So today I am going to talk about songs and what they mean to me cause we can’t have holidays without a tune!  Before you get sick and tired of them, I thought I’d share a couple of my favourites and tell you the connections I have made with these songs, there is a Greek one here as well (I live in Greece). So, #Blogmas Day 2

My favourite Christmas children’s song

I just love anything related to Rudolph. Com’on, the dude has a shiny red nose. How cool is that? I remember spending hours watching Rudolph cartoons when I was a kid. I always play the Rudolph song now for my kids (students) as well!

All time classic (that reminds me of shopping for some odd reason)

I have no idea why, but this song always makes me want to put on a coat and some gloves and hit the shops! I have associated it with buying!! The essence of the song is the complete opposite. Go figure : s

 Last Christmas

I was a kid in Australia when this song came out. I have been brainwashed to like it. It is part of my childhood, adulthood, and old time classic. I also think those ugly jumpers are always in fashion.

And a Greek one : D

I am a Greek, in Greece , so had to share with you guys a Greek pop song. Enjoy < 3 cause this is definitely Greek to YOU 🙂  🙂

And one little extra….

What are your favourite songs? How are they connected to your holdiays? Leave a comment below!! Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog or follow me soemwhere in the social media world.

See ya tomorrow!!!!

I said on Twitter that I was going to do #Blogmas but then I forgot about it, and then today, I woke up and thought, ” Oh c@#p! It’s the 1st of December!  I said I was going to do Blogmas!!” What’s Blogmas? It is something like a challenge where you write one post a day till Christmas OR the end of December. My aim is end of December, let’s see if I can make it!!! So, now back to my freak out, after realising that I wanted to do Blogmas, I rushed to my pc, turned it on, and here you have it; Blogmas day numero uno.

I thought I’d start off by telling you a bit about myself, and then move on to what I ❤ about Christmas, cause it’s my favourite holiday.

Me, me, me, me

I am Joanna. I grew up in Sydney but I now live in Greece. I am 39 and a Capricorn (which means I am turning 40 in a bit. Shhhhhh don’t tell anyone).  I am a teacher. I teach Business English online (Business English has to do with language/types of communication business people use) and in the afternoons, I teach Greek kids English. Every summer I go to the UK and teach English at various universities. So, far I have lived in Newcastle, Bristol and Sheffield. I ❤ summers in the UK (yeah, I know, people usually do it the other way round :P). I ❤ teaching.

I love blogging. I started off as an educational blogger, as a way to reflect on my teaching and communicate with other teachers. I have had that blog for about 3 years now. Cause I loved writing so much, I started this blog (almost 3 months now) and I now I get to talk about all me girlie stuff as well. Yayay.

I have little free time cause I am a full-time teacher (and blogger), but when I do, I like to watch my favourite YouTubers, read books, watch TV, dance, make stickers (huh?) and ride my bike (it’s a stationary bike, so  I get to multi-task as in read a magazine , listen to music, and ride my bike).

Random fact: I am partially colourblind.

What I loooove about Christmas

Love is in the air: Even in Greece, where the economy sucks at the moment and there is a lot of misery and sadness around, during Christmas, people are more happy and smiley. The atmosphere is actually more positive and  everyone just cares more!

Shiny ornaments/ decorations/glitter: everything is so pretty!!

Giving (and taking): This is the time to share and help people, but it is also the time you receive little or big gifts (or gestures that show love). So  ❤ X 3

Yummies:Food (does this need to be explained?)

Christmas themed movies and songs: I love all Christmas-themed movies and songs!!! I watch all my romcoms over and over again and I just enjoy listening to all the music (yeap, last Christmas overload).

Carols:In Greece on the 24th and the 31st of December, kids knock on your door and sing Christmas carols (you give them some money/coins as a thank you). Lovely!!

My city: I live on an island (Crete), and while we don’t have snow and all other Christmas activities connected to snow, there are other things happening. In the center you have games for kids, the streets are all decorated, the shops are open in the morning and the afternoon, cafeterias have special events and everything is very festive (do NOT believe everything you hear on the news, yes, we are struggling, but we are hanging in there). So, I love it here during Christmas ( it isn’t that cold either, so hint hint: maybe Crete for Christmas holidays?).

Ho-Ho-Holidays: say no more……

So, I am ending my first Blogmas post here. I will be back tomorrow with more fun stuff. If you have a blogmas post, please feel free to leave it in the comments below. I would love to connect. If you love Christmas/ the holidays, please let me know what you enjoy about these holidays.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog, or give it a ‘like’ (somewhere/ somehow. Check the sidebar on how to do any of these things).. Check out my pinterest and press @mypinkrambles to connect with me on Twitter and/or Instagram.

Thanks for stopping by. See ya tomorrow!!!!

xxx

 I started painting because I wanted to do something different,  and get out of the house a bit more ( I am an online teacher so the last ‘goal’ was really important). I also wanted to avoid burnout.

