The Life and Loves of a Serial Muppet!

Days 21 - 31

2012-01-31T10:53:00.000Z

I've just posted the last blog of the 31 Day Ultimate Blog Challenge, so I thought I would quickly put the rest of the links up here as well.

21. Top 3's for This Week

22. Are you Pinterested?

23. Influential Women on Twitter

24. Promote Your Business Here!

25. 5 Ways to Analyse Twitter with SocialBro

26. Get Organised with this Free Resource

27. Do you want to write an eBook?

28. 'How to' use YouTube

29. 5 Followers NOT to Follow on Twitter!

30. Top Tip: Customise your Sharing Widgets

31. The Challenge is Over - 10 Blogs to Follow

Days 11 - 20

2012-01-29T13:12:00.000Z

I was planning on doing a blog post for each set of 5 blog posts but I have been really busy, so unfortunately I've only just been able to visit my personal blog and post these. I hope some of them are useful for you!

Day 11 - Do you Check your Spam for Ham?

Day 12 - Do You Take Enough Breaks?

Day 13 - Which Hat will you Wear Today?

Day 14 - Did You Miss These?

Day 15 - 10 Virtual Assistant Resources

Day 16 - Are you Mobile User Friendly?

Day 17 - Reading List Overwhelming You? 6 Tips That Will Help!

Day 18 - Establishing a Niche - Do you have one?

Day 19 - Guest Blogging - is it all it's cracked up to be?

Day 20 - Are you Earning Enough?

There are only two more days left of the Ultimate Blog Challenge, I'll post the last 11 blog posts next week once it's over.

La vie en France

2012-01-19T18:17:00.000Z

It's coming up to 3 months since I moved to France, and it's flown by. You would have thought coming to a different country might be a massive change for someone, especially since I do speak the language, but actually, nothing much has changed.

Ok so I look out of my window and see a French abbey, well the spire at least... I go for a bike ride and don't see a single car there or back for 4 miles. I eat my lunch and dinner at set times, and eat a lot more bread - not good for my stomach!

A walk in St Savin

But since leaving work in July, I have been pretty much doing the same each day as I would when I was in the UK. Working... a lot! Oh, I stand corrected, I have an office now I am in France... the apartment is a lot bigger than my Folkestone flat so I have a whole room to work in.

So life in France... it's going ok. Xavier goes off to the farm each day to start on the renovations and to help his uncle with the animals, he comes home every day for lunch smelling of cows, it was sheep yesterday! I work most days, although today because I was feeling under the weather I decided I needed a break so gave myself most of the day off. I did have some CV's to format and a blog post to write... and I can't call this blog post work.

My farmer, Xavier

Last night we went to Chatellerault (an hour away) to have dinner with Xavier's cousin and her 3 year old son. It was a pleasant evening and once Julien had got past his shyness he started speaking to me, a lot! Only problem was it was in French and it was difficult to understand what he was saying. We got by though, and we came home around 10pm and both of us were knackered.

Alfie still hasn't really settled down after his initial welcoming by the neighbourhood cat, he still won't go out the front of the apartment. He sits out the back in the courtyard quite a bit, but he doesn't get to expend all that energy cats have. Occasionally he will sprint around the apartment, but soon comes unstuck and runs into a door or a wall.

A few things I've managed to sort out since getting here is registering as an auto-entrepreneur, you only get taxed on the money you earn. It also means I am now in the health system, slightly different arrangement to the UK, when I went to the doctor's for the first time last week I handed over my debit card following the consultation. You pay the doctor... and today I received an invoice through the post requesting more money for my test results, they are holding them hostage until I pay up!! I can get some of this money back through, so not a problem, I'm not sure how much yet but I think it's around 70%.

Next on the agenda is to go to the dentist and find out whether the work I had planned to go back to Budapest for can be done over here for the same, or less money! I really hope I can get it done here, although I loved Budapest I don't think a 10 day trip for dental work is as appealing as the first time.

I started French lessons this week, I have managed to find someone local who is going to give me an hour and a half per week in return for some of my help as a virtual assistant. We're starting with the basics even though I have picked up loads of French in the last 3 months, I understand a lot, just don't feel confident enough to speak it, so that's my goal, speak more French!

I'm coming back to the UK in February, hopefully with Xavier... managed to book flights for 12 Euro each, bargain! I doubt they'll be that cheap when I have to come back in May and June for my best friends hen weekend and wedding.

