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 |   Originally efforts for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge in July... now just a blog |
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The 30 Day Blogging Challenge ..... lets see how far I get... Pretty far it seems! Winner (1st place) for the July 2013 "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  Second place for the September 2014 "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day four Prompt: The Sunday News!: Pick a random article from the headlines and talk about it. Share your opinions and feelings about it. Encourage a conversation. This prompt has made me realise that I missed something off my 2015 To-Do List. That is to read more news. As a relatively intelligent person, I am absolutely shocking when it comes to current affairs. It is all very well reading all the fiction I can get my hands on, but I feel like I ought to know what is going on in the real world, too. If this is going to be the new Sunday prompt for the 30 DBC, I might as well start reading the news now. I’ve just found a free six-week trial to The Week. I figure I’m more likely to get involved if I can get a week’s worth of news in one place. No, it is not cheating! It is, however, efficient! My chosen headline is: Obesity can be a disability, EU court rules Employers will have to change the way they treat overweight staff following a European Union court ruling that obesity can, in severe cases, constitute a disability. The landmark decision by the European Court of Justice – in the case of a Danish child-minder who lost his job – establishes a precedent that could affect employment rights across the continent. It stops short, however, of declaring obesity to be a protected characteristic against which all discrimination is prohibited. If I’m honest, I don’t think I should have chosen this headline because this is the kind of think I’m likely to “go off on one” about and end up annoying a whole host of people. Also, I don’t really want to spend hours on this post, so I will have to limit myself. I promise to try hard not to piss anyone off. Now, this confuses me, somewhat. There are various reasons why someone might become obese. Yes, for many, it is down to a poor diet and laziness. But, for others it can be due to real medical conditions. To my knowledge, discrimination law already covers the latter: a person cannot be discriminated against in relation to a “long-term” condition. (N.B – I am aware that my knowledge is based on the UK DDA, but EU law pretty much parallels this). But, if a person becomes obese due to his or her own doing and inactivity, should they not be encouraged to fix it rather than saying, “it’s okay, we’ll just classify you as disabled”? (This is where I need to stop myself getting carried away) Don’t get me wrong; I do understand some of the reasoning behind it. But it is things like this that really annoy me. For several reasons. Predominantly: 1) I thought the world was worrying about the “obesity epidemic”. Surely, by labelling it as an impairment (correct terminology) gives people an excuse and makes the issue more acceptable. 2) I am aware that the ruling does not mean that obese people won’t need to work. However, if a person has gotten so big that it impacts their job, do something about it! Sometimes (not often, granted), I wish that cycling four times a week will stop me being disabled. It won’t. Ever. Don’t give the ‘disabled’ title to something that can be fixed with effort. Disabled people have a hard enough time as it is with society labelling them as lazy and scroungers. I was once in a bar with a friend having a drink when someone came up to me and said, “I work hard to pay my taxes so you can use your benefits to drink”. My response was to the point: “sometimes I work 65 hours a week, I do not get benefits. Yes, I am disabled but that doesn’t mean I do not work”. Disclaimer: • I do not wish to offend anyone at all by writing this. I can just be moody and gobby sometimes. • As I said, I know there are medical causes to obesity. I am not disputing that. • I know it isn’t easy to lose weight just like that, I would never say it was. But if it affects life, reasonable efforts should be made. Just like employers are legally required to make reasonable efforts under the DDA. • My credentials related to this subject: I’m physically disabled, with degrees in social policy and disability studies (thus have an academic interest). • I know this is not a headline from the past week. But I’ve just seen it, so it counts. • This is why I do not read the news. |
