Blogtober Review

1st Nov 201931st Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Blogtober(1)

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

31st Oct 201930th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

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.

Top 10 Things to do in Autumn

31st Oct 201931st Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Copy of Copy of TOP 10 THURSDAY INSTA (1)

As we are now well into autumn I thought I would share my Top 10 Things To Do in Autumn!

Wrap up in your warmest clothes and go for a walk in the woods or local park looking for conkers and crunching in the leaves.
Make a hot chocolate, add whipped cream and marshmallows, curl up on the sofa with a good book and a blanket.
Have a cosy evening in, light a scented candle, turn the lights off and watch a feel-good film.
Have a hot bath, treat your skin and hair to some pampering – exfoliate, mask, moisturize then have an early night.
Spend the day in your fluffiest, warmest PJs and socks doing something you enjoy – reading, playing games, writing, drawing….
Cook your favourite seasonal food and sit and enjoy it with family or friends (some of my favourites include vegetable stew, jacket potatoes, chilli or vegetarian cottage pie.)
Swap your summer clothes over to your winter ones in your wardrobe and spend some time creating new outfits from what you own.
Treat your feet to a pedicure – warm water soak, exfoliate, trim your nails and paint them a lovely colour, not many people will see them admittedly but every time you do you will smile.
Take a walk, with friends, to a local pub that has an open fire, order food and a tasty beverage and enjoy a good catchup.
Re-organize your living space to become a cosy haven – think soft blankets, twinkly fairy lights, candles, cushions – anything you associate with cosy.

Blogtober 30th

30th Oct 201929th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

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

29th Oct 201928th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

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.

Blogtober 28th

28th Oct 201927th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Its the 28th of October which means it is also the twenty-eighth day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 27th October.

What made me feel enthusiastic today?

Spending time sorting out some of my things in the spare room and starting to get things how I want in there really made me feel enthusiastic today. I have realised that it’s not going to take me as much work to set everything up as I want as I thought!

What drained me of energy?

Last night the clocks went back by an hour as part of daylight saving time and that has really messed up my internal clock, not only making me question what the time is but has messed around with my routines which has really drained me of energy and made me feel really lethargic all day.

What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that despite thinking that things are complicated and a ton of work, once I get started things can actually be a lot easier than I thought. Sometimes I just need to give things a go rather than writing them off as being too hard.

Blogtober 27th

27th Oct 201927th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Its the 27th of October which means it is also the twenty-seventh day of Blogtober! Today I am answering my questions based on 26th October.

What made me feel enthusiastic today?

I woke up full of enthusiasm to get things done in the house this morning. I had several tasks that I was looking forward to getting done and ticked off from my list.

What drained me of energy?

The whole day seemed to go past far too quickly and I didn’t really get anything done that I wanted to. Once I was up and fully awake I realised that it was raining heavily and not the nicest of weather to go out in. After I made myself a coffee, I promised myself that I would get dressed and make a start on my day but have been in my PJs all day and just lost all the enthusiasm I had when I woke.

What did I learn about myself today?

I learned that I really need to get myself dressed and try to get things done regardless of the weather. If I make plans then trying to stick to them is much better for me than just not doing anything.

Weekly Roundup 20/10/19 – 26/10/19

27th Oct 201927th Oct 2019 | Suzi Stamp

Copy of WEEKLY ROUND UP BLOG(12)

Reading

I’m still reading Who Is Tom Ditto by Danny Wallace. I have been taking it a bit slow despite wanting to find out what happens as I really don’t want the story to end! I had a mammoth reading session in the bath a few days ago which was a really lovely way to spend a rainy evening when I had backache as well as shoulder pain.

Watching

I’ve not really watched anything this week, I have had the television on at times but more as background noise rather than watching anything.

Listening to

My Audible subscription renewed the other day and I downloaded “This Is Going To Hurt” written and read by Adam Kay and have been listening to that in work. It was really interesting to hear things from a doctors perspective and was really funny at the same time, I can’t count the number of times I had to suppress a chuckle as I was in work!

Eating

This week has seen me eat a lot of rice-based dishes, mostly rice with some kind of veg mixed in, or risotto. I make them so that they are vegan and have been really enjoying how simple, quick, filling and cheap they are to make.

Drinking

I bought some lovely white tea from The English Tea Shop at the beginning of the week and have been enjoying making my way through the selection that I bought (white tea, white tea and blueberry, white tea and cranberry, white tea and citrus). I’ve not had white tea in years and it has been really nice to start getting back into drinking it.

Doing

This week has seen me doing lots of little things from my physio appointment on Monday, collecting my prescription, changing the bedding over, doing the laundry, working on a few little projects and making plans for the next few weeks. I feel like I’ve not done much but seem to have been busy most of my waking hours.

Feeling

This week has been a real rollercoaster of emotions from feeling anxious and worried about my physio appointment, to feeling pleased that I did the logo for work and emailed it (and my presentation off), to feeling tired and grumpy then feeling relief that the weekend was near and not feeling motivated to do anything much because the weather has been really rainy, cold and dark. I did buy myself some Vitamin D tablets which I have been taking for 4 days now and am hoping to see an improvement in my feeling tired all the time, once I have got that bit fixed then I think everything else will get better.

How has your week been? What have you been up to? I’d love to hear in the comments!