Dealing With a Breakup

Do you ever get that feeling that everything is perfect and nothing can stop you? Well, that's how I felt until I found out the most heart-crushing news. The perfect guy, made me laugh, made me feel so comfortable and I gave him all of my trust just for him to throw it back in my face. Thoughts that cross my mind:

• Should I have been more demanding?
• Was I too trusting?
• Did I let him see his friends too much?
• Should I have made even more effort?

And that's just a few that circle around my mind daily. After a while, I realise that I gave everything and nothing was my fault. Shit happens, life goes on. Time to pick myself up and focus on me, myself and I.

7 Signs That You Should Practise Self Care

Self care is something that many people take for granted. Previously even I have thought it was unnecessary, however as I'm working my way well into my twenties, I realise that self care should be a staple in every person's life. What is self care? Self care is doing something that will make you happy - whether that's cooking, exercising, painting, writing or mountain climbing! Taking the time to make sure you have a fun and happy life will result in you feeling more energetic, more social and more confident. So, what are the warning signs that you should start practising self care?

Five Things That Made Me Happy This Week / 1

I stumbled upon this blogpost yesterday and it really made me think about my week, what I enjoyed and what I was grateful for. Gratitude journalling is something I have always been interested in but sitting down to write them in a notebook seems so concrete to me and I don't feel the need to do it and have it there physically on paper. On a blogpost, it seems more realistic for me as I will post this (hopefully) every Sunday to reflect back on my week mindfully. I've started a mindfulness journey and yes I know that sounds like who do I think I am? But it has really helped me to destress and start thinking positively again. I have been listening to a really good podcast as well which I will make a separate post on soon. Basically I would recommend everyone to practice mindfulness as it just improves your way of thinking. Here are my top five things that made me happy this week:

7 Things That Must be Present in Every Woman's Handbag - Guest Post

Rachel Stinson has always had a knack for writing, food, fashion, and places. Blogging has combined all four for her with an added bonus of enthusiastic audiences. She expertly analyzes real estates, restaurants and online fashion stores with respect to pricing and people involved and can express her opinions in an unhesitant, engaging manner for all matters.

Trust me on this; if you do not have this sort of items in your bag, then you aren't ready to head out the door. Women should always be ready for anyone, anything at all times. Here are 7 things that must be present in every woman's handbag:

FREE PDF Job Application Tracker

I have an announcement to make - I've finally got a job after graduating with The Open University. I can now say goodbye to retail and say hello to the 9-5 life. Hello weekends. One thing I noticed when applying for so many jobs was I was getting mixed up with all of the different phone calls. I decided to make a spreadsheet to keep up to date with every job application I had submitted. I've made this free PDF for any other job seekers so you can also quickly refer back to it, if in doubt.

Job Searching

The job search is on as I'm officially a graduate. This is probably a shock, but I'm back! After just over a year out of blogging, I finally can delve back into this part of my life. As you may or may not be able to tell, I've redesigned my blog - I even considered making a brand new blog but I feel like I can't get rid of Hannah Notes as this is where my love for writing and being creative started.

Race For Life Training // Day 1

After yesterday's post, today I really wanted to push myself. So, I got up, had breakfast, finished an episode of Sex and The City and got changed into running clothes. Yes everyone, I did it, I went outside in the real world, and ran. I'm not going to lie and say it was amazing and I've never felt better... It was awful, I was out of breath so easily, I was warm, sweaty, red-faced and it was so windy. Today I realised the huge difference between a run indoors and outdoors. Wow. How do you runners do this?

