Happiness is.....

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....sneaking into Zeb's room and watching him sleep,

....rubbing my nose through Keisha's freshly washed mane of fur,

....the smell of freshly mown lawn,

....a coffee made by Husband on a Sunday afternoon,

....waking up early on a Saturday morning only to remember it is my turn to sleep in,

....starting to declutter our house, getting ready to pack for our big move North,

....making plans for a new blog, designs, titles and ongoing content (stay tuned!),

....learning the tools of the trade from some inspirational bloggers

....scouring websites and reviews to try to decide what computer is best to suit our needs

....knowing that my inspiring friend's beautiful little boy could arrive any day now,

....spending balmy evenings in the company of old, best friends,

....celebrating 6 years of marriage with a fancypants meal and instead of having a dessert, going back for a second entree (and then I may have also had dessert.......),

....planning a day of shopping and a pedicure All. By. Myself,

....getting excited that there is only 63 sleeps til Christmas,

....filling up my diary with summer, Christmassy catch ups with good friends

....spending as much time with our families as we know when we make our move, visits will be few and far between,

....planning our next getaway - tropical, skiing or shopping?

....watching re-runs of 'How I Met Your Mother' scattered in between episodes of 'Thomas the Tank'

....knowing that whatever we do, wherever we end up, we are on this journey together.

Happiness is right here. Right now.

Linking up today with the awesome Jess from Diary of a SAHM for I Blog on Tuesdays. Head on over and check out some awesome posts.

 

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Blogging My Way

Lhargan La Pass, Tibet

I am a pretty hit and miss blogger at the moment, and you may have noticed I have only been posting on the occasional Tuesday. I do want to do this better though, I do want to engage with my readers and build a community here, I just feel so overwhelmed with the scope and potential of blogging sometime, so I end up not posting anything.

I have mentioned before that we were looking at a potential move (for those playing along, Darryl won out) and this is now happening in early next year. I am getting so excited about this as not only is it an amazing career opportunity for TBone, it is also an opportunity for me to be a stay at home mum. This is something I have always wanted, and simply can not wait to spend more time nurturing and enjoying my little man. 

I am really hoping this will also afford me the opportunity for more blogging and I have big plans. I am going to look at a whole new web design, name change and directional change which will launch in January next year. I want to pin down my 'niche' (apparently everyone has to have a niche - and efficient use of emoticons is not one :( ) I am hoping I will also be able to be more consistent as a blogger and blog regularly and hopefully improve the quality.

One of the ways I am hoping to improve content and ideas in this space, is I have just started a course run by the fabulous Holly Becker from decor8 called Blogging Your Way. The course focuses giving you tools to improve the whole blogging experience and from what I have seen so far, I think I will learn a lot. I am also really hoping to improve my photography skills. We will be moving to one of the most beautiful, desolate, magical places in the world and would be a wasted opportunity if I don't document it visually also. 

So, for the next few weeks, there may be some posts that seem a bit more introspective than usual, but they are most likely part of my 'homework' for the course. If you have a blog, or are thinking about starting a blog, I definitely recommend heading to check out Holly's blog, (it is so pretty!!!) and also check out her workshops.

Happy Weekend!!!

Self Portrait

Linking up today with Jess from Diary of a SAHM for IBOT.

Last week, Jess put a call out for people to help read and comment on the posts that link each week. I put my hand up, as this is the one linky that I regularly follow and although I don't comment on every post, I do read all the posts. By being part of Team IBOT, I will be able to comment on all the wonderful posts that are linked up each week.


Jess asked the 6 of us to answer a few questions about ourselves and also to post a photo. I neglected to send a photo as I am not very good at reading instructions, and Jess used my blog picture - which to be honest, I would have sent anyway.

This is the picture I use on my blog, for twitter and commenting etc. I think this is a representation of how I want the world to see me - doesn't she look relaxed and without a care in the world?! I used a cartoon, not for anonymity, but as I just don't have any photos of myself. I have been looking through our photos, and since Master Z was born, I am only in a handful of ones we have taken. I put on a huge amount of weight when I was pregnant and have only lost half of this. I think this has a lot to do with why I don't 'do' photos, but I realise I have missed so many opportunities to be in photos with my little boy and I think this has been quite selfish of me. I tend to be the photo takerer (so a word!) and shy away from being in group photos. I am one of those annoying people that 'untags' myself from photos on Facebook and I usually demand to veto any photos people take of me if I think I look really crap.

