Blog Challenge 2019

Blogmas – Wishing Wednesday

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Today is the 4th day of Advent and also the fourth day of Blogmas!  Today is “Wishing Wednesday” where I share some thoughts and ideas about gifts.  Today’s Wishing Wednesday is all about that pesky, awkward gift – The Secret Santa gift.

Secret Santa happens a lot in workplaces across the land and is basically a concept where each person participating buys a gift of a certain value, wraps it and then on “Secret Santa Day” (which should, in my opinion, be an official day!) the presents are all gathered together and then distributed randomly to each participant.  There are other variations of Secret Santa where you can draw a name out of a hat, or all gifts are numbered and a raffle type draw takes place.

Buying a gift for Secret Santa can come with a lot of pressure, for one there is usually a fixed amount (in most places I have worked it is usually between £5 and £10) but other things, such as not knowing who you are buying for, buying a gender-neutral gift, getting something that isn’t offensive or that could upset someone and choosing a gift that is value for money can all make getting the perfect gift a daunting task, especially as your manager might be the recipient!

Here are a few suggestions

  • Stationery is always welcomed, especially a nice pen and diary.
  • Hats and gloves
  • Car accessories – I once got gifted a heated ice scraper which was so useful
  • Giftcards
  • Wine or other drinks
  • Household items such as candles, ornaments or picture frames
  • Desk toys
  • Games
  • Family-friendly DVD
  • Cinema pass
  • Cooking related items (I’ve seen some really nice spices sets, tea and coffee caddies, hot chocolate and mug sets…)

Do you take part in Secret Santa’s?  what sort of things have you given or received?  I’d love to know about your best and worst Secret Santa gifts so let me know in the comments!

Blogmas – Tinsel Tuesday

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Another day in my Blogmas series!  Tinsel Tuesday’s are all about decorations and today I want to talk about the Christmas tree.

I am really liking where the whole Christmas tree and decoration thing has been going for the past few years.  Gone are the days when everyone’s Christmas tree was decorated in a very similar way and was fairly traditional in terms of styling.  Now, choosing and decorating your tree is done in a way that fits with your decor or personality and there is no right or wrong way to decorate it, once you have chosen from the plethora of styles, colours and materials the tree can be made from.

I have seen trees made from driftwood that would look perfect in a scandi styled room or if you were a keen beachgoer or surfer.  Some trees have been made from marabou feathers which would look amazing in minimalist, duo-toned rooms, coloured trees that fit in with a more eclectic taste and the more traditional ones that are just lovely anywhere you want to put them!

Personally, I really love a white or black tree with brightly coloured baubles and trinkets festooned all over it.

Baubles are another thing that seems to be changing and becoming less traditional.  There are so many different options to choose from – clear baubles with snow globe effects added into them, doughnut shapes, avocados, cute characters, alongside the more traditional ball or drop-shaped ornaments.  There is pretty much a decoration to suit any taste!

I have tiny dinosaurs that I hang on mine which were made from small children’s toys.

I love how diverse the whole tree choosing and decorating thing is becoming and love to see my friend’s trees when I visit as no two will ever be the same!

Here are some of my top tips for decorating whichever type of tree you choose!

  • Test the lights before adding them to the tree (this saves so much faff if the lights turn out to be defective.)
  • Add the lights to the tree first, turn them on and arrange them so that you have the lights evenly spread across the whole tree.
  • Add any lengths of things next – things such as tinsel or ribbons and arrange them as evenly as possible between the lights.
  • Add bigger baubles and ornaments, keeping the majority to the lower part of the tree.  If using a few different colours I always attempt to not have 2 of the same colour hanging in close proximity to each other.
  • start placing smaller trinkets further toward the top of the tree and bring down to mingle with the bigger baubles.  I try to alternate bigger decorations with smaller ones as I get further down the tree.
  • Have fun with how you decorate and let your personality be seen!  Remember there is no right or wrong way to decorate your tree!

