The delicate art of balance

So it’s been a busy few months in the life of GG.  I’ve realised I haven’t blogged on this site since just before Christmas and I’ve found that I haven’t even thought about blogging much and when I did I just didn’t even have an ounce of wanting to.  But suddenly in the past few weeks I’ve found an urge to start writing again so here goes.

I’ve been home almost five months now and my life looks completely different to what it was six months ago.  In a really good way but I guess, as life always does, it’s taken some twists and turns that I couldn’t have even predicted (even with a tarot reading and an astrology chart done just prior to leaving the UK – actually going back over both of those they did actually predict some of what’s eventuating!)

After finally getting into my own place and unpacking my suitcase out of my car I went away for Christmas/New Years only to get back into my house and have Mother Nature unleash her anger at Qld.  Yes the now infamous summer of wet in Qld finally deluged Brisbane when the floods hit in mid-Jan.  I had to evacuate my place and stay away for about a week due to loss of power.  No damage thankfully to my place (although my suburb got absolutely caned) but just unsettling and frustrating as I’d not really managed to unpack or get settled into my place.  But now I’m in, I’ve hosted my big sis for a month and I’m mostly unpacked.  As per usual there’s one lonely box still to be unpacked (containing oddly only CDs) but I’m sure I’ll get to that directly.

The other big change is that I met a wonderful bloke and have been more than a little consumed with getting to know him better and spending as much time with him as I can.  He lives elsewhere to Brisbane so it requires some crack planning and innovative “getting to know you” Skype techniques but we’re managing OK thus far and I’m more than a little smitten.  And it’s just delightfully wonderful to be consumed by something other than self-reflection, personal growth and health (as has been my bent for the past 18-24 months) so I’m just enjoying the here and now and savouring every moment.

The implications of all of this (add in as well a new job and settling back into a city I haven’t actually lived in for over three years) have meant that I’m time-poor to try to tackle everything I had hoped to tackle and prioritisation by way of the heart seems to have emerged.   The universe has once again delivered me a very important message about balance and working out what’s actually important to me.  Not to everyone else, but to me.  As I’m the one that really counts when it all boils down to it and so I’ve had to make some realisations about what is important to me now.  And I’ve found that maybe those have changed since almost 12 months ago when  I started business planning for all things Lady Business.

I don’t aspire (and never really have) to be one of those super women who proclaim to be able to do and have it all.  Far from it, I have limited energy reserves and I choose to spend them wisely.  So for now I’ve made some decisions about business launching to enable me to concentrate on where my heart wants me to concentrate.   I still have plans afoot for Lady Business but for the next six months will be focussing on finishing the two writing courses I started with London School of Journalism last year and figuring out how to do some smaller scale underground restaurant functions at my place in West End.

The larger-scale Lady Business stuff is going to have to wait as the time and cost involved in registering my kitchen as a food business really needs to be invested in once I’m certain of where I’m going to be based longer term.  I do like Brisbane as it’s close to friends and family but moving home and working full-time has made me realise that I’m just yearning for a much simpler life, somewhere involving a farm with kids and animals and far, far fewer people.  So my short-term planning is all about how I can facilitate that dream from happening in the mid-term.

So that’s the upshot of where things are at – I will be looking for volunteers/taste testers to come to a Lady Cakes Parties lunch/afternoon high tea sometime maybe in March/April so stay tuned for details of that.

I’m also taking some time to relook at some of the stuff I did whilst in London so have made a little list of my focus areas for March/April:

1. I’m going to do the Artists Way again.  It’s been 12 months since I did it and things have changed, it’ll be a good way for me to ensure I’m taking time for myself and it’ll give me a chance to reacquaint myself with all things Brisbane/Qld.
2. Start the 2 writing courses – I’ve started Novel Writing but I’m yet to start Freelance Journalism and Travel Writing so I have printed off the first few lessons of those and will be commencing this weekend.
3. Keep blogging – on this blog and on my Food Fabric one.  I love doing it even if no one reads it (something therapeutic about it I think for me) so I’m going to make a  concerted effort to make time in my schedule to keep blogging.
4. Spend time with my favourite people – I have high social needs and a lot of people in my world so I can be guilty of being a total social tart and flitting around like a loose cannon from one engagement to another so I’m going to make an effort over the next little while to spend more quality time with fewer people.  Let’s see how I go with that eh.

