New Year, New Start?

I always have great plans for new year resolutions, I have in recent years made smaller but still promising ones, the high of the new year carries me to around the end of January if I am lucky and then I am left adrift in my failure and just want to hibernate, last year I had plans on getting my world organised and doing much in my work all of which fell over.

During the early summer I stumbled on am american website that was supposed to de-clutter your home, and get your life on track. I may add that my shelves are full of how to organise and get going type books, and my computer is full of book marks of how to save time and how to get things done. I am very scathing of folk who always find another to blame their issues on, I know that any solution has to start and finish with me, but if there was a quick way! Back to my american website, this has a few home truths that I know but was nice to see up front, only you can do your own work, only works if you do it and not just plan it, and my fave was get off your bottom and do it now. I would like to say it has sorted my whole house out for me, but in reality it has given my the tools to sort my own house and life out. I am getting there, some areas are now clutter free and I have stopped the trying to buy my way out of clutter that had just about sunk me. If your interested it is The Flylady but while it is working for me it may not for others :-).

I have got half way through the couch to 5K but then lost the impetus, which is part of my keep going problem. I joined a crochet along to make a blanket, had great plans to make a double, then chose to keep it simple and stuck to the single, and yes you guessed it, the group came, did and finished and I am still getting through the blanket, I need some time to just sit, but that has been harder to find than ever. I think I need a timetable, so I do not just plud at home, I do not just work through my day and get no extras out. I am finding the joy of getting up and doing things from the de-cluttering I now need to apply this to the rest of my life. Easy.

Work is getting myself sorted for my first fellowship meeting with my mentor, which despite knowing them is kinda scary, been trying to get my paperwork sorted out but again I run into time issues, so I will be organising bits better and allowing my sedentary habits only limited space to spread. I have not had to write a CV in years and I am not getting it very well sorted, but The My World of Work has been well worth using as a tool to help bring out what I need to use. The website is aimed at kids and students but has increasing info for the professional user and a great CV builder.

To start my year off I have a new phone, sadly I do not have the right SIM, which just goes to show there is too much ICT to keep up with all of it :-) I will just keep using my old phone till the new card arrives. This does allow me a little longer to enjoy the pictures I took over Christmas.

 The ice rink at Somerset house.

 Crossing the Thames on the Woolwich Ferry.

Happy New year and hope your attempt at resolutions goes better than mine :-).

Christmas Gifts

I hadn't planned on blogging again until we were into the new year but I have just found this online and found it so right and so well said I wanted to share it. This was shared from a friends feed but I have hunted backwards to the original as there are links from it to other talks and more info that are also interesting.

I think first I need to step back and explain why I find it a gift. In our current world my family tends to weigh up items and choose to buy or not buy as our world needs and over time we 'need' less things and can enjoy what have more. We have gradually retrained and come to not 'want' what we get offered on TV or in the shops. Our mantra has been 'its not a bargain unless we would have bought it anyway!' which has cut down on waste, surplus, clutter and bills. This Christmas I found a project I had been planning on for a bit and gave the various bits to my oldest and he has made them a parcel so I have a complete and new project for Christmas day! Cost nil, fun factor high, and guaranteed happies for me and for my son.

For the first year ever, we have reduced our bills every month, my own satisfaction in my own home is increasing and things are getting sorted, done and finished. What is important is family and a good life, not another string of lights, or extra parcels under the tree. Which is where I started this post, I saw this piece of a talk from Jane Goodall, (who it took me a few minutes to place) and she is very eloquent and logical.

I am sharing this as a gift, to help us think about our lives and the future. Her thoughts are not unique and her words are not alone but they resonate. Please listen, even if you disagree, disagree from knowledge. But above all think.

Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

New Year and New Resolutions

Happy New Year

I tend to avoid making resolutions as I am very good at not following through and doing them more than once or twice. I have looked back at last years plans and am pleased to say I managed most of them but as I made few targets just aims that isn't as good as it could be.