| This post is not, I repeat not, about my New Years resolutions. I’m not making any resolutions. I’m not going to pledge to give up anything, get healthier or lose weight. I could probably do with doing all those things but I’m hoping I’ll just do it as we go through the year. In fact, I’m not actually pledging to do anything at all this year. Rather, this is merely a list of things I would like to do in 2015. Indeed, I’m getting ready to write my Dear Me letter for 2015. Therefore, I want to work out what I would like to do to make myself happy, develop and move forward. I will probably miss lots of things off this list: if I do it can’t be that important. Work and home things I’d like to do: • Change the outlook of as many people as I can – it is, after all, my job. • Stop putting off things I think will take loads of time. They usually get done faster than I think. • Stop beating myself for not getting everything done straight away. • Get better at prioritising. • Get a real job. Perhaps. Maybe. One day. • Make sure I give my best effort to every work related thing I do. • Teach Chris to pick up his socks. They end up everywhere. Why? • Spend more time with Chris. • Work on making the house nicer. This is more of an on going project. I like my house but there is always room for improvement. • Make the bed in my office into a sofa type thing: full of cushions. A place just for reading. • Do more for the charities I work with. • Smile everyday. • Try and improve my brainpower by using Lumosity everyday. My mother encouraged me to try this for a year. Mind you, for now, I’m giving it three months!• Find time to learn new things. Maybe a language, or even take a random evening class • Save for my tax bill as the year goes on, rather than worrying about it as January comes along. The joys of being self-employed! Writing things I’d like to do: • Write using as many poetry forms as I can (as per: "Invalid Item" )• Finish my 2014 NaNo novel – I got to 50,000 words then just stopped. • Edit my 2014 NaNo novel – it needs it! • Do something with my 2014 NaNo novel – I can dream of publication, right? • Take part in NaNo 2015 – this may not be possible as I will be in Cuba for the first week of November. However, I at least want to work on any ideas for novels I have. I’ve proved I can do it once; there is no reason why I can’t keep trying to write more novels. • Complete the 30-day blogging challenge at least three times. • Enter more writing contests – I managed to get confidence in this area towards the end of 2014. I wont let this go. • Write at least 100 reviews for items on WDC. I’ve done 364 so far, so I’d like to get up to 464, at least. • Review at least half of the books I read in 2015. • Start planning (and writing if the mood takes me) my autobiography. • Spend time every few days working on my following on Twitter[/x-link} and {x-link:https://frannywhit.wordpress.com/}Wordpress . If I ever get published, this will definitely help. |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day three Prompt: Creation Saturday: Concoct secret plans   I’m stuck on today’s prompt. So, I’ve created (see what I did there) a poem. Sizzling secrets come to the boil Surprises spoil All fall quiet - need no riot Secret keeper so bold and brave Shalt not cave - to you my friend I'll just pretend The wind whispers secrets wildly Please react mildly For this short tale - sure to prevail |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day Two Prompt: Funny Friday: What does "funny" mean to you? I’m pretty tired today (more on that later), so I am sitting here struggling to work out what I find funny and, therefore, how I can possibly make you laugh. The Oxford Dictionary defines the word ‘funny’ as:1. Causing laughter or amusement; humorous 1.1. [PREDICATIVE, WITH NEGATIVE] informal Used to emphasize that something is unpleasant or wrong and should be regarded seriously or avoided 2 Difficult to explain or understand; strange or curious 2.1 Unusual, especially in such a way as to arouse suspicion 2.2 informal (Of a person or part of the body) not in wholly good health or order; slightly ill: 2.3 British informal Slightly deranged or eccentric Yep, that really didn’t help me to be honest. As someone with a pretty good sense of humour, it is odd that I can find a way to explain what does and doesn’t make me laugh. Put simply, it could be everything or nothing. Strangely, comedies are less likely to make me laugh than something is not supposed to make me laugh. I watched a lot of really crap TV over Christmas (all forced on my, may I add). When a “comedy” came on, more often than not, I wanted to block my ears off and poke myself in the eyes. Not funny! For example, I detest Mrs Brown’s Boys :[Embed For Use By Upgraded+] Also, lots of people love Miranda Hart . Wow, if I could throw her out the window, I really would! There is only so many times someone can fall