Blogtober 26th

26th Oct 201925th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Its the 26th of October which means it is also the twenty-sixth day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 25th October.

What made me feel enthusiastic today?

I bought a new computer monitor on-line a few days ago and have been thinking about sorting out my spare room so that it is more of a creative space for me to work from – blog, work on graphics and space to do my art stuff. I have been thinking about how I want the whole room to look and how everything should be laid out. Out of all of the rooms in my house, my spare room is the one that I haven’t done much with and I am really looking forward to making this more of a space for me.

What drained me of energy?

Working a 5 day week has drained me of energy, today was a struggle not only to get up this morning, get ready for work but to keep myself motivated all day. I did manage to push through and finished all of the jobs I needed to.

What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that sometimes I just need to power through the day. Setting myself small, achievable goals has helped with getting through the day.

Bloggers Blogging for Blogtober

26th Oct 201925th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

As you know, I am taking part in Blogtober, a blogging event which sees bloggers challenging themselves to post once a day for the whole of October, but it’s not just my blog that is taking part, there are a whole host of other fantastic blogs that are undertaking the challenge too! Today I am sharing a few of the blogs that I follow who are taking part too!

Please pop by and see what these bloggers are doing for Blogtober and say hi!

If you would like to be added to my Bloggers Blogging for Blogtober list then please leave your link in the comments!

Blogtober 25th

25th Oct 201924th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Its the 25th of October which means it is also the twenty-fifth day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 24th October.

What made me feel enthusiastic today?

All day I have been thinking of a way to structure my time in a better way so that I can get all the things are done that I want to and also the ones that I need to so I was feeling enthusiastic to get home and work on a new time management schedule so that I can accomplish all I want to each day. I am hoping to get up a bit earlier each day to do some of the things I want to before work but we will have to see how that goes!

What drained me of energy?

Being too cold this morning and then too hot this afternoon has drained my energy. The office where I work has the heating on now but the office is chilly in the morning and normally warm by the afternoon. Today though it was so hot this afternoon that I felt I should have been wearing summer clothes instead of my trousers and long sleeve top.

What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that I get tired and grumpy when I am too warm or cold and the change in temperature can really affect how I feel. I really need to think a bit more about what I wear to work and incorporate more layers for days like today.

Blogtober 24th

24th Oct 201924th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Its the 24th of October which means it is also the twenty-fourth day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 23rd October.

What made me feel enthusiastic today?

Lots of little things made me feel enthusiastic today, listening to podcasts, taking time out to practice mindfulness, spending time with friends, getting my bills paid and ticking some errands off my list.

What drained me of energy?

One part of my job involves checking forms on an on-screen viewer and the system we use can be pretty slow at times and the work can be a bit boring. I found that sitting and staring at a screen for part of my day to be draining of my energy and I felt pretty lethargic afterwards.

What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that enthusiasm can come from the most surprising of sources and once I get enthusiastic about something I can transfer that enthusiasm on to other things.

Top 10 Easy Household Jobs You Can Do

24th Oct 201923rd Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Copy of Copy of TOP 10 THURSDAY INSTA (1)

I see adverts all the time for household services that are easy for you to do yourself and some of these jobs are not even things I would have thought to call someone up to do for me. Today’s Top 10 Thursday post is inspired by some of these adverts that I have seen which I would attempt myself rather than call someone out to do.

