Ok, now I'm ready to write - fuelled with a bacon sarnie, cup of tea and an orange juice to get me going this morning plus I have finally found a way to login to my blogger account to write this weeks post . . . I've been unable to logout of my business blog account all week so was worried I wouldn't be able to communicate with my lovely readers. The solution however is using my Macbook for my personal account and the iMac for the business one, so long term this is not ideal! However, waiting for blogger to come up with a resolution is something I don't have the time to wait for. What a silly problem! As much as I'd prefer to use blogger I am now exploring other good blog sites to use for clients, because you can imagine the problem I am going to have if I'm writing 20 blogs for 20 different people / companies!!
Anyway, that's my little technology moan for the week - rant over!
Not a whole lot to report this week I'm afraid . . .
Last weekend I worked Saturday, had my sister to stay, baked another one of my, now-famous, Victoria Sponge's and spent a lot of time looking for a holiday cottage for myself, James and our dog for the beginning of July. After quite possibly looking through every single holiday home in Suffolk we have finally found somewhere that meets our requirements (dog friendly, enclosed garden, wifi - shouldn't be that hard but I think we got a bit fussy in the midst of it all). It's weird to think that our trip to Morocco this year was probably the only one abroad we're going to have for the whole year, unless we decide to take the little one away within the first four months of her being born of course (not even sure that's possible?). This does mean that my goal of visiting at least three different countries every year will not be fulfilled for the first time, however if I average out the amount of countries that I have been to and divide them over the years it's been since setting the goal I've smashed it! Hark at me, justifying why I probably won't meet this goal when in actual fact having a baby is probably a pretty good excuse! My problem is I'm hard on myself about this kind of thing and not only do I hate failing but I hate excuses! Chill woman!! On the flip-side we are very excited about the trips we plan to take as a little family from next year onwards. It will certainly add a new dimension to our travels and mean that our adventures will no doubt be all the morestressful satisfying!! ;-)
This week has been mainly about Vision Odyssey, as I've been working on the contracts, surveys for new prospective clients, the website (yep still not quite there!), the Social media accounts for the business and getting them promoted, writing blog posts (so there is plenty to read once the website is launched), reviewing CV's and many job applications, talking to prospective new clients and ensuring my business phone-line is all present and correct. Also, whilst talking about Vision Odyssey, I have to mention how pleased I am that my current Social Media Campaign Manager has in his first month already achieved his bonus by doing a fabulous job and achieving well over the target amount of new followers on Twitter - you know who you are, so a huge congratulations! As well as this good news story things are generally going well so far, despite a few issues with owed money from a client who has subsequently disappeared off of the face of the earth (there's always one isn't there!), so aside from that I am really excited about how things are going to progress over the next couple of months. Sometimes, I forget that I'm due to give birth in 13 weeks! Luckily James is keen as mustard to be a house husband if things really take off! Although thankfully, I think I've almost got everything in place, so that however much business comes our way we're ready to handle it and most importantly I'll be able to have plenty of time with James and our new addition, which after all is why I'm working like a trojan to get this all sorted.
Now you are probably wondering why the title of this blog is about needles?? Don't worry, I haven't developed a particularly badly timed addiction to heroine! It's just because when I was young I had a huge fear of needles and I'm pleased to say that I'm finally moving on from it! I'll take you back to a story from when we first moved up to Norfolk . . . along with Karl and Mum we were registering at our new Doctors and whilst sitting in the waiting room Mum said 'By the way we're not really here to register, it's so that you can have the BCG (TB) injection that you missed in Harpenden!' - with that I became a quivering wreck and burst into tears, only to discover that this was Mum and Karl's idea of a practical joke. Thanks guys, scarred for life! Actually, vaccinations haven't worried me for sometime now, as with our travels we've had so many over the years that I suppose it's become second nature and believe it or not I did end up having that dreaded BCG when I was at Sixth Form College, despite being so hopeful I would get away with it when my skin test flared up!
