Christmas Update

Today’s post is a little Christmas update about me, the blog and what to expect from us in the future.

As you've probably noticed I've been rather absent for the blog as of late. A lot of things have been going on in my life recently which has meant I've had less time to write for pleasure. I am a final year sociology student and as part of my course I've had to dedicate most of my time to doing coursework and to writing my dissertation. So far I've written 3,000 words of my 15,000 word dissertation and hoping to crack on with the rest of it over the holidays. It is very difficult to face writing for the blog in the evening when I've spent all day at the computer. It is nice to take a break every once in a while but I think now I have a handle on things I’ll be able to structure my time a little better so I don’t feel trapped at my desk all hours of the day.

I've been feeling a little deflated over the past couple of months. All of a sudden my life has become very real. The prospect of leaving university, getting a job and having to move from my current house terrifies me. Anxiety and depression have turned what should be an exciting adventure into something of a nightmare. The stress of university work, family illness, financially preparing for Christmas and trying to control my weight has taken its toll on me. When most people see me they would think me a confident and strong person but that’s because they only see me on my best days. When I’m feeling my worst I will not leave the house and hide away from the world.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been making some more positive changes in my life to help myself mentally and reduce the amount of ‘bed days’ I’ve been having. I’ve changed my mind set and it has helped me so much already. I’ve decided to take a ‘get shit done’ approach. I was looking for motivational quotes to remind me that I am able to do anything and it is only me setting myself back, most of the quotes were too wishy washy. I am tough and I can be tough, I just need my arse kicking.

I’ve found so much pleasure in doing things for charity recently, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll know that I’ve always been a supporter of charity. So far this month I’ve taken part in a winter fayre and joined an exciting charity which I’m hoping to become more involved in. I made 22 vintage teacup candles for the winter fayre, although I didn’t sell everything I managed to turn a profit, all of which will be going to AgeUK. From this little venture, my friend and I have decided to turn this into a home wears business. We’re going to have a few stalls at some vintage fairs and potentially put things online. I’ll be making more teacup candles and experimenting with printing some of my own designs and she’ll be making cushion covers with beautiful vintage fabrics and buttons.

The new charity I’ve decided to support is HOPE. They aim to raise awareness and protect the victims of human trafficking by selling jewellery and cosmetics that have been produced by victims. All profits are reinvested to empower victims and give them the necessary skills to write their own future. The products are of excellent quality and it is an absolute joy to be a representative for the charity because of all the hard work that has been put in to create success stories for victims.

Because of my commitment to become more involved in charity I’m going to start having a charity of the month for my blog. I haven’t quite worked out the logistics of how I’m going to do this yet but I’ll work my way around it, it’ll probably take the form of a link to a donations page on the side bar and at the bottom of post. I’d love to hear your suggestions for which charities the Slightly Skint Blog should support. I’m going to start blogging regularly again. I’m hoping to do more DIY tutorials and recipes. It’d be great if my readers could give me some suggestions for the types of things you’d like me to blog about.

  That’s about everything really, let me know your charity and blog post suggestions in the comments, on twitter or on facebook.

Merry Christmas!