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 :)

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: 100 Happy Days Update

I've been doing the 100 Happy Days -challenge for about a month now, and I still have until July 24th to go. I have to say that I'm amazed by how this is easy and hard and wonderful at the same time. 

Some days it's easy to find the thing(s) that make me happy. Other days not so much. What's so wonderful, is that there is still something to be happy about in every single day. How great is that? No matter how crappy a day I've had, I still remember this challenge and am forced to find that something, that makes me smile. 

I didn't expect to see any results this soon, but I am definitely seeing a change happening in myself. It's so easy to feel sad and depressed nowadays, while being happy can feel like a tough one. I feel blessed, because I can honestly say that I feel happy every day. Not all day every day, but still...  every day. 

That is why I am encouraging all of you to take part in the 100 Happy Days Challenge with me!

You can learn more about it here.

Have a happy week, lovelies<3

Make It Happen March: Should I?

For those of you who don't know, English is not my first language; I didn't start studying English until Iw as nine years old. My first language is Finnish, but when it comes to writing, I feel like English comes more naturally. But lately I've been playing with the idea of maybe blogging in Finnish, too. I've tried it before and to be honest, I wasn't too crazy about it, but maybe I should give it another chance? I'm not abandoning English, but would just write some posts in both languages. I'm following a couple of bloggers who are doing so, and their blogs have a very nice flow to them, and it just seems to be working really well :) if you want to check out those blogs, here are the links:

http://www.rantapallo.fi/mungolife/

http://yummyj.blogspot.fi

(I'm blogging on my iPad now, so if the links aren't actual links, I'm sorry :( just copy-paste them and there you go!)

Niille, jotka eivät ole asiasta tietoisia, englanti ei ole äidinkieleni. Aloitin sen opiskelun vasta yhdeksänvuotiaana. Äidinkieleni on suomi, mutta kirjoittaessa englanti tuntuu paljon sujuvammalta. Viime aikoina olen kuitenkin leikitellyt ajatuksella, että jospa alkaisi bloggailla suomeksikin. Sitä on koitettu aiemminkin, eikä se rehellisesti sanoen oikein sujunut, mitta ehkä sille voisi antaa toisen mahdollisuuden? Englantia en hylkää, mutta joitain postauksia voisi kirjoittaa molemmilla kielillä. Seuraan paria bloggaajaa jotka näin tekevät, ja ainakin heidän kohdallaan homma tuntuu toimivan oikein hyvin :) tuosta yläpuolelta voit katsastaa kyseiset blogit! 

So what do you think? Maybe this could be something I could start working on? Let me know:)

Mitä mieltä olette? Ehkä tätä voisi alkaa työstämään? Mielipiteitä otetaan vastaan:) 

Love,

I 

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! 

Make It Happen March: Say Yes!

I themed this month Make It Happen March, which I already stated in my previous post and how you can see from the title. I am trying to get more inspired about everything in my life and want to be able to inspire others, too :) I hope you guys will enjoy these posts!

So. Make what happen?

Anything. 

I am a huge procrastinator and that's a quality I would very much like to get rid of. This month, and in the future too, of course, I would like to make myself more active and do things when I have the chance, and not two days later, two months later or never. I'm not trying to change my personality here, because to be honest, I'm a total scatter brain and somewhat of an artistic character. Doing things when I feel like has always been kind of a thing of mine, but I really want to establish a line between being a procrastinator and being lazy. Does that make any sense to you? I guess I'm more lazy than a procrastinator. I don't think the two of them are the same thing, because sometimes you just don't have time for something and you have to do it later, and laziness is just unwillingness to do something you really could do right now. Right? :D 

So pick up those clothes from the floor. Paint that wall. Clean that garage. Take initiative. Participate. Be awesome :)

And for me: BLOG! This week I will be posting the following:

*February Favorites

*My trip to Germany

*Another Make It Happen March thaang. 

Let's make things happen, people! :)

Feel Good February: Change It Up!

Change is refreshing, no matter how little. Whether it's a new outfit, a new pair of shoes, new make-up, new apartment or new school, there's always something about it that gives you a good kind of rush. 

