2010 End of Year Review

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What do you do to celebrate the end of a year? Do you believe in making resolutions? Or do you prefer to party hard, enjoy yourself and not think too much about it? I don't really like making New Year's resolutions as they usually don't change anything for me. I work better when I look back at what I have done in the year and plan for the future. It feels more natural for me to do this as reflective learning is a component of public health specialist training. So all I do is expand the areas that I focus on beyond career/academia. A life wheel, which I previously discussed, comes in quite handy as well!

Here are some ideas from a couple of my favourite bloggers to help you on your way:

♥ Sarah, from the Shu Box wants to ensure that each resolution she makes is MICRO (measurable, inspirational, concrete, realistic and obtainable). It is such a great idea. Read more detail here. 

♥ Celes, on her Personal Excellence Blog, talks about why she does year end reviews as well as 6 important questions to ask yourself in the review. They are

1. What are your biggest accomplishments this year?
2. What are the biggest lessons you've learned this year?
3. Score yourself on a scale of 1-10 or give a grade of how satisfied you are with how you spent the year.
4. What do you want to accomplish next year so that it is your best year ever?
5. What new habits do you need to cultivate to help you achieve your goals?
6. What are your immediate next steps to achieve these goals?

My biggest accomplishments this year include
♥winning a prestigious doctoral fellowship
♥passing the second professional membership exam in public health
♥starting this blog
♥taking up a craft (scrapbooking)
♥beginning to save and
♥celebrating my 3rd wedding anniversary within a happy marriage :-)

I have big plans for next year as well but I won't tell you as yet! Please share with me your highlights from 2010. It could be anything, once it is legal!

Enjoy the very last day of the year. I will be spending the New Year with my in laws and hopefully playing with my nephews and niece.

30 Days of Truth: Day Four- Something I need to forgive someone for

As this is all about truth I have to admit that I find self forgiveness harder than forgiving other people. However I still find it extremely challenging to forgive others. Especially when the person who has hurt you is a close friend or family member, someone you loved and trusted. How do you cope when someone to whom you have only shown kindness, turns on you in an unexplained and malicious manner? How do you forgive the cheating ex, the vindictive boss, the parent who abandoned you (they don't all apply me to me but you get the picture)? Forgiveness is not easy and it is probably something most of us struggle with.

There are many people who I have already forgiven. But there are others that I am still in the process of trying to forgive........... mainly because I am finding it really difficult to get over the hurt and pain that these people caused. You can't say you will forgive but you will never forget, as it means that you have not really truly forgiven. But then it is sometimes impossible to forget, so where does that leave us? 

These are some quotes and proverbs that I use to help me...........

Doc Childre and Howard Martin
In the long run, it's not a question of whether they deserve to be forgiven. You're not forgiving them for their sake. You're doing it for yourself. For your own health and well-being, forgiveness is simply the most energy-efficient option. It frees you from the incredibly toxic, debilitating drain of holding a grudge. Don't let these people live rent free in your head. If they hurt you before, why let them keep doing it year after year in your mind? It's not worth it but it takes heart effort to stop it. You can muster that heart power to forgive them as a way of looking out for yourself. It's one thing you can be totally selfish about.

Unknown
To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was YOU.

Matthew 18:21-22

Peter asked Jesus: "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

Mahatma Gandhi
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

Oscar Wilde
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

Martin Luther King Jr
Forgiveness is not an occasional act: it is an attitude

Alexander Pope
To err is human; to forgive divine.

So for me, the process of forgiving others remains work in progress. But I will continue to work at it as holding a grudge is extremely energy and time consuming and you know what? I have way better things to do with my life!
 
What do you think? Please share your comments.........
 