I have decided that this would change as of today. I won't hide behind a drawing and I am going to lay myself bare. What better way to get it all out there (don't worry, I mean figuratively) than to put it on my blog. I am including a few of the photos I have of myself from the last few years and once I press 'publish' I am going to have to get over my insecurities.

This is the photo I put on all my uni Master's degree unit home pages - mainly as you can't really see me and 'hey, check out Everest in the background' Pity its about 7 years old..........

This is the worst photo of me, but was taken at the happiest point of my life. He was born at 7.10am, and I had an hair appointment booked for 9.00am that day - he didn't have the decency to wait for me to get styled!

6 months after Master Z was born, at a wedding in New Zealand - not a great photo of either of us, but I like this photo as it shows my total love for that boy (chubby bubby :o))

The only photo of our family I could find. I am horrified at this and will start to change it.

The only photo we have of me by myself. In New Zealand - almost 2 years ago! I hate looking at it, but will have to get over it!

And finally, here is a photo of me, today, warts and all. No make up, minimal sleep and I haven't brushed my hair for a few days. I am going to change my twitter and blog photo to something that is my reality. This is the start of it for me and hopefully I can start to be in photos so that Master Z can know that I was actually there by his side each day.

What are you like at having your photo taken? Are you a shining light, or a wall flower?

Chantel x

Small Things

I am currently addicted to Where's My Water? a puzzle game app that I have on the iPad at the moment. I am late coming to the party, but have spent my last few nights mastering all the levels.

Simplistically, it is a problem solving game based on the premise of needing to fill Swampy the Alligator's bath with clean water. You dig the dirt away with your finger to allow the water to flow through certain pipes. I had been playing this particular level below for about 20 minutes last night and was bombing out every time. It wasn't until after several minutes of utter frustration that saw steam coming out of my ears, that I actually stepped back to see how I was tackling the level.

For this level, you needed to get the blue (clean), purple (poisonous), and green (sludge) water from the areas on the left out in a certain order. When I looked at what I was doing, I was releasing them in the same order every. single. time. and I hadn't realised. I was repeating the same mistake over and over and over again, without any learning from my error. It took a simple change in the order I was getting the water out for me to solve the level very quickly.

So many things in our lives that frustrate us are from us repeating the same behaviour over and over again. (Many come to mind for me, particularly what I eat). Sometimes It is not until we step back from the situation, breathe and assess that we can see that often a negative outcome that keeps repeating for us can be altered with one simple change to our habits. 

Is there something in your life that you keep repeating the same action over and over again with an unsatisfactory outcome? 

Chantel x

I think lack of oxygen to my brain from exercising may be making me crazy......

Soooooo.........


I have been feeling in a real slump lately with this whole exercise, nutrition, health thing of the 12 wbt. I am not seeing the scales move STILL and feel like I am flogging a dead horse. So, I decided I need something to aim for. 
Something to work towards....


I signed up to do the HBF Run for a Reason in Perth on 27th May. That's 7 short weeks away - yep, 7!!!!!!

I am not a runner. I could swim for miles, I could swim all day. Running however, is another story. I run at the gym, 4 times a week, but only on a treadmill, and only 5 km. That's 7 kms less than what I am expecting myself to run in 50 sleeps!!!! And when I say 'run on the treadmill' - I mean that in the loosest sense of the word - I more shuffle my feet with my arms flailing about.....


I think I might be crazy......


But, it will give me something to aim for. It may make me stick to healthy food choices and avoid alcohol (still not doing this yet) and it may just kick start a new passion and habit.

I have done heaps of reading (one thing I am good at is reading and planning!!!) and designed myself a training programme, one that includes a long run, a medium run and 2 short runs a week, as well as one session of stretching and core work and one aerobics class a week. I have worked it so that I will have a few practice goes of 14 km runs in the weeks prior and hopefully I have increased it slowly enough that I will not pass out each Saturday.


My aim is not to race the 14km, just finish. And I know that I won't really be running, but more 'jogging'. I am aiming to complete the 14km track without walking or stopping for a rest. I know I am not going to break any records and that some people walk faster than I jog. I have put myself in the group just before the walkers and prams - if I finish before them, I will be stoked! I want to see if I can actually stick to a goal and hopefully drag my health and weight loss along with me, kicking and screaming.


I wanted to fund raise for a charity that worked with genetics and genetic disease as it is an area close to my heart, but unfortunately there weren't any involved in this run. In light of a tragedy that a good friend is dealing with at the moment, and also seeing the good things that Madam Bipolar is doing with her blog, I think that LifeLine is the charity that the Run for a Reason is supporting that fits best for me. I think by having a run that fund raises for a charity definitely makes you more accountable and means there is no backing out!