Ok so I have rambled on far too much now, I had only planned to write a short catch-up post... à bientôt :)

Blog Challenge (Days 6 - 10)

2012-01-12T14:27:00.002Z

I thought I would keep you up to date with the blog challenge I am part of, here are my posts from days 6 - 10.

Day 6 - Help Family and Friends Understand you ARE Working!

Day 7 - My Top 3 Social Media Apps

Day 8 - Pros and Cons of Time Zones in Business

Day 9 - Professional Services Swap Shop

Day 10 - eBook Offer for my Readers

I hope you find something useful, and if you do then please make a comment. I have just started an email list on my website, you can opt-in when you make a comment, or sign up on the right hand side of the page or directly from my Facebook fan page. You will receive my newsletter, recent articles and blog posts with advice and tips about social media and eBooks.

The Ultimate Blog Challenge - January 2012

2012-01-05T09:13:00.000Z

I started the Ultimate Blog Challenge on Sunday (1st January), it lasts for 31 days and the aim of the game is to blog each day of January. So far so good, I am ahead of the game, and have just posted my Day 5 post this morning.

The great thing about this challenge is that so many people are part of it and we all encourage each other. There is a group on Facebook and we use a hashtag on Twitter (#blogboost). Once you've posted your blog for the day (and shared it on Facebook and Twitter) it's a nice idea to go and search out some other blogs and make some comments.

The traffic to my business blog has increased by 10 times, I was trying to work out the percentage but my maths isn't that hot in the mornings.

So you don't feel left out, I thought I would link to my business blog posts on here as I know I have a few followers that might be interested in the topics, so here they are...

Day 1 - Who do you Follow on Twitter?

Day 2 - A Day in the Life of a Virtual Assistant

Day 3 - Stuck for Blog Ideas?

Day 4 - Spread the Luv on your Blog

Day 5 - Self Publishing your eBook the DIY Way

I'll keep this updated so you can follow me through the challenge... feel free to comment, and if you have a blog you can take advantage of CommentLuv and promote your last post.

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!

2011-12-22T10:55:00.000Z

Merry Christmas...

A quick post as I am supposed to be working! I have just added a couple of links to my blog, you can see them along the top underneath the title. One is for my business website, so if you're interested in reading my business blog or even checking out what I am doing these days, that's where you should go... The other is a link to my late Grandfather's blog... no, he's not blogging from upstairs, but it's a blog containing his letters from when he was a prisoner of war in WWII. It's become quite popular, so I thought I would create a link to it from here as I know some of my followers are interested in this sort of thing.

So, wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from my first year living in France... in the meantime if there are any keen bloggers out there, I have joined a 31 day ultimate blog challenge, maybe you'd like to join to? Why not take a look at my business blog now and read all about it.

Unfortunately I couldn't get Alfie to pose for the picture for this post... maybe next year!

Am I really in France?

2011-12-13T18:48:00.003Z

I've somewhat neglected my personal blog recently, not because I don't have anything to say but because I have been so busy. Since my boyfriend arrived my role has now turned into entrepreneur with some extras of cooking, washing and girlfriend duties. It's been a long time since I lived with someone, so it's been difficult getting back into the swing of things, and even more so because of the language issue. We get by, he speaks good English and I know lots of words in French, not so good at stringing together sentences.

As well as the new 'housewife' role I have been really busy with my work. I've taken on two more clients, albeit only a few hours per month for each but it's been keeping me busy. I have been working a lot on my own website and trying to 'advertise' it as much as possible. There are still things I'd like to do, in fact my to-do list seems to be growing by the day. I am also taking a social media online course, which involves webinars, which is a new thing for me. I really like them and have been looking to see what other webinars I can sign up to, the free ones tend to be good!

I finally managed to sort out my Auto-Entrepreneur registration this week, it's taken 3 times to get it right but hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll receive my SIRET which means I can officially market myself in France and advertise my services other than just online. In case you haven't checked out my website yet, this is the link (and do check out my blog posts!) - Writer's Block Admin Services - would be grateful for any comments or suggestions for it.

In terms of life in France... well I have been so busy with the business that I've not been out a great deal. In fact when I do go out, as my title suggests, I do think to myself, do I really live in France? We tend to go visiting on a Sunday, my boyfriends family and my Mum and her husband... we went for a lovely walk yesterday up at the farm that Xavier is renovating. Alfie has become an indoor cat, after a couple of fights with the local bully he doesn't tend to venture much outside, apart from the courtyard at the back, but even then he doesn't stay out for long. It's a good job my flat is big enough for him to run around if he wants to.