What sort of tree and decorations or colours are you going for this year?  I’d love to hear about what sort of tree or decorations you have chosen and why in the comments!

Blogmas – Merry Monday

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This is the first “real” post for my Blogmas series!  Merry Monday posts will be focusing on preparations for the big day itself so expect to see lots of useful lists and hints here each Monday!

Today’s first Merry Monday post kicks off with a list of things to gather before preparations can get underway!

  • Christmas cards
  • Pens
  • Mailing stamps
  • Gift wrap
  • Sellotape
  • Scissors
  • Gifts
  • Any supplies needed if making any gifts or cards
  • Packaging

In this first week of December I tend to sit down and write out lists for the following

  • Friends and family to send cards to along with addresses if needed
  • Present recipients and gifts already bought
  • Meal attendees (if cooking on the day or in the days prior or post Christmas)
  • Decorations needed
  • Other Christmas supplies needed (such as gift wrap)

By the end of the first week I aim to have all my supplies gathered and lists made ready to make a start on things in week 2!

What do you like to try and get done in the first week of December?  I’d love to hear about your preparations in the comments!

Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Blogmas!

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I honestly can not believe it is the 1st of December today and have no idea of where the past few months have gone!  Working in payments means that I am processing work from the previous month (November) for payment in January so I never feel like I live in the current month so I’m sure that has something to do with it!

Blogmas is a tradition undertaken by many bloggers where we challenge ourselves to write a Christmas themed post each day on the run-up to the big day, and even in the days past Christmas, right up until New Year’s Eve, and I am going to attempt to do Blogmas right here on this blog!

I have a few different blog posts ready to share and they fall into different categories, heres the categories for you!

  • Merry Monday
  • Tinsel Tuesday
  • Wishing Wednesday
  • Top 10 Thursday
  • Festive Friday
  • Surprise Saturday
  • Sparkle Sunday

To see what sort of things I will be sharing pop back each day and have a look!

Are you taking part in Blogmas?  If so, leave your link in the comments as I am planning to share a post with all my readers about the Blogmas participants!

Blogtober Results and Reflections

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Since the end of Blogtober, which saw me answering the same 3 questions each day ( What made me feel enthusiastic?  What drained me of energy?  What did I learn about myself?), I have been analysing my answers and thinking about how I can make changes to my day to day life to change the energy drains and to bring in more things that make me feel more enthusiastic.

What made me feel enthusiastic?  Mostly the things that made me feel enthusiastic or filled me with enthusiasm were crafts that I enjoy, creating logos, drawing and decorating.  Other things that got my enthusiasm flowing were taking time to listen to audiobooks, read, spending time with family and friends, housework, making plans and getting tasks ticked off from my to-do list.

What drained me of energy?  Work drained me of energy quite a bit which came as no real surprise.  The weather getting colder, rain, the mornings and evenings getting darker, headaches, tiredness, being interrupted when I am in the middle of something and not being as productive as I had planned were also big energy drains.

What changes will I be implementing?  I have been thinking about changes I can make in order to feel more enthusiastic about everyday life and have decided that I need to make changes regarding my job and how I plan my time.  I am not sure whether I need a total change of job, looking at a career in something that is creative and gives me an outlet for all my skills or if I need a change of work pattern so I can utilise my spare time to spend larger parts of my day focusing on my own creative projects.  I would like to better plan my day so that each draining activity is broken up with an activity that makes me enthusiastic so that I am less focused on the negatives of certain things and more focused on completing them so I can then do something I enjoy.  One of the lessons that I learned during this time was that I am able to be less drained of energy when I have fun things to look forward to and that the enthusiasm I have for some things can be carried through to less enjoyable ones.

In all, this was a really useful and interesting challenge that I set myself for Blogtober and I think it is one that I shall be doing again in the future.

Did you learn anything during October?  Has it made you re-think how you do things?  I’d be really interested to hear any of your thoughts so let me know in the comments!

Blogtober Review

| Suzi Stamp

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It’s now the start of November and Blogtober is now over.  Today I am sharing my review of Blogtober.

