Geneva and France photos

As promised, it's taken me a bit less time to upload the photos of our holiday to France this January than it did to upload the photos of our holiday to North Devon in 2013. Just one day, in fact!

There are now photos on our blog of our four most recent holidays - to Southern Spain in June 2012, to North Devon in May 2013, to Geneva and France in January 2014, and to the Isles of Scilly in May 2014. That'll be my last photo upload for a while as we currently have no more holidays planned - looks like it'll be time to book something again in the near future then! Perhaps once we've paid for a bunch of new carpets...

Cuba photos

Firstly, I need to apologise for the ridiculously long amount of time it's been since I've posted to this blog. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know I feel suitably guilty. I can't even claim it's because I've been working hard on writing PALS, because as you may have noticed, I've not yet uploaded Issue 39 - which was due out at the end of December. And now it's 2011 already.

Having said that, it is on it's way! I still have two days off before work begins again, and I'm slowly catching up on all those things I've failed to do in the past few months. Along with watching plenty of bad TV, of course!

So, hopefully this will be the first of a selection of posts over the next few days...

The second thing I need to apologise for is the length of time it has taken for these photos to be uploaded. We went to Cuba at the end of November, and returned nearly a month ago now. But I have finally gotten around to uploading them to our website, so please do take a look at our Cuba photos!

Spain and Portugal photos on-line

I was planning on uploading these pics four days ago now, on the day we got back from our holiday. But unlike most people who go to sunnier places to cure a cold, I managed to catch one two days before we left. The final day and the journey home were no fun, and the last few days have been pretty rubbish too! I finally feel capable of looking at a computer screen again, so have spent the past couple of hours uploading pics from the holiday to our photos website, in the Portugal and Spain section.

There aren't any pics of the wedding we went to over the weekend, as I'm going to post these on Facebook - it seems fairer on the friends who were getting married as that's where they'll look. But if you'd like to see them and aren't on Facebook, let me know and I'll send you some copies. They're lovely pics - the bride looks stunning!

I've also written up a piece on our holiday and am hoping it will find it's way into a issue of PALS in the near future. I actually have lots of write-ups from Spanish holidays (we've now been to Andalusia three times, in 2006, 2009 and 2010, and Madrid once, in 2006), so am thinking next years PALS Specials may well have a Spanish feel to them (and there may have to be a few more specials than normal to accommodate that)!

Dorset photos

After some swearing at photo packages, I've now uploaded photos from our weekend in Dorset at the end of March to our Photos Website. There are pics from Chesil Beach, near where we stayed, to towns slightly further afield, including Shaftesbury, Lyme Regis and Sherborne. I've also written up a short piece about the weekend to go in a future newsletter - I may even try to fit it into the May/ June edition in an effort to start making sure things appear in the newsletter closer to when they actually happen. But for now, enjoy the photos!

Sicily photos

I haven't had much time to write PALS this week, as we've been off in Sicily enjoying ourselves, but I have found time today to add some photos from our trip to the Sicily page of our photos website - feel free to take a look!

I've also managed to write a short piece about our trip; although I am a little tired so I may have to check it in a few days to make sure it makes sense! Not sure when it will make it into an issue of PALS, but it will be there sometime in the future I'm sure...

Aberdeenshire pics

Not much news this time around - have been busy spending time with friends and studying for the past couple of weeks - not to mention shopping and watching the Olympics! But I have managed to almost complete Issue 25 of PALS, which will be released in a couple of weeks, and to upload a couple of photos from our visit to some castles in the Aberdeenshire area last weekend. See theAberdeenshire Photos section for the new pics!

It's been a while...

...but I've finally got around to adding some articles to the next issue of PALS, and uploading a few new photos to our website. The photos are from our visit to Crathes Castle in Aberdeenshire last month - there's just 3 or 4 of the prettiest ones on the Aberdeenshire section of our Photos Website.

I've nearly completed Issue 25 of PALS too, due out at the end of the month - just one article to write now and a couple of photos to add. Other than that it's been dissertation interviewing/ writing/ harrassing participants all the way, so not much time for anything else right now!

More photos, some newsletter work

Have finally had a productive afternoon! I've managed to finish off putting Issue 24 of PALS together, thanks to receiving the final article from one of my pals for it. It's a long one about teaching English in Korea, but I think it's interesting.

I've also written a short piece about some of the places Dan and I have visited in Scotland over the past few years, and in relation to that, uploaded some more new photos to the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire sections of our Photos webpage.

Finally, I've added some additional tags to previous posts which mention new photos I've uploaded. Hopefully that will make it easier to find posts on a specific theme if that's what you're looking for. I know it will for me!

I guess that doesn't sound like much overall, but it all took a while! PALS Issue 24 will get uploaded before the end of the month, probably next weekend.

