Be a Warrior in Your Own Life!

Hi everyone

Thank you deeply for all of your beautiful wishes regarding the death of Snuggles. It’s hugely comforting to know we have been in your thoughts and prayers.

Snow had her second birthday on the 15th of October and I have an awesome video of her, on her birthday, to share with you in a future post. Plus, I still have a ton of Disneyland Paris photos and some videos from there too. Do not miss the video of me screaming on a rollercoaster, it’s hilarious.

Unfortunately, Snow was rushed in for emergency surgery on Monday 27th. She couldn’t eat or drink and I found an abscess on her left cheek. She was cut open and now has a tube through her cheek, that is acting as a drain. My mum is looking after her and she has a checkup tomorrow. Daisy is also going to the vets tomorrow for a lump check.

Be a warrior in your own life, is exactly how I am feeling right now.

As you know, I often think of life events in terms of stories, right now, I see myself as a warrior, protected by a suit of armour. Being knocked down to the floor and getting back up time and time again. Fighting through life’s challenges. Rebuffing, the constant unpleasant surprises snd thinking of the time when I will be in a field of daisies with the sun beaming down on my golden hair and helmet comfortably tucked under my arm.

I still think life is beautiful. I still see its wonder. I try to be mindful of the present, while looking to the future.

3 deaths so far this year. My Grandma, Cinnamon and Snuggles.

Life is a test, be a warrior in your own life and let nothing stop you from feeling its amazing beauty and that it’s fantastic to be alive.

Keep pursuing your dreams, keep moving forward with your life, keep looking to the future and keep fighting to live, survive and thrive.

Be a warrior in your own life and be truly unstoppable.

Embrace your quirky and write soon

Sandra

Disneyland Paris Quirky Writing Prompts

Hi everyone

To those of you who enjoy my Quirky Weekly Wednesday Writing Prompts and wondered has happened to them, they will be back.

As I have a ton of photos from my Disneyland Paris/London holiday to share with you, as well as video footage, I will be predominantly posting posts about those for at least the next couple of weeks.

I am pleased to say that Snuggles has improved in health and seems to be healing. I am praying it stays that way. Thanks to every one of you who has sent their well wishes. After Cinnamon was suddenly severely sick and passed away before my holiday, it’s been an intense and emotionally difficult time for me. Snuggles is my furry kid and furry soulmate. It’s her 3rd birthday tomorrow, and she has plenty of potential years ahead of her. I have her birthday party stuff ready for tomorrow evening when I see her.

To give you a taste of Disneyland Paris. Here are some quirky Disneyland Paris writing prompts to wet your appetite.

Terror Tower – Enter at your peril!

The coffin moved! Welcome to Nutterville, where only the quirky nutters live.

It was a back to the future moment.

The castle was on fire!

It was a fairytale come true. I knew from this moment on, my life would change for the better, forever.

Embrace your quirky and write soon.

Sandra

What quirky life are you born to lead?

Hi everyone

Once in a while I share a post with you on this blog, that I think you will be interested in from my www.beatredundancyblues.wordpress.com blog.

This is today’s post:

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You Have a Way About You – Your Own Quirky Way

You have a way about you, that is unique to you, and your way of being. It’s your own quirky way, no one else’s.

Don’t worry about conforming and fitting in, be concerned with your own inner being and who you are.

If this is new territory to you, to stand proudly of yourself; it may be difficult at first because you are asserting your right to be an individual and to be treated as such.

To remain strong when sometimes family, friends and even loved ones are pulling you in their direction, takes guts, willpower and determination. This is especially true if you have recently experienced a loss, such as your job.

However, when you have lost something, is the best time to find you. To find your inner being, the roots of your tree, and embed them in the earth. You; your thoughts, your actions, can be controlled by you. In a time when everything else may feel out of control, this can be extremely good for you.

When you assert yourself and others aren’t used to it and don’t like it; if they love you for who you are, they will still love you, care about you, talk to you and be friends with you. They will either get used to the new you and accept it, or they have the right to go their own way. If they go their own way, remember, you have a way with you, that is called your way for a reason. You are your own person. It’s better to be yourself than live as others would have you live and never be truly happy.

