Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag 2018

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Hi everyone! There are a few book tags that I have been wanting to do, so here is the Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag!

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2018: 
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder, an amazing read and I ended up reading the trilogy really quickly altogether!

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2018:
I haven’t actually read very many sequels this year but I did enjoy Death Note Black Edition Volume 4, it made me want to read the next book straight away which is always a good sign!

3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to:
It’s not actually out yet but I really want to read Vengeful by V. E. Schwab, the sequel to Vicious. Vicious left on an interesting

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:
The same answer as above.

5. Biggest disappointment:
Bookish Boyfriends. The concept was really interesting but I didn’t like how it was written.

6. Biggest surprise:
I was actually surprised with how much I have enjoyed contemporary romances, including The Dating Debate and The Rules of Rebellion.

Your Mind Is A Muscle, So Create That Mental Strength Inside!

We all wish that from time to time we didn't have so much stress and anxiety

in our lives, that it could all just go away so we can finally relax. But instead, let's view it from another perspective. Instead of wishing this stress and anxiety would go away, can you think of how you can better cope with it? This is all about developing mental strength, rather than wishing everything away, which is a negative mindset. Developing mental strength is something we should all do, no matter how strong or weak we perceive ourselves to be. But how can you give your brain a workout needed to build this mental muscle?

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Our comfort zone is that invisible barrier we hold between ourselves and the world. Getting out of this is something we all fear, but by gradually stepping outside of it, and feeling a sense of discomfort, we can get the sense that we've achieved something, as it's something we are afraid of. By doing one thing every day that makes you feel uncomfortable, or it's something you find immensely difficult, the feeling of self-satisfaction is unlike any other.

Change Your Perspective

We could easily play the victim in life. A negative mindset is a death sentence for a lot of us. We can let people push us over constantly in life, which means we constantly get injured, either physically or mentally, and we view this as the norm. Instead, we could get help after an injury, or we could look for the reasons why we view things the way we do. A negative mindset isn't something that can be changed overnight, but with the determination to change your interior monologue from self-effacing, or self-damaging comments, to more positive ones, the benefit can be felt in every aspect of your life.

Make Things Easier For You

It's not about overcoming every single obstacle if you want to be a success in life. You can change your surroundings so they benefit you better. For example, if you are prone to indulging in junk food, which in turn, has an effect on your health, simply remove the junk food from the cupboards! It's not just about working hard, it's about working smart. And by providing these little bits of help along the way, it is keeping you on track, and if this means reducing temptation, this isn't cheating! You wouldn't hang around with people in life who are bad for you, and it's exactly the same process when understanding what's good for your day to day living.

Building this mental strength requires determination, focus, and a desire to succeed. As a result, it's something that takes a lot of energy to maintain. But by working out your brain as you would work out your muscles, you develop resilience, and an ability to tackle the problem better next time. Your mind is like a muscle, and if you want it to function optimally, you have to put some stress on it.


This is a collaborative post and it may contain some affiliate links

Wicked Uncle Big Kidz Range Review

Wicked Uncle are an established company of children’s presents who have recently introduced a new range for adults. I was fortunate enough to receive some products from Wicked Uncle’s new big kidz range. These include items varying from lighting, games and useful gifts. I ordered two products:

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This is a solar light in a jar. I placed it on the window sill and it charged up during the day and then produced a lovely glowing purple light in the dark. It uses a rechargeable battery which came with the light.







Emoji Light Box
This is a little display that comes with emojis and letters. I am using it for photos for my blog and Instagram and to display quotes. It uses 6 AA batteries which you need to supply. It can stand up or be laid down for photos. I found this light box to be the perfect size for me; there is enough room to insert a few words in letters or a few sentences in emojis and it is compact enough to not take up too much space in your office or room.







Wicked Uncle really excelled with their customer service, they were friendly, informative and fast throughout. I received the delivery quickly and the products were amazing. I have really enjoyed using them so far. I would definitely recommend Wicked Uncle’s big kidz range.


Did you know Wicked Uncle also has a USA website? Click 
here to find out more.

*These products were sent to me in exchange for an honest review

bakerdays Personalised Birthday Cake Review




I recently had a birthday and bakerdays were lovely enough to send me a personalised birthday cake! They offer a range of flavours and I asked for chocolate chip. 




The cake came in time for my birthday in a small box that can fit through some letterboxes. When I opened the box, I was greeted by a beautiful tin. This cake is the small version and it is big enough for a couple of people.