You don't have to overwhelm yourself by thinking of ways to change this up a bit. There are so many simple ways to do it! :)

*Rearrange your furniture 

*Buy new stuff for your home (I did this last spring; one trip to IKEA and that was it. I got a whole new look for my apartment by just changing the colors and buying a new shelf, comforters, and pillows)

*Change your work schedule if possible

*If your work schedule allows it, change your weekly routine

*OR forget about boring routines and go by the feeling

*Be a tourist in your own home town / country

*Change your job (definitely in my near future…)

*Go back to school

*Change your hair (I did this today!)

Went back to blonde after being dark-haired for quite a while! 

It's so easy to get stuck in a certain way of living. It's easy to get cradled into that feeling of security when you have a job that pays the bills and a little extra, when everything just seems to be going fine. And you know what, that's perfectly ok :) If you're one of the fortunate ones who's got it all figured out, I am sincerely happy for you. I just happen to be the kind who needs that change every once in a while. I think if I knew where I was going, I would lose my way. 

Today I changed my hair. It's nothing, but like I said, even a little change can give you a rush. It sort of pushes you to reach for more. That's how I like to think of it. 

I hope you all will have a great week! Thanks for reading :)

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. 

Out with the old, in with the new!

Hiiiiiiiiii!

Peeps, it's January 1st, 2014. For an hour and a half more at least, here in Finland. I feel sort of disoriented and confused at the moment; I returned from my vacation yesterday, and am jet lagged + I caught a flu on our way back. It's surreal to think that two days ago I was in Miami, and now I'm here. Two days ago I was in warm and humid Florida, and now I'm in cold and dark Finland. Well, at least there's zero snow here, which was a pleasant welcoming gift :)

I will do a separate post about my vacation in the near future, once I get my head straight and pics uploaded. Now, since every other blogger in the world is doing so, I want to talk about 2013. I won't make an extensive post about every single detail of the past year, but will share some highlights with you! With that being said, let's get started!

2013:

*My dear friend from Germany visited me in Finland
*I visited her in Germany

*After promoting my blog on Instagram, I was invited to join Glipho and blog there, too. This was a major turning point and gave me a whole new perspective! Thank you, Glipho Team!

*I worked through the entire summer, which wasn't exactly ideal, but for a good cause ;)

*Despite working a lot, I got to spend a lot of time with friends

*I became more and more passionate about writing and working on my novel

*I made some new friends

*Some of my best friends moved abroad; again, not a highlight, but they're happy and that's what matters!

*I traveled to Florida. Here's a little sneak peek:

I managed to snap this awesome photo while in downtown Tampa. The lighting was just perfect!

Now I'm starting a new year. I never make any resolutions. I just hope things will look up and something exciting will happen. I'm fortunate to have experienced a lot in my life, but it has left me thirsting for more. So, I hope 2014 will bring something amazing to me, and to all of you. Make it your year<3

Here's an inspirational song I wanted to share before signing off. I will get back to you guys later! :)

Wrapping things up! :)

Helloooo!

I have been totally lost today… Scatter brain, remember? I cleaned up my apartment and am 95% done with packing. I have a last day of work tomorrow and on Thursday I'll be on a plane, on my way to my other home.

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately; I guess I just felt like I had nothing profound to say. My life has been pretty dull lately, but in a couple of days it will pick up! And you can be sure to hear everything about it ;) 

I'm not sure if I'll have time to blog during my vacation, and since I won't be coming back until New Year's Eve, this might very well be the last post this year. This brings me to my actual topic of the day: 2014. Next year I'm really hoping to blog more and make this blog more interesting and appealing to you. I would  like to change the appearance (for Blogger) and try to reach more readers. So, if you want to suggest ways to improve my blog, please leave a comment below! :) Every thought is greatly appreciated. 

I doubt you will have enough time to miss me, but in case you do, you can always follow me on Instagram and enjoy the pics I post :) But, if I don't see you anymore until January, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the year!

Talk to you later! <3

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

Updates on yours truly + plans for the rest of the year!

Hello, everyone. Another week has gone by and I have been swamped! Besides my job, I've been doing a lot of work at home; I got my new bed delivered and since the bed is a lot bigger than my old one, and I live in a studio apartment, I needed to improvise. I'm getting rid of one of my junk drawers, and now I have to figure out where to place all the junk. Right now it's all laid on my coffee table. I had to move all my furniture except for my couch and TV stand, and I'm very happy with the result. I still have way too much stuff, and I'm planning a major cleaning process starting in January. I wish I didn't hate cleaning so much...