And that should be just about enough to keep me busy.  I’m forever also trying to keep balanced with my health and wellbeing and that’s going ok so I don’t feel I need to make that a focus as it now just seems to be part of my everyday life (yay finally!).

Time to go make my dinner – was feeling lazy and not much like cooking but lamb cutlets, mashed potato and steamed broccolini suddenly MUST be going into my belly within the next half an hour.

Mwah

GG

Tidying up the backyard

So after almost five months of living out of my suitcases and three months of being an intrepid gypsy I finally have a place to call home.

I’ve realised during the last few months that I’m not one of those people who is all cool with not having a place to call my own. Sure if I didn’t have to go to work or function in the daily world I’m pretty sure I could go on being a gypsy for months on end. However, when you’re attempting to start a new job, settle into a new country and start a business it’s actually really difficult to get any kind of focus when you’re moving every few days and living out of your car basically.

But now I’m into my own space – a little two bedroom unit in West End. West End is a bit of an eclectic mixture of people and has great food and bar options. Hilariously I’m living above a cupcake shop called “The Cupcake Parlour” so this little place is meant to be.

Sure my furniture and the bulk of my stuff is yet to turn up out of storage in Melbourne but the most important piece of detail is that I have a place to rest my weary head and unpack my suitcases and toiletries bag. Pure indulgence. I am thankful I have such great family and friends who have hosted me over the last few months particularly since I’ve arrived back in Brissie and I hope to return the favour soon. Luckily I do have a spare bedroom so visitors more than welcome – once the spare bed actually turns up!

Now I’m in and can get back into a routine I’ll be thinking about Lady Business and associated ventures in more earnest again. I’ve been steadily accruing vintage crockery and all things cake party through eBay, vintage stores and garage sales and have quite a collection of Noritake stuff now. I joyously unpacked the candy apple red Kitchenaid today and the global knife set and I’ve been admiring both at random points throughout today.

I’m aiming to have a trial high tea party sometime in January – there’s even a possibility of an Australia Day soiree at the Casa del GG to trial Lady Cakes Parties – underground restaurant – so stay tuned for details there.

I have some bits and bobs to try and tidy up (or start) business wise that I’d hoped to do in December but truthfully I moved countries. Again. For like the fourth time in ten years. And that’s not even counting the times I’ve moved interstate within Oz. So I’m giving myself some slack and realising that I don’t need to race through this at a frantic pace (as I normally would just to get it done) as I can take some more thought out time and actually get a little plan together.

So for now I’m staring at a mound of clothes, shoes and handbags that have made it so far as to come out of the suitcases and boxes and are now taking up the majority of available floor space in my bedroom. Maybe I’ll start hanging up stuff tomorrow? I’m somewhat alarmed at the volume of items given that I had thought that most of my clothes, shoes and handbags were in storage… but I guess I’m a total female after all and it’s to be expected.

OK – I gotta go fall down. It’s been a big weekend on lots of levels and this is one tuckered out lil missy.

Big love,

GG ox

It must be vintage darling

So for my hidden restaurant serving afternoon high teas I’ve got a clear picture in my mind about what the table settings etc. will look like.  I wanted all vintage crockery, cutlery and general table settings so I’ve been on the hunt for a certain look and feel for a few weeks now.

I’ve been frequenting the local garage sales on Bribie Island with the parentals most Saturdays since I got back and have secured a number of cake stands and serving sets from there but I’ve found that once again, eBay, is a gold mine of opportunities.  I’ve gone Noritake made and decided that I want all vintage Noritake stuff for the plates, cups and cake stands. So far I’ve secured one tiered cake stand and a 6-person crockery set and am still on the hunt for another Noritake crockery set (preferably one more for Lady Cakes Parties and one just for me to use as my crockery set at home), another tiered cake stand and I’ve now decided I want a silver cutlery set.  So the hunt is on for that on eBay.

I’ve long been a fan of eBay for vintage frocks (most of my special vintage stuff has actually come from eBay and I love the Aussie brand Osti and their frocks) but I had never thought about securing vintage house stuff from there.  So now my mind is wandering to other things I might need for the business and starting to surf there on eBay to see if there’s any potential neat finds on there.  I’m chasing some napkin rings, candle holders, lamps, dining room chairs and cushions.  I can see I’ll easily become addicted to buying all this stuff on there.

So slowly but surely the infrastructure of Lady Cakes Parties is coming together.  With each piece I buy I feel one step closer to actually being able to start in Jan/Feb next year.

