Sunday 15 May 2016

I Am Not A Weekly Blogger

Well guys,


It's been a pleasant year and a bit, but I am quitting blogging regularly. I may return in the future but keeping The Jellygoose Blogs a weekly, well promoted and polished thing? Nope. It's too much. For the foreseeable future I will be posting here as and when I feel like and it.

Have my face...?


The decision has been a hard one to make but, for me, it is definitely the right one. When I started this blog I had the time for it. I was just enjoying writing about things I liked and posting whenever I completed a post. The more I learnt about blogging the more routine I developed and more work I did to get people reading it. This meant it took up a lot more time.

Now I am neglecting more important things in my life for the sake of blogging because it feels like an obligation. "I have to blog every week and promote the shit out of it or nobody will read it and there's no point" kinda thing. I do enjoy writing, but I enjoy other things to, and a little bit more.

I need to draw more again. Not just illustrations for this - there's no real expression in that for me. I neeeeed to finish my current zine and make more. I have prints and designs to make and hopefully sell on Etsy and Society 6 blah blah blah. I have chronic illnesses and a job - I barely had time to draw when I wasn't blogging. Not being able to is driving me insane!

I need to read up and study for the next two years - something blogging is stopping me doing. I'm doing this course because I love it. Learning about dogs makes me feel alive. I have never enjoyed learning so much (according to my cruddy memory, at least.) I want to do well at my course. I want to do all the reading I can! Every day I choose to schedule tweets promoting blog posts over this kills me a little bit inside.

Blogging is getting in the way of learning to drive. I have no time to study theory and I'm using up spoons I really could do with when I'm behind the wheel. Practice and homework are paramount for me to get anywhere with this, so I have to make time for them.

Blogging like a serious, proper blogger may have been stressing me out and taking up all my time, but it's not all bad!  I've found some great brands and products - Sinivalia will be a staple brand for the forseeable future for me, and that umbrella I reviewed last week? *dances*. It's been great. If you're thinking of starting a blog don't let this put you off - it's great fun.

I have made some awesome friends through blogging, and, well, through Kelly from The Vegan Taff really! Namely TaniaElleSarahBeth and Shona. Go check out their blogs if you haven't already!


Thank you anybody who has read this blog so far. This is not the end, more a change to a leisurely activity not an unpaid job.

I'm off to study dogs and draw/write zines and nail this driving lark! You can keep up with me on the links below, I will be posting more spoonie beauty tips on Instagram in the future.

Hope you have a wonderful day! <3



Sunday 8 May 2016

Windproof, Fold-Up, Awesome Umbrella!



Hey ho,

Umbrellas can be a hassle, no? They're either nice and small and fold up to fit in your bag but get blown into uselessness within five seconds of wind - or windproof, but huge, in the way and prone to being left anywhere. Even my beloved plastic see-through ones are too big to be easily or practically portable. I hate lumbering umbrellas around, especially if it stops me using my walking stick. Grr!



Is a fold-up, portable umbrella that can handle wind too good to be true? Apparently not! This Windproof Travel Umbrella* by Crown Coast has come to save my sanity on my way to work!

The first thing that excited me about this umbrella (yes, I get excited about umbrellas) was the choice of colours! I had no idea that functional, practical umbrellas came in such a wide variety! I've wanted to try one since I found windproof umbrellas in a Kleeneze catalogue one day - but working for them left me so out of pocket I could never afford one... plus they only ever had a horrible pink colour. Ew. I chose black because I wanted it to match everything I wear. I'd happily have a little collection, though. The turquoise, pewter grey and dark green ones would be extremely welcome, and the one with a pretty blue sky on the inside is just cool. What a lovely idea!



The second thing is that it has a damn button! Not one of those things you press in to then push the canopy bit back down when closing it up. THIS has a real button that opens and closes the canopy.  It's like a super cool tech brolly (to me, I'm sure much further advanced umbrellas on the planet).

Third? It works. I've been using it in the recent windy, rainy mess that is English weather and it hasn't even turned inside-out yet. It's windproof in the way that when it does get blown inside-out - which is inevitable with a smaller umbrella, it survives this and doesn't break. As it hasn't done this yet, and I live on the coast, I think it's safe to say it's a bloody sturdy little thing. I looked at the other reviews on Amazon for this product, the whole surviving inside-out thing works so I'm not scared of it happening.

It's perfect for me because it folds up and has a cover so I can keep it in my work bag. Living here, I can leave the house in warm, blaring sunshine, and get off the bus 20 minutes later in the middle of a shower. It's awesome to have a reliable umbrella on hand at all times. I no longer have to chose between one that works and one that fits in bags or big coat pockets.

I am really, really pleased with this little brolly. It costs £16.80 at the moment which I think is a good price. It may sound a lot to spend on an umbrella but I spend more than this on them per year due to cheaper ones breaking and not having one on me when caught in the rain. You can pick them up on Amazon here. I fully recommend that you do! Especially if you live in the UK.





*DISCLAIMER: This post contains a PR sample but my views are 100% honest. (I'm a rubbish liar)

Sunday 1 May 2016

2016 Resolutions Update - May

Hello!

We're a quarter of the way through the year so I thought I'd check in with some updatering - starting with those resolutions!