♥♥♥
 

You can read previous posts on this challenge here. Tomorrow I am back to a regular post. I don't want to overwhelm you (or myself) so I will do these truth posts in blocks of 4 :-)

30 Days of Truth: Day Three- Something I need to forgive myself for

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Let's face it. Forgiving others is not easy. And self forgiveness......... Well that can be even harder. As I sit down to write this post there is one obvious incident from my not too distant past that haunts me still. For years I beat myself up over this. To be honest, I still find it difficult to deal with it. Sometimes I replay the scenario over and over again in my head. I think about what else I could have done to salvage the situation. That I should have fought harder for what I wanted. That maybe I should have left my principles behind and fought dirty. I could have done this. The option was there. It was handed to me on a plate and the allegation was so serious that it could have sunk this person, maybe even destroyed her career. It may have even prevented her from ruining the aspirations and lives of others. But I didn't.......Why? Because I know if you throw enough dirt, some of it will stick, but not necessarily where you want it.  I didn't want a stain on my character so after 2-3 years of fighting, of dealing with this atrocious bully, I eventually walked away. It was the hardest decision of my life.......... And it still hurts...... But in hindsight, it was the best decision I ever made.

So you may say, why haven't you forgiven yourself? Things turned out ok didn't it? Yes, but it comes down to this. I felt like a quitter. I am not someone who quits. I fight for what I believe in. I may be a scaredy cat but I am not a coward. So I have beaten myself up over this. The fact that I failed at something....... Something I desperately wanted and worked all my life to get. A dream I had for as long as I could remember. So for years I burdened myself with what I should have done or could have done to make it better. I carried that baggage with me.......... until.......

Until I realised that sometimes you have to walk away. I would not stay in an abusive relationship so why should I stay in a dysfunctional environment? That actually it takes courage to walk away, to move on, to aim for something better. So I am finally moving towards a state of acceptance, of allowing myself to feel pride for what I did and the fact that I did not compromise my standards to do it. I am not completely there as yet but I have started the journey to self forgiveness. And every day it becomes a little bit easier :-)

For further reading I would recommend Celestine Chua's excellent articles on Quitting to Win and her 4 part series on Dealing with Disappointment.

Please share any examples that you may have and have a lovely day!

♥♥♥


Tomorrow- Day Four- Something I have to forgive someone for..........

You can also read the full list of the truth challenge and previous 30 days of truth related posts.

30 Days of Truth: Day Two- Something I love about myself

I have always been a bit of a scaredy cat. By that I mean that watching Gremlins as a child gave me nightmares for 2 weeks and I must be the only person to walk up and then down the stairs of a Helter Skelter ride. I am even notorious for making someone turn his boat around and take it back to the harbour so I could get off as the waves were too big for my liking (much to DH's amusement). Not to mention that although I come from an island I never learned to swim (as not even my Dad could bear my hysterical screams) and regardless of what you say I know I will not float. But hang on, I am supposed to be talking about something I love about myself........... So let me tell you this............

Although I come from a supportive, loving middle class family, my life has not been easy. I will not whine about what it means to be a young Afro-Caribbean woman and the horrible stereotypes that abound. My guess is that you already know. The fact that for some reason I was expected to be a failure at life. That my ambition should not extend beyond being a baby mama (instead of a girlfriend, lover or wife), living on benefits or starring in some messed up music video. However I am not a moaner or a complainer. I will not apologise for my colour or feel self pity.  I have no time to weep at the unfairness of the world.

There are those who have tried to attack me, or put obstacles in my way. People who said " You will never amount to anything" or " I will see to it that you never get an academic job in this country." Or even "Who do you think you are? You are nothing. You will never be anything."  It is amazing how working hard can bring out the vitriol in some people.

However there is something inside me. It is more than ambition. It changes the 'You are nobody' into 'You are somebody' and replaces the 'You will never amount to anything' with 'You can be whoever you want to be.' I don't know what it is or what to call it. I don't even know where it comes from. But it is something I feel in my very core, a light in me, like a fire burning in my soul. And it will only be extinguished by the finality of death.

So for those who will knock me down, know that I will get back up. That even if I fail at something, I know that I will never be a failure! I will continue to try. I will work harder.......... I will never, ever give up! And I will do it with a smile on my face, with class and with style, without ruthlessness or bitterness............I will even try to help others on their way, irrespective of class, religion, race or gender.

And that, my dear readers, is what I love about myself.

"Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
 None but ourselves can free our minds........."
                                                                      Bob Marley- Redemption Song

Tomorrow- Day 3 Something I have to forgive myself for. You can read previous posts on this challenge here.

30 Days of Truth: Day One- Something I dislike about myself

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Hello All
I hope you have enjoyed your Christmas break. I have decided to finally get on with this 30 days of truth challenge and for the next few days I will be posting consecutively. After that posts on this challenge will become more random :-)

So on to the first post and already I have replaced the word hate with dislike as hate is such a strong word!! And the fact is that although I recognise that there are things about myself I need to change and I am always trying to be a better person, a long time ago I decided that I would not apply that word to describe any aspect of me. After all if I hate myself, why shouldn't I expect other people to hate me too? So I have abandoned the term hate for this challenge. I prefer to use the term to describe other more important matters for example I hate that so many children continue to live in poverty in this world and that racism and bigotry still exist.

However, there is one thing about me that I do really dislike. It has plagued me from the time I hit puberty and has been with me ever since, a constant companion that I can't shake off no matter how hard I try to be rid of it. That thing is acne and for many years I allowed it to be the bane of my existence.  Yes I know it may seem superficial. However anyone who has ever suffered from this skin condition will understand where I am coming from. Acne can change someone's life for the worse. It can affect self confidence and in many cases can lead to anxiety and depression in people who are more vulnerable.

So acne is my constant fiend! As soon as it clears up with appropriate medication, it returns again with a vengeance. Although externally I appear to be quite good at dealing with high stress levels, my face and skin betray this and before every exam, every important interview, any concern about a loved one's health, I face yet another acne breakout. I remember most arguments with other family members in my teenage years occurred due to what I thought were insensitive comments about my acne. I recognise now that they were trying to be helpful but if you want to hit a nerve or really irritate me, just start with.......... ' you know so and so used X on their face and it really helped' Arrrghhhhh. I will literally turn into a fire breathing dragon! I am sorry as I am usually quite open minded, but in this case please keep your opinions to yourselves. After all it would be considered very rude to go up to a very overweight person and start recounting the myriad of ways they could lose weight (disclaimer I am a public health doctor so reducing obesity at a population level is within my remit, although I believe in enabling people to make healthy choices instead of embarrasing them!) 

So that's it for Day One. It's out there now and I feel liberated! However as I can't help myself, if you do suffer with acne you should see your family physician or dermatologist for advice and treatment. Also you can get a good overview of acne on this NHS Choices website.

And to end on a positive note..... as I am glass half full kind of person, what does DH think about all of this? He says "You have what you have so don't worry about it. No one is perfect" and "I think you look nicer without makeup anyways". And he has the joy of waking up to my spotty face every morning...... If that isn't love then I don't know what is!

Also Elaine from Clothed Much, posted a picture of herself au natural sans makeup. I was impressed by her bravery but will I do the same? Hell no! Haha.

Please feel free to post your comments :-)

Enjoy the rest of your day.

♥♥♥
Tomorrow- Day Two- Something I love about myself..........
You can read the full list of the truth challenge and previous 30 days of truth related posts.

Merry Christmas 2010!!

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.


The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.'


This has always been one of my favourite Christmas poems. I read it every Christmas and it always helps get me in the right mood!

So today is Christmas eve and many of us will be looking forward to tomorrow's celebrations. I will be having a quiet Christmas with DH this year and I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully it won't be anything like our last Christmas which was an absolute nightmare!

I will be doing a combination Trini/British Christmas dinner and I have already pulled out the recipe books and written down all the ingredients for DH to buy. I have even boiled the Sorrel which makes a lovely red Christmassy drink. The only thing I will be missing is some pastelles but my Mum will probably send for me in the New Year. 

I enjoy reading about Christmas celebrations around the world as well. One day I would love to spend Christmas with a family in another country. It would be so interesting to see how another culture celebrated the season.

I will be taking a break from the blog until December 27th when I hope to start my 30 Days of Truth posts to help bring in the New Year. Til then you can check out some of my categories and labels or look at my archived posts (which you can find by scrolling down the right sidebar).

