Category Archives: Listography

Listography – Top 5 Websites

This week’s listography is to look at my Top 5 commonly used websites. Now I am going to consider use of mobile apps for websites as if I was using the websites if that is OK because I access them much more frequently.

Now Kate has suggested the ones in your Google Homepage etc so I’m going to ignore Google itself (but I use that lots too usually as a toolbar rather than the website though). I’m also going to ignore my work websites for the purposes of this because that is far too depressing. So here goes – the 5 websites I actively and commonly use are (very me centred – sorry):

1. Twitter

As you can see from my post count I like to tweet a lot and I manage a number of accounts but this is my main one. I would probably spend a lot longer on here if I didn’t have to go to work.

I tweet lots with my circle of friends which is a great way to keep in touch when we can’t see each each face to face. I also tweet with occupational therapists and writers as well as lots of other interesting folk. I try to participate in the Occupational Therapy/Occupational Science specific tweetchats every Tuesday (alternating between #OTalk and #occhat), tweet from conferences, retweet random fun things, use twitter to link people to my blogs, etc.

2. Facebook

I use this just as much as Twitter (Twitter squeezed in at number one because of the hour chats whereas Facebook can be checked quicker – I usually just flick endlessly between the two).

I moved over to Timeline voluntarily a while ago before we are all forced to and I have to say I quite like it although there are some features I probably won’t use. There are lots of OT related groups (the 4OT ‘Suite’) that I participate in as well as catching up with lots of people from all walks of my life including those I only ‘know’ online.

I do try and ensure my privacy settings are set to just friends but I do have a page for me a writer for when I become all published and famous!!

3. Tumblr dashboard

This year I have taken on the challenge of taking a photo a day and writing a small stone (mindful reflection) and decided to set up a Tumblr blog to a) try another platform and b) not annoy regular followers here that might not want 2 daily posts from me. I’ve found a few random Tumblr blogs I now follow and reblog some of their things – mainly Harry Potter related.

4. IMDB (The Internet Movie Database)

I use this on almost a daily basis I think. I’m a huge TV and film fan and use it to find out the name of films, titles of episodes of TV series I watch, etc. etc. Here is the homepage for the film I am most looking forward to this year after reading the books over Christmas. I also found out a useful tip from a mummy friend that I will be using when I have kids – a parent’s guide that warns you about things like Santa’s secret being revealed or in the case of The Hunger Games that a boy and girl sleep in a sleeping bag together (and that there are lots of violent deaths!!).

5. kirstyes.co.uk – WordPress dashboard

This is what is behind the scenes here – here is a screenshot of this very post being written in fact. I’m not actually on here as much as sometimes I’d like – I often have spates of blogging frequently (usually when I have time to schedule posts) but try to participate in #SilentSunday – a weekly picture with no writing, these Listographies (when I can cope with just 5 options and have the time), and I’m going to be posting during April for the A-Z challenge. I also have a couple of private wordpress blogs that I plan to use for professional and PhD related reflection.

Looking forward to checking out other people’s top 5 and maybe finding some new websites to ~~waste my time on~~, I mean explore. I’m afraid that there probably isn’t anything new for you here.

Posted in Listography

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Top 5 Photos of 2011 – Listography

Dec 31

Posted by kirstyes

Well I’ve seen an abundance of ‘My Review of 2011 posts’ but my memory is soooo terrible I can barely remember what I’ve done this year so Kate Takes 5’s Listography to list your top 5 photos of 2011 seems like a much better way to recall my year.

1. Like my friend Jay I have to pick a picture from our friend Stacey’s Wicked themed Hen Do in London. Jay has picked a great one of the group of us (complete with random lady) which you can see here. As the Bridesmaid I felt a certain amount of pressure to get the day right and I believe everyone had a fantastic day on our tour round London, Ice-cream at Harrods, Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester and trip to see Wicked. It was great to see my Musical Theatre loving friend collecting autographs from, and pictures with the cast at the end of the night. The rest of us snuck in on this picture with Elphaba herself, Rachel Tucker (thanks Rachel for being a) mind-blowingly amazing as Elphaba and b) so lovely to your fans outside).

2. Then of course there was the Wedding, complete with me making a tit of myself; blubbing whilst attempting to read the poem I’d written Stacey and her hubby, gorgeous dresses of green, a sweetie stand, button bouquets, cupcakes, karaoke. All in all a great day that would have scored very highly on Four Weddings. Here’s a photo of 6 schoolfriends that I believe have been bought even closer through the use of Social Media this year.

