This is the start of an online diary of a mad wife/mum/grandma/author/website administrator/Gemini….
When I was a teen I kept a daily diary. Marriage, kids and a career sucked up time and it became an indulgence I could no longer afford. I’m in the mood for nostalgia at the moment, I think it’s because I’m conscious that I don’t always take the time to stop and ‘smell the roses’ as I focus on my ever-growing ‘to do’ list. So now I have decided I’m going to celebrate each week as it passes by recording my highs and lows in ‘Lovin’ Life’.
Part of the reason too, is that life whizzes past at a rate of knots in this day and age where time, and time zones, mean a 24/7-level of communication. With online friends from all around the world there is always someone messaging, no matter what time of the day or night it is. So I wake up to a burgeoning inbox (well, actually I have three) before the day even begins! I think it’s about time I put things into perspective and realise just how much IS achieved each week!
… and what a week!
It has been one of extremes. Bad news included a nephew having a heart attack, although (thank God) he now seems to be doing well and has been brought out of an induced coma. A sharp reminder that we should all try our best to live each day to the full. Another friend has a tough problem, although all I can do to help is to be a listening ear.
I began writing guests posts for a forthcoming Blog Tour for The Restaurant @ The Mill, one of the two novels I have published by the amazing Sapphire Star Publishing.
One interview threw out some really interesting questions and I really enjoyed answering them – can’t wait to see it go live on the Dan O’Brien project on 27 April, 2013.
You meet such great people when guesting and Dan is an amazing guy with lots of energy.
My debut novel, Touched By The Light was in the top 100 again on Amazon.co.uk in Humorous Fiction! Thank you to the lovely person who DM’d me on Twitter to let me know! I’m still a newbie author and something like this is a big thrill and a huge boost. So mega thanks to everyone who purchased a copy this week.
It was a week that saw me making palm trees with some strange- coloured coconuts out of toilet rolls and card, cutting out ladybirds from a birthday card and making a pretend bush. Spending time with a two-and-a-half year-old certainly puts things into perspective. Not least that he has a ‘car wash’ set up to wash his elephant. That found us on YouTube looking at clips of elephants being washed and was why we were creating our ‘jungle’ foliage. Fun, fun, fun!
I drafted my next interior design article for online magazine Loveahappyending Lifestyle. It saw me on the floor demonstrating whilst husband Lawrence took pics! Having had a good reaction to my article on storage solutions, my next article, on 2 June 2013, is a project that can be completed in a day. It’s all about using mirrors to create a feature that will add light and works especially well in a small room, or one that doesn’t have a lot of natural light.
A large part of my week is dedicated to the running of Loveahappyending, which includes liaising with our members and developing the website, plus two sister websites. I’m constantly learning new skills and my next big learning curve is about to begin. I began working on the cover for Lifestyle’s first downloadable emag (May/June) and began by bouncing ideas off my lovely friend, and fellow author, Janice Horton. It was also a week spent designing logos. As our daily readership has double since the original Loveahappyending format changed on 17 February 2013, it’s a testament to how hard everyone involved is working. The posts are fun, informative and great to catch up with at coffee time!
Wearing my feature editor’s hat for the magazine I interviewed Donna Trinder for ‘People with a Passion’ – that article will be out on 26 April 2013. She is one amazing lady, having been diagnosed with MS some six years ago and as a busy mum of two, she still finds time to blog, read books and write. It’s a truly inspiring interview. Donna also blogs for the MS Society. I love this post by Donna on her own blog Letter to my 16 year-old self!
I spent a couple of hours looking in antique shops for some shabby chic stools for my brother’s new house. He loves the ones I have in my own kitchen. He’s renovating an old cottage and it’s almost time to start designing that interior! We will be looking at material swatches for the sofas tomorrow and my quest for those elusive stools will continue next week. I did discover some wonderful oak framed mirrors and a few other small items of furniture that made me go ‘oooh…’. I might have to revisit one of the shops again next week – I try not to buy on impulse if I see something that isn’t on my shopping list. But I also can’t pass up a bargain that I know will look fabulous in the right setting.
Well, week 1 has certainly taught me something. In my head I thought I’d had a disappointing week, as I didn’t achieve everything that I set out to do. Putting this together has made me realise it wasn’t a bad week’s work after all!
Do you keep a diary? What do you do to take time out and sit back to consider what you’ve achieved? One thing I can say is that I’m looking forward to seeing what pops up in next week’s post! Have a great weekend everyone.
