November Agenda

Ooh, remember, remember, the fifth of November....Funnily enough, it actually is the fifth of November, but I'm sad to say that I haven't been able to get out my winter warmers, wrap up nice and cosily and go and watch a stunning firework display. However, I do hope that some of you lovelies did, despite the horrendous weather - perhaps it hasn't been as bad where you are? Fingers crossed.

I haven't really updated you or shared much about my day to day life on here of late, but at the same time, I think I have been sharing rather a lot on Twitter, so I'm sure the majority of you are not feeling left in the dark. On the off chance that you are, you needn't be, as there is very little of note to report! However, I must admit, I am getting super excited for Christmas, and am really struggling to choose between all the gorgeous gift sets hitting the shops at the moment. I've definitely got my eye on some bits from Mac, Illamasqua and Origins, but it's not easy to narrow it down!

I just looked back at my October Agenda post, and it seems as though it was only a few days ago that I was writing it! Anyway, let's see what goals I had set for myself for the month, and whether or not I was successful.

1. Carry on saving  as much money as possible.

I was feeling pretty rubbish at the beginning of the month, which inevitably led to some Ebay comfort buying.

Fail.

2. Stop being a hypochondriac.

After a bit of a rough start to the month, I am now feeling a zillion times better! I feel much more like myself than I have done in some while, so let's hope that that continues. As for the hypochondria, I have forbidden myself to Google anything to do with health in the negative sense, and it seems to be doing the trick.

3. Keep up the daily exercise.

Well. I'm not exactly doing it daily. But I am doing it several times a week, which I think is a happy medium. Some days, there genuinely isn't time, and I only stress myself out trying to squeeze it in. For me, that half defeats the object, because a huge part of the reason I'm tring to do it in the first place is to combat stress. So I let myself off on those couple of days, and I'm fine with that.

4. Blog Brainstorming

I wanted to sit down and have a think about what is next for my blog, and that I have done, as I feel that there are so many more things I would like to write about and feature on here. Of course, it does involve planning, as although on some days I can happily sit down and write for hours, there is still the matter of taking photos etc.

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Now, what's on the agenda for this month?

1. Make some more Youtube videos.

My first one went up a couple of days ago, and despite my long-held reservations, in the end I enjoyed doing it. Expect to see more soon!

2. Review.

I've still got loads of products waiting to be reviewed - some good, some bad, and I really want to share my thoughts with you on those.

3. Keep my clothes organised.

Bit of a boring one, but the room where I keep my clothes often tends to look as though my wardrobe has exploded. Granted, I don't have enough space, but I really want to keep things at least in an organised state of chaos, as it's so frustrating when I'm in a hurry and can't find what I'm looking for.

4. Read.

I love reading, and do read books quite regularly, but over the past few weeks I have been picking up and putting books down like there's no tomorrow, without ever seeming to get anywhere! My mind just seems to be somewhere else, and I can't concentrate come hell or high water. I really want to overcome this, as it's actually stopping me from doing something I really enjoy!

That's it for this month's November Agenda. What tasks and goals are on yours this month?

xx

September Agenda

Excuse these photos....they were taken on my phone

It's that time of the month again, when I share with you my hopes and plans for the month ahead in the hope that broadcasting them to the world will motivate me to actually achieve them. 

First of all, a quick recap on my goals for August and how I got on with them:

1. Plan lots of fun activities for my classes (I teach English as a foreign language).

Well, I did my best with this one and put together lots of tasks for my students, using fun stuff like songs and comedy programmes. They seemed to go down really well, but I am already in need of more, so I suppose this one is an on-going task, really.

2. Finish my Secret Project

I still can't reveal too much about what this is, and it's all taking a bit longer than anticipated to come together, but let's just say that things are moving along and I'm making steady progress.

3. Keep up the Daily Exercise.

Errrr, see task 1 for the coming  month.

4. Have a lovely day out with the hubby

Done and done! Last weekend, we celebrated the fact that we've been together for five years (not married, but together as a couple), and we had a lovely little trip away for a couple of days. We managed to squeeze in shopping, chilling in a lovely little coffee shop with iced coffees and books, going to the beach for a bit of a sunbathe and a general relax, a delicious meal and lots of other yummy treats along the way. Success!

So, without further ado, this month I am aiming to:

1. Save as much money as possible.

Self explanatory really, but this means cutting back on coffees, takeaways and other unnecessary treats.

2. Get back to healthy eating and exercising several times a week.

I was doing so well on this one, for a really long time, and then suddenly, about a week and a half ago, I fell spectacularly off the wagon. I need to rediscover my motivation, sharpish.

3. Get Skyping.

I live quite far away from my family and friends, and I really do miss them, but we don't seem to manage to speak on Skype nearly as much as we should, so I really want to change that.

What are your goals and plans for this month?

xx

July Agenda

- My beautiful home town -

At the end of last month, I set myself a few little goals and tasks to reach and complete, but I only allowed myself a week to do it. Being the busiest week of the year for me at work, this was probably a little bit foolish, and unsurprisingly, I didn't get very far towards achieving what I had hoped to!
So this time, I'm giving myself the whole month, which means I have absolutely no excuses for falling short, especially as I now have a couple of weeks off work with nothing much planned!

So what do I have planned for myself this month?

1. Learn to do a fishtail plait/braid.
It's just a small goal, but it's something I have been wanting to do for ages now and for some reason I never seem to find the time to figure out how to do it. Well, go me, I'm one step ahead on this one and have already successfully taught myself how!I did it about five minutes ago, but I don't see this as cheating, because I was already intending to include this little challenge on my list. It just so happened that I had a moment of motivation before sitting down to write this post, so I am off to a great start...start as you mean to go on, and all that!