Whatever your background, culture, race, colour, religion, sexual orientation or other, you need to be true to you.

I communicate with people from around the globe. I see the difference between people who are blending in with their society’s expectations, their family traditions and cultural expectations, when it’s not what they truly want for themselves. They sacrifice their own needs for others; even to the point where they can’t be themselves or with the ones they love, forever. So they settle for what they can get or what they get given. They think they have no choice, but there is always a choice. Compare that to those seemingly in a minority, who come out as themselves; go their own way, but feel an inner contentment and peace, after weathering the storm. They choose to start their own life, how they choose to be, and feel alive and sometimes reborn because of it.

I love my parents dearly, but I am extremely different to them. For years I wanted their approval of what I did, of what I wanted, and to be accepted for being me. I break family traditions, conventions and some expectations. It is hard, but the more I am strong and go my own way, the more they seem to understand the real me and accept it. Whether they do or they don’t, I have a quirky way about me, that’s my own. I am my authentic self, and I like me just the way I am.

That’s why you were born as you. You were given your own brain, to think, your own body to look after, your own eyes to view the world; your own ears to listen and your own voice to speak. The way you sense the world around you, will never be identical to another. You have a way about you. Don’t turn the other way, away from yourself, your needs, wants and desires, go and get them.

What quirky life are you born to lead?

Looking forward to hearing your replies.

If you want to read more inspirational posts, check out previous posts on www.beatredundancyblues.wordpress.com and follow.

Write soon

Sandra

 

Close Encounters of the Furry Kind!

Hi everyone

As you know, Cinnamon died, and I had to take immediate action to get a new companion for Daisy, so she would eat and drink again. It did the trick. Please welcome Chestnut into our furry family.

Chestnut is a Golden Agouti and reddy-brown in colour. Her birthday is the day before mine, on the 23rd of April, making her 5 months old. Being quirky, it’s great to have a new furry baby to be broody over. I am never like that with human babies, and not having kids of my own. In fact being quirky, and breaking conventions, I am not the sex, marriage and kids type. I am 100% a quirky businesswoman, entrepreneur, and love leading a young, kid-like, vibrant quirky life. It’s what I was born to be and do.

What type of life, do you like to lead?

Daisy has taken to Chestnut like a duck to water. It’s like they have been together forever.

I am away in London and Disneyland Paris next week with my cousin. No work for once in my life, in 3 years.  Can’t wait. Yipeeeee!

Write soon
Sandra

How do you ensure you find time to write?

Hi everyone

I am so sorry I haven’t been able to visit many of your blogs recently. I have had to put myself in a Creative Lock Down mode, to knuckle down to creating websites and writing. This is the only way I can ensure I find time to write at the moment. How do you ensure you have time to write?

I have had a children’s publisher interested in my idea for a series. I sent them a rhyming picture book manuscript and although it wasn’t suitable because it was in rhyme; the Editor thought my idea for a series was strong, and one that kids would find compelling.

I am a member of the Association of Freelance Writers. Part of my membership entitles me to one free appraisal per year of up to 3000 words. This is ideal for picture book manuscripts because mine are usually under 500 words.

In order to strike while the iron is hot, I have written a non-rhyming picture book based on my idea for a series, and sent it off to be appraised. If it comes back and is deemed to be of publishable quality, I will send it off to the same publisher to find out if it’s suitable for them. I have also written a second book in the series, but I haven’t sent that one off for appraisal yet.

Besides my writing endeavours, I am currently working on creating my new design http://www.beatredundancyblues.com website. As well as my new http://www.BlogTrainer.co.uk site. I have clients waiting for the sites to be built, and that is why there is a sense of urgency to complete their creation.

I create all of my own websites using WordPress.org. It doesn’t help time wise, when I have recently found faults with some of the WordPress.org themes, which has meant I can’t use them and I have to reselect another. This is not good, because many businesses build their websites using WordPress.org.

Taking all of this into consideration, I have had to put myself into a Creative Lock Down mode, and will have to continue to do that on a regular basis until my mission is complete. This is so I can be utterly focused on getting my work done, outside of my day job working hours. For me this means:

● Either switching off my phone or putting it on silent

● Putting a notice on my Facebook wall, which states I am going to be off Facebook on my days off, or all evening, to focus on my work. Also, that I will have my phone on silent or switched off.

