50 Things That Make Me Happy

Two tag posts in a row? I know, lazy blogger! But I couldn’t resist jumping straight into this wonderful post, listing 50 things that make me happy. I was very kindly tagged by Colourful Hope, whose post is here.

I think the idea of listing 50 things that make you happy is brilliant. It’s a list, so it sounds simple – but 50 is a pretty big number! (The most I’ve dared so far is 26!) Having to think of 50 individual things that make me feel happy can only be a good thing for my wellbeing. So, here goes!

50 Things That Make Happy

1. Spending time with my cat
2. Autumn walks with my fiance
3. Wedding planning
4. Reading a good book
5. Smashing a workout
6. Finding an outfit that looks really good
7. Chocolate
8. Catching up with old friends
9. Going to the cinema
10. Big bowls of pasta
11. A clean and cosy house
12. A clean car
13. My hamster
14. Seeing my family
15. Having a cup of tea with my mum
16. My job
17. Running with my best friend
18. Music
19. (more specifically) Neil Diamond’s music
20. Watching comedies (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Friends, OITNB…)
21. Libraries
22. A good cup of coffee
23. Comfy blankets
24. Learning something new
25. Being brave and it turning out well
26. Giving people gifts
27. Coffee shops
28. Looking at homeware
29. Theatre
30. Watching stand-up comedy
31. Singing along to musicals
32. Falling asleep watching a film with my fiance
33. Setting goals and planning
34. Listening to My Favourite Murder
35. Long, lazy mornings with breakfast in bed
36. A really tasty cocktail
37. Playing board games
38. Pizza
39. When there are amazing vegetarian options at a restaurant
40. Pretty book covers
41. Recommending books to people
42. Comfy jumpers
43. Playing Skyrim
44. Hot chocolate
45. Museums
46. Disney films
47. Ticking off my to-do list
48. Roald Dahl books
49. Stationery
50. Spending time with my friends

 

Well, that was great! It pushed me to think about everything that makes me happy and now I feel really good. I’d like to pass that good feeling on, and I tag:

Kelly at Paperback Adventures
Pigletish
Nic’s Healthy Life

The Blogger Recognition Award

I cannot tell you how much it made my day to get a notification on Twitter telling me that the very lovely Kelly over at Paperback Adventures had nominated me for the Blogger Recognition Award.

I haven’t been blogging for very long and I am often only able to post once a week due to work, so I know that I’m not the most active person in the blogging community. So to know that Kelly thought my blog was worth reading and recognising like this means loads. 🙂

So here we go:

THE RULES

• Thank the blogger who nominated you
• Write a post to show your award
• Give a brief story of how your blog started
• Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers
• Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to
• Comment on each blog and let them know you’ve nominated them, and provide a link to the post you’ve created

HOW MY BLOG STARTED

Over the past 5 years or so, I’d say that I must have started and abandoned nearly 10 different blogs. I’ve tried book blogging (and for a short while, Booktubing…), mental health blogging, writing about my studies… and honestly, I think the timing was just never quite right. I’ve had a very busy few years and I never found a passion that I was inspired by enough to write about every week – nor could I think of enough content to do so!

The Self-Care Sloth started in August 2018, during my first summer holiday as a teacher, whilst I was looking for a more creative outlet and also a way to track my own progress on a self-care journey. I started my blog with a post about journalling that has since been deleted – but I haven’t looked back since!

ADVICE

I don’t feel very qualified to give advice, because I’m still so new to this world myself. But I guess the advice I would give to someone as new as me, and the steps I’m trying to take myself would be:

1. Try to have a post in your drafts or scheduled at all times. That way, when life gets busy or you’ve run out of ideas, there’s always a post ready to go.
2. Write about what you want to write about, not what you think will be ‘popular’. People will find it, people will read it, and it will feel great because they’re like-minded people who might come back to your blog later on.

NOMINATIONS

I’m really not part of the blogging community very much yet, so I don’t think I know 15 people! I’m going to nominate 10 people and I hope that’s okay! (and sorry if you’ve already been nominated! But you’re all fab, you write my favourite blogs, and deserve every nomination or award going!)