Watch this space!!!!!

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Linking up today with Kate for the 12 WBT journey over at Kate Says Stuff

Have a safe and happy Easter break - I will be running somewhere.....

Chantel x

Writing from 2017

Eden's post on Saturday about signs in our life got me thinking. People spoke of signs in the form of feathers, rainbows and songs. I am a big believer in signs, but wasn't sure how mine manifest. I then read some posts from the inspiring Kate at Kate Says Stuff  and I realised that my sign is things I read. It is other people's words that I find meaning in, that resonate with me, that give me a swift kick into action, or that let me know everything is going to be OK. I often stumble on to things that are the perfect message for me at that point in time. And I take that as a sign.


Kate wrote her thankful post on Thursday from the year 2017. I love Kate's view of life. I am a big believer in believing in something to make it be. Whether you want to call it manifesting, The Secret, The Lucky Bus like Kate does, or divine order like my beautiful Nanna does, I like to believe the universe works in mysterious ways to help our castles in the sky become a reality. I realised that to get my head into gear and to get things moving for me, I needed to do this too. My vision boards haven't been updated for ages, so I took Kate's post as a sign to reaffirm in my mind (and give the universe a gentle reminder) of where I want to be.


Its the beginning of 2017 and the beginning of our 5th year 'up North'. We have had an amazing few years and despite missing our family like crazy, it was the best move for us and I am so grateful we had the opportunity to do it. TBone's job bought us here and he has loved every minute. He has developed skills and gained experiences that he would never have had if it wasn't for the move. One more year, then we head back to Perth and he starts a new chapter in his career. Exciting and scary for him all rolled into one. 


We have lived in the same house here for the whole time thankfully. I couldn't have handled moving every 12 months. Fortunately it is a roomy place, with aircon, in my preferred suburb by the coast and a huge yard that Princess K has adored. Who would have thought the Bernese Princess would thrive in 46 degree heat! She has had several shaves, but still looks gorgeous and our daily walk by the beach keeps her trim. 


Master Z has just turned 7 and started Year 2. He is the most adorable, wise little soul with an amazing compassion. I can't wait to see where this compassion leads him in life. He has a quirky sense of humour and loves everything musical. He is the best big brother ever.


After a few false starts, we welcomed baby 2 into our lives in the early weeks of 2013 and she has just turned 4. Didn't think we could get a baby as placid as Master Z, but she is probably even more laid back. She slept through from early, and is a very inquisitive Miss. She has her Daddy's creative streak, and definitely marches to the beat of her own drum. Don't quite know how I am the only pragmatist in a house full of dreamers! 


The baby of the family has just turned 2. I am seeing him more and more like a little boy and less as a baby each day. That breaks my heart, but excites me at the same time. It is such a wonderful age to see his little personality start to shine right through. He too, is laid back - those relaxed genes from Daddy must be super dominant. Thank goodness the anxious, highly strung ones from Mummy lucked out.


I have loved every minute of being a stay at home mum. I have had my moments, as any mum has, but it has been a great thing for me to do and I am so grateful to have been able to do it. The main thing the move North has given us is time. Time to spend with the kids, time to keep the house clean, time to finally finish my MBA and MLA, time for myself and time for us. When we move back to Perth in 2018, I will start to put feelers out for work, nothing major for the first few years, but I want to try and get some base level experience in my chosen field so that when I am ready to go back to work, I can do so with guns blazing.


We have been so lucky with our own house being leased the whole time we have been up here, and the council has just changed zoning. We have the luxury at the moment of deciding if we sell outright, subdivide and build, or level and build to sell. The new stadium and all the development around it have made our land increase significantly in value and means we can move to one of the suburbs we want to without too much fuss. It is wonderful that the most pressing thing on our minds at the moment is which of the schools they are enrolled in do we want the kids to go to, that will pretty much make our mind up about the suburb. 


The other wonderful thing that I am thankful for from this move is that it has meant that we have been able to do a bit of travel with the kids. Not too much, but we have been able to fit in a visit to Germany to see the relies, Hawaii for a wedding and we were also able to surprise my best friend for her 40th in England. Lasting memories and the kids traveled brilliantly. 


The last 5 years have flown by, but they have been rich with experiences, love and lessons. I am so grateful of how they turned out and so excited about what the future holds.

