My worst habit, procrastinating

Day 22 what’s your worst habit, 30 day blog challenge.

I thinks it’s everyone’s worst habit isn’t it?

Putting off things to do later or an a later day. This weekend has been wonderful. We had an amazing day walking in East London where I used to live!

It’s spring so it’s all about the bluebells. We then had an impromptu picnic in the park and had a mini pub crawl!

It was bloody wonderful.

Then the next day I did some wedding catch up with my bestie. It was great drinking, shopping laughing.

Sunday was a proper rest day. I had a big list of things to do but I left them all till today.

Procrastinating is definitely my worst habit

I always put things off it’s why I have to be a slave to my lists and bullet journal.

My list this weekend was small!

Plant my dahlias
Buy running shoes (yup)
Find wedding glasses ( think we found them)
Try making the favours ( failed but will try again
Clean up the garden
Wash and dry clothes for the week ahead
Answer work emails (done)
Gut the kitchen
Organise my art supplies
Dye napkins

Not a massive list for 4 days but today I need to these things in one.

Because I have procrastinated so much I have left the majority till the last minute. Too late.

I still plan to do it all, getting up at 9am has helped!

At work I have to stick to my list. I try an deal with problems straight away because when I put something off it builds up into a larger issue when it never needs to be.

So procrastinating is definitely my worst habit.

I need to just do it!

What’s your worst habit?

What are my 5 Goals…… making me plan and think!

Advice, Personal Experience, Planning, Travel, Wedding

Day7, 5 year goals, 30 day blog challenge.

So this has made me think, think about what I want for myself, my work and my relationship.

So in 5 years I want to achieve…

1 get married. I know you already know I am achieving this goal this year but it still a big one for me!

I love Gavin I want to be his wife. I can’t wait for our wedding day. Hopefully it doesn’t rain but if it does we will have to go out and buy wellies and umbrellas!

For my home

2, get a new kitchen. Can that be a goal, yes well we will have to save for it so it isn’t something we can just splurge on willy nilly. It will take time to plan and find the right bits.

Our kitchen is nice it’s just tired. The bottom of the cabinet have spit due to water issues and I really really want a dishwasher!

I also would like a cabinet next to the sink and maybe french doors that go out into the garden but we will see.

I would also love a little toilet and sink upstairs but Gavin is really against that for some unknown reason.

There a few bits around the house that are tired and need a bit of TLC and after the wedding is a good time to focus more.

3 my blog being successful

I am so greatful for every single follower it means the world to me that for some reason you would read my blog. Gav gets an update with each one I get, and I punch the sky, John Bender style.

I would love it to be even better where I can have a proper website not just a page. I would like it to reflect me a lot more. My friend is a super talented graphic designer and after all the wedding craziness is over I will be looking to her for advice.

If it was a success I could spend a lot more time on the photography. Carefully planning layouts rather than the snaps you get right now.

4 travel

Japan is on my bucket list along with Vietnam, Laos and Singapore. I would like to have visited all of these countries in the next few years. We are honeymooning in Japan and plan to stop of on the way at another destination. So that will be two ticked off my list.

I have a fair few countries in Europe I really want to go to. I have never been to Italy, there is so much I would love to explore there. I feel like Italy’s city’s deserve destinations of there very own! I have also never been to Ireland and need to visit as we have ancestors there.

Iceland, Norway and Sweden are places of such beauty that are not far away but expensive to visit so this will definitely be a highly planned exciting schedule.

So travel is a big one!

5 Working less and earning more

Is that possible? I meaning working 4 days a week instead of 6. Maybe doing my dream job/ jobs…..

I wouldn’t mind working from home once a week so I could look after my dog. Currently I work 5/6 days a week. But I set the Rita so at least I decide when I work even if it is 6 days straight. I don’t mind but it can be draining.

Perhaps in5 years I will achieve my dream job and be a blogger full time. Travelling the planet, renovating my perfect little house and writing full time.

Who knows?

I always struggle to think of answers to these questions but so far this challenge has been more about a challenge for me to understand what I want rather than a challenge of writing a blog everyday!

I am really enjoying this!

I dream of recruitment? Do I?

Planning, Travel

Day 4, Dream career, 30 day blog challenge

Does such a thing As a dream job exist? Lots of you will say yes and you do it. A few of my friends are in their dream career. But having a dream and following a dream are too different things.

When I was a kid I had a lot of dreams I wanted to be a vet, marine biologist. I had a great science teacher and I find science and factS so fascinating. But I was good at art!

I love my job! If I could tweet it a bit it would be my dream job but I have other dreams….

Travel dreams

I dream of being a travel writer, exploring and writing about food and experiences all over the world. I could easily spend a month in all the countries of Asia, embracing cultures, eating, seeing and absorbing.

My list of places to visit increases all the time. I am always enthused to visit a country and being European there really is no excuse not to travel to Europe more.

