Flamenco

I don't think I've mentioned it before but I've been searching for some new DVD's to work out to first thing in the morning. After a while you get bored with doing the same exercises - one day Tai Chi; another Belly Dancing; then Yoga....

Anyway I had a couple of ideas so I searched Amazon for the latest DVDs and ended up with one that you did a strength workout using dumbells and resistance bands but by far my favourite has been Flamenco: You Can Do It by Puela Lunaris.

It is great and she is fantastic. Now I have to admit to not being the most graceful dancer but hey what I do in the privacy of my own home is up to me.

It takes a bit longer to work along with this DVD and I'm not able to fit it into my early morning slots but I am looking forward to the weekend where I can do a bit of Flamenco in the morning before Mick wakes up (don't want him laughing at me).

Miss-B, Facebook Pages & Me

Well it's a new one for me but now Miss-Behaving has its own Facebook Page.

It's where I can highlight popular items, go into more detail than I can on the website and also give advance notice and photos of the new styles that are new to arrive.

I guess it's just another place to chat and everyone is free to join in the conversation and to tell me what they like or don't like; what they want that I don't stock or just everyday chit chat. Mind you I may be talking to myself for a while until it gets known a bit - but then I'm used to talking to myself :-)

Isn't the Internet a fascinating place and thank you Facebook - I thought it was just a place to play Farmville!

Hola España

Well I've been a bit busy over the past few days. Google.es has been working hard at showing my items from my website and several orders have been coming in!

Being rather an Españaphile (if I can make up the word) it makes me feel good to be sending orders to Spain. (Mick tells me the word should be Hispanophile! - who am I to argue.)
Also talking about Spain - there are only 6 weeks to go before I will be making my annual visit and I can't wait.

The weather in the UK has been rather good just lately and it is lovely to be able to walk around without a coat on but I know where I'd rather be.

Today I was lucky enough to be taken out to lunch - as a bit of business PR and a thank you for the work I've been putting in.

I still can't handle the 'eating and drinking' during the day and the whole 'team building' lark still leaves me a little cold. However it was nice to catch up with old colleagues but I have to admit that I still feel there is more to life than work.

With seven more years to go until 'retirement' I make no secret of the fact that when Mick retires in four years time then I am hoping that I can be in a position to retire too. Not that I intend to sit around and do nothing - that's why I'm attempting to build up an internet business - but the whole 'rat race' is for those still with the enthusiasm for corporate life. After 40 years of work that diminishes rather a lot!

Give me peace, tranquility and as much time spent with my husband that life has left in store for us.

Life is just too short and it should be grasped with both hands...

Do Something About It

Well I've come back from my break in a different frame of mind - long may it last. Sitting here this morning reading the comments on Facebook a saying that lurks in the back of my mind and re-emerges every so often sprang to mind. "Don't moan about it, do something about it". That is exactly what I am doing at the moment. It includes a lot of research; a lot of hard work and a lot of learning - plus an extra sprinkling of luck wouldn't go amiss!

I have a much clearer idea of what I want to do now and I've just got to find my way there. Is that clear to you? Thought not! Anyway more will be revealed as time goes by.

Meanwhile Mick has a lot of jobs he wants to do on the trailer like installing new piping for the heating; designing a new satellite set up; installing LPG gas system so we can fill up on gas at the petrol stations instead of buying bottles and numerous other 'modifications'. Well I better go wake him up then or he'll still be dreaming about them instead of doing them.

Have a great weekend one and all...

Back to business

Well business is blooming on my website and as predicted I had to place a new order for stock. I was surprised to see that even though I had put a note saying no orders would be dispatched over the Easter holiday period I returned home to find several orders all willing to wait until my return for their purchase.

Most popular at the moment seems to be the club wear, corsets and leather and there are no end of suggestions for new items!

A new one for me was the request from another site who had purchased an item that they had run out of and wanted it sent direct to their customer. So it seems I could be doing drop-shipping as well.

I still enjoy immensely the researching of new products and testing what I feel will be a good seller. Sometimes I get it right, sometimes I get it wrong, but I am still learning.

On the subject of my number one job I return tomorrow and I have to admit that going back to the 'rat race' after having a week of peace and tranquility is not exactly exciting me but I guess by this time tomorrow I will be back into it and would have forgotten all about the cockerel waking me in the morning and the birds singing - and actually being able to hear them.

Que sera....

Last night at Champagnac la Riviere

Well that's it! Last day today, and last meal cooked in this South-West region of France.

I've started to store things away again because we will be on the move at about 9.30 tomorrow morning.

Refreshments are prepared for our 916 mile journey and we are planning on reaching the Somme area for our last stop before Calais.

The TV is on and Mick is watching it; well that is all he is doing - the volume is turned down as we want to hear the birds making for their nests for one last time before we return to the chaos that is the South East of England and London.

It is surprising how little you need really. We are lucky on this site as the pitch is fully equipped and so there is no limit to the amount of water or electricity we can use.

Basically that is all you need. The gas bottles have lasted so we are able to cook with no problems and we need nothing else. OK my luxury has been having free access to the internet which has meant I can blog more this week than I normally have time to.

But we have more or less just relaxed and unwound this week. It won't take long back at work to forget about that!

Thanks France for a great break.

Now only 9 weeks and we will be heading this way again en route to Barcelona and from there to Alcudia - I can't wait :-)

RV Full-timing

Well there are several RVs here that are definitely full-timing. Phil and Des for example decided they had enough of living in England and made the decision to sell up and go on the road and that is exactly what they are doing. They spent the winter in Portugal and are now en route through France to return to England for an MOT and then they are off again.