The bigger fear I've always had with regards to needles though is blood tests . . . now I can almost hear all you Mums out there laughing smugly to yourselves, as you will know how many you have to have when you are pregnant for various things. My anxiety for blood tests began about 8 years ago when this hungover Nurse came to our house to take my blood (for a life insurance policy application of all things!) and despite about ten attempts in both arms couldn't manage to get any blood from my apparently tiny veins - this painful memory had left me terrified at the thought of having to have blood tests again. However I have had quite a few since I found out I was pregnant and due to the history of Diabetes in both sides of my family, yesterday I had to have some glucose testing carried out, which involved blood tests every hour for three hours and get this . . . for some reason I decided when having the first one that I would step a little further out of my comfort zone and actually watch the Nurse insert the needle and take my blood and believe it or not it was surprisingly ok - I didn't faint, want to be sick or cry - most definitely my biggest achievement of the week! ;-)
There's not been much socialising yet this week so to make up for it I've got a night out in Norwich tonight for a couple of my friends birthdays and then hopefully tomorrow I'll get to see my old school / college friends for a quick catch up too.
Now onto . . .
KAORI'S MOTIVATIONAL WEEKLY CHALLENGE:
A huge thanks to those of you that made an effort to get involved over the last week:
Kelly Mason made some new friends when taking her Daughter swimming, who live near to where she's hoping to move to soon. She also mentioned how she uses positive thinking in her day to day life, after reading the book 'Excuse Me Your Life is Waiting' recommended by my Brother Karl (I've also read this book and suggest you all give it a read if you haven't already).
Jacqui Adams got chatting to a lady who runs an art gallery near to where she lives to get an insight into how it all started and now she's on first name terms she's even thinking of taking some of her photos in (knowing Jacqui's work I have encouraged her to do so!). She also got chatting to a couple of elderly guys when on a bike ride as she stopped to take a photo of a Church.
James Muir took some time to reflect about positive things after reading my blog and has gone on to write his own blog for his Business Ditavi - you can read it here Ditavi Enriching Life
Debbie Warren made an effort to smile all day, despite some testing work situations.
Tracy Morris remember some funny memories, which is one of the things that makes her happy.
Amy Cornish-Nicholson is happy because of her awesome family, the smiles she is greeted with by her two year old son and the thought of what her little girl (also due in August) will be and look like. She makes the most of every day with her family and will continue to make them proud.
Pauline Adams is happy thanks to her large loving family and just speaking to or thinking of one of them cheers up her day. Apparently my blogs also put a smile on her face (thanks x)
Jess Webb focused on some inspirational moments of her life, some of which weren't even that long ago. Like... sharing a bit of music with someone you know will appreciate it, laughing lots, seeing new sights, trying new food, driving to work on a sunny day with ridiculously loud music on (and most likely singing along badly too).
For me by the way . . . I am happy to be alive, to get up each morning, that I have a chance to make my life what I want it to be by being brave enough to take chances when I need to, to have an amazing husband that I love so much, to be lucky enough to be expecting a baby, to have a massive amount of friends dotted around the country and world, to have a close family that I can always count on and to be able to make life an adventure and explore as many countries and cultures as possible. Also what makes me really happy is the thought of inspiring other people and making them smile so let's hope I did that for you today!
Now I know more of you read my last two weeks blogs than those mentioned above, so despite your fear of getting involved and sharing your experiences with us I hope you all at least reflected on what makes you happy...
'Do something for charity' - This is something that we should all do; whether it's donate money, donate time to do some voluntary work or raise some sponsor money by getting involved in an event of some kind. My challenge to you this week, should you choose to accept, is that by next Friday (3rd June) you commit to doing something for charity within the next six months and let us know what it is.
To finish I would like to offer a tribute to my friend Debbie who passed away on this day 11 years ago. If you knew Debbie, you will know what an amazing person she was and will no doubt have heaps of memories of her. If you didn't know her you may have read about her from my previous blogs, so you will have an understanding of how special she was to me and her other friends and family . . .
'Debs, eleven years on and I still think of you every day - you were taken from this world too soon but I'm sure you are making Heaven an even more bubbly and special place. Look forward to seeing you again someday my friend. I love you with all my heart x'
Anyway, that's my little technology moan for the week - rant over!
Not a whole lot to report this week I'm afraid . . .