I don't know why but I thought it would be a breeze (it was literally blowing a gale). I could not run the whole way and switched from a fast walk to a jog/run... I don't even know if that's good. I used the Nike Running app to track it and my aim was to run for 20 minutes, here are my stats:

Exercise and 'The Feeling Good Effect'

As my phone chimed an email notification, I shuddered as I read the words, '6 weeks to go.' How did the Race For Life come around so quickly? For weeks months, I have been putting off exercise and comfort eating, blaming it on the stress of my degree... I no longer have this excuse and am free for the Summer. Why. I have been saying to myself that I'm going to join the gym for so long, why do I keep putting it off? Money, to be frank. I don't want to pay so much for something that I could do at home. So why don't I get off my arse and jump on the exercise bike? There's just no motivation. At. All.

Binge-watching Sex On The City (even right now, as I write this post) is a habit that I must start whilst being on the exercise bike, or doing a pilates video on YouTube. One of the main reasons I signed up for Race For Life was to raise money for the charity, to give myself a target and lastly, to introduce exercise into my everyday life. Exercise is so good for you, not only will it make you look fantastic, it will make you feel like a Victoria Secret model.


via GIPHY

Old Before My Time

Turning twenty really did make me grow up in a way that I never thought I would. I moved on to the next chapter in my life, left extra baggage behind, focused on people who actually cared about me and took important steps towards my education and career path. I've recently seen a lot of young girls calling themselves or their friends, 'Grandma's' on social media. People joke about this, but is it really a bad thing? These so-called Grandma's are the girls who are staying in on the the weekend to organise their week ahead, to steer their body away from binge drinking and getting a good night's sleep. Does that really sound so terrible?

Bag essentials - French Connection glasses / Batiste Dry Shampoo travel size / Miss Dior perfume / Soap and Glory Hand Food mini / Nikki Strange notebook / Paper Mate InkJoy pen

Prioritising and Playing Catch Up

It is no secret that Christmas and January for an Open University student (or any student) can be a huge MASSIVE distraction. I procrastinated last year and guess what? I procrastinated the same time this year! Joking aside, January was full of assignment deadlines, for which I had to prioritise my workload. It was difficult but I have come out smiling. Now I'm in the game of playing catch up, staying up to date with the current week's reading, as well as some chapters I may have skipped whilst prioritising. Today's post includes some hints and tips for students who are hardcore procrastinators, like me.

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

Whether you love it or hate it, if you're in a relationship or single, everyone must acknowledge that Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I have to admit, that I'm a lover of the holiday. I think it's a great excuse to spend some quality time with your loved one or even your best friends. I've decided to share with you all some of my favourite gifts I've found this year for my Valentine. I would probably send these gifts to my friends as well (apart from the love coupons haha!)

Valentines day gifts by hmmorgan52 featuring valentines day home decor

Getting to Grips with January

Blogmas fail... I apologise! The reality of trying to keep up with a post every day, a hectic retail job and university was too much to take on. Hey ho, we learn from our mistakes! January is almost coming to an end and to be honest, it has been a blur! Assignment deadlines, never ending overtime and not feeling 100% has all caught up to me and I finally feel like I can breathe and update you all with what 2016 has in store for me.

I have never been big on New Year resolutions, but I did make one which I have stuck to (so far!) No take out food in January... Kind of like, dry January but with Mcdonald's, KFC, Burger King, Domino's, a chinese or fish and chips. I really wanted to start cooking more, saving money and thinking about what I'm actually putting into my body. HOWEVER, I am still surrounded by Christmas chocolate and now the Easter eggs have arrived in work and I am forever surrounded by chocolate!!! Help. This year I need to find an alternative to chocolate!

Majorly, I want to start exercising more. Especially after trying to find something to wear for the works Christmas party, which resulted in me looking like a sausage roll in a dress. Christmas has not been kind. I'm thinking of making swimming a regular activity (I'm yet to go) and I've started doing Zumba with my Mother a couple of times a week. Lol.

2016 is the year I turn 21 and I just want to make it exciting and full of new experiences. Blog-wise, I want to keep this up as I love blogging. I may not have a lot of time to pull out several posts a week, but I will try to make one or two posts a month!

I hope you've all had a wonderful start to the year!