3. I’m going to cheat a tiny bit for this one and add two pictures, but forgive me as it was a mega special occasion. It was my Nainy and Taidy’s (welsh for Gran and Grandad) 60th (Yes 6-0) Wedding Anniversary. As well as arranging the telegram from the Queen that you can see here from one of my earlier Silent Sunday pictures, we travelled up to help them celebrate. The picture on the cake is them on their wedding day and then a picture of all of their family that we are putting on canvas for them to keep.

4. I’ve spent the last couple months of the year being creative, in November during NaNoWriMo I managed to add another 10,000 words to the 50,000 words of my novel that I started in last year’s challenge. A Facebook challenge at the start of the year was to give a handmade gift to the first 5 people to comment on your statement. I made a promise of the draft (no matter what state it was in). So it is in the hands of others as we speak and I’ve had two really helpful sets of constructive critique so far. I did debate making bookmarks to go with them but because I provided the draft in Kindle format this wouldn’t really be that helpful so instead I made a set of slightly unique paintings for each person that is representative of the book. Here is the version I made for myself in a mock up front cover.

5. Finally, I re-taught myself to knit using You Tube and, in my recent Bucket List I noted that I wanted to finish the scarf I was working on and then make one that I could actually wear in public. Well my mother suggested not to waste wool by continuing knitting a long scarf that wouldn’t be worn so I stopped at a mini scarf which I folded in half and tonight I’ve stitched together as a gift for my long serving cuddly Sultan. Here he is wearing it at my parents as we wait to see in the New Year (off to cross off half of a Bucket List item – I’ve already started the new one).

So creativity and weddings were the order of 2011, what will 2012 have in store? Hopefully more of the same.

If Kate repeats this challenge in 2012 I’m going to find it much harder to narrow it down to 5 pictures considering I’m hoping to take one every day of the year (see here).

Happy 2012 everyone, I hope it is a peaceful one for us all.

Kirsty

Posted in #am writing (and all things writing related), Bucket List, Listography, Social Media

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Listography – Top 5 Things That Make Christmas Christmas

Dec 28

Posted by kirstyes

Now I think my laminated list may have been the first listography that I took part in but I’m hoping to take part in more from now on (I may try and back track and do some of the old ones at some point).

For more details about Kate Takes 5 Listography please visit her website here.

This list is about what makes Christmas, Christmas.

1. Cadbury’s Chocolate advent calendars

Yum – countdown by chocolate (and guaranteed daily chocolate – even I don’t eat more than the one window a day). Mum did a blinder with her pick this year – not only did the calendar have a picture and message behind each door but the chocolates got bigger the closer you got to Christmas culminating in this beauty of a cracker (obv the earlier snowman and cracker are not in scale!) and a snowman with a punched face!

2. Christmas Decorations (including the Tree)

Getting them out of the box, putting them up as soon as December hits and leaving them there until Jan 6th. I had to do them all by myself this year. Will be sad to buy new coloured (yes, coloured) lights next year as I’ve been using ones that my parents bought in Woolworths years and years ago – but they are breaking and hurt when you take them out of the box (I’m going to take a leaf out of my crafty friend Catherine’s book though and recycle bits of them to make Christmas cards next year (a post on making cards is to come but for really good examples check out Catherine’s advent of Christmas cards). My parents have this weird Peacock thing that you know it’s Christmas when you see (my sister hates Peacocks and even she wants to see it).

The tree, Candy Canes and Paper Snowflakes (new this year but I can see them becoming a tradition)

3. Family

This should really be number one but hopefully for lots of us our family is there the whole year round. For me this was the second year that my sister wasn’t with us for the whole day (having to do the spend time with us and the boyfriend’s family too) so I think family will become even more important. Now I’m not sure what affect me getting a fella will have on my Christmas but I think it will be a little odd. And then when you have kids Christmas will become about them and I can’t wait to sprinkle some Santa magic around. And boxing day really wouldn’t be right without by mum Sherryl’s Sherry trifle, especially when her hand slips ;o)

See how the trifle and not the family took the picture focus ;o)

4.The Christmas Radio Times and Christmas TV/Films

This is currently the only time of year that I buy the Radio Times and I sit there with a marker pen circling all of the programmes I plan to watch. Our family Christmas does involve some relaxing sitting down and watching Christmas TV and even if they are not scheduled watching certain Christmas films – for us the main one is Muppet’s Christmas Carol but also Santa Claus: The Movie and now Elf (Sssssaaaaaannnnnnta).

5. Presents

Now these really shouldn’t be here should they but they are. Christmas just isn’t the same without new PJs, pants, slippers socks and buying things for other people. My Nainy also started a tradition that I think my sister and I will take forward to our own families of table presents (just one more when you are eating Christmas Dinner).

Here’s one of my new pairs of socks. And we bought my parents tickets to this as one present.