Unfortunately that's all for now... I could write loads more but it's nearly 8pm and I have a French lesson waiting for me in the living room! This picture though, courtesy of my Mum is the abbey, a stone's throw from my front door... this was taken yesterday, 12 December!

Voila!

2011-11-06T21:52:00.000Z

I've been in France 2 weeks now, time has flown by, so much so I said to Mum yesterday I'd been here 3 weeks... it feels like that because I have been so busy doing this and that, going to the bank, sorting out my Internet connection, which I can safely say is all up and running and super speedy!

Alfie on his new window ledge!

Things have been going smoothly pretty much, apart from yesterday when I managed to have too many appliances on in the kitchen and tripped the electrics. Now I am being careful as my French landlord was away and I had to get Xavier to call him to explain what had happened, luckily a couple of French men popped round to rescue me. This time next week I will have my own French man to rescue me!!!

Business is slowly getting back to normal... and I mean working, I had 2 weeks off so I could concentrate on moving and getting settled in but this week I have been working hard to get my website finished and to look for some more work. My website is almost finished, there are a few things I'd like to add to it, but it's now live - www.writersblockadminservices.co.uk - I have a blog running on the website, but this is purely professional, but it does mean I won't be able to post as much on this blog... not that I do anyway, I've been slacking a lot since my redundancy and move to France, far too many things going on.

My new apartment is massive, nearly twice the size of my flat in Folkestone... I have managed to spread my furniture and belongings around though so it doesn't look bare. I'm off to Ikea tomorrow with Mum and Mark to get some bits for the office mainly, a new desk, a new chair and the obligatory candles I always buy when at Ikea. The nearest one is in Tours which is about an hour and a half away, so not any different to being in the UK as my nearest one was Lakeside or Croydon anyway.

Halfway point on my bike ride to Mum's.

I am lacking one thing in France, and that's English TV... I have got French TV with my Internet package from Orange but there are a few TV shows in England I like to keep up to date with. Now I have Internet though I have been happily streaming them on my laptop... not ideal but needs must, thank god for proxies is all I say!

I rode over to Mum's last week, 7km... it took me 40 minutes and I had to walk some of the way, the sun was shining on me the whole time and it was so hot. The weather the last few days though has been wet, so I shouldn't complain too much.

Soooo this time next week my boyfriend will be here for good, I've not seen him for 2 months so we are very excited to be seeing each other again. We have spoken on the phone every day for the last 2 months, and although his English has improved loads, my French hasn't really got off the ground. Hopefully when he's here my French will start to improve and I will be able to manage a conversation with all my French friends etc... Don't be surprised if I am not online much after next week, my new life will be a lot different, I won't be sat on the sofa on Facebook for most of the day anymore. Some of the plans are to do more exercise, build up my business and also help Xavier with his plans... which I can't talk about on here just yet.

The view of the Abbey from the toll bridge!

Hope you like the photo's, I haven't really taken many since I've been here... In fact I haven't been out on my own much around St Savin, but I will do no doubt when I haven't got so much other stuff that needs doing.

Au revoir Folkestone!

2011-10-15T16:54:00.000+01:00

Budapest was great... but enough about that, I am moving to France on 23 October!!!

Yes, that's right... in 1 week! Having decided in May that I wanted to move to France, first plan was to move after Christmas, then second plan was summer 2012 after my best friends wedding, but following my most recent trip in August plans have moved a little faster than light! While I was in Budapest Mum went to view some properties for me, one of which is a 2 bedroom apartment in a town near where she lives. Here are some pictures of the area... a lot better than Folkestone eh?!!

So I have packed up the most important things, my books... which is a slight problem as I finished my most recent book 2 days ago and now I only have business books to read!! Might have to read one I have downloaded on my iPhone until I get to France.

Alfie has had his rabies vaccination and got his passport, so he's all ready... hopefully he won't do a runner before moving day, that could be a problem.

I have still been working the last few weeks since coming back from Budapest, but now have 2 weeks off... next week for packing and the following week for unpacking... plus I won't have an Internet connection for a while, I might have to go over Mum's to work. I will be making use of my bike and my netbook until I get 20Mb broadband in my apartment.

I am speaking with my boyfriend Xavier every day still and can't wait for him to arrive at my apartment a few weeks after me, it's been a long 6 weeks without seeing him.

