Summer Holidays

Last week we escaped to the Isle of Wight for a little R & R. We were very lucky to have great weather everyday so got a great tan. We were on the go all day everyday and the kids loved it. Who would have thought such a tiny island could have so much to do?

For any animal lovers  there is Allendale Equestrian Centre and Seaview Wildlife Centre where you can feed penguins and get closer to the other residents of the centre. There are also several other zoos and other animal centres on the island.  There are also plenty of dog friendly beaches and pubs and some of the attractions will allow dogs as long as they are kept on a lead such as Blackgang Chine and The Needles Park.

Will definitely be returning at some point as there is still loads we haven't done yet.

Active Weekend

This weekend we have been active with taking bikes down the trail, playing basketball as well as activities including weeding the garden and clearing out cupboards. The kids have loved it they also liked visiting the library and choosing another book to read - in case you haven't already guessed my 2 are little book worms.

During the week they had been busy with swimming lessons, riding bikes and going to various activities organised by the library and by the children's centre. The Summer holidays seem to be flying by can't believe we are halfway through already!

In between all of these activities we have been trying to squeeze in bits of our eldest's homework so there isn't a huge mound to do on the last week. This has been easier said than done although we are making slow and steady progress with it. I suspect that once we are back into the routine of school in September my days will slow down unless I can find productive ways in which to occupy my time as the last thing I want is to be bored.

Prioritising Money

Now that my finances are under control, like many people I have a list of things that require money - such as getting a car. This week I have spent trying to work out what order I should do the things on the list.  I found that the best way to sort this out is look at the pros and cons for each item on the list mostly focusing on the implications for example: If I get a dog then yes it will provide companionship etc but it will make travelling harder, so maybe travelling should go before getting a dog. 

Not only have I looked at things like this but have also looked into investing for the future, which if I'm honest can be a little confusing as all the banks seem to be offering various deals and give you loads of figures which if like me maths is not your forte then it doesn't really help so I have taken advantage of online resources and worked out the best options for me.

The Telephone

With the mobile phone now a common item, the majority of people have one if not more with Samsung being declared as the most profitable phone firm; overtaking Apple. At present Samsung has over 27% of the market share and made approximately £3.4bn.

Despite this increase in sales BBC News have posted an article: "Do we still need the telephone?" This could be due to the increase in emails and messengers but does this mean that the art of conversation is dying? Some would argue that it isn't it's just evolving but I think that if we continue along this path there will come a point where we no longer verbally communicate with each other which is a shame. Others would say that conversation is dying but communication is not. 

 

How much spam?

Like most people I decided to make the most of the sun this weekend so spent most of my time outside and didn't think about work. Normally when I have a day or two off I end up with approximately 100-200 and before anyone asks yes I do have a spam filter set up; so you can imagine my surprise when I had 995 emails waiting this morning.

When I looked through them the vast majority were from a survey company, I guess that's what happens when businesses sell your details. If this happens to you there are a few things to do. Firstly click on the unsubscribe link if there is one. Also there are a number of sites out there that claim to be able to remove you from spam lists but the best way to reduce the amount of spam you receive is to follow the steps laid out in https://www.facebook.com/charlotte.keeling.167?hc_location=stream. Hopefully this will help all of us get less spam.

To reduce junk mail through the post try the following:

• If there is a return address then return to sender with a letter requesting that they don't send you any more mail
• With flyers from local businesses you have a number of approaches you can simply put up with it, ask the businesses not to send you anything or there are stickers you can put by your letterbox. 

Kings of Leon Concert

I went to see my first concert with some friends last week. We had booked the tickets 6 weeks before hand and had planned how we were getting to and from the concert etc. On the day of the concert we looked into parking near the venue to find out what was available (highly recommend doing this as we saved ourselves £10).

The support act was group we had never heard of called The Weeks, to be fair they weren't bad although it's not a band where I would go and buy their album. After about 90 minutes the support act finished and the main act - Kings of Leon began their set. They were amazing!! When they started to play the atmosphere changed it was almost as though the crowd had been woken up.

The only downside we found was people throwing beer, which we have since been informed is pretty normal at concerts. To be honest I don't understand why people feel the need to do this, not only is it annoying to anyone who gets showered with the beer but with the prices being more expensive surely you are wasting money by throwing the alcohol over people?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Was watching this tonight and found that I was able to relate to the main characters as they are "outsiders" and each had their own quirks and they were friends despite them.  I loved the fact that for once the focus was not on the popular kids, instead it was on those are often ignored or the subject of ridicule. 

There seems to be a growing number of films from the underdog's perspective, a lot of them are embellished and portray the underdog having super powers or various other things where as this film was more believable as it didn't try to change them it showed the strength of love and friendship. They accepted everyone for who they were. 

As an outsider during my school life I liked the fact that it portrayed a regular group of teens rather exaggerating it.