HELLO! It is almost 2026 and so it is time to make those changes. For me I want more of what I had experienced this year (2025) and so don’t see it as starting a fresh. For me it means more growing as a person and focus on my son and on my own learning. I love to learn and listen to others that have had success as a author, right blogs and successful on Youtube and find out what works and what doesn’t.
My reading has grown so much and a habit I have stuck to. I enjoyed the walks I did, even when I was reluctant and trying out Park run and would like to try out more fitness clubs. I liked the trips we went on and met up with my eldest cousin. It was good to see family and wish it could be more often.
These are free to download and print. I post them weekly and thank you for those who have liked them and will post more come the new year.
Please check out my Vlog channel if you want to see more of my life, being a mum, writer and now do a radio show each week for my local hospital: https://www.youtube.com/@typicallondongal
So Christmas has been and gone. It was so good to just relax and have a drink or two and watch a film. I watched Calamity Jane, my childhood favourite film. I would watch it continuously, driving my brother and my parents mad. It is good to watch the old favourites and The Rocky Horror Show. Very strange film. It was so good to see it at the theatre this year starring Jason Donovan.
Picture I took of my mums Christmas tree.
It is boxing day and just been out for a drive and coffee. It feels good to sit and not have to be anywhere in particular. I loved the places we went to, like staying at a lodge on a farm.
I am looking forward to more. I have tickets to see Bon Jovi, tomorrow as I write this blog going to see Devils Wear PRADA again as it was good and then gonna spend new years in Epsom.
I am having one of my favourite lunches Soup and a Baguette. My Fav soup is Carrot And Coriander. I would like to make homemade soup again at some point as it is easy and simple and full of goodness and so love my having a nice meal that feels me with joy. Christmas Lattes are full of sugar and calories, but they make me happy AND I LOVE Cold coffees and will never give this up.
My life has moved on from someone who feared food and gaining weight. Now I enjoy life and if I want a festive coffee then I will and my son enjoys going to the coffee shop it is our time in the morning and he will have a hot chocolate or a glass of milk. This year for my sons birthday we went to sixes in London Bridge and it was so good. We all enjoyed it and want to go back and vlogged it: https://youtu.be/p89X9qFs7GM
It good to do different things and yes the days can be dreary, but doesn’t mean our day has to be dreary and still enjoy yourself and have fun. It is what gives you pleasure.
So hope you had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year.
It has a been a different kind of winter this year. Not that cold but wet and rainy, with a bit of frost in the morning. Yet riding on the bus in the mornings to take my son, Henry, to do his schooling, I have found myself boiling hot.
Picture I took from when I visited Windsor this year and so been setting my Winter, to enjoy the places we went to and so using this time of year, winter, to go through 2025 heading into 2026.
I like to have a nice iced coffee still, yet you’d think that that would be too cold and hot coffee all the way but no. So enjoy your take away iced coffee, is one tip. As I write this blog, gonna have an iced coffee indoors and I am looking forward to getting a perfect glass for a home coffee for 2026. So to gift to myself is going to be shopping for a better set of glasses and no more novelty mugs.
With the changes I want to make I want to clear out the kitchen before the start of the New Year. I decided to let my baking tools and equipment go; I know I may go back into it but I like cooking dinners rather than baking.
So second tip, find some home projects to do. I am trying to do more of my sons bedroom and mine and it really is making me use my Winter, to my advantage to concentrate on what I can let go of and making improvements to my homes. I live in two places and soon we, my parents, will be moving from Wimbledon and I feel positive about it.
I spent time yesterday creating vision boards for 2026. Organsing my birthday and Christmas gifts for family for this years Christmas and been organising my Notion. I went through my plans in terms of my finances for 2026, just got to put my planner together. I like to plan ahead when it comes to my finances I am going to do “No spend January” and try to do a “Low spend year” as I am going to call it, because I feel doing a No Spend for me, too unrealistic.
I am finding now that there are less things I want to change, but have more experiences. I liked the walks we did this year and the places we visited, my son, husband and I, with my mum and step dad and would want to visit more places. So rather than focusing on the low energy I usually get, I think well I am going to slow down. I am going to have a good set of books to read and just thinking about what I can do, not what I can’t. Normally I put my indoor workouts on hold but I have found that I like breaking up my exercise and do some through the day, rather than a set workout and I have a watch that I bought to wear at home and out to see how many steps I do when at home and outside as do like to potter around the home and tidy. I like to walk through the local parks and checking out the shops and can shop with out buying and going to continue and not act on impulse unless it is doing a bit of a workout and cleaning and tidying is still physical activity. Check my blog site on google: https://getfitgetactivewithme.blogspot.com/
I loved the walks we did even though I was reluctant at the time but it was good and loved Windsor, We walked from Kingston to Teddington and would love to continue to walk and visit different places within the UK, so using the Winter to think of all what we did this year and I love to plan my year and have things to look forward to. I have tickets to see Bon Jovi, plan to visit Scotland and the Isle Of Wight. Third is to get away. If you can get out and my son and I do bus rides and just good to be in a different environment and where my creative side of my brain gets active and I live rivers, lakes and the sea.
I hope you have been enjoying these blogs and there will be more to come. Please check out these links:
I have felt good this year. I am enjoying journaling whilst my son is having is lesson and it has been a great resource and I do it as my first thing in my journal and I would recommend using the Journal APP I have, not sure if it is available to all phones as it was an APP that was already on my phone. By making this change has helped me to plan content, write about my life, moving on and growing from the past. I dwell a lot on the past from things I did wrong but has helped have shape in my life and “Grow”. My word for 2026. This year 2025 was “Lifestyle” and I have changed my lifestyle.
Was a bit Skeptical about the Elf on the Shelf but my son loves it and I have stopped being a Humbug.
My reading has been an amazing and walked a lot and now as it is Winter I have taken a step back for the Winter and just slowing down, but still being somewhat productive without overwhelm.
Just making one change to your routine can make such a difference. Like having more reading time. I read every morning and evening and it has been one of the greatest habits that has really been a boost and set a challenge of reading 20 books. I am on 17 and have a book on Audible that I am listen to and so is 18 so will have two books left. I have done this on Good Reads. Check out my site: https://mybooksandstories.wordpress.com/
The other change is cleaning. I do it as I go and will make sure that before each meal that I have cleared away the items used. Cleaning does not give me joy but like the results do. Learning. I have done some really good courses and been using Youtube for free training to, to build my platforms and content.
It is good to see the stars and do like a clear sky, but at the same time it is time to slow down and watch some good TV, with a nice hot meal and it is the simple pleasures that makes it different for me now. I did get depressed as I reached adult age, in the winter, but now I embrace it, by not rushing and focus on little pleasures. https://mystylewayofliving.blogspot.com/2025/11/things-that-gives-me-pleasure.html
It is good time to declutter. I do a bit a day and once I start which is the key. Less thinking, more doing and going through my things and today I wrote a list of what I want done by the end of the year and love planning for the next year, around about this time of year and embrace the new year which back at one point would get emotional and felt I wasted a year and so I make the most of the days whilst I am alive and it just simple changes, can make such a difference.
It all counts.
So I hope you are finding these blogs helpful and comforting and that it does not have to be doom and gloom.
In the year the Two Thousand for the first time I dreaded Christmas. My family life had changed, my Nan passed away and I was in a job I hated. It was a fail. I had to re-address my life and where it was going.
Our Elf on A shelf
For some, there are people, like that year who dread Christmas. When a change happens, all those good times feel like they have stopped and can make you feel like you want the world to swallow you up, to never be seen again. It took me a while to adjust and I made the decision to leave my life in Richmond behind to move to work in the South Coast.
When I moved Christmases were a work day. I moved to work at a holiday camp and where I met my husband and so I had the Christmas my boyfriend, then at one of our friends house and it was fun working at Christmas. Within in one year, I stayed with then my boyfriend and worked with a hangover but I do not regret as it, it was so much fun.
I lost my spark for the festive cheer. I was sad. My nan was the center of my universe and my Grandad and my Nan, made the Festive season the best ones and it struck me that those times were gone and I asked, “Would Christmas be good again?”
I see the Christmas as a day a of rest and recuperation now. I love that my son loves it and he has helped bring back my Christmas spirit, to feeling happy again, we hosted Christmas once with my in-laws. Now though it is just the three of us and celebrate for him now and he has helped me bring back my joy for #Christmas.