So I hope you all enjoy your day. Please share your Christmas traditions from around the world by posting a comment. Til Monday........

Merry Christmas!
Feliz Navidad!
Joyeux Noel!
Froehliche Weihnachten!
Zalig Kerstfeest!
Feliz Natal!

(I hope I got these correct!) hehe.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.......... isn't it?

"It's the most wonderful time of the year

With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer

It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's the hap- happiest season of all

With those holiday greetings

And gay happy meetings when friends come to call

It's the hap- happiest season of all........."

Or is it??? Christmas can be really wonderful, a time to celebrate with friends, family and loved ones. However for many people it is a time of immense sadness or anxiety caused by the loss of a loved one, illness, being separated from family or even financial stress. So looking after our mental health is a gift we can give to ourselves and others this Christmas. 

Often there is an expectation that everyone will be happy at all times during the festive period and that things will be perfect. The media doesn't help.... There are so many images of beautiful smiling families on the TV and in newspaper articles that raise our expectations of what we can expect from our own families. We forget that humans are imperfect beings. This can lead to disappointment and resentment when the day doesn't quite go as we planned. 

So what can be done to combat this? One of the simplest messages is to be aware of ourselves and others. We should notice if someone is feeling stress, sadness or loneliness and just being there and lending a supportive ear for someone to vent their emotions may be all that is needed. Also we can look out for those who are vulnerable by finding some time during the festive period to visit or phone so that they know you are thinking of them.

Some simple steps for good mental health at this time include

1. Ask for help. If you are feeling really low or anxious, talk to someone and ask for help.

2. Be active. Physical activity can help your mental well being. This can be as simple as a brisk walk around the neighbourhood or a full on exercise session. Get out and get some fresh air and get away from the madness of it all!

3. Relax. Remember it does NOT have to be perfect so don't put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Try breathing exercises, muscle relaxation techniques, yoga, anything that calms you down..... (not alcohol! hehe)

4. Be sensible around alcohol. Alcohol can act as an depressant so drink in moderation. You want to be able to actually remember the day and avoid the totally embarrassing 'morning after!'

5. Watch what you eat. Of course Christmas is all about the lovely and yummy food but remember that eating lots of dense energy rich food before bedtime can affect your ability to have a good night's rest. Try to eat earlier in the day and don't forget to eat fruits and vegetables.

6. Plan some alone time. Be sure to do some of the things that make you feel good such as having a long bath, exercise, listening to music, reading. See this list of things that you told me made you feel happy.

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If you are alone or don't have anyone to talk to you, useful telephone helplines in the UK include

Samaritans- 08457 90 90 90 in the UK and Northern Ireland, 1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland (any time of the day or night).

Breathing Space- 0800 83 85 87 Mon-Thurs 6pm-2am, Fri 6pm to Mon 6am.

Mind
- 0845 766 0163 Monday to Friday 9-5.

Look after yourselves this season :-) Please share any tips you have about coping with the stress of Christmas!

Enjoy the rest of the day. I am off from tomorrow until the New Year so I am looking forward to a break (from work, not you guys!).

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Oh how I love Christmas time! As you may have realised I have been feeling a bit sad over the last couple of days due to a bout of intense homesickness. So to cheer me up DH finally got the decorations down from the attic and helped me put them up :-) I have also been listening to Christmas classics, carols and parang (traditional Trinidadian songs sung in Spanish) as well as soca parang (a combination of soca and parang).

Here are some of my favourite decorations...



Snowman!



DH says Angel needs to go on a diet. I think she is cute!

Another snowman.

Penguin is also a little rotund but never mind :-)

Prancer and Dancer.

Yet another snowman..... Ok I don't need any more.

My stocking! DH has one too.

The reason for the season :-)

Making the stairwell Christmassy.

My Christmas tree. DH decorated it by himself (he likes doing this). I don't have the patience

I have finally written my Christmas cards although they may not arrive in time!

What are your favourite decorations? And what do you do to get yourself in the Christmas mood? Please share and have a wonderful day. 

