Firstly, sorry for disappearing without saying anything. I hadn't planned to have a break like this but it happened and I went with it. Sometimes we all just need a break right?
Anyway, I thought I'd bring you all up to speed with what I've been doing in my time off.
Calabria
I went of holiday with my family to Calabria. This awesome place in the South of Italy is fast becoming one of my favourite places on the planet. We went there for a wedding last year but only got a short amount of time to explore. Having loved what we did see we jumped at the chance to go back again this year when a friend of ours asked us to visit him.
We spent most of our time on the beach at Pizzo swimming with the fish and getting tanned. We did take a trip to Tropea too as it gets so much hype about how amazing it is. It is beautiful. It's also full of tourists... packed full of them. We decided that although the scenery was breathtaking but it just too busy, with not much space to actually relax. Still glad we went to see it. Another place ticked off my bucket list ;)
The place we stayed at was in Monterosso Calabro which is a small hillside village. Half the buildings are empty so it was very peaceful. And again, the views were amazing. We will definitely be going back in the future.
Pompeii
On the way back to Rome we stopped off in Pompeii (another place on my bucket list) and visited the ruins. WOW! just WOW!
Pompeii is well worth a visit and I wish we'd had more time to explore it more. It's like stepping back in time. The whole city is so well preserved. It was a amazing to be able to walk down those streets and step inside the buildings.
Seeing the casts of the bodies in their final moments was hard, especially those of the young children. It was unnerving knowing that the vulcano is, in fact, still active (and going by recent calculation due another eruption in the not too distant future).
We only managed to see about a third of the ruins as we only had a short amount of time. I'd love to go back and see the rest of it one day.
Latina
Back home to Rome for a day to unpack, and finish decorating our kids bedroom, then we were back in the car and headed to Latina. A closer location this time. We went to a place called Miami Beach which is a water park full of all sorts of water attractions.
Acqua gym, group dancing, a foam party, an obstacle course, Jacuzzi, big water tube rides... it was a busy, but very fun day out. We even watched a magic show, and fed the fish and turtles at the lake. Loads of fun for kids big and small.
If you're planning a holiday in Italy you might want to check out my book Italian for Tourists ;)
If you're planning a holiday in Italy you might want to check out my book Italian for Tourists ;)
Then what?
After all of that it was back home again and time to try and get back to normal (whatever that is).
Oh and I cut my hair... drastically. Yep from super long to pixie. It was time for a change and, to be honest, long hair was just too much work to keep it looking good.
In all of this I forgot to give you the last update for BookTubeAThon and so I filmed a quick vlog to sum it all up:
In all of this I forgot to give you the last update for BookTubeAThon and so I filmed a quick vlog to sum it all up:
Back to work
It's hard to get back into the flow when you've taken time off.. especially when you discover your inboxes are exploding. Seriously, SO - MANY - EMAILS! It's taken me all week to get through them and I'm still playing catch up.
During my time off, and now I'm back, I've been giving some serious thought to my work load. I love what I do and it's hard to think about cutting something(s) from my list. I do know that I won't be able to grow more though if I don't make some changes.
My kids go back to school mid-September (yep that late AND summer break started on 8th June. The struggle is real). The fact that they will be going back to school had me thinking "finally I'll have some time to actually get some work done". In truth, I won't actually have that much time.
The kids going back to school does mean I will have some more time without the kids, but when I got to thinking about it I realised that doesn't necessarily mean I'll have more time to do work.
Back to school means school runs. This in itself will take more time this year as my boys will be at different schools. Two different schools, opposite directions from our house, different start and end times. I'm going to be running from one place to another most of the day.
Back to school also means parent/teacher meetings, school admin stuff, and all the birthday parties and other social meet ups.
September also means back to training. My boys practice competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and swimming. The next Italian Championships for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are at the end of October and so my youngest will be back training hard in preparation. So far he has won 5 Gold medals and is aiming for another for his collection.
Swimming training starts up again too, and with it lots of competitions. They both do individual, relay, and lifeguard. My eldest is hoping to qualify for regional and national competitions this year and so will be increasing his training over the coming months.