While I definitely am not a first class talented painter, I am quite pleased with what I have done so far. One more reason I decided to start painting was because I wanted to challenge myself. I am colour blind and painting for a colour blind person is……….pushing it.

When I started painting lessons, I struggled, but I also learnt a lot about colours and how to match them. I now look at colours as if they are math. Yeap, you read correctly, I said maths. While I am unable to actually ‘see’ the colours, I think I can now paint without knowing what exactly I am using.

Lists, numbers. Red + blue=purple

My painting teacher sat with me and we wrote down the names of all the colours and the corresponding tube numbers. Before moving on, I need to say that the batch of colours I have has the names of colours written in funny names (or is that Italian?) So, for example, when a tube had the name ‘Siena Bruciato’  and the number 3 on it, I wrote: this means a red, orange, browny colour- number 3.

My list of colours was ready. My teacher then told me how to use colours and which colours are warm and which are cooler tones. Warm colours in painting are red and yellow. Blue is a cool tone. We use warm colours in the foreground, and cool colours in the background of paintings. You can make a colour cool or warm depending on how much paint you use when you are mixing colours. So, if I want to use purple for example, and I want it to be a cool tone, I use more blue (background colour), if I want it to be warm, I use more red (this will pop out in a painting). I also learnt that green is a neutral colour. White is used to make lighter versions of a colour (something like toning down). There are different types of whites and the best one is Titanium white (don’t ask me why, just accept it, welcome to my world) and black should be avoided. If you want to use black, it’s better to use a dark blue.

So, now I can paint without being able to ‘see’ the colour. The only difficulty I have is making the same shades of colours from one painting lesson to the other. You see, I cannot measure the drop of paint that goes into the colours, so if I put red and blue together to form purple, I won’t be able to make the exact same colour next time, cause I won’t be able to ‘see’ the colour. I have two solutions for that, one I have already tried the other is a thought.

Solution 1= make a shade and use it all in one session. Finish painting whatever you have started with the same blob of colour.

Solution 2= I need to invent some sort of paint measuring device. The only thing I can think of is either a spatula that is used to put make up on or the thing we use to measure medicine, but then my whole painting is like math will turn to painting is like chemistry so I would probably have to rewrite the whole post. That’s why I am sticking to solution 1.

My 1st painting. I have strayed from the original Van Gogh. This is Jo’s room. It still needs work. Painting is hard 🙂

So, that’s all for now. Remember to follow/subscribe to my blog if you like what you see. Check out the category tab on the sidebar for more posts on colourblindness.

Talk soon xxx

Most articles, blog posts that talk about Greece at the moment, talk about how bad everything is. And it is. Don’t get me wrong. People are suffering. I have suffered. I had a language school business which shut down partially due to recession. BUT I have also learnt a lot and changed my  money habits because of the situation. I had to say bye-bye to spendy Jo and hello to more careful (but still a bit spendy) Joanna.

So what has changed for the girl who needed/ wanted stuff, more stuff and a bit more stuff?

Credit cards

I stopped using them. Plastic money and Joanna do not go well. So, I cut mine up with scissors and am now just paying off my debts. If I don’t have the money, I shouldn’t be buying. Period.

Recycling

I love clothes, bags, makeup. The economy has made me dig deeper into my closet and pay more attention to what I have, what I need and what I want. Things on the want list usually just stay there. I love loads of things I see in the stores, but I cannot buy them, so I don’t. Instead I repurpose or start wearing again something I had bought a while ago, but just forgot existed. When I do shop, I try to avoid buying fashion trends (I opt for cheaper stores when it comes to those) and I usually by things that belong to a capsule kind of wardrobe.

Being a responsible citizen

I am paying more tax which means my income is much less cause a lot has to go to the government. In the past, when other people did not give me a receipt for a service (one way for the government to get money) I may have even ignored it. I wouldn’t care. Now, I ask for it (or at least most of the times I ask for it).

Sales/bargains

I take advantage of them. I look for bargains and shop during sales.

I have a piggy bank just to feel better

I like the sound of the coin when it drops into the piggy bank. I may not be able to save money in the bank, but I am saving coins (;P).

Bottom line is

Money is not the most important thing in the world

Yes, money matters but above all you need to think that if you are healthy and have a roof over your head, you will be OK.

Stressing over money

I have come to terms with the fact that I am not going to become rich nor am I going to have huge savings in the bank. I am more careful with how I spend my money. I make lists and write down my expenses. I always have a little budget for my fun little extras. Knowing what comes in and what goes out, makes it less stressful.

So, yeah, recession sucks, but you know what? I now value what I earn. I may still be in a spendy mode, but I am cautious. The shopaholic in me has become more mature.

To better times!

Talk soon

xx

First let me make something clear. If you expect this article to be about the benefits of working from home, stop reading. This ain’t THAT type of post. Nope. I am going to tell you a true story, my story and you can help me draw a few conclusions about what stays and what needs to go/change.