Last weekend I worked Saturday, had my sister to stay, baked another one of my, now-famous, Victoria Sponge's and spent a lot of time looking for a holiday cottage for myself, James and our dog for the beginning of July. After quite possibly looking through every single holiday home in Suffolk we have finally found somewhere that meets our requirements (dog friendly, enclosed garden, wifi - shouldn't be that hard but I think we got a bit fussy in the midst of it all). It's weird to think that our trip to Morocco this year was probably the only one abroad we're going to have for the whole year, unless we decide to take the little one away within the first four months of her being born of course (not even sure that's possible?). This does mean that my goal of visiting at least three different countries every year will not be fulfilled for the first time, however if I average out the amount of countries that I have been to and divide them over the years it's been since setting the goal I've smashed it! Hark at me, justifying why I probably won't meet this goal when in actual fact having a baby is probably a pretty good excuse! My problem is I'm hard on myself about this kind of thing and not only do I hate failing but I hate excuses! Chill woman!! On the flip-side we are very excited about the trips we plan to take as a little family from next year onwards. It will certainly add a new dimension to our travels and mean that our adventures will no doubt be all the more
This week has been mainly about Vision Odyssey, as I've been working on the contracts, surveys for new prospective clients, the website (yep still not quite there!), the Social media accounts for the business and getting them promoted, writing blog posts (so there is plenty to read once the website is launched), reviewing CV's and many job applications, talking to prospective new clients and ensuring my business phone-line is all present and correct. Also, whilst talking about Vision Odyssey, I have to mention how pleased I am that my current Social Media Campaign Manager has in his first month already achieved his bonus by doing a fabulous job and achieving well over the target amount of new followers on Twitter - you know who you are, so a huge congratulations! As well as this good news story things are generally going well so far, despite a few issues with owed money from a client who has subsequently disappeared off of the face of the earth (there's always one isn't there!), so aside from that I am really excited about how things are going to progress over the next couple of months. Sometimes, I forget that I'm due to give birth in 13 weeks! Luckily James is keen as mustard to be a house husband if things really take off! Although thankfully, I think I've almost got everything in place, so that however much business comes our way we're ready to handle it and most importantly I'll be able to have plenty of time with James and our new addition, which after all is why I'm working like a trojan to get this all sorted.
Now you are probably wondering why the title of this blog is about needles?? Don't worry, I haven't developed a particularly badly timed addiction to heroine! It's just because when I was young I had a huge fear of needles and I'm pleased to say that I'm finally moving on from it! I'll take you back to a story from when we first moved up to Norfolk . . . along with Karl and Mum we were registering at our new Doctors and whilst sitting in the waiting room Mum said 'By the way we're not really here to register, it's so that you can have the BCG (TB) injection that you missed in Harpenden!' - with that I became a quivering wreck and burst into tears, only to discover that this was Mum and Karl's idea of a practical joke. Thanks guys, scarred for life! Actually, vaccinations haven't worried me for sometime now, as with our travels we've had so many over the years that I suppose it's become second nature and believe it or not I did end up having that dreaded BCG when I was at Sixth Form College, despite being so hopeful I would get away with it when my skin test flared up!
The bigger fear I've always had with regards to needles though is blood tests . . . now I can almost hear all you Mums out there laughing smugly to yourselves, as you will know how many you have to have when you are pregnant for various things. My anxiety for blood tests began about 8 years ago when this hungover Nurse came to our house to take my blood (for a life insurance policy application of all things!) and despite about ten attempts in both arms couldn't manage to get any blood from my apparently tiny veins - this painful memory had left me terrified at the thought of having to have blood tests again. However I have had quite a few since I found out I was pregnant and due to the history of Diabetes in both sides of my family, yesterday I had to have some glucose testing carried out, which involved blood tests every hour for three hours and get this . . . for some reason I decided when having the first one that I would step a little further out of my comfort zone and actually watch the Nurse insert the needle and take my blood and believe it or not it was surprisingly ok - I didn't faint, want to be sick or cry - most definitely my biggest achievement of the week! ;-)
There's not been much socialising yet this week so to make up for it I've got a night out in Norwich tonight for a couple of my friends birthdays and then hopefully tomorrow I'll get to see my old school / college friends for a quick catch up too.
Now onto . . .