over and/or make an utter prat of themselves and still believe its funny: It’s just not. However, you may disagree:[Embed For Use By Upgraded+] Having said that, now that I think about it, there are a couple of comedies I do like. They don’t always make me laugh out loud, but they might raise a few small chuckles. Friends is a comedy that can always raise a smile. The writing is clever and slightly subtler; I think that is why I can appreciate the humour. Unless you live in cave (which means you cant be reading this) everyone must have seen at least a little bit of Friends, at some point in their life. Therefore, I won’t bother finding you a clip.Another comedy that I can cope with is Father Ted . It is relatively old now I guess, but I still like it. Since most of my readers are American or other (AKA not British), I thought I might share a few clips of this un-politically correct, Irish, religion (ish) based comedy… just to educate you all.[Embed For Use By Upgraded+] [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] I’m not entirely sure why I’ve taken this prompt down the TV route. Given that I don’t really like TV, it doesn’t make that much sense! So, why am I tired? Because I stayed up eating crap food, drinking Fanta, chatting and watching bad TV (there it is again) with my friend until 1:30am. Our blokes went to bed at about 9ish and we just turned into children. We are grown women, what is wrong with us? She was telling me how she sometimes felt like her boyfriend didn’t like her. I was trying to be helpful by saying “well, to be fair, he doesn’t like anyone”. I quickly realised, when she started crying with laughter, that I was being far from helpful. I then had my own laughing fit when she said, “when I get settled in my new house, I’m going to start baking cakes”. This, from the woman who has burnt every pre-prepared pizza she has ever chucked in the oven! I wished her luck. Right, the point of Funny Friday in this challenge, is to make people laugh. Hopefully, even though I haven’t laughed, you have. |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day One Prompt: "Everyone talks about the changes they want to make when New Years Day comes. I don't want to know about your resolutions...I want to know what you don't plan on doing in 2015. Don't be obvious...be creative!" I have just a few minutes peace to get this post started. I’ve been sat on my sofa all day with my husband and best friend, with her bloke in the armchair, all day. We’ve been watching Revenge and eating buffet food and sweets. Not a bad start to the New Year, I guess. But I’ve had no time to write. The boys have now toddled off for a nap (not together, I might add) and my friend has popped to the shop. I have no chance of finishing this post, but at least I can start.So, it looks like I’m doing the 30-Day Blogging Challenge this month. I was only tempted to do it until I gave into peer pressure and found myself committed. When I say peer pressure, I mean seeing Elle - on hiatus  saying, “I hope Fran is joining to!” – that is hard core peer pressure, right there, huh?!It looks like I might be starting as I mean to go on with today’s prompt. As I said the other day, my head is spinning because I am trying to work out what I DO want to do in 2015. But, now, I have to work out what I DON’T want to do. I think someone is trying to screw with my head here! Decision-making is hard enough as it is for me. Gee wiz! Okay, number one is vowing never to say “gee wiz” in a blog post again! Let me think… what do I not want to do this year? I don’t want to… • Get stuck in a twelve-hour traffic jam. • Get stuck in a twelve-hour traffic jam with One Direction, Elvis and Paul McCartney songs stuck on repeat. • Have my bookcase fall on me. It is solid metal and wood; reckon it would hurt quite a bit. • Watch Eastenders – I say this because I’ve been forced to watch it this holiday by various people and I’ve ended up knowing what’s going on. I refused to get hooked on it again.• Work in a pub. As if I could anyway. • Shrink to the size of a peanut and get trapped in a jar of gherkins. Gherkins make me ill. • Eat McDonalds every day. • Get frostbite • Break any more bones • Not read any books • Piss anyone off • Piss myself off – It’s very easy to do • Get arrested for indecent exposure! Again, I’m not sure this is likely • Burn down my house – I quite like it. • Get caught up in things I don’t want to be involved in. I’m sure I could go on all day with this. But I think I’ll say happy new year and go off to think more positively about 2015. Happy New Year! |