Spend Less Money

Well, yes! I haven't bought much that I don't need.... in comparison to before at least. Only bought one dress and a few cheap make-up bits tacked on the end of already existing orders. I've saved money for driving lessons and am actually spending that money! On driving lessons! AHHHH!


Use Things Up

Um... I've kind of been doing this! I am using up a lot of skincare products and some make-up products. I've also discovered that giving things away to people who will actually use them is a great way to not waste things... so have been cheating a little. Ha. It is really satisfying making my way through cheap skincare products to then reward myself with better products. My skin is getting better and better and I've only upgraded to Lush's price range! Banging!



Lose Weight

After finding out I gained 9 lbs over Christmas* I did put some effort into this, and shed a few of those pounds.... then got too ill to bother and put them back on. I'm just about feeling well enough to count calories so am on My Fitness Pal again (LisaStockleyJG of you're on there) and My Diet Coach, and generally doing what I was in this post again.

I did try just eating more fresh fruit and veg, whole foods kinda thing after watching a bunch of What I Eat In A Day videos by Niomi Smart - but while I felt much better, I gained weight, haha. So while I'm back to the old calorie counting that has always worked for me - I will be learning more about the calories of healthier foods and hopefully be losing weight and eating better at the same time!


Bring The Joy

Ah! This is why I need to do these posts - I forgot I was even trying to stop whining so much! I think the effort I made at the beginning of the year has made a difference, though - my Twitter is less whiney (if you can believe that). I think having a journal to vent in and colouring in regularly has helped channel that whinging, too. Now I remember that this is a thing, I will try harder :)


Waste Less Time

I'm sure I've been achieving this. I rarely find myself spending ages wasting time procrastinating online. I always seem to have so much to do!! Giving myself more to do each day may have something to do with this.


Start A Journal

I'm over halfway through one. I have smashed this goal. It's there to keep all the notes, vent all the feelings, sketch all the ideas and plan all the to-do lists. WHY HAVE I NOT HAD ONE FOR SO LONG?!



Health

I figure a healthy diet will help my poor, broken bod out and hopefully help me feel a bit better. I struggle to eat super healthy having no energy ever, so much preparation! Luckily I got a Nutribullet for my birthday so I can just chuck in fruit, veg, whatever, blend it up and either gulp it down or cook it into a soup. It's great. I just need to figure out how to shop well, now! As mentioned before, eating lots of fruit and veg has made me feel better, it's just a matter of finding the ideal way to incorporate it into my life :)

Daytime is becoming a thing in my life again! I've been getting more day shifts at work which means getting up early (for me) often enough to scare me into getting to bed sooner each night and I'm almost getting enough sleep when I have to wake up at 10am, rather than 4-5 hours. I also feel so, so much more awake, alive and human in the day time. It's been wonderful. I'm even getting so tired I want to go to bed a more sensible times each night. I am losing a couple of hours sleep each night which isn't good, but I'm hoping the more I get up early, the more I'll adapt and get everything done in time to get to bed early, too.

The time has come, finally, for me to make more of an effort to not drink alcohol. I am officially too ill. Every hangover involves violent vomiting and lasts around a week. I can't do it anymore. It doesn't even feel worth it now. Plus it's expensive and I'd rather pay for education, driving lessons, food, books or zines. I will write a post going into this in more detail, maybe.



Dog School

At the time of writing this I have 69% (snigger) of my GoFundMe goal! Tips at work have got better recently, so I'm contributing as much as I can myself which feels great. Obviously I'm grateful beyond words to everyone who has donated or shared my campaign. I have been trying to get my reading done but find it so hard to fit studying into my life right now. I feel the time and energy I spend on this blog should really go into education but more on that later ... ;)



Driving

So. My mate with M.E. and Fibro passed her driving test lately, so obviously I asked her for the contact details of her instructor! Someone with experience of teaching the chronically ill? YAY! He is brilliant, complete understanding of pacing and fatigue and even cut a lesson short lately because I was too tired without charging me for the whole booked time!  My first two lessons were fab and I did really well according to my instructor (he'd know, right?), my most recent lessons have fallen pray to fatigue, but work has been crazy and I hadn't had a chance to rest before them. Things are getting back to normal at work so hopefully my next lessons will be super again!


Blog

Recently having a blog has been stressing me out - I feel I need to jump through hoops to keep it going, when I should be spending the energy on studying, drawing, and everything I want to do. It feels more like an obligation than something I'm excited about and want to do. Stress.

This got me thinking "what do I want my blog to be?", which is what I always wanted it to be - an accessible place for me to get excited about things and share them with others in the hope it's helps someone somewhere one day. It's basically what my zines are but this platform has way more reach, and so is more likely to help people. It's also a way for my friends and family to keep up with me as I'm way too ill for a social life. It's not a job. It's not something I have to do. It's not a numbers game.

While posting once a week is the most regularly I can handle, I may not be able to do so when work gets busier and I'm trying to learn how to drive, how dogs brains work, and finish my next zine all at the same time. And this is okay. Blogging was meant to be an easier way for me to express myself and create, for joy and as a hobby, not a rigid, super serious job. Maybe posts will have to be even less regular. Would you mind if that happened? Who even reads this? Any ideas?

We'll see where this revelation takes us! Hopefully I'll be enjoying writing posts more again, and you will enjoy reading them more, too :)








*All of December and January counted this year. Cor, did I get porky!!