Have you ever read the beginning of a book and really wanted to know what happens next??
I did that today, except with the beginning of a book that I had started to write 2 years ago.
I was going through all of my old documents saved on my computer and came across these 3 stories.
I remember writing them, but I have no idea what was going through my head when I wrote them, and as I sat here reading them all, I realized that I really wanted to know what happens next! It was as if I was reading some one else's work!
I was excited to find them, and now I can work on them a little! My brother-in-law is a writer, and is currently editing his 4th book, has ideas for a 5th, and is constantly talking about it. I am loving hearing all the talk that goes into these books and works of art, that I am desperately wanting to create one myself!
I am pretty sure that my blog is going to change a little bit over the next year, and my content is going to change a decent amount, to change with how my own personal tastes change. I will keep in touch of how the progress is going, because I have a feeling that I am going to be quite obsessed with the thoughts of these books, as it grows over the next couple of months.
Anyway!
I am off to hopefully do another thousand words!
I should be doing one last post before Christmas with all of the Christmas decorations and what my studio looks like around this amazing time of year. :)
See you then!
Sunday, 22 December 2013
Saturday, 21 December 2013
Creating 2014 Goals
Hey guys! We are back in business! I have had a tough 3 months trying to get my business of it's feet and actually doing something for me, and I am so, so excited with its progress! We had our first market last Sunday and while it wasnt a massive success, it still helped us out considerably. My camera, while still not clean, is working again, so I am trying to take some more photos...I just need it clean now!
So seeing as the year is close to finishing and after christmas is usually a time that I dont want to be writing blog posts or doing anything except working off all the food I ate, I have decided to write my 2014 Business Goals now. I will review them in a couple of days to see how it is going, and if I need to add anything, but I am liking how they look.
I have written them in the back of my 2014 business diary, so I know where they are every time I need them.
I am expecting that 2014 will be mine (and Miss Owl B's) massive year, so I am preparing early!
Back to the goals.
I am a list girl. I love writing lists, I love reading lists, and I especially love checking things off lists!
because of my list obsession, I write lists with a lot of things on them so that I can check more off.
I have written all of my goals in short, easily attainable goals.
Now that doesnt work for everyone. I know someone who likes to have 1 or 2 giant goals and keeps aiming towards them.
If their goal was 'Quit my day job.' mine would be 'Earn $5000' 'Make double the sales in Etsy' 'Figure out a budget' etc. I make my goals much more specific.
Well, I finished them all off and they are written in the back of my diary, and all ready to be used!
I am going to start my personal goals for 2014 soon. I needed to be on holidays first :)
Well, I just thought I should tell you I am back :P I am working on the scripts for some new YouTube videos! Videos are something I want to start trying out in the new year, and work with a slightly different medium to what I am used to. All part of the creative 2014! I want 2014 to be as creative and 'me' as possible.
I have been reading over all my old stories and poems and am super keen to get back into writing again. I have so many book ideas that are just bursting at the seems, I just have to put the effort into writing them!
Well, I am going to head off and get some work done on Christmas presents! Oops! Damn working all the time!
So seeing as the year is close to finishing and after christmas is usually a time that I dont want to be writing blog posts or doing anything except working off all the food I ate, I have decided to write my 2014 Business Goals now. I will review them in a couple of days to see how it is going, and if I need to add anything, but I am liking how they look.
I have written them in the back of my 2014 business diary, so I know where they are every time I need them.
I am expecting that 2014 will be mine (and Miss Owl B's) massive year, so I am preparing early!
Back to the goals.
I am a list girl. I love writing lists, I love reading lists, and I especially love checking things off lists!
because of my list obsession, I write lists with a lot of things on them so that I can check more off.
I have written all of my goals in short, easily attainable goals.
Now that doesnt work for everyone. I know someone who likes to have 1 or 2 giant goals and keeps aiming towards them.
If their goal was 'Quit my day job.' mine would be 'Earn $5000' 'Make double the sales in Etsy' 'Figure out a budget' etc. I make my goals much more specific.
Well, I finished them all off and they are written in the back of my diary, and all ready to be used!
I am going to start my personal goals for 2014 soon. I needed to be on holidays first :)
Well, I just thought I should tell you I am back :P I am working on the scripts for some new YouTube videos! Videos are something I want to start trying out in the new year, and work with a slightly different medium to what I am used to. All part of the creative 2014! I want 2014 to be as creative and 'me' as possible.
I have been reading over all my old stories and poems and am super keen to get back into writing again. I have so many book ideas that are just bursting at the seems, I just have to put the effort into writing them!
Well, I am going to head off and get some work done on Christmas presents! Oops! Damn working all the time!
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Preparing For Rain
So, I took a month of blogging to really catch up with everything that I needed to get done and to really figure out what was important in my life right now, but I am back!
I thought of so many blog posts that I was desperately ready to start typing and editing and posting, but that wasnt what the month was about, so I wrote the title down, and briefly what I wanted to mention and then let it go for a bit longer.
