How to be happy

Hey strangers!

Firstly I apologise for the inconsistancy of my blog. I don't want this to be a place that I fill with negativity but most of the time when I feel like writing, it's because I'm in a negative place. I think as a new years resolution I will maybe set myself a goal of posting once a week... what do you think, sound realistic???

So how was everyone's Christmas day??

I got lots of bits and bobs, my main present this year was a robot arm... yes you read right... a robot arm! I know this sounds very odd but its an inside thing with me and my mum. Basically whenever I'm feeling low or fed up and she asks what I want to do, I always say build a robot. Random I know, but how cool would it be building a little robot?!

Xmas day was kind of quiet this year, I come from a reasonably big family but my siblings have moved out, one sister moved up north with her partner so now lives 4 hours away and my other sister moved to Australia so is a good 24 hours away! My brother only lives a short drive but he works a lot of long shifts so we don't get to see him to often. My mum works on Christmas day too which isn't the best but it could be worse! So yeah, if everyones home with their partners too then we have a full house of 9 people! but this year it was just me mum and dad mostly, except the few hours my brother came over in the morning.

What did you guys get for Christmas??? I think the best thing for me was spending time with my mum and dad, shutting out the rest of the world and playing board games and having a laugh. Things have been a struggle recently so doing this was just what I needed.

So I've called this blog post "how to be happy" but honestly, I don't think there really is any one answer of how to be happy. I think a good start is surround yourself with the people that make you happy. For me, thats my mum and dad. When things get tough home is where I want to be.

Another thing I would recommend is reading. I love reading because I get so into the story that it takes me out of reality and the story is all I am thinking about. My favourite book that I've read in the last year is Nothing Left to Lose. I would definitely recommend it!!

Tonight I've been feeling a little low so I've lit my favourite scented candle, opened up a tub of jelly tots and I'm going to play some Grand Theft Auto.

Surround yourselves with the people and things that make you happy, it's ok to take yourself out of reality from time to time, but don't run from it. Eventually you will have to face it again, but if things get too much, go to your safe place :)

Have you got any ways that help make yourself happy? Write them in the comments... lets try make this a positive space.

I'll write again soon (hopefully!!!). Remember, live life for you.

Toodles.. xoxo

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Long Distance / Military Relationships

Hello!

So it has definitely been a while. This year has been a complete rollercoaster for me and if I'm honest there have been some very very dark points, but right now I am feeling pretty positive and wanted to give this another shot.

So... as its remembrance day, and as an army girlfriend, I thought I'd bring up military relationships.

The question I get asked most: How do you do it?!

Simple.. I would rather have one phonecall a week, seeing my other half for one week every 3 months, have letters and emails sent to me... than not being with him. That's how I do it. Because either you do it, or you do not have the person that you love in your life ever.  

I admit there have been times when I have struggled with it, but this is not my first relationship like this. I have been in several long distance relationships before so I am fairly used to it. Infact my boyfriend actually lives in my home town which is rare! however he isn't here very often due to training and other things. 

At the moment my boyfriend Josh is in Bosnia on tour. He left on 1st July and he comes back on 2nd December hopefully, 1 day after our 2 year anniversary. When he gets back he will have had another birthday not at home, it's my birthday in 2 weeks and this will be the 3rd birthday of mine that he has missed due to work. 

On the plus side, we have so many exciting things when he gets home! We have his first mess do where we get to dress up all fancy and it'll be the first time I see him in his posh uniform, then we are going to a hotel in York for our 2 year anniversary (two weeks late but hey ho ;) ) then we are going to London for Winter Wonderland, which I am SUPER excited about!

So there's another tip, when they are away make lots of exciting plans for when they get home! It keeps you busy and makes happy talking about it with them rather than feeling sad and continuously saying how much you miss eachother, which obviously we do say to eachother but it's best not to dwell on the fact its been 17 weeks since you've seen eachother, think about the good times for when they're home! :)

Anyway I think I have rambled enough.

Today think of all of the men and women that have fought for our countries and our freedom.. and think of the friends, families, wives, husbands, children that sit behind waiting for them and giving them a reason to fight.

Love to you all 

xoxo

Tasty Tuesdays : Week Two

Hey guys!

Ok so this weeks tasty Tuesday was very almost not so tasty!!!

This week I cooked Chicken and Pasta Bake. However the receipe stated you basically cooked everything except for the chicken, put it all together then bake for 30 minutes - except 20 mins in the chicken was still raw... soo we had to microwave it. So it was ALMOST a fail  - but hey I'm still alive (woohoo!) so it was successful.. in a way >.<

Another odd thing about the recipe was that it suggested using Sultanas in it.... sultanas, chicken and pasta is not something I thought would ever be put together. At first it was ok - kind of different but after a while it just was a bit gross.. has anyone else tried chicken and sultanas/raisins? or is this cook book just a bit crazy! 

Due to the chicken disaster I forgot to take pictures... SORRY *Slaps wrist*

For this I used

- 1 Mug of pasta

- 1 onion (finely chopped)

- 250g Low Fat Cream Cheese with a crushed Garlic Clove 

- 4 Small mushrooms ( I don't like mushrooms but honestly could not even notice they were there so if you are wanting to eat them - this could be the recipe for you!!)

