My last minute getaway to the Welsh mountains

Can you tell me where this year has gone already?

 2013 is the year that went by at double speed.

Just after the last 4am Project event, I realised I hadn't taken a break this year already. Maybe the odd weekend off, and I have mainly been sticking to having a day off a week, but all of a sudden I felt like I need to STOP.

And there began the rush and many hours of online searching for my the secluded countryside cottage I had in mind. I wanted to be as far away from civilisation (whilst still being civilised!) as I could comfortably get.

It did me the world of good to get away and re-charge my batteries. I slept loads, took walks up hills and down vales and got more fresh air than was probably good for me lol.

The search was worth it. I found the perfect place to unwind, slow down and come to a complete stop.

Check out my Storify for pics and vines and tweets and more! 

Amazing Month Of May

A May Zing!

Back in March, when I was reviewing my 2012 goals, I blogged about how I was going to make the month of May a month for me.

And that is exactly what I did. I made no plans. None. I blocked the days out in my google calendar with a firm NO, just in case I was tempted to start filling up the blanks in my diary, or start taking on requests for my time.

I booked the first week of the month off work, and for the rest of the month my only commitment was to my work at talk about local.

Let me tell you, this was one of the best things I've done!

I can't believe how well my plan to not plan worked out!

For the last few years I have kept a very tight reign on my schedule, work, how I spend my time, where I spend it, with who. My diary is normally full for a couple of months in advance. I've made more time for work and projects and self development than I have friends, chilling out and 'going with the flow'.

I had nothing planned for May and yet so much happened!

Actually, nothing much happened in the first week lol. I just chilled, pottered, watched films, read..... that thing called Relaxing.

But after that, things started to seemingly fall right into place. A random encounter gave me the opportunity to stay in London for 10 days. Why not?! As long as I'm online I can do my work.

Getting ready to set off on my London Break! 10 days working/living in the Big Smoke. Quite excited!
— karenstrunks (@karenstrunks) May 17, 2012

I was determined to make the most of every minute.

I went to the Tuttle Club, which inspired the Birmingham Social Media Cafe

I was invited to meet the Rabbits in their warren in South Kensington

Lovely to meet up with the Rabbits! This is Zoe & me & a singing moose who has lost his voice :) [pic]: 4sq.com/JBKSnu
— karenstrunks (@karenstrunks) May 18, 2012

The Rabbits introduced me to Socialcam and I made my first video..



I checked out the Natural History Museum

And I met up with one of my oldest friends (25 years I've known him, and I deserve a medal!). We went to  the British Museum, and then checked out Soho and tons of shops.

 

I met up with David Mellor and had wonderful cocktails at the fabulous Paramount Soho. It's my new favourite cocktail place. Make sure you book yourself in, even if it's just for cocktails. The stunning views over London from the 38th floor are worth it. It was then I had my first 'NYC' feeling! Something, I've been craving for such a long time!

Thank you for the copy of your book David! 

And then THIS happened....

Well aint it a small world! Reuniting with very dear friends in London this week :) #ksldn
— karenstrunks (@karenstrunks) May 22, 2012

I dont normally give credit to luck/fate/good timing, but today has been one of those days when I might have to give them tiny bit of credit
— karenstrunks (@karenstrunks) May 22, 2012

A Facebook conversation with my best friend from school in Ireland. We were the bestest of friends from about 9-13. We had so much fun back then and all we did was laugh and laugh....

Friend: Hey, are you in London? If so, how long for? Would love to see you!


Me: Yes!  That would be ace. I'll message you my number :)


Friend: Hey, brilliant. I will call you tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday evening? Where are you staying?


Me: Great! Tomorrow eve would be good. I'm in Stoke Newington


Friend: You are joking??? That's where I live. Xxxxx Road.


Me: No wayyyyy! I'm staying on that road!!

We were literally 2 mins away from each other on the same street! I couldn't believe it!!