I took 3 weeks off work recently, my boyfriend (Tom) and I went to Sydney, we had our joint 21st, I fell horribly sick in 2 ways (as my break from work was ending, unfortunately!), my best friend was in Adelaide for a total of 3 days before having to go back to Queensland, and I only got to see her very briefly, I got a load of sales on Etsy and Tom's parents have gone to Fiji for 2 weeks, so we are housesitting! It has been crazy, crazy times. I have so many photos I want to show you guys, as well as many I want to take, but my camera is actually slightly broken at the moment, so I am waiting for that to get fixed and then can get back into that.
Now onto the main point of this post. Preparing For Rain.
Has everyone heard the story about the 2 farmers who both desperately needed rain? Only one of the farmers went out and planted the crops and prepared the soil. Which one of the farmers trusted God to give him what he needed?
I am not married. I do not have kids. I am currently getting ready for those things to happen, I know what I want my future to look like and I am getting that all organized now. I know a lot of the things I want are going to take several years, so perfect time to start! I would like to share a few of them now.
One of the main ones that I want to do is have my future little children speak Spanish. I speak/write it intermediately and I read it very well. I learnt it from years 8-12 and I am currently taking night lessons in it as well. I am getting ready for something that I want to pass on to my children in 5 or so years, when I have kids. Spanish (and language in general) is something that I am hugely passionate about, so I am quite committed to learning all this.
Another children one is that I would love to home school my children for primary school. But I know as soon as I say that I am going to home school them, that I will get some bad parenting looks or comments on the whole socialization debate. How am I currently preparing for this? Research, research, research! I am getting information that I might need in the future, as well as motive for wanting to teach my little ones the curriculum they need to thrive in this world.
If you follow my Pinterest, you will see all of the wedding, baby, Spanish, marriage, future things that I have! I am on Pinterest a lot, which I definitely use as the dream board for which it was intended.
I like to think that I am preparing my future for the life that I want to live.
I hope you guys are all living how you want to be, or are starting to work out how you really do want to live.
How are you preparing for rain?
I hope everyone is having an amazing day/night!
I would say happy halloween, but I am not a huge fan of halloween! (Yay, cheap chocolate!)
xxx
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
Update
Well guys, I am back in Adelaide and it is cold, rainy, windy and dark. Perfect weather to get everything done inside! We had an awesome time in Sydney; perfect, sunny weather, great food, great company, and lots of walking.
While its nice to back, I think I want that weather back! But you know, orders to do, paintings to paint, cleaning to do.
Tom and I have our joint 21st party coming up, so I am very much looking forward to showing you some of the DIY decorations and processes behind some of what we have done! Everything is looking awesome and I am so excited to share all that we have done. :)
There is so much stuff to show you with that, so I can't wait till it is over, so I can tell you about it!
See you soon!
While its nice to back, I think I want that weather back! But you know, orders to do, paintings to paint, cleaning to do.
Tom and I have our joint 21st party coming up, so I am very much looking forward to showing you some of the DIY decorations and processes behind some of what we have done! Everything is looking awesome and I am so excited to share all that we have done. :)
There is so much stuff to show you with that, so I can't wait till it is over, so I can tell you about it!
See you soon!
Thursday, 26 September 2013
Sydney!
Helloo out there!
I am off to Sydney for a couple of days (yay! holidays!), so won't be around for the weekend, those who have ordered shoes in the last couple of days, I will get them done as soon as I get back and then they will be on the way! :D
Tom and I are going on what I have been calling, 'The Bookshop Tour' of Sydney. We don't want to do any of the tourist-y things, so it is going to be markets and bookshops that we have never seen before! I am pretty excited about that.
Well, I will get back in touch as soon as I get back, after that I still have 2 and a half weeks of holidays, so pretty excited to get updated on everything!
Hope you guys are having a fantastic day/night and I will be back in no time.
I love all of you...
I am off to Sydney for a couple of days (yay! holidays!), so won't be around for the weekend, those who have ordered shoes in the last couple of days, I will get them done as soon as I get back and then they will be on the way! :D
Tom and I are going on what I have been calling, 'The Bookshop Tour' of Sydney. We don't want to do any of the tourist-y things, so it is going to be markets and bookshops that we have never seen before! I am pretty excited about that.
Well, I will get back in touch as soon as I get back, after that I still have 2 and a half weeks of holidays, so pretty excited to get updated on everything!
Hope you guys are having a fantastic day/night and I will be back in no time.
I love all of you...
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Today...
THIS WEEK:
Watching:
The movie, Goddess. Who doesn't love a bit of Ronan Keating or Magda Szubanski being that little bit naughty. Also, yay, musical!
Listening:
One Direction's first album and Matthew Morrison's latest. We all love some difference.
