Birthday Weekend Celebrations

This was supposed to be posted in May but I forgot to post it but as it is important (i.e. MY birthday!!) I figured I would post it now anyway!!!

As I said previously, my birthday weekend was jam packed!!  There was the family meal that never happened, then Alison’s engagement party and the cupcake baking that preceded it! Then Saturday was quality time with Claire, which when she suggested just popping to hers for a cup of tea instead of going out I could have kissed her…. Finally a break to just relax!!  So spent a few hours with Claire, then got ready and went out with my old work friends for Champagne in Selfridges and a lovely Italian meal in the Arcadian. 

 

It was a lovely night as usual with that crowd, we had a really good catch up and a laugh and plenty of wine J  So pretty late night, woke up with a minor hangover but proceeded to roll my ass out of bed and head to Wolverhampton to see Lou, Ste and my favourite little person in the world, Brogan!  We went to Ironbridge for lunch and then to Queenies Cupcakes for (a minimum of two each!) cupcakes – Snickerdoodle and Vanilla were my cakes of choice and I made a good choice – soooo good!! If you’re ever in Ironbridge, definitely go to Queenies J 

 

Following that and running quite late due to the little ones requirements, I dashed home, only to find Alison already waiting outside my house for me to head to Coast to Coast for food and the Big Reunion Concert – which was amazing!! Reminded me of my love for cheesy 90’s music – definitely helped with my playlist for my graduation party!! We had a good ol’ boogie and didn’t get home til midnight!!

 

Foolishly, I didn’t book the Monday off work which I should have done.  Even the two cans of redbull I necked didn’t do the trick, I was exhausted ALL DAY!!  It was worth it though, I loved every minute of my birthday weekend J

#BEDN

Well, again I have left it too long since my last post.  So on a suggestion from my cousin and in a bid to push myself to post more, I am doing the Blog Everyday in November challenge!!!

You can look forward to 31 consecutive posts from me from various parts of the world, starting in Birmingham via Paris and Hong Kong and finishing in Dubai (therefore I can't guarantee the timings of my posts but they will be posted on each day dependent on the country I am in!!)

Happy Blogging!!!

J x

First EVER overseas work trip - Friedrichshafen, Germany

So, my first ever overseas work trip!!  Was it a complete disaster?  Did I get lost with no knowledge of the German language? Did I get on the wrong bus, boat or airplane?? Nope nothing of the sort, it was a roaring success and I loved every minute!!

I landed in Frankfurt to be greeted with a 27 mile walk to my next gate (with a 55 minute transfer time!) so I had to make it a slight jog, which with my fitness levels at the minute felt like a marathon - but I made it and jumped straight onto the tiny little plane to take me to Freidrichshafen airport - which is probably the smallest but most well signposted airport I have ever been to.  I managed to successfully get a taxi which dropped me off, not at my hotel, that would be too easy.  As my hotel was in Konstanz which is the other side of lake Konstanz, I had to get dropped at the Catamaran port which took me to Konstanz - on arrival I didn't appreciate the sites much as I was lugging the heaviest suitcase (for less than a week!) in history! But once I had gone up a hill, down a hill and up a hill again I found my hotel (next door to a McDonalds whoop!) - I dumped my luggage in my room and as it was still daylight I went to have a look around, and I'm glad I did because this place was beautiful:

So, I had a look around but I was starving hungry having not eaten all day and I was not in the mood (nor did I have the energy) nor have the energy to sit in a restaurant with my book!!  Therefore, I eyed up the McDonalds a few more times before making the ultimate decision to eat a Big Mac in bed!!  So off I went ordered my 'menu' (apparently German for meal, very confusing!!) and took it to my room and proceeded to happily watch a film on my ipad!!

It was only then that I realised in order to get to the show at a reasonable time I would have to leave my hotel at 6.30AM which was 5.30AM UK time, meaning I had to be up at what felt like 4.30AM - so I proceeded to go straight to sleep with the nagging panic at the back of my mind that my alarm wouldn't wake me up!

It did and I went on the 2hour journey to the show - which was not too bad as 45 minutes of it were on the Catamaran with these types of views:

Then was the show, the actual reason why I came to Friedrichshafen in the first place.  First day I turned up in a suit, only to be nearly laughed out of the building as the show was called OutDoor everyone was wearing sports gear and casual clothes, I looked completely out of place.  Unfortunately, I hadn't prepared clothes for casual working week so I had to wear the same jeans all week - thank god for overnight laundering at the hotel!!!

This is where I spent my week:

Everyone at the show was so friendly and I had a truly enjoyable time, the only downside was that the last Catamaran back to Konstanz was at 7pm so I couldn't enjoy the evening festivities like I hope to be able to at future shows but that wasn't the end of the world.  On my last day on the stand I had a little glass of champagne with the team and said my goodbyes!!

It was a little sad to leave my first show, but I was tired and ready for a good nights sleep and a lie in!!  I was a little worried traveling home about how I would cope with the same level of work with jet lag but we will soon see..........

J

Long time, no see!

I have been away for while now, I would love to say it is because I have been soooo busy and not had time but I could have found the time I just didn't!!  I was being lazy and I am disappointed in myself because I want to be able to look back on this blog and see the changes that have happened in my life but I can't do that if I don't post!!! 

So, what's been going on with me!  New Job, travelling the world, finishing uni - you know everyday stuff! ha!

So the new job, I am loving it - it is crazy busy but I love every minute of it. I cant believe I have been lucky enough to fall into a job that seems to fit me so well!!  I have already been to Friedrichshafen in Germany and Jakarta in Indonesia and I have still got 2 trips to Paris this year as well as Hong Kong and Dubai - I will write about all my trips separately on here though as I don't want to forget a single thing I did as these are once in a lifetime trips that I may never get the opportunity to do again.  So in short the job is going VERY well!!

Finishing university - I am just finalising my very last essay to be submitted - this essay is the difference between a First and a 2:1 so it is so important that it is perfect before it's submitted.  I am on edge thinking about how close this has come and 1 point could mean a 2:1 instead of a First - I will update with results once I (eventually!) get them!!

Weight loss - I got bored i'm not going to lie and really gave up! Although I didn't put a single pound back on so I am really pleased with that.  However, I have now bet a friend that I can't lose 2 stone by Christmas so it's on now like Donkey Kong - I am back on Slimming World and walking at least a mile every day and on top of this (once I have shifted this chest infection once and for all!) I will be picking back up with Zumba and Insanity (not too much insanity though as I don't want to put on too much muscle mass!)

Finally, I have officially left counselling after a full 12 months of support.  I feel I am ready to do this on my own, I am in a much better place than I have been for such a long time - I am positive and really looking forward to the future!!  I can't wait for all the exciting things to come next year, there might be a few surprises as well but I'll keep you updated :-)

Updated to come as I am determined not to let this blog slide again!!

TTFN

Jenna