The package..............

A parcel arrived for me today.
All the way from Trinidad.
It was small and inexpensive
And inconsequential in the grand scheme of things......
But it made me weep.
What did it contain you say?
Was it bad news?
No, But I thought of its journey
The thousands of miles travelled
And it reminded me of my own journey
Seven years ago.........
How far I had come
How much I had changed
And the fact that life would never be the same again.
Inside the parcel were four lipsticks
Of my second choice brand
They (my mum and sisters) had searched the length and breadth of my small island
To get the one that I wanted
But they could not find it.
On the package was a familiar handwriting
One I had not seen for years
Recognised immediately as my Dad's
As of course he would be given the task of posting it.
So I looked at this parcel
And I wept.
Not for its contents
But for the people I left behind
And the love that it represents
As I deal with the pain of yet another Christmas
Spent apart from the ones that I love.

CP's Last Minute Christmas Gift Guide.....

A.K.A
How to Stay Sane While Navigating Holiday Shopping Madness!!!!
Ok lovelies. You now have seven days until Christmas (including today) and you haven't done any shopping. Nada..... zero...... zilch. You could always try to order online but if you are in the UK you are unlikely to have your gifts delivered in time due to the snow (it always surprises me when people are like OMG it is snowing..... I mean I would totally understand the hysteria if it snowed in Trinidad but last time I checked this was a temperate country!) But I digress.......

So what can you do to stop yourself from looking like this......

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And instead appear cool, calm and composed like....... 



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There is no need to panic. For starters you can always tell your loved ones (this will probably work on adults only) that their Christmas presents will be a little late this year. January can be such an 'bleh' month anyways so why not cheer people up by giving them presents in the New Year? If that is not an option then here are some ideas.......

1. Get them a gift voucher for their favourite store/shop. This can be for clothes, music, books etc. It is easy and stress free and you will be certain that the person will get a gift that they absolutely love and not one that sits in its box unused and unappreciated.

2. Get a magazine subscription. This is another hassle free gift that will keep on giving and will last all year! There will be a bit of delayed gratification but the best things come to those who wait!

3. Get creative. For those who are good with their hands then make something! It could be a mini scrapbooking album, a cute tote bag, anything. If it has been done neatly and with care, people will appreciate it. If you aren't creative then there are lovely craft classes that you can purchase online. The Make Lounge is one such example and offers really fantastic options.

4. Give your time. Create a special 'your day out' voucher where you plan a surprise trip that can involve anything, for example a spring or summer picnic, a day at the zoo, visit to a theme park..... again you can let your imagination run wild! Spa treatments and music gigs tend to go down well...........

5. Purchase a charity gift. Oxfam unwrapped for the UK has wonderful gifts such as feed a family, safe water, train a teacher etc. In the US Make A Charity Choice allows you to make a donation to a charity of your choice (there is a list of over 100 charities). Remember a small gift can make a big difference :-)

6. Buy them (and yourself) a Filofax. Orders placed before 2.30 pm on Monday 20th December 2010 with Filofax UK will arrive before Christmas. Therefore next year you can be more organised. And last minute Christmas gifts will be a thing of the past! I love my filofaxes!

7. Go high tech......... Only if you have the cash to splash and/or you are feeling extremely generous. You should be able to get a iPod or iPod nano easily with no problems. Of course you can always get an iPad. No one would complain about waiting beyond Christmas to get this as a present!

and finally

8. You can decide that the shopping has got to go!! The Zenhabits blog makes an excellent case against buying Christmas presents..... He also includes some great alternatives to gift buying at the end of his post. It really made me think!

So hopefully you enjoyed the list. Please feel free to share your last minute gift ideas by tweeting me @CPrincessUK or leaving a comment here or on my facebook page.

Happy Saturday!! My Christmas decorations should finally go up today! Yay!!

Inspirational poems:truth

Today there is a departure from my usual inspirational quotes. Instead I shall walk on the wild side and share with you an inspirational poem instead!

