Wednesday 27 November 2013

Charidee at Christmas...

Well this year has certainly been a busy one, with turning 30 and all that jazz.  Lots of this year, I am very proud to say, has been focused on raising money for charities in one way or another. 
As most of you will know I had a big birthday bash (a little reminder...) http://mrssammyb13.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/a-mad-hatters-tea-party.html?m=1
I sourced most of the props for the party from charity shops, paid a fair price and did my bit.  But it didn’t stop there... After the party I sold all of the props and donated the money raised from the sales to charity.  So I'm very pleased to say that my 30th birthday was not about spending senselessly for nothing, I raised lots of money for charity, which you can read more about here… http://mrssammyb13.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/charideee.html?m=1  
The final total from the props sold was approx…..
The Rowans Hospice –£60
British Heart Foundation – £70
Cancer Research – £115
Womb Cancer Research - £50

Well all of this has got me thinking about Christmas and charity, giving to others who deserve it and who need it more than ourselves.  So I started looking into volunteering at Christmas.  It is something I have always said I want to do, but ideally I would like to do something locally and just couldn’t find anything.  I also started looking at the food banks in the area to offer my time to, but they are only open during the week while I am at work, so again a no go :0(

I have also decided this Christmas, not to make Christmas puddings.  I have done it for the last few years, but this year I have just run out of time to make them.  I have had lots on with changing jobs, a poorly puppy and a trip to Barcelona – there are not enough hours in the day!  Believe it or not it usually costs me a small fortune to make the pudds, the ingredients/alcohol etc not to mention the 5 hours each one takes to boil!  So we have bought one, I do have one left over from last year we will use as well – so there is a small touch of homemade in there somewhere.  The money I have saved from this, I decided all else failing being able to find something worthy to do – I will donate it to charity.

That very day my decision was made, someone posted on facebook a link from Refuge regarding their Christmas list appeal; to buy a child and or an adult a present this Christmas.  Refuge supports 3,000 women and children, many people fleeing domestic violence are too afraid to risk collecting their belongings and arrive at the Refuge with little more than the clothes they and their children are wearing.  

My mum, who used to do Body Shop parties, used to donate her products that were used as samples (some opened and tried, others just opened and had been passed around at parties) to a local women’s refuge in Portsmouth, who were extremely grateful for shower gels/body creams/make up/ anything really.  We even donated all of my Nan's toiletries when she passed away (two large bags full - I have never seen so many bottles of unopened shampoo in one cupboard!) and what a worthy cause.

So I followed the link and did my bit and have happily purchased a present for a child and a mother, it only cost me £10, and someone with nothing will get a little Christmas cheer this Christmas.  If you want to have a look and help or find out what they do – do click on the link http://refuge.org.uk/get-involved/christmas-gift-list-appeal/

I still had a hankering to do more, and do more locally - but just really unsure what, until someone posted this on facebook…https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/358718177608188/

Just perfect!  A local charity I can actually do something for.  They recommend going to charity shops to buy the items in the rucksack and they are then given out at Centre Point in Portsmouth to the homeless this Christmas.  So off I go to do what I do best…. Shopping!!!



I'll keep you posted! 

TTFN, Sammy xx

Saturday 9 November 2013

Finally some good news!

Yep apart from the fact I'm still poorly! Bad chest and throat, loads of pain from all this coughing and now man flu take 2 to boot!!

I only went and got the job! Yahoo, hooray, bluddy marvellous, we aren’t going to starve come January when I'm made redundant! Yippee!  Plus it is a job I so want, albeit a bit far from home.  I did it for six months around this time last year and I loved it, it was fab.  Made me remember why I wanted to work in housing in the first place.

 

Although I can’t remember ever actually wanting to work in housing, and I am still not really sure what I want to do when I grow up!  I left school wanting to be a vet, hated college and only finished 2 of my A Levels and was desperate to leave education and go to work!  I worked lots of part time jobs for a while, in a pub, in a chip shop, and then finally landed myself a full time job in telesales – whoopee!  Now don’t get me wrong, I met some lovely friends, some I am still friends with now, but I was rubbish at telesales and got sacked!