What a busy few weeks for me though, and this coming week is even busier... I have already met up with some friends to say goodbye, have some more people to see. My Folkestone leaving drinks are next Friday, will be good to see all my friends then but also sad. Hopefully some of my friends will make the trip over and visit me from time to time... hint hint!!

Ok so off to do some more packing, think I'll start on Alfie's things...

Watch out Budapest!

2011-09-17T16:28:00.000+01:00

I leave for Budapest on Monday morning, it's an early flight so I decided to book a hotel for tomorrow night... I managed to nab a £10 room with Travelodge, I only need a bed and a shower so very happy with the price!

It's been a mad hectic week and today is the first time I have actually sat down and relaxed a little. Monday and Thursday I went back to work at the Uni... what a stupid idea that was. I came home on Thursday evening feeling like utter crap. So I've given them notice already, I have agreed to work a further 4 days and then that's it... I need to get on with my life, going back there really was a backward step and to be honest for very little money.

Tuesday I went up to the British Red Cross in London for my induction as a volunteer, it was only a couple of hours but I had spent the morning stressing over the boiler, the plumber was here for 3 hours and it's still not working right. When he left I literally had 20 minutes to shower, dress and get a cab to the train station for my train. The afternoon was good though and I learnt about keywords and link building. Hopefully I'll be helping out very soon and go up there again for some more training.

Wednesday I met Vanessa at a wedding dress shop, she was being measured for her dress and she wanted me to try on some bridesmaid dresses. As I am banned from saying anything about the wedding I can't post any pictures, but we did find a nice dress for me to wear. Afterwards we had a nice lunch in Cafe Rouge in Canterbury and a wander round the shops looking for dresses, but there wasn't anything that would be good for a short arse like me and her other bridesmaid who is taller.

Yesterday I had a lovely lunch and catch up with Sally in Zen Kafe, one of my favourite places... although I must admit the food wasn't up to their usual standards, still nice though.

Oh and while I was having this manic week I was also receiving CV's left, right and centre to format... I even had to say no to a few which is a shame, but I still managed 20 this week.

So today the weather is crap and I have quite a bit of washing to get dry so I can pack tomorrow. I have had to put the heating on, and to be honest what with the boiler issues it's not doing a great job. I might have to iron dry a few things at this rate.

I'm surprisingly calm about going to Budapest, I have organised my taxi to the airport on Monday... the clinic have organised to pick me up at the other end, and the hotel provide a taxi to the clinic, so really everything should be pretty straight forward. I am looking forward to sight seeing in Budapest, I just hope I don't get lost or something.

My new man has been calling me 2 or 3 times a day since I returned from France, we have managed to understand a lot more than we hoped so that's really good. Lots of plans to make for my move to France, Mum has even been to look at some places already, although neither have been ideal yet. I am aiming to move over at the end of November, or beginning of December... so when I am back from Budapest the real plans can start.

My Heart is in France!

2011-09-09T20:07:00.000+01:00

I left it there... I no longer need it in the UK.

I got back from France late on Monday evening and as soon as I stepped off the plane I realised that I didn't want to be here any more. So in a matter of months I will have upped sticks and moved to France for good.

I had a great 2 weeks on holiday, I spent a lot of time with two French guys, Xavier and Valentin. They took me out most evenings, fireworks one night, picnic by the river another night, a meal in Chauvigny and various bars for drinks. It really was the best time I have spent in France since Mum moved there. It's really nice to have friends there, and although the language posed a few problems it didn't mean we had less fun. One of the first evenings I was trying to explain that I was a lady of leisure... well literally translated on Google it turns out I'd told them I was a prostitute!! Hahaha...

So I've been back in Folkestone for nearly a week and I've been working hard on my business, which now has a name and a logo (on the right). I've ordered some business cards and I attended my first networking event which was really good. When I come back from Budapest towards the end of September I plan to start looking for clients.

But... a lot of my energy will be used on plans to move to France. I want to be there before Christmas, I have to be there before Christmas as I am house sitting for Mum and Mark for 4 days while they go off to Paris. Plus there is someone special I need to get back to and spend time with............

While on holiday in France the University got in touch and asked whether I would go back to help, 7 hours a week. Well I decided that I didn't want to be an employee of them any more, so I am going back as an hourly paid person. I don't plan on staying for long, maybe until the end of October... it will pay the bills at least.

Sooo... I think I've covered the main points happening in my life at the moment, poor Alfie is off for a rabies jab in a couple of weeks, hopefully it won't take him the whole 21 days to recover which is when he gets his passport.