Truth by Stephen Crane

"Truth," said a traveller,
"Is a rock, a mighty fortress;
Often have I been to it,
Even to its highest tower,
From whence the world looks black."

"Truth," said a traveller,
"Is a breath, a wind,
A shadow, a phantom;
Long have I pursued it,
But never have I touched
The hem of its garment."

And I believed the second traveller;
For Truth was to me
A breath, a wind,
A shadow, a phantom,
And never had I touched
The hem of its garment.

TGIF!! Only one more week until Christmas so enjoy yourselves and be safe! If I don't put up my Christmas decorations this weekend I might as well not bother!!! 

30 Days of Truth: An Introduction

Thirty days of truth......... What am I up to now? Well you may or may not have seen this appearing all over the blogosphere recently. I had absolutely no clue about it until I read Yvotchka's Daily Truth. Although she does a slightly different version where she posts her truth instead of following the actual list, my oh my am I hooked!! I find the entire concept fascinating...... and you probably will too if like me you are a sucker for a bit of honesty in this life!

However I will have to make a decision. Should I follow the predetermined list (prompts are below) or should I mix it up a bit? I am still undecided but I am certain that for 30 days I will post a truth! I will not be posting entries consecutively so it will be a bit of a surprise for you when the posts actually appear. However they will all be labelled 30 days of truth. It seems to me like a great way to end 2010 and start 2011. And it should compliment my 30 Days to Live a Better Life challenge (30DLBL), which I have postponed until the new year as December is just too hectic!!! I haven't even put up the Christmas decorations as yet!

Let me share with you the prompts for this 30 day challenge. Note that I may or may not stick to this.


UPDATE 3/7/11 After Day 10 I have been posting my own 30 days of truth challenges on topics such as breastfeeding, swearing, fathers, discovering a breast lump etc. You can view all of them here. 

Day 01 → Something you hate dislike about yourself.
Day 02 → Something you love about yourself.
Day 03 → Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 04 → Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 05 → Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 06 → Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 07 → Someone who has made your life worth living.
Day 08 → Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like crap.
Day 09 → Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10 → Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11 → Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12 → Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13 → A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days. (write a letter.)
Day 14 → A hero that has let you down. (letter) I don't have heroes,I have role models so may change this.
Day 15 → Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16 → Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18 → Your views on gay marriage. Who am I to judge this? I found this article quite interesting. May talk about young gay suicides instead :-(
Day 19 → What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20 → Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21 → (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do? I have never fought with my best friend! May change it to DH. hehe.
Day 22 → Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23 → Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24 → Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25 → The reason you believe you’re still alive today. Umm it's not my time as yet! I have no control over this.......Could happen today.... tomorrow.... in 20 years time.... who knows? Weird question.
Day 26 → Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27 → What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28 → What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29 → Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30 → A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself (quite corny......not sure)

So what do you think? Will you jump on the bandwagon too? I am really looking forward to this challenge. If you don't blog feel free to post comments on my truths here on on my Facebook page! Or let me know if you plan on doing the challenge on your personal blog :-) Last, you can tweet me on @CPrincessUK to share your thoughts........

As ever, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Scrapbooking 5: How to sort your photos

Good morning everyone

Today I want to share another lovely layout with you and some tips for getting your photos sorted.



Ok I will admit that I am going through my wedding and honeymoon pictures!



This layout was based on a kit developed by Total Papercrafts, you can check out her blog here. Her kits are so easy to use and allow me to experiment with colours that I probably would not choose myself!

One of the problems with Scrapbooking is that it can be easy to become overwhelmed by having too many photos or the idea that you need to have scrapped ALL your photos as of yesterday! There is no reason to think like that. Just start somewhere and very quickly you will find that your album is increasing in size!

There are a few basic steps to keeping your photos organised.

Step 1- Separate the wheat from the chaff. By this I mean decide which photos you want to use or can actually use. Get rid of the poorly lit, blurred or simply bad photos. If you can't bear to part with them then store them away from your scrapbooking photos so that they don't get mixed up.

Step 2- Choose an organisational method for sorting. You can arrange 

- chronologically (by year)

- by theme (for example wedding, honeymoon etc. As you can tell I prefer this method)

- by album (for example if you plan to have separate albums for each family member).