The reason I'm not starting until next year, is that from now until December 18th I will be working a lot, and on December 19th I'm traveling to the States! Finally time for my summer vacation! ;) I am beyond excited and we have so much fun things planned! I will definitely take a lot of pictures and share my vacation with you guys, and I will also do some filming! Yay:) Talking about filming, sorry for the lack of videos since my very first one.. I'm not even going to explain what happened when I filmed a new video, so yeah, it will be a little while until I have something new for you! 

Getting a new bed and having to move stuff around the apartment has a lot of perks to it. Not only do I have a fabulous new bed (it really is amazing. I'm so happy I want to cry), and a new look to my place all together, but also a new, more inspiring environment. I feel like lately I've been lacking some inspiration... Writing hasn't come so easily, but I've been working on my stories in my head, which (as you may have read on this blog before) can sometimes be very exhausting mentally. I'm so bad at taking notes, and I lost a few nights worth of sleep because I had way too much stuff to think about. So for now, I'm taking a conscious break from working on my novel, and just focusing on other things. I will still write every day, but I am not exaggerating when I say I'm in serious need of a vacation. Three more weeks, you guys...

Do share, if the mental exhaustion sometimes gets you, too. And please let me know, if you have any tips! Hope y'all are having a good week so far! :)

-iira

My Bucket List

This post is way long over due; I don't know why it has taken me so long to do it. I'm actually a sucker for lists, so this was a lot of fun! Take a look and I hope this inspires you to make your own Bucket List! :)

*Tour around the world; my current must-go destinations are: Hawaii, Australia, Cook Islands, Abu Dhabi and Rio De Janeiro. Route 66 is also a life-long dream of mine, and happening next summer! S-T-O-K-E-D. 

*Go spot airplanes landing and taking off at St. Maarten

*Become a professional writer

*Dye hair pink (at least temporarily with a color that washes off)

*Swim with dolphins (this will happen next month!!!)

*Move to the USA

*Get a tattoo. Maybe? Still debating this... 

*Pack up your stuff, sell what you don't need, including your apartment (or lease it) and go somewhere. See where you'll end up. 

Iira goes blonde, part 1.

So, remember that list of changes I wanted to make?

One down. I went to the hairdresser's on Tuesday. It's not really something worth mentioning, unless you're me. I can rarely afford to go have my hair done by a professional. My hair is long and thick, and it costs a whole lot to have it cut and colored. But every once in a while I go :) This time I wanted to try the oh-so-popular ombre-style. I've actually tried it before; a year ago I had my hair done in Portland. My hair was dyed very dark but the tips were blonde. It turned out really pretty, and it was done by a student, so it was cheaper. Now I wanted it a little different, so we started the process.

The colors in this picture aren't exactly right, but pretty close. This time around my hair didn't get as light as I would have preferred, but I'm not surprised. I've been coloring it dark for over a year now, so going back to blonde is going to be a long process, and I don't want to ruin my hair as I go. I'm still very happy with the result. I will be going to Florida in a few months and hope the sun will lighten my hair some more ;) might just save me another trip to the hairdressers. 

What comes to the other parts of that list, I'm hoping to get some shopping done next week. I'd love to get a new scarf and maybe a cute fall knit. Although I did get one recently; I will have to do a post about my fall clothes! It's still too warm to be wearing knits and scarfs (the weather's drunk and should go home) and I can't wait to wear in my new clothes! <3

Have a great weekend, y'all!

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!

What now

The fall is my favorite time of the year. It's when the weather cools down; it's not too hot and not too cold. It's perfect. Trees turn yellow, orange and red. It's a time for change, for new and exciting things. Or at least it used to be.

 

This fall I have nothing to look forward to, except for my pay day so that I can go and have my hair done. Last fall I traveled to Portland for three months. Two years ago I quit school and faced the exciting reality of a working girl. This fall I'm staying put. Same job, same everything. I think the fact that there's really nothing going on has killed my creativity. 

I feel powerless. What used to be my passion isn't natural to me now. Writing. Creating. Art. My life is too boring now. Some say it's a good thing, but I really do wish there was more action in my life. I would have more to tell you. But I guess writing about not being able to write like I used to is better than nothing? At least I'm writing. 

I wish it was December already. In December I get to step on a plane and visit my other home. 

Until then... I think I'll book that hair appointment first thing on Monday. 

Later, lovelies :)