Incredible Ladies Project - Diary

A bit blurry...

2012-01-20T12:30:00.000Z

It's raining... continuously... that means things are grey... actually, they are more beige...

I am not doing too badly, though. Just...that yesterday I had a buzzing day at work, maybe even one of my most successful 'work' work days in this job and today I feel a bit 'black hole'-ish after all the focus of the past two weeks is not needed anymore. I would have enough other things to focus on... like learning for my personal trainer stuff... or going to gym... or working for my own business... just not feeling like it.Well, and the weather is not helping.

Hence I am rather sitting here and writing a blog post with loads of '...' in it. So before I bore you to death I should better point you to an article which I wrote for a friend's blog. It was published a few days ago by RAW the travel agent I went to Sumatra with. It's wrapping up nicely what was and gives an outlook of what hopefully will be.

So, for now I wish you a lovely weekend and a lot of focus!

Rollercoasters and Butterflies

2012-01-13T13:10:00.000Z

We like butterflies! They are pretty and we imagine that they have a lot of fun in their lives, flying to wherever they want, nibbling here and nibbling there on a bit of nectar, not caring about a lot and enjoying the sunshine. Just a little flip side, though: They get easily carried away by the wind. There are even migrating butterflies using the wind for their purposes, but they have been found in places where they don't belong.

For me this shows, that sometimes the things that we like, are not the things we should desire. Everyone who is caught in a rut might crave an exciting and spontaneous life, some even break out, go travelling for a year. 'Eat, prey, love' was such a successful book that it was made into a film. We yearn for comfort and an easier life and once in a while we see an opportunity, some excuses to not do the focused stuff, and we let go. We might not let go entirely but at least in parts. The things that I need focus on to keep me in good working condition are sport and food, and during the last half year I had enough excuses and during Christmas additional opportunity to lose that focus.

Oh, it's nice! Don't get me wrong, the initial moment feels like sinking into a hot bath, but the longer the comfort lasts the more difficult it becomes to gain control. It was nice to be a drifter for a while, to go with the flow, to not plan ahead to far ... until ... I realised that I have no time to work for my dreams, that I have more headaches and back pain, that my clothes don't fit and that I am tired but unable to sleep well. Six month of comfortable life and losing control gained me 10kg and ill health.

I have been writing about routine VS spontaneity on various occasions before, and the past half year confirms all my theories. Being a butterfly is not 'spontaneous', it is drifting in space. True spontaneity only can occur when there is a routine from which it can rise up. The effort of creating routine in our lives is the price we have to pay for those wonderful spontaneous and inspiring moments when we decide to do something unusual right here and now.

Every year during winter I am slipping, but this year was different, I did not just slip, I went down! I had moments during which I felt like been set back to square one, before Incredible Ladies. Doubting everything that I thought I had learnt about myself and life.

Since two weeks I am now back into my normal food, which others would find boring and flavourless, but it is my food, I like it. Since one week I am back to a well thought through schedule of work, my training, coaching, blogging and learning for exams. Headaches are gone, back aches are receding, my mood is better and I am beginning to sleep well. I guess I need another fortnight to get entirely settled, and then the weight will come down all by itself.

Those past two weeks have blown away all my doubts!

I am starting to believe that midlife crisis in fact is the realisation of being a drifter, followed by the search for focus and a routine that makes sense. My journey from Project Rika via Incredible Ladies to IL Project and ILP Fusion, is exactly that.

Life is such a roller coaster ride. When down, then there is so much incentive to put in the effort to drive me up; when up, then the incentive is gone and moving on becomes so hard and boring at times, that I fear to get stuck in a rut... so I let go, just a bit initially and then things fall apart until I am down and drifting again.

There however is a third dimension to it. The effort to get up becomes less! I have learnt my lessons. I know how to create routine, I am more assertive about it. It became easier to decide what I actually want, getting there faster. I am not guaranteed that I ever will find a steady pace that keeps me on top. Maybe that isn't even the lifestyle I am intended for.

Hence for the time being I will acknowledge that my life is a roller coaster. As long as I can determine if I want to be on the up or the down, and as long as I know how to turn it round, all is good!

Good to be back!

2011-12-03T13:44:00.000Z

This was quite a year!

Some of my projects picked up a bit stronger than expected and somehow the blogs slipped off the tail end. No time for my calm morning hour to jot down a few thoughts... oh how I am missing this. I am determined to get it back!

OK, I will get it back after X-Factor is over. I knew it spelt disaster when I watched it first; now I am hooked to the US as well as the UK series and will have to sit through it. Amazing how one gets attached to the contestants. Another two weeks and I can skip the telly again, no long addictive TV nights anymore, but good night sleep and early mornings.

Not that watching X-Factor would have been my main projects keeping me from writing. Long telly nights are more a symptom of being rather knackered from the daily tasks and just wanting to hang around at night like an ol' cloth on a hook. So, what have I been up to?

Moritz rather bored

Surely not the garden as you can see. The fish survived so far and got fatter. Hope the heron will not catch them this winter. The cats are still there and actually getting on quite well. Good old bully Moritz is getting old now, sometimes a bit wobbly on his feet, and sleeping a lot, while big fat Bimmel is a bit slimmer now, yet still constantly begging for food and still a bit short of breath at times, bless them!

Almost as much as the writing the training has been lacking attention. So the plan for the close future is to get the two things back which I love doing most and which do me good. I am hoping that all my other projects like registering a charity, becoming a personal trainer, building my own business, travelling... will fall into place once my basics are sorted. Step one: The big sugar experiment is starting now! My goodness, those sugar highs and lows are the first things that have to go.

And for the rest of it: I am wishing you a lovely weekend and very happy Christmas time

Love

It's been a while

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hello Dears,

long time no write! I have been keeping myself busy with work, Personal Trainer school, building business, creating charity and family affairs, and when we went out for a meal with friends yesterday one of them poked me about looking tired. I guess grumpy is a better word. I explained a bit and he suggested I'd take some 'Me-time'.

Good idea! But: how is taking time off going to help, when not having time is the problem? He was right of course, stepping back from it all and reflecting is what I have suggested myself more than once in my blogs. My real problem however is, that I like the things I do. At the moment I even like my day job.

Luckily the guy was insistent and made suggestions of how possible Me-time could look like, and my response was: I usually write, and I have not written in month!

There you are, instead of learning about bones and muscles I sitting here with a coffee, writing: The perfect me time!

Have a wonderful weekend,
love

What's new these days?

2011-08-26T07:30:00.000+01:00

Hello Dears,

long time to hear, see, or write: So, what IS new these days?

This darn cold that is going round and round, surely isn't. It has been bothering for almost 4 weeks after I came back from my holidays, and I still hear other people wheezing and coughing wherever I go. I used almost all my remedies, and they seemed to ease the worst of the symptoms, but those bugs just wouldn't give in. The UK population seems to be halved, the ones who have it and the ones who don't. I would like to know what the latter did to avoid it, good for them anyway, it kept me from training and it made me grumpy... In my case that means too much junk food.

aaany-who...

... I started Personal Trainer school now. Oh my goodness! The teaching training is fun, odd, but fun. Fun, because I can do it without actually really having to think about what to say. My natural talent of bossing people around is kicking in. Odd, because I have to pretend that the bloke I am teaching doesn't know a thing, whereas he is my teacher and definitely trained. Additionally he is about two heads taller than me. Imagine me wearing varifocals, bending backwards to keep eye contact while explaining good posture... tststs...

And then I had a look at the books... most of it sounds rather familiar, but how is one supposed to remember the details? I need to learn how to learn again... Bloody Hell! I hope I had good reasons to start this.

OK, I kinda had a good reason: I want my own business! So I started investigating on how to actually do it. Hmmm?!? There is a lot of information on the Internet, and good information that is, too. The only hiccup is that it doesn't tell me what's the right decision for me... Bloody Hell! I hope I had a good reason for that idea.

O well, I kinda had: I wanted to do something that I really, really like doing. And I have to tell you: I found a few people who are happy to be my guineapigs in the gym and I am training them since a couple of weeks, and I really, really like it! However tired and cough ridden I might feel before I meet them, during the session I can keep my focus, and I am just happy and very comfortable.

And now I found somebody via Facebook who offered to meet me next week and to discuss my business idea with me. He is a friend who I met at work and who now does his own stuff, he is experienced and a brilliant sounding board. If anybody can whip me into business shape, then it's him. Yeeehaw! What else could I wish for?

... a hobby. I have something better: I have found something that almost feels a bit like a calling... not that I all of a sudden would have become religious. It is the little area in North Sumatra called Tangkahan. The wonderful place where I have been during my holidays, and I am determined to go back next year and help build their language school. So far they only meet regularly at a beach, but they are planning to rent a little house, with proper furniture and to create a library. English is a big part of the ticket for the kids to obtain a sustainable lifestyle. To be part of this is a legacy worth striving for.

English School in Tangkahan

Sport wise the focus has changed a bit. So far the national bodybuilding competition in Birmingham is off. If I should be in the right form by accident then I might just go, but I will not specifically prepare for it. Somethings gotta give! To build my business and to work with my clients is more important. I would still like to do the Martlesham 10k, though. I am just not sure if I still have enough time to train. I only had two month anyway, and now 3 weeks got nicked away by this nasty bugger of chest infection. Will have to see.

That's it really... oh, stop! Not entirely!

I have a new office arrangement. New challenges need new time management. I need to make time for all those lessons and find time for learning for exams. I found a need for more flexibility, meaning that I have to be able to access my office wherever I am and whenever I need it. That means laptop... which now happens to be a brand spanking new Macbook air. My pride and joy. Only flip side: It took hubby and me about a week to get everything configured. A lot of my stuff is now sitting in the cloud, meaning it is somewhere on a server and I - potentially - should be able to access everything from everywhere. Well, that at least is the theory. As usual it's the human element limiting the performance of the system, some of that stuff I just don't understand... Hmmm?!? There is a theme evolving. I really have to get the hang of learning new stuff.

At the Apple Temple, Covent Garden

Then a friend had a photo exhibition and used one of the pix he shot of me - Yay!

... and I had my 27th wedding anniversary ...

... so, times are good!

Hello!

2011-05-04T07:39:00.000+01:00

Good morning my dears!

I hope you had a lovely week so far. After my three and an half hours workout yesterday I am eventually feeling back on track with the training. Tomorrow I will have a photo shoot to test the tan... oh oh. Pictures to follow hopefully soon.

However, as I am getting closer to the my competition I realize that I am running out of time. So I may have to cut down on the writing a bit and may not have an update every day.

So for today I would like to keep it short and to introduce you to my two new friends who I found at Octopus

... they keep stealing my glasses ...

Have a great day!

A holiday decision

2011-04-11T06:21:00.000+01:00

After my last rant I have decided that I should take the term break, too. I may be publishing a bit here and there if I feel that something needs to get out, but not every weekday.

It is getting rather calm on the Internet at the moment anyway. All the English people at least are enjoying the first sunshine, as it may be their last for the rest of the year, and towards Easter at least the Western world is getting rather busy. So it is a good time for me to take a break,too, to do some gardening, focus on the Bodybuilding and most of all... sleep a bit more.

I am now wishing you a wonderful spring holiday, loads of sunshine, no sun burns, and see you right after Easter"

Love

Spring has sprung, how come...

2011-04-07T06:50:00.002+01:00

Monday the weather looked fine, I decided that it is spring and wore a thin blouse. The aircon at work decided that it is summer and cranked up the cold air...
Tuesday I decided to wear long sleeves and a blazer, but the weather decided that spring had not sprung yet and the aircon agreed, blowing warm air...
Today I wanted to be smart, temperature definitely rising I expected the aircon to deep freeze the place again and decided for long sleeve and vest. Very fashionable that I looked, I almost sweat myself to death as the aircon went bonkers and was still heating...

I however know for sure that spring has sprung because of the hayfeverish sniffles, and as long as I stay close to the aircon mayhem, I actually feel better. No two ways about it: The year has arrived in April - the month of too much work, confused sunshine, and inapt insects.

That means for me that only two month are left to get ready for the bodybuilding competition. I seem to have sorted the wardrobe questions (tan and bikini), still need to get leaner, and still have to learn how to pose.

Wish me luck, dears!

Ta ta

Another Thursday night

2011-04-01T07:48:00.001+01:00

Ok, it’s Thursday again and I remembered to bring the netbook to sewing class, yay! So again I am sitting in my car writing to kill some time until lesson will start. I am still on the toile, so no news there, but I got the DVD from the last photo shoot and the photos are looking good. Turns out that I have to see how to use the dresses, or I even may have to dispose of them… at least on the photos something is not quite right.

The shoulder bits look a bit flimsy now... who would have thought?
And I definitely need a tan for that one

I actually quite like that one - it's the comfiest dress ever, but Bob wasn't convinced either.
He hated the handbag that goes with the shoes, so I tested the green on green - with black or beige shoes maybe?
Argh...!

… and turns out that I still have to learn a lot in regard to posing. It seems to be much easier to model black, as soon as things are getting multicoloured some skill is asked for. Patterns make lines vanish and if arms and body are not properly separated by a gap one looks like a big blob.


Not good! ... and stiff like a log...


... better, but coats tend to pull creases, the jeans are a too dark wash, the shoes are too red, and tight jeans don't work in photos if they aren't pulled down straight... Hmmm?!?!