Step 3- Find appropriate storage. You can keep your pictures in a storage box with dividers, use plastic crates, use cardboard or shoe boxes or splash out and buy specific photo chests, photo cases and photo holders.  I like using really useful boxes. Just be sure that you can access the photos easily when you need them.

Step 4-  Index your photos according to layouts you plan to create. I keep photos for work in progress in 2 large envelopes which I keep in my A5 Domino Craft-o-fax (see here). You can use divider tabs as well for this.

Step 5- Keep everything up to date. If you take more photos then make sure you store and index them properly.

For more tips click on my posts labelled Scrapbooking. I am getting my Christmas kits tonight so I am really excited!

Check out Izzie's new blog Scrapmaniac for examples of her layouts and cardmaking (use Google Chrome to translate from German). Also you can get examples of layouts from this blog called Ideas for Scrapbookers.

Happy Scrapbooking!

The books you recommended :-) Thank you!

Hello hello
Many of you saw my plea last Thursday as to what books I should read next. Since you all are such ♥ sweethearts ♥ you sent me many wonderful recommendations via comments and tweets. Now I have always loved books and as a child I spent many happy hours reading. This photo represents what I was like........

Well not quite as I am Afro-Caribbean and female! hahaha.

Anyways you get my point. I read absolutely everything in my parents' library and was always asking for more and more books. I think I even read stuff that I wasn't supposed to read as I would climb up the shelves and get to everything my parents had tried to hide away (teehee). So for me, it was a real treat to win a book voucher and 8 books from Waterstones are now on their way (with £35 left to spend for a treat in the New Year).

Here is a list of your recommendations. I hope you enjoy!

Authors
♥ Alexander McCall Smith- Isabel Dalhousie or Scotland Street Series 
♥ Jane Green
♥ Kai Meyer 

♥ Lucy Diamond

♥ Neil Gaiman

♥ Sophie Kinsella

♥ Rosamunde Pilcher

♥ Victoria Holt or her alias Philippa Carr 

Books
♥ 1Q84 by H Murakami 

♥ American gods by Neil Gaiman

♥ Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
♥ A Rose in Winter" by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
♥ Demon Cycle PV Brett

♥ Empress of Icecream Anthony Capella
♥ Love and Louis XIV Antonia Fraser
♥ One Day by David Nicholls
♥ Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre
♥ Room by Emma Donoghue

♥ Shadow of the Moon by M. M. Kaye

♥ The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
♥ The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye

♥ The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

♥ The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

♥ The Making of Henry by Howard Jacobson

♥ The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel 

♥ Then we came to the end by Joshua Ferris

♥ Trade Winds by M. M. Kaye

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.  ~Author Unknown

Have a lovely day! And please continue to share any good books you hear about. Thank you for your help :-)

I am finally on facebook!

Hello wonderful people

What took so long?



Just wanted to let you know that I have finally created a Facebook page........ Yes I have come out of the Dark Ages........ The name is Caribbean Princess (of course) so please like me and become a friend so I don't look like Billy No Mates! hahaha.

Have a lovely evening. I will be back tomorrow with a proper post! ♥ ♥

The bug that stole Christmas.......

Also known as The Christmas I Would Rather Forget!!!!



I MUST find some way to stop Christmas from coming! Insert evil laugh here......

I bet you all have experienced a Christmas like this. One that you wished had never happened! One that you wish you could erase from memory! Well dear readers, Christmas 2009 was one of those for me.

Why? you say...... What happened? Well in the midst of all my fabulous plans, all the wonderful  parties I was supposed to attend, the lovely pub lunches and visits to friends and the spectacular Christmas dinner something happened.......... That something was a mean, green, man eating machine and it ruined everything!!!!!

That something has a name....... It is called Norovirus!!!! And words cannot describe how much I hate that bug....

Looks pretty doesn't it? Dont let it fool you. This bug's a b***?!!!