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Keeping Fit During The Festive Season

At this time of the year, we're all searching for the amazing dress to wear to Christmas parties and wow everyone at New Years Eve. I thought I'd share with you all an app I've downloaded which helps me keep fit at home - no gym, in the comfort of your own home, and can be done whenever you're in the mood to go for it! It is called The Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout App - it is free to download on iPhone and Android. The workouts are made up of different exercises and you can do as many circuits as you want to. The app also gives you the opportunity to start with a warm up and end with a cool down - which is perfect if it's you're working out at home. 

Christmas Gift Guide For Her

Gift guide... More like my wishlist!! I love every single item in this post! If you are like me, or if you know anyone who loves makeup and all things beauty then you may want to look into these lovelies! Sometimes it's difficult to pick a present for that special someone, and if you are looking for something for you partner, they'd love nothing more than one of these gifts... Trust me!

Christmas Gifts for her by hmmorgan52 featuring Kusmi Tea

Must Have Christmas Jumpers

Christmas jumpers are a must in December, let's be honest! Especially, if like me, you work in retail! Basically I will be in a Christmas jumper every working day in December... I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. Today's post is a round up of my favourite jumpers on the market right now, as you can tell I love a good old pun! My favourite jumper would have to be the, 'I only do mornings on December 25th,' because it speaks to me.

christmas jumpers by hmmorgan52 featuring christmas tops

Bullied, Controlled and Finding Myself

Being young and in a relationship has negative and positive points. It gives you a way of learning about so many aspects of life like socialising, love, heartbreak etc... But it can also be very restricting at times. Restricting someone from doing/saying/wearing something is emotional abuse. Remember that you are your own person and this is your life. This is my story of finding who I really was at 17 years old.

I've had relationships with peers and boyfriends in the past which really impacted on my state of mind. I didn't realise how much my past experiences had affected me until about 2 years ago. Being a teenage girl is never easy, I'm sure everyone can agree with that. There are so many pressures to start puberty, talk to boys, dress and act a certain way, when really you should be focusing on school and making solid friendships. Unfortunately, teenage girls are basically bullied into thinking they should wear certain clothes, some are pressured into smoking, others are even pressured into losing their virginity. It just has to stop.

Open University Experience // Weeks 1 & 2

Picture from my Tumblr page (I use Tumblr strictly for study motivation)

I cannot believe it is the end of my second week of uni... It has flown by and I have gone through so. Much. Material, you would not believe!! A230: Reading & Studying Literature is seriously a hefty amount of work but, I actually kind of love it (so far)! I've always known I love studying English, but I thought I was more of an English Language girl, but oh my word, English Literature is so interesting! I've only studied one of many (many) texts at this point and I already have so many notes with many different criticisms too! This is the nerd inside me but I love reading criticisms... UGH! Anyway taking a step back from this overly raving rant about English Lit. I will go on to tell you all how my first two weeks of being a second year student at The Open University have been.

CV Building // Interests and Hobbies

Here is the third instalment of my CV building series, if you haven't read the previous posts, please do so! Here is part one and part two. This section of your CV is the place where you get to finally show the employer who you are and what you're all about! This is the section I usually get questioned on mostly in interviews (from my own experience).

Preparing for Second Year // The Open University

As many of you may be aware, I am a student at The Open University. I am just about to start my second year and I am beyond excited to get back into the routine of studying. The majority of my study will be from at home so I wanted to make sure that I was properly prepared for my second year. First of all, I just want to emphasise that I am finally a second year university student... It feels so good to have found the right course and university for me! Even though, studying with the OU is a challenge, I would recommend it to everyone! Like any university student, you must be well-equipped with stationary. Yes, I said it, stationary *gasps in excitement!*

CV Building // Education

This is the second part of my blog series on writing a CV. Here's my first post which is all about writing your personal details. The next section is about your education. This part is very simple, but they way you set it out makes all the difference.