Reading:
Fiction: Still reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. (Damn, its tough!) Also, Wild Designs by Katie Fforde (favourite author right there)
Non-Fiction: Eating the Sun by Oliver Morton and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Loving:
Long phone calls with a new friend, holidays!, my little garden (gives me so much joy watching it grow!), trip to Sydney in 3 days, great new opportunities!
Not loving:
Having a lot of mosquito bites already, Spanish classes finishing for the term, technology problems, people not being who you thought they were
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Not forgotten!
Just a quick pop in to say that I have not forgotten you all! I am still around, I just have been very busy!
I will tell you all about it as soon as I have a break in 3 days!
Love you all!
I will tell you all about it as soon as I have a break in 3 days!
Love you all!
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Hard to believe...
It is a bit of a crazy week this week! I worked double the hours I normally do, it was Fathers day, my dads birthday, my cousins birthday and my friends mom's birthday this week, it's my boyfriends birthday tomorrow and then election day on Saturday. Crrazy!
I have been doing quite a few craft projects the last few days, so I am looking forward to posting those within a few weeks. I have 2 new shoes to upload onto Etsy and at least 4 more to paint!
Tom and I are having a joint 21st party next month and I have got so many craft projects and decoration ideas that I really need to get started on! Bring it on! I love being busy, it makes life fun. :)
With what has been happening recently, my blog has been the one suffering, but that is okay. Every now and then, it is important to look up from the computer screen and focus on what is going on around you.
I just keep writing the word crazy and then deleting it, because when I think about what I have to do this month crazy is the only word that comes up!
Well, I had best be off doing something else.
Hope you all have a very lovely day/night!
Love to everyone!
Monday, 2 September 2013
Fathers Day!
First of all, happy Fathers Day to all the fathers out there!! and secondly, happy spring!
I have had a very busy couple of days. First I went volunteering on Friday morning, then had work, then slept, then had work again, then had my beautiful little cousins 18th birthday party (eep! 18 already!), and it was fathers day and we had joint 18th birthday/fathers day lunch, then fathers day dinner for the other side of the family. Craziness, but so much fun. I love how close my family is! Makes life more enjoyable when you can spend it with people you love :)
I wanted to post a quick post saying that the next week is going to be crazy, so probably wont get to post much, but I am working on it. I am also working on changing to my spring theme for my blog, and I am in the first draft. Not so keen on it, but I havent had much opportunity to fix it yet!!
But while the weather is so amazing, I am spending more time outdoors with my family (which means yay outing posts!) but means less time on here with you lovely people. :)
I have been getting quite a few shoe orders now, so thanks to all those lovely people! Getting busy on those very soon.
Alright, It has been a very tiring and social weekend, so I am ready for sleep! My eyes are closing just typing this. Goodnight, lovely people!
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Running late!
Hey guys!
I am running so late today! I start work very shortly and havent even started doing what I wanted to.
I thought I would just quickly share a poem I wrote the other day!
I am running so late today! I start work very shortly and havent even started doing what I wanted to.
I thought I would just quickly share a poem I wrote the other day!
'If I open my arms and pretend to be a tree,
Why am I not one?
If I fall and spread my arms like a bird,
Why won't I fly?
How can I use my imagination,
When I only know how to be human?
Oh, to become a child again,
where boxes made of cardboard
is a treasure trove of the possible.'
Just a very quick one today! I will hopefully be posting some stuff tonight, but I don't actually know how that will go in the end...I am only human! :)
Oops! slash Outing!
So, I do feel like a bit of an idiot.
I didn't upload the link for my Etsy shop. I was seriously in such a haze that day. So much to do. Anyway! Here is the link!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/missowlb
I'm silly. I know.
Alright! So I have been dying to go to this cute little shop, that I found on facebook, for a long, long time. I decided the other day to head there today as a little present to my self (we all deserve little treats!).
If you live in Adelaide, head to Cross Road Collectables. I loved it just from seeing pictures of it and loved it even more when I visited it. It happened to be absolutely pouring with rain today and the wind made it even more harsh, but my boyfriend and I braved the weather to go (Yay, for nice and dry inside!).
So, I only took a few photos (I was too busy perusing) but it is just one room after another of old items.
The store is actually 2 neighboring houses joined to create this store that seems to go on and on.
When I told my dad about it, he joked that it would be one day be my house. Thanks, Dad.
All in all, A great place! My boyfriend kept mentioning how much he would love to come back. We bought a book of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, A few Trixie Belden books (seriously, im in love again!) and an old smallish sword, which I am quite looking forward to using to decorate, but I don't think my boyfriend had that in mind. Oops!
Anyway, its late now and I still wanted to get 2 more things done before bed. Third oops is the charm!
Goodnight/ good morning!
I didn't upload the link for my Etsy shop. I was seriously in such a haze that day. So much to do. Anyway! Here is the link!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/missowlb
I'm silly. I know.
Alright! So I have been dying to go to this cute little shop, that I found on facebook, for a long, long time. I decided the other day to head there today as a little present to my self (we all deserve little treats!).
