tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13411812820998863752011-12-01T20:19:54.248ZMulti-task schmulty task; why not set up a new business while also bringing up two small children and contending with a multi-national's demands for my husbands time.....the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-25401903170522275952011-03-02T22:51:00.008Z2011-03-03T11:46:28.494Z

i'm on a new netbook; the plan is that it makes me more flexible and as such i can blog more than once every four months. which frankly is shockingly bad and i don't blame anyone for not bothering anymore. it's not as if we don't all have enough to do without checking a blog to see if it's got any nuggets of semi-interest within, only to find that once again the slack writer has decided to watch

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-50960801038087538562010-10-20T12:07:00.001+01:002010-10-20T12:09:52.783+01:00

daughter #1 started school in august and the last few months have been spent negotiating the precarious way through new school nerves, sad school gate goodbyes, making new friends, not trying too hard, not trying too little. not her you understand; me. #1 doesn’t seem to be too worried about any of the above. not now anyway, half term is here and she seems to have worked out her fit in the class

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-6261817093891380622010-07-16T14:16:00.000+01:002010-07-16T14:17:04.538+01:00

i’m eating a rice cake and i’m a bit cross. for one thing, my diet has so far resulted in me gaining weight. i think this might be due to a visit to centre parcs at the end of week one and a three day visit from old friends at the end of week two. my ability (and desire) to diet when with friends is negligible. i may say “i’ll pass on the croissant” only to follow it up with “and opt for the pain

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-77142363130070059002010-06-23T14:10:00.001+01:002010-06-23T14:16:06.769+01:00

i’m on a diet. it’s official: prêt sandwiches and buses into work = 3lb increase over 3 months. and i’m a bridesmaid in about 6 weeks; arghhh! the other two bridesmaids are child free, hence not only do they have the benefit of not looking like a now empty giant seed-pod; they also have plenty of me-time to dedicate to sport and activity; and don’t face the trauma of needing to eat fast calorie

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-65172684692315096942010-06-11T16:06:00.002+01:002010-06-11T16:29:36.333+01:00

i just glanced out of the window while i was on a conference call and saw a tramp pooing in a corner off princes street. i couldn’t see detail, but enough to understand that it involved some effort. what is mcdonalds for, for goodness sake? it reminded me why i should always watch where my children wander when we’re out; as it is #1 keeps trying to climb lampposts and from her height the initial

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-60379414618427147272010-04-27T16:50:00.000+01:002010-04-27T16:51:47.674+01:00

so where to begin?! it is nearly a month since my last blog due to easter holidays and work and normal life logistics meaning i only get near a computer to do a sainsburys on-line or try to plan my friend’s hen weekend. all other time is being consumed by the chicks in the nest, feeding on my regurgitated life and draining me of all energy, making one of the highlights of my day the moment when i

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-25299240435304777872010-03-26T12:56:00.008Z2010-03-26T13:44:34.660Z

so i'm just finishing my second week of gainful employment and how quickly one reverts to type. while i take my half hour lunch (as a contractor i feel much more aware of productive time hours and am uncharacteristically nervous of being branded a work-shy fob) i am guzzling down a gorgeous pret sandwich washed smoothly back with a can of ginger beer. the days of home-made soup have passed, and

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-42031672367763916472010-03-12T14:07:00.007Z2010-03-12T15:26:06.021Z

i am employed! i have my first contract: 6-8 weeks working for a public sector client. yes, it was through an agent but i'm still chalking it up as my first role under my own banner, it is hard to get a foot through the door with public sector work so i'm hoping to enthrall them with my business process mapping and become directly contracted further down the line. the role is three days a week

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-81803070318501445242010-03-03T10:24:00.012Z2010-03-05T17:10:24.882Z

yesterday evening daughter #1 cocked her head in the mirror, tossed her hair over her shoulder and said "i really like the way you've styled this mumma". this raises a few questions in my mind. firstly why has my four year old taken to talking like scarlett o'hara? the adoption of a deep mid-west accent is also manifesting itself when talking to #2 and saying "you're a cute litt'l fella, i love

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-89510249448305562102010-02-24T13:43:00.007Z2010-02-24T18:37:45.843Z

i'm sitting at my desk with the fire on, gas hissing away in a very lady's parlour sort of way so i feel somewhat decadent but unusually i'm not feeling guilty. not about the global warming element of this activity because it must be better than centrally heating the whole house. not about not earning money because i did yesterday and have possibles for next week (more later...). but largely not

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-38396918426619015162010-02-17T10:26:00.009Z2010-02-18T14:40:54.491Z

i've got writers block. i knew it would have to happen, a glimmer of a true audience rather than just my dutiful family and badgered friends and suddenly i'm all fingers and thumbs and racing heart. and my concentration is not being aided by the fact that a presumably local vicar has chosen the table next to me at starbucks to gather his ministerial flock for a breakout session. he's just used

