I’m in a bit of a funny place at the moment. Not sure why… I’m still happy and everything, but I think my head just has it’s usual random issues that rear their head every few months.

I know I can be a little bit much and I know that… I can’t help who I am. But why can’t people just accept that? There’s no malice in who I am. I’ve always done what I can to help people and I will probably continue to do so, but I can just help feeling the want to just back off and leave everyone to their own devices. 

Why is it that a lot of people just won’t take me seriously?! I’m a really hard worker. My website is doing really well, I’m in a good position at a respected company and doing well I must add. I just don’t get it. These posts are beginning to get repetitive for me. It’s something I have a real hang up on. Why can’t people see my potential and my enthusiasm to do well? Why am I always looked upon in a strange kind of manner? Do I actually *lack* social skills instead of being a social butterfly? What *is* it? How can I get people to respect me?

*sigh* I don’t really know what’s wrong with me at the moment. I feel like crying a bit. Silly really as I’m not even *that* sad… 

– Swanny xx

‘Positive’ is the word that sums me up best at the moment. I know this might seem like a real surprise to a lot of you who have read me over the years, but I finally feel like I am getting my life into order. Who’d have thought this time last year that I’d be in this position. I was still working in a poxy job, that hardly paid the bills. Yes, I had my Bob, but that was it really.

I’m pleased to say that I’ve passed my probation at Moonfruit and I’m over the moon. It’s been a fantastic 3 months and there’s so many exciting things coming up over the next year. My work is extremely important to me and I’m so glad I’ve finally found somewhere that makes me happy. It’s a lovely feeling to get up in the morning and actually *want* to go to work

In other news, this weekend is my first weekend without Bob, as his wife. I always miss him, that goes without saying, but – still -. When we moved in together last July, I thought that it would make it easier when he went away as I knew he was going to come back home to me… But it wasn’t the case, it just made it harder. So I’m worried that this time it will be even worse as we’re now married. I’m sure it will be fine though and after all, I have my awesome girlfriends to keep me company. This weekend is looking like a blast! Going to the Common with friends, sipping Pimms and basking in the sun – AWESOME! Sunday it’s the Football and I am pretty excited and extremely nervous all at once.

I have to say, I am disappointed in myself as I would like to make this a daily blog. I need to think of a way to do this. Suggestions welcome I just feel like I have no time…

Well, I guess I’d better goa nd meet the lovely George and have a nice glass of red with her Have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy the sunshine…

Swanny xx

It’s true… Yet again I have neglected my blog. So much has happened too… I always find myself in this situation and just don’t know where to start!

So… you know I got married… Married life is just bliss. Living with Bob has always been such good fun anyway, but now that we’re married it just seems so much better! It’s nice to be with someone who understands me and loves me for who I am. I have come across a lot of people who misinterpret me and it’s really upsetting at times. Finally though, in the areas of my life that are important to me, the people involved ‘get me’. Work for example is great fun! I love working in such a focused and lovely team. I feel that working with Wendy has really boosted my confidence and I have learned so much from her in such a short space of time. We’re working on some really exciting projects and I’m keen to make a success of them and progress. I really feel like I’ve *finally* found my dream job and I don’t want to mess it up. Getting up in the morning is so much easier when everything’s going well

In other news, Girls n Gadgets is doing really well. We have had a lot of interest since I kicked it up a notch in mid May and I’m really pleased with how it’s going. I have decided to introduce a gaming section. I tweeted yesterday looking for bloggers and the response was so overwhelming! It’s put me in contact with some really fantastic people and I am feeling confident about the site and now need to sit down and think about it’s direction and progression. I’m interested in looking at how to monetise it as I have had a lot of offers for sponsorship, but essentially, it’s always been a hobby for me and on top of that, I’m not sure where it would leave me tax wise if I sold ad space. If anyone reading this knows anything about the tax implications, please contact me.

So all in all, that’s it really. That’s all the positive news at least.