Linking up very belatedly with Kate for Thankful Thursday

And even though the beginning fits Eden's brief, I don't think it does enough, so am not going to link it, but I would really like you to head on over and check her out and she is the Queen of bloggers, she is raw, honest, and totally Ace!

And now this looks like I am a meme whore, but, it is Tuesday, so head over to Jess's for IBOT

Chantel x

Pondering the Awesomeness that is 2012!

The last week or so, I have stepped back from the blog - only 2 grateful posts in 2 weeks! The reason is, I am taking stock of what it is that I want this space to represent. I am trying to get a feel for what I want it to look like, to feel like and what content I want to write. I have been trawling the blogosphere, checking out everyone's  pages and have come across many, many blogs I had not read before. There are so many talented, creative writers out there, it is very humbling and a really exciting time.


You are probably are wondering "why is this chick with only a handful of readers - (I am so grateful to every single person who stops by) even contemplating a change when she has only had a blog for a few months?"
Well, its because I have been extremely lucky and won an AMAZING opportunity from the equally AMAZING Glowless in her 30th Birthday Glowing Giveaway. If you don't know of Glow's work, check her out, she is awesome and a Perthie like me!  (Although, she is what we call a 'perthonality' over this way :o)) What a fantastic start to my 2012 hey!

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I won the best prize of the lot, (well, I think so anyway), an opportunity to utilise the PR knowledge of the amazing SawHole who, among other pretty cool things, blogs at Madam Bipolar and occasionally writes at Woogsworld when Mrs Woog is busy watching Housewives of Buttfucksville County.  I am so excited about the prospect, and really don't want to waste the opportunity, so wanted to make sure I am going to her with a solid idea of the path I want to take and a product that will keep my attention for longer than 2 minutes.


I think I have a fair idea of what I want the feel of my little corner of the world to be like, it will involve a name change, a bit of a content change and hopefully the inspiration for more than one post a week! I just have to finalise what I want it to look like and seek out the help of someone creative to bring it to life.


Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a makeover!

Chantel x

Say Goodbye to Fatty Boombah - The one where I get jiggy with it

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Today is Friday, so the day I do a re-cap of how my week has been doing the Michelle Bridges 12WBT run by Huggies. We started Week 1 on Monday and so far, it has been great. The eating plans are full of fresh, wonderful tasting food. I have not been hungry throughout the day and not looked to top up with anything tempting.

Exercise has been easy as well. I have diarised what I am doing each day and its funny how your mindset changes, but if the diary says 6.30pm Pump class, it gets done with minimal fuss. I am doing a combo of classes and DVD workouts. TBone leaves at 5am for work 6 days a week, so I can't eave the house in the morning to exercise - and I am not going to exercise before 5am regardless of how much Michelle threatens to kick my butt. So weekends and 2 week nights I can get a class in, but the other days are DVDs in nap time, which seems to be working well. It gives me enough variety to keep my goldfish attention span going.

I love the Les Mills classes, particulalry Body Pump, Body Step and RPM. I find the repetition suits me, nothing tricky and I can just switch my brain off and exercise. Then last night I tried a Zumba class ..........

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My mum must have learnt early on that I probably wasn't going to make a career as a dancer. When I was given the 'lead' teddy bear role in The Teddy Bear's Picnic ballet recital she probably guessed. 'Lead' sounds good yeah? No. I was just the teddy bear that stayed in the centre of the stage the whole time in first position and all the other girls pirouetted around me. She also probably realised that I wasn't co-ordinated enough for gymnastics from all the bruises I came home with. And by the time I was doing Jazz Ballet, she was confident enough that I could miss the grand finale recital so we could go to Perth to have my braces tightened. I was sure I would have rocked to Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer, but she obviously recognised the truth.


I love to dance, but it is usually confined to the house or with the aid of cocktails. Having a love of something, doesn't mean you are good at it and last night proved it. 

I have always wanted to give Zumba a go. I was blinded by the hype. I had seen the ads and thought it would be easy. I expected a Latino instructor, but was met with the tiniest whitest girl - don't get me wrong, she was good at what she did, but I think I would have done better if she spoke Spanish.......

I was atrocious. I didn't really even get a sweat up because I spent most of the time just trying to stay upright 20 steps behind the class. There are lots of salsa and cha cha moves, a lot of hip gyrating and pelvic thrusts. I couldn't, for the life of me, get my pelvis to move separately to my arms, so ended up looking like a helpless octopus. I wasn't even helped by the song words "Put your left hand in the air", "Put your right hand in the air".

