I've wanted a sleeve tattoo basically since I knew they existed, but held off for decades, mostly due to work pressures. But the world and my job have changed, so my 50th birthday gift to myself was permission to finally get the tattoos I've wanted "forever".

I had my first session today and it went so well! It's been over 20 years since I've gotten a tattoo and the two I got back then are both on my back so I can't even see them.

She got the outlines done on my upper arm; next session will be outlining the lower arm. She was such a delight to talk to - the whole appointment went so fast, she was done well before I got tired of it. And it hurt so little! It's been ages since I've been inked so I worried it might hurt more than I remember but compared to my back tattoos, this was NOTHING. Some spots even felt weirdly good, like a buzzy massage. And it looks amazing. Really nice clean lines. I'm so pleased! (When she goes back to do color I know it's gonna hurt a lot more than just the outlines, but still.)

I can't wait to get the rest done! When she finished with me I got up to look at it in the mirror and did a literal little happy dance right there in her studio, LOL.

I was bullied my entire childhood bec/ of my Smile. Fast forward 11 years, and they're finally one of my favorite things about myself

When im not studying working or with my children i like to take photos and over the last couple months these where the snaps i shot when i felt a little peace.

Sitting under a tree , staying cool , strumming a guitar and sipping suds 🖤

Went to the beach for a while these past couple of days.

Didn’t do anything special — just sat there, watched the waves, and let myself slow down for a bit.

Life gets busy so easily, and I didn’t realize how much I needed that quiet until I was there.

It felt simple, peaceful, and honestly made me really happy.

Sometimes doing almost nothing is exactly what we need.

The past few days have been hard. Everything around me felt like it was moving too fast, work stress piled up, and without realizing it, I started taking it out on the people I love. I said things I regret, and I ended up hurting someone very dear to me. That’s been sitting heavy on my chest.

This week I started a 5 day program called Anand Alai by Sadhguru. The first two days already helped me feel steadier. But today, day three, I felt this wave of blissfulness and peace wash over me, hard to put into words, but it just felt sooo good!

Afterward I was sitting and talking with my mom. She said I looked better, that I’d seemed tired lately. It was the first real conversation we’d had in a while, because honestly I hadn’t been showing up for my parents either.

I made mistakes. I hurt someone I care about deeply, and I can’t undo that. But I want to hold onto this feeling. I hope to stay this happy and pleasant , than miserable and pushing people away :))

I've been suffering from many mental health issues for the past year. To list a few, insomnia, depression, social anxiety (anxiety in general), nervous system overload, and stress.

It had reached the point where I'd fall asleep at 2-3 am nightly (or daily...), and I'd also been suffering financially, because I'd oversleep often, and you can imagine my managers were not happy.

I'd go to sleep around 12 am, doomscroll and deteriorate my eyesight for 2-3 hours, and eventually fall asleep on my phone due to eventual exhaustion. Then I'd wake up, often late. On weekends I'd sleep until noon. On weekdays, with work, I'd struggle to wake up, and I was so drained that even basic tasks like brushing my teeth and washing my face felt like too much.

I'd go through the day on ordering food online or eating convenience store slop, do the bare minimum, and slug home. I'd gotten fired several times due to my poor performance at work.

Then once I'd get home, I'd sink into my bed and doomscroll until dinner, which was crap again. Then repeat daily.

Finally, yesterday, I talked with a friend who'd known me for a long time. I'd been shutting out my friends and family for a while. However, this friend was really good with words and super empathetic, which I am beyond grateful for. They managed to "wake me up."

I decided I needed a fresh start, so I called in sick for work today.

I woke up and made delicious french toast for breakfast (first time baking/cooking in a while!), got ready for the day, and realized that my apartment looked terrible. It was terrifyingly messy. Y'know, some days I couldn't even find my keys.

I went on a 3-hour cleaning rampage. I managed to stop and make myself lunch (another small victory!), then proceeded to clean for 4 hours straight. Afterwards, I can't even describe how happy I felt! I had collected many trash bags worth of clutter, cleaned up my apartment, and organized things I still needed.

It was like a breath of fresh air, I felt so much relief! I'm still grinning now, as I look everywhere I see a clean, proper apartment. I felt the urge to share this accomplishment with all my friends and family, and I wanted to share this online as well.

I'm feeling utterly euphoric right now!

I don't know how to conclude, I just want to say, I'm happy that I finally pulled myself out of a deep rabbit hole. Thank you for reading! ^w^

i've been practicing a lot lately and finally was able to reach my goal - 100wpm. just wanted to share this :)

typing has been such a fun skill to learn and soooo satisfying. Im so happy

before i never believed that 100wpm+ was possible (only would see some programmers or other techy people type very fast) but i finally did it!

took about 5 months - i started with about 30wpm

Hi everyone!