I’m feeling rather disheartened by Opera Software and their community at the moment, but that’s probably a story for some other time! It’s been ongoing for a while now and I think I have come to the conclusion that I am no longer any use to them, despite the fact, that I am probably more use to them now than I ever was! Shame… But life and companies move on. I’ll always wish them the best of luck and hope they do well!

Swanny xx

Lots has happened since my last update… LOTS! I got married for a start It was all the preparation of the big day that’s kept me away from here, not to mention moving and concentrating on my new job. Everything feels like it’s slotting into place slowly but surely. Now where to start with the updates?!

The obvious big news, I guess, was my wedding. My lovely Bob and I finally tied the knot on the 1st May. It wasn’t a large affair in the end. A lot of people didn’t turn up, but those that did I really hope had as good a time as we both did! The ceremony was just lovely… Bob’s son Sam was our page boy and what a great job he did too. The weather held out just about.

I wasn’t at all nervous. Everything about the wedding just felt right from the proposal onwards. I knew Bob was my ‘one’ from the first week of us getting together. There was just *something* about him… To this day, I still can’t quite pin point it… Maybe there is no pinpoint, maybe it’s just ‘him’. The only drama was me being late for the wedding. My Mum decided last minute to change what she wanted doing to her hair, which in turn caused me to be done last minute – I was furious… All I wanted to do was go and get married and it didn’t matter to me if I had no makeup on and my hair was a mess. I had called Bob a number of times to assure him I wasn’t going to leave him standing there. Eventually I was finished. My hair wasn’t *quite* to the standard that both Sonia (my make up artist) and I had hoped, but it was suffice and you really can’t tell in the photos until the end of the night.

I got to the registry office and had to confirm my details with the registrar. Everything from this point onwards felt extremely surreal and are a total blur to me. Until I see the video, I will have no idea. Everything just went so fast from that point onwards – including the honeymoon. We went to York for a week, stealing a day in Alton Towers for some childish fun . Married life just feels so lovely and natural.

Last week it was my birthday and again my hubby pulled out all the stops, buying me a beautiful new, very grown up dress and taking me for an amazing meal. But not forgetting my childish side, he also bought me tickets to go Zorbing which I can’t wait for!!! I am feeling incredibly spoilt at the moment. Life is great though! I’ve married the love of my life, moved into a beautiful flat and have the job of my dreams. What more could a girl ask for

Swanny xx

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions already! More good than bad though.

The biggest news of the week is that I handed in my notice on Monday as I’m starting a new job at Moonfruit as their community manager.  I am extremely excited as I will be working with a great team and especially, the lovely Wendy Tan White whom I have enormous respect for. Not forgetting her husband Joe who’s also fantastic. I have *such* a good feeling about the whole thing

It was a bit of a tearful experience handing in my notice on Monday. I’ve made a few close friends at EG and I’ll miss seeing them on a daily basis. I’ll especially miss my ‘social media’ catch up coffees with Adam (@adders) and my lunches with Mike . I  imagine everyone knows now, but no one’s really said anything to me except my line manager. Tomorrow’s my last day at EG Towers which is sad, but I’m confident I’ve made the right choice. It means I’ll no longer be going to Cannes and missing my 1 year anniversary with Bob, which is a plus. I’m really excited about our anniversary and considering the wedding plans are now falling into place, we should have a relaxing evening in, without the stress of wedding planning for one night.

Talking of the wedding… we bought our wedding bands and bridesmaid dresses at the weekend. I couldn’t have done it without the lovely Sarah and Steve though! We stayed at theirs for the weekend and had an absolutely great time! It’s so nice to have friends like them, who are so supportive and helpful. The world definitely needs more people like them, especially if they make a roast like Steve!

We also chose our cake and picked the restaurant for our dinner. The only big things remaining now are:  flowers, buffet for the reception and the boys’ suits! Yes, that’s right… the suits! All I can say is that I’m glad I have my dress and bridesmaids sorted for the big day. It’s frustrating they haven’t sorted them out yet, but I know they’re on the case now and I’m sure everything will be sorted by the big day I have faith…

Only 16 days until we move. Talk about a busy time! My parents went to see the place on Monday night and they loved it. They’re so happy that we’re moving closer to them. It’ll be nice as I’ll have a car by then too and so I can pop over when I please. I can’t wait to get the car and be more independent  Looking at the photo’s they took, it reminded me of *how* big the flat actually is. I really can’t wait to move!!!

