Aim High, Willis!

Hello, people of the Internet!

I can't remember the last time I had as busy a busy weekend at work as I just did... I am sore, tired, and so very happy that next weekend I won't have to work. Damn it, I won't work even if all my coworkers got sick. Do I sound awful? Nah.. I earned my time off. Besides, I need to catch up on school work anyway. 

I haven't told you guys yet, but I'm on the lookout for a volunteer placement abroad! If you know me, it's not hard to guess where I want to go :) I have sent out inquiries (a lot of them) and gotten a bunch of replies... but I won't share more until I have something concrete. I know, I'm a tease. You guys know, however, that I cannot keep my mouth shut if I get a chance to go abroad for an extended period of time, so you'll be sure to hear if/when I have good news. 

I just realized I have an unopened bottle of wine here... it's late, so I'll save it for tomorrow. Mondays suck. 

Have a great week! <3

Sometimes Life Sucks

Well, hello there! 

Above you see the main reason for my absence. That's right. My moving day is getting closer! I am excited and terrified at the same time. I''m stressed and a little tense, and my muscles hurt. But in a week this will all be over. And hopefully so worth everything. 

Besides moving I'm busy with school, so for the next few weeks I will be super busy. 

Right now I'm laying on my bed with a steaming hot cup of tea, watching Friends and just... hanging out. My couch was picked up today and I'm happy about that; I have all this extra space now to start piling up stuff that I've already packed. I'm being rebellious and skipping school tomorrow so that I can continue the packing, because I just love it so much. And I would only have 2 hours of math tomorrow.. so I'm forgiven, right?

No heipä hei!

Tuossa ylhäällä näette syyn poissaolooni.. Jep, muuttopäivä lähenee! Olen innoissani ja kauhuissani. Stressaantunut ja pinna kireällä, lihakset kipeenä. Mutta viikon päästä tämäkin on ohi, ja toivottavasti kaiken arvoista. 

Muuttamisen lisäksi koulun kanssa pitää kiirettä, joten muutaman seuraavan viikon aikana tulen olemaan todella kiireinen. Nyt makailen sängylläni kuuman teekupin kanssa katsellen Frendejä ja.. olen vain. Mun sohva haettiin tänään ja olen tyytyväinen siitä, koska nyt mulla on tuota ekstra tilaa mihin pinota pakattuja laatikoita. Huomenna oon kapinallinen ja lintsaan koulusta, että voin jatkaa pakkaamista, koska sehän nyt on niin ihanaa. Sitä paitsi huomenna olisi vaan pari tuntia matikkaa, joten lintsaaminen annettakoon anteeksi.

#collegelife

Guys!

I am now officially a student! My school started on Monday and tomorrow is the last day of Orientation Week. Real classes start on Monday. I am so excited and ready to face whatever my new school throws in my face! (ask me again in a few months). 

In case you don't know, I study International Business at a University of Applied Sciences in my hometown of Lahti, Finland. If all goes according to plan, I should get my Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration in 3,5 years! Our class consists of a multi-cultural student body and it's so interesting and wonderful to go to school with people from all over the world! Most of my studies are in English, which is also great, since I loooove English. It's my thang! 

Hei moi!

Meikäläinen on nyt virallisesti opiskelija! Koulu alkoi maanantaina ja huomenna on orientaatioviikon vika päivä. Maanantaina alkaa oikee koulu. Olen oikeasti tosi innoissani ja valmis kohtaamaan kaiken, mitä tuo koulu paiskaakin päin näköä (tästä saa kysellä uuestaan sitten parin kuukauden päästä). 

Jos ette jo tienneet, opiskelen siis tradenomiksi Lahden Ammattikorkeassa, englanninkielisellä puolella. Jos kaikki menee suunnitelmien mukaan, niin paperit saan 3,5 vuoden päästä. Meidän luokka on monikansallinen ja on mielenkiintosta ja hienoa opiskella ulkomaalaisten ihmisten kanssa! Ja on ihanaa, kun suurin osa opinnoista on englanniksi; englanti on vaan se mun juttu! 