... crop the bottom bit off ... well, it works! I do like the coat!

Dresses are similarly tricky if they are shifting. It looks weird when the dress looks straight while the model is in profile and visa versa. Again: Hmmm?!?!

Oh were to put those darn arms?
Get some posture girl! Straighten your back!

Well, that is why we do those shoots, right? To figure out stuff like this. So here is to what is working: Leather jacket!

Gotta go dears, stichwork is calling for me. Will add a few photos and post tomorrow. Oh my silly computer wants to reboot… I hate it when they do this. So I will just shut it off and hence up now.

Ta ta

PS: Keep an eye on my PicasaWeb will post the rest of the pics during the weekend

A Photo Glimpse

2011-03-30T08:14:00.000+01:00

Half way through the week and I got two photos as a preview from last Friday's photo shoot, which was all about trying clothes. I am eagerly waiting for the photos with the dresses as they will determine whether or not I will still be wearing them this summer.

Since I eventually found some decent jeans I have become a bit reluctant to go through the hassle of dressing up with skirts or dresses. One needs tights or stockings, and in winter boots which never really fit my calves. And even now that spring is lurking one still needs a coat which looks silly on a dress if it is not the right length and colour, and ... ah...

So I didn't wear them in a while and when I tried them for fit before the shoot, I quite liked the feel and I thought that they still look pretty in the mirror. And then dear Bob, the photographer, seemed to disagree. Wrong shape, wrong colour... not me... Hmmmm?!?

He liked the black coat. Firstly it is a nice challenge for a photographer as it catches and reflects light in interesting ways, creating unexpected light sources, and apparently it compliments my white skin. Well, some years back I would have said that it contrasts and hence I shouldn't be wearing it. But previous shoots and this picture actually show that it looks quite good on me.

photo by: Bob

The favourite item however was my vintage red biker jacket. I loved that style since I saw Michelle Pfeiffer in one in the movie 'Into the night' (somewhere in the middle of the page). I always thought that red is not a good colour for me, but this thing goes a tiny bit towards the orange rather then the blue and the pictures show that it indeed works very well.

photo by: Bob

So far the dear photographer's opinion seems to be spot on, thus tI am starting to believe that the dresses might not be such a hit anymore. Well, I will let you decide once the pictures are up. I am hoping to receive a DVD next week or so.

Will keep you posted!

Have a lovely day,
Love

It's a new dawn, it's ...

2011-03-28T07:49:00.000+01:00

... a new day. It's new clothes for me!

This Saturday we did go to Camden marked, despite the protests. A woman who had set her mind on new clothes and a man determined to investigate the iPad situation cannot be scared away by a quarter of a million people.

Oh well, bush telegraphy on Twitter already had broadcast the news that the Apple Store at Covent Garden is out of goodies anyway, so there was no need to enter the danger zone. Only when we attempted to reach Westfield Mall in White City/Shepherdsbush we got stuck at Tottenham Court Road. Trouble at the platform caused officials to only keep open one turnstile, so we decided to abandon the plan, and had to walk back the police lined street, until eventually two stations further we could catch a Tube.

So no success for hubby. In the meantime it is revealed that the entire UK is out of iPad2 and nobody knows when new stock will arrive as even the US is short of resource. I call this: Too good marketing backfiring. Apple only can get away with it because there is no competitor, and the competitors may want to kill themselves right now for the fact that they don't have a product that compares... It would be NOW to hijack the market...

Well, the Camden Market people did better and had plenty of stuff to compliment my growing, goth inspired wardrobe. Here is a preview taken when sorting through my possessions, so please excuse the poor quality

I got this from the market stalls. It goes beautifully with the skirt I already own and which I bought for the purple corset.

And then I found more stuff at Sai Sai at Camden Staples Market. This is the shop where I got the coat and the blouse I used for the last photo shoot.

Find Sai Sai at:

Units 30a and 36a
London, Camden, Stable Market, Chalkfarm Road, NW18PB
lolisaisai @hotmail.com (please remove white space before @)
lizhi_lz @yahoo.com (please remove white space before @)

This skirt is a wee bit naughty as it looks rather Victorian, but is open in the front and shows a lot of leg.

This long blouse looks a bit odd on the hanger but is absolutely fabulous if just worn with a bra and some jeans or sleek black trousers. It has an open back and is thanks to laces very nicely fitted.

I love this skirt. Again it doesn't reveal the full potential on the hanger. It is a velvety black and very high cut, hence hugging the waist. It can be worn with or without petticoat.

Oh well, I will need to get me a strapless bra, but why not go checked this summer...

And this is a little something in grey from another shop I don't remember the name of. I liked the vest, but the guy was a bit intrusive, wouldn't go there again. One finds similar stuff all over the place. Whereas at Sai Sai they are very sweet, helpful, and honest.

So, I guess I am stocked up in the 'black' department now. I may want to have another pair of shoes to go with the skirts; heels... Yes! but a bit more playful than the ones I have.

Now I am waiting for occasions/weather to wear that stuff and someone to take decent photos with me in them. End of May hubby and I got tickets for the spring ball of you dance school... with proper band and all... decisions, decisions...

On that note I am wishing you a beautiful Monday!

Ta ta

Late today...

2011-03-22T09:08:00.002Z

Ahhh, the lady of the house had a lie-in. I thought that the best way to get in holiday mode is to be well slept. Now I am well slept and a bit slouchy. I guess I will need another couple of lie-ins until I eventually will be able to jump out of bed all energized.

On a side note: I think the spellchecker in blogger is broken. So please excuse the weirdness that goes beyond the usual, but you all know by now that my spelling is rubbish...

So yes, as usual too many plans for a short week, as one does when the wish to eventually catch up with everything becomes overwhelming and one isn't quite sure where to start and where to end. The fishpond definitely needs a good scrubbing... frogs are already mating like mad, the garden altogether needs a bit of attention, but the air is still a bit nippy, can't really get myself inspired for a proper garden session. On Friday I have another photo shoot. Yes, I am in demand, and I am loving it. Who would have thought that this silly woman who six years back hated to have her picture taken now is chasing cameras.

And then there is the biggie - posing training! I got a fantastic boost during the last weeks photo shoot when I saw my back. Of course I never properly get to see it and even without glasses I could see something rather big in this little camera screen. Again pictures have been proven to be a good tool for self assessment. I feel rather confident now, all I have to learn is how to show it off.

Well and if everything fails I just put a top hat and a red nose on... it worked for Red Nose Day last week.

Ta ta

Good Morning to week 12

2011-03-21T08:03:00.000Z

Yes, the year is 12 weeks old now, and eventually the weather Gods seem to realise this as well. I am mega-busy and really could do with a bit of warmth and less fuss on the dress front. All those cardiagans and warm coats go on my nerves. I have so many nice coats which basically replace Blazers, but can't wear them because no other coat would fit on top of them, but they are too thin as stand alone, at least for now.

So, I have to show them off in photo shoots. I don't have too many pix because it was not about clothes but light experiments. Very, very interesting indeed. I am looking forward to doing more of that type of stuff. During the weekend I eventually managed to update all the blogs, shoved some files on how to subscribe and how to block adds to the bottom of the page to make the right hand side menu more airy, and I - sorry - added an advert block into the menu, the money it makes is just too tempting to not do it. Well, I always was an open minded person... or at least I thought so... I will let you choose whether or not you want to see the ads, hence the article. I hope the blogs have all the same structure now so that you find similar links in the similar places. Now I can move on to the scary stuff... Bodybuilding is next on my agenda!

I gotta dash. I should be on leave, but have to work a bit more for work, and then it's the garden... oh my... the garden... don't get me started on that!

See you around, dears! Have a fab day!
Love

Gotta Dash...

2011-03-17T05:54:00.000Z

Good morning Dears,

The next two days I will have to dash a around a lot and I won't be able to write myself. Well, I do right now, but you know what I mean. My brain is empty and I have no opinion to be opinionated about, so I am giving you sombody elses.

Dear Nury Vittachi, columnist, writer and a little bit of an idol of mine always has a wealth of funny columns to dive in. So why for a change don't you read his stuff? Like the one about protests!

Gotta put make-up on now: Red Nose Day event at work looming. Going a bit burlesque, eventually something nice for the guys at the end of financial year!

Ta ta

So many plans...

2011-03-14T06:20:00.000Z

... oh my goodness, I hope a lifetime is enough for what I have on my mind.

One thing on it is wealth... I need money. Well, who doesn't? But I need serious money, and hence I am starting to sell advert space on my blogs. I personally don't like ads and hence I am herewith sharing with you my little wisdom on how to avoid my ad-attack.

All my previous plans were about self improvement and having fun while doing a day job that is OK. I am now working on plans to self improve and to have fun while working in a job that I love, meaning my own business. Aim is to have that done in 3-4 years time. So, now I have to learn how to do business. And offering my assets is a first step... no, not what you might mean...! Tsss...

At the moment I am updating all the blogs with the latest information about Columnbina and getting the settings right - for the time being I will keep the Diary and the Column clean from ads - and I am advertising the book, It is not selling brilliantly, but hey! already made something like £10 from it for Orangutan Land Trust, to which the profits of the first 100 sales will go, another 90 to shift.

I now urgently need to swap over to put focus on the Bodybuilding competition in June. I will have some pix soon, so brace yourselves, and then my big 5-0 is coming up and the trip to Sumatra right after. That should be an experience of a lifetime and should add some interesting insights to the travel blog.

And when I am back I will reveal what I am up to for the grand plan!

Have a great start into the new week. Here the weather is lovely and all is good,
Wishing you the same!
Love

So far so good!

2011-03-09T07:59:00.000Z

In my naivety I thought I could go straight into the bodybuilding challenge after the book was out, but I am now in some sort of hovering state... the brain is numb. Additionally I of course have to advertise the book. So I am visiting all my social networking sites... which are plentiful... amending the profiles, and I have to go into all the blogs as well and add the link.... still so much to do!

And it is important to do, as even the people who know about it so far haven't bought it yet. Well, I can understand that they are not as excited as I am, while I am rather impatient at the moment. I still only have the sales of the people in my closest proximity, which is 5, plus somebody from the US - yippee! thank you! - and I am getting nervous if I will ever make the 100 sales of which I promised to give the royalties to Orangutan Land Trust.

So please, please help me spread the word: Info about Rika's ebook and where to buy is on http://columnbina.com Kindle Apps for PC, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Blackberry, Android phone are available for free on the Amazon site.

Another task is to get me a bank account. It is a wonderful thought, my own little vault for my personal achievements.

I hope my brain will now settle and that I will be able to write something substantial again, rather than book, book, book....

Thanks for bearing with me, have a lovely day!

The deed is done!

2011-03-07T06:38:00.000Z

Columnbina has her own web-home now, with domain name and all. She lives at http://columnbina.com, is of course embedded into the ILP landscape, as she is our representative and mascot after all. I have to admit, I am rather proud of the achieved.

Since I uploaded her to the Kindle publishing site on Saturday, she is now doing her first shy steps into my bookshelf. It is wonderfully thrilling to see, how step by step the information trickles in, the pictures are getting added on the store site, the price is getting allocated. She is already looking pretty good in the US and one can expect that by the 8th March, tomorrow, right in time for carnival and 100th International Women's Day, everything will be in place. So please prepare for the big launch day, visit her website, and feel free to pass on the link.

Thanks you so much for all your support throughout!

See you tomorrow with the URLs

Ta ta

Crunch Time

2011-03-04T08:39:00.000Z

Oh, it was one of those days yesterday: Day job buzzing like a bee hive, then sewing course at night, and Columnbina's title illustration needed to be finished. Doesn't sound too bad but at the moment it's the list of tasks to work through, now and during the next week, that keeps me in a weird state of alertness.

This drawing had cost me a bit of headache already as I had accidentally deleted it half way through with no option of recovery. I don't have a suspicious mind, but ...

Afternoon went OK and off I went for sewing, no fog this time and even a bit of daylight left over at 6:30PM, things definitely seemed to pick up. Coming home by 10 at night I decided for a cappuccino! The face is the most difficult bit, I love the picture I use as template, but it is so pretty because it is a bit out of focus, a feature very unsuitable for a template. Every little grey cell needed to be on high alert.

Somebody then apparently decided otherwise and guided my little finger to get stuck in the handle of the cup, distributing a quarter of a pint of hot frothed milk evenly over the kitchen. It is amazing how far a quarter of a pint can stretch, especially with appliances in the proximity. However, calm, collected and oh-so-grown up woman I am claiming to have become, I cleaned the kitchen which had just seen the cleaner that morning, while preparing another cappuccino. At least we were not out of milk and I was not willing to let take over that 'bad omen' idea again.

Having lost half an hour of precious time, drawing went well, and at around midnight I included it into the files to run the program that eventually would create 'The Book'. I had done it before, it worked fine, should be just a final test before bed time... 'File created with warnings!'...

Panic mode!

'File was create with warnings' for the next two hours. I tried previous versions, amended files, hubby joined in trying every trick from the book and searching the entire Internet for solutions: Turns out that I am an idiot! Apparently the cappuccino had not been reaching far enough to keep me alert for this last task - From a set of three files making up the entire book, I had been running the wrong file.