I started my 6 month contract on Monday with the Queensland government.  So far, so good and the people are lovely which you only hope for really.  Being back in an office is weird and I can’t wait for the day that I actually do my first party or make my first sale as I know that I will then truly be one step closer to not having to work in an office again.  I always know it’s my back up plan and that it might be required in some kind of part time capacity post this contract to ensure my bills are paid etc. but I think I’ll be better off all around working for myself and having flexibility with my day.

Other than that this weekend will be a big day of house hunting on the Saturday so I’m busy locking away inspection times and contacting real estate agents.  I hate that bit but it will all be worth it once I have the house and have moved in etc.

Please pray to the real estate gods that I find a good one this weekend

GG

The side hustle and flow

Pam Slim talks about the concept of a side hustle and flow on her popular blog – Escape from Cubicle Nation (www.escapefromcubiclenation.com) – and interviews a number of people successfully doing it.  It basically refers to entrepreneurs who are attempting to start a business on the side whilst working part-time.  Many of them can’t afford to leave part-time work until the business is up and running and contributing some cashflow to their home.

I made a decision a couple of weeks ago to look for part-time work or a short-term contract to keep some cash flow coming in whilst I am trying to get Lady Business and her associated arms set-up and started.  I realised that I was a little way off from actually being able to bill any cash and start doing some actual stuff (due to council business registration requirements and other boring stuff) so I figured it would be helpful to make rent for the next few months and take that stress off the new business.

So I accepted a 6-month contract in the Queesland Government last week – yep it’s official I’m now a public servant!!  It’s an HR consultant role doing OD type projects (similar to what I’ve been doing – workforce planning, talent, competency frameworks and engagement surveys) and I particularly like the flexibility and work/life balance aspect.  Basically I wanted my brain and energy in some capacity left at the end of the day to do business stuff.  So I start Monday and it’s back to 9 to 5 for me!

I’ve had a good run though with only working 5 months of this year thus far.  By the end of 2010 I will have worked only 6 months of it and so have achieved what I set out to do at the end of 2009 (the year from health hell for me) to refresh, relax more, work less and work out my next steps in life.  Well done GG.  I’m certainly a totally different person to the one who got on the plane bound for Heathrow with a walking stick and wheelchair.  And thank goodness for that.

This doesn’t mean business plans are by any measure on hold – I’ll be working after hours and predominantly on weekends to kick off Lady Cakes Parties initially with Lady Bakes potentially taking a different tack to planned before.  My aim is still to launch late Jan/early Feb and am planning on announcing a range of dates for the hidden restaurant concept in mid-Jan as well as opening up for bookings for Lady Cakes Parties.

This means that the hunt is now on for a suitable place to live in the Bayside area.  I’m still focussing on Lota near the foreshore and once I’ve secured a cottage I can get on with registering the kitchen as a home business – an important fact before I can actually start doing anything legally!  For the meantime I’m crashing with a friend in the area so I can start to scope out suitable properties and streets etc.

I’ve had a fabulous time chillaxing since I got back and haven’t done as much on the business stuff as I would have liked so it’s back onto the to-do list mode this week and potentially even picking up my business planning books again!  I’ve found I haven’t been able to even look at any of it since I got back so I just haven’t.  I must have needed a break from it as I was doing a fair bit before I left the UK.

Anyways, a short list of must-dos for Nov/Dec is:

• Finalise branding
• Secure a web designer and draft website content
• Find a house to live in and move in!
• Clear my boxes from the UK through customs and get my stuff out of storage in Melbourne
• Set up home office (buy printer, external hard drive, set up wireless and other bits and bobs)
• Finalise menu for hidden restaurant and work up pricing
• Finalise flavours and packages for Lady Cakes Parties and work up pricing
• Start to talk to Brisbane City Council re food business registration for home kitchen and car
• Do my Xmas shopping and finalise New Years Plans! (an important chunk of time throughout December!)

I now have the project plan from heaven going and it does incorporate both personal and business stuff as I need to have it consolidated into one sheet so I can be realistic about how much time I actually have to do things.  Looks like I’m going to be quite a busy gal in December.

This morning I’m going to check out a new market in Brisbane – the Coorparoo markets in the old Myer building – to buy up big on groceries for the week and to check out what stalls they have or don’t have

Very much planning on enjoying my last day of leisure and I’m hoping to catch up with those of you in Brissie for some Christmas drinks throughout December.