In Finland, University Students get overalls, such like these, and wear them to events. We get badges from the events and attach them to the overalls. Ours are black, but some schools have all different color overalls for each field of studies. Love 'em! :)

London

We took an early bus from Torquay to London on Thursday, after spending two nights in the Riviera. I had blisters all over my feet (ugh) and was a little worried how the rest of the vacation was going to turn out. I was still walking, though, so that was good :D 

After a quick lunch we took the subway (or the tube, as the English call it) to Paddington, where we stayed at the Easyhotel. (a quick word about easyhotel: this was my first and last time there. You'd think that something like free wifi, TV, and cleaning the hotel room is included in the price, but it's not. They charge you extra for everything. Make sure to learn your facts before you book a hotel; I admit, we didn't do much research. Still, am I crazy to think this way?!)

Paddington is a great place to stay in. I've actually never stayed there before, Victoria has always been my go-to place. So here I have two places in London to warmly recommend: Paddington and Victoria. Both are full of hotels, amenities and within an easy and quick access to everywhere via buses and the subway. 

Torstaiaamuna otimme aikaisen bussin Torquaysta Lontooseen. Jalkani olivat täynnä rakkuloita (yäk) ja vähän huolin, miten loppuloma tulisi menemään. Mutta sentään kävelin, joten se oli hyvä :D 

Pikaisen lounaan jälkeen matkustimme metrolla Paddingtoniin, missä asustelimme Easyhotellissa. (pikainen sananen easyhotellista tähän väliin: oli muuten eka ja vika kerta siellä. Luulisi että ilmainen wifi, TV ja huoneen siivous kuuluisivat hintaan, mutta ei. Kaikesta veloitetaan ekstraa. Muista varmistaa tällaiset asiat hotellivarausta tehdessäsi. Myönnän, että tässä menimme vikaan. Silti, olenko väärässä tässä?! Typerää mielestäni)

Paddington on loistava paikka asua. Tämä oli itseasiassa ensimmäinen kertani siellä, yleensä olen asustellut Victorialla. Joten tässä on kaksi paikkaa mitä voin lämpimästi suositella Lontoossa: Paddington ja Victoria. Molemmat alueet ovat täynnä hotelleja, kauppoja, ravintoloita yms. ja molemmista pääsee helposti kaikkialle bussilla tai metrolla. 

It was great being in London without the pressure of seeing all the tourist sights. We'd already seen the most. There was still plenty to see, like the market in Portobello Road, Notting Hill. We stopped at the Hummingbird Bakery for some delicious cupcakes (carrot and red velvet) and enjoyed the beautiful day. From Notting Hill we headed to Westminster and walked by Thames. Our plan was to locate a certain café, that sold the most amazing chocolate cake... ten years ago. Needless to say, the café wasn't there anymore, but we did get to recreate a picture of us! :)

Oli ihanaa olla Lontoossa ilman mitään paineita turistinähtävyyksistä. Suurin osa kun on tullut jo nähtyä. Silti, Lontoossa on aina nähtävää, niin kuin esim. Portobello Roadin markkinat Notting Hillissä. Pysähdyttiin Hummingbird Bakerylla ostamaan herkulliset cupcaket (porkkana ja red velvet) ja nautimme kauniista päivästä. Notting Hillistä suuntasimme Westminsteriin ja kävelimme Thamesin varrella. Suunnitelmana oli löytää eräs kahvila, josta sai maailman parasta suklaakakkua... kymmenen vuotta sitten. Ei tarvinne mainita, että sitä kahvilaa ei enää ollut, mutta saimme sentään otettua erään valokuvan uudestaan! :)

London was as amazing as always. It would truly be awesome to actually live there. I enjoy the big city vibe, riding the subway, always having something to do and see... I know the novelty would eventually wear off, but still. I just love London, there's no way around it! 