- 2 Chicken Breasts (cut into large slices)

- 1/4 mug of sultanas

- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

- 1/2 mug of grated mozarella or cheddar cheese

- Salt & Pepper

- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C 

- Cook the pasta (Penne pasta takes 10-12 minutes), drain and return to the pan

- Fry onions, mushrooms and chicken (by frying the chicken at this point you will not have the raw chicken issue that I had!!!) 

- Add onions, mushrooms and chicken to the pasta then add the cream cheese - mix it around, the warmth will melt it slightly to make it more like a sauce

- Add the raisins & lemon juice - season with salt and pepper then add the mix to a casserole dish, cover the top with the grated mozzarella then bake until golden brown (around 15 minutes as the chicken has arleady been cooked)

anddd VOILA

I Give this recipe a 2.5/5 

This is becaauuuseee....

1) It is easy to make in stages so you are not rushed and under stress cooking everything at once

2) It tasted pretty darn good

3) However - the chicken thing was a major issue for me as I am very funny about food and it being cooked properly - so once I cook this the way I have written above I will probably feel like the recipe deserves a higher mark

That's it for this week ! Hope you liked it :) Please comment below any suggestions or if you've tried cooking any of the dishes I am making!

Toodles ♥

Tasty Tuesdays : Week One

Hey everyone!

So I posted on twitter that starting this week I am going to be running a series called Tasty Tuesdays, where I will be trying out recipes for meals, desserts and the extra sides & letting you know what they're like REALLY rather than just out of a cookbook :) This is part of my New Year Resolutions - to cook atleast once a week - preparing me for the big wide world out there >.<

The cook book I'm using for this series is "Nosh for students" as I am an AWFUL cook(apart from cakes - I'm awesome at baking cakes >.< ) and this is a very basic book - perfect for new starters

So here goes.. My first dish was Sausages & Pasta (it was more interesting than it sounds). It was supposed to be spicy sausages but I don't like spicy food:P

Ingredients (Serves 2):

- 1 mug of penne pasta

- 6 Sausages
- 1 Small onion
- 1 Clove of garlic
- 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 1 teaspoon mixed herbs

The way this is cooked is good for students specifically because it allows you to cook each section in stages before adding it together at the end to ensure its still hot

- Start by cooking the pasta. - Penne Pasta takes 10-12 minutes to cook
- Cook the sausages - the books suggests frying, however I grilled them as that is healthier (for the time on the packet usually 18-20 minutes) then cook them into bite size pieces
- Fry the onions and garlic (make sure you've cut them up into small pieces don't just check an onion in there ;) )
- add the tinned Tomatos and tomato purée to a pan and bring to boil, then allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes
- Add the sausages,herbs and Sauce to the pasta then cook for a few more minutes to ensure everything is heated through.

And here is the final result:

So what was it like?
I was reasonably happy with how it turned out. The tomato purée I think added more flavour to the tinned tomato/sauce as usually it's not as strong as I'd like when I've only had tomatos used.
I was worried there was not enough garlic when I first cut it up, then after I cooked it I worried there was too much - but there was actually an ok amount!
I wasn't too sure what herbs to use - I ended up using Thyme as suggested by my mother dearest however I couldn't really taste it so I think maybe I should've used a bit more!!

I give the meal a 4/5. Difficult wise I'd probably give it a 2 or 3 - the hardest bit in cooking I find is getting the timing right - I was having a few issues with trying to stir stuff whilst preparing the next step.

I also looked like I had killed the tomatos in my kitchen as I got the sauce all up the wall and everywhere... woopsie!!!

According tot this book you can make the meal for just £0.97 per person if using the most basic ingredients! I did spend more than that though as it was my first time cooking properly for my parents so I wanted it to be yummy!! :)

Anyways - hope you like the post! If you want to keep seeing them let me know! if you have any recipes you want me to try drop me a message and I may give it a whirl!:)

Much Love,
Toodles ♥

Twitter > @ell_jaye

Instagram > @elljayeblog

My Youtube Channel and plans for 2014

Hey Guys

So as you can tell from the above title... I have a youtube channel ! yeeeyyy

http://www.youtube.com/user/EllJayeLife

I have already uploaded one video which was a Xmas Party/Going out hair and makeup tutorial! Below is the link. I was going to blog about it also however I have been away for the past 2 or so weeks at my boyfriends for christmas!

It was my first christmas away from home and it was very weird!! The reason we didn't spend it at both of our families is because he is from Newcastle, so his family lives around 5 hours away from mine :( Sad times!

My new years resolution is to blooming blog/vlog more!!! I love doing it but I feel like everything I write is just a bit pants so I get disheartened - if there's anything that you would like me to blog or vlog about PLEASE let me know :) It would be a massive help and mean a lot to know that someone reads this and I'm not a crazy person talking to myself :)

Anyways -  I will be able to blog more as my boyfriend is being posted away for 2 months in February and will also be being posted elsewhere in the world and on courses quite a lot this year (he's in the army) so it's going to be lonely times a little bit - so I shall be here more often yeyyy!!!

Another thing I plan on doing is cooking once a week from the student cook book i got from my parents - I love cooking but I am VERY bad at it (mainly the timings) If you'd like to see it I may even do a weekly blog of the meals I'm making - what do you think ??:)

I best be off!! Feel free to comment or tweet me - I will always reply!:)

Toodles
♥
                                                                Twitter ---> @ell_jaye

Instagram ---> @elljayeblog

Youtube ---> Elljayelife