In the Pink

2011-08-20T18:17:00.000+01:00

What I should have done when I left work on 29 July was to have a stress-free few weeks off, whereas that's not really how it's turned out. For some reason I have been more busy than I ever was when I was at work. Friends have wanted to see me, I've had things to do before I go to France on Monday... oh and I ended up bidding on PeoplePerHour for work, and got some!

So with 2 days until I fly off to France for 2 weeks I now have a cold and not feeling much like housework. Unfortunately to save myself money on cattery fees I have house sitters looking after my flat and Alfie for 2 weeks, so I need to make sure it's all tidy and clean. It's nearly there... just need to finish off the last minute things tomorrow, like cleaning the bathroom and hoovering.

I was meant to be going out tonight with two school friends, but one of them has had to work and as I'm not feeling great it means I get a Saturday night in chilling in front of the TV. Although it seems X Factor is back on tonight, so I will be avoiding that and may watch a film... I have about 30 hours worth on my V+ box, so it might be wise to watch some and make some room for anything I'm recording while I'm in France.

I had my nails done today, only the second time in my life that I've had a manicure... oh and a pedicure! I've gone for Shellac, which is meant to stay put with no chips for 14 days... so we will see! The colour I went for is called hot chillis and although nice, I would have preferred something a little darker. After my pampering I went for some more retail therapy, bought myself my first ever Birkenstocks... they are pink as well. Plus some nice new underwear, can never have too much underwear.

Anyway, I expect this will be the last post on here for a while... not only am I on holiday for 2 weeks, I also need to finish my studying, write an essay, read up on starting a business, learning how to be a shit hot copywriter, continue formatting CV's for the company I am working for online and relax... so no time to blog! Although I will have my nice new netbook with me, so maybe I'll find some time.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2011-08-18T19:37:00.000+01:00

I got this book to review from Waterstone's, this was the cover on the edition I had but I've noticed the one being advertised is a black cover with a picture of the circus on it.... still good, but I really liked this cover.

When I emailed Waterstone's for the chance of an advance copy I wasn't taken much by the description but thought I would give it a go. I was quite surprised to receive it a couple of weeks ago as I'd only recently had another book from them to review (never did get into that one!).

After reading the back, and the review on the front of the book by Audrey Niffenegger, the author of The Time Traveller's Wife (The Night Circus made me happy. Playful and intensely imaginative, Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for and she has populated it with dueling love-struck magicians, precocious kittens, hyper-elegant displays of beauty and complicated clocks. This is a marvelous book.) I couldn't wait to get started. So I did... and today I finished it and must say it's one of my favourites this year.

Here is the Amazon synopsis:

In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire.

Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs – the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter’s daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer’s apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love...

A fabulous, fin-de-siècle feast for the senses and a life-affirming love story, The Night Circus is a captivating novel that will make the real world seem fantastical and a fantasy world real.

The story is different from anything I've read before, some have likened it to Harry Potter which I guess it is, but it certainly has more of an adult theme. The writing style is easy to follow and draws you into the story, so much so you actually feel like you're there, in the circus. The characters were well thought out and getting to know them was a pleasure.

There's already a film being made, the makers of Twilight have bought the rights, so I will be looking forward to that.

More information about the book can be found at Erin Morgenstern's website.

Operation eBook Drop

2011-08-07T18:06:00.001+01:00

This is a great idea, by publishing my Grandfather's book through Smashwords I came across this blog that explains what Operation eBook Drop is all about. The logo to the left is from the Imagination and Graphic Artistry of K.A. M'Lady & P.M. Dittman.

I immediately signed up wanting the servicemen and women overseas to read Sojourn in Silesia for free, it is nice to be able to give something back to those who are fighting for us and I am sure my Grandfather would have approved.

I received my first email this afternoon with about 100 email addresses. I typed up an email straight away giving them all the information they need to be able to download the book for free on Smashwords, so I am hoping that many of them will do, although possibly the subject matter might be a bit too close to home.

There is also a Facebook fan page which you can 'like' here.

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

2011-08-06T19:02:00.003+01:00

The first book review I've done on my blog for some time, apart from my Grandad's book of course.

Amazon Description

There’s never been a better time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven’t been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain…

Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should you get Botox? Do men secretly hate us? What should you call your vagina? Why does your bra hurt? And why does everyone ask you when you’re going to have a baby?

Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin Moran answers these questions and more in How To Be A Woman – following her from her terrible 13th birthday (‘I am 13 stone, have no friends, and boys throw gravel at me when they see me’) through adolescence, the workplace, strip-clubs, love, fat, abortion, TopShop, motherhood and beyond.

