The Sun is Coming

‘Ello

Spring. Ahhh, Spring.

As Spring approaches we are reminded of life, flowers, and bright sunny days. That is safe to say for the majority of the population, however, Spring is when I am affected by S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder). Typically I do not welcome the Spring except this year feels different. I welcome it. I feel it in my bones as necessary. Oddly in part to feeling gloomy, which is off season-wise, and in part to a mundane routine.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the top 100 lifestyle blogs. I did so that I could answer the question, what is a lifestyle blog? for myself. I concluded that the things they had in common were fashion, decorating, cooking, and parenting. Some with their niche added and to set them apart. This made me proud to define myself an unconventional lifestyle blog. Why? Well because lifestyle blogs discuss life’s surface-level things whereas I discuss more intimate aspects like mental health, well-being, and personal growth. More interpersonal things.

I am not falling back into comparison. No worries. But what I am trying to do is define my why. Why do I blog? What drives me to continue? What steps can I take to expand? Are my motives selfish? What is my definition of successful concerning blogging? Can I attain such standard of success? How do I get there? With so many questions and so few answers I started there with defining why I consider myself to be an unconventional lifestyle blog. I am happy to arrive there without getting stuck in comparison.

I am determined to do something and blogging plays an integral part yet I don’t know why or how much. I want to offer services. What type? I kinda have an idea but that will be revealed to my subscribers before here on the blog. So subscribe why don’t ya?!?!

Concerning communicating via email, Mailchimp was not able to give me access to my other account despite me having all of the information needed to gain access because of 2-factor authorization. Never again will I use that security measure and honestly, I am debating on switching from Mailchimp to Mailer Lite. No worries, if you subscribe, I will transfer you if I make the switch.

Other than that, I am dry creatively. I can’t think of things to write about. I don’t have the patience to craft. All I do is read and scroll. I enjoy the reading part, the scrolling, not so much. I haven’t been presented with any new life lessons. I must say this is a first. At best my life has always been chaotic. Or I have been. There has always been a buzz around or with me and since I got on this new medication, Abilify, none of that is the case. I get an injection once a month and while I do enjoy the peace, I miss my spunk. Unfortunately, that is accompanied by anger and anxiety so the trade-off may not be worth stopping the medication. Plus my boyfriend may kick me out if I do 😂 He enjoys calm Candace. I on the other hand am bored. Bored with it all.

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Stationery Love

Oh. Ahh. Ooo.

Ok, y’all… It’s been forever since I posted a shopping haul. So long ago I forgot I did ‘em. But I have nonetheless. Previous versions were of crafting materials. This post will feature…you guessed it; stationery.

As you know paper is my number one obsession love. Well in this haul, I cheated. I bought pens. Granted I have plenty, this order was intentional. Much of my pen collection is random purchases of aesthetically appealing pens. Different types of nibs (the writing point of the pen). Recently I have paid attention to the type of pen trying to discover my style. This includes brands, ink, nib size, and of course, aesthetics.

While searching the hashtag stationery, I’ve stumbled upon quite a few posts unboxing products from Stationery Pal. So I decided to check out the 500 products on their Christmas sale list and I gotta tell ya, not one item is holiday-themed, and did I mention 500 items???? The items range from stick glue, stickers, paper packs, travelers notebooks… O.MY.GOD!! There were so many products to choose from!! Have you ever shopped pens that are sold separately? That’s a task 😂

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My purchases

My purchases

My purchases

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The Process

The process was what I expected it to be; almost. Shop, move items to my cart, take things out of my cart, purchase. Buying pens individually is quite a task. Especially when you put an item in your cart and it takes you back to the beginning of your scroll, not where you left off. I find this the most annoying aspect of online shopping. I, of course, was shopping the after-Christmas sale where they had over 500 items listed so losing my spot made the process go much longer than necessary.