Eventually! By 3AM 'The Book' had a cover and the Nauck household was able to retire. And here it is:

Columnbina - A Teaser

2011-03-03T07:00:00.000Z

Find the eBook at the Kindle store from 8th March 2011

Prologue

Who is Columnbina?

I’m not much of a theatre person; Commedia dell’Arte however, is a kind of art that suits my temper. According to Wikipedia this is a form of improvisational theatre that started in Italy in the 16th century, using general plotlines around all too human issues like old age, love, jealousy and adultery, but tweaking them into satire or farce whenever local scandals or regional tastes would give additional fire to the punch lines.

Characters were easily identifiable by clothing, make-up, posture and gesture. There were the diva, the rich man, the servants, the foolish, the lover, … and one of them was Columbina. She is a servant of the diva, often drives the story and is usually depicted as untamed, smart and crafty. She is the female counterpart of the Harlequin – the clown. She is engaging with the audience and hence is having a role between the lines of the plot.

If I were to chose one of all the characters: I would want to be Columbina! A networker, an enabler of people and situations, yet down to earth with a genuine interest in what makes people tick.

I like the Commedia dell’Arte because its plotlines are crisp, and to the point, and that is why I like columns. A personal view of a particular part of the world condensed in about 600 words, witty and at times a bit sarcastic, but always quickly plotted to catch the Zeitgeist, to document changes, and to show how people live. Columns connect people; one doesn’t feel alone when somebody else even writes about it: 'See? Told you so…! Exactly what I thought!'

Since 2007, I’m running my website now, and since then I wrote a column once in a while with increasing frequency. Reading back through them it is amazing how much they reflect my life and what happened around me. I have written miles of other articles – my husband calls it writer’s diarrhoea – and they only tell a fraction of what these little bits of writing reveal.

So here’s to share with you my newly gained wisdom: My collection of little insights into myself, human nature in general, how to rule the world, save it, and how to know everything better anyway.

Columnbina's Tasks, Tussles and Temptations

As opposed to the Columbina of the 16th century the modern day Columnbina is usually married and/or has kids plus a day job. Thus instead of being a servant to one diva she has two divas to serve: The family and the job.

She has to juggle through the days using every skill imaginable: creativity, abstract thinking, managerial, and so called soft skills – what basically means ‘keeping everything together and everybody happy’.

Deep inside she may be a shy person, an accountant’s personality or a chaotic madwoman: Nobody cares whether the task suits her abilities, the nitty-gritty bits always fall into her lap anyway.

No wonders that once in a while she snaps. She might take some time off for bitching, or spending, or ranting. But at the end of the day she always comes out of it with a smile, looking gorgeous and the drive to go on with it! Well, almost always …

Table of Content
Prologue
Introduction

Columnbina’s Tasks, Tussles and Temptations
1. Dawn till Dusk
1.1. He’s so Sweet
1.2. How Embarrassing
1.3. Emotions
1.4. Creams and Ointments
1.5. Names
2. Shopping of All Sorts
2.1. Food Shopping
2.2. Buying a Car
2.3. Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!
2.4. How Four Silly Buys Make One Good Outfit
2.5 Oh No, Not Again!
3. Rebellious Bonce
3.1. I’m on Strike
3.2. What a Rubbish
3.3. About Criticism
3.4. Fraudster and Customer Service

Columnbina Going a Bit Bonkers
1. Idols, Ideas and the Implementation of the Same
1.1. Fan Letter to an Idol…Eh, Two Idols!
1.2. Colours – Colours- Colours
1.3. Weight Loss through Weight Gain
1.4. What’s the Worst…?
1.5. From Strength to Freedom – Summing It Up
2. Autocars, Appliances, and the Admiration of a Little Boy
2.1. Gagoria & Co
2.2. Homage to Mukuefchen

Columnbina Thinking Deep
1. We Had It All
2. Homage to Monica
3. Passion
4. Challenges
5. IAPU
6. Live and Let Live – Or: What we can learn from cats

Columnbina’s Getting the Hang of It
1. The Way We Are
2. Humble Pie
3. Wrongly Wired
4. You Can’t Cheat the Sandman
5. Good use for Chocolate
6. Am I Too Spoilt?
7. A little Tale
8. Achievements
9. Pushing the Limits
10. Columnbina sings: And The Chicken Can Fly

Epilogue
Acknowledgements

Columbina and Orangutans

2011-03-02T06:14:00.000Z

Since Columnbina is an illustrated character and in that respect a pencil drawing, you might be interested to know that actually she is a red-head. Well, not a natural one, but it is the colour that underlines her boisterousness and the one that she feels most comfortable with. She truly believes that on her creation somebody forgot to add this vital ingredient of red hair and that it should have been hers in the first place.

Thus it does not take any wonder that she feels a strong relationship to another red-headed relative, the Orangutan. She loves to engage in charity work for the furry fellas and hence the the profits of the first 100 downloads of her eBook will go to Orangutan Land Trust, a charity working hard to preserve the land suitable for Orangutans to live in.

And now,again, I will attend to drawing the ladies skirt... why does she have to dress up so much?

Ta ta

Columnbina?

2011-03-01T05:45:00.000Z

Nope,... not a typo!

Oh, I admit it: It is a silly little word game, but I like it nevertheless. When I looked back over the columns I had written during the first good year of Incredible Ladies, I realised that there is some sort of story line evolving. The beginnings were rants in good 'old grumpy women' style, then things turned more and more into an attempt to make sense of things which I observed in me and others, to then finding remedies or at least conclusions to some of the issues raised.

So I decided to tie those columns together into a book and the character most suitable to do so appeared to be Columbina of the Commedia del'Arte. Well, and there you are: The slight name change makes it more silly but even more suitable.

On that note I will cut it short again, the good lady is waiting for me to finish her last illustration, as she is now keen herself to get out and about and to meet you on 8th March at the Kindle store.

Ta ta
Rika

Meet Columnbina

2011-02-28T05:45:00.000Z

Columnbina is my alter ego in my eBook which is due to come out on 8th March. I am still hoping that uploading to the Kindle store, approvals from Amazon, and whatever else might crop up will go as smoothly as advertised on the Kindle website, but at least it looks like as if I am going to make it from my end with editing and drawing illustrations.

I am looking into stores selling ePub format as well, but it for sure will come out as Kindle book. Well, and Kindle has applications for PC, iPad, iPhone, Android phones and PC... so, no excuses at that end to not buy it.

I am all excited now and throughout this week I will tell you a bit more about Columnbina, how she came about and how things go in regard to her birthday. So, please stay tuned.

For now I have to get cracking!
Have a wonderful and successful week,
Love

Red Noses

2011-02-24T08:18:00.000Z

I have dealt with the networking issue last week, I have been commenting on beauty this week, it's time now to address the matter of red noses. Apart from the fact that my cold is still not entirely vanished, this is not what I mean: We have 'Red Nose Day' in England. It is a charity event that is taking place all over the country to help children all over the world. Well, and a red clown's nose is the signature item. So I ordered nine of them... and now I have no idea how to put them to good use. I thought I'd put them onto the noses of our managers at work and send them out to collect money, but they smartly have put themselves a very boring yet incredibly important all day meeting into their calendars. I am now thinking of finding a room with glass front for them, making them wear the noses nevertheless, and asking people to give me money for being allowed to watch them meet. This meeting might not be a successful one, though... well, it might not be anyway.

I am finding it difficult to be funny and to make money from it. We had loads of cross dressers in the past, that usually works well, but only in one direction... don't think hubby would get excited, oh my... any other ideas welcome! It's the 18th of March, by the way: So should you have a few pennies, cents, or whatever currency make your purse appear too heavy, please consider donating. As I said, it's for kids all over the world.

And now I have to get back to my drawings. Hanging horribly with my book publishing schedule. Will keep you posted about the red noses!

Ta ta!

It's networking week

2011-02-14T05:57:00.000Z

I had a lovely incident this weekend which reminded me of a networking workshop I did some years back. It culminated in a series of articles which I now decided to re-publish. Firstly, I am sneaky thus saving me some time to work on the book, and secondly I think this is a really important thing to know about if one really wants to improve the lifestyle. We ladies usually are not really good in networking - real life networking that is, social networking that seems to be a different matter. In real life however, we know a lot of people, but we are not good in calling in the favours, and in social environments we tend to hide in the shadows of our men... So here is the first article in this weeks networking series: Knitting 21st Century Style - About the Importance of Networking.

Have a wonderful and successful week,

always your, Love

Busy weekend ahead

2011-02-11T06:46:00.001Z

There we have another weekend, and I should be falling into panic mode. I'm too busy for that, though. Luckily busy with nice things, but busy nevertheless. Hence I looked for a another thing to re-publish and found something amusing: Quite the thing we need to compensate for the bad weather predicted.

In regard to the panic I mentioned: Well, 16 weeks to the bodybuilding competition, 4 weeks for the book, dance class and sewing lessons are a lot of fun but take time, and as usual: The day job gets in the way. All those things that need a bit of brain capacity, a very useful thing of which I seem to be running out. I have to be careful not to go to dance lesson in a toile and start dancing in sewing class.

Since this lack of memory capacity doesn't make me very amusing anyway, I will now rather release you into the weekend by wishing you a good and successful one.

Until Monday
Ta ta!

A bit of re-publishing

2011-02-09T07:03:00.000Z

Good morning everybody,

I hope you forgive me when I am doing a bit of recycling. I haven't been re-publishing stuff from the original IL site in a while and last night I got caught up a bit in scribbling my illustrations for the book. So I thought it's a good opportunity to save a bit of time and still give you something to read.

Although you may have read it before it may be good to be reminded of the fact that lack of iron is a sneaky thing. After I wrote this article I didn't have those problems again as I am still taking my pills. It seems that especially during the menopausal decade with wonky hormone levels I have to rely on them.

So, cutting it short today I am hoping for a lovely clear spring-ish day similar to yesterday, and wishing you a good mid-of-the-week: Weekend not too far anymore!

Ta ta

What's new?

2011-02-08T07:44:00.001Z

Well, nothing really. The year at least is not new anymore! I cannot comprehend how February arrived without me noticing. I am contemplating a study with different age groups, to figure out if it is an age thing that time feels like flying, or if time actually does fly. Although I should not complain, at least not at the beginning of the year: The weather is definitely getting better, the crocus are out and the forsythia looks all knobbly. I can't wait to watch the yellow shrub from my study window. A bit of a spring breeze will surely help to progress the four main projects I am attending to at the moment.

I am working a lot for the eBook right now. I finally found the sub-title for it, and the publication date on Amazon should be the 7th March if all goes well. It's the Carnival Monday and as Columnbina, my alter ego in the book, is derived from a character of Comedia del'Arte, that sort of makes sense... if it must. So, please cross fingers that all goes well!

Then of course the Bodybuilding. I am starting to find my audience in the gym so it seems. At least dear friend Imola claims to observe guys ogling ... what is fine by me. To be honest, one has to be a bit of a show off to consider such a challenge in the first place, doesn't one? So the one or the other stare does me good and makes me huff and puff a bit more straightaway. So, please keep throwing eyes...

The third project is starting to become a bit of a passionate relationship with needles and pins. The wonderful thing about the sewing course is, that during those two hours I am in a bubble. Everything is falling off me, and total focus on the task gives such a peace of mind. I only can recommend doing something artsy-craftsy... It has something peaceful about it, trying to bring hands and brain into a rhythm... I didn't know how much I missed this until I did it again.

And then there is a fourth thing clawing its way into our lives. It's dance classes with hubby. We wanted something that we do together. We danced a little bit some 30 years ago and then never again. Oh what a fun that is! In this case it's more about bringing brain and feet together which seems to be much more of a challenge than hands and brains.

See, those four are summing up quite nicely what is needed for happiness in life:

A challenge or at least a goal to find a bit of a drive,
then something one can do on ones own, something where one can meet new people without the baggage of existing friendship or family, a place to be 'one self'.
and something to spent quality time with a partner, and again 'without the company of other friends'. This is about creating experience and environment that is 'ours'.
most importantly though, there are 'bubble' occasions. Especially the dancing and the sewing take all the attention. No mobile, no texting, no straying thoughts about work or the other tasks.

So there seems to be something is new after all: I found a set of things to do which keep me terribly busy, but have the potential to make incredibly happy. Yay!

Have a wonderful Tuesday
Love

And sleep does help

2011-02-04T07:18:00.000Z

What a great week I had. I thought it was lack of time keeping me from performing the way I would like to perform. Turns out it was lack of sleep. Although I had less waking hours I got so much more done. I have been writing about this before, but firstly, I seem to forget my own advice and secondly, at times I tend to fall into the comfort trap, meaning, start rotting in front of the telly.

This week I didn't watch any... not because I didn't want to, but because I went to bed instead. One has to go with the preferred rhythm and mine is early bird. So nodding off in the arm chair at night is not a good option when wanting to get stuff done in the mornings. Now I am back to 'very early bird': I get up at 5:30, I was at work at 8 today - Yippee, nobody in the office, got so much work done. Had a good parking spot, too. I had a little performance dip in the afternoon, but for some reason everybody has, even the long sleepers. So that might be more down to lunch sluggishness than anything else. Depending on how deep the dip is, I use the time to tidy house, or Facebook, or to indeed have a nap... oh well...