More training for them means more things on my own to do list too. For one I have to take them to and from their training sessions, and competitions.
So will I really have much more time to devote to working? Not really. This means I need a new plan of action. I don't need to work harder. I need to work smarter.
I'm still trying to work out all the details of my new plan but I do know I need to make some changes to what I do and how I do it.
Let's work together
One thing I want to do more of is collaborations, both for my youtube channel, and here on the blog... maybe for social media too. Group projects are fun to do, and get great results. If you have any ideas for a collaboration we could do together get in touch.
Working smarter
I'm currently researching apps that I can use for my blogs and social media. Like I said, I want to work smarter, not harder. If you know of a great app that gets results, is super easy to use, and saves you time with your various blog related tasks please tell me all about it. Bonus points if it's free ;)
One of my favourite apps is SUMO. I've been using it for a couple of years now and love it. It makes it super easy to share images along with links to my content. Just so you know, I was using it way before I became an affiliate for the program and would still be telling you about it even without the chance to earn a little something from my link.
My kids go back to school mid-September (yep that late AND summer break started on 8th June. The struggle is real). The fact that they will be going back to school had me thinking "finally I'll have some time to actually get some work done". In truth, I won't actually have that much time.
The kids going back to school does mean I will have some more time without the kids, but when I got to thinking about it I realised that doesn't necessarily mean I'll have more time to do work.
Back to school means school runs. This in itself will take more time this year as my boys will be at different schools. Two different schools, opposite directions from our house, different start and end times. I'm going to be running from one place to another most of the day.
Back to school also means parent/teacher meetings, school admin stuff, and all the birthday parties and other social meet ups.
September also means back to training. My boys practice competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and swimming. The next Italian Championships for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are at the end of October and so my youngest will be back training hard in preparation. So far he has won 5 Gold medals and is aiming for another for his collection.
Swimming training starts up again too, and with it lots of competitions. They both do individual, relay, and lifeguard. My eldest is hoping to qualify for regional and national competitions this year and so will be increasing his training over the coming months.
More training for them means more things on my own to do list too. For one I have to take them to and from their training sessions, and competitions.
So will I really have much more time to devote to working? Not really. This means I need a new plan of action. I don't need to work harder. I need to work smarter.
I'm still trying to work out all the details of my new plan but I do know I need to make some changes to what I do and how I do it.
Let's work together
One thing I want to do more of is collaborations, both for my youtube channel, and here on the blog... maybe for social media too. Group projects are fun to do, and get great results. If you have any ideas for a collaboration we could do together get in touch.
Working smarter
I'm currently researching apps that I can use for my blogs and social media. Like I said, I want to work smarter, not harder. If you know of a great app that gets results, is super easy to use, and saves you time with your various blog related tasks please tell me all about it. Bonus points if it's free ;)
One of my favourite apps is SUMO. I've been using it for a couple of years now and love it. It makes it super easy to share images along with links to my content. Just so you know, I was using it way before I became an affiliate for the program and would still be telling you about it even without the chance to earn a little something from my link.
Anyway, I'll fill you in more soon, once I have a clear idea of the what and how to of my new plan. I'll also try to get back into my normal posting schedule here on the blog.
Taking some time off has been great. Sometimes we need to step away for a moment to better understand what we're doing, and want to be doing.
Did you take some time off this summer?
Taking some time off has been great. Sometimes we need to step away for a moment to better understand what we're doing, and want to be doing.
Did you take some time off this summer?
Apps
back to school
Back to work
Calabria
collaboration
general update
holiday
Italian for Tourists
Italy
Jo Linsdell
Latina
new plan
Pizzo
plan of action
Pompeii
Rome
tourist
Tropea
update
Vlog
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18 comments
Welcome back! I just got back from the South of France and am already missing the beach tremendously!
ReplyDeleteLove the haircut and I also owe you my answers to your mail to me a while back - sorry I have been such a flake!
Thanks Nikki. Oh South of France... I like the sounds of that. I'm missing the beach too.
DeleteNo hurry on your answers. Just send them my way when you have the time. I'm playing catch up myself at the moment so totally understand.
