Why A Week In The Countryside Is So Worth It

This week I did something I never usually do. I took a whole week off work and didn't actually go away anywhere. Well, I went home for a few days, but I mean I didn't leave the country, but it felt so nice to have a couple of days, relaxing and just working on me. 


It's all part of my June #30daychallenge to get back to taking care of myself and this week definitely came at the right time. I'd had a bit of a manic few weeks at work which meant I was feeling quite tired in that sense and I also really needed five minutes to just get up to speed with everything I wanted to do personally; ambitions I wanted to see through with my blog, start getting healthy again after throwing in the towel a few months ago and generally getting some R&R. I'm so happy to say I've done exactly that and spending time at home was so motivating, it's amazing what a few days with mum and country air can do. 

I went back home for three nights, and although mum and I had all these plans for what we would do, we actually changed our minds and instead both totally chilled out, relaxed and had quality time together, which is hard sometimes. We went for long walks into the local countryside, for those of you that don't know I grew up in a place called Calne in Wiltshire, which is pretty tiny but has  great rambling tracks and walking routes, although obviously when I was growing up I didn't find them that interesting. Now though its great, working up a sweat as we powered up the Downs, or walked through winding tree framed pathways, we even had a bit of a play in the mud until the Horseflies came along which meant we ran away to avoid being bitten alive, shitty little bugs! 

Pretty sure this tree could have stared in Lord Of The Rings, Two Towers, can you see his face?

When you realise the wellies have a hole in...

We also spend a lot of time chatting a cooking which was so much fun and not something we get to do very often. We went to the shops and picked up enough stuff to feed us for a very long time and then set about preparing new recipes neither of us had tried before, each of which we were both pleasantly surprised with (as you may have guessed these were healthy meals, but more on that in a later post). 

Yes we've had this many a time, but it's still a great breakfast

That's cauliflower mash...didn't know what to expect, loved it!

So yeah, lots of walking, talking and eating good, healthy food which was just what the doctor ordered, and no mother and daughter time would be complete without being a bit silly with collagen face masks! Who doesn't love looking like some creepy monster whilst also nourishing your skin, and posing for a fair few funny pics to boot?

For the rest of the week I have also continued to pretty much chill out, been for some runs, tried a new gym class (again, I'll fill you in later) and actually catch up with myself, as it can be so easy to put off the little jobs until a later date, but when you do eventually get round to ticking those off your list it's such a good and productive feeling! I'm definitely coming round to the idea of a couple of days off of just doing you, I feel so much more prepared to face the coming weeks and months knowing that I've managed to achieve for *me*, and actually put myself first for a while. It's been a breathe of fresh air and I'd encourage everyone to  give it a go at some point, it doesn't necessarily have to be a whole week, but it was definitely time well spent.