This Week

Well I got the final confirmation that I definitely failed my exam by 7 marks so at least now with the feedback I also received what areas I need to work on and the areas that I did good and surprisingly really good in : )

Although I have been living and breathing this exam for the last 12 weeks, I have still carried around my ideas book for the book I want to write and for my craft business so I have taken a few minutes when I could grab a break to go through them and write down or sketch out some ideas if they pop in to my head. I know now for the book I’m writing I definitely want there to be a retired military working dog who goes on to work as a service dog.

In the last week I’ve also stepped it up a gear in relation to my craft business. I’ve been making samples and doing research to make sure the market isn’t already flooded with the ideas I’ve had,  after all just because I’ve had an idea doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t had the same idea as well J.

I’ve also been shopping for materials, wool, threads, buttons, packaging and business cards. Online shopping is great and I have found some great shops and you can get great bargain, but….. there is nothing like going to my local Haberdashery shop called Gina’s and having a cup of tea with her and going through her shelves of buttons and threads and ribbons and materials. Just being in the shop gives me ideas when I look at the materials I can see ideas coming to life. That’s one thing you cannot get with an online shop.

Hello Again

It’s been awhile since my last blog as I’ve been trying to focus on my exam for work. It’s been hard as it’s not a subject I deal with every day to the extent this exam goes into it includes theory and calculations I would never use. In fact why am I sitting it because as Brucey would say “Points win Prizes”.

Myself like many others need so many credits to achieve a qualification, be it a diploma, certificate, degree. This 1 exam stands between me and my diploma.

Suffice to say I failed the exam this morning I was gutted for all of about 10minutes, but I will resit it. It’s rare that I fail an exam but I wasn’t surprised. It had a high failure rate over the last two years and was quite complex so when I and a few attendees walked out the room and just looked at each other it turns out I wasn’t the only one who failed. One guy had failed his second attempt I felt sorry for him as he has to have this diploma by the end of the year. Me I already have one just not the one I want.

So the plan is...... I will take the rest of the week off and start again Monday… but I will make sure I do stuff other than study. So I don’t fry my brain.

MARRIAGE AND THAT LITTLE BIT OF PAPER

Last month was my Wedding Anniversary and I have now been married for two years.

As a kid / teenager I never, like a lot of my friends did, had the idea of their perfect wedding their husband and the number of children and names picked out in their head. As I got older, the whole idea of being centre of attention in a dress also freaked me out along with the whole spend the rest of your life with someone. Who could put up with me for that long I couldn’t put up with me for that long!

 So when me and my husband met AGAIN and started dating, he was to be honest a surprise (read my earlier blog on how we met). When he told me he had been married before and didn’t think he would want to get married again, at the time I thought fine with me! Pressure off as I’d never really thought about it seriously before. We moved in together as you do, just without that “bit of paper”.

Don’t get me wrong if we had never got married I’d still be with him because I love him to bits and even though I always thought getting married was about a bit of paper, for me it’s not! It is so much more. A shrink would probably have a great time rummaging around in my head LOL.

I think I’m happier now than I’ve ever been and I can’t explain why, I don’t know if it’s because I’m more traditional than I thought. The only pain in the ass in being traditional is I wanted to take my husband’s name, which was important to me (even though I kept my maiden name at work). Having to tell everyone you’ve changed your name is a nightmare because the list seems endless just when you think you’ve told everyone, you find one more company that needs to be informed.

I did feel a little guilty about giving up my maiden name even though my husband said it was up to me what name I used, I just thought I’ve had the name 40 years! The teenage me, in my head was saying “Mrs Pankhurst and women like her went through hell so I could vote, and women have been fighting for equal rights should I shouldn’t I change my name - but at the end of the day they were fighting for my right to choose. So I did!

I have also found that people’s perceptions change, especially men. Although I come from long line of kick ass women I have learnt when to play the game. For example I have found pulling the “husband” card has more impact than when I used to pull the “partner / boyfriend” card not sure why. Like when I told my old boss “no my husband said you can have me at the over office for one week not two” he backed down.

Like everyone my husband has his faults as do I, but he is still perfect for me and that’s probably because he knows me so well and knows how to handle me. Because even though I try to hide it, hubs knows when I’m stressed, tired, feeling down or need to talk. He calls me if he gets time at work to check if I’m OK during the day because he knows I’ve been under a lot of stress. He supports me in everything I do, be it wanting to write or start a craft business. He knows when he has to sit me down and say ok are you are doing too much or my favourite you are letting this thing at work get to you why!

Whatever your views are on marriage I’m glad we waited and I’m glad we finally got married, I would say I have changed, not much but enough and I’m happier and more content than I was which sounds weird as I’m not even sure why? As I said earlier a shrink would have a field day with me J

New Year, New Ideas

I’m not one for new year resolutions because I’m crap. I’ve already messed up my study timetable because I’ve got side tracked with a craft project and wanting to write,  decorate our home…… the list is endless……

This month it is my second wedding anniversary and I have to say getting married was the best idea hubs ever had. But I’ll blog about that nearer the time. This year 3 of my sisters will be 40 and I will be 43 and I’ve been thinking we’re not getting any younger.

When I was younger I wanted to retire at 50, which will not happen in this life, (maybe the next one), so I got to thinking if the Government ever let me retire, would I want to?

I’ve had a craft project in my head for a while it’s my friend’s fault. I’m one of those people that mentally cannot switch off.  

This is where my friend’s idea came into play I like to cross stitch and make stuff so in between working, studying, writing notes for a story and being a lovely wife who burns her husband’s dinner (unless she calls for a take away), I’ve been working on designs and ideas to make and sell.

Who knows if the ideas will sell or make money let alone one day a living but I’m having fun torturing Hubs at HobbyCraft J and coming up with designs and ideas.