Let’s Talk About E3: Games That I am Excited for


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This week has been great for a lot of gamers with announcements of new games, release dates confirmed and new footage of upcoming games. E3 is essentially a gaming conference for all platforms and you can watch it from the comfort of your own home online. I was really excited to hear more about Kingdom Hearts 3, the eagerly awaited new game in the Kingdom Hearts series and hopeful for a new Animal Crossing main game for the Switch. Unfortunately, we did not get an Animal Crossing announcement but we did get plenty of exciting surprises and I am actually really pleased with what I discovered during E3.

A new set of Pokemon games were recently announced: Let’s Go! Eevee! and Let’s Go! Pikachu!. The graphics looked amazing, a new main Pokemon game, based on Pokemon Yellow featuring a pokeball gadget that you can use to play the game and interaction with Pokemon Go? Yes please! This game is to me, a dream come true and I cannot wait to play it. During E3 we got to see further gameplay from this game and it all looks wonderful.

Aside from Pokemon, I was also thrilled to finally hear a release date for Kingdom Hearts 3! It is coming out in January 2019! I am so excited for this new instalment in the series. Pokemon and Kingdom Hearts are my two main gaming favourites so this upcoming season is great for gamer Lucy. New gameplay for Kingdom Hearts 3 was also shown and I am so excited, I do not want to spoil too much in case you want to be surprised when you play the game, so if you do want to check any of this out, videos are on YouTube.

E3 actually provided me with a complete surprise. A new main Fire Emblem game for the Switch was announced! I absolutely loved Fire Emblem: Awakening on Nintendo 3DS and I still need to complete Fates and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia but I have really enjoyed what I have played so far. Fire Emblem combines the great storytelling and character development of traditional JRPGs with a tough and clever strategy battling system. Fortunately, there is the option to play in ‘casual mode’ where fallen units return after a battle. I didn’t use this when I played Awakening and I ended up restarting the game so many times because I wanted to get through each battle without losing a character. The new Fire Emblem game looks great and it seems to even have a new mechanic of attacking all opponents in one go, something that could make battles shorter.

Another game that I am interested to play is Super Mario Partywhich is essentially a mini game/board game video game on the Switch. I have played a Mario Party game before and it was okay but the board game level could take a while. I think that with an addition on the Switch, the game will play faster and it will be easier to play with others.

We also received slightly more detail on a release date for The World Ends With You: Final Remix on the Switch. I played the original gameon Nintendo DS and really enjoyed it. I am not sure if I am going to play the remake yet but I feel like it would be so fun to play on Switch! It is coming Fall 2018, however, it does not seem to be available to pre-order yet, in the UK, at least!

I love it when E3 comes around and I know that there will be Nintendo Directs until the next one. What did you like from E3?

Raise Money for Mind: The Mental Health Charity



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Mind is a charity that raises awareness of mental health issues. They campaign to improve services and they provide support. There are a range of ways that you can fundraise for Mind. Here are some of them:


Donate:
You can donate on a one-off or monthly basis.


Fundraise:
You can raise money through a variety of activities such as running, cycling, swimming, running a music event or craft afternoon or you can create your own challenge.


Support through a big event:
You can support Mind on your wedding day, birthday or make a big donation. You can also donate through your payroll.


For more information on these: https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/donate-or-fundraise/

When Working On Your Mental Health Makes You Sick

Mental health is not the kind of thing you can ignore and pretend it isn’t there. When you have issues with your mental health, you need to stay focused and find ways of dealing with the problems. It doesn’t mean that you can always get rid of the issues. But, more often than not, a change of lifestyle can do wonders. Indeed, your body is a complex machine that handles many biological, chemical and neurological reactions. It’s fair to say that most things are connected, so something as simple as eating a healthy diet can actually improve your mood in the long term. Ultimately, everyone develops their own coping mechanism to manage their mental health. But, have you considered that sometimes the way you choose to cope can be aggravating your health problems?



Can fitness boost your mood?

What's On Your Mind? Why It's Good To Talk About Mental Health

When somebody mentions the word ‘health’ in a conversation, what kinds of images or phrases pop into your mind? For many of us, the subject of health is automatically linked to getting fit, eating well and being a healthy weight, but there’s so much more to health than your BMI. Mental health is as important as physical health, but most of us aren’t as inclined to talk about that aspect of our wellbeing. Although times are changing, and more and more people are opening up, there’s still a long way to go. If you’re guilty of neglecting your mental health, or you’d like to try and be more open in the future, here are just some of the reasons why it’s good to talk.