If you live in Adelaide, head to Cross Road Collectables. I loved it just from seeing pictures of it and loved it even more when I visited it. It happened to be absolutely pouring with rain today and the wind made it even more harsh, but my boyfriend and I braved the weather to go (Yay, for nice and dry inside!).
One of the rooms full of old/vintage/secondhand books |
More books! |
Part of the music room (old records, radios, sheet music, cassette tapes etc) |
Another part of the music area |
The store is actually 2 neighboring houses joined to create this store that seems to go on and on.
When I told my dad about it, he joked that it would be one day be my house. Thanks, Dad.
All in all, A great place! My boyfriend kept mentioning how much he would love to come back. We bought a book of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, A few Trixie Belden books (seriously, im in love again!) and an old smallish sword, which I am quite looking forward to using to decorate, but I don't think my boyfriend had that in mind. Oops!
Anyway, its late now and I still wanted to get 2 more things done before bed. Third oops is the charm!
Goodnight/ good morning!
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
My Etsy journey
Hello, favorite people!
So, 2 days ago I mentioned that I was going to open my Etsy shop today and I have! I am so excited, because I have finally found my thing.
Over the last couple of years, I have really wanted to sell things. I loved the idea of selling my art or other hand made things. They problem I found was that I wasn't very good! I have mentioned in an earlier post, that I do a bit of everything, and I like to learn new things quickly, which means I don't generally keep things in my head :P
But painting shoes is better for me, because I can stick to it!
I would love for you guys to check out my options, and see how you like them!
Thank you so so much!
So, 2 days ago I mentioned that I was going to open my Etsy shop today and I have! I am so excited, because I have finally found my thing.
Over the last couple of years, I have really wanted to sell things. I loved the idea of selling my art or other hand made things. They problem I found was that I wasn't very good! I have mentioned in an earlier post, that I do a bit of everything, and I like to learn new things quickly, which means I don't generally keep things in my head :P
But painting shoes is better for me, because I can stick to it!
I would love for you guys to check out my options, and see how you like them!
Thank you so so much!
The Alphabet Weekends- Elizabeth Noble
Alphabet Weekends- Elizabeth Noble
Blurb:
Natalie and her sisters have known Tom and his family forever. They climbed trees together, scraped knees on the same pavements and shaped bonds that would last a lifetime.
So when Natalie's long-term love walks out on her, Tom's is the much-needed shoulder she cries on. And he dreams up an ingenious way to dry her tears; a series of Alphabet Weekends- activities which, if not fun, will nonetheless distract her- and what bigger distraction to get them started then A for Abseiling? And even as she plunges down cliffs, Tom hopes Natalie might see what's been staring her in the face all these years. His undying love for her.
But as they tumble from A to Z, their families and friends face broken hearts and tragedies of their own. Can the Alphabet Weekends unlock love in all its many and wonderful guises? And not only for Natalie and Tom, but for everyone they care about?
First Thoughts:
I loved this idea! Doing set activities for each letter sounded awesome! I was excited to see what they came up with. I hadn't read anything by Elizabeth Noble before, so I was curious to see how it would turn out.
Final Thoughts:
It was a lot messier than I originally thought it was going to be like. I liked it. I did, but while the blurb seemed to indicate that it was majority Natalie and Tom's point of view, it actually wasnt. It was in the end only a small bit Natalie and Tom and mainly focused on their relatives and friends, which I also liked. It was very interesting that, although Elizabeth Noble's writing style wasn't my favorite (I prefer Katie Fforde) I could get past it and actually be a part of the characters lives, and that surprisingly one chapter actually nearly made me end up in tears! (read: nearly!) That is unusual for me with a book.
I think, in my opinion, Natalie and Tom should have been minor characters and some of the others should be the major ones, but that is just all petty stuff and I actually really enjoyed the book!
If you are someone who really can't get over the less than perfect writing, then this book probably isnt for you. I did see another Elizabeth Noble book, but I didn't end up getting it, just because I wasn't too fond of her from this one.
I would love to hear someone else's view on it! Have you read it? Let me know what you thought in the comments :)
Blurb:
Natalie and her sisters have known Tom and his family forever. They climbed trees together, scraped knees on the same pavements and shaped bonds that would last a lifetime.
So when Natalie's long-term love walks out on her, Tom's is the much-needed shoulder she cries on. And he dreams up an ingenious way to dry her tears; a series of Alphabet Weekends- activities which, if not fun, will nonetheless distract her- and what bigger distraction to get them started then A for Abseiling? And even as she plunges down cliffs, Tom hopes Natalie might see what's been staring her in the face all these years. His undying love for her.
But as they tumble from A to Z, their families and friends face broken hearts and tragedies of their own. Can the Alphabet Weekends unlock love in all its many and wonderful guises? And not only for Natalie and Tom, but for everyone they care about?