We sat in pubs, met up with some friends, toured, shopped... really had a great trip. So if you ever have a chance, go there. Maybe I'll run into you :) because I'm planning on going back asap!

Lontoo oli yhtä mahtava kuin ennenkin. Olisi oikeasti niin ihanaa asua siellä. Rakastan sitä suurkaupungin fiilistä, metrolla matkustamista, sitä että aina on jotain tehtävää ja nähtävää... Tiedän, että se viehätys kuluisi jossain vaiheessa, mutta silti. Rakastan Lontoota, siitä ei päästä mihinkään!

Istuskelimme pubeissa, nähtiin kavereita, kierreltiin, shoppailtiin... meillä tosiaan oli hyvä reissu. Joten jos sinulla on mahdollisuus, käy Lontoossa. Ehkä törmäillään :) koska haluan takaisin mahdollisimman pian!

 

Changes(?)

All right. I've been thinking, guys... Sweet Mother of Chaos needs some changes. 

"Why?" you may ask.

Well... changing it into something new and better not only improves my motivation but also (hopefully) raises the amount of readers. Also, I want to make the blog more suiting to my current lifestyle and to everything that's going on. My summer vacation is on in just a few weeks, and after it's over, I only have two weeks until I go back to school. Not having studied in three years, it's going to be a big change for me :) a good one, I hope.

I also want to change the name of this blog. Any suggestions? 

Whatever it will be, I want my name to be in it (even if it's just something like sweet mother of chaos by iira). SMOC has been a a lot of fun, and this blog ain't going nowhere, it's just going to be updated. I wanted to give you guys a heads up. Obviously, changes in the appearance of this blog only concern Blogger, and not Glipho. My readers in the latter will only notice changes in the content of the blog. 

I hope you're having a slammin' week so far. I'm in the middle of a long stretch of work, but it's all good. Been in an exceptionally good mood lately. I wonder if my upcoming vacation has something to do with that ;) 

Today I went to see Maleficent at long last, and I have to say, it was awesome! Not what I expected, much better. 

Talk to you later, lovelies :)

Where I've Been

Sooo.. You may or may not have noticed I've stayed away from the blogging world for a while now. 19 days to be exact. 

In case you're wondering, I've done so intentionally. Not that I had too many brilliant ideas for upcoming posts, but my lack of motivation did strike at a good time for once. To be honest, I grew a little tired of blogging, because I felt like nothing was happening. Let's face it; where's the fun when no one reads your blog or writes their own? 

I hate to rant, so I'll just leave it at that, and tell you what I've been up to in the past few weeks. 

Nothing too significant has happened. I know, right? Kinda boring. While not wanting to blog, I didn't really have a reason to, either. I did book bus tickets and hotels with my friend Minna, for our upcoming trip to London! That's always exciting and fun :) Only a little over a month to go! We are super excited and happy about that. 

I've also been visiting friends, went to see an apartment I will be moving in in the fall, have made some plans as to how I will decorate it, I've done some reading and watched a lot of Orange Is The New Black, The Nanny, and Disappeared. I made a little trip to Staples with my mom, to check out what I would need when school starts. I swear, Staples is my heaven. I LOVE office supplies. 

I can't say I've enjoyed summer, because the weather is nothing like summer... it's been very cold and rainy so far, and I can only hope it'll get better by the time my vacation starts, which is July 21st. I'm having a friend over from Germany, and I would love for her to see how lovely Finland can be in the summer :)

This week I've been sick, and spent a few days at my mom's new house in the country side. Even though the weather sucks, she still found wild strawberries from her yard :) so yummy! 

So yeah, that's what's happening. I'm still a little ill, running a little temperature and coughing. I'll return to work this Saturday, though, and can't wait to get back to some kinda routine. Tomorrow I'm getting together with some old co-workers and that ought to be a lot of fun! 

And what comes to my blog's future; I honestly have no idea. I'm sure I won't stop, I just love this too much. I'm excited to share certain things with you, and would love to get back to regular blogging, but right now I can't make any promises. While I love blogging, I also loved not having to stress about it for 19 days. 

