Well hello there!

 It’s been a very long time since my last post. Let’s just say, life has been very busy indeed.  Since I last blogged, my eldest daughter has been married, I’ve been to Africa, I’ve been working on various social media and videographer  projects  and finally I have been preparing my youngest daughter for her first year in senior school. So as you can see things have been pretty hectic around here but I have missed blogging and reading all of your lovely blogs too.

 So what next I hear you ask. Well, after becoming quite addicted to watching the inspirational videos from Marie Kondo and realising my house was full of things that didn’t spark joy, I decided to have a long overdue Declutter. Around the same time I started watching videos on YouTube that kept popping into my Recommended list.  These videos  got me to thinking about another way that I could add an income stream to the family finances.  I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner, but selling all my unwanted clutter on eBay has been a revelation. Things that I deemed only good enough for landfill, no longer loved by me, having no use or purpose in my life anymore  seem to be just what everyone else out there is looking for (insert shocked face here).


So with a 15-year-old eBay account that I have only ever used for buying things, I now started the task of listing all these things that I considered as rubbish.  It was then that the money started rolling in and I wondered why I hadn’t been doing this all along. I read somewhere that people will buy absolutely anything off eBay. The most obscure things like empty toilet rolls, empty perfume bottles & raggedy old trainers.  Basically if you can think of it and are prepared to list it you can bet that there is someone out there that will buy it.

In the coming months I will be starting a video and blog series that will follow my foray into the world of eBay re-selling.  This is a world where I have already discovered a wonderful helpful community of like-minded people doing all kinds of side hustles  to raise extra money for all kinds of reasons. This could include being a main income, a part-time job alongside their full-time job, as a hobby or perhaps to save for a dream holiday. Whatever the reason, this is something that absolutely anyone can do. If you have any kind of smart phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer you can open an eBay account and start selling & hopefully my new series will help you do just that.

 So there we go, I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Do you already sell your unwanted items on eBay? Do you use other reselling avenues like Facebook marketplace? Do you feel like you wouldn’t have time for this and so donate all your unwanted items to charity or send them to landfill?  If you have any other information or ideas on making money from home I would love to hear them. Feel free to leave your blog name below and links to any blog posts that you have done.

Lots of love
Donna xxx

My First Bullet Journal

Hey there! Hope you had a fab weekend. For this weeks post I thought i’d talk about my first bullet journal. My daughter Jade bought me this gorgeous teal notebook & 20 fineliner pens for Christmas as i’ve always wanted to give bullet journaling a try. I have watched many YouTube videos & pinned many posts on Pinterest but have never considered myself as arty enough to have one of my own.

For my first attempt I thought that a 2019 goals would be a good place to start. Although I found it very calming & enjoyable, I also found it very difficult to get it perfect. As a bit of a perfectionist this drove me a bit mad as I had to keep going back over things hence why so many of the words ended up chunky. I know that it will take time & practice & mistakes will happen but I will continue to practice & hopefully improve. In the meantime I think I may invest in the book below, “How to bullet plan” to help me get started. Do you have a bullet jounal? I would love to have a look! Let me know in the comments below & I’ll be back next Monday with a new blog post. 

Cheerio xxx

Doing more of what makes me happy!

Hello everyone! Welcome back to the blog. What an amazing start to 2019 it has been. If you follow me on Instagram(Donna Dyble) you will have seen my 2019 goals which included doing more things that make me happy. Well i’ve certainly been giving it a good go so far!

I started the New Year by travelling 106 miles north to visit my son Leo & his boyfriend Dean in Newcastle for 5 days. It was lovely to see them both between their work shifts & Amelia, Dean & I even managed a day out at Beamish Open Air Museum while Leo was sleeping off his nightshift(bless). Beamish is a place I highly recommend to anyone & once you’ve paid to get in once you can use your ticket again for a full year after. Check out the website for more info but expect a dedicated post on Beamish as I just love the place.

Once back home I was determined to keep up with my promise to myself of getting out of the house more so I took myself off for a solo day to the pretty little village of Warter in East Yorkshire where I cooed over gorgeous chocolate box cottages & an ancient church with stunning stained glass windows.

The very same day I also stopped in at the Madyahmaka Meditation Centre In Pocklington which is within Kilnwick Percy Hall. I picked up some lovely gemstones in the gift shop & had an hours reflection in the world peace cafe whilst sipping hot roibos tea. It was a truly peaceful & relaxing afternoon there & is a place i love & return to often.

Finally, my daughter Jade asked me to go for an impromptu day out to the historic city of York on Sunday which for us both is only a 40 minute drive away. Since Jade moved to Leeds I have seriously missed our girly time so I jumped at the chance. We had a blast acting like tourists & taking pics at the Minster(see cover photo) & going for afternoon tea at the famous Battys Tea Room. York is great for window shopping with its quaint cobbled alleyways & curiosity shops. Our favourite area of York is The Shambles which has buildings dating back to the 14th Century. It’s definitely another must visit place.


So, now you know what i’ve been up to so far this year. Do you have any places you can recommend to me for a little day out that you love to go to. Let me know by leaving a comment below. Thanks for reading & just remember, “If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining”.  Lots of love. Donna xxx

THE HAPPINESS TOOL KIT - Whats inside the box

Hello & welcome back! Hows your New Year going? In yesterdays post I started to tell you about my “Happiness Tool Kit” & todays post is sharing whats inside the box. These are the tools I will be using throughout 2019 to keep me on track for a happier, healthier & more positive year. 

I am a bit of a notebook tart but the two that I have chosen from my collection to use for 2019 are these lovelies. The grey one was a gift from my friend & has a beautiful hand written message inside. It allows me to make small notes of reflection each day & then highlight the best thing that happened each week too. The pink notebook started out life as a gratitude journal & I will continue to use it for this. I will show you inside these notebooks in a future post. 

I discovered In The Moment magazine in October & have enjoyed the calming & positive nature of the magazine. I received a 13 month subscription as a Christmas gift & am looking forward to each & every issue. Soul & Spirit magazine is a brand new discovery for me & I bought it for the pack of affirmation cards that came with it. Its such an interesting magazine & I can see that I will repurchase this from time to time throughout 2019 as my interest in this area grows. 

Finally In my Happiness Tool Kit is a free calender I received with a copy of In The Moment magazine. It comes with 12 beautiful illustrations & positive quotes. I will hang this by my bedside so that I can be inspired from the moment I wake up. In 2019 I want to get out of the habit of going on social media just before bed so I will instead try to spend 20 minutes colouring in this colour yourself calm adult colouring book which was another freebie from the Soul & Spirit magazine.

So there you have it. The contents of my little box of happiness tools. The contents of this box may grow throughout 2019 in which case I will share my finds with you. I will be writing about other ways in which I intend to stay happy, healthy & calm in future blog posts so why not follow my blog & come back to read more. I love to chat too & would love to know what you do to help you stay happy. Leave me a comment & let me know. Just remember, “HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE WE MAKE”. Lots of love & positive vibes. Donna xxx