First Thoughts:
I loved this idea! Doing set activities for each letter sounded awesome! I was excited to see what they came up with. I hadn't read anything by Elizabeth Noble before, so I was curious to see how it would turn out.
Final Thoughts:
It was a lot messier than I originally thought it was going to be like. I liked it. I did, but while the blurb seemed to indicate that it was majority Natalie and Tom's point of view, it actually wasnt. It was in the end only a small bit Natalie and Tom and mainly focused on their relatives and friends, which I also liked. It was very interesting that, although Elizabeth Noble's writing style wasn't my favorite (I prefer Katie Fforde) I could get past it and actually be a part of the characters lives, and that surprisingly one chapter actually nearly made me end up in tears! (read: nearly!) That is unusual for me with a book.
I think, in my opinion, Natalie and Tom should have been minor characters and some of the others should be the major ones, but that is just all petty stuff and I actually really enjoyed the book!
If you are someone who really can't get over the less than perfect writing, then this book probably isnt for you. I did see another Elizabeth Noble book, but I didn't end up getting it, just because I wasn't too fond of her from this one.
I would love to hear someone else's view on it! Have you read it? Let me know what you thought in the comments :)
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Etsy Shop Opening Eve Eve
Okay! So while the title gives away my new surprise, i am so happy to announce that my new Etsy shop will be opening in 2 days time! Argh!
For those of you who don't know (I have been deliberately keeping it a secret for a while, so I will be surprised if you did!) I have started hand painting blank canvas shoes! I started making them for birthday presents for my friends and family and people have since then wanted to actually buy them, so I am so grateful for those who have wanted some! Even my Nana has pre-ordered a pair. I think that is pretty cute, also she reads this blog, so hey, Nana!!
So, I am very excited about finally getting this off the ground! Today has been figuring out all the behind the scenes business-y stuff, so I am getting closer and closer to finally getting this open. My original open date was 3 months ago, and then 18 days ago and now I am finally not going to put it off any longer!
For those of you who don't know (I have been deliberately keeping it a secret for a while, so I will be surprised if you did!) I have started hand painting blank canvas shoes! I started making them for birthday presents for my friends and family and people have since then wanted to actually buy them, so I am so grateful for those who have wanted some! Even my Nana has pre-ordered a pair. I think that is pretty cute, also she reads this blog, so hey, Nana!!
Ones I finished last night! My boyfriends Poker shoes! |
My TARDIS Doctor Who Shoes |
Thing 1 and Thing 2! |
So, I am very excited about finally getting this off the ground! Today has been figuring out all the behind the scenes business-y stuff, so I am getting closer and closer to finally getting this open. My original open date was 3 months ago, and then 18 days ago and now I am finally not going to put it off any longer!
It's nice to feel like I can do something thats decent enough to sell, we will see how we go! :D
Thank you all for your support and I will see you at the grand opening of my store in 2 days! I am thinking a little online party is in order!
Thanks so much, have a lovely, lovely day!
Tuesday, 13 August 2013
Life: Simple and Slow! Lesson #2: Computer
So I've showed the back story of why I want to do this, so now its on to the first tips!
I have been trying to live more environmentally friendly at the same time as this, so I will be telling some simple things that I do, in order to be kinder to the environmentally friendly.
Tip #1
Okay, the first lesson I want to talk to you about is how to better organize online. I have done this and it has made me work that much more efficiently.
I had a lot of email subscriptions that I either no longer are interested in or that I only signed up for something free at the beginning. My first tip is going to be unsubscribe from all useless email subscriptions. Seems like an easy first step, and it is! The next step I did was to go through all 589 unread emails (and a stack load of already read) and delete all the ones that were part of the first step, or no longer relevant. Doing both of these steps made my email smoother and I can now actually find what I am looking for.
Tip #2
If you guys are anything like me, you have folders and folders of downloaded things, pictures, music, videos and documents. In fact, my computer was so full of stuff that I have all of it on two separate laptop hard drives. But that has all changed now! I went through all my folders, and either named it properly, or deleted it. I also dated all of my photo albums to make it easier to search through them. As I am sitting here typing this, my boyfriend is on our main computer doing exactly this. We weirdly have similar thoughts without even talking about it.
I am still in the process of getting stuff off my other laptop, but so far, this one is pretty good.
Tip #3
I love reading blogs. I'm sure most bloggers do. I used to have a bookmarks bar that was so full of bookmarks that it took ages for the browser to load. Since then, I found bloglovin' so that is now my main place for 'storing' all my favorite blogs in an easily accessible way. I found the same thing with websites and general places that you find you like. If I find a website I want to look at again, or to regularly keep up to date with, I write down the home screen address in the notebook that I carry with me everywhere. That way (since I always have it with me), I can find it if I need it. Another thing I have heard people use is just a simple Word document.
Well, I think that is a pretty good start! Remember these are all strategies that I am putting in place for my own life as I go along, so if there is anything that you can recommend that you do thats easier or better in some way, let me know!