... and nevertheless managed to go to the gym, was alert and happy at work, finished an illustration, went to dance class, started sorting ISBNs, did my sewing homework, went to the sewing class, did quite some blog admin due to the new blog and still had enough time to Facebook and Twitter. Most important of all: I was not as hungry and was a really rather happy bunny, because everything went so smoothly.

So, I should listen to my own advice a bit more often which in this case is: Food, sport, work - one can tweak them to improve the lifestyle, but none of those have an as big impact as sleep.

It seems that I will keep nagging you with this. Hubby found me some German articles, which I will wrap up for you. What do you say? You have kids, you don't have the luxury? Throw away any other comfort, cancel the social events, the swimming session, the beauty appointment... All very important to have, but not if you are lacking sleep. Get the odd 5 minutes here and there for a nap - even just closing eyes and resting is better than nothing, and just call it a day when it's a day!

On that note: I will edit this tomorrow morning for publishing - off I go to bed now. Until next week.

Night night!

related links
Can't cheat the sandman

Life's busy

2011-01-31T05:41:00.000Z

My goodness me, everything has kicked in now. Training wise I am running to the gym four times a week, I found two victims to torture with my gym and free weight wisdom, dance classes with hubby are in full swing, literally!, and the sewing course demanded some homework which I completed yesterday, nothing pretty yet, but to a decent standard. I at least learned a lot.

My task for this week will be to get to bed in time. The one morning last week which I overslept really taught me a lesson, I felt so much better all day. I guess it will need some getting used to, though. Yesterday I was so tired that I considered it a good idea to start the new regime. By the time I hit the pillow I was wide awake. The body is a weird thing. I will take it as a new experiment! So, at least for a while I should not be availble on FB for a chat at night; although the computer is live I shall be shifting dreams.

And now the new week is upon us. I am wishing you all a successful and happy one.
Wishing you sweet dreams, too!

Ta ta

A new blog - Lucky number 13

2011-01-28T07:19:00.000Z

And there is the weekend approaching! And it has a lot of work ahead for me. We have a new blog: The Seamstress

It's still a bit pale and needs some work to it, but it's a start. It's the arts and crafts section of ILP and given that I just started sewing class there will be a lot of sewing on it for now. But as I know myself there will be all sorts of stuff coming up over time. I could think of photography, painting/drawing on paper, fabric or digital, wood work, knitting/crochet, welding, DIY stuff in general...

So this weekend I have to do some sewing homework, dance lessons, and of course the gym: The moment of truth will come tomorrow when it is weighing and measuring day. This morning I put on some trousers which I haven't worn for a while, and they are horribly tight, although I fell very lean already. Please, please let it be the muscles that have grown!

Off I go now, be back on Monday. Have a fantastically successful weekend!

Narcissism overdose

2011-01-24T06:50:00.000Z

Not sure if that is possible as the chappy after whose name the term was coined could just not do that: overdose on himself.

I however feel a bit like it. On Thursday I got the pictures of the last photo shoot, by Friday I had figured out how to do albums on Picasa, and the rest of the weekend I spent building all the albums of which I had the pictures straight away. So now the pictures which are used in the blogs are available in public albums as well, and I worked my way through all my photo shoots. I must be very vain.

45 years gap

At least they now are all in one place and you can form your own opinion about the matter. So that's it for today, the google eyed girl has to shut up and shut down, another work week looming.

Ta ta

Oh my...

2011-01-14T07:44:00.000Z

I could title this update 'Murphy's Law' as well, but I had that already.

Reasons for the choice of title being that firstly, I had rather boring 10 years here in England, self-chosen boring, but boring nevertheless. I probably had three restaurant visits per year and a couple of parties at its best and hence had no reason to blame any weight issues on those activities. Secondly, I discovered 'hormones' and found that they are a very silly invention. On the other hand they are very convenient because one can blame a lot of things on them.

And thirdly, the first subject has changed while the second stayed the same and now I have two excuses... which is not a good thing for the mistress of unfinished stuff. Since I decided to do the Bodybuilding competition about 3/4 of a year ago, food invitations are piling up in my calendar. I have been more eating out during the past half year than the entire ten years before, meaning that now I am fatter than two years ago, oh crumbs! Moreover that so far every photo shoot opportunity cropped up during the worst time of the month when I am my most hormonal, the next one taking place tonight... crumbs again!

I am usually worried that the photographer might have certain ideas about the outcome, wants to test and practice certain things, and that I might not be able to deliver because I had to eat the silly cheese sauce, or skipped the treadmill, or that am just not that good in posing altogether.

But no excuses allowed. We need pix for later comparison anyway and dear Matt is a brilliant photographer. And I have prepared three outfits which are definitely very different from the usual and might distract from ... 'the usual'. We have two hours, let's see with what we will come up... I might want to consider sticking to water and bread at least for today, though.

Gadgets

2011-01-13T08:29:00.002Z

I have been idling through the Internet yesterday. Initially I just wanted to add a few makeup links a friend had sent for the Links2Beauty page - a quite nice collection we have there now, keep it comin' ladies - when another friend sent me an email with a link for a manly jewellery. I have to say that I actually would like that thing for myself. Imagine me in boyfriend jeans, tank top and that ring - Nice! Unfortunately it's a above the limit what I would usually pay for jewellery; I can hardly resist a good pair of jeans and I can definitely not resist shoes, but jewellery... naaa! Have enough shiny stuff, and muscles look best plain anyway.

Then one thing led to another and all of a sudden I found myself browsing through the health section of that site, all 13 pages of it. I found some quite interesting links and hence added a Links2Health page to the Health&Beauty blog as well. Others I didn't put on that page, because they would have better fitted into the EROTICA article, people do invent weird stuff, but the article is brilliantly written, and so I don't want to deprive you of it.

Given all my rambling around I didn't write a proper article, though. Let's call it a maintenance day, then. H&B blog is a bit refurbished as is my desk. I got a huge new monitor and now can multitask the hell out of my computer.

... and I am wondering if online shops are actually banking of the sluggishness of people. Luckily I have a liking for big glass coasters which now have to help adjust the height of the new monitor. This thing is neither height adjustable nor can it be tilted although we specifically chose this one for said features. I am just too lazy to wrap it up, bring it to the post office and then will have to wait for another delivery, and, and, and... In those cases probably something similar to the new patent by Amazon would be nice: Exchange your gifts before you even receive them.Smart!

Have a lovely Thursday, one more day and the week is over. Yay!

Tata

PS: I just found this on my FB wall

Some colour is needed

2011-01-11T08:46:00.001Z

So! There we are: In the drab time of the year.

Let's get some colour in! Valentines day is coming up... not that I am a particular fan of it, but at least something is happening, and then 4th - 8th March is Carnival: That definitely is colourful! Although I am not a particular fan of that one either, and am rather happy to have escaped the German craze about it. Some offices will be deserted during that period, so be aware should you be doing business with Germans.

However, that is the date I am aiming for to get the Kindle book up on Amazon - cross fingers. My alter ego is called Columnbina and her theatrical counterpart Columbina these days is associated to the Venetian Carnival after all.

Have a wonderful day and find a bit of colour and light in it!
Love

Two projects back on track!

2011-01-05T06:58:00.000Z

Yeehaw! Two projects are back on track!

After a long-ish break I was in the gym yesterday and figured out a few things which I will have to change. The sluggishness I felt was somewhat homemade and due to overtraining. I have five month to remedy the situation - oh my goodness!

The other one is the book. I at least think that I am starting to get the hang of all the e-Publishing stuff. The first version is planned to be published for Kindle readers by 7th March - which is Shrove Monday - for a reason! Cross fingers that I will make it by then. I additionally will look into an iPad version and maybe even a very basic print version - it would be too expensive otherwise - for all those who despise eBook readers. Although I like the eBook idea under a carbon neutral point of view. These devices are utterly energy efficient, and a lot of paper is saved for not printing it out.

It is amazing how the focus changes over time. At the beginning this little book was my heart and soul; I only could see it layed out in a very specific way and was not keen on changing anything. Now that it has been sitting around for more than a year and that ideas for the next one are already are cropping up, I am happy to using it to experiment with all the new media on the market. I now realise that providing various versions of different features and quality might appeal to even more people, not that I am expecting to become a bestselling author...oh well, it would be nice if I could sell at least a few, the profit of the first 1000 pieces will go to our dedicated charity Orangutan Land Trust after all. Imagine! £1 profit per download would bring in a thousand quid. That would be so brilliant!

Ha, that is even more motivation to get on with it. So let me call it a day now and work a bit more!

Love

Oi,...

2010-12-30T12:21:00.000Z

Whoops sorry, I am late again.

It seems that talking about hedgehogging yesterday put me into just the bubble I wanted to be, completely forgetting that I have publishing duties to fulfill.

Yes, I got started on formatting the book. I cannot believe that it is lying around since more than a year. That at least is the date on the files when I saved them last. So all I can say for now is: be prepared for an eBook to come out on Kindle at one point in the not too far future. It is still too early to say when, as I am stripping everything to plain text, whereas the original was planned to have a lot of pictures.

As soon as the text version is working in the Kindle format I can start to see how to get illustrations and pictures (only possible in B&W) in. Once that is done I can get started on the iPad version using colour.

So, off I go quickly and get the rest of the text into the file... See you later!

Ta ta
xx

Happy ranting

2010-12-29T12:40:00.000Z

Christmas is over and I hope you all survived it well. I couldn't help but write a little rant about this whole period... oh my, every year the same! The good thing however is that I had time to count the Orangutan Land Trust charity money and I could make another donation. So the office piggy has it's own page now.

So off I dash now to get the shopping done for tomorrow and hopefully I will find a bit of time to get some book editing done. Now that I know what to do I really want to get my fingers into it.

Wishing you a really nice day
Love

Merry Christmas All!

2010-12-24T10:15:00.000Z

Hemingway was almost as famous for his Whisky consumption as he was for his writing, and there are many others more who are known for this combination. I have no idea how the two can go together. After a lovely party at friends house with loads of booze and food I am feeling rather brain dead this morning, at least writing wise. And although I may have had some witty moments last night, I don't think that those would spark great literature.

I will have to put this down to either the fact that booze is not really for me, or that I am just not a Hemingway. Either way: I am on holidays from now on, and hence I am not feeling too bad for not writing a big article. This is the period of time for which I had promised myself to kick-start a few projects. The sewing machine needs to be cleaned for the course beginning mid January. I need to start planning for a photo shoot with Matt to get templates for my book illustrations. I have to learn how to do an eBook and I have to start thinking about a posing routine for the Bodybuilding competition. Given all that there might be no proper articles during this time but just the daily update, like this one, except for Christmas and Boxing day, those I will take off entirely.

On that note I am now wishing you a very merry Christmas, hoping that you might find a calm moment for yourself once in a while.

Always yours
Love

Better late than never

2010-12-22T10:45:00.000Z

wintery waterfall of my fishpond

Ha! This is the first morning after I caught the cold that I feel like having a brain. Given that, I am actually rather proud that I kept posting throughout. Am a bit late today, though. Reason being that I swithched off all alarms... and promptly got woken by the telephone, oh well. Important thing is, that I got almost 9 hours and as it turns out: Sleep is the best of remedies!

I posted about this before, just that sometimes I don't listen to my own advice. This incident now showed that I better should, and not just when I am ill.

The other thing that is a really good remedy when the chesty cough kicks in is my quirky cough syrup. Tastes a bit funny but works wonders. As much as I would like to blab on: Work is calling. So, have a lovely day and keep fit!

Love
Rika xx

Haaaptchi

2010-12-20T08:09:00.002Z

I caught a cold, and this time a rather proper one. That is not helping with all the projects I eventually wanted to catch up with, but a cold never comes at the right time, I guess. I could live with a sore throat and a sniffling nose, the brain however goes all mushy just to a degree that one can still function somehow. These little buggers don't care how groggy we feel, keeping us at a level of mobility that enables us to move about, and passing them on. Well, and our modern lifestyle is nicely tapping into it. I actually was already waiting for it, as I am working in an open plan office with aircon. When I heard people coughing and sneezing all over the place I already cranked up Vit C intake and resorted to Chicken soup and other healthy foods, but one evening in the pub, trying to over-shout the music and a day strolling through icy London brought me down.

Oh well, let's get it done and over with before Christmas. Today I will be working a bit from home and you may want to avoid visits to my house. I will be throwing the whole range of remedies I know at it and by end of the week things should be almost back to normal.

But remember what my Grandma used to say: A cold comes for a week, stays for a week and leaves for a week. Should you have caught it: Take it easy for a while longer, even if you are feeling all right. Otherwise you might be running right into the next one.

On that note I am wishing you a healthy week!

Haaaptchi.... sniff...
Rika

Just and update!

2010-12-17T07:19:00.000Z

Gooooood morning, good morning, good morning everybody! Today just a quick update:

Christmas run up... getting there. This week was the week when everything would either run smoothely, or not at all and so far we are on the smoothely side of things. Made it through two Christmas dinners, and despite having them substancially extended into pub visits and Koffee-klatsches I still managed to write something every day. So very pleased with that.

I haven't been drawing all week, though, and I am really missing it. What is a good thing. This seems to be something that could become a new passion ... Sunday! Sunday I will be doing a bit of drawing... Pweeese...! Just a bit?

I still keep forgetting to take my business cards with me, which is a bit silly as this is the time of the year to meet a lot of people. Oh well,...