1. Hello Bexa
2. Emily Aagaard
3. Jade Marie
4. Adventure & Anxiety
5. Chloe Elizabeth
6. Pigletish
7. My Lifelines
8. Alternatively Speaking
9. Ruth in Revolt
10. Blushing Lately

 

Thanks for reading! x

3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge: Day 3

Today is the third and final day of my 3 days, 3 quotes challenge. So far I have quoted Shakespeare and Stephen King, and today I’m turning a bit more philosophical.

Thank you again to Kelly for tagging me in this challenge. Today I would like to tag Milenka.

RULES

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Post a quote each day for three consecutive days.
• Nominate three new bloggers a day. (I don’t really know enough bloggers yet to tag 3 people per day, but I’m hoping 3 in total is enough!)

 

Today’s quote:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Today, I am sharing this quotation often attributed to Aristotle (turns out, misattributed – see this website for more info!).

The most important part of this quotation to me is the first half. “We are what we repeatedly do.” To me, this means so much. If you consistently act in a generous and kind way, then you are, clearly, a kind and generous person. By contrast, if you repeatedly tell yourself negative things, you are a negative person. Every time you do something, you reaffirm the type of person you are. I find this inspiring, as it is so easy to believe that we are hard-wired in a certain way, but actually all we have to do is change our actions. We can be who we want to be, by doing what we want and need to do.

I’m not sure how much that makes sense, but I find this quote very empowering.

Have a lovely week 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge: Day 2

If you saw my post yesterday, you’ll already know that the wonderful Kelly over at Paperback Adventures tagged me in this challenge and I am very happy to take part! I had a lot of fun finding today’s quote and I’m still feeling inspired from yesterday’s post too! The idea is to share a quote each day for three days. I think it’s a great way to share inspirational or motivational quotations that I love and hopefully inspire some of you too. 🙂

RULES

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Post a quote each day for three consecutive days.
• Nominate three new bloggers a day.

 

Today’s quote:

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King

A quotation about my favourite hobby by one of my favourite authors; it couldn’t be more perfect! I love Stephen King (if you’re interested at all, my favourite King novels are probably Misery and The Shining) and he always speaks wise words about books, reading and writing.

My all-time favourite pastime is, and always has been, reading. I just love books in general really. I love the education you can get from a book, the feelings you can explore through a novel, and just the pure escapism of reading. That’s why I adore this quote. King has perfectly pinpointed the magic of books and how they can travel with you anywhere and everywhere as you live your life.

 

I don’t really know enough bloggers yet to tag 3 people per day, but I’m hoping 3 in total is enough!

Today I tag Bexa, who has the prettiest blog known to man and is always a positive face to see on my Twitter feed 🙂

 

Want to by your own little piece of portable magic? Please consider buying from The Book Depository via my affiliate link.

3 Days, 3 Quotes Challenge: Day 1

The wonderful Kelly over at Paperback Adventures tagged me in this challenge and I am very happy to take part! The idea is to share a quote each day for three days. I think it’s a great way to share inspirational or motivational quotations that I love and hopefully inspire some of you too. 🙂

RULES

• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Post a quote each day for three consecutive days.
• Nominate three new bloggers a day.

 

Today’s quote:

“To thine own self be true” – William Shakespeare

This quotation is from Hamlet and it is actually a tattoo that I have on my forearm. I find it to be an excellent reminder that, ultimately, you are responsible for your own happiness and you have to be true to what your heart is telling you to do. This is a quote I followed with passion when I made a big career change last year and so far, it’s serving me very well! (You can read a little more about my career change in my 26th birthday post.)

 

 

I don’t really know enough bloggers yet to tag 3 people per day, but I’m hoping 3 in total is enough!

Today I tag Ruth, who has helped me start my blogging journey in such a positive way, I’m not sure she even realises how helpful she is! She also started the wonderful Facebook group, Blogging Buddies, which is a great place to get advice if you’re a new blogger like me.