I am not a fan of the busyness of the Christmas so tend to buy online but do like to have a traditional drinks, decor an like a Mulled Wine or a Winter Cider and may have a glass of wine. I love a festive coffee. This year 2025 its the nutcracker latte, iced or hot. What is your festive drink this year? For a while it was the Blackforest Gateaux Hot Chocolate.
If you’ve not had a good year then it can be hard to enjoy Christmas but do something different and if you want to eat out as many restaurants or pubs can be open. The year before Henry was born we, my husband I went to Florida which was good fun and next year I plan to go to Scotland and today we are off to Kingston if the weather is okay and see the lights and see if we can get any decor or my sons bedroom.
The other thing is family break ups. Alternate visits. One year let your kids be with their dad and the next with you. It was hard when my parent divorced but my dad would go to my brothers and so it can work out and just say “Your not gonna choose” but will see them what day works for you and if they are persistent then say “No this is what is going to work with me” and if they make it hard for you then you have to be honest with them and be stern with the decision you have made.
It is not the time for arguments. It is the time to end family feuds and just enjoy it.
So going to pop out as I need something for my teeth they’ve been hurting me a lot and have a Christmas coffee and a pastry of some kind. Sometimes you just need that lift and it helps me think and feel lucky to have experience Christmases with those gone and that Christmas is now worth celebrating.
At the weekend. (I have filmed a Vlog. It will be up on my Vlog Youtube Channel). It won’t be available this Wednesday but next Wednesday: https://www.youtube.com/@typicallondongal
My son at Sixes Club London Bridge. A birthday gift and a place I’d recommend.
It was such good fun. We went to a place called Sixes in London Bridge. It is a Club with Virtue Cricket. They have a bar with screens to watch sports. The food looked good, and the drinks were really nice.
I was worried in case it wasn’t the right place, we struggled to find it at first but it is right by London Bridge Train Station and played cricket. In the end we all thoroughly enjoyed it and just because it gets dark early in the winter, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.
It was perfect for all seasons. We are planning to go before Christmas too and have something to eat there and if your kids likes sport, I would recommend to check it out. I booked it for my sons birthday and was recommended by one of my husband’s work colleagues.
We went out for breakfast and had picky bits for dinner. Something we do at any time and then chilled for the rest of evening. It is good to get out still. It is good to, in the winter to have family time, going for a festive coffee somewhere. Then returning home and chill in front of the TV and Watch a good wintery film. My favourite since a kid was, Christmas Carole by Charles Dickens and my son it is Polar Express or The Grinch. On my own it is You Got Mail and Christmas specials like, Call the Midwife.
We had on the Sunday toad in the hole and my husband cooks on Sundays as usually Henry as normally my son has rugby club in the morning and I go to work, as I work for local hospital and do a radio show for the local hospital: https://www.epsomhospitalradio.org.uk/on-air/listen-live but to celebrate my sons birthday we are had a family weekend, so he didn’t go rugby and I didn’t do my radio show. It is good to do less in the Winter and still have a great time, at home and out.
This is where in my printable for this years Winter Wellness comes into play Winter Wellness Programme 2025 and write down your old traditions and things you want to change to feel good in the Winter instead of causing stress and anxiety but can relax, slow down and do something fun that you all like.
Hello it is the morning in November 2025! What Things are Worth Buying or Subscribing to?
I have chosen mine for this weeks Cheat Sheet, as an example and it helps me see that things are growing and good to have a good resource to plan my life, organise my life and be the best person I can be. I love using Canva, Notion and my notebooks and Journals.
Audible is great for books. I read books aswell as listening and love that I have choice in listening or reading.
Please check out my Resource Library on this site: Resource Library
I post my Cheat Sheet each week and are free to download and print and on different topics to live more and do less.
It all about building and growing.
Do what you enjoy and use what you enjoy.
If you’d like to read more content then check out my Vlog Channel, my Pinterest and my Social Media Platforms. If you subscribe you will be alerted when I post on these site. See the links below:
The Winter can be a great way to create a Bag Full of Memories. They can go to the park. Retake a photo from when you were a kid to when you became an adult. Celebrate milestones, like for example, someone turning 40 or 18 and take photos in the park on each milestone.
One of my Sons and I favourite places and yes we even have Ice Cream in the Winter
I love a photo and seeing pictures of the different Christmases I have had since a kid. I remember those that are no longer with us. I include their traditions and new ones. Check out this post below, of my printable where I have created: Winter Wellness Programme 2025 | Everyone can build a castle
In the winter I like to try a festive coffee and document it. It just a little guilty pleasure along with having a Mulled Wine or a Winter Cider.
Yes I have a Christmas mug and want to get a new one. I like to take picture of my son and his cousins. We do set dates of when we can get together. It is great to have family time. I loved spending time with family, as a kid. I cherish those times and want my son to feel the same.
I have had a hard time during the winter. Because of this, I created the Programme Winter Wellness. Then, I started to realize that change is good. You have to move on.
People come and go. Memories will last a lifetime. If you allow it, you can create more memories. Life is full of surprises. Change can mean new experiences that makes you look back and smile. I loved my childhood and now I love my adulthood. It has not always been like that. Life is full of challenges. As you live, you will learn that they are a test to see how resilient you are. You have more strength than before. You can speak for yourself and create memories that others will cherish. Laughing and having fun is contagious. Winter time can have a bag full of memories just as much as the others, throughout the year.
Let out your feelings on my Printable, please see link in the blog above and is free to download.
If you’d like to see more content I have a Youtube Vlog where I share parts of my life and have created a Pinterest board for this years Winter Wellness and so check these out in the links below:
There isn’t a day in my life where I have not played music. It was my first love. I would dream about living a different life. I would imagine that I am in concert singing songs like the Greatest Love of All. I wished I had written songs I have loved and still love today.
Music is great for building relationships. This happens if you share similar tastes and have a song that makes you smile whenever you hear it. The song by Eurythmics, There must be an Angel playing in my heart, reminds me of our trips to Menorca. We used to go there for our Summer holiday and were such good fun. We traveled with other families. These trips gave me so much joy. I was allowed to stay up all night and would watch the sun go down and love watching the sunset.
In the Winter I normally listen to Enya, of course Christmas songs and mainly soft music.
If you find that Winter is gloomy, put on some music to lift your mood. Create a playlist of songs that make you feel good.
I have created a Printable and I talk about Habits. One of them is listening to a playlist of songs in the mornings. For me, I always play music around 3:50 pm until dinner time. This includes nice, slow, easy music, and joyful tunes too.
I work for my local hospital radio on Sundays from 4 to 6 Sunday afternoon. If you are in the UK, you can go to the Epsom Hospital website. Listen to it if you have internet. I back doing my show on Sunday the 30th November 2025: https://www.epsomhospitalradio.org.uk/on-air/presenters/carrie-challoner
I like to have a bath and listen to music some times and especially when cooking.
My husband does the same. I love to listen to music when it’s cold and wet outside. It helps me write and work on a book. I have created a playlist on Youtube to go with the book I am writing. I enjoy it with an Earl Grey tea and a nice sweet treat.
I hate the worry of people not being happy. It can affect my mood. I hope that this Winter Wellness Programme helps you. If you want to join, just subscribe. You will be alerted when I post a blog. I also do other programmes throughout the year.
Hello and thank you for visiting if you are new, to this blog site. I have a Youtube Channel called Financial Living, where I share How I spend and look after my money and did this because I have been reckless and in debt, but now thankfully it has all been paid off.
I no longer dread looking at my bank accounts and got rid of having a Credit card and Overdraft and use the money I have and monitoring my money has made a huge difference.
I save everyday and check my bank account everyday and today I spent no money debit as paid some bits I need such as Chewing gum, because I keep getting a dry mouth, Vitamin D, a supplement I take this time of the year, bathroom cleaner and washing up liquid.
I post these each week and are free to download and print and I hope you find them useful.
I hope you have a good week and soon it will Christmas. Oh boy, am I ready? Not sure but no longer bitter about it.
I will be doing my programme, Winter Wellness to help you have a better Winter as the days get dark early and can feel very bleak and I often would find I would be extra tired, but now have learned to handle it by making changes and so this will begin on this site and my other blogs: 3rd November 2025.
Everyone can build a castle 