Thanks for reading my ramblings!
I have been trying to live more environmentally friendly at the same time as this, so I will be telling some simple things that I do, in order to be kinder to the environmentally friendly.
Tip #1
Okay, the first lesson I want to talk to you about is how to better organize online. I have done this and it has made me work that much more efficiently.
I had a lot of email subscriptions that I either no longer are interested in or that I only signed up for something free at the beginning. My first tip is going to be unsubscribe from all useless email subscriptions. Seems like an easy first step, and it is! The next step I did was to go through all 589 unread emails (and a stack load of already read) and delete all the ones that were part of the first step, or no longer relevant. Doing both of these steps made my email smoother and I can now actually find what I am looking for.
Tip #2
If you guys are anything like me, you have folders and folders of downloaded things, pictures, music, videos and documents. In fact, my computer was so full of stuff that I have all of it on two separate laptop hard drives. But that has all changed now! I went through all my folders, and either named it properly, or deleted it. I also dated all of my photo albums to make it easier to search through them. As I am sitting here typing this, my boyfriend is on our main computer doing exactly this. We weirdly have similar thoughts without even talking about it.
I am still in the process of getting stuff off my other laptop, but so far, this one is pretty good.
Tip #3
I love reading blogs. I'm sure most bloggers do. I used to have a bookmarks bar that was so full of bookmarks that it took ages for the browser to load. Since then, I found bloglovin' so that is now my main place for 'storing' all my favorite blogs in an easily accessible way. I found the same thing with websites and general places that you find you like. If I find a website I want to look at again, or to regularly keep up to date with, I write down the home screen address in the notebook that I carry with me everywhere. That way (since I always have it with me), I can find it if I need it. Another thing I have heard people use is just a simple Word document.
Well, I think that is a pretty good start! Remember these are all strategies that I am putting in place for my own life as I go along, so if there is anything that you can recommend that you do thats easier or better in some way, let me know!
Thanks for reading my ramblings!
Sunday, 11 August 2013
Life: Simple and Slow! Lesson #1: The background
Okay! So I don't really have a heading to put this under as it's going to be a whole mess of things, but here we go!
My life is hectic. I'm 20 years old with no kids, I still live at home and I'm not married. But my life is still hectic. I know several people out there would be saying, 'Maybe she should be in my shoes for a day!' and to that I say, I know you all live hectic lives too!
I currently work 3+ days a week at the supermarket, I babysit 2 mornings a week, I volunteer 1 day a week (might soon be bumped up to 2), I take Spanish lessons once a week, and try and get one day a week for art and once my Etsy shop is opened that will be another day.
It's hard to keep my head together some times, especially when trying to add personal hygiene, sleep, time by myself, exercise, social life, cleaning, washing, and eating (healthy at that!). This is the reason I can see so many people failing at keeping organized and just living unhealthy lives.
I want to first show you what my Thursday and Friday were like for me 2 weeks ago.
Thursday
8:00: Woke up. No time for a shower as I have to be at baby sitting at 8:30
8:10: Put my work uniform on, had a glass of milk, ate a chocolate biscuit and left the house.
8:35: Arrived 5 minutes late to baby sitting.
11:35: Rushed out of their house, drove (without speeding!) to my shift at the supermarket which started at 12:
11:50: Rushed in the door, grabbed a chocolate bar off the shelf, paid for it, and ate it while running up the stairs to the locker room. (My lunch)
2:30: My tea break. Having mentally written a note of what I needed grocery wise, i ran around the store and got everything in the 15 minutes I had.
2:45: Back to work.
5:00: Finished work. Grabbed something (that I had forgotten earlier) for dinner and rushed home. Put a very small chicken pie in the microwave and snacked on some biscuits until it cooked. Quickly changed, ate dinner quickly, and then off to Spanish lessons.
6:10: Arrived at Spanish 5 minutes early! Realized I forgot to put my washing on, and clean the microwave which I promised to do. Sat in my car for 5 minutes, writing a list of everything I would do when I got home and started writing some blog posts.
6:15: Spanish!
7:45: Left Spanish and got a text from a friend asking to meet at a close shopping center for late night shopping.
8:20: Arrived at the shops, met this friend, walked around for a bit, remembered I was supposed to make myself new pajama pants with cute material I had at home, instead, bought some new ones for $20 and didnt think twice. Remembered that I was actually missing my boyfriends brothers family dinner, but still had to get the lemons I forgot after work.
8:50: Hurriedly walked to the shops to buy lemons before they shut at 9. Saw my friend working there, so we had a very brief chat.
9:00: Drove to my boyfriend's house.
9:30: Arrived there starving and tired.
10:00: Ate a huge bowl of spaghetti and had a can of lemonade.
1:00: Eventually fell asleep.
Friday
8:15: Alarm woke me up, so tired, fell back asleep until my boyfriend shook me awake saying I had 10 minutes until we were leaving.
