Dawn Brewer

The final entry of my take on a more traditional friends and family Christmas newsletter: 12 Days to Christmas, a Review of 2009. One day = …and a partridge in a pear tree!

 

December 2009

Planning an exciting year next year, which means ski holidays, walking & sorting out that mad dog of ours.

 

Finally – wishing everyone who reads this and everyone who knows me  a wonderful Christmas time and prosperous and happy new year.

More of my take on the 12 Days of Christmas song - Two turtle doves? Two days to go! 

 

 

November 2009

Delivered lots of training in November: Management Skills, Time Management, Managing Employee Performance.  Also lots of Open University students too: Understanding Management as well as Data, Computing and Information. Busy month.

 

Attended an event at Sedgwick Park for CHASE. Good fun evening and great to see everyone all dressed up (black tie, not fancy dress). Second of two fashion shows I attended this year – don’t think it’s improved my fashion sense though, still non-existent!

Nothing to do with Three French hens, but how about three things that happened in October.

 

October 2009

Gave my first 4sight for 4networking – a ten minute talk on an insight into my business. I love speaking especially when it’s about marketing touches. 

 

October was also the first anniversary of me writing for Suite101 – and I hit 40 articles. Do read my articles and let me know what you think.

 

Sony PS3 entered the household in October too – yes I like playing games, but don’t think I’ve improved much during the year …now that might be an interesting goal for 2010

Next entry in MY Twelve Days to Christmas review of 2009. Four days to go – four calling birds – quite apt really.

 

September 2009

Finally succumbed to Twitter – been holding out not sure if it was worth it, but decided in September that I should find out more, so signed up and sent my first tweet. So, OT : follow me  and you know what, it’s just as addictive and as much fun as I was told. Even better, I have built a couple of useful relationships with contacts I wouldn’t have known otherwise – marvellous – love technology!

 

Managed some more time off too – a weekend with friends. Much Thanks to Pete & Jane for suggesting it – I’ve been living down here since 1997 and never been to Bognor Regis – well I have now - great day out at the seaside: sand, sun, ice-cream, fish and chips.

Fi.i.i.i.ive Golden Rings

 

August 2009

Seems like 2 minutes ago, but August was when I had a long look at my networking strategy and decided to move back to Horsham TWBC (from Guildford) and join 4Networking. Good to meet up with old friends again at Horsham TWBC.

 

Spent some time in London delivering training courses in August. British Summer? I got soaked, can’t remember the last time I had to wade (yes really!) through puddles - horrid when you’re in a hotel and shoes and suit are steaming gently to dry… and then the bathroom ceiling started to drip (past the electric lights) so had to move rooms. Hotel had leaky roof apparently and the whole of the top floor had to be moved (as well as me).

Know the 12 Days of Christmas song and the verse - six geese a-laying?

 

July 2009

Went for it – set up this website, made the first blog post, gave my first talk on the web content business and signed up my first client – what a great month. Not quite a golden egg, but not a bad start.

 

Also went on holiday again – Yorkshire first; quick visit to Wetherby followed by a few days in Hawes with friends. Great walking and great company. Then on to The Lake District and Wasdale this time. It rained!  … and it was sunny. It’s a long drive from up there back to Sussex!

More of my take on a more traditional friends and family Christmas newsletter: 12 Days to Christmas, a Review of 2009. Seven days = Seven swans a-swimming – which is apt given we stayed in a French Chateau which was so grand swimming swans wouldn’t have been out of place.

 

June 2010

On holiday in Chateau Secretary, Monflanquin, France. 7 adults plus 1 baby and a beautiful location and chateau. Not much to do except eat, drink and think. Very relaxing.

 

Holidays – best place to make a decision. I decided to launch a web content and copywriting service.

May 2009 – Langdale Visit

Visited The Lake District in May. I hadn’t been for a long time, which is surprising given how often I used to go and how much I love it there. A long weekend in Langdale, staying with 12ish adults and what felt like a lot more children than that, just behind the ODG. Whilst some went off for a scramble , we followed a Lingmoor walk, which as promised did have interesting terrain (can someone tell me why cows have to congregate next to stiles & why they always stand in my way… I don’t like cows!) and wonderful views.

 

I also wondered (not wandered!) if there was a market out there for online content creation, given how much I know about websites and online marketing and the problems I’ve encountered trying to generate content – writing! So I started to do some research…

Well I don’t know about nine ladies dancing but I was dancing when I managed to organise a trip to Bruge, Dusseldorf and Brussels, all in the same week.

 

April 2009

Mum & Dad drove from France to meet me in Bruge. Mum won a holiday for two in Chamonix with The Ski Club of Great Britain - and she’s just won a weekend away in the UK too! I arrived by train (isn’t the Eurostar just brilliant) and would you believe it, they emerged from the hotel car park as I walked by… amazing!

 

Bruge, Dusseldorf and Brussels:

• Had a great weekend in Bruge with Mum & Dad –my first visit there – and I’d recommend it too. The weather was warm & sunny – always a plus – and the beer cold (even better).
• Carried on to Dusseldorf to deliver training courses in managing employee performance (I like Dusseldorf – and Germany) – although I have to say German football fans are a lot louder than ours when they’re packed into Dusseldorf station with all the commuters!
• Returned to Brussels to meet Michael for another weekend away.

– I could get used to working like that.

 

Meanwhile, I was starting to think about new directions for me. What did I want to do next business-wise?

More of my take on the traditional family/friends ‘what we did this year’ newsletter… Twelve Days to Christmas: 2009 Review.

 

Ten days to Christmas – I really do need to get those Christmas cards posted (and written first).

 

March 2009

Looking back to early 2009 it’s hard to remember what I was doing, but I do know I read a book that changed one of the ways I set goals – and that’s had a BIG impact this year.

 

How to be Brilliant: Change Your Ways in 90 Days! by Michael Heppell. It’s packed full of interesting and useful information on how to have a brilliant life – and the biggest takeaway for me was to set 90 day goals. 90 days is long enough to really achieve something but not so long that you can afford to laze around a bit before you get moving.

 

Read more of my Twelve Days to Christmas Review of 2009