If I hadn't kept the month of May clear I wouldn't have had the chance to stay in London. If I hadn't stayed in London, I wouldn't have been re-united with my best friend, who was living on the same street as me!

We met up the next day and as soon as we met we were laughing and laughing just like we used to. And it just so happened that she was having a family party the following weekend (last weekend) and her Mum and Dad were coming over from Ireland. Her parents are ace her Dad used to teach English in our school.I couldn't miss the chance to see her parents and the rest of her family and so I went back to London last weekend and had a jolly Jubilee time! I storify'd my Jubilee Weekend adventures.

And it just so happened that I got an invitation for the Brave New Ventures event for the same weekend, so that fitted in really well and I was able to go to that and it was amazing!

I had an awesome time in London. Here's a few other pics and things from my time there...

So all this non-planning and just allowing 'life' to happen was really, (much to my surprise), rewarding!

What's that saying? Life is what happens when you stop making plans? It's certainly felt this way.

I think this is a great point in the year to have a think about the rest of 2012.

Because I didn't get a place on the Clore Fellowship Programme, I have the rest of the year quite clear. (I kept my diary clear just in case I got a place).

I've had a good taste of London and I LOVE IT! It's given me the Big City Fix that I have been craving since NYC. It's obviously not New York City, but it has the potential to meet a lot of my needs, and at least it's closer and more achievable than New York. Not that I am letting go of my NYC goal by any means, but London could be a good step in the meantime.

It's actually been great to have FREE TIME! I've not let myself have any, or at least a good chunk of it, for a few years and I had really forgotten what it was like. I've tried to keep Sundays as Me-Days, but other than that I've kept myself so busy. May has given me the chance to just enjoy things at a different pace and join in with life as it happens instead of trying to control every minute of every day. It's been quite liberating, and perhaps there is room for me to go with the flow a bit more....

So, thank you May! And thank you to everyone who made it awesome! 

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My Welsh holiday with my best friend - Part 2

Where was I....?!

I'm having to cast my memory back a bit now as my lovely holiday cottage break with my best friend is now about 3 weeks ago!

Luckily I have lots of photos to help jog my memory.

Did you read part 1? 

I ended that post by hinting that I was going to be in for a big scare! And I still shudder when I think of it now.

I'll try and cut a long story short here...

I stayed in the bedroom that is on the top left of this picture.

For two mornings in a row I was woken at 7.25am by the bed shaking!!!

The first morning it happened, it woke me up, but I stayed in a sleepy state and didn't pay much heed to it (surprisingly) and managed to get back to sleep.

The next morning when it woke me, I kind of went through this thought process (with my eyes still closed)

Hmm..is the bed shaking? Yep
Hmm....is Faith (who was sleeping in the other bedroom) trying to wake me up? But she would just say my name and maybe tap my shoulder.
Yes, it definitely shaking
Am I awake? Yes you are awake.
Okay, this is weird, and now I remember, it happened yesterday too!
OMG, the duvet is moving!!!!!

And I could feel the duvet being pulled off.

"FAAAAIITTHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

And I leaped out of bed and ran into Faith's room.

I scared Faith because of my scream and panic! And I was scared because I had no idea what had just happened. It was so strange.

If you can explain it, please do! Someone said it was a little earthquake, but I have dismissed that because (though I'm not expert) I would have thought the chances of an earthquake happening at 7.25am two mornings in a row would be quite slim. Plus, Faith didn't feel it in her room. Plus, the duvet moved.

Luckily Faith's bedroom had two beds, because there was no way I was going to sleep in that bedroom again!

The rest of the holiday wasn't as scary though and one day we book ourselves in for horse riding at Gwydyr Riding & Trekking Stables. I couldn't remember if I had been horse riding before and presumed that because I couldn't remember, I mustn't have done. Faith, having tons of experience, wanted to do a half day. I, being pretty sure I had no experience, opted for just half an hour.

Getting to the stables was an adventure in itself, though the scenery was lovely!