The blogs are becoming more and more shapely now. Since I discovered the stand alone pages I have inserted those into Live and Let Live, Bloody Hell... , Rika's Personal Blog and I will add a few more to the other blogs. I think it makes it much easier to find out what the blog is about. Hence pleased with that as well.

The food and training side of things is a disaster, though. I am looking forward to next week when everything should be back to normal. I am getting really nervous now, but at this time of the year it is hard to find inspiration. So I will have to find it within myself, somewhere... don't have a clue where to look for it, though.

That's all for now I guess. I hope you are all on target! And don't forget: Half an hour time out with a cuppa can work wonders. It's short enough for the world not to break down around you and afterwards you will have the strength to face it again. On that note:

Tata, so long, chin up!
Love

Thoughts on passion and compassion

2010-12-14T06:53:00.000Z

It is the same as always: When I don't have the time I am full of ideas and thoughts. Work is getting crazier than ever, I get loads of ideas for articles and and now I have got my new drawing pad Bamboo touch and paint and can hardly contain myself from drawing until late at night. It is really nice and I can use the software which I own already and so far used with a mouse.

Initially the pen felt a bit weird but now it is very comfortable to use. I am not entirely sure, though, why I felt the urge to chose my big bottom as a first trial. Everybody who saw it is now kindly demanding that I deliver the top half as well. I guess it was the more artistic aspect that drove me to that drastic action. I wanted something 'skin & fabric', 'light & shade' with a not too bad contrast. And now I am hoping that I will become really good in this. Would be nice to be able to illustrate my own books, or to be able to sell pictures to add a bit to charity money. Well, that was the other thing I have been thinking about, charity and what is the difference between compassion and sentiment.

And now I have to make my way through a week of Christmas dinners and the visit of my goddaughter's lovely sister. I will have to see how it goes with the writing and the drawing then. Wishing you nice Christmas shopping and that somebody will find something nice for you as well.

Love

Weekend!

2010-12-10T08:58:00.000Z

Thank goodness, it's weekend. At least for me it is. The joy of being a part timer. But that doesn't mean the worrying stops, in contrary: I am waiting for delivery from the online pharmacy, of some clothes and my new toy - a drawing pad and this heavily interferes with plans to have a lunch out with dear girlfriend. I am rather certain delivery services will all queue up as soon as I leave the house. A solution is needed!

Gotta dash now, so much to do before lunch time, and definitely don't wanna be to late for that!
Talk to you on Monday dears, have a lovely weekend,
Love

Argh...

2010-12-09T07:41:00.000Z

This is the first day on which I am really struggling and my brain is dead empty! At least I filled in the entry form for the Anglian Bodybuilding Championships now, but for the rest of it the day job is killing any inspiration... have been sitting until half nine last night doing boring websites, and all of a sudden I am caught in this: EVERYTHING before Christmas thing...

Oh well, today I eventually will get the tooth fixed, I guess that is something to aim for before Christmas, and next Monday I will see the nurse for vaccinations for my Sumatra trip in summer, another thing that needs to get into the pipeline as some jabs need to be done well before the trip.

So I really have to dash now. Wishing you a calm and sunny day, at least the sun rise looks beautifully clear and the forecast gives three big suns out of five, Hurrah!
Ta ta
xx

Oi, that is great!

2010-12-08T07:16:00.000Z

I admit, I watched too much of 'The Nanny' recently - this 'Oi' thing is very contagious. But that's not my point!

I am so glad that I chose Blogger as the Incredible Ladies Project's new home. I just discovered that for each blog one can have 10 additional pages to use for static information. This comes just in time for a change in the fund raising sector. Although the new approach is very reasonable money wise, it will be a bit more difficult on the inspiration side of things and will make tracing targets a bit more difficult. So I created a fundraising information page for the charity blog hoping that this will cover it at least in parts.

This page is listed as a tab at the top of the blog, with 'Home' being the original blog. This option will now open all sorts of opportunities for the other blogs and the growth of ILP. Those pages don't allow comments but that shouldn't be a problem. The blogs usually have initial posts which explain the purpose or the general trend, and which now have sunk to the bottom of the archive. Those new pages will now allow for them to stay in the lime light. So more work to be done for me to organise the ILP-landscape. Yippee, I love that!

Wrap up warm, here in Ipswich it is staying cold for the next two days, plus some rain today, some sunshine tomorrow, and cloud for the rest of the week while getting a bit warmer, well... that usually means murkier. So enjoy the sunshine tomorrow.

Love

It's not a style...

2010-12-07T06:55:00.001Z

... or is it?

One is wearing panda, and one is wearing poodle, or so. The panda I understand, I have a few problems to get the poodle, though. Is it meant as a tease? All the words say 'No', the clothes say, I am desperate to be different even if it looks crap, and the body language says 'yes please!' Or am I just old? Yeah, probably that's it!

What I however find truly amazing is that this blog is utterly successful. My favourite jeans brand is over the moon to be named in it, whereas the owner of the blog is having a list of articles in reputable magazines like Harper Bazar and so on...

And did you see the ambiance the pictures are taken in? Oh there it is again... envy in all shades from yellow to green. And the pictures of shoes... See, I cannot use any of that kind, I wasn't even sure if I can publish the photo of the Vogue cover, even if I took it myself. Copyright is such a confusing matter. Hence I rather use the much less puzzling method of linking to places where nice photos can be found, although this may lead to something rather baffling, indeed.

And on this note I am leaving you with 'something for the ladies'
Ta ta

Don't cha?

2010-12-06T07:45:00.001Z

... just love the Internet? You are looking for one thing, finding another that could well be a jewel and which you never would have heard of, if not for this fantastic virtual world. Google, Facebook and Co are such wonderful resources, I cannot really comprehend why some call it a waste of time, ... oh well...

However, I had acquired some really nice backpacking boots - in a shop, one has to try those and sometimes it is more the one2one relationship with the shop attendant one is after - and because one has to do things right when shoe shopping, one gets some decent pair of socks as well. Now that we eventually had a slippery, cold and potentially feet harming weather situation I decided to break them in, finding the shoes utterly comfortable and the socks just divine. Hence my Internet search for more - socks, not shoes.

The first encounter I wish to share, is my clumsy google search leading to the find of ... tartan! Yes, dear friends, I seem to have gone bonkers, but this Scotland inspired shop has really nice fashionable things, like silk tartan garters and even bespoke tartan boots! And I am keeping the best for last - another divine find happened when reading a friend's posts on Facebook and stumbling across a post mentioning green porno. Who could have resisted clicking? It made my day!

Wishing you a good start into a new week,
Love

Working Rhythm

2010-12-04T06:56:00.000Z

Good morning Dears,

Wishing you a warmer home than this!

It is a Saturday morning and am thinking, that after several weeks of continuous posting and setting-up blogs I should get into a working rhythm, meaning that my daily updates will have to be restricted to working days.

See, once in a while I need to DO a few things in order to write about it, and what better time to do that than the weekend. I still find that the day job tends to get into the way of things, then there is the training, which is a more boring part for most of you, so that doesn't really count - or better: it counts separately, and then there is the writing part of my day which I really enjoy.

This only leaves the weekend to get some other projects rolling, like shooting some of my infamous videos, the sewing course which will start mid January, and of course the book writing and illustrating wants to be done. So I hopefully will make good use of those two days per week, and will only bother you with my random thoughts from Monday to Friday.

On this note I am wishing you a wonderful weekend, and see you on Monday
Love

Slapstick & Chicken Soup

2010-12-03T07:03:00.000Z

Nope, this is not the title of a new movie, it describes my state of mind, and hence probably the quality of my writing.

As for the slapstick, I am definitely in need of a break as my behaviour of the past two days was either clumsy, or moronic, or both. All those debilitating carryings-on may point to some sort of illness, bodily or mentally and the one remedy that always works is chicken soup, at least if one wants to believe my grandma.Given my recent state of mind I had to consult my own website to remind myself of the list of ingredients and then thought that this sort of concoction might do some good to other folks too. So here his the recipe re-published. And for the rest of it I now better stop writing and rather use the other remedy which is more suitable for the outer shell, and those darn blisters are not in a good place for typing anyway.


The hand of a moron... should you ever be in need for burn cream, be it from the oven, sunburn, radiation or other similar blistery wounds, get a French friend to bring you Biafine (in UK it's prescription only). Nothing heals better, faster and without scars.

Enjoy icy Britain and move about safely. I did my bit of damage, so fate is out and about now to find other victims.

Ta ta!

31 Days

2010-12-01T06:49:00.000Z

Are you aware that in 31 days we have 2011? Remember when the whole world was fussed about the millennium bug? It is a decade on now. 10 years have passed since then. A lot has happened, but nothing really significant, I find. Changes lie in a personal perspective, though. Ten years ago I hardly knew how to switch on my computer, and these days I am running 12 blogs. Of course I get the feeling that an 'information revolution' has taken place. Yes, there has been quite a development, I would never have known about the Orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra, and I may never have found the drive to actually wanting to travel there.Yes, the Internet changed things quite a bit, but how far does it actually reach? There are still parts of the world where people don't have the means to participate and there are still people in our part of the world who either don't have the money or are lacking the education to participate either. Maybe it is a good time to remember that everybody who can read this is privileged in a way.

People who engage in environmental issues may find that this is where the biggest changes took place. Global warming is only disputed by very few and commonly acknowledged, more and more issues are addressed and solutions pushed into households, but on government level not a lot is happening, and there surely is no international consensus. Whether we like it or not, more and more responsibility will be put on individuals shoulders in a world that becomes more and more complex. The next decade will be an interesting one, I guess.

The next 31 days will be interesting as well, because the media will provide us with the views of politicians, comedians and other folks. Interesting times, for us and for the mouse who doesn't know yet that her relocation, relocation programme is on!

Wishing you a cosy day

Love

Not a winter gal

2010-11-30T09:50:00.000Z

I am herewith claiming that the joy of snowy winter and cosy tea parties is overrated.

No! I am definitely not a winter girl. I believe that people only like snow because it helps brighten up an otherwise rather sad place, and by inventing sportive actions like skiing they only make the best out of a horrible time. I want to wear my heels, I need a tan - my face already has taken the colour of washed out underwear, and no cosy tea party can ever top a BBQ with cold drinks and hot sunshine.

Yes! I am a miserable grump. As are my cats. Rather then going out and hunting for mice, they are sitting inside watching grumpy birds fighting over the food in the garden. They patrol all the exits of the house in the hope that one door might reveal better weather than the other. Smart idea actually; imagine you would have a different climate at the different doors of your house. Aww...

The other winter thing is the food. It's dark, it's cold, so the body thinks that it needs energy and triggers the brain in creating concoctions like my grandma's gorgeous macaroons. Oh well, I wanted to revive my 'How2Kitchen' section anyway, so why not start with those and add a few initial kitchen tips.

Have a good and safe day, and don't go out if you don't have to!

Love

Preparation for New Year

2010-11-29T06:59:00.001Z

Soon it is the time for resolutions again. Although a weird phenomenon, it however is not a bad idea to take stock of the past year and to think about the next. And since this is something that could be done any time, one can as well do it at the end of the calendar year.

I have been decorating the Christmas tree yesterday; it's a tinsel tree and hence I had a lot of time for contemplation while hanging these little strings.The last year was not what I would call successful, and I don't have to think hard to find a whole lot of reasons which people might call excuses. So I will not list them, focusing on a solution instead: I have now come up with the plan to 'abandon perfectionism'. That should be interesting.

Have a good start into the week,

Love
Rika
xx

ILP Progress and Happy 1st Advent!

2010-11-28T06:39:00.002Z

Samples for all sorts of cards

Wow! That was fast! I sent a request for sample material to make a decision on online business card ordering yesterday, and today it was in the mail. That means that ILP will have business cards soon! Although the design got a bit of criticism already - 'too green blob-ish', 'one can't read it anyway', 'nobody knows what it means',... - I will stick with it, nevertheless.

ILP business card

This hopefully will be a green blob people will never forget again once they saw it, and I quite like the idea that Incredible Ladies has firstly grown into an ongoing project and secondly that its blogs form a landscape in which hopefully a lot of people will feel homey in. Thus 'The landscape' it should be on the card! On the Twitters it already becomes recognised, and although an awkward shape, the blob might become something like a brand... what would be fine by me, anything that works!

Additionally I finished the whole Incredible Ladies Project Landscape yesterday, only a few gadgets, like a gallery, are missing, which I will add as we go along. The general landscape now consists of 12 blogs, plus the old IL site, and I have a spreadsheet to measure performance of the individual blogs. All I have to do now is to write, write, write!

My beloved 'Klick'

Well, I am hoping that this is all I have to do. Examples of how a good blog should look like, show that mine are far... FAR... from that. For example there is a blog about a daily picture from Paris; even if would know how to take decent photos, I am not sure that Ipswich would give me a similar variety of photo story telling. Another one has the most delicious recipes on display, again supported by perfect pictures, while the recipes I am inventing, aim to keep a balance and are not really involving luscious ingredients; I can't win on that one either, do I? Goodness me, and then there is the one combining the two showing off French food in pictures, another one which has a colour scheme going with the dishes, and finally a peep through the pictured keyhole of a Victorian home.

Too many buttons!

