First Week of Bloganuary
I’m dreading this but I’m also excited for it as it’s my first blog challenge! I’ll be very surprised if I manage to post every day throughout the month! I’ve found the first week to provide some great prompts, my answers varied in length but I’m pleased with them.
Dodo Pad
I started using my Dodo Pad (which I was gifted a couple of months ago) and within the first week of using it, I was bloody amazed at how productive I had been because I actually planned what I wanted to get cone that week. And do you know what, I didn’t feel overwhelmed at all. But I think having the diary next to me when I’m sitting down did help me to feel more in control and less flappy-like (which I get like when I have too much to do).
So for the second week, I scheduled what I wanted to do, but I didn’t have the diary near me to check what I needed to get done a certain day (I forget easily). There was such a huge difference and by the end of the week, I felt like how I always have been – overwhelmed, unproductive because I didn’t keep check, ergo less productive.
But I’m back on it like a car bonnet now, so I’m back to less flappy-like.
Physio
My first physio session of 2022! It’s always been the same when a new year begins and my first physio session is usually a low one. I don’t know why, I just feel like I go 100 steps back. In the session, I was really conscious of bearing weight on my feet. I agreed to wear some weights around my ankles and used them while walking with the bars.
I started off good but by halfway, I was starting to struggle with momentum. Then they took a couple of weights out and I tried again. The same problem. Off came the weights but they were attached to my walking frame. I did this method when I was an in-patient during 2018, and it helped me to gain trust with my frame.
This time around, I did feel more confident on my feet when walking with my frame, but because I’ve not used this method since 2018, I lost my momentum a lot quicker.
I just wish I could feel the ground beneath my feet without focusing so much. I miss that.
My Birthday
Hello, 27! It’s my birthday so I can do what I want to… I’ll have a nap, or two – I can’t remember how many I had, sounds good, doesn’t it? Didn’t do anything exciting, but Ewan did get me 2 Loki t-shirts, and Daisy got me a gingerbread Thor POP! Vinyl – I didn’t know they even existed? Got some money and a gift card too which will no doubt go on more Loki stuff… keep that a secret though, yeah?
Physio
After the recent session, I was feeling a bit disheartened but I really tried to not let it get to me too much. In this session, I was walking on a thick mat (like the mats they have in P.E. lessons) and it made such a difference, I felt more sturdy and safer on my feet.
I did a couple of lengths on the mat with my walking frame and 2 physio assistants which was really good. Then after having a few minutes break, I walked from my powerchair (which was in front of the walking bars) to a plinth that was on the opposite side, with my frame and 2 people. That was enough to knacker me for the day.
The day before this session, my physiotherapist sent me an email, which did make me cry.
She’s leaving in February which I am gutted about because I really like her, but it’s what was suggested next that came as a bigger blow.
She thought it would be time to have a break from physio at rehab, and instead have sessions at home or attend somewhere local. She did say that it doesn’t mean that I can’t have a physio session at rehab… but it’s hard trying to tell my brain that.
So I’ve been feeling lost since she broke the news. For quite a while now, I’ve had a song lyric stuck in my head – “It’s time to move on now, so don’t be afraid, we should remember the roles that we played, whether the future has dark or bright days” (Last Mile of the Way by Westlife).
My head is telling me it’s time to accept and move on, but my heart is saying the opposite. I don’t want to leave them behind, they’re too special to me. I’ll stop there because I’m starting to cry, sorry.
Early Stages of Self-Employment
I’ve been earning money through content writing since late July 2021 and as I’m on Universal Credit, it’s been a headache trying to get my head around what I need to do to register as self-employed. Anyway, I had an appointment at my local job centre and the lady we saw (my mum came with me to help relay what was said), was brilliant – she really took her time to help me understand everything and broke it all down into simple pieces which avoided information overload.
Anyway, as a claimant on Universal Credit, there are different tiers to being “gainfully self-employed” (I’m still trying to figure out what this means) so my appointment was to see which stage I am at. I can’t remember if the reason was to do with the amount of income or something else but I’m not gainfully self-employed YET.
But, I am in the early stages so I have another appointment in a few months so she can see how I’m getting on and we can go from there. It feels very strange that I can actually advertise what I do now and not worry about doing something wrong, so watch this space!
I Completed Bloganuary!
I did it! I bloody did it! I only passed on 3 prompts which I am amazed at considering I really wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep up with it every day. It did become a bit tedious towards the end, some days I let my imagination run free but other days I was too tired so my answers were short.
I think overall, the prompts would be great for social media posts. Will I take part in it again? Maybe, we’ll see. If you click on the Bloganuary image below, it will take you to the page where you can find all of the Bloganuary posts – no way was I going to link to every single post, I don’t like spam.
I’m Not Mean
It’s become the norm that every monthly round-up has included photos of Daisy, so here are a few below!
What’s Happening in February?
A couple more physio sessions before my physiotherapist leaves, so it will be strange for a while. I’m really getting to grips with social media for lABLEd podcast (thankfully!). I’m not promising anything but I will say I have a proper schedule arranged for posting content now, and ‘The Reality of…’ series is coming back!
Not sure what else is happening but the above will no doubt keep me overly busy as usual!
How’s January been for you?
Blog Posts & Articles I’ve Written This Month