Because of this, and a few other reasons I will list, I doubt I use the site again. I had a lot of the same pens in my cart instead of there being a quantity count. I am glad I caught that. The whole point of this haul was to discover my pen type. The last thing I wanted was multiples of pens I did not like. I’ve learned that lesson. Heaven forbid I have a favorite paper and not a pen 😂

A tracking number was included with my receipt except it was useless after day 10 of transit. It seemed stuck at the LAX airport including after day 14, day of arrival.

I failed on my research of the site and on the pens I ordered. I didn’t realize the products were being shipped out of China or that the majority of them are available to me via Walmart. Major facepalm there. I discovered such while my shipment was in transit. The only difference is they are not available individually so there’s that.

I also discovered a much closer stationery store. In the same country at least. I will use them, Jet Pens, for any future stationery supply needs. Not because of Stationery Pal but to suit my personal stationery needs, I will not use Stationery Pal. I think I shop in a higher quality market than which they serve.

My Valentine

For Valentine’s Day, Mister bought me a Tomoe River notebook. Similar to my Galen Leather everyday notebook that I recently filled, this Nanami Paper Seven Seas Crossfield notebook hosts Tomoe River paper. It has 480 pages, about 100 more than my Galen, and is cross grid ruling, 5mm. This will be my first attempt at using cross grid ruling but I am committed now so no turning back 🤓

Nanami Paper Seven Seas Crossfield notebook featuring Tomoe River paper

It just so happens to have a deep red cover perfect for the memory of when I received it❤️ I am so stoked to have been given exactly what I asked for. Now I am set for at least a year. I am combining my diary with my Magical Morning Muse routine daily planner. I will do monthly spreads to guide that month’s events and document the days in between. I will date as I go giving me the liberty to skip a day without wasting the space also affording me space to explore. That’s the plan anyway.

What are you loving right now??

Back in Business?

Learning Curve

So…this thing happened. I fixed my laptop!! I am not too certain I deserve any credit, however, I am using it now after almost a year of going without but I do give myself credit for having the patience to follow the steps provided and lookie here.

I am operable 🙂

Now I have to bebop off to work for seven hours 😩 It feels much better having the keys to press using all of my fingers instead of only my thumbs. I’ve always enjoyed typing. There is going to be a learning curve most definitely with the blocks but I am up for the challenge. Certainly WordPress didn’t modify to make things harder on us, right? I’d like to think not.

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The Day After

When I got off work last night and was fooling around with my computer, I realized my settings was that of a woman in crisis. Everything turned off. No access to anything except the internet. It also wouldn’t update Windows so I had an inkling something was off there. I think I deleted Windows somehow or something like that. Please forgive my lack of intelligence as far as computers are concerned. I sound like a babbling, confused person because I am!! I searched for the control panel and nothing was there. Perhaps I did delete the operating system, still not sure but I did find my way to reset and reinstall.

Fingers crossed it just restores it back to it’s original out-of-the-box settings. I had already deleted most everything on there so this isn’t a big deal for me like it would be for most others. And…which!! Back in business. Brand new business. I just saved myself $250! Yay!!

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Update

On a more personal note, I have been doing okay. I don’t say good because honestly, there’s not been much of any good happening (other than my laptop). Just work and home and work and home. I can’t stand for my days to be like that. I enjoy the freedom of not working. I’m sure many of you can agree. Many of the folks I associate with say they have to work to feel like they are contributing. To what, idk and don’t really too much care. I’ll go as far as to say that I am stable which is far from my normal, therefore, making me normal?? Perhaps that is why I am bored with the routine of my days.

My daughter turned 20 on February 6th. I caught a 24-hour stomach bug that was hell on me for two solid days. I literally couldn’t lift my head on Sunday forcing me to miss my daughter’s annual birthday dinner. That added to my sickness. I am an alcoholic mom. I get no sick days. I used those up in my drinking days. So the guilt says which is stupid because who feels guilty for catching a projectile vomiting bug?!?!?! Meh.

Despite the tone of my update, I am o.k. Again, nothing too noteworthy to discuss so I’ll wrap it up. How’s your week gone?

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