Gilly's life hacks

 

Well I have hiked up my first Munro. Yay go me. It was horrible! Never ever again. The weather was lovely (though actually too warm really). The views were stunning, especially from the peak. And the chat was good (on the way up at least. Rather quieter on the way down). The first two miles or so were pleasant. It was flat and I enjoyed the scenery. But the vertical was gruesome and I really didn't enjoy it at all. Our lunch at the top just wasn't going down my throat. I was exhausted and felt sick. And I still had another 6 miles to walk to get back. The memories make be shudder. Oh and to top it all I couldn't walk for 4 days after! The only thing that got me through it was knowing I just had to keep going. One miserable step at a time. Beam me up Scotty just wasn't working!

I thought I would share some life hacks with you, things that have enlightened my life -

Hack#1 - have children. If you don't have children some of these benefits can be obtained by borrowing children. When small they are great to take to the cinema to see the fab animations like Monsters Inc, Toy Story or Finding Nemo, without looking like an adult weirdo enjoying kids movies alone. When older they can make you unlimited tea and coffee, sometimes even toast. When they are young adults and able to drive they can pick you up drunk after a night out. And ultimately when they are all grown up and you are old they can feed you, clean you and keep you safe in your own home. (I hope my two are reading this!).

Hack#2 - cry. It is not a sign of weakness. Don't be ashamed to have a good bubble. Whether it's because you're hurt, sad, overwhelmed or happy just let it out! Crying is good for you and ignore anyone that looks down at you. They're wrong!

Hack#3 - read. There is nothing like a good book to take you away! Bliss.

Hack#4 - fold your clean duvet cover and pop it inside one of the matching pillow cases. You can add the appropriate sheet too. Then everything you need to make up a bed is handy, all wrapped up in a little neat parcel.

Hack#5 - Mash! I buy a 2.5kg of potatoes. Boil the whole lot then mash then. I put them into Tupperware containers or freezer bags labelled with how many servings they hold. And freeze. So easy to defrost and heat when needed.

Hack#6 - don't climb mountains or hills or anything so vertical it makes you feel sick. When a friend asks you if you'd like to hike up a Munro simply answer 'no thank you I'd rather poke my eyes out with blunt sticks. Thank you for asking me though'. In fact don't do anything unless you really want to do it. Life is just too short. Though I should point out that sometimes you just have to do things you don't want to, no matter how old you are. Just work out the things you really don't need to do if you don't want to. It's ok to say no.

Don't let yesterday take up too much of today.