Month: January 2022

#SWAP – Celebrations of a personal nature

In my family, we celebrate together, from birthdays to Christmas and beyond.
I love spending time with them for a day to celebrate whether it’s eating Chinese takeaway or going bowling for a birthday all the way to spending Christmas with the extended family and seeing friends.

For this post, though I am re-visiting a topic I cover/think about a lot and that’s the year I had in 2021 because it went from a big for me breakdown to doing so much more and I want to keep the good going while celebrating what I did.

In the last year, a huge boost in confidence after my breakdown allowed me to do more in 2021 than I ever have considering I was/am introverted and was super unconfident in myself. The idea of travelling to new places alone, meeting new people and even getting drunk two nights in a row in London plus once in Nottingham would have been a million miles away from ever likely to happen.

Both first London and Nottingham trips were last-minute things, as they were based on plans outwith my control and so I went through a do and don’t wrestle in my mind as to go for it or not.

To actually do those two trips last-minute while also going to London again in between and Manchester earlier in the year was big for me even if others may see travelling to places within the UK as no problem.
I have to celebrate pushing through and going ahead with these when my usual tactic is to have these ideas in my mind but put them off and not do anything about it until it’s too late and therefore I have excuses (Last-minute so the cost is too much and I can’t take time off work).

I am celebrating because while not everything went as planned I still had a great time, I met some wonderful people and in the case of London I managed to navigate the tube on my first visit to meet someone, and on my 2nd visit, I had 5 days where I was able to navigate the tube again, jump on buses and explore this new city on my own without getting lost.

These things I did add to the confidence in myself, they showed that I could go and do things I want, and get close to some things that I’m sure will come plus they have set me up for 2022 to hopefully be the year I do even more, whether it’s more travelling or gain other forms of excitement in my life.
I’m not going to say this year won’t have ups and downs and that I won’t have periods of low confidence in doing things or trying to do things but that’s just me and for all that I’m in a better place than I’ve ever been in many many years.

So I’m celebrating how far I’ve come and how far I may go and looking forward to what may come in the year ahead.

[5 Things] January’s excitement dragging

Since becoming an adult with responsibilities January has been a month that drags on far too long for my liking, or at least it seems to drag more than other months.

As 2022 kicked in there was a sense of excitement for what the year held for me. I had many ideas as to what I wanted to do and things I wanted to hopefully happen. I had rough plans for some of this and with bigger confidence in myself, I felt like I could make 2022 the year I do all the things I want or as much as possible.

With this excitement though it’s made the month of January drag on. Knowing what is possible also means knowing not everything will happen immediately, and so I may spend a day or two dreaming about all of the things and wanting them to be happening now, but since they can’t my days drag on waiting till I can start doing something about these possibilities to make them a reality.

Add on the fact that I still work during the new year means that while I run to my usual schedule there are a lot of people and places that don’t so I lose track of time and days and also don’t have the time off to relax and rest in order for the new year to go quicker and for things to get back to normal so that the rest of the month can also go quicker.

This January reminds me of lots of exciting things I do and how it initially drags on then BAM it’s all over.
For instance, I gigged back in 2020 just before the lockdowns hit and as I stood outside the venue chatting to other fans it seemed like an eternity to get in because of the excitement of the pending gig, but as soon as we got in it was over in what seemed like a flash with all but memories of a wonderful evening listening to live music.

Previous Januarys though have dragged on because I had no plans for the year, nothing exciting I was likely to do, and If I was to do anything exciting it would be panned and so I just wanted to get the year going. Again because I also worked I ended up somewhat bored and this made the month go even slower than It probably did.

[Sinful Sunday] Naked hotel selfie

[5 Things] Being kinky

Firstly before I start and as I like to do, it’s fantastic to see a newer meme pop up and to be able to participate in it. Unfortunately, I missed the first 2 weeks, the first as I couldn’t write in time and the 2nd because I just forgot but I’m glad to get a post written.

Having been around the world of sex via porn and all things adult since the early-mid 00s kink has been something I came across very early on but for the most part, I took my time to really explore them and figure out what was what.

Below is a photo I took with my first collection of BDSM related toys in which at this point I really knew I was kinky but read on to find out more about how I got to be kinky answer the 5 questions from the 5 things page.

When did you first realise you were kinky?

There were a few kinks that appealed to me as I explored sex in my teens but it wasn’t until the late 00s and early 2010s that I really started to consider myself in some way kinky. Up until that point, I’d often just thought of myself as plain, vanilla if you like.

How did it manifest itself?

Back in the early 2010s, I started to explore sex toys for the first time as well as exploring my sexuality and other things. This exploration of myself led to being exposed more to kinks and instead of putting them to the back of my mind or thinking it wasn’t for me, I brought them a little more to the forefront of my mind so that when desired I could explore them more.

What did you do about it?

I initially didn’t do much other than enjoy some more porn with kink related content, but in the last few years, I’ve not only begun to explore kinks in-depth to see what I like, dislike or may want to try but I’ve also gained various toys which have helped me solo, for now, play with various kinks IRL and understand that I enjoy some I had an idea I’d like and really enjoy others I’d put to the back of my mind.

I’ve been able to have more kink solo play, take more kink related images and know that with potential partners I am able to express things I like, don’t like and things I’m willing to try when it comes to sex and playing.

How is your life different now than it was before?

I feel like having never been sexually active in the past I’m able to be more confident in doing so going forward especially with kinks that I now know I like and that I don’t have to think of myself as just plain or vanilla.

In my new state of wanting to live my life, explore more and just have fun, kink I hope can play a part in that and allow me to enjoy all the pleasure there is to have

I do notice that I get excited when I see kink stuff online, I can feel happy calling myself kinky and I can join in with anything kink related should it come up whether it be a post for a meme like this one, something IRL……etc

TBH not really being one to have experienced kink things beyond solo play I just want to experience all the kink things with someone, and I don’t mean literally them all but the ones I know I like or know I want to try that a partner or whoever I’m with is also happy to engage in these kinks.

[Sinful Sunday] A Mouthfull

I’m knelt down in the shower with my restraints on, taking a mouthful of cock.

#SWAP – The home office revitalised

In 2020 as we were locked down for the first time due to COVID I was constantly sitting in the spare bedroom which I called my home office where I’d game and relax since I was off work for an unknown period and couldn’t do WFH.
To enhance my experience I invested in a multi-monitor arm which I loved but eventually, the IKEA desktop I was using since 2012 couldn’t handle it and initially, I fixed it but using a bit of an old coffee table top as reinforcement.

Eventually though, I decided to look at buying a new desk for myself and it led me on a path to revitalising my office space and making it my own, a pace I could come and relax in the evenings, game on my days off and what I didn’t know back then was a place I can blog in somewhat comfort.

Before

The office before was OK, but it didn’t feel like a proper place of my own.
In this pic, you can see the coffee table top I used to fix the IKEA desktop and overall it wasn’t the most appealing space but at least it was mine with some framed posters on the wall and such to try and make it better.

After

Between 2020 and 2021 I upgraded the desk, re-painted one of the walls so far and added an extra monitor and got a better chair plus moved things around in the room and moved things from the office to my bedroom and things like the TV from my bedroom to the office.

As you can see it’s definitely a much better space than it was before, way better
Sure I could re-carpet the room, and yes I still have some white walls/a ceiling to paint but it’s now my own perfect space to do all the things I do.

I can be more relaxed when watching online stuff, more relaxed when gaming and generally enjoy a much nicer space when I keep it clean.
It’s a better place to write and blog, the desk provides ample space for all my screens to maximise productivity and I’m able to use the spare desk space for other things like messing with laptops I get from family or just having the space for a coffee.

#SWAP – The joy of coffee and my mug(s)

Firstly before I begin I just want to say how great it is to have a new meme to participate in, particularly one from the excellent Floss over at flossdoeslife.com

Coffee Consumption

In the past, I’ve always loved a nice hot chocolate as my hot drink of choice with a rare tea if I was feeling it and coffee once every several months again if I was feeling it.
Over the last 6 or so years though my consumption of coffee has increased dramatically from the odd one every several months.

This increase is in a small way related to the fact I got a POD style coffee machine for one of my birthdays but the main reason is down to work and the job I’m currently in.
One of the benefits to my job is the fact that coffee is free, and not just instant coffee either but a similar setup to those found in coffee shops where the beans must be ground first and so on.

So with free coffee, my consumption has increased to at least 2 cups a day and sometimes more.
Not only do I make my own coffee in the morning but during a shift, other than a super busy one, there is a good chance someone will ask me and/or the whole kitchen staff if they want coffee and so I usually accept the offer meaning I have sometimes 2 or even 3 cups throughout a workday.

Types of Coffee and how I enjoy it

My coffee of choice is either a latter or cappuccino as I like something with frothed milk, sometimes a little bit of chocolate powder and I then add in 2 small sugars just enough to give it a sweet edge but not too much.

There are several ways in which I can define coffee for me and below I’ll describe them.

At work, there have been and still are some nice people who I enjoy working with, some of these people I really like and a few who are super lovely and kind to me and make me happy when I work with them.
Where coffee comes in is when I get to stand or sit down with a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes or more socialising with these colleagues before during or after a shift.

Whether it’s talking about work, news, our lives or whatever I can often get a huge sense of happiness chatting away especially to those I really like. It may be that I’m the only one with coffee but every so often I get to sip some nice sweet coffee with frothed milk alongside the conversation where I may end up feeling super happy and content for a few minutes.

The 2nd way I enjoy coffee is the usual morning cup I get as soon as I get to work, that few minutes to relax before I start my tasks are always enjoyable, and I can stand at the bar and people-watch outside as others go by their day.

Here is a picture from the other morning where I enjoyed a coffee before starting work.

At home mugs

Unfortunately, my work is not a place where I’d have my own mug but I have two at home which I love and use on a regular basis for my coffee and other drinks hot or cold.

The first one is a skull mug.
I’m not the kind of person who loves skulls, dragons and such like but having got a coffee machine at home this was a follow-up birthday gift one year as I liked how it looked and was nice to have a specific mug.

The second mug is one that says Explore More.
I’m not sure exactly how this came to be in my home and I honestly don’t even remember it, but during 2021 when I was doing lots of exploring I came across this mug and realised it just fit me like a glove so took it as my own and prefer to use it a lot more compared to the Skull.
The fact it’s a normal mug while having the specific slogan on it appeals to me even if no one IRL will realise what it means to me beyond my trips away to new places I did in 2021.

[Sinful Sunday] Colourful scents

Sometimes I can be lost in scents, a wonderful smell can take me places. This is one reason I invested in a diffuser and in particular a version with lights.

A few drops of oil and my bedroom can be smelling wonderful and during some evenings I can have my particular one as the only light while I relax in bed.