 I’ve just been reading through the Dear Me letter I wrote at the start of the year. Soon it will be time to write a new one and I wanted to see whether I could still relate to it. It is an interesting read – for me, if no one else. I was particularly interested to see that I didn’t really set myself any goals or challenges. Well, apart from the reading challenge that I failed spectacularly. I wonder whether this is an indication of how much confidence in myself I had, at the time of writing. I say this because, as we speed towards 2015, I honestly cannot stop thinking of challenges I could set myself. To the point where, I don’t even think I could list them all here if I tried. My brain is just to full. The thing is, I love competition and challenging myself. I thrive on it. If something doesn’t challenge me, I really struggle to give it my all. Ticking things off and saying “yes! I did it,” gives me such a buzz. On the other hand, I can overwhelm myself very easily. So, if a to-do list is too long, I get overwhelmed and find myself unable to get anything done at all. Therefore, it is all very well having all these challenges spinning around my head at the moment. But I know full well that if I try and commit to everything, I will end up doing nothing. I just need to remember what I told myself in my previous Dear Me letter: “you don’t have to do everything, all the time!” Additionally, all the things I want to challenge myself to involve writing. Yes, I very much want to improve my writing and do much more of it in 2015. But, it is important for me to remember that it is not my job (I wish) and I need to keep focus on “real life” too. That said, while I am self-employed and have flexibility in my working life, is a perfect time to get my head down and read and write to my heart’s content. So, I feel the need to focus my goals and establish a way forward that will not only challenge me, but make productive use of my time – without taking it all up. I already feel like writing this post has made things clearer in my mind. It is all very well thinking things like, “I want to write 365 blog posts in 2015”. But what if I can’t? I’ll just end up beating myself up and feeling like a failure. Surely it is better to have 50 small challenges than 10 big ones? A challenge is great. But there comes a point where the fun is lost and it becomes a chore. I think I’ve learnt enough over the past few year to know that that is not what I want or, indeed, need! |
 They get up before the sun even considers starting to rise. They queue up outside, freezing to death, looking like absolute turnips. They have a plan and dustbin bags. They push and shove, queuing up for hours just to pay out a fortune for the bags of crap they really do not need. Why? Seriously, I was looking around the sales online this morning and, quite frankly, felt saddened for the people I described above. Why on earth would anyone get up at 4am on Boxing ay, just to buy stuff that has a slight discount. Maybe the shops were better yesterday than online stores were this morning. But there was absolutely nothing. There was one site in particular (I’ll name no names) that boasted that they had 50% off everything. Right, granted I’m rubbish at Maths, but £16.98 is NOT 50% of £22.99 – fact. That isn’t to say that I didn’t get my credit card out at all. I migrated to my trusty favourite – Amazon. I bought two items that I already wanted and had been looking for for quite a while. See, there’s the difference. I wanted what I bought, the people that queue up shop under pressure so get home and find stuff they will never ever use or wear. If you’re interested, I bought a pair of slippers (specific brand/style) and a handbag. I wanted a handbag that I could fit my journals, kindle et al in – I think I’ve finally found one. I’m so rock and roll. I feel like I’m destroying my argument by saying that I’ve bought stuff. But you would never ever catch me leaving the warmth of a house to fight in the sales. Ever. If you would, I’d love to know why! |
 Last year (2013) I read 150 books. This year, I had the same goal. But I have failed miserably: I think I've read 40-50 books. However, I have read absolutely nothing since June. I didn't even finish a book when I was on holiday in July. For me, not reading is a good indication that things are not quite right in my little head. Be this due to stress, being depressed, or too many distractions. Indeed, when I was really depressed, it took me a year to read one book. This is unspeakably bad! In the past five months, I've been too busy writing stuff to have time to read. But, as the Legend Stephen King says, you need to read in order to be able to write. I just need to get the balance right. Chris knows this, which is why he bought me a Kindle Fire for Christmas and his parents bought me an Amazon Voucher. Now I have two Kindles, tons of Kindle books and about 30 paperbacks that I haven't even touched. No excuses now. So, my challenge this year is to read all the books I already own but haven't read. There is very little point spending money on books if I already have loads. I am also going to try and write reviews for the books I read. This combines reading and writing very well. To start, I'm now reading Endgame: The Calling by James Frey |