They fancy having a drive around the USA and anywhere else that takes their fancy - after all there is nowhere to tie them down now.

I asked how they managed to squeeze a lifetime together into an RV and they said that you have to be ruthless and only take exactly what you need and what is of paramount importance to you.

They have a washing machine in their RV and the outside world is their garden.

I admire them because I don't think I could be so brave.

Questions that I wonder about is how do they finance it? If financed through the sale of a house then what happens when your RV needs replacing or your money runs out?

I love our fifth-wheeler and it is a test to anyone's relationship when you both live together in a 26' box - something luckily we have no problems with - but what if you need a bit of 'space' for an hour or two...

Yes I love holidaying in it but I couldn't live in it permanently. Saying that, I could live in it on our own plot of land. For example if we were doing somewhere up then I could live in it while we were doing a 'house' up and were living on 'our' land.

I guess I need some form of roots somewhere... Somewhere to call home; an address to give people; my own little space.

Yes I admire their courage and commitment to travelling the world but both me and Mick tend not to have wanderlust. After all we have been returning to Spain for the past twenty five years because we feel at home there. We will be returning to Parc Verger again because we 'feel at home' here.

But to wander the world with my home on my back - well I'm not brave enough for that but I can dream of the peace and tranquility that you encounter when parked up in the countryside; I can relish in the knowledge that when on the road the phone does not ring (only your mobile and people you want to speak to) and there are no door to door salesmen knocking on your door.

Somewhere there is a place for us ... we just haven't found it yet :-)

Clear Blue Skies

Today it's 23 degrees with clear blue skies and no wind. The only sounds are the birds chirping, an occasional crow from the local cockerel and the chatter as people pass the time of day with one another.

So why am I on my laptop? Well I've sat on the step and gazed into nowhere just chilling out and I've nattered to our neighbours but I heard the familiar alert as email was received. Blow me but someone has placed an order on my website even though I left an alert saying no orders could be dispatched until next weekend! I've emailed them to check that they are happy with the dispatch date and await their reply and while I was at it I thought I better check my stock level.

Looks like tonight I will be reviewing my suppliers new items as my stock is getting below a level that I am happy with.

Meanwhile I look around at the other happy campers and just wonder how they do it. Do what you may ask? But that leads me to my next post...

Trailer Life Part Two

As I sat on the step watching the sun go down; listening to the birds before they went to bed and just looking around I realised what was so nice.

I felt safe and secure.

Being in the heart of the countryside the only people around are the locals and those on the campsite. The locals all love the campsite (brings in new faces & trade for them) and on the campsite you are like a big family where everyone is friendly and helpful.

You can sit in your little trailer with no fear of what is outside as you are cocooned within your own little world.

The barrier goes down at dusk and the only access is via a small gate at the side. Anyone coming in after dark would have to bypass the attention of the dogs on the site.

If this is what it used to be like many years ago when our grandparents used to be able to leave their doors open without fear of robbery or worse then I can understand why people yearn for the 'good old days'.

I know not everything is bad about the here and now but feeling safe and secure and peaceful is just priceless.

Trailer Life

Well today the sun is shining (after a freezing night). Gosh haven't we got soft over the years of central heating. But it is fun. Community spirit is alive and well on campsites and everyone is eager to help us 'newbies' to settle in happily. We've only been motorhoming for a couple of years and compared with the oldies that have been doing it for 20 years plus we have a lot to learn.

It is relaxing; fun and very peaceful. When you are forced to do more or less 'nothing' you just have to relax - mentally and physically.

Our neighbour, Roger, is off to Spain today (see photo below) where he is due to spend 5 months on site before returning to this site to spend the winter months again. Their RV is their home and their home is Spain and France.

Well we've tuned in the satellite dish to pick up TVE so we are getting our daily dose of Spanish although really my French needs a bit of help!

Here are just a few photos to give you an idea of where we are:



This is our neighbour heading off to Spain


This pathway was once a railway line and now it is a peaceful walk through to the next town.


This is us settled on our pitch - with all services connected. This is 'easy' camping.

Settled in the Limousin

Well here we are sitting in the heart of the Limousin in our fifth-wheeler - and it's raining :-)

Not that we care. The drive down on Thursday was in sunshine. Our overnight stop at Le Mans was fine, if not a bit on the chilly side, but we arrived amongst drizzle and rain at about 5pm yesterday.

Today I was awoken by the sound of a cockerel in the distance - now that's a hell of a lot better than being awoken by the sound of vehicles and horns!

We had a marvellous greeting from Bob and Di who greeted us like old friends. The campsite has all the facilities we need and we have mains water and waste connections on our pitch. Added to that the electricity is 16 amp and so we are able to use all the extras in our trailer such as electric kettle; coffee machine; TV; in fact it is the first time we have ever been able to use everything at once! That's what comes of picking a site where the owners have an RV and know what people really need :-)

Now what did we forget (you always forget something). Well surprisingly everything had been loaded in the trailer and at first it appeared we had forgotten nothing - that is until we went to clean up and clean our teeth - damn where was that toothpaste?

After trying to rack my brain as to how people cleaned their teeth before the invention of toothpaste (baking soda; salt?) I discovered that by dipping your toothbrush in clean what there was enough toothpaste still in the brushes to clean them two or three times. Now we are off to find the local shops and buy some toothpaste.... Oh well, it could have been worse....

Oh and of course we have wi-fi.

Happy Easter everyone.