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Talking as a coping mechanism

If you’ve ever had something weighing heavy on your mind, you may have experienced that sense of relief and release when you tell somebody about it. Talking can be cathartic, it can help you process and deal with your emotions, and it can prompt you to seek advice from people or organisations that may be able to help you. Opening up can give you a sense of perspective and help you compartmentalise your feelings. If you’ve had a bad day, or you’ve got thoughts running through your mind, and you can’t seem to switch off, try talking to a friend, a relative, a partner or a therapist about how you feel. You might find that it’s a far more effective strategy than bottling things up.

Protecting your body by focusing on your mind

Looking after your mental health isn’t just a positive step in terms of your happiness and wellbeing. It can also have an impact on your physical health. Mental disorders and addictions can have incredibly negative implications for your body, as well as your mind, and talking can help you to work through problems and difficulties that affect every aspect of your health. Facilities like Ana Treatment Centres use a combination of therapies, including treatments that are designed to protect and treat the body, as well as group sessions and one-to-one counselling, to combat alcohol addiction, for example. Using both physiological and psychological techniques enables you to become mentally and physically stronger. Talking can also help you make others aware of what you’re going through if you do have symptoms of a mental illness or you’re worried about an eating disorder or an addiction. If people don’t know that you’re struggling, there’s a limit to what they can do. If you talk to them, you may be surprised at how eager they are to help and support you.

Encouraging others and influencing societal shifts

In the last few years, mental health has become a subject of interest, and society is more open to discussion than ever before. There’s a long way still to go, but you can play a part in putting mental health on the agenda. By talking about your feelings and emotions, you may encourage others to do the same, and the more people who can open up, the more comfortable wider society will feel when the topic of mental health crops up.


Picture credit

If you tend to bottle up your emotions, or tell everyone you’re fine when you don’t really feel that brilliant, it may be time to talk.


This is a collaborative post and it may contain some affiliate links

Top Tips that will Seriously Boost your Mental Health

Sometimes you may feel as though your life is so busy that you just don’t have time to focus on the things that really matter. One of those things is your mental health, and this happens way more often than you’d like to think.

Start Your Day with Coffee

It helps to start off your day with a cup of coffee. Coffee is actually linked to much lower levels of depression, but if you can’t drink coffee because of the caffeine then try and drink green tea instead. This is packed full of antioxidants and it can really help you to get the energy you need to make progress. If you suffer from depression then at times, you may find that your low energy levels make it really hard to get things done, but a quick cup of coffee can really help you out there. If you want to try other methods, Next Day CBD are a great option.


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Have a Getaway

You need to have one place that you can visit, where you can truly be yourself. This place could be a vacation home or it could be somewhere you can go camping with your family. You can easily boost your happiness by planning something like this and it can help to get you through the toughest of times. You would be surprised at how easy it is for you to book a vacation on a budget as well, so do keep that in mind.

Focus on your Strengths

It’s super important that you work your strengths. Try and do something that you are good at, whether it is cooking, gardening or even art. This will give you an instant boost and it can really help you to feel happier in your day to day life as well. When you take the time to really focus on yourself and the feelings you have, you can then start to really understand the way that you are and this can help you to deal with situations better.


Think of How You Can Improve

When you are feeling down in the dumps, it helps to focus on yourself so that you can stop these feelings from coming back time and time again. If you want to try and get the help you need then one thing that you can do is try and find something that you can focus on within yourself, before trying to improve it. For example, if you are not happy with how you are performing at work then think how you can turn this around, and then take the right steps to getting that done. This is very easy for you to do and it can make you feel way better about yourself as a result.

Get Creative

We all know the positive benefits of being creative in terms of our mental health. But the great thing about being creative is that it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. Being creative can be about feeding your brain in the most obtuse of waves. If you are a big fan of art or you want to get into the mindset of contemporary or classic art you can delve into the history of it and find interesting outcomes. From the history of art to the common lawsuits in the art world, there is a lot to find out there. Creativity can be about that little spark that sets you off in a whole new direction. And being creative is one of the fantastic ways to make you feel alive and imbue yourself with a sense of purpose.

So there are plenty of things that you can do to try and boost your mental health, and when you take the right steps, you can be sure to really turn your whole life around. Why don’t you try the above steps today to see if you could feel better about yourself tomorrow?


This is a collaborative post and it may contain some affiliate links