GG

Tidying up the backyard

So it’s been a busy few weeks.  I’ve been away in Sydney visiting the ethereal Isaacs family and doting on my bestie Jade, her husbo H-y and the little guy who has totally stolen my heart, little Lockie Emerson Isaacs .  I had a great few days catching up on all things new in the world of Pooks and just generally enjoying hanging out with her and her family.  I’m so blessed to have such good friends in my life and am constantly reminded of this and the few days I had in Sydney were no exception to this – I’ll be back soon Isaacs!!

Post Sydney I was off to Canberra for a family wedding.  I hadn’t been in Canberra for literally years – the last time I was there I was informed was when I was a child (so long ago I don’t even remember being there) – so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  I actually really dug Canberra, despite the fact that it was 15 degrees during the day, and liked the laid-back casual feel of the wide clean streets and the government buildings peppered throughout the city.  I had a great few days catching up with the Morell family (Mum’s side) and celebrating my cousin Michelle’s wedding.

But now I’m back in Brisbane and it’s back to business for me.  Before I left I’d decided that I would look for some part-time or short-term contract work to keep the funds ticking in during set-up phase so I’d applied for a few jobs.  I had a day of hell on Wednesday this week and endured three interviews in rapid succession in the city.  The gold at the end of that rainbow was seeing Powderfinger at the River Stage in the city later that night with the goddess nomebly.  Marvellous.

I digress.  The interviews went well and it’s looking like I have a potential job offer this week (with a government department) and a second interview (with one of Queensland’s favourite financial institutions) so it’s looking likely that before Christmas this pony will be put out to work again.  I’ve done ok though this year and have only worked for 5 months of it so my commitment to myself at the end of 2009 before I set off for London to work less and travel/relax more has certainly been fulfilled.  And I have to admit I’m feeling much the better for it and almost everyone I’ve caught up with thus far has commented on how healthy and happy I’m looking.  Mind you after the comedy of health shenanigans in 2009 it wouldn’t be hard to look better than I was getting onto the plane in a wheelchair bound for London last December!

I’m starting to look in a bit more earnest at housing in the Manly/Lota area and hope to go and inspect some waterfront workers cottages this week and I’ve begun to stock up on kitchen items I’m going to need for Lady Cakes Parties.  I’m in the hunt for vintage cake stands (tiered or singular), vintage crockery and china and basically anything else funky I can get my hands on.

Thus far I’m doing ok and have secured two cake stands, a glass chocolate/truffle stand and silver cake server and fork set.  Naturally all these were sourced from garage sales on Bribie Island (I tell you the parentals are really onto something here – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!) and I’m looking on eBay at present for some vintage Noritake dining sets (some for personal use and some for the business.)

So I’m slowly getting there and with the arrival of my boxes from the UK this week I should have the rest of my stuff sometime in the next fortnight including my beloved candy-apple red Kitchenaid and Global knives.  Oh how I’ve missed them.  It hasn’t stopped me experimenting and I think I finally nailed a gluten, dairy and sugar-ish free cupcake this week.  More on that later once it’s passed the family taste test requirements.

I’m also slowly starting to work out where to get the majority of my ingredients from and will be working on finalising menus, cupcake flavours and aiming to get some test prices ready for trialling at some parties through December.  I felt like things were moving slowly and perhaps I wasn’t moving at the pace I should be but I think it’s all going just fine and there are things that are popping up that I hadn’t accounted for but that’s also part of the learning and starting a business for the first time I think.

So much learning and so many small steps to take towards the giant step of walking away from one career and starting a second one successfully.  I’ll get there though and I’ll have some fun doing it.  To compensate for the mounds of cupcake batter (and end products) I’m having to test the exercise regime has been stepped up and that’s keeping me sane and healthy too.  I’m now running for 25 minutes WITHOUT STOPPING (never thought I’d see the day) and I’m just getting a bike fixed up as we speak so I can start to add cycling into the running/swimming GG exercise equation.

Time to go put on my party frock for the next-door neighbours 40th birthday tonight.  These Bribie folk party hard you know.

GG

Organics – where are they in Brisbane??

I was spoilt whilst living in London.  I had a plethora of organic supermarkets and farm shops to choose from literally on my doorstep in Notting Hill Gate.  From the US mega-store Wholefoods (the cheese room had to be smelt to be believed), the locally launched and run Planet Organic on Westbourne Grove and the quaint Chegworth Farm Shop on Kensington Church Street I literally had to walk no further than 15 minutes to be in organic heaven.  Our Saturday morning ritual was also to buy all of our week’s food from the local farmers markets so I’ve been mostly organic for the last year in terms of what I eat and cook with.  I got really lazy actually and knew that I could source organic products and produce whenever I wanted without having to do much research or hunting around.