If you're reading this, and happen to have good tips on blogging (ideas, how to not give up, etc.), then please leave a comment below. Love you all for reading, and still remaining in my list of followers. It means a lot. 

Hope you're all having a good week so far!

What Is Happening To Blogging?!

Usually when I post something new, my page views go up almost instantly. They've never been crazy high, but there's always been a little peak when I publish stuff. I loved that, and still do, of course. 

But lately nothing has been happening. I got three (3) page views the other day. Three. Hurray. I've always been very conscious about when I publish my posts; I try to find a time that serves as many time zones as possible as my stats show that I get views from many different countries. Even that doesn't help anymore. I've also noticed that the bloggers I follow are not as active as they used to be. 

So what's wrong?

Is this just a phase? 

Does this have something to do with summer starting and people spending more time outside?

Or has blogging taken a serious hit with no chances for recovery?

What do you guys think?

You probably know I post stuff in both Blogger and Glipho, and I've definitely noticed the change in both platforms. No one is reading other people's stories, no one is commenting or liking anything. At best, my feed shows five new posts a week, and that's not a lot considering the amount of bloggers I follow. It seems only the already popular bloggers survive. It can be very tough to gain followers nowadays. Especially when people don't seem to be reading anything anymore. 

I gotta tell you, it takes the fun out of doing this. What's the point in writing a blog when there's no one to read it? If I want to write just for myself, I can do so privately. And I do. But my blog has always been for you guys, too. That's why it's so sad that blogging doesn't interest people anymore.

Should I just embrace this and move on to vlogging? I'm not so natural in front of the camera, so there's a chance you'd get a good laugh.
I will continue blogging for now, just for the heck of it. I don't think I could quit cold turkey.

Anyways, if there are people reading this, leave me a comment telling me what you think is the future of blogging. Tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm right, curse, write in capital letters, express yourself in whatever words you choose. At this point any feedback is more than appreciated.

Talk to you peeps later!

Happy May: New Beginnings!

Hey y'all! :) 

In my last post I said I've received some very good news, and I am so excited to share everything with you! If you follow me on Instagram you already know this, but if you don't, then here it is:

I GOT ACCEPTED TO SCHOOL! YESSS!!!

I am so excited about this! I applied on a whim, took the entrance exam with no expectations, and refused to stress about it. I was prepared for any scenario, but when I found out I got accepted to Lahti University of Applied Sciences, I realized how much I had actually wanted it. I will be studying International Business, and this all makes me very happy and I can't wait to start school in September! Well... I can wait. I have the entire summer ahead of me before school starts, lots and lots of happy things! :) 

I'm a sucker for office supplies, and can't wait to go shopping for school stuff, including a desk! I will definitely need one now.. My bed is awesome, but not ideal for homework. I'm on the hunt for a new apartment as well, because I simply can't fit a desk into my current one + now that I'll be going to school in the same city I work in, it would make more sense to move there, too, right? (I live 20 minutes away now, so it's not that bad, but still).  

And, another month is coming to an end. It's time to say goodbye to May, and embrace June! It's officially summer! Although depending where you are, summer has probably already began a loooong time ago. Here in the north it comes and goes. 

The theme for next month is 

Jammin' June

Ooooo... Next month will be all about music. I look forward to sharing my favorite music with you guys! :)

Love you, and as always: thanks for reading <3

P.S. I do have one more piece of good news to share, but I am waiting a confirmation on that one. Will keep you updated! 

Make It Happen March: I Made Stuff Happen!

Hey, guys!

March is coming to an end and I couldn't be happier, because it means only one thing.

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!

I don't know why, but I am really looking forward to summer this year. I'm always looking forward to summer, but this year particularly. It may have something to do with me having a full four weeks of vacation ahead of me. Or maybe it's the prospect of traveling. Of getting to spend time with my wonderful friends. I'm looking forward to the warmth, the endless summer nights, when it's light throughout. 