I do have to be careful not to turn yellow of envy and to throw my whole conglomerate of 12 blogs into the bin, as the above are beautiful blogs but the kind I cannot give you.They all heavily rely on gorgeous pictures and the one thing I am really crap at, is taking photos. I usually use my little pocket camera because I know where the release button is, while my wonderful Nikon is sitting in the cupboard waiting for the day that I eventually will subscribe to a photo course. So this is to all my photography friends: If you would like to see good photos here, then you will have to send me some, otherwise you will have to get used to reading!

So my dears, I at least posted you some links with nice pictures. And now I would like to wish you all a wonderful first advent with some pictures I shot with my beloved 'Klick'.

They are taken at Redhouse Barn, a lovely place which is a bit in the middle of nowhere, yet only a good half hour from Ipswich. The owners won a competition to become this years supplier for the Downing Street 10 Christmas tree and the trees are gorgeous; we got ours, too.

The barn is so lovely that I got all emotional and Christmasy, they have a father Christmas, costs a fiver, and the reindeers are real, although very sleepy when we were there.

The nicest thing however, was to see the joy and pride the owner is taking into his business when we talked. He told me that the Blue Peter people will be out there filming next week. This is a brilliant place to get into the Christmas spirit and we are already looking forward to next year.

Happy 1st Advent to you!
Love
Rika
xx

Wishing you a wonderfully lazy 1st Advent!

I'm doing it again!

2010-11-27T06:39:00.000Z

I have entered a new 'selfish phase'. I had to!

When I started the whole Project Rika thing I imagined that at one point one would arrive, and then be THERE for good. I now have to realise, that there is no THERE. New challenges - yes, falling into old habits - as well, but there is no 'arriving'. I surely have reached a level of content which I didn't have before, but arriving would mean that I am standing still. This wonderful idea of reaching a higher level and then having my peace and basically the same comfort like before Project Rika, just without the back pain and the headaches, is just not working.

I now realise that for me standing still is almost the same as going backwards. Over time I have conceived a level of self observation which now allows me to see that slowly but surely I was on my way of being dragged back into the old ways, and not just in what I do, but in what I think and feel as well. Again, like three years ago when I set up the Lifestyle part of IL, I now feel selfish when I am not socialising as much in order to keep myself together. Again, it seems that my doings are not necessarily seen as work but as 'a phase she is in', this is at least how it feels when I excuse myself for leaving the dining table early and am told: 'Yes, you are allowed to be asocial'. I know it's a joke, but there must be something in my body language provoking that joke... and that is not good!

So my dear friends: I herewith apologize in advance for any asocial behaviour. I have a new project to run!

The aim is to bring Incredible Ladies Project up to decent levels and to win me a reputation as a writer! That means that I will have to work a lot, and that I will have to learn a lot, and that I will have to do the right things to have something to write about. And it means that I only will go to the movies when I really need a break, or the movie is really worth watching, and altogether I will have to be rather strict in my time management. I am going back to my Incredible Ladies roots, learning from myself and inviting you to join me on that journey. Praise to Farnaz who four years ago gave me the idea to write it all down!
Love

PS: It is the 27th November 2010, 16:10 and I am sitting at my computer!

Beauty is a weird thing!

2010-11-26T09:13:00.000Z

It is funny how certain subjects seem to appear repeatedly during certain periods of time. These past few days this subject for me was 'Beauty'. Some of my previous blog posts already had dealt with it, and then in one of the TED newsletters a talk with the title A Darwinian theory of beauty by Denis Dutton was advertised. Finally: Beauty and science in one boat, something I might be able to write about, giving myself an air of sophistication. His views go way back some tenth of thousands of years - watch it, it is very nicely presented - claiming that there is a universal theme of beauty due to our ancestral lifestyle. And then Detlef drops the Independent Saturday Magazine on my desk depicting an article about the 'Ugly Business of Global Beauty' which sounds somewhat pessimistic yet similar to the above, but means something very different, indeed.

While I am longing for a darker skin tone and having a sari sitting in my wardrobe waiting to be let out, girls from other cultures seem to strive into the opposite direction. Although we all seem to long for long legs and slim waists, so Denis might have a point there. When I thought about my own viewpoint in regard to beauty, and if it might have changed over time, one is not getting any younger after all, I remembered an article I wrote at the very beginnings of IL in 2007. On Myspace I had come across a theatre promoter looking for submissions of monologues to be played on stage with the subject of body image. My pamphlet on 'From Strength to Freedom' got never chosen, giving me the opportunity to publish it on IL. And in there I find confirmed that in my eyes Denis does have a point: Beauty does lie in many things to which I would like to add 'attitude'. And 'attitude' my dear ladies is independent form any culture or age!

Excited about excitement

2010-11-25T07:52:00.003Z

I might be in a pickle: I talk about things. No, I didn't blab... well, I do blab, but I didn't say anything I shouldn't have... I hope I didn't... oh see, that could go on for a while...

No, what I mean is that if I get an idea I tell everybody about it. Even as a child my mum used to tell me: Don't talk, just do it! It's just that I am getting so excited about these ideas that firstly, I want to share, excitement is much more exciting when shared, and secondly, I am hoping to extend this wave of excitement and keeping its momentum going by reviving it over and over again. Until a new plan comes along and I am getting excited about that. Sometimes I think I am more excited about being excited than the actual plan.

And now, just that I have found the perfect medium to share my ideas with the world, now that I am running a conglomerate of 11 blogs, Derek Sivers comes along and tells me to better shut up if I ever want to be successful. Hmmm...

Makes all sense what he is saying, just that... I wouldn't even start a project if I couldn't talk about it, and starting is somewhat essential to finising it. I have to admit, though, that I am a bit stuck on my biggest project, the Bodybuilding Competition, thingy. I however did do a fair bit of writing, and I am looking forward to my sewing course in January, and I have a few ideas for new photo shoots, and a lady requested new movies, and I want ILP to be more international and just created a German ILP blog, and... oh my goodness... it is happening again...

I just HAVE to prove that guy wrong. However, a way needs to be found to get back the excitement for the training! Only half a year to go... Argh! Any ideas?

Christmas and Chemistry

2010-11-24T07:41:00.001Z

Re-publishing is a really good thing, I am learning from myself. A very interesting effect, that is!

Who would have thought that Christmas is the time to dive into chemical issues. Well, since Heston Blumenthal cooking and food, which somehow are rather important topics in regard to Christmas, did become a chemical matter, but that unfortunately is not what I meant. The bugging kind of thoughts are spiralling more around questions of stress and growth hormones which are built to the wrong levels when we try to 'Cheat the Sandman', with the result of food orgies.

When I re-edited the above article I realised that I had linked another one in... hmmm... this re-publishing thing could become a really interesting mining expedition. So I all of a sudden found myself contemplating again about 'Body & Mind' VS 'Body & Chemistry'.You might have noticed that we don't have such a blog anymore. It is now called 'Health & Beauty' taking the whole spiritual part out of the equation. This was a rather subconscious decision and hence I was quite happy to have stumbled across this article which is adding sense to it.

And now I should see to get to bed, in accordance to what I am preaching... I am trying myself as a proper writer at the moment by publishing something every day. Given that the old articles need a bit of editing and new ones need even more work, I am all to tempted to sit long hours to get everything ready for next morning.

Thus I will now wish you a good morning and a wonderful day as this is due to go out after I had my night of sleep.
Love

Christmas time!

2010-11-23T06:43:00.000Z

Show of hands: Who is really looking forward to it? One might be looking forward to bits and pieces, for example to see a certain person... but not some others, unfortunately they only come as package deal. One might like the fact to keep the house clean by travelling, but wrapping up the whole family including the presents well before Christmas... hmmm?

I have been talking to some guys at work and they sounded rather disillusioned: about a month before Christmas the amount of work is increasing to painful levels, as if life is to end on 24th December and everything has to be done by then. No help to be expected from that end then.

So, one might want to sneak in little resting moments, no... not to rest, to think! Take some cuppa time and maybe read my re-vamped article on Emotions, which tend to run high during this time of the year, and maybe you can negotiate the one or the other deal with yourself. Like buying the Christmas desert instead of making this incredibly complicated dish which might not even bring you the credit you are hoping for. Have a good laugh imagining mum's disapproving face - she won't get to you anymore when it happens for real. Do you really have to deep-clean the whole house that will be messed up within seconds once the guests arrive? Just keeping a decent front should do, dim the light down and use some candles...

Taking it easy isn't easy, but it can be learned!

On that note: Have a fabulous run-up to Christmas,
Love

Hard work

2010-11-22T07:41:00.000Z

I am not sure how much a writer has to write to make a living. So, I thought that one half decent pamphlet per day should do for starters, and hence I am trying to play 'writer' since a week now. It is hard work but fun, I however get awfully jealous when I publish a long article about the Erotica 2010 that is then read by 17 people - that at least is the stats so far - while a rubbish article in the Daily Mail which is probably nicked from other sources attracts a gazillion readers. It may not make the writer rich, but still...

Additionally such a big article is throwing me off schedule a bit as well. I now understand why writers do nick from other sources. It's a wee bit exhausting to live it and then finish writing the day after to get it out in time. However the Daily mail only beat me by half a day - not too bad then.

On a different note: Who feels like Christmas already?

I know, I ask this every year, and every year I say that this time it is the worst... but it really feels like it. I don't feel like buying a Christmas tree, and I still need a few new baubles, and argh! So many things I wanted to do before Christmas and now the very next Sunday, November 28th, is the 1st Advent. So let's enjoy the period of supposed calm and relaxation and maybe just not bother.

Have a good start into the week and take it easy,
Love

Soooo Excited!

2010-11-20T08:15:00.001Z

I am going to see Dita Von Teese again. Today, in a live show! Yippee! We are travelling to London to the Erotica at the Hammersmith Olympia where she will be performing at 6PM.

We, of course hubby is coming with me, almost didn't go. Dita tweeted ... yes, if you are interested in her schedule and anything else, from lipstick shade to her costumes and what restaurants she loves, you should follow her Twitter ... so, she tweeted about the show and I sent it to hubby in case he missed it. Response: It's during a fair.

Oh, ... well then...

Later she tweeted again and it sounded like a stand-alone. Hence I forwarded again. This time the conversation in the Nauck household happened face to face on the staircase, where we met half way: Wanna go? ... Whatya think? ... Thought you might not be intereste in the fair ... Ohhhmmm ... well, then ...

Now I am sitting here, having to rush a bit:

Nails, polished - tick
Outfit chosen - tick
Shower - oh my, full program still due
Hair - oh Lord
Make-up - panic mode ...

Thus let's call it a day for today, dears. And stay tuned for my report tomorrow. Might be a bit later during the day, though. A lady needs a bit of beauty sleep once in a while!
Ta ta
x

Writers, Photographers and the likes

2010-11-19T08:12:00.001Z

Just wondering: When might one be allowed to call oneself a writer?

Yes, I know! I am still on this career thing.

When my secretary job changed a bit recently and brought me back to my computing science roots for a moment, I thought: 'Wow, that is great! I might even be able to make a mini-career out of it.' But apparently there are reasons why I didn't do so 20 years ago, the main one being: It's just not for me! And it's not only the technical skill set one needs to have and to improve, it's the environment those sort of jobs take place in. It is not really fun fighting the techie guys over nitty-gritty bits on a daily basis.

That decided, the focus is back on writing. Love it, am at my happiest, ... and now? How would I introduce myself?

'I am Rika, housewife, part time secretary and hobby writer'... I don't like the word hobby in it...

So, when is one to be called: 'A writer'?

Do writers have degrees? Photographers are different. I have several photographer friends and I noticed that they get introduced by others as photographers. As soon as they have an online gallery, and taking photos is called 'photo shoot' they are allowed to carry the label. Am I jealous? YES! for crying out loud!

The more that photos are pretty while articles all look a bit the same. It's hard to get people interested. That's why I was so thrilled when Rachel-Anaconda asked me to write an article about her. I loved it, it felt like coming home!

So maybe I will be a proper writer, when I get paid for my first article, or when I get printed, ... dunno, we'll see. Because one thing is for sure: The two month break this summer of not writing was a really, really dull time in my life. Not gonna happen again!

Guess I found my passion and apparently I knew this about two years ago already, just had forgotten about it. Maybe I am a writer already and just don't know it yet!

Proud of myself

2010-11-18T10:21:00.000Z

I seem to get the hang of things. I actually wrote and published an 800 word long article within 2 hours this morning. Something which a year ago would have needed 3 days. That doesn't mean that the article on 'Meeting a Boss' is brilliant, but to be able to key down 800 words in a readable form... not too bad. I was a bit worried that I might not be able to publish something every day.

Well, I cheated a bit. Sometimes it's not the mornings but the evening that an article gets out, and sometimes I re-publish stuff from the original IL. But reading the columns of professional writers I found that they basically do the same, they either quote themselves or just refurbish an article a bit. Read the same column for a year and you will see what I mean. So what is good enough for the professionals, should be good enough for me.

And I added two new blogs, which brings the whole number up to 10! We now have 'Health & Beauty' and we have 'Lifestyle - Live & Let Live' as well. I already designed the new front page, all that is left to do is to upload it to the server which hopefully will be done by tonight.

So, off I go now to attend to some work chores, enjoy your day,
Love

Snippets

2010-11-16T08:23:00.000Z

Good Morning Everybody!