More photos

Not much news this week, but I have had a bit of time to update a few things. I've made an effort with writing the next issue of PALS, and it's nearly ready for release at the end of the month - just another article or two to add now.

I've also added a few more photos from our visit to Drum Castle last weekend - they are on the Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen sections of our Photos Website. Hope you enjoy them! I also managed to write up a few short pieces for future newsletters - one on Drum Castle, and a couple on older visits to places in England and around.

Let's about it for now; guess I should be concentrating on studying for the next week or so really!

Bedtime?

Phew!

I've been working really quite hard this evening...first off, I corrected a few mistakes that I'd noticed I'd made on Issue 18 of PALS. The issue got released a week before I got married, so I think it's kind of fair I made a couple of little errors! I've now added page 8 (which you couldn't see before - not a huge deal as it was only the standard back page, but looked a bit odd without it) and changed the Issue number on the front page to 18 - before it said 16. Oops!

Secondly, I continued writing up some of the Food and Drink Special, due to be released in late Oct - I was focussing on the Beer page this evening!

Thirdly, I've now changed the way past issues of PALS are accessed slightly (with a bit of Dan's help). Instead of each issue being separately linked on the home page, there is now a link to an All Past Issues page, where there is a full list of every issue and what it's about/ it's date. Links from here take you to the relevant issue. You can still access the most recent PALS newsletters from the side bar on the home page though, just for ease of access.

Fourthly, and (I think), finally, I've uploaded a few more pics to the Aberdeenshire and Scotland photo pages. This time they are from Braemar and Inverness, 2 of the places I've visited in the past couple of weeks. Talking of that, I still need to write pieces on Dundee and Inverness, and have a go at the "Adventure Special" pieces too. Something for another day I think!

It's amazing what makes you write a newsletter

I've managed spend a good 2 or 3 hours working on Issue 19 of PALS and our website, finishing the newsletter off ready to be published in a couple of week's time, and adding some photos from our trips around North East Scotland with my parents over the last weekend.

I've been "inspired" to work and generally do useful things with the newsletter because I'm fed up with the rest of the world. I attempted to ring my bank this morning and got the usual talking robot - apparently his screen knows my name/ telephone number/ address better than I do. I'm also pretty sure I was talking to somebody in India again... Considering this bank has failed to change my name a month after I went into the bank, spoke to somebody, showed them my passport AND marriage certificate AND bank cards and statements, I think that's quite cheeky. I got quite arsy with the guy on the phone, but he wasn't going to quit saying the same thing over and over again, so eventually I hung up. Ever felt like hitting the person on the end of the phone line with the phone? I'm guessing it's not just me!

Ok, rant over! After watching Bridget Jones (the first good one) and having a much needed laugh, I decided that the best policy is just to ignore all my money/ bank/ name problems, make Dan deal with them all and do fun things - hence the completion of Issue 19 of PALS.
I have also added a few pics to the blog for you! One is of the fun I had organising all our wedding photos - I think my expression in that pic says it all really. The other is of some of the photos I've added to the Aberdeenshire section of our Photos Web Page - there are also a couple of new ones in the Scotland section. My parents came to see us last weekend so we made them drive all over Aberdeenshire, Moray and Angus, going to whisky distilleries, castles and pretty gardens. And so some of the best shots from the weekend have made it to onto our website.

PS I thought I was having a bad day before? Blogger just decided to mess up my post and save all the incorrect changes for me, meaning I've had to retype most of my post. Bloody typical.

Wedding Photos!

At last, after a weeek and a half, I've finally got around to uploading some of our favourite wedding photos to our website. Of course, there are plenty to be found on flickr, and you can even add your own (see our website for more info on how to use flickr), but a sample of our faves are finally up for those people that don't want to wade through (at present) 300+ pics!

Foolishly, I thought there would be far less to organise after the wedding, but no...there's my name to change (everywhere - honestly, you do not know how many places have your name), money to sort, Thank You cards to make - and just to make life even more complicated, job interviews to prepare for and funding issues to sort for when I start my MSc in Sept. I guess it's not surprising I was feeling a bit overwhelmed at the beginning of the week!

Anyway, have a look at our Wedding Photos for now, and I may even get round to making a start on Issue 19 of PALS at some point in the next few days.

Fun Hen Weekend!

I've just uploaded a bunch of photos from my hen night to the Wedding Photos section of our website - I've also put a few on facebook if you want to have a look there. I really should be doing more useful things like learning Italian and doing the piles of washing we need to get through before Saturday, but this was more fun! Plus I now have the Sims 2 to upload and a bunch of wedding gifts to open that arrived this morning - all the fun wedding stuff has started to happen, it's great!

The Hen Weekend was fantastic, the themed room was lots of fun with plenty of chocolate in it, and we got fast passes to tons of rides -we went on so many! I was very tired when I got home Sun eve though; the 6 hour train journey back from Blackburn didn't help! I'm pretty sure Dan had a great stag weekend too, although he didn't take any photos. I thnk his may have been slightly more action-filled than my hen night though; he went waterfall climbing in the Lake District...