Make It Happen will be my theme throughout the summer, too. Here are some things I want to do:

*Stress less, enjoy the now, enjoy life and just have fun

*Spend a week at my mom's in the countryside. No internet for a week, except for blog and emails. The main purpose for this little excursion is to write. I want to work on my novel non-stop.

*Show around Finland to my friend who will be visiting from abroad

*Travel

*Read

And here's what I accomplished this month:

*Traveled to Germany and Estonia

*Bought that bag I've wanted since forever ago

*I had my first chance to collaborate with another blogger! You'll see more April 2nd ;)

*Invitations to entrance exams at a couple of schools

*Made more solid plans for my future

With March ending, it's time to reveal the theme for next month!

*Drum roll, please*

Express Yourself April

I have a feeling it'll be a good month:)

Are you guys as excited about summer as I am?!

Have a sunny weekend <3

Make It Happen March: Doing Things Yourself

Often it can be tempting to let others help you when you have something big happening in your life. And yes, it's good not being too proud and accepting the help that's being offered. 

But sometimes we want to do it alone. It's not necessarily because we are too proud to ask for help, or because we want to show off and prove that we're not too stupid for this. 

I want to do some things on my own simply because I can. 

I get a huge kick out of being able to do something without any help, whether it's paying the bills, buying something I need that's out of my price range, running errands I used to need my mom for, traveling solo, anything. It's sort of reassuring, if you know what I mean. 

It makes me feel like an adult, even though I'm really not one. 

It makes me feel like I can handle anything life throws at me. 

Does this sound crazy?

I don't remember if I told you, but I applied to a few schools a while back. 

Today I received my third invitation to an entrance exam. 

I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen, whether I'll get in or not. I'm prepared for any option, and life will go on never the less. 

It's funny, though, how just an invitation to an entrance exam can make me feel accomplished. 

It's trying. 

Make It Happen March: An Exciting Announcement!

Hey, guys! 

So, in the spirit of making things happen and setting things in motion I've been dying to tell you about this exciting opportunity that has presented itself to me recently!

I was contacted by the lovely Ariadna, a.k.a The Always Believer, and she asked me to share my story on her page. 

Here's some information about the #GoDoFly -movement:

#GoDoFly is all about encouraging yourself, getting on track, making changes in your life to fulfill your dreams. It is also about helping others, telling the people you love and kind strangers to #GoDoFly.

This movement is to help people who need to hear the message loud and proud. #GoDoFly! To stand up for yourself, to be your own hero, to work hard for your goals,to be yourself and much more things people need to hear. We participate with true stories around the world, telling tales of overcoming obstacles and lending a helping hand to a friend too.

I was so flattered and excited to have Ariadna contact me, and my story will be out some time in April. I will definitely let you know when it happens! <3

Make sure to check out http://thealwaysbeliever.com! 

Also, if you want to participate, you will find all the necessary information on that site. 

Hope you are all having a great week so far! I think I'm coming down on something, a flu maybe, but won't let it crush my spirit! I'm soooooooo thrilled about all of this! 

Feel Good February: Get Inspired

Sometimes it can be hard to feel good about yourself or your life. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. One little thing goes wrong and suddenly all that's wrong in my life resurfaces and I dwell on… well, all of it. Truth be told, it's horrid. After a not-so-fun period in my life a few years back, I forced myself to learn the art of positive thinking. And you know what? It actually works :)

I don't want to go on and on about how staying positive will change your whole perspective of things, because honestly, sometimes life just sucks. It's good to allow yourself to be sad every once in a while, but it's more important to know how to pick yourself up again. Here are some ways that have helped me:

*Make achievable goals for yourself
When you achieve something, no matter how little a thing, your reward is that feeling afterwards. The feeling of succeeding will lead you into making more goals, bigger each time. You don't have to reach for the stars on the first take -make little stops on the way.