How are things in winter wonderland? Whooo, it's cold, but pretty. We at least have an early morning sunshine. So weird, two days ago 19 degrees Celsius and I was only in Germany and not the Mediterranean, and now frost. Well, first night at home and back into work mode, it happens so quickly.

I now have to get back on track with the rest of it as well, which usually happens with a bit of a delay. Four days of salty food and loads of sweets and alcohol did the spirit good, but not the body - unfortunately. Legs swollen, tummy bloated; that means strict regime until end of the week. Especially the effect of salt is impressive. When I am talking about it, people are not keen to believe me, and after a while I am starting to think that I might exaggerate a bit. On those occasions these trips which make me slip off my good habits are a good thing. I found that in the area I visited the food in general is rather salty, from restaurants to fast foods; even the standard white bread was worse than our English one, and that means something. And now my legs are swollen to an extent that the skin is starting to hurt and is feeling too tight. So I am not making it up.

And now it's back to the gym as well. The weird muscle ache from before the trip is gone - no excuses anymore. What else is not new...

I am hoping that my English is somewhat understandable: I am still a bit in 'German mode', the more that I am translating the article about the wine fair at the moment.

... and cats are still swapping their food and are on their way of killing themselves by not sticking to their diet, but what can I do? For the rest of it 'live is good'!

Gotta dash now. Work is calling. Presentation tomorrow and things have to get fixed for it.
Have a great day!
Ta ta

Back home and rested

2010-11-15T16:32:00.002Z

Ahhh, feeling good after a nice afternoon nap and having finished my final report of the three day journey to Tuebingen. Although it was quite a challenge to nap after Detlef gave me a four shot cappuccino in his excitement of having his own cappuccino machine back; odd feeling of having tired eyes, but the heart pounding.

However, although short, it was a trip we both needed. It was great to not have work on our minds, see friends, drink wine and get a bit of perspective back on life. I realised that I just love writing and that it is the most enjoyable thing to sit at a breakfast table, with my little netbook, and feeling like a journalist. Awww... , want more of that! Now all I have to do is to find people who actually are interested in reading my stuff and who give me feedback.

Oh well, early days...

... until tomorrow dears!

PS: The articles of the trip in one place
ILP-Diary: Meeting Kerstin
ILP-Travel: Lovely town of Tuebingen
ILP-Nutrition: The wine fair
ILP-Travel: The final leg of the journey

Wine, weather and a happy bunny!

2010-11-14T14:07:00.004Z

Happy bunny that would be me! Weather - it is gorgeous and partly responsible for the happy bunny feel, and Wine - I just finished my article about the wine fair and that makes me really happy! It is the first time that I am away from home, and I managed to update my blogs every day. And it's not just any old update, it's real articles. I love to sit at the breakfast table and write. I really think I could be a journalist, and I believe I might even become a good one over time. Well, and a new carrier prospect of course makes me a happy gal.

So, today I will keep the diary short and will sit a bit more with my friends enjoying the sunshine and another cappuccino.

I am looking forward to your feedback on the wine article - BTW: next weekend I will visit and Erotic fair in London...

What a wonderful day

2010-11-13T09:15:00.007Z

The cloud is still a bit frizzy at times. The hotel internet had a breakdown, hence no update last nightthen, which is not a huge loss as it was rather late already and my usual update is supposed to happen in the mornings anyway.

I however seem to be getting into the habit of sitting in my bed at night with my netbook tucked between the bed sheets and my legs and writing a few things which today are comprising of cars, food, meetings, hotels and more food. Oh yes, and hotels! Let me start with those…

I already elaborated on the quality of the interior design of the first hotel in my previous post and all I can add is now is that the architect must have won his degree in the lottery as the metal window sills just wouldn’t work well in the rain, and the internal balcony style with the breakfast area didn’t go down well with Detlef either as he didn’t sleep a minute due to the blasting noise.

After a really rather nice breakfast and successful bathroom routine – yes, I know it’s an odd subject, but be honest: How many travel days did you already get spoilt by problems in that area? See, it IS important! – however, we set out to pick up our car from the hire and insisted in enjoying the day, despite the lack of sleep.

Satnav insisted in sending us via the scenic route while we insisted on the motorway… the lady seemed to be snappier after we realized and had turned round. As payback she sent us down a tiny road in the back of the university where we wanted to meet Kerstin instead of the front door, but it wouldn’t be us, the gadget people driving, outsmarting the satnav. iPhone, roaming, Google Maps - and a few pound less as well as quite some percentage down in power we were back on track and had a lovely coffee and lunch with the darling girl.

I have to give a quick lecture about the merits of this type of university…apart from the fact that students who pay for their education might be a bit more inspired for starters. Zeppelin University is a small university, 700 students, and a concept of letting them DO stuff, not just fake tasks but real stuff. These students organize their own job fairs with the precision of company bosses. They have, comms, financial, hospitality, and all sorts of teams needed to achieve that and our girl is the boss of them all, having to find out how to get the best out of them all, and to keeping it together. THAT is how managers are made.

But enough now of education and learning, back to fun and food! After a really good lunch at Zeppelin University we made out way to Tuebingen. That turned out to be a bit dreadful after the sleep lacking previous night. I didn’t do a good job in keeping dear hubby awake and only really eucalypty sharp chewing gums eventually made us alert enough to get there. We were determined to fall to bed as soon as we would see one, and then our day went quite differently. The town of Tuebingen was calling, so we went for coffees and cakes, then had a crisp walk to our friends house - I am taking some pride in having found my ways without technical devices this time – had an exhilarating discussion about environmental issues with my lovely goddaughter – be prepared about some research into environmentally friendly fashion lines in the future – met her mum who eventually came from working at the wine market in preparation for today’s event, and after a dinner with loads of pasta, ohoh, and a lot of wine, we had another brisk walk back to the hotel where we passed out around midnight.

Oh this hotel is really great! So calm, I really thought there might not be a lot of people here, but the breakfast room is breaking full. We didn’t hear a thing all night. So we are well rested and ready to hit town as soon as I sent this post. So I will stop it now and will leave you to your Saturday chores while we will have a day of more food and wine!

… be prepared to some even wobblier grammar than usual, though!

Cats, mice, Carmen, and Costa

2010-11-11T23:23:00.008Z

Oh my goodness me! We only have come as far as Stansted and our poor cat sitter has her fist mouse encounter. I suspect that this time it was Moritz. When we left he was sitting under the patio table looking suspiciously alert. According to her account the two cats are hunting in unison around the TV table, with Moritz turning into a rope like creature diving between the shelves. At least those two seem to be having a good time whereas the mouse must regret having woken up this morning. I have to admit that I am not very concerned as I know that mice don’t tend to attack humans, and that hence the safety of the house sitter is ensured; on the other hand the house sitter might see this differently.

On a different note I have to report that we got lucky. Our usual trips to Germany go to Hannover, this time however we go further South to see our friends who live close to Stuttgart. Apparently the storm that made my travel to work this morning a nuisance has now been named Carmen and decided to move on … yes, to Hannover! A flight to Hannover even got cancelled, while our flight is bang on time. So we had our mandatory cappuccino, Panini and cake at Costa and now are waiting to be called for boarding. Apart from my hair looking like hell due to electrostatic charge, life is good!

Now a good couple of hours later we’ve arrived at our hotel at the other side of the Channel – the Best Western Plaza Hotel – and a few things need to be mentioned. Firstly, the Germans don’t have their motorways lit. I always was wondering why the English have lights along the big roads which go across the country. Haven’t they realized yet, that cars have those funny round or square glass things at their fronts which when switched on cast light on streets? In times when I am told what light bulbs to use and which duration would be appropriate for taking a shower, not to light up the countryside might be an option.

And now I am keen to show you our hotel room. We have space shuttle style blue light built into the floor, while the curtains create a bit of a style clash. One might wonder where the designer got the degree from. It however is nice and neat yet all a bit controlled – well, German.

Wifi access is not offered at arrival or generally free. We forgot to ask at check-in and thus called from the room causing a friendly chap to make his way up to bring us a sheet of paper with a password. All we have to do now is to figure out how to get into the internet. Dear hubby grabbed it first and is happily online with the iPad, but of course only one device at a time can be logged in hence keeping me out… grrr. He is trying to get out of it as I type but all these smart people who are desperately trying to keep control over internet access have somehow over-controlled or didn’t bet on iPads… who knows. Ours is kept hostage by the system now, oh this high-tech world is really rather medieval still.

Yippee success we are in the cloud, eventually! But only because hubby is a brilliant hacker. So here it goes my first blog post from abroad!

Who would have thought

2010-11-11T06:43:00.004Z

Apparently we really can learn a lot from our cats. The bully from one of my previous columns on this matter is not exactly sleeping with the enemy but almost.

What means that now these two play me together. One should think about what one is wishing for. Moritz, the black one, must be something like 12 years now and has settled a bit, although stubborn like hell. He is on prescription food, which tops the prices of 5 star restaurants, because he is in danger of developing a kidney disease. As for humans that means low protein and the right ones. And what does he do? He, the lazy bugger who rarely gets his bum up goes into the garden and catches mice. It shows in his shape, training is a good thing for cats as well!

Bimmel however is too fat and in danger of developing heart problems - yes, you guessed right, he is on a different type of prescription food, but as expensive. It is calorie reduced but not so much in proteins. So the two quickly decided to swap. The respective food courts which before were heavily defended are now shared, still a bit cautiously but nevertheless.

What it teaches me? I am not really sure at the moment. That vets know how to make a living?

Well, at least those two seem to be happy enough for now so that our house sitter should have a fight free house. She might have to catch a few mice though. While Moritz tends to go for the kill, Bimmel usually loses them. So if you see two cats who look like the negative image of each other peering under a shelf, then you know that there is an additional pet in the house.

Diaries and Deadlines

2010-11-10T07:02:00.005Z

Oh it's so nice to be back to writing! This little hour in the morning when I am sitting with my cup of cappuccino - yes, it still is cappuccino for me - and sorting my thoughts. And even if the brain is half asleep, after a while things are starting to fall into place and a column comes out of it at the end.

Yes, apparently I am back with my usual rants and little moanings.

Have a good day all!
Love

Travelling Soon!

2010-11-09T07:36:00.004Z

Yay!
It's not a big trip, just long weekend, but I am looking so much forward to it.

I will see my friends who recently took the risk of his life, gave up is IT job and bought a wine shop only two month ago. He has organised his first big wine event and we are going! Additionally he is living in one of the most adorable towns in Germany and it will be lovely to stroll those places together with hubby.

Another place we will see is Friedrichshafen at Lake Constance to see another friend who I met when she worked at my place as a summer student. I have never been there and am keen to set my eyes on it. I hope the weather will be a bit decent. Right now it looks like a lot of rain, but in this area of Germany one never knows: usually the weather is warmer and better than the rest of it.

And of course I am hoping to test my newly gained 'ILP updates blogging freedom' as well. Thursday night we will be leaving - no need for burglars to get excited, we have a house sitter and very dangerous cats... - and I am hoping to be able to find some internet to post some first impressions by Friday night, so stay tuned.

Gotta rush now... daily chores are shouting at me.
Ta ta

Teeth suck!

2010-11-08T14:10:00.008Z

I believe that Evolution had the financial benefit of dentists in mind when inventing teeth. It's true! According to The Guardian 654 dentists in England and Wales earned more than a quarter of a million pounds in 2009. I know that my friend would wish to be among them, but in general dentists do earn a lot of money.

And it is an odd job, don't you think? Children hate you - you can't even give them sweets at the end of their appointment as this would be sort of counterproductive, and adults don't particularly like you either except for the big house and the Merc in front of it, hence the status you add to their own portfolio when you show up for their dinners.

Evolution must have some weird, twisted mind to invent teeth. Probably one day it was sitting at a beach, a bit bored after all the evolving it already had done and thinking about what to do next. Maybe a tortoise came waddling by giving it a big grin, and it may have thought: Wouldn't it be great if there were loads of white pearl like things lined up along that rim, and let's make it a bit fleshier, yes lips would look sexy!

But that's the thing that happens when you start changing the design without thinking it trough. The white pearls keep falling off unless you root them in and then you might want to make them last for a lifetime so you add some nerves - great, really great idea - and then gums are needed to bed it all in, but unfortunately providing nice bedding for viruses and bacteria as well. The tortoises rim was perfectly fine, but NO! one had to temper with it, didn't one?

And now that Evolution has left us with it's mad invention it did what every good businessman does, it leaves us with the deputy - the dentist - and moves on to the next better job. I recently heard that at the moment it is working on our gut.

Yeah... I was at the dentist today had a new filling done... sorry for the rant...

A wonderful time of the year!

2010-11-07T16:52:00.006Z

Oh I love autumn! It may be humid and cold, but those few moment of seeing a beautiful sunsets or looking into my garden and being hit by the colours of my hedge are worthwhile it. And the food, oh all those luscious flavours, everything tastes warm and cosy. Summer is nice, is fresh, lemony fruity. Well, basically the difference between summer and autumn is the difference between coriander leaves and coriander seeds. At that is why I am going to open the season for autumn cooking tonight and what better start there is than to do Stunningly Salacious Butternut Squash

After a cold, yet successful walking session with my dear friend this morning, and attending to some household chores. I am now looking forward to the smell of baked squash and cheese, probably followed by a very beautiful Creme de Figue.
Santé!

Spider News

2010-11-05T11:07:00.016Z

Yikes! and Eeeek!

I just can't get used to them. I am sure my scream could be heard next door or even at the end of the village. It was a lovely warm night and I was happily sitting in the dark, the only light being shone by the computer screen, window open, soft breeze and a spider walks in. Very calmly walking along the upper rim of my keyboard, taking a little rest there and then slowly moving on to the laptop and then crawling underneath. By that time the scream already had happened and I found myself thrown and clinging to the wall of the other end of the room.

Brain racing for options, but in a very headless chicken way and not coming to any conclusion, hubby at the movies and so I did the very natural thing: I facebooked my distress!

Rika Nauck A huge spider just walked past my keyboard and now vanished under the laptop - yikes

... and instantly got reassurance that this spider will now house there forever. Thank you!

My research - via wireless keyboard, sitting in the middle of the room with feet up - revealed that it is quite likely to be a male on hunt for a mate. In November? you hear me scream! In my Study?

However, I had to give up. This thing was nowhere to be seen. I had an amazingly good night sleep despite a friend telling me horrid stories about spiders creeping into people's mouths, got up went into my spare room and there it was, of course right up at the top of the ceiling in a corner. Hubby had to finish his morning routine a bit in a rush - so should he be a bit smelly today, please forgive him, he had to rescue a damsel in distress - while I was watching the scary animal. Please excuse the poor photo quality, I just wasn't very keen on using the flash.

From there things went smoothly. I had decided that the poor sod deserves to live, he was a love sick bugger after all and hence excused for doing silly things. I offered hubby a choice of weapons and he safely placed him into the smaller glass and then I proudly dared carrying him downstairs into the garden. I even released him myself. I have to admit that he was not that huge, probably a late-comer of his poor old mum, and actually quite pretty. But definitely much prettier when outdoors!

Me carrying...

... the moment of truth, will I open the lid?

Yep, I did!

... and a happy ending.
(still no flash, didn't want to scare the little bugger now that all was over)

Hedgehog News

2010-11-02T11:27:00.006Z

We have a lodger in the shed!

I am so thrilled. I know for sure that we have at least three hedgehogs in the garden, one of which we nurtured back to health this summer. I could hear them huffing and puffing during their weird romantic adventures and one cannot avoid to overhear them eating. All year round I leave my shed open in the hope that one moves in. It happened once, some years ago, and it is so wonderful to hear a bit of snuffling in the box once in a while.

So this year I left two boxes, a lot of dry plant material and newspapers in the shed. I wasn't entirely sure when they go to sleep so I left it in August and added a few nuts and seeds. The food was gone quickly but nothing else was touched - so somebody at least knew that there was possible accommodation.

And then I completely forgot about it until I needed a garden tool - and the place was raided. Not a single piece of newspaper lying there anymore and all the straw and leaves gone. However, I tend to not believe myself in things like those. I always am wondering whether or not I did leave the paper in this particular place, or if it actually was THAT much straw.

So I provided a few more seeds and some water and this morning it was gone. Dried mushrooms don't seem to go well, though. And, most importantly: The entrance to the cardboard box looks differently. Yesterday paper was sticking out, today it's gone!

We definitely have a hedgehog as a lodger!

5:30 PM and it's Halloween!

2010-10-31T17:37:00.016Z

Oh my, made it just in time!

The house was decorated by 4 PM:

Window pumpkin in place...

... front garden pumpkin well positioned and decorated ...

... front door spider and rat enhanced ...

... sweets in place ...

... and then some cooking got in the way and I had to rush to get myself into shape.

Told you before: If there were witches I would love to be one, and Maud's Attic my favourite little boutique for accessories in Ipswich had this beautiful spider necklace which I didn't really need. But since I am scared of spiders and one has to face one's fears it was only natural to buy it. And who would be able to resist this cute little spider that sits in its web, minding its own business but on demand is all too willing to jump off and just hang on its silvery thread.

I am so in love with that thing now that at least those spiders don't bother me anymore at all. We will still have to see about the live, fast and unpredictably moving ones, though.

Well, then eventually I had got hold of a hat. For a witch the hat is an essential piece of equipment, I reckon, and when I saw this one I fell in love. It's nothing special, but I never had one before, it doesn't go floppy whatever you do to it and it somewhat suits me, don't you think?

And then it eventually got dark and I could snap my pumpkins lit. It's the moment of truth that will reveal whether or not they are scary at all.

... and then the 'Trick and Treaters' came!

Happy Halloween, Dears!

Ideas, ideas, ideas!

2010-10-29T11:09:00.005+01:00

How wonderful I am getting in full swing again! I think I will have to add a couple of more blogs to ILP.

I for example just like the idea of collecting nice and funny pictures. We used to have a picture of the week at the old IL, but to find something on a weekly basis was not working really well. With the new blog structure however we don't depend on regular updates anymore and I could start collecting pics again.

Then I think we should have a 'Health and Beauty' blog and a more general gallery... I just can't stop myself, can I?

However, life is rather good. The very odd back pain, seems to reside... one doesn't know really... that's the odd thing about it. It comes and goes as it pleases and now seems to have turned almost every muscle into being a bit tense. I think it is some flu bug causing this; I heard others complaining about weird aches, too. Guess it's a matter of sitting it out.

This morning I had a first light gym session, mood lifted by a photoshoot with Matt Fidler one of my official supporters for the Bodybuilding challenge. We wanted to do this since summer and eventually we had this first shoot to experiment a bit and get ideas for further projects. So soon I will have a few new pix to share!

Then there is the office cake party in the afternoon; the office is decorated with the pumpkins since last night and I am keen to see if they liked it. Well and at night I will go out with my dear friend Imola who did her exam and is now a happy bunny. We need to celebrate and catch up on things.

After this rather busy day I am hoping to work a bit more on ILP during the weekend. If you feel that I missed a subject let me know!

Have a lovely weekend,
Rika

Hallowing - after carving pic

2010-10-27T22:44:00.003+01:00

... and this is the result of my work.

Sprayed with 3-in-1 oil to prevent oxygen making them rot too fast, they are now sitting in my spare fridge waiting to be called to their duty. Hope they will make it until Friday for the office cake party and maybe even until Sunday.

Sweet dreams now, catch you later,

Love
Rika
xx

Halloween is upon us

2010-10-27T15:38:00.004+01:00

Did I already tell you that I LOVE Halloween? Ah, if there were witches, I would want to be one! Although I would still prefer to be born in this era rather then a few hundred years ago. And I love the pumkin carving. I know that this has nothing to do with witchcraft, but that doesn't mean that I cannot love it. I love it so much that one year I even made a movie of it:

I might however gone a bit overboard this year. I am planning to do two very big ones and about three small ones. With the big ones I was in a dilemma again, because I couldn't decide which one was nicer and the small ones I got sponsored... what could I do?

So it is 3:45 PM now and I am sitting here with a cappuccino. Once that is finished I will take a 'before' picture of the two, the other ones are still in the office and will get delivered tonight, just to show you the task ahead.

Herewith done:
... and now please excuse me: Have some carving to do!

Sumatra, Sport and a bit of Suffering

2010-10-23T18:56:00.008+01:00

This all of a sudden has become a rather good ILP week. Since I am not doing regular updates on Wednesdays anymore my rhythm has changed quite a bit. Sometimes I am a bit stunned how coincidences compliment each other. The freeing up of my Wednesdays happened just in time to accommodate the changes in my day job. Now I have a main meeting on Wednesdays for which I need the time to prepare on Mondays and Tuesdays. So now my writing days have become work days while the last half of the week becomes IL time. One has to be careful though, to not get distracted by running errands or general fuzziness.

Well this week started in good shape, skipped walking on Monday but had a good workout on Tuesday, meeting on Wednesday went all well, and on Thursday I attended another MySecretKitchen food tasting party. It was lovely to catch up with Lyna the friend who was the consultant at my own party back in May, and to meet with the neighbours.

... and then I had a weird night. Friday morning I woke up with a sore back which then got better throughout the day. Thus I had another great workout that evening, no pain, feeling great, went to bed and woke in the middle of the night as if a bulldozer had hit my right rib cage. I had to skip my leg training on Saturday morning... grrr, especially leg training! I like my Saturday morning sessions; they are efficient and they usually inspire me to update the blog... sigh!

Well, and then it turned out that the pain got less when sitting nice and upright... like at a computer! Well, one has to take what is given and so I eventually started to fill the travel blog with my Sumatra diary. And because Michelle Desilets from Orangutan Land Trust started the whole thing with a tweet, I had to go circles and added the respective articles on the charity blog and the story blog as well.

Now the only blog that hasn't been touched yet is 'Nutrition', but so far I am rather happy with the new style. Updates are done so easily... well, and I even got some comments :o))

Have a great week and don't forget to once in a while to remember your dreams

Love

Things are falling into place!

2010-10-17T16:29:00.005+01:00

Yep! We have a front page. Eventually I managed to bring a page together, merging all the blogs which constitute Incredible Ladies Project.

Additionally we all of a sudden have something like a mini-powerwalking club on Sunday morning. It is amazing: Since several years I tried to bring people together, and except of one friend nobody was very keen. So we two persistently went for our 1 hour round every Sunday morning, 8AM, meeting at her house. Now, today another lady joined, and a for next Sunday a fourth friend is considering to join. Cross fingers for good weather! If you live in Ipswich UK (our tour is located at the East side of town) and want to join: Get in touch and I let you know details.

The next thing for me to do is to fill the blogs a bit more. Charities, Food, and Travel are still empty, but I will get there, and then I have to focus on my training again, something which will feed the 'Bloody Hell...' blog a bit more.

It's good to be back!
Wishing you a brilliant week,

Love

Wifi-Blogger-Me and the Town

2010-10-13T17:00:00.010+01:00

Hello Dears,

I cannot believe how great life can be if one only just DOES. I always felt that one never can lose even if things aren't looking good, as long as one is willing to put in some effort and learn from it.

Well, IL and my writing had reached a bit of a brick wall, but as Randy Pausch, a splendid professor of Carnegie Mellon University, once said:'Brick walls are there to show you how badly you want something'. It turned out that I wanted my IL and my writing very badly. So many thoughts I wanted to share and nowhere to put them. FB is all nice and fine, but what to do with the things needing elaboration? I am a hoarder, and one of the things I apparently like to hoard is thoughts.

I however found it difficult to sit at home with a system not allowing for easy feedback - Didn't I preach myself: 'If you want people to do something you have to make it easy for them'? And I felt trapped spending so much time on a desk while not being able to explore things in the meantime. How was I to be inspired into writing?

Guess where I am now? After yesterday's trial from my armchair I now took the trial into a wonderful coffee place: Salthouse Harbour hotel Ipswich. It's my favourite for the atmosphere, the view and the great coffee after all. I had planned for a town afternoon off to meet a friend there at 6PM, however estimated that I might have to wait a bit and hence better take the netbook with me to at least be able to write in MS-Word. As predicted I was an hour early, ordered my cappuccino, switched the netbook on, and had wifi access for free. I couldn't believe it! So now I am sitting here like in an office, can find my links on the internet and typing directly into blogger.

Loving it!

The only hiccup is that I cannot show you the view. I don't have the cable for the iPhone with me... one really can tell that I am still a newbie in this 'flexible life' thing.

So that is it really! I am a happy bunny. I can write while actually experiencing life and stay in touch with ILP. I even just found the spell check in this editor.

Life is good!
Love

Posting Remotely

2010-10-12T22:23:00.005+01:00

Yippieh! This is brilliant!

For the past almost four years I have been locked away in my IL headquarters and writing using my desktop computer. I needed my software to create the pages and to be able to upload. Now I am sitting in my comfy armchair in front of the telly - watching something I have seen before - with my little netbook and use this as a trial.

Imagine: In the future I can post directly from London, Germany... wherever I am, as long as I have internet connection.

Wonderful!

So now ILP headquarters is the world and hopefully that makes it a bit more interesting and appealing!

Love

42 = 101010

2010-10-10T09:42:00.002+01:00

Happy 42-day everybody whether you are a fan of the 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' or not - one must make hay when the sun shines.

So enjoy the miracles around you and travel safely!

Love

Official Start of the Incredible Ladies Project

2010-10-09T18:33:00.001+01:00

As of today Incredible Ladies Project will be my new thing! I have been using the term here and there before, but a few things needed sorting before making it official.

Incredible Ladies Project is now a collection of blogs whith this one being the diary part of it. The various blogs will only vaguely mirror the sections of the original IL site and I will build blogs as we go along... hence the term 'project' in the name.

The most important thing to to find out before official lauch, was how to save the content so that I can rebuild the blog should it get lost. Today I figured it out and here we are.

The blogs we have so far are:

and of course the original site

IL - Sleeping Beauty

is still online to look up recipes and other stuff until I will have it re-posted in one of the new blogs.

The next task will be to build an overview page showing all the blogs with short descriptions to easily choose from. I might need a bit of time for this, though. I so much would like to see if I can do something at least a little bit fancy.

I am hoping that this concept will make things more lively, that you can subscribe to only the parts you are actually interested in and not having to read through the rest of it, and I am hoping that you might be dropping the one or the other comment.

If you would like me to post an article on something: I am happy to test my writing skills on your challenge. This blog is the best place to leave me notes of this kind.

And now I am wishing you a wonderful rest of the weekend, hoping that you will like the idea that ILs are back!

Love