Just Emma

Hello, lovelies. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to actually have some free time? To not have to do anything? To sit and read, or watch that series that we’ve meaning to watch but can never seem to find the time? To go for that walk, start running or begin a new hobby. All those things we’ve been putting off for that time when we can put ourselves first. But when will that time come? How will we know when it’s here? And what happens if we miss our opportunity to do something for ourselves? With life hurtling forwards, when will we be able to stop and just breathe? I recently broke my wristwatch. Now, that is something I do very often. As soon as I buy myself a new watch I either drop it, swing my arm in a way that I hit the watch on the wall, or drop in down the toilet when the strap brakes. Watches and I are not friends. So, I went on the search for a new sturdier watch. And as most shops are still closed, I did that thing that I’m not proud of, I began my s...

Hello, lovelies. With Valentine’s day a distant memory, and after having eaten my own body weight in pancakes, we are now in Lent, a time where, even if we’re not religious, we can think about giving something up. Whether it be cigarettes, the large glass of wine at the end of each day, or forty days with no social media. What ever it is that we’re giving up, should we only be doing it for Lent? Is it right to go back to old habits when Lent is over? Or should we just give it up for good? I’ve given up many things for Lent over the years. One year it was chocolate, hard to do, but I did it. Only to go and buy all the marked down Easter eggs the day after Easter and eat the whole lot, with a little help from my children of course. The year I gave up coffee is best left in the past, charges are still pending. But as I don’t drink, smoke and the only drugs I’ve ever taken are paracetamol. It seems silly to start a 20 a day habit whilst binge drinking and eating a magic mush...

Hello, lovelies. Love is in the air. Red roses are flying off the shelves. And every soppy card filled with love filled poems are being handed over to our loved ones. Its that time of year that we show how much we love someone by how much money we spend on them. But should we really be celebrating that one day of love? What about the rest of the year? Is love for life or just for valentine’s day? We all know that the 14th February means its Valentine’s day. A day where it is customary to exchange gifts, chocolates and flowers with our loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious Saint, and why is he synonymous with chocolates and flowers? The history of Valentine’s Day, and the story of its patron saint is shrouded in mystery. Well, he is many different historical figures, one of which reportedly healed a child whilst he was imprisoned before being executed by having his head cut off. Not much of a reason to send someone a dozen red roses. St. Valenti...

Hello, lovelies. They say that there are always two sides to a story. Or is it three sides, yours, theirs and the truth in the middle. But what is there was a lot more than that? What if the truth comes in on so many sides that there would be no way to know for sure what is right and what is wrong? And how do we determine what is right? For what is right for me is most definitely not right for others. So how can the truth ever be told. And is it important that the truth comes out? Or is it better to try to work together to forge the best path? I had a very interesting conversation with a dear friend of mine, only to find out that we were on the polar opposite sides of the debate. And it wasn’t just a little bit, we were opposed on every point. And no matter how much we tried to put our sides across, we both couldn’t make the other budge. We both held on to the position of being on the side of being right. Is it because we can only see and experience the world through our own le...

Hello, lovelies. If lockdown has given us anything it’s given us time. Time that we could have spent shopping, going out to a restaurant or pub, or just being out in the big wide world. No holidays, no gym, and definitely no socialising with our friends. And all that new time should have been spent finishing off all those projects, remodelling our homes and lives or reading every book that has been sitting on the shelves for ages, all waiting to be read. And for the most part, we did that. Well, some of that, at any rate. But what about the things that we’re still putting off? When are they going to be at the top of the to do list? Why are some of our priorities still not a priority to us? Can we keep putting them off forever? Or should we all start prioritising our priorities? We all have a bucket list, and as the years have marched on, my list became less to do with sky diving and skinny dipping, to more realistic things like learning another language and learning how t...

Hello, lovelies. Having an idea is both a wonderful and terrifying thing. It starts off as a small seed in our head, and with a lot of hard work can grow into either a work of art, or it can burst into a whole lot of wasted time. But how can we know which way our idea can go? Is there a way to determine the outcome in advance so to save ourselves a ton of work? Should we tell others our idea and see what they think? If they love the idea, does that mean that the world at large will? And what if they think it’s the worst idea they've ever heard, should we just drop the idea entirely and move on to something else? Should we try anyway, or just ask ourselves, why bother? I absolutely love reading. It happens to be third place on my most favourite things to do. But during lock down, I have struggled to find a good book to read. And worse still, on finding a promising book, only to get about halfway through it to find the plot is flimsy, the writing is formulaic, and...