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-36150575567293271832010-02-10T14:41:00.005Z2010-02-10T15:34:24.662Z

even i am getting bored of my same old budget-blues-poor me-look at my lack of income-i can't get a job- rant. yes, it is hard and psychologically challenging to be quite bright, quite adaptable and flexible, to have a CV crammed with words like international and qualified and STILL not be able to get a role because, heaven forbid, i want it to be.......PART TIME. flexible living, life-style

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-66053556986951280032010-02-03T14:19:00.005Z2010-02-03T15:04:54.115Z

i've just had three meetings and marched around edinburgh (to blister point) through the snow and tram works selling myself. it is a lot better for the soul than sitting on my bum emailing unconvinced chamber members that they really want to pay for my services, when what they actually want to do is meet Q1 budgets and not be accused of frippery with regard to ad hoc consultant spend. however

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-55979918445783425592010-01-27T14:46:00.005Z2010-01-27T15:28:14.750Z

was I fool? i had a part-time senior finance position in a well established company. as i sit wondering quite when i'll derive some cash from my venture i can't stop that 1980s song from snivelling around in my head "no more the sound as my dreams fall and hit the ground, as i wait around, no more the foohooohoool"......the problem is that there are lots of very positive very excited gate-keepers

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-32227904292949346292010-01-19T15:54:00.006Z2010-01-19T16:44:53.267Z

adam is goose. he keeps pointing out more and more frantically that we're running on vapours whilst i hunt down the elusive cougar. i KNOW i can bring us home eventually but the question is can i keep flying this mig long enough before we go down due to lack of fuel? enough already of the analogies; the more i get into that one the more true it feels; and as a child of the 70s top gun comes quite

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-41137942229309598162009-12-09T14:47:00.007Z2009-12-12T09:22:53.216Z

where does it go? i believe i may have entered an actual wormhole this week and surely i'm soon to pop back out at monday. i have 40 minutes before #1's nativity at which she stars as an angel. she has four lines and i've practised them a lot with her, feeling torn between the roles of supporting mother and pushy over-interested control-freak. i just don't want her to feel nervous so i've

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-73055178851481959442009-12-02T09:08:00.003Z2009-12-03T16:53:40.240Z

as the dust settles and i grab a coffee before a 10.30 meeting i feel that the week has been a networking haze of, dare i say it, a phase 2 stylee. still the twin twangs of children vs work are chiming as i sit here post the flurry of a morning when adam takes the 06.20 london flight.(no more loitering in the ba lounge for him, now on sleazyjet as dictated by the new boss.....soul destroying;

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-25999565379107497802009-11-24T14:05:00.010Z2009-11-24T15:08:05.105Z

i feel so with it. i can't describe the internal pride i have as words such as rss feed, blogger, feedburner, url, re-pointing, and monetise become more tangible to me, emerging as forms against the previous grey-mass that was online-social/business-networking. i can't use them all properly, and i'm sure my understanding is entirely superficial, but i do now GET the fact that there is more to the

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-6590002802011126632009-11-17T10:39:00.007Z2009-11-17T12:55:58.696Z

i'm sitting in starbucks ("what is starbooks?" daughter #1 asked in the car today after chris moyles had mentioned it: i particularly enjoyed her non-understanding of the leeds accent as it mirrors my own issues. in the maternity ward after she was born adam became increasingly embarrassed by my inability to understand the scottish nurses in a "say again" little britain stylee; she's asking if

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-8367625681155146852009-11-11T08:57:00.003Z2009-11-11T14:42:34.070Z

sometimes it feels as if all elements of the day are "goal congruent", to steal an accountancy training word, and today's goal is to work towards ultimate greyness in order to match my mood. i knew that this would be a journey, and i armed myself in advance with a backpack full of good intentions: positivity, riding the ups with the downs and pushing forward despite any fallbacks but today i feel

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-9520591813676817452009-11-04T09:51:00.006Z2009-11-04T12:02:43.190Z

i'm writing this in starbucks; desperately sucking back americano (another nod in the diet direction) in an attempt to undeaden my head and make me alert and bright for a meeting with a "decision maker" this afternoon (the new and correct term for "potential", thank you blog readers!). unfortunately this is the same decision maker meeting as i prepared for last week as it transpired we'd had a

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-87682046988461647902009-10-28T12:46:00.001Z2009-11-04T12:54:47.232Z

i've just logged on to google in order to write this and adwords has shocked me. i'm now quite au fait with adwords due to using it for my website. basically you pay, via a very easy to use but complicated to understand mechanism, for your ad to appear when someone searches for a specific thing. you actually only pay if someone then clicks on your ad to see your site. when i say i'm au fait with

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341181282099886375.post-76111743236181583552009-10-21T14:02:00.000+01:002009-10-21T14:46:41.370+01:00

it's the end of week one; my last day of paid work is now seven days past but despite my best (and possibly rather optimistic) efforts i don't yet have a plethora of excited and keen-to-be-paying clients for my new go-it-alone venture. adam has suggested that i keep a blog of my efforts; i've added it to the list of many suggestions that he's made and i've briskly dealt with in an efficient "i've

the cat herderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11435130144461199073noreply@blogger.com8