I bought this book on Amazon some weeks ago as it looked like something I would enjoy, having always wanted to know the answers to some of these questions myself. The first part of the book was quite entertaining, reading it on the bus meant I had to try and keep my lol's to a minimum otherwise people would have thought I was a bit strange. Towards the second half of the book it becomes somewhat more serious, and I didn't have the same inclinations to laugh out loud. In particular her chapter about why we should have kids made me a little queasy! I've already booked in for a caesarean, I hate needles, I hate pain... but what she went through with her first child has done a pretty good job of putting me off kids for life. Which is probably a good thing, I can't handle the cat waking me up at 4am...

As I came to the end of the book, through the abortion chapter I had kind of lost interest... funny was replaced with serious and even though she continued with the jokes, I wasn't laughing any more.

Overall a good read, but I would suggest reading it quite quickly as then you won't get too bogged down with the serious stuff at the end.

A Full Circle in 4 Years

2011-08-03T21:29:00.001+01:00

I planned to blog on my first official day of unemployment, but I was too busy enjoying it. So I'm doing it now, as there isn't anything on the TV and I'm waiting for a phone call.

My leaving cards...

It's been officially 3 days since I became an unemployment statistic... and earlier today I actually had trouble remembering what day it was and what I had done before lunchtime today. It seems I am already losing track of my days, this can't really be a good thing.

During my last working day last Friday I received over 20 good luck or sorry you're leaving cards, I also spoke to colleagues from across campus and some of my students bought in presents. I received flowers, chocolates, Soap & Glory toiletries, wine, bookmarks and my main present from staff and students was £90 of Beaverbrooks vouchers. I was pretty overwhelmed all day, what with all the people wanting to know what I was planning next and the stress of trying to leave my work in the best state as possible.

Maureen, Me and Yvonne

My leaving meal (I was one of seven leavers) was at Deeson's in Canterbury. There was 20 of us in total, and it was pretty noisy. The meal was fantastic, I had pigeon and black pudding for starter, lamb three ways for main and chocolate tart for dessert. As far as I know everyone enjoyed their choices, and quite reasonably priced also. It got quite emotional towards the end of the evening, so I didn't hang around longer than necessary, I don't do tears in public that often, and I managed to hide them pretty well.

My psychotherapists, Terence, Suzanne,
Me, Maureen and Nick

So...... over the weekend I spent some time with my best friend Vanessa, she's getting married next year and I am chief bridesmaid, so we did a lot of wedding talk which was nice. We had a nice takeaway Saturday night and then on Sunday we had a BBQ in the lovely weather. I burnt stupidly, not on the BBQ I might add, but the sun was pretty hot.

Alfie's been unwell the last week or so, and I had to part with about £100 over the weekend for vets bills and special food... not happy, but he seems to be a lot happier now so that's the main thing. Monday I still had the hire car which I picked up on Friday so I went for an unusual food shop to Sainsbury's (usually I do it online). I took the car back in the afternoon and spent some time peering in Beaverbrooks window to see if there was anything I fancied spending my £90 on. No... not really... maybe a watch?!!

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a study day, although I didn't get much done and I fell asleep in the afternoon for over an hour... must have needed it, I guess Alfie's 4am morning calls have taken their toll. Today I picked up a bike from my friends Steve and Sylvia, they have new ones so it was going to go on Freecycle... but considering mine got stolen last year they thought they would offer it to me, which was great! So today I have been out for a lovely bike ride with Claudi, I did just over 7 miles in total which is a good start to my exercise regime. We rode along the seafront and even had a paddle, although didn't like walking on pebbles... how the hell did I do that as a kid and not fall over in pain?

Ok this is getting a bit long now... so just to say, tomorrow I am off to the Jobcentre, then lunch with Claudi and Sally and then an Open University tutorial in the evening! Friday I will be having a well deserved rest...

While thinking of a title for my post today I realised that I started this blog just after being made redundant the last time, some 4 years ago. How strange that I am now in the same position, well actually, a much better position this time round.

Life Begins at 34!!

2011-07-26T21:36:00.000+01:00

I have 3 days left at work, or I should say, I have 3 days left as an employee because I am planning on starting up my own business and becoming self employed.

At 34 years of age I've been working for nearly 20 years in a number of different industries, manufacturing, local council, recruitment, transport, non profit organisations and over the last 7 years education. Apart from a stint as cabin crew on the Seacats from Dover to Calais I am an 'admin' person, I sit at a desk staring at a computer all day... no wonder my eye sight has deteriorated!