 Have you seen "Invalid Item" , which I put together yesterday. I decided to dump it all online during a Christmas Day lull. You know, when there’s a crap film on TV, your husband is asleep on the floor by the fire, the Mother in Law is playing Candy Crush or similar, and the Father in Law is upstairs desperately looking for sport to watch.I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas. I can’t complain; good food, gifts and Baileys – that’s basically my day yesterday. I’ve been suffering with pain, which I think comes from a 4-hour drive and too much walking. You see, since I broke my foot in August, I haven’t been walking too much. But I can’t use my wheelchair here, so I’ve just had to hobble along. At least I had the foresight to bring some stronger painkillers (I wasn’t going to as I haven’t needed them in a while). Every year at Christmas I find myself wishing I were a child. Or, maybe, just had a child. It is so much more magical when you’re young, isn’t it? So much more exciting! As a child, Christmas day was never long enough: there was always so much to do, so much to play with. Now, as an adult, it feels like once the presents are all open, that’s it. Christmas is over. Obviously, presents are not what Christmas is about. But they were when we are children. It’s supposed to be about being with the ones you love, and that’s what I do. However, these days, I spend it with Chris’ family not my own. Nevertheless, each year, I feel like I’m missing something; as if there should be more to it. Perhaps it is just the different way different families “do” Christmas. My own family are very food, book (we all get books for Christmas) and game orientated. Whereas Chris’ family is very TV oriented. As someone who doesn’t really watch TV, the latter doesn’t really suit. Perhaps this is why I feel something is missing. There’s no “family time” per se, just a TV timetable. Maybe, I’m just looking for something that wouldn’t be there, no matter how I spent Christmas. I just wonder whether others feel the same. Is Christmas as an adult an anti-climax or is sitting and doing nothing just what we all need after a busy year? |
| Morning all, This is day 12 of the Christmas soundtrack challenge – the final day. Some readers maybe disappointed that I’ve not been my usual “sarky” self (ahem Elle - on hiatus ). But I don’t think 12 days is long enough for me to get sarky. Also, I do better with prompts that I don’t really want to answer – that’s when my blog posts get more entertaining.I also know that my song choices have been quite conservative for me. So, today, I’ve got a song that is neither conservative nor sentimental. Some of you may laugh, some may cringe, and some may be offended. If you are offended, have some mulled wine and relax! Unlike many of my other choices, today’s track was always going to be on the list: either as day one or day twelve. I’m very glad I saved it for last. I hope you’ll agree! In other news, I know I’m late with this post. But the day just flew by yesterday without me managing to write a single word! In fact, I’m not sure what I did, apart from tidy and entertain. I use the term entertain lightly as it was only my best friend and her bloke that was over. Given that she calls my office “her bedroom”, I’m not required to put too much effort into entertaining her. In fact, once the two men had gone to bed (about 9:30pm) we simply got blankets and curled up to watch a TV show we needed to catch up on. No discussion needed! Well, apart from whether to watch another episode or not. Perfect! I have a question. Three actually… Chris says he is house-proud and likes things tidy. Why then, is he the messiest person in the world? And why is it that when I get off my arse to tidy, he is incapable of helping? Is it a man thing or just a Chris thing? I tidied the whole of downstairs (its basically one big room and a kitchen). I felt I needed to because a) it was a tip, b) the Christmas tree is going up today, and c) I knew that once we started being invaded, it’d just get worse. But all Chris said was “don’t bother, its fine”. However, I imagine, once my friend and her bloke turned up with their stuff, he will have been grateful for my efforts… If I had bothered, the house would now look like a Christmas shit hole… (Check out this tenuous link) [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
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