Tag: tips

Last Minute Shopping 

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

It is hard to believe that Christmas is almost upon us already. It is Christmas Eve tomorrow, I can safely bet that a lot of people have some gifts still to buy. And heading into the shops on Christmas Eve is sometimes a bit like a death wish. I have done the bulk of my shopping on Christmas Eve for the last few years. And whilst every year I say I’ll get organised earlier, it never happens. But for those in need, I thought I’d share a few pointers to getting your Christmas shopping done on Christmas Eve. 


1. Lists are your best friend- I rely on lists a lot to get things done, but feel it is essential to getting shopping done efficiently. I usually have 2 lists. One, is full of names of the people I need to shop for, this gives me an idea of the number of gifts I still need. Second list of shops I’d like to head to. Do this by looking at your lists, and even looking online to give you ideas on where to look. 

2. Give yourself a time limit- There are times where a slow paced doddle round the shops is a great way to spend a day off, Christmas Eve is not one of those days. Your aim should be, to get in and out as soon as possible, as getting caught amongst the crowds can be very stressful.

3. Visit shops strategically- If you park your car at one end of the town, work your way from your car, buying as you go. Hit every shop in sequence, and go to the areas you need. For example, no point getting caught in the make-up aisle, if you are looking for perfume. 

4. Look for deals- the good thing about leaving shopping late, is that there are always A LOT of deals going around. Usually deals are situated in specific areas, like Boots and their 3-for-2. Or, end of range items are marked on the shelf. Scan the aisles for any ‘sales’ labelling in areas of interest. Also, if you work for a big company, check with your HR department for any corporate deals you could benifit from. They may be for meals out, which could be a good cost-effective way to treat someone you are struggling to buy for. I did this last year, and treated my friend to a meal instead of a gift.

5. Skip that sit-in Starbucks- Think of what coffee shops are like during the weekend, and multiply it by at least 3. You might think that Latte will help you complete your shopping, but 15 minutes waiting in a queue, surrounded by tired screaming kids, grumpy parents and then find there are no seats. It won’t only de-rail your shopping mission, it could put you in a foul mood. 

If you can keep to your plan, and keep focused, you can get shopping all done in a few hours. Last year, I was just over an hour getting all my presents. In fact, I had so much stuff could have done with Santa and his sleigh to give me lift home. I wish all the luck to anyone who is braving their local High Street or shopping centre tomorrow, and I hope you find the right thing for those special people in your life. 

Things to do when you hurt your back. 

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Pulled my back at work, and it really hurts. So here’s a few things that I feel is essential when you suffer back pain. 

*Take some pain killers.

*Listen to a playlist of your favourite music. LOUDLY.

*Try and sit somewhere confortable.

*Or lie on the floor.

*Try and not lift anything too heavy.

*Sometimes a small stretch out can help sore muscles.

*Get into your favourite jammies, and watch your favourite TV shows.

*Take more painkillers.

*Don’t Google your symptoms.

*Try and not bitch at everyone. Because pain does make people grumpy. 

*If nothing works. Lie back and cry. Because you may find your emotions are all over the place and your brain can’t think straight.

BEDA= Blog Every Day in April

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Pretty self explanatory, I think.

It is something created by the internet community to get people writing a blog post every day. This isn’t reblogging something on tumblr, it is writing a substantial, more traditional, blog post that holds some meaning to you.

It is something to encourage people to get in the habit of posting regularly. And because I know a LOT of people who are struggling on both the idea of blogging and actually remembering to post, I felt this may be a good thing for them to try. Some of the blogs in my links at the side >>>>>>>>>>> are attempting this. So check them out. Namely, I Talk To Snakes and Owlssayhoot, as they are both doing this.

Like any other writing prompt thing, the best way to get into blogging every day is by doing a few things, created to help a writer.

1) Get a friend to blog with, you can both decide on a topic of interest, and both write your take on things.

2)If you struggle posting on consecutive days, reward yourself when you do. Even if it is something like a cake or an hour playing your favourite video game.

3) Let it be known to the world that you are trying to blog every day, and if they notice that you are not updating, then they can give you some sort of punishment.

4) Talk about something you like, something you care about. Even if it is just a take on what happened to you that day. You can’t expect people to read what you write, if you don’t care about the topic yourself.

5)Have fun. Too many people fail at blogging, because they tend to think of it as a chore, but it should be something you enjoy doing.

6) If it helps, give yourself small, achievable targets. Because if you are finding something difficult, then it is better to break it down. I mean, writing for 2 days, is a lot easier than thinking about writing for the whole 30 days.

And, I don’t have much else to say. Although I have moments where I may miss a few days, or even a week, I find it quite easy to blog regular, so I am posting this just to try and help motivate some people. Hopefully it works, if not then you just get to read me offloading things. So BAU on this front, then.

I know that within the last month or so, I feel that I have been neglecting my blog. I don’t have any excuse why, really. I just haven’t been updating anything recently. *shrugs* I am just so ‘out of wack’ right now.

But I hope people join in with BEDA, and I hope to read a lot of interesting blogs in the next month.