Last year on December 26th 2009, at 3:39 am in the morning to be exact, DH became ill, very ill indeed. It was sudden and unexpected (although for some bizarre reason I remember checking my watch!) And it was a case of the good old D&V. Now I had gone off food on Christmas eve and had no appetite on Christmas day, but I had not felt too bad. Imagine my guilt when I realised what was going on!

So back to the norovirus. This bug can be transmitted directly from one person to the next, or indirectly via contaminated water and food. It is EXTREMELY contagious (only 10 of the so and sos are needed to cause infection). Unfortunately the virus can also be spread via aerosols when someone with the illness throws up. You can even get infected by eating food near to an episode of vomiting which has been cleaned up. Not to mention the fact that you can continue to shed the virus after your symptoms have disappeared, which means you can still infect others. Bet you despise it now too.

Symptoms of the infection include a sudden onset of nausea, projectile vomiting and diarrhoea (eeewwwww). Some people may also have a raised temperature, headaches, stomach cramps and aching limbs. It is important to drink lots of fluids so that you don't become dehydrated. Of course for very small children and elderly people, or if you have any concerns about dehydration, you should contact your GP for advice or seek medical attention. Phone first as you do NOT want to infect the entire surgery! Or your GP will curse you...........along with everyone else!

There is no specific treatment for norovirus infection and most people do not need to see a doctor. You can read more about treatment here. Although it is not always possible to avoid getting a norovirus infection, practising good hygiene can help limit its spread. You can read about the steps that you can take here. So this bug was the grinch for us last year. DH was not completely well until New year's day and we were both quite fragile as we survived on toast for a week! At least I did not put on weight that year but all in all it was quite a miserable experience as we had to cancel everything........

So have you experienced a Christmas you would rather forget? Any disasters of epic proportions? Please share by posting a comment or tweet me @CPrincessUK.

Have a great day! :-)

My Posh Panama Filofax

Good morning everyone
I hope you are enjoying your weekend. There is only one more weekend left before Christmas (and we haven't put up any decorations as yet)! We have just been so busy and with DH doing Oxford undergraduate interviews today (yes on Sunday) until Tuesday there is no one to get the stuff down from the attic! Last weekend was quite hectic for me as well so I have only just found the time to post the pictures of one of the newest additions to my ever expanding filofax family! I found her (I have decided she is female like most of my other filos) at 25% of her usual price at the Neal Street store during the Philofaxy meet up. She looked at me so longingly (maybe it was actually the other way round hehe) that I had to take her home with me! Also, Saffy had an absolutely lovely version in ivory which helped to convince me.

So Posh (the Panama deserves to have her own name) got her first outing at the NIHR conference last week. I enjoyed using her and pulling her out of my handbag to write down contact details while networking (business cards are so last year!). It was the first time I had used the cotton cream pages and I really enjoyed using my newly acquired Lamy fountain pens to write on them (normal cheapo biro just isn't good enough for her as she is quite high maintenance!). The inserts for 2011 and the last 2 months of 2010 were included with it (thanks Dee) so I was able to start using this planner immediately. Although after 2011 I will probably box her back up until I qualify as a consultant :-)


Here are some pics......Click to enlarge.



All boxed up!



She makes her entrance.....



The gold rings seem so lush! I am usually a silver (preferably platinum!) girl but the gold looks lovely.

 

I don't keep much detail about my appointments here as this is not my main work filofax. I also love my different coloured fountain pen inks.

 

Brown today ruler with a fountain pen similar to what I used in my primary school days (a gift from my best friend)

 

Close up of part of the interior.

  

The very handy external pocket. I love this feature on the pocket filofaxes. My pocket butterfly also has this.



Ok so that is a quick overview of the lovely Panama filofax. It is really luxurious so I definitely won't be using it as much as my butterfly when travelling to tutorials or seminars. I am more likely to bring it out for important conferences.

Here are a few more pictures of the stash I got from the Philofaxy store. Anyone who purchased one item got a goody bag!



Definitely didn't want to leave this on the train!




More goodies although not all for me. Some are actually gifts! Hehe.



Have a lovely and restful Sunday.