*Find out your true passion and make it happen
What do you want out of your life? You want to be a cook? A singer? An Actor? A writer? Sky's the limit, because when you set your mind to it, I'm sure you can be what you want to be.

*Find out what inspires you
And then surround yourself with that, whatever it is.

*Don't worry about what you can't change

*Don't worry about something that's going to happen six months from now

*Don't let others' negativity bring you down

If you want to be happy, be. 

Blog Transformation - Monthly Themes!

I have been thinking about new ways to improve this blog. I feel like it's about time I put more effort into this, because lately I've just been lacking motivation. What does it mean, when something you love isn't appealing? I hate that. I mean, I want to blog, but the amount of ideas: zero. So, I started brainstorming, and came up with something I think will bring more life to this little blog of mine, and hopefully will motivate me more, as well.

Monthly Themes!

I know, not exactly groundbreaking, and a lot of bloggers are doing this, BUT, I think it's an awesome idea, and will create a nice flow to a blog. I'm looking for continuity, and I think it will help me blog more regularly and hopefully more people will find my blog and subscribe! :)

I will announce the themes either in the beginning of each month or a few days before. I will focus roughly half of my posts around the theme of the month, because I don't wanna wear you guys out by writing only about one thing a month. 

Since it's the end of January, I want to announce the theme of next month! Ready?

*Feel Good February*

I hope you guys are as excited about this as I am!! Let me know in the comment section what you think, and pitch any ideas that pop into your head! :) Can't wait to get this thing started!

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

xxo,

iira

New beginnings for everyone! (Not you, Iira)

So far this week has been crazy, and it's only Wednesday. Well, I guess it's a good thing; at least time goes by faster. And I could just skip right into next Thursday! 8 days and I'll be USA bound<3

Yesterday I started making serious notes about my novel. Seems weird, considering how long I've actually worked on that novel, and how much I've told you. But I've never been that good in taking notes about anything, so this was a big step ;) And the more I wrote, the more motivation I gained, which is always a good thing. I'm going to start working on the notes again in a few, but wanted to blog first! I feel like I've been neglecting you and that's not good :/

We dined out yesterday with some family friends, and it was really nice. It was a special occasion, too, because one of them is moving to Germany on Friday. Today I said goodbye to him, and to be honest, I feel kinda empty now. He and I have known each other since we were little kids, it's going to be so weird not being able to see him anytime I want to. With whom am I going to watch the Oscars from now on?! 

Seriously, I have to move the heck away from here, too.

Ok, I'm calm now. 

Next year is going to be different. I don't know how, but somehow it will. I can't wait! Oh, wait, I totally can. I have an awesome vacation planned before this year comes to an end. 

Talk to you soon<3

Sometimes I feel like the Universe is messing with me.

Sometimes most of the time life just baffles me. The unpredictability of it. You never know what's going to happen tomorrow, you never know where you'll be a year from now. I didn't expect to be the way I am at 24, I didn't expect to be here at 24, I didn't expect... I don't really know what I expected. Something more, something less... Oh yeah, I expected to have a freakin' clue. 

The truth is, I don't think anyone's got it all figured out. Being content is one thing, but when you think about it, how many people are there who are totally and completely happy with the way their lives have turned out? I'm not unhappy, but could be doing better. Knowing I'll be stuck here this way for at least another year is both relaxing and tormenting. But seriously.. I need a way out. Rather sooner than later :) Don't think of me as a depressing person.. think of me as an adventurer who's resources to see the world are very limited right now. 

Writing gives me a great escape, which is one of the main reasons I want to blog. And I want to blog more regularly, but I'm going to need your help with that. I was thinking of topics the other night and here's what I came out:

The reason there's a "HAHA!" after hairdos, is that I suck big time when it comes to doing my hair. I can use a flat iron and a curling iron, but that's about it. I just wrote that down because it popped into my mind, and didn't really think it through. But I actually have a really nice hair! 