• The first was to tidy more often, this got a boost in the summer when I gained a more regular cover person who I could not leave to work at my messy desk and a quick apology and be netter soon wasn't washing! My excuses wore very thin! so I gutted my desk and the surrounding area, this led to more space and a tidier area, which then got even better organized and then a promotion led to me being honest about what I had sat waiting to be done round my desk! I threw out over a cubic meter of paper and waiting to be dine stuff and things I had kept for over a decade, went! So yes I am more tidy both at home and at work, and this is ongoing so I shall happily keep this one for this year.
• My Cpd has not been still, and I spent a while before Christmas uploading it to the e portfolio that is now included on the Cilip Website, and I am impressed with myself, the minimum of 20 hours, ignoring online and reading I have attended over 60 hours of events and courses and meetings, I am so pleased and I must get the last bits done to re-validate, and that way I have a line drawn and know how to help my own mentees!This years plan is to re-validate and carry on CPDing.
• I ran the course with the help of a wonderful woman called Kathleen Irving, she was inspirational and so much fun and so helpful but sadly shortly afterwards she had an accident while walking and was later found on the hills. I plan to run the course again, with the help of the the rest of the North branch committee which came out of the original set up and was Kathleen and I plan to help set up next, I found others interested and we have now done this. The North branch will grow and once its up and running I will step down and just help from the side lines. So more North Branch this year.
• Being around for my staff has been a challenge, I have done more but now have more to do, the non school side of my job has eaten into so much of my work time. I think this will be another ongoing resolution or plan, I need to make sure they know how I work and that I will not bother them and they need to contact me to get me over and above the normal drop in occasionally. Personnel changes higher up the tree mean my own work patterns now have the light shining on them. I must keep a better track of this and be more efficient.

I have managed to post much more frequently, I have missed the odd weeks and the first time I did I worked myself into a right state and had to change my focus, I am now happy to blog every week and hope to keep doing this, but I wont be losing sleep over the odd miss :-).

I have spent the last two weeks enjoying this lovely tree and am now home again and getting back into the harness after 10 days of peace, sleep and lots of knitting.

I wish you all a happy new year, and I hope to be back to normal for the end of next week.

Happy New Year

Happy new year to you all.
This holiday has been very strange  bouncing from high and then lows and ongoing issues as well as normal Christmas (nothing to see here keep on walking), I started the holidays in a strap for my wrist and by Christmas had lost all use of my left arm and while the pain had let up the ache is still present! On a good note I have some of it back (yeah I can type) and with some help (physiotherapy!) I will get the rest back, and hopefully learn not to hurt it again.
Had a lovely Christmas with all my family then lost half back to the north, just as well, the roof needed work and daughter missed her BF, but it left me with limited driving skills in Devon with a big car! had a quiet New Year and got packed and home. Thankfully hand got me home (16 hours from door to door) so New Year started well.

I have been looking at other blogs with new years challenges and resolutions in, I haven't done this for years and think may be I shall set a few up here to make sure I hold to it:-

• First has to be tidy more often, I know where my stuff is but it isn't very neat and organised!

• Next I want to move my CPD on wards  last year I completed the CPD23 which was amazing, I gained a few more mentees and attended a wonderful Cilip Course on portfolio that has fired up my interest again. I want to get some of them finished on their portfolios and chartered!

• I also want to set up a course here in highlands, as well as going to the wonderful umbrella conference this year (I have my accommodation booked already)

• My local staff also need me to be around more for them, I have found this bit harder than I thought it would be.

We are due a PLQIM peer review assessment and the paper work has my head spinning! thankfully my bit is done and we 'know' what is needed. I hope this will go well.

I have spent a week writing this despite is shortness as there has been so much to take in and change! I hope to get back to most weeks blogging by the end of the month :-).

Just a quick smile for geeks :-) I got myself a cup, like Q's in skyfall! how sadly nerdy is that, but 'OMG its Q's cup!'

Not a good start!

Had two wonderful party's this week end and should be happy and relaxed, sadly my wrist is sore and my trip to A&E has shown that it inst broken, but one handed typing is slower so I shall just wish you a happy Christmas and a happy New Year.