I don’t have a favourite country as I haven’t been to them all. I have always enjoyed writing. I used to make up stories all the time.

But being dyslexic even though it is only mildly, holds me back. I loved English at school. I had a great teacher, thank you Miss Dunlop, she was also my drama teacher. But I was a B Student. I never thought I was good enough to be a writer.

I was good at art at school I didn’t excel at much else, so I was never motivated to write.

It’s something that I love so much!

It would truely be a dream job!

Designer Dreams

I also dream of being an interior designer. I love interiors I used to say that Elle decoration was my bible and Habitat was my Church! Very uncouth I know. But that is how I felt.

That was until the world went Scandinavian interior mad and I got bored. Bored of seeing white boxes and pale greys on every page. I think the world is still a little Scandi mad! If you follow me on Instagram you will see that most of the accounts I follow are interiors.

I have an eclectic taste. I love colour and sentiment. I don’t think you should buy something because it’s on trend but because you love it. You home is like your wardrobe you should invest in it! You should care about each piece. There is nothing wrong with a few pieces that you bought and regret. Nor a few trend pieces to update your house but the landfill doesn’t need any more faux sheepskins that take a 100 years to biodegrade.

I abhor content creators who fill the dump with their mistakes. A house can eve live and change but you should not be flippant with it. Pieces of furniture should be something your love.

I probably would not make a great interior designer because I am too passionate about the craftmanship that goes into each piece.

Artist

I paint and draw and I dream of a time I actually have time to paint and progress my art but I don’t.

This is something I am good at and maybe after the wedding it need to be something that I actually focus on in my spare time. After all with how people shop now I could create a career from my own little house!

Or at least I don’t have time to draw and paint. I am planning on getting my MA in the future I just don’t know when that will be.

This

I would love for blogging to turn into a career. I know that there are many bloggers out their and I am definitely not niche enough to get a massive following but I have been doing this for a year now and get so excited with every single follower and like.

If this was my full time job then maybe I could incorporate my other dreams within it.

We will see!

20 Things you probably don’t need to know about me

Advice, Personal Experience, Planning

Day 2, 20 things about me, 30 Day Blog Challenge

Okay Day two of this blog challenge and I am feeling positive. So far I have struggled to get two blogs out every week so 7 a week for 4 weeks will be a complete challenge for me. Can I do it, we will see.

Hello I am Dana and here is me revealing some home truths.

I am nervous to do this
I have issues with completing challenges ( ha ha)
I am 5″7 and have a lot of short friends
I can’t bend my toes ( Gav calls them flippers)
I miss my cat
I love my dog
I have apocalyptic dreams most nights
Half my art supplies have never been opened
I don’t draw or paint enough
My travel list gets longer every year
I am a dreamer
I have terrible self doubt
I don’t push myself enough
I love sleeping, my bed is my a haven every night
I am obsessed with food even when I am eating I like to think about my next meal
I have random thoughts and ask random questions
I am lazy
I don’t drink enough water
I trained as a theatre designer
I am happy

In summary

So I said that I am really am worried about this challenge I am a bit of a quitter but I truly want to do it. 30 day planking (failed) 30 day sit ups (failed) 30 day 4 litres of water failed.

My cat is missing, it’s been a month and I still can’t talk about it.

I am a big dreamer, I dream about what I want to be. I dream about interiors, about gardens. So my dreams and goals are all intertwined and I am not sure of my future. I love my day job and in many ways it is perfect, but I still have dreams.

Food and travel for me are intertwined. I have always loved Turkish food, their breads, salads and marinated meats. When I went I didn’t have high expectations but I was blown away. I love Turkey and I would visit in a heartbeat. I just have a lot of countries I need to visit first. I have a travel list and I aim to complete it in the next 20 years!

I believe in my talent as an artist but I rarely push myself. I don’t know if it’s laziness or just nervousness. I teach art to children and adults and I am so confident with them and about them developing their art and own style.

But when it comes to me…

All my confidence goes out the window! It is easy to give advice and even harder to listen to it. Or something like that.

So this is something I need to work on, something I can improve!

Oh well is that enough for a beginning blog!

Hope so.

What’s in a name Dysfunctional Planner

Organising, Planning

Day 1, your blog name , 30 day blog challenge

I have already written a post on this, why I am the dysfunctional Planner.

I have mild dyspraxia and dyslexia. I struggle with words, numbers, sequencing. But I love to read and write, when I had to write blogs for work I realised that I really enjoyed it and maybe I should do this in my spare time.

So I do

Dysfunctional is me, it’s a good word that sums me up because I can be really chaotic. The planner bit comes from my love of bullet journaling and the fact that because my life was so disorganised I needed more structure and order.

I needed to layout my life on paper and stick to it.

So I do!

The challenge

This 30 day challenge is going to be interesting as I will have to do a few extra blogs on top of it. But I guess it’s a good way to write and for you guys to get to know me a bit better.