KAORI'S MOTIVATIONAL WEEKLY CHALLENGE:
A huge thanks to those of you that made an effort to get involved over the last week:
Kelly Mason made some new friends when taking her Daughter swimming, who live near to where she's hoping to move to soon. She also mentioned how she uses positive thinking in her day to day life, after reading the book 'Excuse Me Your Life is Waiting' recommended by my Brother Karl (I've also read this book and suggest you all give it a read if you haven't already).
Jacqui Adams got chatting to a lady who runs an art gallery near to where she lives to get an insight into how it all started and now she's on first name terms she's even thinking of taking some of her photos in (knowing Jacqui's work I have encouraged her to do so!). She also got chatting to a couple of elderly guys when on a bike ride as she stopped to take a photo of a Church.
James Muir took some time to reflect about positive things after reading my blog and has gone on to write his own blog for his Business Ditavi - you can read it here Ditavi Enriching Life
Debbie Warren made an effort to smile all day, despite some testing work situations.
Tracy Morris remember some funny memories, which is one of the things that makes her happy.
Amy Cornish-Nicholson is happy because of her awesome family, the smiles she is greeted with by her two year old son and the thought of what her little girl (also due in August) will be and look like. She makes the most of every day with her family and will continue to make them proud.
Pauline Adams is happy thanks to her large loving family and just speaking to or thinking of one of them cheers up her day. Apparently my blogs also put a smile on her face (thanks x)
Jess Webb focused on some inspirational moments of her life, some of which weren't even that long ago. Like... sharing a bit of music with someone you know will appreciate it, laughing lots, seeing new sights, trying new food, driving to work on a sunny day with ridiculously loud music on (and most likely singing along badly too).
For me by the way . . . I am happy to be alive, to get up each morning, that I have a chance to make my life what I want it to be by being brave enough to take chances when I need to, to have an amazing husband that I love so much, to be lucky enough to be expecting a baby, to have a massive amount of friends dotted around the country and world, to have a close family that I can always count on and to be able to make life an adventure and explore as many countries and cultures as possible. Also what makes me really happy is the thought of inspiring other people and making them smile so let's hope I did that for you today!
Now I know more of you read my last two weeks blogs than those mentioned above, so despite your fear of getting involved and sharing your experiences with us I hope you all at least reflected on what makes you happy...
Now, onto this weeks challenge . .
'Do something for charity' - This is something that we should all do; whether it's donate money, donate time to do some voluntary work or raise some sponsor money by getting involved in an event of some kind. My challenge to you this week, should you choose to accept, is that by next Friday (3rd June) you commit to doing something for charity within the next six months and let us know what it is.
If you would like an idea of what to do then I can recommend a sponsored event for Cancer Research called WaterWalk that is taking place on the 18th September in Suffolk. This is being organised by my Brother, his partner James and a lady called Dee, so despite the fact I may have only just given birth I will be there! You can opt to walk or run 3 or 5 miles (It's safe to say me and the little one will just be walking!) and you can do this as an individual or a team. If you register by the 31st May it only costs £4 per person and it's a great day to get all of your family and friends involved in. If you don't live in Suffolk, what a fabulous excuse for a weekend away! I'd love to see lots of familiar faces there so also a great opportunity for a big get together! Also, if you would rather help the WaterWalk team on the day then I'm sure they would be grateful for some extra hands, so perhaps drop them a line at info@waterwalk.co.uk. You can also follow the event on Facebook for up to date news on what they're up to etc.
To finish I would like to offer a tribute to my friend Debbie who passed away on this day 11 years ago. If you knew Debbie, you will know what an amazing person she was and will no doubt have heaps of memories of her. If you didn't know her you may have read about her from my previous blogs, so you will have an understanding of how special she was to me and her other friends and family . . .
'Debs, eleven years on and I still think of you every day - you were taken from this world too soon but I'm sure you are making Heaven an even more bubbly and special place. Look forward to seeing you again someday my friend. I love you with all my heart x'
Another brilliant read... Thank you hugely for the mention of WaterWalk, it is a fantastic family event and we are looking forward to you and tiny person taking part.
ReplyDeleteUntil next time take care
xxx
Kaori
ReplyDeleteI have never met anyone so positive, you put me to shame. I shall buy the book you recommend and see if a bit of it rubs off on me.
Love your blogs and will take part in your challenge.
Love to you all Deb x x x