Thursday 31 October 2013

Follow Your Dreams

Happy Halloween!

vision board

helpteach board
One of the things I decided to do when I took the decision to work from myself was to learn new things. Thanks to the 'Creative Courage' workshop I have learnt how to work on graphics using a computer, while there is work to be done I am excited at the prospect of learning something new!

Halloween

It is a special night to many and a commercial rip off to others. Love it or hate it Halloween is here.
I love pumpkin lanterns and was particularly impressed when I went to visit The Armish in Pennsylvania as they have the most beautiful autumn displays outside their houses.
There are lots of good and many bad films inspired by Halloween too! I think we like to be spooked and many people love the excuse to bake nice things, have parties and dress up.
One year I dressed as the Medusa with loads of snake plaits in my hair. I scared the living daylights out of the kids when they turned up at the house trick or treating!




Wednesday 30 October 2013

cake!

I don't know if it is something to do with the economic climate but everyone seems to have become obsessed with eating/making cake!
Graham and I love going to Greenwich market where they make the most delicious vegan cakes that ar all glittery and swirly and we always end up buying a box of 4 to share.
many of my friends secretly wish they could give up their current job and run a tea rooms making their own delicious cakes and then the is the Great British Bake-off that so may people watched.
Which sort of cake is your favourite?
I just remembered I have some carrot cake in the fridge so I off to eat some now!!!!

Tuesday 29 October 2013

The lull after the storm....

It is almost completely silent as I sit here with my lovely pal Ollie T Wally and type this.
I can't hear children or dogs or wind or anything really apart from my keyboard being tapped by my fingers.
The storm was wild and quite exhilarating really and now the silence is relaxing and peaceful. It gives me the chance to gather my thoughts and plan out my day.
As I glimpse out of the curtains I can see the sun shining through.
I think today is going to be a good day.


Monday 28 October 2013

weather

It is amazing how the weather affects us all. I secretly like the fact that one aspect of nature can still impact so greatly on us humans. I am not saying I am happy to hear about people with damage to their houses and power cuts etc but I love the fact that we still have to hope for a sunny day etc. and that there are no guarantees for what the weather will be like any particular day.
The UK weather is particularly unpredictable and that is part of its charm!

I love aspects of every type of weather.
When camping in the New Forest one summer the rain was pouring down and Graham, Ollie and I were sheltering in the van thinking when will the rain ever stop?' when we glanced out of the window we noticed a group of deer gathering around the van.
As the rain keeps people away the wildlife gets bolder and you are lucky enough to witness magical sights!
A sunrise or sunset over the hills is one of the most beautiful images I can think of.
Sun and rain producing a rainbow as you are stuck in a traffic jam brings you a little hope, crisp snow making everything look like a winter wonderland, howling gales with trees thrashing about scattering leaves,
eerie mist rising over the cliffs....all beautiful and all uncontrollable.

Sunday 27 October 2013

Gratitude

Now that I have time and space in my life to think I realise I have so much to be grateful for.
This weekend I am spending time with my Dad and Step Mum and that is really nice.
I am seeing my kids later next month and they are both happy and settled in their new lives and in February Clarrie and I are off to see the Lion King! Now this isn't something I would do left to myself but my daughter loves musicals and Christmas and things that inspire and glitter and I can't help getting caught up in her enthusiasm and then that leads me to thinking how incredible artists, musicians and performers are. They work so hard and offer us things that cheer and resonate with us and above all else I admire the fact that they have the courage to follow their dreams.
There is something incredibly reassuring to me when I see people working through tough times, climbing over barriers to follow what they know deep inside them is their true path.
Life is a gift we are given and for however long we are given this gift it is up to us to make the very most of it!
As I sit in my little house I realise how far I have come on my own personal journey and I am starting to see clearly what I want to achieve in life.
As I look out of the window the sun is still shining down and that is something to smile about!


Saturday 26 October 2013

Today I realised

Today I realised we spend our lives searching for things and really what we need surrounds us all the time!
I love my little house although sometimes the responsibility of paying the bills etc scares me. I adore my caravan it is a place where I can sit quiet, think and be myself.
I have a wonderful family and great friends and today is the weekend!
I took the dog for a walk this morning and the grass was very green, the sun very shiny and the dog very bouncy. It was all pretty glorious and pretty simple really.
Ain't life grand?

Friday 25 October 2013

In praise of George.

George the cat is basically very cool. He hasn't been dealt the best hand (or paw) in life starting off with needing to be re-homed and then moving in with me where Ollie the Wally tries his best to terrorise him on a daily basis. Luckily we have a system in the house and with the help of a very tall stair gate both critters have their own domains and largely are kept apart but despite all the hassle in his life George is basically a lovely chap.
He has a very loud purr and loves his tummy tickled- you would never believe under that chilled out fluffy exterior lurks the heart of a killer! George has successfully dragged a rabbit into the house through the cat flap, taken it upstairs and devoured it under my daughter's bed!!!!!!!!!
George loves Clarrie like no other and is soon to be re-united with her as he will be going to live in The West Country with her soon. I think life for him will become more relaxed at that point but in the mean time I just want to record how much I admire that boy, he is incredible!

Thursday 24 October 2013

in praise of Ollie The wally

Now I know he can't read and he certainly isn't aware of my blog but this entry is dedicated to my rascal of a Jack-Russell x whippet.
 Ever since I brought home the little bundle of naughtiness has made my life all the richer.