Oven cleaning. While I am not a fan of cleaning an oven (and am not entirely sure how to do it but a recent attempt involved very hot soapy water, oven cleaner and a scouring pad) it is not something I would even consider getting someone else in to do for me.
Carpet and rug cleaning. It is pretty cheap to hire out a carpet cleaning machine, buy the shampoo for the carpets and also to operate the machine, plus there is something super satisfactory about seeing all that dirt lift out of your carpets that I wouldn’t want anyone else to enjoy!
Putting up a curtain rail. I managed to put my curtain rail up (all on my own too – proper adulting!) and it was a really straightforward job.
Painting and decorating. So long as you take your time and use good brushes or other paint applicators there is not really much of a reason not to do this yourself unless it is something like a stairway or there is too much that needs to be done or specialist finish that is required.
Ironing. I don’t iron very regularly I must admit, many of my clothes are ones that don’t need ironing, and others, if hung up correctly when drying doesn’t seem to crease but when I do need to iron things I put on some music and lose myself in thought and it is soon done.
Unblocking a toilet. There are so many different ways to unblock a toilet and a quick check on YouTube will give you hundreds of video how-tos so unless these fail I would much prefer to do this myself.
Dripping taps. Another one that you can YouTube and have someone talk you through what you need to do to fix it, and once you know how to do it, can be easy and quick to sort out!
Toilet cistern water levels. I had a problem with my toilet cistern water level being too high and the excess water escaping through the overflow pipe, but I managed to fix it after Googling what was wrong and then following on-line instructions.
Unblocking a sink. 9 times out of 10 if I have had problems with the water draining slowly from my sink it usually has something to do with gunk in the U bend. I get a bucket, place it under the sink (directly below the U bend) and unscrew the U bend piece, empty it into the bucket then take it to another sink (or the bath) and give it a good clean in hot soapy water before re-attaching and find that usually works. Only once do I recall this not working and this was when I lived in a block of flats, sharing wastewater pipes with other flats and it turned out to be a problem with the communal wastewater main pipe.
Doors that stick or don’t close properly. If the door in question is wooden it could be something as simple as tightening the screws on the hinges or getting some sandpaper and rubbing down part of the door. As wood tends to warp, shrinking or swell depending on humidity and heat it an have a tendency to need slight adjustment over time. If the door is a UPVC one then there are a series of hinges that can be adjusted to bring the door back into alignment. Both of these have some good problem-solving videos on YouTube!

Blogtober 23rd

23rd Oct 201922nd Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Its the 23rd of October which means it is also the twenty-third day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 22nd October.

What made me feel enthusiastic today?

I felt enthusiastic about getting my curtain pole and curtains up today! It took a while to get the pole up and the curtains ironed but I am happy that it has been done. It makes such a difference to my living room!

What drained me of energy?

Ironing my new curtains drained me of energy. I was not expecting the task to take quite as long as it did and it seemed like the neverending task! I really think curtains should have a person that comes and does that for you for the price they cost!

What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that I am able to do things that I didn’t think I would be able to do (putting up a curtain pole…I’m so short!) so long as I think about what needs doing and how to go about it!

Words on Wednesday

23rd Oct 201922nd Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Wednesday (3)

Do you ever feel like there is not enough day to your day? This past few weeks, even with planning my time I have been feeling like I don’t have enough time to do everything and that I need more time at the end of each day to get everything done.

I feel that I am seriously in the catch-up zone…I need to catch up on blog posts (I have loads that I have planned to write but not yet gotten around to), responding to comments and e-mails, housework, reading, laundry and a load of other little things.

I know it is nothing major that I need to catch up on, and most of it can wait until another day, but I really hate being behind with things, especially when I try to plan things out so well.

I don’t think it has helped that my shoulder is still painful, or that I feel pretty tired when I get home from work either.

I have managed to finish my logo design for the work competition and I even put together a PowerPoint presentation so I could explain how I came to my final idea. I am also halfway through getting Willow’s journal ready to send her (she won my giveaway!). I have also been keeping up with Blogtober and also Inktober too so all is not lost!

Do you ever feel like you are playing catch-up? How do you manage it? I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments!

Blogtober 22nd

22nd Oct 201921st Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Its the 22nd of October which means it is also the twenty-second day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 21st October.

What made me feel enthusiastic today?

I finally completed my logo for the work competition and have thought of a way to present it. I felt really enthusiastic to get home from work and make a start on the presentation side of things!

What drained me of energy?

Worry and anxiety about my physio appointment meant that I had a really bad night of sleep which, in turn, drained me of energy today. I was unsure whether I would be having an injection into my shoulder today or not and that set off my worry which then turned into anxiety. Once I got to my appointment it turned out that I would need to book an appointment through the physio man and all I had today was a new series of exercises to do involving load-bearing and stretchy bands.

What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that despite my anxiety being bad this morning I can still have a pretty good day.

Blogtober 21st

21st Oct 201920th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Its the 21st of October which means it is also the twenty-first day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 20th October.

What made me feel enthusiastic today?

Having a good night’s sleep and being up early, waking to the sunlight coming through my bedroom window and getting so many things done before lunchtime really made me feel enthusiastic. It’s funny how the weather can affect so many little things.

What drained me of energy?

I have physio in the morning and spent time worrying about that as I’m not too sure whether I will be having a steroid injection tomorrow or whether it will happen at a later date. My shoulder is still pretty achy and doesn’t feel like it has got any better this week which is also playing on my mind.

What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that getting up early and getting so many things done can have a positive impact on how my day goes. It is something that I think I will try to do more often as it made me feel pretty good.