With 3 days left and the excitement about money hitting my bank account in a couple of weeks after accepting voluntary redundancy I am now thinking about what I'd like to do for the rest of my life. No doubt the job centre will pressure me into looking for a job, but I don't want to be an employee any more, I want to be my own boss.

Coming up with a business idea isn't as easy as you might think. Not being naturally creative I have over the weeks been thinking and thinking about my interests, what I would like to do and come up with a handful of ideas... although not really anything exciting. The benefit I have is time, so over the next couple of months as well as having lunches with my friends each week I have a bit more time to come up with a great idea.

Once I have my idea and run with it, the long term aim is to move to France... and at the moment I'm looking at summer 2012 being the time of year I'll make that move!

Well, a few more days and at 34 years old I can get on with my life as a free woman...

Smashwords

2011-07-24T21:08:00.001+01:00

While searching online a couple of weeks ago I came across a website called Smashwords. This is what they say on their About page: Smashwords is an ebook publishing and distribution platform for ebook authors, publishers and readers. We offer multi-format, DRM-free ebooks, ready for immediate sampling and purchase, and readable on any e-reading device.

So following all my hard work getting my Grandfather's book published again following his death, I thought I would give this website a go. They distribute ebooks to some big names such as Apple, Barnes & Noble and Amazon Kindle, among others.

It's taken me a few hours this afternoon to reformat the book so that it has the best chance of getting into the premium catalogue but it's available online immediately. There is currently a great offer for the book, 50% off until 31st July using the code SSW50 at checkout. The link to Sojourn in Silesia is here.

Among the great tools to publish your book/s there are loads of books you can buy or even download for free on this site. It's well worth a look... I have already added a few to my library, very handy if I want to read something on my iPhone as I can choose the format I download the books in.

I might even start recommending some of the books here on my blog... and my first will be Zombie Nights by Tom Lichtenberg.

The Smokehouse Review

2011-07-21T21:27:00.000+01:00

So following my birthday trip to Rocksalt, I decided to give The Smokehouse a go last Saturday. It was the Folkestone Harbour Festival and I was meeting my friends there, so I suggested we went to The Smokehouse for lunch.

The interior was smaller than I expected, it's quite a big building so the inside certainly wasn't tardis like! Decor was nice though, my friend said it reminded her of Wagamama's, but not sure I saw the similarity. I guess it's aimed at takeaway, but there were quite a few people sitting down to eat as the weather was awful outside.

The menu was pretty standard with a few surprises, mackerel being one of them. I have never seen mackerel in a fish and chip shop before, although if anyone saw Hugh's Fish Fight on Channel 4 a few months ago you'll know they were trying to push it. Along with the mackerel there were also battered scallops, although at £1.30 each I opted for the breaded mackerel and chips.

The food came in a cardboard box, plenty of mackerel and loads of chips... For this it cost £7.50, but definitely well worth it. The chips were really nice, in fact probably too nice, I certainly ate more chips than I normally would. I later found out that the chips are cooked in beef dripping! The mackerel was nicely presented and there was loads of meat on the fillet.

The only downside was it was difficult to eat out of the cardboard box with a wooden knife and fork. My friend and her partner both had cod and chips, and as far as I know they really enjoyed that too.

I will definitely be going back, it's a shame for Chummy's who are virtually next door, but I am sure there are enough customers to go round.

On a side note, while having lunch we discussed the reason why Mark Sargeant hadn't got both websites up and running to complement his new ventures. I for one love to go onto restaurant websites to look at menus etc... I think he's missing a trick, it's all about online presence these days, I would say if these aren't sorted out soon he won't be getting the likes of the Londoner's coming down to the seaside for a taste of casual fine dining he's offering.

Rocksalt Review

2011-07-16T21:25:00.000+01:00

For my birthday this year I decided to go to the new restaurant in Folkestone, owned by Mark Sargeant, called Rocksalt. It sits on Folkestone harbour, and on a nice day has a wonderful view... In fact the evening me and nine of my friends had a meal there the weather was perfect, blue skies and nice warm temperatures. We arrived a little early so met in the bar upstairs, it was pretty busy, but then it was a Saturday night. I ordered a Pimms and lemonade, it wasn't the speediest of service but the drink was carefully made, although it did seem to contain a whole mint plant. After all my friends had arrived, and ordered their drinks we made our way downstairs for our meal.