I've missed you but was also enjoying your vacay pics - glad you got the chance and adore your new hair!
ReplyDeleteThanks DJ. I missed you all too. I love our little book blogging family :) Glad to be back with you all again but I did love my little holiday away. I love travelling. One of my passions I've neglected in recent years. Part of my new plan will have a travel element in it ;)
DeleteThanks also for the compliment about my hair. Everyone in the hairdressers thought I'd lost my mind when I went in and said cut it all off but when it was done they all said they liked it. I love it. So easy to style too.
I love that pixie cut on you! It's adorable! Ah, apps that make you work smarter? I'm not sure, although I do love the Google Keep app, it's fantastic for noting down ideas and something I can access on the laptop OR my phone.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nicole. I'm loving my shorter hair, especially in this heat.
DeleteI've not heard of Google Keep before. Will look it up. I use Google Drive, although I saw recently that they are getting rid of Drive and launching a new app in its place.
I've always wanted to go to Italy but haven't had the chance yet. Email avalanche suuuuucks. Work smarter not harder is one of my catch phrases and well done to both your kids - I know I didn't have that many awesome accomplishments you must be so proud! Hope you get back into your groove soon 😁
ReplyDeleteThanks Jordanne. I'm a super proud mummy. My youngest was 5 the first time he became an Italian Jiu Jitsu champion winning his first Gold medal. To date he's only ever lost one match at championship level and that was with a hurt shoulder and he only lost by 2 points and he still ended up winning the Gold. He kicks serious butt. My own personal bodyguard for life ;)
DeleteThey're both doing amazingly well with their swimming too. I have my own personal lifeguards too. My eldest wants to race in the Olympics when he's older. Would be amazing if he can get to that level. As long as they enjoy their sports I'm happy either way though.
I LOVE Italy! I came here for 3 days and stayed. I've been here over 17 years now. I don't think I'll ever get tired of this country. Sure it has it's problems, but it's so beautiful and packed with so much history and art. You should definitely come over if you get the chance.
I'm almost scared to check my emails. "Email avalanche" is such a good way of describing it. I still have over 100 unread emails to get through.
I remember reading about your changes on one of your facebook posts. First, I LOVE the haircut. I totally understand about the school thing, there really isn't as much time as it sounds like there is going to be. Second, I'd be in for some kind of colab thing. Third, your trips look amazing. Fourth, welcome back and have a great year.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terri. I'd love to do a collab with you. Will drop you a message on Facebook to talk about ideas and organise.
DeleteJust came across your blog for the first time and really enjoyed it. :) For my blog related tasks like to use asana, its a free app you can assign yourself, tasks and break it into subtasks. It's nice if you're a visual person and enjoy checking things off a list!! :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my little corner of the web! So glad you found, and like my website :)
DeleteI've not used asana before but it sounds like an interesting app. I'm a big list maker so it could work well for me. Thanks for the heads up.
I love your new hair. I agree with needing to work smarter than harder. I use trello, evernote and buffer to simplify the work. And I can't think of a life without google sheets.
ReplyDeleteGayathri @ Elgee Writes
Thanks :) As I can't magically create more hours in the day in which to get everything done, if I want to grow (which I do) I need to work smarter. I used to use Evernote. I can't remember why I stopped using it actually. Thanks for your suggestions.
DeleteGlad to see your back and loving the new hair-do. I'm forever changing my hair. I don't tend to use apps for my work. I only really have social media, goodreads etc on my phone and I've never used an app on my computer. I do have an email account with Zoho which comes with a great calendar which is colour co-ordinated etc. It also has lots of other 'apps' to use but I don't use any of the others.
ReplyDeleteThanks :) I'm thinking about using more apps to get tasks done and I can get some work done whilst I'm at the gym or pool for the kids sports training that way. Anything I can do from my phone or ipad will give me more flexibility on where I can work from.
DeleteI hadn't heard of Zoho before. The calendar sounds good.
Welcome back! Glad you had a great time on your vacation :)
ReplyDeleteMegan - Ginger Mom and the Kindle Quest
Thanks Megan. It was a fantastic break.
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