I really took it for granted all the different flours I could source (spelt, quinoa, rice etc.) and the beautiful chocolate and natural sugar alternatives like agave all at my doorstep.  So I’ve been trying to ascertain where I can source some of the ingredients for the recipes I want to make in Brisbane.  I didn’t think I was asking for much just wanting good quality organic almond meal, gluten-free baking powder, quinoa flower, spelt wholemeal flour, agave, cacao butter and raw cacao powder but it appears I was completely delusional about just how these things are stocked in Brisneyland.

It’s not as if Brisbane doesn’t have it’s fair share of organic supermarkets and farmers markets around.  It certainly does and I’m checking out West End tomorrow as I’ve a feeling I’m going to hit pay dirt there fo’ shizzle.  It’s just that I can’t seem to find it all neatly in the one shop or stockist.  Maybe I’m asking too much though – I’m also not 100% sure of which producers are the best for organic produce anymore.

So I’m asking those who may know more for some help.  What’s your favourite organic shop or market or producer?  Even if you’re not in Brisbane I’d love to know your favourite producer or store is as I could potentially source from interstate or overseas if I really can’t find it in the local market.  Send me your tips people – I’m not just looking for food ingredients either I’m also interested in your favourite brand of organic baking stuff (aprons, tea towels etc.) and if anyone knows of good bamboo clothing I’d love those tips as well – I can’t get enough of the stuff!

I also became a total Apple whore officially this week with the purchase of my first Macbook.  I already have the iPhone 4 and an iPod (not used so much know I have the iPhone 4 truthfully) but the transition to a Mac for my notebook needs signalled an end to all things PC for me I think.  The cute Apple retail assistant I got was more excited than I was I think that this was my first Mac purchase.  I went in all gung-ho for the 15″ MacBook Pro and the guy actually talked me into getting the 13″ and now I’ve got it home the screen size is fine, it’s a LOT lighter than the 15″ and it’s just basically the best kind of tech porn I’ve had my hands on in a while.  So I’m all set for my computing needs for Lady Business (Bel gave me Office for Mac before I left London) and I’ll get a wireless all-in-one printer and external hard drive once I have a house to put some stuff in!!

I go to Sydney on Monday for a week and a bit (taking in a family wedding in Canberra) and once I get back the house hunting starts in earnest.  There’s a few cottages I’ve got my eye on in Manly and Lota through the web so if they’re still available when I get back it’s meant to be.  There’s also a few irons in the fire for part-time or short-term work as well and as I don’t really want that to show up until I get back from Sydney either then that will all just happen once I’m back.

Ok gotta go – I’m going to play nursey for my poor cousin Trace who broke her ankle leaving another cousin’s 40th birthday last weekend.  As I can fully empathise with what she’s going through I’m taking her a care package today (trashy mags, Nurofen Plus and assorted food stuffs – all the essentials for a girl in plaster and on crutches) and staying down in Brissie with her for the night.

Laters,

GG

The holiday is definitely over

So I’ve been home a week and can  no longer use jet lag as an excuse to laze away my days on Bribie Island.  The work officially begins in earnest today and with that begins the reinvigoration of positive thinking and visualisations.

I had done a fair amount of planning in London in the past few months and was fairly happy with where I’d got to with my business planning.  I even imagined that when I got home it’d be just an easy few months of tidying up a “few loose ends” and then I’d launch and business would be streaming in.  Naturally I was clearly delusional on this front and have arrived home to have a quick think about all that I need to do to be operational – those few loose ends if you like – and realised I have a shedload to do and it’s going to time more time and money than I probably allocated for.

It’s OK though as now I’ve had my few days of self-doubt about how I could have possibly not realised that all the things I would need to do (find a house, buy a car, licence the business and buy all the equipment I would need just to name a few of the “small” items) would take a little bit more considered time than I’m used to and probably a little more cash outlay as well.  I’m normally bull at a gate with decision-making and getting things done so this is all new for me and  frankly a little scary.  But I now have a more robust plan – or at least the beginnings of one – and I’ve woken up today determined to banish those negative self doubting thoughts and just to start inching my way forward with the stuff I need to get done.