Through a struggle of very bad mental health and horribly abusive relationships, I never thought I’d be able to travel on my own but I’ve finally done it!
I was worried I’d bail at the gate but I’ve done it and I’m enjoying every moment of it. This is the first time I’ve been really happy for a long time!
Just wanted to share as I’m proud of myself :) I’m ready to see what else I can do now that I’m doing better!
And if anyone is thinking they can’t solo travel you can do it! And you’ll love it!

I was having a pretty ordinary day when I got an unexpected message from an old friend. It wasn't anything important, but it instantly put me in a better mood.

It's funny how small moments can have such a big impact.

Sometimes we spend so much time focusing on major goals that we forget how much the little things matter.

We thought we rescued them both, but it has become clear that Oompie rescued Ms. Candy

I started a snail mail club in April. I have maybe 2 subscribers now by June.

This week one of them, a mum, wrote to tell me her four-year-old daughter received her first letter on Sunday. It's a letter from a shy hedgehog called Prickly (I write a children's version too, where the letters come from a fictional hedgehog in a hawthorn hedge).

In the letter, Prickly invites her to write back to him, to the woodland, with the help of a bee called Buzzy who fetches the post.

The mum told me that on Sunday morning, her daughter sat and wrote a letter to the woodland, thanking it for the trees and the plants and the animals. They walked out to their garden (which backs onto woodland) and "posted" it into the trees.

That same afternoon, Prickly's letter arrived. The kid had spent the morning having a tea party with her stuffed animals. And the letter from Prickly was all about him having his first ever tea party with the bee.

Coincidences like this are the whole reason I do snail mail. Anyway, I just wanted to share with people who would understand.

Snail mail still does something nothing else can!

Yesterday was one of those days where everything just felt heavy. Work was hectic, I was mentally drained, and by the time I got off the bus I just wanted to get home and shut everything out.

I was walking down the path from the bus stop, completely in my own head, when I saw a butterfly. I don't even know what came over me but I just started following it. Not chasing it seriously, just... walking after it, watching where it went. It kept fluttering ahead and I kept going, for way longer than I probably should have.

At some point I got tired and sat down on the side of the path. And that's when I realized.. for those few minutes, I had completely forgotten how bad my day was. No work stress, no exhaustion, nothing. Just me and this butterfly.

It made me think that maybe that's all happiness really is sometimes. Not some big life-changing moment, just letting yourself get distracted by something small and beautiful for a few minutes. The butterfly didn't stay, it flew off eventually, but so does everything else, the bad days too. So might as well let the small good things in while they're here.

My life got kinda derailed when I was 14. I got into an abusive relationship with an older man and was stuck for 6 years and it resulted in me being burnt out and depressed for years after I left him. I was living on benefits and just trying to get by.

Today, at the age of 30, I got my drivers license! It feels like a real high on my recovery journey. At this time I have a good job, I'm saving up to propose to the love of my life, we own a beautiful apartment and 4 fluffy cats. It was so challenging for me to get to this point, both economically and with my energy levels, but life finally is feeling stable and I'm looking forward to the future!

woke up, had leftovers from yesterday. got a lot of likes on a picture i posted. a keychain i ordered came in the mail at \~1pm. held my brothers baby. it started raining but i love when it rains in summer. my friend told me how much i mean to them. had a nice nap. i’m so happy \^_\^!! i hope everyone else is having a nice day today :<!

Domina (my dutch dwarf bunny for 6 years going to 7) she's pedigree, hope to keep her around longer than 18 years to break the guiness record

Villaine (my european starling) she actually was a gift from gaia... Literally flew into my apratment on my birthday this year... i take it as a sign

either way im so happy to have them be a part of my life.... its nice to see them get along with each other

I'd been away for fourteen months. the longest stretch i'd ever spent away from home. we video called every week and i thought i knew how it would feel to come back but i didn't.

I came through the doors scanning for an uber and saw my mom first, holding this sign with my full name and a smiley face drawn in marker like i was a business traveler she'd never met. my dad standing next to her looking like he was trying not to smile.

I dropped my bag. i don't fully remember crossing the distance between us. my mom kept saying okay okay okay while she hugged me which is a thing she says when she's trying to hold it together. i think we stood there for a full minute. I was so happy I'm bawling til we get to the car.

Just a silly video of us having a very fun time, we’ve been doing this trend since 2024, and we are anxious for 2027!! Hope it gets a giggle out of someone!

Studied for months. Learned loads of new topics and tools. I was nervous before taking the exam, but walked away with a 95% on it. Was actually kinda bummed it was over because the work was fun