Needing a new start after what was turning out to be a bad year, heart breaking time with an ex; which ended in him cheating on me, my grandad was diagnosed with cancer, sacked from my job because I was rubbish at sales and left not knowing what to do. Well I grabbed Kat and dragged her to Chichester uni with me (I missed applying, I missed clearing, hell I didn't even have the right qualifications - but I was obviously good at selling something!) and got me a place on a degree course, Social Studies. I worked (sometimes) hard for 3 years, met some very beautiful and lovely people and graduated.



Still had no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up, just knew I needed a job! I met Barney in my second year go uni after taking a trip to Oz and I was very luckily able to give up my part time work in my last few months of uni with Barney supporting me, I knew I needed an income. I ended up working in a place my cousin works for a year or so in the facilities dept, which helped pay for our wedding, but for some reason I was determined I wanted to be an estate agent!

Next stop, a recruitment evening for an estate agents in Fareham, which nothing came of. So I took it upon myself to write to all of the local estate agents in the yellow pages and ask for a job. I did get quite a few interviews and settled on Fox and Sons in Fareham as a negotiator, sadly I forgot I was rubbish at selling! So I moved to branch administrator and loved it. Sadly sales was part of the job and I hated sales, but loved doing the 'sales chasing' and getting involved with the solicitors, so a new idea was born! Again I hit the yellow pages and wrote to all the local solicitors to ask for any vacant positions in conveyancing.

This time I was less successful, I only managed 2 interviews and I got a job at Coffin Mew, Fareham; working in the New Business Team in conveyancing. Lots of moving around the office, shuffling teams, promotion, saved from redundancy a few times, but in the end I got the chop.  Home not knowing what to do with myself and needing a job quite desperately, I managed to land myself an interview in a residential Lettings office as their administrator.  Only problem.... It was in Bognor, a 50 mile round trip from home.

Lettings.... I loved it! It is so for me. No sales pressure, busy often panic stricken environment, every day is different, it was brilliant. Had the wage not been so low and the office so far away, I think I probably would still be there now. But, itchy feet I get, and the need to work closer to home became apparent and I started looking around again. It was then that the job in my current company came up as a receptionist, more than the basic wage I was on in Bognor and being such a big company, scope to progress further hopefully!

I loved reception, I worked there for 9 months, until a position came up in Customer Services, which was again more money and I was sadly seduced by the pay packet and accepted a permanent position there. Don't get me wrong, some people love customer services, I did for a few months, but the call centre type strict environment is not for my nature and it was only going to be a matter of time before I was desperate to move on.

Miraculously a 6 month secondment in lettings came up, which it was able to apply for. Now when I first applied for a job at this company I was torn between two positions, one in reception and one in lettings; I only applied for reception as I was convinced that the only way in was to start at the bottom, so now I was shown this opportunity I wanted it more than ever.  It just comes back to what I always knew, I love lettings! I enjoyed working for the company again, enjoyed going to work and had such fun working against deadlines and juggling everything and loved every day being different. Sadly that 6 months came to an end and I landed back with a bump in customer services.

Well we've had a few changes since then and I am being made redundant. I don't feel sad about it in the slightest and am ready for the new challenges and know it will give me the push I need to find another job rather than languishing around doing something I don't like.  I recently got short listed for a job with the police in the control room answering 999 calls, but after spending a day doing assessments and an interview, I just didn't make the grade; which did knock my confidence somewhat. But a job in my current company came up in the lettings team!  

I applied, studied hard for the interview and was yesterday offered a full time permanent position in the team. I am so chuffed, so pleased and so looking forward to it! Just waiting for a start date and the new chapter begins!



TTFN, Sammy xxx

P.s sorry for the chapter and verse, have always had loads to say!!

P.p.s I lost 2lb this week at WW!!!

Yaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy all round xx