Due to some mix-ups over the bookings we were given two complimentary bottles of Prosecco when we first arrived, I did have to remind them but there were no complaints. The menu was great, as it's mainly a fish restaurant I suppose I should have chosen fish, but when the waiter came over with the meat board it was a given that I'd have to choose steak. In fact out of the ten of us, seven had steak, two had fish and one had vegetarian. I did opt for the dressed crab for starter though which was really nice. The sirloin steak I had as a main course came with chips cooked in duck fat and some of us shared some vegetables, brocolli and courgettes in coriander. The dessert choice was more difficult, there was plenty to choose from but I went with gypsy tart as I had not had this for years.

I think overall everyone was happy with their meal, I certainly didn't hear any complaints. The service was ok but at times seemed a little chaotic, but I think that was due to the restaurant only having opened a month earlier so they were still finding their feet.

The bill came to a massive £416, but between ten of us it only worked out about £40 a head which wasn't too bad considering that included the drinks.

I've added a few photos of the evening... I plan on reviewing Mark Sargeant's other Folkestone venture The Smokehouse soon, having just visited their today, so keep an eye out for that.

My First Henna Tattoo

2011-07-16T20:50:00.000+01:00

After getting seriously wet at the Folkestone Harbour Festival this afternoon I went back to my friends Claudi and James, and had my very first henna tattoo's. Claudi tends to do face and body painting, but recently attended a course in henna tattoo and needed someone to practice on. I've never had one before so I was looking forward to seeing how it turned out. This is the first one...

It turned out really well, so as Claudi wanted to practice some more she did another one on the other hand.

I will definitely be getting some more, they're really great and Claudi is very artistic... this is her website and she's also on Facebook.

The suggestion was to leave the henna on until bedtime, but most of it's fallen off from having to get in and out of wet clothes, and trying to cook the dinner... so I scraped the rest off about half an hour ago, so I'm now left with the orange henna tattoo's. They still look good, the one on the palm of my hand is darker than the other one... I'll be interested to see how long they last.

Sojourn in Silesia Now Available Worldwide

2011-07-15T22:02:00.001+01:00

Sojourn in Silesia can now be purchased via Amazon Marketplace and eBay, both provide international delivery. So anyone outside of Europe can now get the 4th edition of the book.

You can visit the website at Lamsdorf Remembered, the Facebook pages at LamsdorfRemembered and SojourninSilesia and also on Twitter - @LamsdorfRem and @SojournSilesia

Sojourn in Silesia - Published!

2011-07-08T22:14:00.003+01:00

Arthur Charles Evans CBE

Since my Grandfather, Arthur Charles Evans CBE, died in March I have been working really hard to get his book, Sojourn in Silesia back in print. After the printers had some issues with their server, and finding a company online (Completely Novel) who would print the book cheaper on a print-on-demand basis I decided to publish the book myself.

It's taken 4 months to type the book, format it, scan in the original pictures and get it proofread but the finished article has turned out really well. Not only have we managed to publish this fourth edition in paperback, but I have also worked really hard to get it in the Amazon Kindle store. It's taken some time, but it's there and downloadable, on the UK, American and German Amazon websites.

Cover of Sojourn in Silesia

As well as getting the book published I have been working hard on marketing it, mainly on Facebook and Twitter. I've also managed to get a great review from Author James Long who wrote the fabulous book Ferney. I read this book some years ago and it's in my top 10, so to be able to sell Sojourn in Silesia to James earlier this year was a great honor, and when I told my Grandfather he was really pleased too. This review can be found here.

So the next stage of this project now the book has been published is to get the website organised and the old Lamsdorf Reunited section into the same format as the rest of the site. On top of that I plan to contact various organisations who I hope would like to stock the book, places such as the Imperial War Museum, who although cannot take it at the moment, I am not giving up!!

Google+ in under 24 hours...

2011-07-07T21:27:00.000+01:00

Well, Google gets a mention on my blog 3 times in 24 hours... but I had to post to let you know I am now part of the new Google+!!! I received an invite from someone on Twitter who read my blog post last night, what a result... but now I am all lonely, as none of my friends have arrived yet. I have high hopes for this, it's like a clean slate, will I or won't I dump Facebook in the coming weeks?

Yay for Google... again!

2011-07-07T09:19:00.000+01:00

So just yesterday evening I asked when Gmail would be updating it's design, and look what I have come across this morning... Gmail's new look!

I haven't had a chance to read this yet, but I am so pleased that Google have taken on board my concerns.