The other women (only women) in the class seemed to have some idea what was going on and had genuine looks of enjoyment on their faces - just like the ads promised me. They didn't all match what the instructor was doing, but kept dancing through the whole thing and I think that is the key. I came home feeling that I needed to do more exercise to make up for the lack of sweating I did, so today I will have to do a morning and evening DVD session.

Will I try Zumba again? The Old Me would say No. 

Next week, Michelle wants us to focus on breaking old habits. Maybe one of my habits that needs to change is that I don't persist with anything that I am not immediately good at. Maybe to make new habits, and a new mind set, I need to give it another go, get over my self-consciousness and realise that although I think the world revolves around me, no-one else in that Zumba class cares about what the fat chick (soon to be healthy) in the back row is doing with her hands. 

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I may just have to put myself out there and give it another go. I will let you know. 

How do you exercise? Do you get self conscious of how you look?

Chantel x

Preparation is the Key

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As I mentioned in this post, I am taking part in Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation and it starts on Monday. Every Friday until the end of the year, I am going to post about how my week has gone, what I have learned and how the kilos are melting off me - here's hoping!!!

Michelle has set several pre-start tasks and I have now completed all of them. I completed my kitchen makeover today, where I had to get rid of anything tempting. Surprisingly, there was not a lot to throw out - what was more disconcerting was the stuff in the pantry with expiry dates pre-2008. I also took the opportunity to clean the pantry and the fridge - very satisfying.


I have planned the exercise I am going to do - and if I am honest, I am really excited about getting back to regular exercise. I love the feeling you get from regular exercise and am planning to do a mix of Step and Pump classes, DVDs at home and I am going to will myself  to try a Zumba class. I love doing the Step and Pump classes as it is mindless exercise for me - after a few classes, when you get an idea of the routine, I can switch my brain into neutral and wake up in an hour. Two times a week, I am planning to get up at stupid o'clock to exercise - we will see how long that idea lasts!!!


The final task we had to do prior to commencing is measuring!!!!! I knew this was not going to be pretty, I knew what most of the measurements would be, but it was a definite reality check as to why this needs to have my 100% commitment for the next 12 weeks. We also had to take a photo - yep, that ain't going to ever see the light of day! But I think that I just have to look at it as motivation to never get back to looking like I do today - I never want to weigh this much ever again.


Michelle has posted our food plans, - which I must say look very substantial and pretty enticing. I have shopped today, stocked the cupboards and am ready to go. I also got some new work out gear, as the maternity trackies that I have been bumming around in for the last year probably don't need a public showing.
BRING. IT. ON.

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Have a great weekend.

Chantel x

The Beginning

Here is the Who, What, Where, When and Why of this blog


WHO

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I am a 34 year old mother of an 18 month old son. Wife of TBone (he's wanted that nickname since he was little, surprisingly it hasn't stuck (ha ha), so I thought I would give him his glory on these pages!). I am an Occupational Therapist by trade, work three days a week and I am almost at the end of completing an MBA.

I said I would be honest on these pages, and I have already broken that promise by using a cartoon image of myself - if only I looked like that picture, but it is missing the wrinkles, the bags and the double chin. I hope over the next few months I will have the confidence to change that image to the real me.

I love my life, I love my family and my friends. We lived in Leeds, UK, for 7 years, working and travelling, before coming back home and settling down in Perth. The time away certainly solidified what is most important in our lives.

I love cooking, eating, the outdoors, wine and a good book. I try to be generous, giving and reliable. I know my short comings include procrastination, I don't suffer fools, can be very negative about myself (to make sure I beat other people to it) and I am the most untidy person you will meet - the house often has what I like to call a "lived in" look going on. I also have a tendency to use apostrophes and commas in inappropriate places, so I apologise in advance for this. I must admit that I also tend to use exclamations!!!!!!!!! and emoticons sneak in every now and then without me really noticing :o)

WHAT

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I am not really a journal person, so I want this to be a good record of how things are in my life  and the world around me. The posts will be about me, my family, parenting, travelling, friendship and things that take my fancy. I will, on occasion, be self indulgent and I also want to use this as a place to store posts/letters to my son so in years to come he will have a record of what his life was like.

I am about as funny as a wet fish, so there will be feeble attempts at humor - just watch the tumble weeds go by! 

WHERE

I live in Perth and am not ashamed to admit I love it. Of all the places in the world we have been, this is definitely home and one of my favorite cities. It might not have the grandeur or history of some European cities, but I see it as an emerging hub of very clever people. We have amazing artists, designers, talented chefs and business minds. It may be because I am a country girl, so am easily dazzled, but I find there is no end of things happening in this city if you look for them. The "Dullsville" tag may have been appropriate 10 years ago, but the life that is coming from the city now is exciting.