This is where you come in. What do you want to read about? (Or hear about? 'Cause the video is happening! Maybe even videos, as in plural!)  :)

cozy and warm

It's 70 and sunny, but the sun doesn't feel as warm as it does in the middle of summer. Today I put on my mom's wool socks. I know, right?! At least I don't wear them all year round, like my dear momma does ;)

In my previous post I was talking about change, and how fall has always been a perfect time for that.. well, after that post and some thinking, I've come to the conclusion that this fall will be no exception. It doesn't matter how small that change will be; a change is a change. 

-I will change my hair (but you already knew that...)

-I will change my blog. It's going to be a hell of a lot more interesting, I swear. If not, then feel free to find me and give me a good ol' slap in the face. 

-I will change my wardrobe. I'm in desperate need of new clothes. I've taken so much more interest into fashion lately, so this ought to be fun!

-I will look into YouTube Channels and consider one of my own (yikes!)

That's a lot, already! I'm feeling really good about this :) Excited for new things! 

Have a nice weekend!

Glipho

Ok, let's take a moment to talk about an awesome website, that's become very important to me in a very short period of time. I am sorry, Blogger, but I'm kinda cheating on you... with Glipho. 

For those of you, who don't know, Glipho, "the social publishing engine", is a blogging website that makes blogging very simple, and helps you reach more readers. Here's what they say:

Thanks to the internet, everyone has the potential to be a writer publishing their thoughts. Glipho pushes that potential even further.

We are a publishing engine where the content is ranked and highlighted by our users. Come and read what you care about, from other writers just like yourself. Choose the topics and writers that appeal to you and then follow them.

We want to be the network where you publish your words and express your views. The place which helps you take advantage of all the other networks to create better content, and where you can reach and interact with an even bigger audience.

Glipho’s concept is really easy, sign up and start writing straight away. Import your old content so it can be read for the first time again. Discover and be discovered by other users and the best thing of all, interact. Interact with the content, with your readers, with other writers, on Glipho, on Twitter …. everywhere.

Pretty great, huh? :) 

I got a comment from the Glipho team on Instagram, asking me to join, after promoting this blog. I checked out the site, liked and joined. Glipho really makes things easy; with a few clicks I could import my blog texts from Blogger to Glipho, and it's what I still keep doing. And in Glipho you don't have to worry about what theme to choose for your page. There's only one. It's what I love about Glipho; it's just about the writing. No distractions. And let me tell you, it's a lot easier to gain followers than on Blogger. A freaking bestselling author is following ME on Glipho! How cool is that?! 

Now, this isn't me badmouthing Blogger. I'm still here, aren't I? Blogger is where I started in the first place, and that alone gives it sentimental value. For now, I am writing on Blogger and importing my writing to Glipho. In the future, it's very possible that I will switch completely to Glipho, especially if things won't pick up here. 

You can check out my Glipho -profile at

http://glipho.com/iira-maria

Hope you like it :)

-i

bringing stories to life

Within the last week or so, I've been aching to write. I've been blogging, sharing posts to Glipho, working on my novel and even started a journal, which is something I've never really been into. I used to write a diary when I was a kid, but now I'm considering of actually starting a journal and trying to make it a regular habit to write it. I was surprised by how good I felt afterwards. 

The more I write, the more I feel like it's what I should be doing. I may not be a great writer, but I can feel and see myself getting better at it every day. I used to underestimate the advice every author gives to pursuing writers.

Write. Write every single day. Write even though you don't know what to write. Just write. 

Oh, how true that is. Such a simple piece of advice will get you there, though. It will help you. 

I would write, write and write. I can't get enough of it :)

Some day my novel will be finished, and I can't wait for that day. I don't really have expectations as to what I will feel like when that day finally arrives. Some authors say they feel empty, some triumphant, some feel numb. Numb as in having the work done, and that's it. It's their job. 

Right now I think there won't be much time for me to feel much of anything besides excitement. 

After finishing my first novel, I'll have to start writing the sequel. 

Busy, busy!

Have a nice weekend :)

-iira