The excitement that exudes from him when I get home, all the bouncing and licking and then the hysterical joy at being taken out for extra walkies because I now get home from work early- is a real pleasure to watch.
He has two favourite fields- One is a 'sniff and pee' field where he does noting but pee up the hedges and sniff the handiwork of others and then there's the race around like a maniac field where he basically pretends to be a mini greyhound.
Where would I be without the wally- he is my pal!


Wednesday 23 October 2013

Lovely times

I went out last night with other distributors from Utility Warehouse. The company bought is all pizza at Pizza Express to thank us for our efforts. I actually had Bosco Salad which was absolutely lovely and I met a woman called Maria. I have a feeling we will be manning some stalls together as we were definitely on the same wavelength.
Today I did another days supply teaching taking groups of young people over to nearby allotments looking for bugs. Today offered all the fun of teaching with very little of the stress and pressure full time teaching produces in my opinion.
I got home early to an ecstatic welcome from Ollie.
What more can I ask for.
I work the hours I choose, mix with very interesting and supportive people and have time to be a bit more creative than I have had time to be for a while now.
Another plus it is nearly the end of term and I am not tired!!!
:)




Monday 21 October 2013

Today is looking good!

I am off to see Graham today. This will involve a drive to Essex and I am taking Ollie TW with me for the ride as he absolutely loves being in the car. Graham is going to become a Gold Customer with Utility Warehouse Discount Club and he is likely to save a lot of money by doing this.
I signed up last month and have not looked back.
When I get back to Canterbury I will go into the town centre with my Professional Will Planning stall. This is the last week I will be going to the town centre on a Monday. I booked 4 sessions on a trial basis. They have gone really well so I will definitely book up again in the spring but I figured that people are unlikely to want to stand and talk to me about writing their wills in the freezing cold rain.
I have found a number of possible indoor venues to market both my businesses and I will be trying to book them later this afternoon.
I really enjoy planning out how I am going to approach my businesses and I love spending more time at home.
Ollie TW is also delighted about this as he gets more 'walkies' and gets to spend more time curled up next to me!
This evening I am off to see my friend Jon. I haven't seen him for ages. It will be very good to catch up!



Sunday 20 October 2013

A New Life!

It all began a few months ago. In fact it was probably years ago when I first started to realise that while I enjoyed many aspects of my career at any one time, I was increasingly frustrated at working for other people.
I have worked in many roles. I have worked with adults with challenging behaviour and learning difficulties, children with or without learning difficulties, I have worked for a charity, a private independent company, The Local Authority, you name it really. It has taken me a long time to decide what I want to be 'when I grow up!'

 I have learnt a lot along the way from these different roles and have met many fascinating, unique people but there in the back of my mind was the increasing realisation that I really wanted to work for myself and that is what I have decided to do now.

A few months ago I was driving along in my trusty old car and the idea that I wanted to run my own business drifted into my head.
This idea simply would not go away and so I decided to explore it further.
Initially I thought I would like to run my own bar so when I got home I started to hunt about on The Internet for local bars for sale to see if I could afford to do this.

To cut a long story short I did seriously consider running a bar and even managed to get some friends interested in joining me in the venture. I identified a local bar and met with the owners to discuss how feasible the idea was. I enrolled at the college to receive the necessary licensee training and even bought a caravan on a cliff-top location close to the chosen venue. I figured it would be a good idea to have somewhere close by to go to when I finished all those late shifts. I decided that I was going to follow my dream and nothing was going to stop me.
I do believe if you want something enough and you are prepared to work at it you will eventually achieve what you set out to achieve but sometimes things don't quite turn out the way you initially planned.
Unfortunately the bar idea did not work out but the idea that I was going to work for myself was firmly lodged in my head and I decided that I couldn't look back.

I resigned from my full time teaching job and spent time researching other self-employed opportunities.
In the end I found two fantastic companies and decided to invest my time, effort and energies in them.

The first business I became involved in was Estate Planning.I was able to buy into an Estate Planning Franchise and received excellent training from the company, Professional Will Planning.
They have taught me what I need to know in order to set up as a consultant.
I visit people in their homes anywhere in Kent and take down all the information needed in order for their will to be drawn up.
I really enjoy marketing the business by visiting outdoor and indoor events such as Boot Fairs where I explain the importance of writing a will to potential clients. I also get a lot of job satisfaction from visiting clients in their homes and helping them to record their wishes.

The second business that I have become involved in is The Utility Warehouse Discount Club.
The training and support I have received as been incredible and I really believe the service offers its members significant discounts on their utility bills together with an opportunity to make money themselves.

I have absolutely no regrets about taking the decision to work for myself.
I still enjoy working with children and am doing quite a lot of supply teaching while my businesses become established. Supply Teaching allows you to experience the enjoyment of teaching children without all the stress and long hours involved in a full time teaching career.

My main goal is actually quite simple. I need to earn enough money to pay my bills including the ground rent on my beautiful caravan at the same time as being left with enough time and energy to enjoy my life.
I am inspired by people who have had the courage to follow their dreams and also by the creative thinkers who have invented new things and had the strength to continue when people doubted them they had the presence of mind to think for themselves and work on their own projects without being swayed by doubters.
I am trying to take a leaf out of their book and while it is early days I am finding that I can earn enough to survive and that I am filled with enthusiasm and energy which had been dwindling before I set out on this exciting new path!


                                            'I am going to spread my wings and fly!'