I am currently writing this on my bed. We have a terrible internet set up, so this is the only option. I am in the process of cleaning out the junk room to make it into an office and a play room. At the moment it looks like this: 

The hope that in two weeks when my holiday has finished, I will be at a desk, sitting on a chair, hopefully using a computer that is utilising a wireless connection - just go to get myself sorted! I also want it to be a space that Master Z can have his table and chairs and blackboard so he can be close while I work. 

WHEN

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I am putting it out there that I will post three times a week at minimum. I will post Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and will aim to post something frivolous each weekend. I would hope that this will increase in the future, but I need to set low targets for myself to make sure I meet them, or I will throw a tantrum and give up :o) 

WHY

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Since going back to work I have found there has been no time to read any books (mainly as I am not a chapter a night girl, if I read a book, I read it cover to cover and the world around me has to stop). So to quench my thirst for stories, I have been reading blogs. I love reading about people's lives and views and reading the blogs I follow each morning and evening, fills the void that a good book would usually fill.  

This month, I am turning 35 and the last few weeks have been the first time I have been thinking that I am getting old. In my head I am 26 and will stay there for a few more years, but I think hitting 35 is making me stop and evaluate things about what I have done, where I have been and who I am - and what I want out of the next 35 years. Writing things down is the best way for me to get clarity, always has been.

For this reason, I thought I would have a go at blogging, mainly to keep a written record of our life, but also as a way to improve my writing skills. 

And all the cool kids are doing it :o)

So that's a snapshot of things, I look forward to hearing from anyone that may cross my path, please comment - mainly to furnish my need for instant feedback, but also to let me know your thoughts on whatever happens across my page.

Chantel x

(and I promise posts from here on in won't be so 'wordy')

Oh dear

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I think I am getting cold feet. I don't know if I can make the commitment. This feeling always happens to me when I try something new that I want to do well. This is why I so often have grand ideas and then don't follow through. I don't like to do things that I am not good at, so invariably  there are situations I don't put myself in - to avoid failure.

It is for this reason that I need to just bite the bullet and do this. I need to go ahead with starting a blog. It will help to give me structure in my week and give me something to focus on for me - outside of my family, my work and uni. 

I think one of my biggest problems - and the reason I get anxious - is I have a terrible habit of wanting everything now. I want what I write to be the best it can, I want it to look the best it can, I want the topics I talk about to be the most interesting and attract readers. I then panic that things wont meet my expectations, so I give up.

Then I saw that Maxabella and Sarah have looked in on me - two of the most wonderful bloggers I have been following. That really freaked me out. It means that the words I write may actually get read. I then panicked that I wouldn't be interesting enough.

Maybe I am looking at it all wrong. I need to realise that things like this take practice. They take skill and time. I had big plans with the post I wrote to put up tomorrow - as all new things should start on Monday - but I think I need to refocus.  I need to start small and basic and most importantly, honestly. I need to not worry about what people think of me, I need to write the truth and not create "an ideal me" and just learn the skill of writing for an audience. 

So I have scrapped the post I was going to do for tomorrow, that can be used at a later time. I am instead going to go off now, write something new and start with the basics. I will start with an introduction about me, why I am doing this and what I hope to achieve. It isn't going to be 'edge of your seat' reading, but it will be a good place for me to start this journey.

Chantel x

Save me a seat please.

I have spent the last few months 'planning' to set up a blog. I spent ages reading through the ones I love, deciding between Blogger and WordPress, trying to decide on a name and how I wanted to present myself. I have gone through countless templates, trying to get just the right 'feel'.

So now, here I am, after months of what was sterling procrastination, writing my first post. But I don't intend to start my blog today. No. I plan on starting for 'real' on Monday. Why start today what could be put off until Monday? Monday, the beginning of a new week. Even better, the beginning of a new month. 

You will see that procrastination is a bit of a theme in my writing, I would win a medal if there was a World Championship - providing I got beyond just talking about it and actually entered it!

Think of this post as the "save me a seat" request. The entree, or prologue. It is the post that I am using to get my bearings, work out how to use images and citation and what my words are going to look like "up in lights". Monday is the main act, where the excitement starts, can you handle the anticipation?

So, stayed tuned for post 2 - that is when the quality (ahem) begins. I promise. (I also promise to sort out my spacing - it looks messy!)

Chantel x

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