There was actually a better road to get there on. We just didn't know about it.

Being a city mouse it does sometimes make me wonder how people can live so far away from amenities. What a trek just to get a loaf of bread. Mind you, we saw a Tesco delivery van a few minutes after I took this photo.

We were right in the sticks. 

When we reached the stables, there was a mobile farrier putting new shoes on all the horses. 

I was able to make this little video.



I had a horse called Paddy. Apparently he was naughty as a teenager, but I think he still has a cheeky streak in him now.

He wouldn't do as he was told or pay any attention to my instructions, such as STOP! At one point he picked up speed (just walked a little faster than a stroll) and I thought I was going to fall off!

It was just me being new to the experience, and there was really nothing to worry about. Faith and I had an instructor each, and when Paddy did a runner, the instructors managed to block his route and get him back on track.

They say a horse can sense someone new to horse riding and  they use that as an excuse to do as they want!

All in all I stayed on Paddy for an hour, and relaxed and enjoyed the scenery, and I would try it again at some point if the opportunity arose, but I wouldn't say I've gone crazy about it and now want my own horse.

That's me! On a horse! 

Whilst Faith stayed out on her horse, I pottered around the farm and stables with my camera. A bit of a excitement happened when a horse tried to break out! She ran herself into a dead end though so was easily caught.

Oh, and I got to hold a little lamb!! 

The day was full of new experiences; horse riding, lamb holding...... It's wool was soooo soft, but it's little legs were quite hard and angular and his little hooves poked into me, so not as comfortable for either of us as it could have been ha. 

Aww, this was such a lovely little dog. I can't remember her name, but she picked up a little stick for me to throw for her. As I picked it up, one of the girls in the stable told me not to throw the stick too far, so I threw it about 2 metres, if that.

The little doggy ran to pick up the stick, then fell over and had an epileptic fit! The poor wee thing. And I felt awful, as if I caused it. Apparently she has a condition and it happens. Less than a minute later she was back on her feet and wagging her tail as if nothing had happened.

It was such a beautiful sunny day and I really enjoyed all the animals and the quietness. It was quite a novelty! 

We stayed out for something to eat before coming home to our little cottage. 

On the first night or two at the cottage, Faith lit the log fire. Even though the days had been so sunny and hot, the cottage was really cold inside! 

I'm sure she will agree with me when I say...they were adequate fires.

BUT look at MY FIRES!!! 

The fire lighting skills I learnt as a child in Ireland came back to me! We always had a fire where ever we lived in Ireland. 

I make a damned good fire! 

Actually, I was a little worried that I was going to set the chimney on fire (as I did once in one of our houses  *ahem*). 

On the day before I was due to go home we went for a trip to the seaside resort of Llandudno. 

We had been so lucky with the weather in Wales and this day was so warm and bright. Perfect!

We walked right down to the end of the pier, grabbed a drink from a cafe, and sat outside for hours and hours and put the world to rights.

Whilst we chatted away, we made a 5 Year Life Plan on a napkin; what we wanted to achieve, how were were going to do it and how long those achievements would take. 

I did write a little bit more on my 5 Year Life Plan napkin ;) 

My last day in Wales was on Faith's birthday, and her boyfriend arrived to stay for the rest of the week. 

Faith got tons of lovely presents (mine were the best of course!) and my Step Dad gave her an absolutely beautiful tea set (which I think rightly should have formed part of my inheritance haha), from Kure in Japan. Roger, aka Steps, bought it when he was serving overseas in the Army. When you hold the cups up to the light, a face appears. 

A Birthday Card Tree! 

As always, I was very sad to say goodbye to my best friend. We had such a fantastic time, and really enjoyed some quality best friend time! And I survived being offline and not having a phone signal. 

In fact, weeks later, I'm still feeling the benefit of the break and it really re-charged my batteries. 

As for renting a holiday cottage, I would definitely do it again! 

And I'm off for a mini break this weekend. I am off to have in Italian adventure in Milan! 

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