Never Forgotten - 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

Hi!!!

A sombre post today, but, as we know, I strongly believe in remembering things and learning from the past. I was unsure whether posting today was the right decision or not, but I have decided that it could be. I want you to know that this post is written with delicacy and with good intentions and so I figure that it can't be a bad decision to discuss this.

As with all posts concerning these sensitive issues, I am not here to blame etc. - I am here to remember and I think we can all agree that this is very important. xxx

Today is the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz and it is being commemorated globally.

 I feel that it is important for me to make my contribution to the commemorations, too.

 

Auschwitz, as I am sure you all know, was a concentration camp that was used throughout the Second World War.

 Many lives were lost and destroyed there and people were very badly mistreated, no matter their age, their names, and so on.

 Their race, religion, disabilities (or other similar things) tended to be all that was considered.

What happened there was unfair, wrong and heart-breaking to think about, to say the least.

I want to remember the many lives that were lost within not just Auschwitz but other concentration camps, too.

We should remember, reflect and we should learn from the mistakes that people made in the past. Everyone is equal, everyone matters just as much as each other and it is important to never forget what happened to all of those people.

I hope that today you will spend some time reflecting on what happened and that we all remember that every life matters, every person is deserving of happiness and that neither our choices, our heritage nor anything else should never and will never be able to take away the importance we all have as people or the equality we deserve.

 

In memory of everyone of those affected and involved and to all the survivors of the camp, we will never forget you and your bravery during what must have been a truly horrendous time.

 

Remember that everyone is valuable, everyone is equal, nothing can change that and nobody can take that away from you.
Differences, in any of their forms, are not bad things, they make us who we are. 

xxx

Let's learn, respect and never, ever forget.



Thanks for reading, see you all soon for another post!

Any thoughts to share on this post? Any ideas or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

See you all soon...

Have a wonderful day,

GingerSnaps xxx



I've Been Thinking... - Is It Time To Hit F5?

Hi!!!

How are we all? Good, I hope. Now, if you were here last year or you have read back through the archive since arriving (I do that...), you might remember (THIS) little post. I really enjoyed writing the post and am excited to be writing another one, although this is probably later than ideal.

For those of you who don't remember the post from last year, allow me to explain...

I am not one for making New Years Resolutions. I don't particularly buy the whole term. If there is one thing people struggle to stick to, it is a "resolution". The term inspires people, but also puts pressure on them, leaving many people feeling as though they have let themselves down if they just cannot keep their resolutions. That being said, I do believe that a new year, that has very few moments in it yet, good or bad, leaves you a lot of useful space to better yourself and your life.

So, last year, I  came up with a new way of going about this type of thing as my way of bettering myself without intimidating myself.

And, I must say, it worked pretty blooming well...

I said last year that I wanted to:

Make better use of my time and do more.

I did a lot of wonderful things in 2014.

 I spent lots of time with family and friends, spent time working on moving house, travelled a lot, visited lots of places (well done to us for getting a new National Trust pass at last!). I spent lots of time relaxing, with numerous lazy days and pamper evenings as well as valuing the experiences I had everywhere. I went to interviews, gigs, family meals. I baked, I cooked, I watched a million and one films. I went to photography (the David Bailey Stardust) exhibitions. I went to shows, the theatre, wore pretty clothes. I saw people I haven't seen in years. I met new people. I went to all sorts of celebrations and wore jelly shoes. I laughed, cried, wore ridiculously bright lippy. I took opportunities. I sang and I danced and I fuelled long days with Ribena and Fruit Shoots. I built forts, drank milkshakes and strived to make everyday count for something.  I think I achieved my goal to Make better use of my time and do more as I could list a million things that I did last year and made the best memories.

Keep on top of my fitness.

So, fitness DVDs, daily routines and fitness focuses were all a big thing in 2014 and will be in 2015. I am glad I finally got over myself and started to really do myself a favour by keeping on top of my fitness and it makes me prouder and happier everyday.

Put more energy into this blog.

 

I tried very hard last year to do this and while it wasn't always possible to post as much as I wanted to, due to life, a problematic laptop and a lack of time, I truly did try. Despite maybe not posting very often, I believe my content was good. I always strive to make my content good and I am very pleased when I read back over the things I put up here in 2014. I hope you enjoyed the posts in 2014 and that we can continue to make progress here. So, I am happy to say that I Put more energy into this blog, and I am very proud of that.