Finally, a bit of silly news, I registered the very awesome www.roboswan.com I have no idea what I’m going to do with it, however if anyone has any good ideas, please let me know.

–Swanny

I’ve been blogging now since 2004 and I still love it. I just wish I had more time to update. Who knows, maybe after the wedding things will start to calm down – I sure hope so. I’ve managed to import old posts from various places I have blogged in the past. Although it’s not quite all the way back to 2004, I’ve some from 2005 onwards – They will make good reading for me one night when I’m alone and bored! I’d loved to recap my past 5 years and compare it to how amazingly awesome it is now!

The past few months have been a blur for me. Getting engaged is easily the highlight of my life to date. The organising of the wedding doesn’t rank quite so highly though. It’s been a rollercoaster ride, that’s for sure, but we’re progressing nicely now. Ceremony, reception venue and dress are all sorted, amongst other things. Invitations are in the process of being designed (yes, we haven’t sent them yet!), and I’m very excited to see the outcome over the next couple of days. The planning is finally starting to feel fun the closer it gets to the day. I have a fabulous Chief Bridesmaid and Usherette – not to mention my Maid of honour and bridesmaids… It’s going to be great!

As you may have read on my Twitter stream, we were broken into a few weeks ago – Valentines Day in fact. More stress, at a time of, already, high stress. The days after the burglary were not good. I found it hard to concentrate and felt terribly insecure in my own home. My sleep was affected not to mention my overall confidence. Although, I have always been known for being a bit of a fighter and a few weeks on, I’m fine again. We found a new flat within a week of the burglary and we move in at the end of March.

It’s sure as hell going to be a time of stress and at times possibly even tantrums (on my behalf). However, from May 2nd onwards, I’m sure life’s going to feel like pure bliss. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m really looking forward to my wedding… But once everything is over I will, then and only then, be able to breathe a sigh of relief and get on with my new and awesome life with Bob.

I’m also buying a car in the next few weeks which I’m super excited about. No more public transport for me in my spare time! Thank god! The flexibility is going to be most welcomed and should make our lives a hell of a lot easier!

–Swanny xx

I know I said in the first post that if you’re reading this then you’ve stumbled across it… I changed my mind.

I am hoping to import all of my blog posts from elsewhere to this blog. The domain was too good not to use as my main blog

~swanny~

My weekend was fab. Sunday Joe, Briggo, Sinclair and Peggy came over for the carling cup final which was great fun! It’s probably going to be the last get together in our flat, so was a nice unexpected day

So much is going on at the moment, I don’t know whether I’m coming or going! Moving, wedding, job etc. I can’t wait to get away for my honeymoon LOL. (Note to self: book honeymoon). We are also buying a new car which will be great, but all the expenses seem to be coming at once. I just don’t know what to do

Although, things are certainly coming together, so I’m not going to worry too much. Friends and family have been incredibly supportive, so I have no doubts we’ll muddle through somehow.

Now to get off the bus and go and cook for that amazing husband to be of mine

~Swanny~

boo

I’ve had a great weekend so far. I know it’s not over yet and I don’t really want to jinx it but… Today, Bob and I went to the West End to tie up some wedding bits ‘n’ pieces. I put my 50% deposit down on my wedding dress, we opened our joint current and savings accounts and finally, we chose our wedding bands. I couldn’t be happier!

We were rather exhausted though and so when we got home we went straight to bed and had a good 3-4 hours sleep! So much has been going on lately it’s just drained us. I am really happy that things are starting to look up though as the start to 2010 hasn’t been the best to be honest.

I’m just looking forward to moving to our new flat next month and sorting out the final bits and bobs for the wedding. Invites and Catering being the main priorities! It’s all becoming really exciting again and I hope it continues like this until the big day!

~Swanny~