More photos!

I finally got around to looking through the photos that Dan and I took last weekend, of some areas in the Highlands including Keith, Dufftown and Banchory. I've added them to the Aberdeenshire and Scotland sections of the Photos pages on our website, so you can see them there. Now all we need is some proper sun (please?) and the photos would look really good!

Working Photos

I've managed to get the photos uploaded, although it did mean deleting an older section. They had been on there for ages though so I wasn't too bothered about removing them! The great thing about having the website split into sections is that it's really easy to just remove an obvious section without having to think too hard about what would be best to remove and what you should leave.

Anyway, have a look at the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire sections of our Photos Webpage for new pics from last weekend. And now I really have to go as I need to go and meet Dan!

Finally got around to doing some of this!

After weeks of failing to get anything to do with PALS done, I had a spurt of unexpected energy and have managed to not only begin PALS Issue 18, but also hassle people for articles on their wedding (sorry if you are one of them!) and update the photo page with some of the photos Dan took in Windsor back at the end of April - when we spent a weekend in London (see the British Landmarks Section of our Photo Website).

And Dan and I even did some wedding planning - we have created all our menus and even have a vague idea of where important people are sitting at the ceremony! Most people have replied to their invites now too; it seems that the people who can't come leave it until the last minute to let us know. Only waiting on 5 - 10 people now, which is pretty good out of 100 or so I think, considering they still have a week before the official cut off date.

Photos Done!

Well, Dan came home and fixed the computer, so now I have Dreamweaver, Publisher and MSN Messenger again, which is great news! So I have basically finished writing Issue 17 of PALS and will be uplodaing it next week. I have also just spent an hour updating our Photos Webpage with some more pics of Reed Hall, some pics of Dan's mum's wedding, some more Scotland pics (taken out of a plane) and some pics of Devon in general. There are new sections for some of these categories, so take a look!

This is the last thing I plan to do in terms of updating things on-line, as I'm a bit sleepy now and have been doing this for most of the day. It's good to finally get it done though, after failing terribly for the rest of the weekend!

Internet is working again!

After nearly 2 weeks without the net (honestly, I really missed it - never realised what a geek I had become) it got reconnected yesterday, so I've had a chance to do all the things I couldn't do in the past few days!

I've updated our photos page now, so all the pics people have been requesting should be there. There are photos in the Scotland section of our new house and a few of our journey up from London to Aberdeen (some of the house photos were taken after we moved all our stuff in, some before - you can probably guess which are which!), and there are some additional ones on the London Photos and the British Landmarks section, from our last few days in London.
I've also managed to write a lot of the next issue of PALS - it's a London Special so it was a bit of a trip down recent memory lane for me whilst writing it - I had plenty of time to do it as I still haven't started work! In a second I will need to go and add some photos as I didn't have them on my computer last time I worked on the issue.

Anyway, there's tons of stuff I haven't had time to do as I've only had the net for a day, so I'm going to go and get on with it all!

Probably should be packing...

It's amazing what trying to avoid packing the contents of your whole flat will enable you to do! I have just managed to update our photos webpage with some pics we took when we went on our pub crawl through central London last weekend.

I've also written a piece about the pub crawl for the newsletter, and finally got around to writing a piece about Madrid for a future newsletter too. I haven't actually added to or updated the next issue of the newsletter yet, but you never know what I might do later to avoid packing!

Anyway, have a look at our photos page if you want to - if you haven't looked that recently there is also a Madrid section which I added at the end of December!

Finally, activity - Issue 15 is Online

After -finally - having a day at home, I have done useful things towards PALS and our website!

Firstly, Issue 15 is now online and available for you all to see. This time, there's a range of issue from the Creature Feature to more updates on the questionnaire many of you filled in months ago now. I've also decided what Issue 16 will cover, and will start work on that in early Jan.

Secondly, our Photos Website has now been updated with pictures from our weekend in Madrid a couple of weeks ago, and a couple more pictures of Garthdee in Scotland -see roughly where our house is; the icy field is right next door to where we will (hopefully) be living!

Thirdly, "Anna's Page" has been updated with a couple more Avatars - see how my avatar celebrated Xmas and New Years!

And I still haven't finished as I need to write up a bit about my time in Madrid for a future PALS (before I forget what we did!), and I have a whole bunch of wedding things to update and look into - we can finally start planning our honeymoon as we have no more holidays booked (currently) until then! And I am studiously ignoring the fact that the whole house is a mess and needs cleaning before people come over for New Years tomorrow....

But I have at least done plenty today! Have an excellent New Years Eve and as I'm unlikely to update this tomorrow, see you all in the New Year! Perhaps in Scotland...