9:25: Got out of bed, once again, no time for a shower. Hopped in the car (when I was going to walk), dropped Tom at a bus stop and drove to where I volunteer.
9:55: I realized I forgot to brush my hair and was wearing odd-colored shoes.
10:00: Returned the library books that were overdue and rushed to volunteering.
12:15: Finished volunteering, so ran to the shops, bought a hot dog, ate it while driving in the car and went back to my house.
12:45: Arrived home. Worked on new stuff for Etsy, while watching something on TV that I had to watch then.
1:45: Left for work.
9:15: Arrived home from work.
9:30: Found some left over food from the kitchen
10:00: Went to bed!
So that is every Thursday and Friday for me and Saturday gets busy as well, but I have the morning.
So, my plan is to slow down and to make things easier for me. Now, one of those things was to turn my laptop off and keep it out of my room after 12:30am and I am already breaking that, by quickly typing this, but it is going away in just a minute! :P
Over the next several weeks, I will post about my intent to slow down and to live more mindfully, and will show you guys my little projects that I do along the way.
I'm sorry this post was a lot of typing! I promise a lot of pictures will be posted soon enough.
It's only more month till Spring, so my blog will get a little spring clean at the same time. Yay!
Well, I hope you guys are having a great time wherever you are and whatever you plan on doing!
My life is hectic. I'm 20 years old with no kids, I still live at home and I'm not married. But my life is still hectic. I know several people out there would be saying, 'Maybe she should be in my shoes for a day!' and to that I say, I know you all live hectic lives too!
I currently work 3+ days a week at the supermarket, I babysit 2 mornings a week, I volunteer 1 day a week (might soon be bumped up to 2), I take Spanish lessons once a week, and try and get one day a week for art and once my Etsy shop is opened that will be another day.
It's hard to keep my head together some times, especially when trying to add personal hygiene, sleep, time by myself, exercise, social life, cleaning, washing, and eating (healthy at that!). This is the reason I can see so many people failing at keeping organized and just living unhealthy lives.
I want to first show you what my Thursday and Friday were like for me 2 weeks ago.
Thursday
8:00: Woke up. No time for a shower as I have to be at baby sitting at 8:30
8:10: Put my work uniform on, had a glass of milk, ate a chocolate biscuit and left the house.
8:35: Arrived 5 minutes late to baby sitting.
11:35: Rushed out of their house, drove (without speeding!) to my shift at the supermarket which started at 12:
11:50: Rushed in the door, grabbed a chocolate bar off the shelf, paid for it, and ate it while running up the stairs to the locker room. (My lunch)
2:30: My tea break. Having mentally written a note of what I needed grocery wise, i ran around the store and got everything in the 15 minutes I had.
2:45: Back to work.
5:00: Finished work. Grabbed something (that I had forgotten earlier) for dinner and rushed home. Put a very small chicken pie in the microwave and snacked on some biscuits until it cooked. Quickly changed, ate dinner quickly, and then off to Spanish lessons.
6:10: Arrived at Spanish 5 minutes early! Realized I forgot to put my washing on, and clean the microwave which I promised to do. Sat in my car for 5 minutes, writing a list of everything I would do when I got home and started writing some blog posts.
6:15: Spanish!
7:45: Left Spanish and got a text from a friend asking to meet at a close shopping center for late night shopping.
8:20: Arrived at the shops, met this friend, walked around for a bit, remembered I was supposed to make myself new pajama pants with cute material I had at home, instead, bought some new ones for $20 and didnt think twice. Remembered that I was actually missing my boyfriends brothers family dinner, but still had to get the lemons I forgot after work.
8:50: Hurriedly walked to the shops to buy lemons before they shut at 9. Saw my friend working there, so we had a very brief chat.
9:00: Drove to my boyfriend's house.
9:30: Arrived there starving and tired.
10:00: Ate a huge bowl of spaghetti and had a can of lemonade.
1:00: Eventually fell asleep.
Friday
8:15: Alarm woke me up, so tired, fell back asleep until my boyfriend shook me awake saying I had 10 minutes until we were leaving.
9:25: Got out of bed, once again, no time for a shower. Hopped in the car (when I was going to walk), dropped Tom at a bus stop and drove to where I volunteer.
9:55: I realized I forgot to brush my hair and was wearing odd-colored shoes.
10:00: Returned the library books that were overdue and rushed to volunteering.
12:15: Finished volunteering, so ran to the shops, bought a hot dog, ate it while driving in the car and went back to my house.
12:45: Arrived home. Worked on new stuff for Etsy, while watching something on TV that I had to watch then.
1:45: Left for work.
9:15: Arrived home from work.
9:30: Found some left over food from the kitchen
10:00: Went to bed!
So that is every Thursday and Friday for me and Saturday gets busy as well, but I have the morning.