This means a mammoth amount of new lists yay! Because I have so much to do it means I have to be doubly organising.

500 words a day doesn’t sound like a lot but but these will be written on my lunch break or on the bus home as I have so much to do. I am just interested to see if I can do this!

Well I hope you enjoy!

A challenge too far……. Nah I can do it

Personal Experience, Planning

So this Monday I decided that I don’t have enough in my life. Perhaps this may turn out to be a challenge too far, but I think I can do it.

I have a full time Job and wedding to plan. As well as trying to spend time with friends and family and my partner. Working on my fitness and try not to stuff my face with a giant bars of Galaxy chocolate. My skin doesn’t like it so why do I do it to myself?

It’s crazy.

My blog is a year old and I can’t tell you how proud of it I am. I am going to ask my Graphic designer friend to have a look at it and see where we can improve to better basic standard. So my blogs don’t run in a continuous line. See lots of things to do.

The Challenge

So with all this going on I decided that I was going to challenge myself to a 30 day blog challenge. So everyday in April will be a new blog post. This is going to be hard. I am going to have to push myself to complete this challenge. The writing won’t be so tricky but getting the photos write will be. I have started writing a list of my pictures that I will need and this Sunday will definitely be a photo studio day (and when I say a studio, I mean some wooden planks on my dining room table catching the light).

The Plan

Your blogs name
20 facts about yourself
your favourite quote
Your dream Job
Your proudest moment
What are you afraid of
Your 5 favourite songs
5 current Goals
What’s in your Bag/ Wallet
Best Trip of your life
10 favourite foods
Your favourite childhood book
What’s inside your fridge
3 healthy habits
Where will you be in 5 years
Thoughts on education
Your favourite blogs
A photo of yourself
Favourite Movie
What makes you happy
What makes you sad
Your worst habits
If you won the lottery
What attracts you
Biggest regret
Hidden talent
What’s in your closet
Most embarrassing moment
A confession
Your hopes for the blog

So if you want to join in with me, then why not try? I promise to read all your posts. I got the list from livelovesimple.com and it’s a nice list, all the other I found focused a lot on relationships etc which I found off putting. I am not defined by my partner he compliments me.

So Monday will be my first post and I am a tad nervous!

What’s in my hand luggage

Organising, Planning, Travel

Okay this is just a quick one but these are some of my favourite blogs so here goes!

What’s in my hand luggage for snowboarding

This is my snowboarding bag. Ryan Air don’t let you have a big bag so I had to think carefully about what I packed.

Gloves

These are my cheapy Primark gloves I bought for a £1. They are a gorgeous forest green and unraveled the first time I wore them. I stitched them up and now they are perfect. I just love the colour. We have a transfer to and from the airports so we don’t meet to go far with the suitcases. But I hate pulling a suitcase in the cold.

Bullet Journal

This baby goes everywhere with me it should really have its own passport!

Goggles

These are my new goggles and they fit perfectly over my glasses so I don’t have to wear contacts. They come with a cover to protect the lense and we had to buy them last minute as my think glasses were involved in a dog chewing incident!

Book

I always take two books on holiday. I find the glare of a phone too much on a long day. I also like turning pages and physically holding a book.

Purse

This little one is perfect. My friend brought it for me for my birthday. It’s suede carries all my cards and money and is stylish too.

It can fit into my pocket and at the moment it is holding my house keys.

Socks

These are my boarding socks! They were the first pair that Gav bought me and I still use them. They are a little threadbare. But I still use them and they double up as flight socks if I get cold.

The flight is only 3 hours and I generally keep my shoes on for short flights but they are there just in case.

Stationery

What is a bullet journal without pens? I have two here a Sakura fineliner and and a lestraset fineliner. I like them both I am pretty sure one is a 3 and one is a 5.

Vitamin C

These are boots version of bercocca and are great after a night out or if you are feeling a bit low. We never really go snowboarding without them. Often I like one before I fly.

Cables

I have having to root around in a bag to find things. Cables and technology are now essential. We bought these flight bags in a pack and I love them. I normally use them for my make up and skincare. I didn’t want the fuss this time! So I packed them away in the main suitcase. In here I have my multi usb plug and cables, adapter and fully charged charger.

Most airports let you charge so I want too worried about my phone dying but it’s good to be prepared.

Tissues

Can’t travel without them. I sometimes have hand sanitiser but I left it in the main luggage.

What I bought at the airport

I always travel with a lip balm on me. My lips get dry really easily but I decided to take advantage of tax free shopping and a 20% off voucher and bought myself a lipstick, Gav treated me to this super little Chanel balm which is lovely and light!

I also bought us some new travel toothbrushes. I am being conscious of wasting plastics so tried this bamboo brush. We will see how I feel about this later!

That’s pretty much it!

My snowboarding backpack doesn’t hold too much so that was all I could comfortably fit in!

What do you put in your hand luggage?