationship if you are happy and it is working for both of you. You should make the most of your life and be happy, no matter what your relationship status is! So here are a few things that are my pros of the single life...

more 'me' time

It's soooo good having loads of time to look after myself now; face masks, body butter, spending hours on my nails, you name it! A film and girly pampering, that makes you feel amazing, beats a night of checking football scores or watching him play Call of Duty every time.

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slob days

When you finally reach long term relationship territory it becomes acceptable to look your absolute worse on a regular basis because your guy should love you unconditionally right? I have totally done this on many occasions but I still felt super guilty that I wasn't making an effort. Now I can wake up with no worries about how awful I look; panda eyes.. no problem!

glamour glamour glamour

Being single is NO excuse to let yourself go; yes eat your weight in ice-cream for a few days but then you need to get a grip! It's amazing what a good body scrub, nice smelling shampoo and your favourite dress can do to your outlook on life :) Look fabulous, feel fabulous. Katy Perry didn't stop being one hot mama just because of Russell now did she? Nope, she turned it up a notch.

movie moments

There is a really good column in Cosmopolitan magazine thats is all about the single/taken life. Laura Jane MacBeth writes all about the single life in a brilliantly witty fashion and I'd like to share some of her advice. All mundane moments in your life like waiting for the bus, shopping for groceries or visiting the gym now become a potential moment for you to meet fantastic guys. It doesn't just happen in the movies ;)

freedom
I can't really complain about past relationships because I have always been allowed to do my own thing, however it is never the same as when you are single. For me, I just got out of an 'opposites attract' relationship so now I feel like the pressure of understanding and participating in stuff that I'm just not interested in has gone :) it works both ways though, I no longer have to watch someone force themselves to do something that I naturally find really enjoyable. Watching six Harry Potter films in a week so he could watch the seventh in cinema was some definite dedication to me! It's just great to be able to go to places I like and do what I enjoy without having to consider anyone else :)

switch off
Being in a long distance relationship meant that I was really reliant on technology. Phone calls, texting, facebook and skype all played a major part in our communication. Don't get me wrong I love all these things but it's nice to just spend an hour without checking to see if he has spoke to you. I can now read a book without getting distracted by texts :D

guilt free ogling & flirting

Having Ryan Gosling as your phone background is now more than acceptable. Smiling at that guy in the queue in Asda is totally fine. I am a total flirting novice after being off the market for two years but I will get there soon :)

The world is your oyster.. or insert a more original proverb

If I actually learnt anything in the past fortnight at Project International, number one would definitely be that you should never stop exploring. Meet new people, visit new places, say yes more and always learn something new. As a poor student sometimes this can be a bit tough as you don't want to break the bank but  I have also learnt that there can be some hidden gems in your local area that you just need to open your eyes to :)

Little Helen was a pain in the bum but also a total cutie, however she is a bit of an inspiration too. At only nine years old and she flew all the way from Taiwan to England and stayed away from home for a whole three weeks. If a nine year old can travel to the other side of the world then why can't I?

Even revisiting places you have been to a million times can be eye-opening when you go with different people because you have to stop and look around you rather than the usual rush. I don't think I ever really thought about how beautiful Ironbridge and Birmingham actually are until last week! I've been a tourist in York but it's about time I was a tourist in my own city and the local area :) who knows what I could find.

I've also had invites to stay all over the place.. not by the kids of course! But they could come in handy if I want to know the cool places to visit if I ever find myself in Barcelona or Paris one day :D Who knows what the future holds eh? I think my international travels for 2012 are over but there is still plenty of time to drive all over the UK! I'm up in York this week to move out of my Emerald Street house and into my new house ready for third year. Next week I have a Manchester date planned with Dally; plenty of shopping and coffee drinking is on the agenda of course. Then to wrap up my Summer I have a week in Edinburgh with my family :) not just to see the giant pandas of course ;) 

Olympic scorcher

It is finally my day off, wahooooo!!! This glorious weather arrived just in time :) it has been hotter in England than it was in Lanzarote which is totally insane; I am begging for the canary island breeze now! My theory is that England is just trying to channel the fabby Greek weather because of course that is where the Olympics aaaaaaall began :D I've noticed the Olympic fever is at an all time high in Britain; my facebook/twitter/whatever else is full of people either standing near the torch or with the torch or sometimes just a really blurry picture of a runner and said torch. If that is not enough, the Olympic lanes officially open in London today. I had first hand look at these on my LONG trip to and from St Pancreas station on Monday and they are EVERYWHERE.. good luck Londoners trying to get to work on time! Oh yeah, they also sell Olympic style rubber ducks in ASDA, crazy!