So, my plan is to slow down and to make things easier for me. Now, one of those things was to turn my laptop off and keep it out of my room after 12:30am and I am already breaking that, by quickly typing this, but it is going away in just a minute! :P
Over the next several weeks, I will post about my intent to slow down and to live more mindfully, and will show you guys my little projects that I do along the way.
I'm sorry this post was a lot of typing! I promise a lot of pictures will be posted soon enough.
It's only more month till Spring, so my blog will get a little spring clean at the same time. Yay!
Well, I hope you guys are having a great time wherever you are and whatever you plan on doing!
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
Inspiration Station
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Found Here |
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Found Here |
Love you guys! Thanks for sticking by me!
Monday, 15 July 2013
I have a plan...
I would first like to say Rest in Peace Cory Monteith. Such a huge loss to the world. I watched the first couple of seasons of Glee, so I know what a talent he was. Way too young.
I have a notebook. I have a notebook where I write everything that I am going to do on my blog, and I have been reading over it this morning and realizing just how much I have forgotten to blog about! So this morning, I have 3 hours until I start work, so I am going to be hurriedly typing to get as much as I can done in three hours. So that is my plan.
I have read so many things that say dont work in bed in regards to working from home (and I see this blog as a job) and some say you should get up, get dressed in 'work' clothes and stay like that. That is all good for some people, but for me one of the benefits of doing this blog, is that I can lie around in bed in my pajamas, and blog at the same time! Isn't it great!? I'm sure once my Etsy business gets going I will realize why they have said that, but for now, I am loving doing it the way I do!
Anyway, I am off to writing now!
Have a good day/night!
------------------------------------------
I have a notebook. I have a notebook where I write everything that I am going to do on my blog, and I have been reading over it this morning and realizing just how much I have forgotten to blog about! So this morning, I have 3 hours until I start work, so I am going to be hurriedly typing to get as much as I can done in three hours. So that is my plan.
I have read so many things that say dont work in bed in regards to working from home (and I see this blog as a job) and some say you should get up, get dressed in 'work' clothes and stay like that. That is all good for some people, but for me one of the benefits of doing this blog, is that I can lie around in bed in my pajamas, and blog at the same time! Isn't it great!? I'm sure once my Etsy business gets going I will realize why they have said that, but for now, I am loving doing it the way I do!
Anyway, I am off to writing now!
Have a good day/night!
Money, Money, Money...more than just an ABBA song?
Hello, my chickens!
Today's musings is about money and everything associated with it.
Let's start off with saying I am bad at saving money. Phew! Glad to get that out there! Every time I see a CD I don't have, a new issue of a magazine, or new DVD's I go a little spending crazy and completely disregard my budget and my saving plans. (As you can see, entertainment is a huge part of my life :P)
But, something has changed this last week. Officeworks, my local stationary store, has brought our a new line of notebooks, and lucky me, one is a budget book!
Now, I have tried budgeting in the past, I have bought books, downloaded things off the internet, drawn tables myself. Nothing has worked so far! I am currently in the 5th day of this new budget book (I am doing the spending diary part of it at the moment) and it is working great!
I can see that in two days I spent over $100 in entertainment and I can see both what I need to cut back and what I can fix in terms of budgeting.
I am the type of girl that needs a page with columns and ideas, but not everyone is like that, so pretty much my advice to you is, do it that helps you the best. I wouldnt want to be stuck in something that I cant keep up with!
Onto the next part!
I am on the verge of opening my Etsy shop, I have a regular part time job and I baby sit one morning a week...Anyone have ideas on where I can earn a little bit of extra money? What have you started? Any financial planning blogs that you can add to my list? I will post a link with all of my favorite blog links in the next couple of days as well.
I am so excited to be getting all the stuff I have been working on out to you all!! I also think I have finally solved my major design problem, so getting on to that in the next few days! Yay!
I hope you all have an amazing day or night wherever you are!
Tuesday, 9 July 2013
Phone Photos This Week
Hello, my pretties!!
I do apologize for not posting. I have been painting, painting and more painting. Why? Well, at the beginning of the year I set a date for when my Etsy shop would open. (I need deadlines!) That date is July 30th.
I slightly am not prepared. Actually, I am really not prepared! I have got all the business side of things organized, but not so much with the content!
So, blogging has taken a backseat until I feel on top of things :)
It has been pouring with rain the last few days! Winter is making me love staying inside and paint all day! It helps that my boyfriend is currently on a trip away with his friends, so I get to spend my days off painting instead of getting distracted.
Here are some photos of the last few days to make up from leaving you all!
One of these is not quite like the others! |
Finally did more! Still not finished. |
The unfinished project looks really creepy! |
Finally home from work! This is my painting/comfy clothes! |
Rain, Rain! |
Thursday, 4 July 2013
A is for Art
So today's is art.
Art is a huge one for me, I LOVE trying new things and I even enjoy my fails as it means I can learn new processes.
Thanks for tuning into Part 1!
xxx
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