I also have to remember I’ve only been home a week – battling a nasty London winter cold and jet lag - so I could cut myself a little slack here and allow myself to enjoy the time with my parents at the beach.  I have made some progress though so there is a little to celebrate.

1.  I bought a car 4 days after I landed. 
It’s quite a funny story actually and my Dad will be dining out on it for years to come I reckon.  The parentals are quite fond of going garage saleing of a Saturday morning.  They make a big list of all the garage sales on the island and hit them up mostly starting from around 5.30am.  So I agreed to go with them as I do want to source a lot of my china and serving ware from garage sales and op shops (you know to ensure a vintage look and all) and I had this in mind as we set of at 5.30am last Saturday. 

We had left the first one (me with an old cake tin and truffle serving platter in tow) and arrived at the second one to find a guy who was moving to Tasmania with his family and desperate to get rid of stuff. Dad noted he had a car for sale and I scoffed at the concept and moved on to peruse the cookbooks on sale.  Dad’s next door neighbour, Graham, is a car enthusiast and does up old cars for fun.  He looked at the car which had $6K on it for sale and offered the guy $2,500 cash.  The guy naturally knocked that back but turned around and said “No I won’t take that but I would do $3,000 for cash”.  Dad and my ears pricked up then. 

The car was a Mitsibushi Mirage 2003 model hatchback with a reasonable amount of K’s for that year and looked in fairly good nick.  After Dad and Graham had run some obligatory “under the hood” tests and taken it for a test drive we offered $3K cash and the guy reluctantly took it.  So it was done and I now have a perfectly functional car for a lot less than it should have cost me.  It’ll do me nicely for a transition car for the next few years and keeps my outlay in that asset lower than I thought it would. 

It also means I’m mobile and can get myself around to do a lot more of the things I need to start the business and also to run it. 

2.  Looking for part-time work
I’ve come to the conclusion that it might take me a little longer to get to launch stage of the business.  My original thinking was that I would be home by Christmas and ready to launch in Jan/Feb and when I changed my plans to come home earlier I thought I would be ready to launch earlier as well.  I’ve realised there’s a few bits and pieces that I need to do before I can do that and so I think realistically I’ll be ready in late Jan/early Feb to start some stuff off.  But that won’t stop me doing some trial runs before Christmas. 

In light of this I’ve realised that I might need to get some work to keep the coffers well lined and also to keep me entertained for the next few months.  In any case it probably makes sense to keep some certain money coming in whilst I’m in start-up phase (all the books I’ve read advise this but I was determined I could do things differently) and also the set-up costs are going to be higher than originally planned.  So I’m on the hunt for some part-time work (or a short full-time contract).  I’m trying to decide whether I go for work in the field that I’m qualified in which will attract a higher wage but also higher stress or whether I go for something that pays less but will mean I’m less shattered by the end of the day.  It’s likely to depend on what’s around I think but that’s my focus for this week on determining some of that and going out to some of my network.

3.  A place to call home
I’ve also realised I just function better, emotionally and physically, when I have my own space.  I had planned to  be a bit of a nomad until the new year but I’ve realised that I want to create a haven for my business and for my creative interests and that until I’ve done that I may not be as effective as I want to be with business planning.  So I’m starting to have a look around the Manly/Wynnum/Lota area for a little cottage.  What I’ve realised about being at Bribie is that  I love being by the water and so that area ticks a lot of  boxes in proximity to the city (only 13 k’s out which for some people would seem the ‘burbs but for me sounds just perfect) and the rent isn’t quite so steep as inner city Brisbane.   I also hope for a little garden so I can start to grow some of my own veggies and herbs – some to use for the business and some just for my own consumption!

The other benefit about getting a house sooner is that I can actually get the home kitchen licensed and operating sooner which means Lady Business can launch more quickly!

So all in all I’m not doing too badly.  There’s still a load more to do but it’s only been today that I’ve been able to pull out my Joyful Business Guide planning tools and even contemplate doing some more work.  I’ve woken up feeling inspired once again and ready to face all the challenges I might encounter on this journey.  My original goals for October still stand and I’m also doing some more work towards those.

This afternoon I’m off to see Eat, Pray, Love at the movies – I’m hoping it will reinvigorate some writing inspiration as I’m a bit blocked on that respect and haven’t been able to go near any of the writing I’d been doing.  I’m sure watching scenes of the fabulous food in Italy will bring back some fond memories and might just be the spark I need to get me writing again.

GG