Picture of Vitality Parkrun sign at Caithness Parkrun

Parkrun, Anxiety and Saturday Morning Rituals

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Health & Lifestyle, Uncategorized, , , , , , , 8 Comments on Parkrun, Anxiety and Saturday Morning Rituals

In the Autumn of 2018, I decided to try my first Parkrun. I’ll be honest though: I only planned to go the once. I had an upcoming stint on BBC Radio Scotland to discuss outdoor activities for families and I thought the free, 5km running event happening weekly at our local riverside might make for…

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Dog Friendly Places to Eat and Drink in Caithness

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Caithness, Dogs, North Coast 500, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, Travel, Uncategorized, , , , , 2 Comments on Dog Friendly Places to Eat and Drink in Caithness

Among my many passions in life, the love of dogs, family and a good cup of coffee rank highly. And as any dog owner knows of course, the first two of these are exactly the same thing. Add in the coffee (and perhaps a nice bit of lunch or dinner) and you have a wonderful kind of alchemy…

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A scene from Thurso, Caithness, in summer looking out to sea

Digital Discipline: A Modern Mental Health Necessity?

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Health & Lifestyle, Self Improvement, Social Media, Uncategorized, , , , , , 6 Comments on Digital Discipline: A Modern Mental Health Necessity?

Recently, I decided to take a month-long break from social media. This was partly prompted by books and articles exploring the benefits of ‘digital detoxing’ (like Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism) and partly due to reservations that had been rumbling around inside me about my use of social media platforms for a while. Although I wouldn’t call myself an…

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Colourful flatlay with daffodils, green travel mug and rabbit 'April 'postcard

Special Birthdays, Mother’s Day, War and Peace and A Blog Break – Little Loves

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Little Loves, Uncategorized, , , , 12 Comments on Special Birthdays, Mother’s Day, War and Peace and A Blog Break – Little Loves

The last few weeks have been very busy here in wellies, with both our kids’ birthdays, a weekend away, a Harry Potter sleepover and of course most recently Mother’s Day. It’s also been a busy time on the writing front, and I’ve managed to reach 70,000 words on the second draft of my book, and…

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Tote bag with the caption 'having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card'

Reading Lately – March 2019

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Books, Reading, Reading Lately, Uncategorized, , , , , 6 Comments on Reading Lately – March 2019

March is always a busy month for me as it plays host to both our kids’ birthdays, which means time spent making party plans, baking cakes and generally having a lovely time with family. It also means a little less time for reading, so my bookish pile this month is slightly lighter than the norm. We have the school holidays…

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Picture of cup of coffee on outdoor table

So You Want to Start a Blog? (Part Two – Q&A)

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Uncategorized, Writing and Blogging, , , , , , , , 4 Comments on So You Want to Start a Blog? (Part Two – Q&A)

Last week I wrote here about the very basics of setting a blog up, with a promise to return this week with some answers to questions that people commonly ask me when they find out I write stuff on the Internet. As I mentioned last time, this is also good preparation for me as I prepare to talk…

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So You Want to Start a Blog? (Part One)

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Uncategorized, Writing and Blogging, , , , , , 2 Comments on So You Want to Start a Blog? (Part One)

Whenever I start to write a post like this I find myself grappling with the same internal monologue: who am I to tell anybody anything? After all, I’m just a small-time blogger with a modest readership – who would want to read a list of blogging tips from me? But then I remember something I heard…

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The Stories We Tell Ourselves – International Women’s Day 2019

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Lifestyle, Opinion, Self Improvement, Uncategorized, , , , , 2 Comments on The Stories We Tell Ourselves – International Women’s Day 2019

Lately I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the stories we tell ourselves.   Like many women, I’ve spent a lot of time telling myself about all the things I cannot do.   I’m not good at this, I’m not good at that, I can’t run, I could never write a novel.   I could never be…

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Coffee pictured on table at Stacks Bistro, John O' Groats

Les Miserables, World Book Day Preparations and Weekend Plans for Spring – Little Loves

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Little Loves, Uncategorized, , , , , , 6 Comments on Les Miserables, World Book Day Preparations and Weekend Plans for Spring – Little Loves

February was a busy month for everyone in the wellies household and a spate of good weather saw us out and about, enjoying the first glimpses of Spring, and a few day trips around the county. We’ve enjoyed several trips to John O’ Groats lately (which isn’t far from us) and a few lovely coffee dates at Stacks…

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Reading Lately – February 2019 (*contains gifted items)

By: welliesontheschoolrun
Books, Uncategorized, , , , , , 2 Comments on Reading Lately – February 2019 (*contains gifted items)

February, hmm? Where did that month go? After the never-ending weeks that are January, the second month of the year always seems to disappear quite literally in a blink. A shorter month means a few less books than normal, but quality not quantity and all that, and my reading material for the month has been nothing short…

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