When I decided to participate in the Blogtober Challenge I thought that I would be able to continue with my normal blogging schedule at the same time, after all, setting myself 3 questions to answer each day would be easy, or so I thought.

At first, answering the 3 questions, “What made me feel enthusiastic today? , What drained me of energy? and What did I learn about myself today?” was fairly easy but as the month went on I really had to dig deep at times to find the answers.  Some days had been pretty mundane and I found it hard to find even one single thing that piqued my enthusiasm, other days it felt like everything drained me of energy and there were occasions where I had to really sit and go through my day to find something I had learned about myself.  It was pretty tough going at times.

While I managed to keep up with Blogtober I did find it hard to write any of my normal blog posts and have a few that I will be sharing through November that I had planned (but never written) for October.  It was hard, after sitting and really examining my day, to find enough mojo to write anything else.

I also started Inktober, approaching it with a logo/graphic design/sketch slant and managed to get just over halfway with that.  I am aiming to complete at least the sketch part by mid-November and then spend some time creating the digital versions.  Hopefully, I will be sharing the sketches soon!

I really enjoyed this Blogtober Challenge that I set myself and think I have learned a lot about myself along the way.  My plan now is to analyse the answers that I gave and come up with some facts and figures to see if there are any changes I can make in my life to bring more enthusiasm in and less of the draining things.

Did you take part in any October challenges?  How did they go?  I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments!

Blogtober 31st

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It’s the 31st of October which means it is also the last day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 30th October.

  • What made me feel enthusiastic today?

I carved my pumpkin tonight and that had filled me with enthusiasm for much of the day.  I don’t really celebrate Halloween but I like the thought behind pumpkins – originating from Ireland the carved pumpkin started off as a carved turnip that had a candle placed inside it and was displayed on Halloween to ward off evil spirits.  It amazes me where some of our traditions come from and the meaning behind them and I find the history so interesting.

  • What drained me of energy?

I’ve been feeling throwy-uppy sick much of the day, it started not long after I got to work and continued through the day getting worse and worse.  I really couldn’t face eating anything at lunchtime as I felt so sick.  I left work at 4pm and came home and slept for a bit but it didn’t help much.  Feeling sick is the worst and really drained me of energy, I don’t think anyone likes to feel sick but I also have a fear of actually being sick and felt pretty anxious about it so that didn’t help matters either.

  • What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that I am really no good at dealing with being ill and really wish I was still a kid as my Mum would always know how to make me feel better.

Blogtober 30th

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Its the 30th of October which means it is also the thirtieth day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 29th October.

  • What made me feel enthusiastic today?

I had downloaded a new audiobook and I felt really enthusiastic to have something different to listen to in work today.  Normally I listen to podcasts or true-life things but today I had “Lies” by T.M Logan to listen to which is a fictional story.

  • What drained me of energy?

Having interruptions in work today that stopped me from doing what I needed to, even for a short while, drained me of energy in work today.  I find that if I break my concentration when I’m in the middle of something it can be really hard work to get back into doing the task again and seems to take me an age to get back into the swing of what I was doing.

  • What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that I work best when I focus on one task at a time, not only that but I feel that I do my best work when I am totally focused, immersed and engaged with what I am doing.  I seem to take more care and make fewer mistakes.

Blogtober 29th

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Its the 29th of October which means it is also the twenty-ninth day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 28th October.

  • What made me feel enthusiastic today?

Planning and cooking a roast dinner for my friend and myself after work today filled me with lots of enthusiasm all day.  I couldn’t wait to get home and make a start on preparing and cooking and then being able to sit down and enjoy dinner with my friend.

  • What drained me of energy?

Today must be the first day in ages where I can’t really pinpoint anything that drained me of energy or even anything that happened that had a negative impact on me.

  • What did I learn about myself today?

Today I learned that by focusing on the good things I am able to overcome any small things that may normally drain my energy.  Just by shifting my focus I can not notice the negative things.