2. Bake Macaroons and Slutty Brownies.
Baking was on last month's agenda, but alas, it wasn't to be. My oven is absolutely rubbish, as I mentioned before, and it takes all day to cook anything! But as I've got some free time, this shouldn't be an issue. I love baking, and it's not something new for me, but I haven't had the time to do it in an absolute age.

        

      - Not really relevant...but on the subject of baking/ food, here's the delicious dessert I had last week! -

3. Save my pennies.
This is an absolute must for this month, as I've got a lot of things coming up that are going to require funding! June was a complete nightmare for spending, and I really don't feel like I've got anything much to show for it, so throughout July, I shall endeavour to keep my disobedient little hands away from Ebay and my Paypal account, which seem to have been the biggest hindrances to my saving of late!

4. Get away.
Ok, so this is a complete and utter contradiction to number three, but given that I have time off work, and that the hubby and I haven't been anywhere nice together in ages, I'm going to make an exception and figure this into the old budget. It won't be anything too fancy, but a day and a night away is going to be just what we need to recharge after all that's been happening over the past few months.

5. Blog every day.
This is a general goal of mine anyway, and not something I see as a chore. I usually do manage to post on most days, but during July, I'm going to make the most of my free time and post more, and hopefully I'll have the chance to get lots of nice photos and put together some things I haven't had the time to do yet. I want to branch out a bit.

6. Do something crafty.
I don't know what yet. But something. I love being creative, and I've been really fidgety and restless recently because I really want to do something! If anyone has got any relatively simple craft ideas then please do let me know in the comments. Again, this was something I wanted to do last month, but didn't have the time!

And that's my lot! I am giving myself until 31st July to complete these,

Do you have any little goals or plans for the month?

xx

Seven Things for Seven Days

Louise over at Sprinkle of Glitter came up with the idea of setting yourselves seven goals to achieve within the next seven days, and I think it's great. In fact, I have recently been doing a similar thing myself, but I hadn't thought to blog about it. I think setting goals can be really valuable and really help you to achieve the things you want to, instead of always putting them on the back-burner, as most of us do tend to do when we are too busy and life gets in the way.

Anyway, Louise has suggested that we bloggers join her in her weekly seven-day challenges (read her post here for full details), whether you would prefer to do them in just the seven days or across the space of a month. The idea is that you set your own challenges, and you'll have the support of other participating bloggers to help keep you plugging away and getting where you want to be!

The banner above was created by Louise for the challenge. If you want to participate, then you need to post this in your related blogpost, as well as commenting on Louise's blog to let her know you are taking part.

(To avoid confusion, this is not a picture of me, it's Louise!)

So, onto my Seven Things:

1. Crafty clothing customisation (check out the alliteration on that). I have been meaning to get on with this for ages, as I have a few items I just don't wear as they are, but they have got great potential as something else. I keep putting this off, as I'm afraid I'll ruin perfectly good pieces of clothing, but at the same time I'm really eager to get on and do it so I'll have some new things to wear! I must admit, I'm not the most skilled with the needle, let alone a sewing machine! But practice makes perfect! As well as actually creating some new pieces, I also aim to photograph the processes and share my 'success' with you via some blogposts.

2. Bake. I've been eating really healthily for the last goodness-knows-how-long, and I have no intention of giving that up, as I feel great for it. But I don't believe healthy eating means that you have to deprive yourself of little treats, and I keep seeing the most delicious-looking recipes scattered about the t'interweb that I am a little bit desperado to try. My oven is absolutely rubbish, which has been another reason why I've been a bit put off, but I'm going to go for it and again, will be posting about whatever treats I whip up!

3. Plan a home date. This was actually something Louise did as one of her previous 'Seven Things for Seven Days' goals, and I thought it was a really lovely idea. My Mr and I have been seriously trying to save some pennies of late, so it's not time to be splashing the cash on expensive dates. But it's so easy to fall into evenings at home with me online and him in front of the TV, and I think it's important to make that little bit of effort from time to time so that we can really enjoy each other's company. After next week, I'm going to have some time off work, so it's the perfect opportunity to plan some fun stuff and treats.

4. Take lots of photos. For a start, I 've got an absolute pile of posts lined up for you lovely lot, and it's only the lack of related photos that's slowing me town, particularly with my reviews and outfit posts (although lack of a tripod definitely doesn't help with the latter either!). My camera seems to be feeling a bit sorry for itself and will only take nice photos outside in natural light, which I sometimes struggle to find time for, but a shoot is definitely in order, and is already scheduled for tomorrow morning.

5. Claim back my PPI. I was one of those people who was unwittingly charged Payment Protection Insurance on two of my previous credit cards, and I keep forgetting to sit down and sort out the necessary paperwork to get it back. I'm not going to lie, I could do with some extra pennies right about now, so it's time to stop procrastinating and get on with it - it'll be worth it in the end!

6. Organise all my paperwork. Some of you may know that I teach English as a foreign language, and I have got an absolute stack of related paperwork to be sorting through, from homework and tests that need to be marked, to extra activities and supporting material. 

7. Be positive! I'm already trying to learn to turn any negative thoughts into positive ones, and not let them put a downer on my various days. I know that this one is not easily done, but it's something I intend to consciously work on a little bit every day, as I genuinely do feel much better when I am able to put a positive spin on things.

I'm giving myself until the end of June to press on and make some magic happen.

Please do leave me a comment below letting me know if you decide to join in with this, as I'd love to read your posts and see what little goals you have all set yourselves!

Also, don't forget to pop along to Louise's page and do the same.

Hope everyone's had a great week. Friday tomorrow!

xx