Now I am all for the Olympics and I love that GB are this years hosts :) I know the economy is a mess and Olympic worthy pools are pretty expensive but sometimes you just have to say yes in life! A small confession though... I may be a teeny bit excited at seeing all of the scantily clad Olympians. But seriously, what girl wouldn't be? With Tom Daley rumoured to be off the market it's a good job that Cosmopolitan Magazine provided us with a whole host of athletic centrefolds last month. May I introduce you to the GB hockey team?

Even though I ogle all these lovely sporty men I am definitely a lazy girl at heart! I am useless at literally any kind of sport except girly stuff like yoga which I am not even sure classes as a sport! My ideal Olympic sport  would most certainly be sofa diving or swimming in a giant cup of tea; or maybe a caramel & soya frappuccino if the weather stays hot hot hot!

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Busy Bee

Sooooo I kind of have a confession to make. I totally forgot about my 365 photo a day challenge while I have been working here at Summer camp! It's not like me to give up on something so quickly and I am majorly disappointed with myself :( But then again who can judge me when I work from 7:30am till 11:30pm EVERY SINGLE DAY. It is exhausting work but I definitely wouldn't have it any other way :)

It's a pretty sad day at camp as we had to stand and wave goodbye to a load of children that were making their way to the airports. Some of the staff unfortnately had to leave as we are having a quieter week at camp. It's been soooo strangely empty around school and in the staffroom but at least I have some free time to catch up on things :) I have actually missed my blog! I don't remember the last time I properly watched a tv or actually had nothing to do.. what I wouldn't do to snuggle up with a magazine and a cup of tea right now.

Why is it that as you get older you seem to aquire a million and one things to do? As well as working practically 24/7 I'm trying to juggle my life at Uni; moving in dates, student finance, rent payments etc! Lets not forget the ongoing job hunt for when I move back to York in September! It definitely feels like my holiday to Lanzarote was a million years ago :'(

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I have one more week to go until I can get back into the blogging zone and give you guys something good to read about!!

Hope you are all well :)

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Oh la la

It has been a while eh Amigos :) I have been back in the UK for four days and it feels like an absolute life time! After working these next two weeks I will definitely be needing to go back to Lazarote ASAP!

I'm currently at the Royal Wolverhampton School, supervising a three hour free time in the ICT suite at work so I thought I'd update you all quickly while these kids try and change the language to italian on their facebooks :) (it took me ages to turn blogger back to English!)

For those who don't know, I am working at a Summer camp for foreign kids aged 11-17 which is luckily based in my home town; so I can call mommy if I need something ;) It's basically an English teaching job for three hours every morning and then I supervise/join in with the activities durng the afternoon and evening.

Last night we did a murder mystery where all the staff had to dress up as characters and all the kids had to question us and find our alibis and our clues :) I ended up as Lord Wolverhampton's Cook... Patsy Clunge... what a name. If you don't think that name is funny then you absolutley need to watch the inbetweeners! Luckily nobody mentioned being knee deep.

The girls I'm working with have talked me into entering the talent show tonight as a group effort. We are dancing to the one and only 'hit me baby one more time' :) will be sporting the Britney school uniform and pigtails of course! The dance is reeeeeally simple though thank god! I am not the most coordinated of people :)

I suppose I better check that the little Taiwanese boys aren't on any sites they shouldn't be on :P I'll leave you with part of a song about England that my French students wrote today :)

"Your Queen is very very old

 and the country is very cold."

Can't knock them because it's true :)