Here are my day totals for my "10k steps a day" challenge. Keep checking this blog - I'll be updating as I go. Do you think you could beat me?!

1    I managed 8135 steps without trying, and that was without the first three hours of my day (before I'd collected my pedometer from the post). This should be ok!!
2    Noted: 25 steps from my desk in the office to the bathroom. That's a few steps with me walking to the kettle so much!
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30

Lou x

3. A full cutlery drawer. This means the dishwasher (if I’m at my parents’ place) is empty – putting the clean stuff away is not a job I enjoy! – or the dishes have been done at home. Yay, thanks husband! We have a lot of cutlery, so we can go a while without washing it, but it’s nice to see a full complement of utensils. A happy kitchen!

4. Paying off bills. I hate having debt, so a clean credit card statement and no bills due is a good thing. Boring, but good in the long-run. 

5. Family parties – of all kinds, for all ages. Family has become more and more important to me over the last 5-10 years. We had 4 family members pass away between 2009 and 2013 and it’s no surprise that it’s brought one or two of our relatives closer to my immediate family. Some family relationships could of course be better (the clue is in the word ‘family’!), but family remains key. 

6. Pay day – never really lame, but I think I have more interesting things to spend it on, day by day. It's not a huge salary, but it beats getting £4.25 / hour as a 14 year old Saturday girl! I am always grateful to have a job, and one I enjoy at that, let alone one which allows me to live / travel / save. 

7. Keeping fit and controlling what I eat. I wasn’t a fan of PE at school and it took me a while to find my niche in sport (classes!) but now I love the feeling being fit and having a slimmer figure gives me. *** UPDATE I've lost 4kg since I wrote this originally! ***

8. Having friends who are old enough to be your (grand)parents – good mates don’t mind an age gap.

9. Reading (especially paperbacks!) – ebooks are not for me – I’ve read three and much prefer paperbacks. Reading has always been in my life and I’m loving the fact it’s an acceptable and longed for way to spend the evening among a lot of my peers. It wasn’t cool when I was a kid, but it sure is almost a treat now!

10. A full tank of petrol. My car almost feels more alive when it's wangled a fresh £40 out of me!

​Today I Told Her

Today I told her. 
 
This evening I told my wife a secret.
A year of marital bliss fell from my lips and crashed into foetal positioned dreams around our feet.
 
“How about Annie for a girl?”
 
I could hold back no longer.
I had to speak.
 
She shook off a long blinked. I could feel our hearts sinking together, yet I was convinced.
 
“What do you mean?”
 
I repeated the loaded phrase, more than words.
 
“How… what...? When did you decide this?”
 
Eight months into our marriage I found myself wishing for nothing more.
 
“Are you sick?”
 
No. I wanted no children – she was enough, my love entirely hers.

Lou x
Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

When the world is eating, singing, celebrating
Tuning into the news can be grating.
Refugees and war are not on theme
But such stories continue to be seen.
 
Christmas is a time of giving
These conflicting images conflicting,
Dominating the current issues
Causing some to reach for tissues.
 
Christmas comes and soon it goes
Resolutions and sometimes snows
Normal life resumes at speed
Drifting away from those in need.
 
Little keeps stark images in your mind
Lasting past the fleeting appeals of kind.
Yet Christmas is a time for thinking of others
From neighbours to global sisters and brothers
 
Remembering the much less fortunates
While we gorge on roasted chestnuts.
Carry these thoughts of injustice and pain
Through January and into the main
 
And spare more than a thought in Christmas cheer
For those children, people, who wish to be here.
Pick out the easy wins, that’s a good start
A tin in the charity box from your shopping cart.
 
Contact your MP for changes in acts
Facebook and Twitter are tools of attacks
Check local press for news of the worthy
Helping those lives topsy-turvy.
 
Monthly donations to your chosen cause
And doing it all for no applause.
So when you pause to think of the many
Who have no food, no home or penny
 
Take it forward from Christmastime
And prove there’s a reason for my rhyme.

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

 Christmas shoppers are back at Cribbs Causeway, two minutes from where I work . The schools are starting to go on holiday so the kids are flooding in to see Star Wars at the nearby cinema. Work 'do's are filling restaurants around the retail parks. 

The other evening it took me 25 mins to get to the M5 junction on my way home, when it normally takes 5 mins. 

Congestion is Bristol is getting to a limit I am not enjoying, so what do I suggest? I am no transport planner, but I do drive and I live in Bristol, so here's my two penny's worth. 

​
Work with local businesses

Congestion is worst at either end of the working day. Creating safe cycle storage and changing facilities at offices helps to reduce congestion – as does allowing for home working and staggered start and finish times. In Nottingham a workplace levy for businesses with lots of parking spaces has generated much-needed cash to fund alternatives and will help reduce traffic.

Introduce a congestion charge

London's congestion charge was implemented in 2003 and has been a success, reducing traffic volumes by just over 10%. 

Sort out the buses

The routes, certainly in Bristol, can be fragmented and illogical. Established hubs are not used as well as they could be, and there may be a case for large scale re-routing to make rides more efficient and cover more areas. One friend of mine takes 90 mins to get to work (on a good day), and he lives in Bristol. I used to commute from Swindon and it only took me 55 mins. That's not right!!

