KITTED OUT 👣🩵👣🩵👣

I’m ready 1st May!

❤️🎵❤️🎶

☀️☀️☀️☀️

💫 💫

“Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” - Pablo Picasso

This is probably one of my favorite quotes. It isn’t as sinister as it sounds, it can simply mean an ending making way for a new beginning. The end of one job & beginning of a new one. Same for relationships, moves - you can apply it to anything.

The act of creation isn’t always pretty, the act of destruction definitely doesn’t sound pretty - but like most things, getting messy is usually how it starts before the masterpiece is revealed. An artist often gets covered in paint and the canvas to begin with looks like a blobby mess… but in time, the picture is revealed, and people often forget or are not interested, in the process of how it got there.

The process is the most important part of the journey - however ugly it looks in the beginning 😎

So I’ve decided to partake in Cancer Research UK’s 100 Miles in May challenge!

I had a recent cancer scare and it honestly frightened me so much - so to show my gratitude to the wonderful NHS that we are so lucky to have - I wanted to do this to give something back.

I received my first donation this morning! ❤️

It works out about 3.2 miles a day, 10,000 steps a day (for me cuz I have little legs) for 31 days - easy peasy 😉

My t-shirt is ordered and on the way 👚

I’m looking forward to getting started! 👣

🫶🏻❤️

Dating in 2024: -

So for the upteenth time, I’ve rejoined the minefield of online dating, in 2024. I don’t know why I bother because I always get bored and delete my profile.

I think there is a lot of misconception around why I won’t just settle down, and have the life of what many people believe is the norm. You know - kids, marriage, the white picket fence. Many people believe I’m just scared of commitment, or have jittery feet or have something seriously mentally wrong with me — weeeelllllll.

I don’t know, people can think that. I, however, refuse to believe that about myself. I don’t think it’s fear of commitment that stops me, I think it’s fear of committing to the wrong thing. And if you know off the bat that it’s not right for you, why would you waste your time in pursuing it? I have dated, but time and time again, it’s proved to me that I should have listened to my gut in the first place knowing it wouldn’t work. I also know, that when my heart is in it - when I love, I truly love, and I do pursue it, and I mean it. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it what the other person wants.

I can commit to things, the things that I know I love doing - the things I know I want to do. I have had the dream of travelling around America since I was a child - and I still haven’t given up on it, I’m 31 now, I would say that’s commitment right?!

What I want out of life, seems to be completely different to what other people want. For one, I don’t want children, full stop, at all, non negotiable. Many young men want that - right there, our values do not align long term, and it cancels out many potential partners. I’m also not bothered about marriage - I don’t believe in it to be honest, I don’t think you need to be legally married to have a happy, healthy and committed relationship. It’s unnecessary, in my opinion. I’d happily have a commitment ceremony every year! Hell, let’s even exchange rings - we can dress up and have a party and get pissed, I’m all for that.

I do want to settle down, but having a mortgage and my own house isn’t exactly what I mean by that - I like having the freedom to travel, I like having the freedom to move. Not automatically because I have itchy feet, but because life and circumstances change, and it is a part of life. You do not know where you will be in 5 years - I just think pouring all of your money into one place, is just not a wise financial decision, especially when getting a joint mortgage. There are no guarantees in life, protect your own assets. This is nothing against your potential future partner, just be independent and have your own security, I think it’s important. I think being dependent on another person is unhealthy - emotionally, mentally, physically, financially.

I have been reluctant to settle and commit because I know I can provide myself all that I need in those aspects - I want a partner that is going to add to that, not drain that, but where we are independently running alongside each other, bringing happiness to each others lives without feeling the need to be dependent. We’re there because we want to be, we actively make a choice, every single day to be there and it’s not because we’re tied to each other, and have to be - is what I mean. That to me - the commitment, happiness is more than enough, and I just don’t really feel the need for all the excess.

It’s incredibly hard to find these days.

So I will continue plodding on my merry little way until I find someone whose values more align with mine. Maybe the reason I won’t settle is because I know exactly what I want. Thats a good thing, surely? ❤️🙃

Gluten Free Meeeeee 🌾 ❌

So after learning that I also have a gluten intolerance, I have adapted to a new diet of being gluten free. Which actually, surprisingly, considering how much food I can’t have - I have found I’m not lacking in any way. The gluten free selection in local supermarkets is actually pretty good and caters for most food cravings.

I’m also trying new plant based foods I’ve never tried before and actually really enjoying them! I feel 10x better too, I feel healthier, lighter, and of course, not as ill after a meal which is always what you want right? 😂

The only bummer I’ve found, is sauces. Like, I love my sauces. Bbq, pickle sauce, burger sauce, garlic sauce, pasta sauces, curry sauces - you name it, I love my condiments. My cupboard was always full of different condiments for every occasion - I was aghast how many contained wheat or barley.

Aghast and heartbroken!

You can imagine my delight when I stumbled across stir fry sauces in Asda’s gluten free section the other day, hallelujah! 😂

I can still have my stir fry’s, and tonight’s choice is hoisin chicken with veggies and rice - (because this plonker picked up the wrong noodles!) 🍜

Still, yummy none the less.

Happy days 🤗❤️

What a JAM 😎

Did you know?

I photograph events!

Parties, weddings, gigs, etc -

Get in touch ❤️ 💍 🎉

🌻 2024: -

This year has been crazy & it’s only April!

At the start of every year, we all make those same promises to ourselves that we’re going to get more done, achieve our goals, and basically make it bad ass. Well, at least, I’m sure most people do.

This year, I didn’t do any of that, I had no expectations at all. I was just going to plod along, doing what I usually do and let the wind take me wherever. But I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be like this! I’m pretty easy going most of the time, and don’t tend to sway under the face of adversity (for the most part, not because I’m ‘ard, but because it is what it is and whatever, right)

But I certainly couldn’t have anticipated the huge health scare - that I honestly believed, I was going to cark it. Long story short, I found a lump. And long story short, after finding the lump, I discovered I’d gone into near renal failure and an infection that was turning into sepsis. I was in a pretty bad way, I actually thought and felt like I was dying.

Crazy. Absolutely crazy - I had never felt so ill, yet I’d just put the symptoms down to tiredness or that I needed to get out in the sun and get some more Vitamin D!

Even crazier, that if I hadn’t found the lump, I wouldn’t have discovered the infection or the near renal failure. My kidney function had dropped so low - and I had nooo idea. Madness.

But thank goodness I’m over the worst of it now and I’m pretty much back to normal.

I can finally focus on work again and make plans to travel! Which was my main goal and focus this year.

Let’s make the rest of the year, the best of the year! ❤️

🔥 🩷

📚 ❤️

The best thing about getting up at 5am everyday, is you get to see the sunrise. The downside is that by 7pm you’re falling asleep through Emmerdale.

Worth it though ♥️

“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒚.”

- 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒍 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅

Do kittens come with receipts? 😂

My kitten is going through that very, very playful (annoying) kitten stage. I don’t even have to move my feet for her to pounce and start chewing on them. She is very cute though. Look at those toe beans. I don’t think she’d be very happy if I pounced on them and started chewing them though, would she eh! 🙄🐾 😂

☕️ 🌱