 

So, go me! I am so proud that I kept all of these things up and really achieved some wonderful things in 2014. And that is why I figure that I should just hit F5 on the page that I am on rather than opening a new tab. And that is why there is no new F5 Refresh List this year. I want to stay on this page, maybe refresh the way I view things but overall, I am happy with where I am. I am going to stick to this.

So, to summarise, there is no all new F5/Refresh list for 2015.

I'm sticking to my three bullet points from 2014.

 I want to continue down the same road that I am on.

I want more lazy days, milkshakes, dancing and travel (and all those other things, too!), I want to experience awesome new things, I want to keep making myself proud of my fitness achievements and I want to make even more effort than ever before to make this blog the best it can be.

That is what I want.  

 

So, that is all for today. I hope that you have enjoyed this post and that you've had a really good week so far.

Do you make resolutions? Do you take a similar approach to the F5 instead? Have you made any plans, resolutions or refreshes for this year? Do you have any new goals you hope to achieve? How about comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments below.

Alrighty then, I will speak to all of you lovely people soon.

 

I hope you have the most brilliant day!

GingerSnaps xxx



So, To Sum It All Up - December Summary.

Hi!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Another month, another year (!) and therefore another Summary. Make yourself a brew and make yourself comfortable and (hopefully) enjoy...

CHRISTMAS!!!
 

I love Christmas, as you all know, and if you don't then where have you been?

 It really is the best time of the year.

I did lots of Christmassy things in December to build up the anticipation for the big day and spend time with my lovely family and friends.

The "three days of Christmas" as it were or Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day as normal people refer to it, were absolutely brilliant. I had an amazing time and I hope all of my family and friends did too. I hope you had an awesome Christmas as well and that you enjoyed some time out.
Also, massive thanks to my family for my lovely gifts and cards - I really am so fortunate - I hope you liked yours.

To see a post about my excitement for Christmas, click (ME).

To see a post about Christmas Eve, click (THIS) and for a post about Christmas Day click (THIS)

To see a Festive Summary that I put together (that basically summarises most of December for me), click (HERE).

Moving House...

Yes, applause please, because we finally moved house in December. We didn't move on the 1st like I had originally said on this here blog but we did move on the 5th. For real.

Moving house was an experience which took up more or less the whole of 2014 for me in some way or another and it seemed fitting in a way that we moved in December - like the end of the year, end of the moving house thing... That made sense in my head... Probably not in an actual sentence... Move on.

I didn't blog much about the move very much when we actually did move, but I may do a big guide type thing in the next few weeks - eyes peeled and all that jazz.

However, you may be interested in (THIS) post and/or (THIS) post from earlier last year concerning the move...

Supporting Charities...

Text Santa was on ITV in December.

Sadly, I was unable to do a post about it but I hope that some of you provided support if you could and you enjoyed the evening of lovely programming that they provided to urge you to help them out.

It was a brilliant one this year and it is such a great cause.

Spending time with Family and Friends.

I did lots with family in friends last month including lunches, celebrations, get togethers, going to Pantomime, giving and receiving gifts and all round having such a lovely time.

I love how December brings even more fun times with family and friends (I am very lucky to have them) and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as me!

My Favourite Blog Posts From November.

Most of the reason this post has been delayed is that I was struggling to choose my favourite posts because everyone's posts were so fabulous in December.

I need to get this post out, I am starting to feel that I will be letting you down so I just think it will be easier to link all of my favourite blogs' December archive...

A Rosie Outlook (HERE)

Charlotte's Web (HERE)

What Olivia Did (HERE)

Little Winter (HERE)

Made Up Of Little Things (HERE)

I will add in the category below as I did in November to make up for a lack of detail...

Two of My Favourite Songs of December.

Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, (LISTEN HERE)

This song is so, so good, catchy and such a great sound. I think it is a brilliant combination of inspiration from some years ago (music wise) and the modern day (lyrically). Love.

Fairytale of New York by The Pouges and Kirsty McColl, (LISTEN HERE)

I know this is a bit unseasonal for January but since December is the month of Christmas, how could a Christmas song not take a top spot here? So, whether you listen or not, I would like to say that I love this song - it is my favourite Christmas song and it is just awesome...

So, I hope you enjoyed this post everyone. January is a brilliant month and while my blogging start is delayed, I hope you are all having a Happy New Year so far! 

What were your favourite parts of December? What did you think of what I got up to? Did you enjoy the posts I recommended? What about the songs? Any thoughts about this or suggestions for future posts? Why not let me know in the comments. 

Speak to you all soon lovely people.

Have an unbelievably fabulous day!

GingerSnaps xxx