● Using my breaks in my day job for catching up with friends, posting new blog posts, replying to Facebook comments and Tweets. So I can use my days off and evenings for focusing on work, without distractions or going off on tagents. My breaks are very short, and currently I can’t keep up during this time.

● Working extra hard to group tasks together, to take time out to do my work. Such as washing up, administration and shopping. This also applies to checking emails; replying to blog comments and Tweets.

Unfortunately, I can’t interact as much as I would like to at the moment. I am working until the
early hours most days at the moment, and going to sleep at silly o clock. I went to sleep just before 4.20am today and had to get up for work in my day job at 8.20am.

I hope you will continue to be part of my wonderful world of quirky. Although I am locking myself down to work; I always want to be in your blogging life.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Have you ever put yourself into a Creative Lock Down mode? If so, how successful was it for you?

Write as soon as I can
Sandra

quirky roving reporter at your service!

Hi everyone

Yesterday was the first full day of the launch of my quirkybooksTV YouTube channel. So far it has been hugely successful. When I say huge, huge to me anyway. 23 views and two subscribers in the first 24 hours.

My intention is to upload footage from my phone on a regular basis and be a quirky roving reporter. I hope to keep it along the same lines as this blog, to compliment it. I intend to offer quirky how-to advice, writing hints, tips, know-how, out of the box thinking and all things quirky.

I was to keep it as authentic and raw as possible, so I will be looking to ad-lib, keep it unedited, the camera will move and I will be keeping it real. Sometimes you may see me in a suit and other times you may not. Sometimes you will see me looking not so good and at other times, not bad. Being quirky is about being your authentic self, about breaking the rules and conventions. It’s about being brave and intentionally different, it’s about standing out and being proud to be you. I hope to encourage you to “embrace your quirky” and this is a saying you will hear me saying a lot from now on.

I have thrown away the conventions of having the right lighting, the right backdrop, the camera must stay still and the ‘got-to-be professional’, regimented formula for filming, with the intention of giving you a more fly-on-the-wall experience. Some may call it radical, I call it radically quirky.

I will try to post some of my videos on here, but if you would like to see and hear more of me, and all of the videos, you can subscribe to my channel by clicking on this link https://www.youtube.com/user/quirkybooksTV and hitting the subscribe button. Have fun looking at the second video thumbnail – It has cut my head off! Radically quirky!

I am off to London tomorrow to go to The Business Show On Thursday and Friday. I intend to post when I can and I will catch up with your comments upon my return.

Write soon

Sandra

Have you ever brought your thoughts to life?

Hi everyone

When I took a year out of retail in 2012, I learnt a lot of new concepts. One was the idea that what we have in our minds, can manifest itself in reality, and that we are what we think. I may have heard of this before but never really paid attention to what it meant.

Sometimes, I have the uncanny nack of being able to think of something and then an opportunity presents itself for me to be able to carry out that thought. For example on Sunday 9th March, I was returning home from work and I felt like a drink of smoothie or orange juice. Almost immediately after this thought, I was drawn to deviate from my usual walk home to go into my local Co-op. I tied to resist but felt compelled to go in there. Bingo! There it was, a smoothie made with oranges and various other ingredients, reduced from £1.05 to 35p and it was the only one left. So I bought it and drank it straight away.

A couple of years ago, I had previously been thinking about my e-Book store and how I would learn to create an e-Book. Although I wasn’t thinking about this at the time, I walked past WH Smith and felt compelled to go into it. I had no idea why, my sixth sense was just telling me that I needed to. My mind was telling me to go to the magazine isle and to look at the magazines, but I had no idea why and then – Bingo! There was a small book all about self-publishing with e-Books. Incredible. I have these moments and feel blessed but sometimes they can also be a little scary.

Have you ever thought of something and it has become a reality, or an opportunity has presented itself to you because of your thoughts?

I have 9 pages of amendments left to do for my Break through the barriers of redundancy book. I then need to give it the once over and get someone to check it before it is published.

Next week I am at the Business Showcase South West and Only Colston networking events in Bristol.

Enjoy your thoughts and your week.

Write as soon as I am able to

Sandra