Open up old train lines

I would LOVE to go to work on the train - extra napping/reading/writing...working time, and no angry drivers. So many areas in Bristol are way off the train lines which currently exist, with many others closed and forgotten. I'd certainly use the Henbury station if it reopened! And surely Cribbs Causeway could do with something train-like, closer than Patchway...?

Give away free helmets and bike locks

One of the things that might put people off cycling and therefore remain driving is the cost of a helmet and a lock to secure their bike. The two together could cost upwards of £45 and can be quite an investment. However, both items are essential for riding, so funding free helmets and locks may act as a good incentive. 

Promote bus apps more

There are some great techy options to help you plan your route on public transport, but many people don't know about them. For Bristol buses I recommend the app 'Travel West Bus Checker' You can put your postcode in for your starting point and destination and it does the rest. 

Install more bike rails for securing your bike 

When I biked into town for dinner a month or two ago, I struggled to find a spot to safely park my bike. I ended up going several streets over from the restaurant I was meeting El Husbandio in - hardly ideal. It would also help with businesses - business relations and residents who live in popular areas: fewer 'eyesore' bikes attached to railings on the shop/house fronts. 

A single transportation body across the city

Coordinated and well-planned, well-timed projects for transport improvement should be run by one independent body, in my view. This will make development easier, possibly making it cost less, and would pool resources into one key place. 

More enforcement against banned drivers and uninsured drivers 

This would get a good percentage of drivers off the road!

Rewards for walking the short journeys

Reward schemes are big business nowadays - could log local journeys when you would have used a car but walked/biked and receive vouchers.

Cut train ticket and bus ticket prices

Nuff said. 

Raise the driving age to 18

Now school is compulsory to age 18, there is not a need for young people to drive so much. Argument was they might need it for work after 16, but that's no argument now. I would have hated this suggestion when I was 17 and driving, but it would knock down the number of drivers, and potentially make the roads safer too. 

What do you think?

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

This weekend sees the opening of a dream of mine... my own (mini) bakery!!!

Every 3rd Sunday of the month I will be selling home baked cakes from my kitchen. The baking starts this weekend and I can't wait!

I've got a full Christmas themed menu (check out #bakemenu on Twitter) from iced Christmas cake to Brownie Santa Hats, so if you're in the Bristol area this weekend, be sure to stop by! The first 25 customers will receive a gift, and of course, there will be tasters!

280 Bakes
280 Broadlands Drive
Bristol
BS11 0PW

Join me 4-5pm every third Sunday (opens 20th December) and find what you want for tea!

280 Bakes is on Facebook and Twitter, so get in touch!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

We've worked hard to make our house Christmas-y, El Husbandio and I. He is missing home (Costa Rica) and I'm missing home too (Swindon). Equally fun Christmases! Here's what we've created, hung and decorated this year.

I'm especially proud of the wreath (a gift for a friend) and the Rudolph cake. My very own show stopper for my fancy baker sister

Enjoy!

​Lou x

Ugly sunsets - there are no such things. 

And I've Googled it.

​There's a photo saying 'I give up finding an ugly sunset'.

There's a song.

And there's an Adobe colour scheme. 

There's no actual sunsets which are ugly. 

And that's pretty un-ugly in itself. 

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist

I'm looking forward to the editing phase of my novel. I'm still only 40,000 words in, so it's a way off yet, but it doesn't stop me procrastinating and planning how I'll edit!

Here are my top 12 tips for when you reach the editing stage. 

--------------

​

• If it’s fiction, are the characters plausible? Do they sound real?
• Are the themes working? What is the one big message of your book? How do the sub-themes relate to it?
• Is it tightly written, where every word carries meaning and builds the picture? Or is it full of waffle that needs to be pared down? Make every word count. 
• Double check your spelling. 'Form' and 'From' are both words spellcheck will recognise but they might be incorrect in that sentence. 
• Are there any excessively long sentences you can cut in two?
• If it’s how-to, are the instructions clear for the level of skill you're writing for? i.e. for beginners, intermediate... Do the steps come in the right order? Do you have a contents page? Does the manual have illustrations or photos? Is it inspiring and encouraging as well as informative?
• Is there enough description to create vivid images in a reader’s mind? Is it groaning under the weight of too much description? Show, don't tell, but make sure it's balanced - like Barbara Kingsolver. 
• Is your formatting standard all the way through? If not, make sure there's a reason for this which enhances the readers' experience. 
• Cut 'in order to'. You never need it. If you’re going to the kitchen in order to make a sandwich… Your sentence could be tighter. Because you’re really going to the kitchen to make a sandwich.
• Same goes for the word 'currently'. Cut it. If someone is working as a sous-chef, they are there currently and it doesn't need to be highlighted twice. 
• Are there holes in the plot, or anything you’ve hinted at early and then forgotten to tie up?
• If it’s memoir, is it engaging? Will anyone care what you did, and why? Check out this great blog on writing a memoir people actually want to read from Stand Out Books. 

Don't give up. Editing can seem daunting and tiresome, but it'll make your book so much better if you get a few things a little tighter. Refine it and make it better, step by step. 

Thanks for reading, 

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist