I’m back!

It feels like an absolute age since I last sat down and blogged – in reality it’s been 20 days since I posted my charity shop haul.  I’ve had a manic few weeks but as things have finally started to settle down, I wanted to catch-up and let you know what I’ve been up to…

Well, top on the list has been studying.  I finally finished my Byron essay, after spending most of Christmas and the New Year working on  it.  I could easily still be sat here now working on it as I’m never happy but I got it finished and sent off last week.  It’s all about waiting for the results now…fingers crossed!

I’ve spent MANY hours sat at the computer typing away…

Seeing as I couldn’t commit to blogging during this time, I’ve mostly been adding little bits here and there on twitter and Instagram.  I really love the visual nature of Instagram and it appeals to the wannabe photographer in me!

I’ve made a number of new charity shop purchases and have set myself a little challenge for this year.  With the exception of items such as underwear and socks, I’m going to attempt to only buy clothes from charity shops and vintage markets this year.  So far so good, although I am hankering after a T-shirt in New Look that says ‘Skint’ on it as it pretty much describes me at the moment!

After finishing my essay, I went to my local library and got out a load of books.  I’ve read two and am currently working through a third one at the moment.  I’m also reading a biography of the poet John Clare as I want to write my MA dissertation on him.  If you haven’t heard of or read any Clare, he’s a Romantic period contemporary of Byron and Keats. He had little formal education, wrote mainly about country life and sadly, spent many years in asylums.  For me, his poetry is a sheer delight – lyrical, beautiful and poignant.

I’ve also joined a Pilates class and I am loving it!  I don’t go to the gym because I genuinely don’t enjoy the atmosphere; I much prefer exercising on my own or in small classes like this.  I also intend to start running again from next week but most likely on the treadmill as it’s currently very cold here!

I’ve taken part in two new year challenges.  Firstly, I took part in the 14 day #ProjectPositive Instagram challenge with Anastasia Amour.  for the first 14 days of January, I posted images that related to the different topics set.  It was great fun and I got to ‘meet’ some lovely new people and to think about myself in a different light.  Do go and check out Anastasia’s blog – she’s all about empowering women to be more body confident and positive – a lovely lady too!

Secondly, I’ve been decluttering…big time!  My lovely new friend at Pauper to Princess has been running a January declutter challenge whereby you get rid of one item on the 1st, two on the 2nd etc., all the way up to thirty-one items on the 31st.  To be honest, I cannot tell you have much I’ve got rid of but it’s standing at a few sacks so far!

These onesies have gone to charity

Books I’ve read have either gone to charity or to friends

I’ve been passing on old magazines to friends

I think that just about covers my January so far.  I hope you are all well and have been making the most of this month!

Why do we write?

Someone asked me today about why I study English literature.  My answer was very simple: because I love writing.  I love to read what other people have written, learn from it and write things of my own.  For a long time, I saw writing as something I would do in the future but I’ve recently realised that I am already a writer.  Any one of us sat in front of our laptops, turning out blog post after blog post is a writer.

When I started this blog a couple of months ago, I had some idea about what I wanted to write about – books, art, vintage stuff and of course, guinea pigs.  Even over this relatively short time, the blog has adapted, much as I have changed myself.  I made the conscious decision to use this blog as a channel to celebrate different subjects, whether it was a review about a book I really enjoyed or a couple of cute pictures of my fish!  I’m a realist and I fully understand that life is not all rainbows and unicorns and that sometimes we need to talk about things that are uncomfortable or difficult in order to bring them into the public consciousness.  However, I want to write posts that make me smile and (hopefully) make others smile too!

Taking part in NaBloPoMo has been quite difficult for me in a number of ways – primarily through managing my time effectively.  When I first started, I assumed that all blogs needed to be planned well in advance, be of a certain length and had to include an image.  Ironically, some of my most popular posts this month have been ones I have come up with on the spot or snapshots of my day.

My question for all you fabulous bloogers out there is: what you have written that really makes you proud?  Was it a thought-provoking discussion piece?  Was it posting a really amazing image, photograph or drawing?  Was it being brave enough to say something heartfelt that you have never admitted before?

Irrespective of what it was about, remember that it was something you created and be proud.