Home….. schooling

I have been teaching online for 2 years now. Teaching online? Yeap. I use Skype and teach people English. I am in Greece and my learners are in France. That is my morning job, so it is only inevitable that I work from home. In the afternoons, I work as a freelance teacher and my students come to my home. So, again I am at home. Now let’s do the math.

Morning online teaching 9-2:30: 5,5 hours

Afternoon teaching at home 4-9: 5 hours

Does this look appealing? Are you jealous? Well, don’t be. What this actually means is that I am at home all day, working. When I am not working I am kinda working.

Kinda working activities: blogging, reading blog posts, social media-ing, preparing for lessons, material designing.

So, in my free time at home, once again,  I am in front of the computer. You want more? I work out at home as well. I have a stationary bike in my room, so that’s where my gym is!! Yeap.

I do not need to go to the supermarket cause someone else does. I do not need to go into town to pay bills cause someone else does.

So, what about weekends? Well, on the weekends, I go out a bit (nothing cray cray people. Just a meal or a drink).

Now, time to make a list:

Benefits of working from home 

• It’s convenient
• You save money

Disadvantages of working from home

• Well, if you work all day, like me, you will probably end up with vitamin D deficiency (that’s cause you never see the sun).
• At some point you will become one with your chair.

The action plan-Things I am now changing

I want to work out more which is why I am cutting down on my kinda work related activities and am running to my bike a bit more.

I will continue my hobby which is painting and do more chores that have to be done outside the house, like paying a bill!! No online bill paying folks.

Working from home has it advantages, but there are disadvantages as well. So lovelies, do you work from home? How do you manage?

Talk soon xxx

Today I am going to review a hand treatment. I am always looking for a very good hand cream/butter. I also get eczema which is why I have bought tons of hand creams and nourishing treatments. The product I will be reviewing is the  Wild Rose Nourishing Hand Butter  by the Body Shop.

According to the Body Shop website this butter :

• lasts for a long time
• smells like roses
• has a buttery texture

My opinion

Texture

It is a thick cream and takes a good 2 -3 minutes to rub into your skin. If you do not take the time to rub it in, you get stripes and blobs of the cream on your hands. It does feel a bit greasy which is why I usually put it on before I go to bed.

Scent

Rosy scent with a bit of a soap-y twist. You can smell it for a while. I have had it on for about an hour, and I can smell the rose on my hand while I am typing (but when I put it on my hands at night, in the morning it does not really smell).

What does it do to my skin?

I have a very mild eczema outbreak at the moment. The cream does nourish my skin and it is doing better. Does it treat eczema? No, definitely not. It nourishes your hands and they feel softer. I also use it for the dry skin under my elbow and that feels smoother as well.

Would I repurchase?

Yes!

Where can I find this product?

At the Body Shop of course! Price: UK £12

Or shop now by clicking here (Price comparison: *Amazon price $17.99/ Body shop USA price on website is $20.00. Shipping varies).

So, that’s all lovelies. Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think of this product. Don’t forget to follow my blog if you like what you see ❤

Talk soon xx

*This is an affiliate link (check sidebar for more information). You do not pay more for the product, I just make a small commission from the sale. This product is one of my favourites. I have not been paid to write about it and the opinion is my own. If you do make a purchase. Thanks so much :). If you do not, thanks for reading anyways :).

It is Saturday morning and I am sitting in front of my computer, planning my blog posts, looking at my stats, and setting blog/blogger goals.

My planning

Before I invest in a bloggers planner,which looks very pretty and is on my wish list, I thought I would try to see if I will stick to planning posts and trying to promote my blog. At the moment, I am more of a wannabe beauty and lifestyle blogger than anything else. I have a zillion of blog post ideas, I have been signing up for all sorts of social media applications and widgets, but I have no idea if I will be able to pull through with a full-time job (English teacher) and a second blog (yes, I am also an educational blogger, have been for 3 years actually. Check that out here). So, after this long ramble, I am getting to the point of today’s post. Planning.

What did I plan?

I used my Teneues planner and went to the notes page at the end of the planner. I then used a few stickers from FruVesasPrintables to make the page more pretty. One page was dedicated to blog posts I want to write in October, and the other to blog data and statistics.

Details

On one page, I wrote down all my blog post ideas (posts that are already in draft form and others that are ideas). I also wrote down the week I want them to be ready and published. The second page has details about my page views, my most popular post, where I get traffic from, followers on my blog and social media followers. I also have my goals for October. I have a section for the money I made from my blog (nothing so far :p).

Troubles: what on earth am I doing?

I really need to understand Pinterest cause at the moment that’s my most neglected site. I also am wondering whether I should mention in my About page when I publish what. Something like a preview. What about my header? Should I invest in it and get someone to make a proper one (logo)? Do I move to self-hosted website or should I wait and see how I go? I need to work on my photo- taking skills as well. What about a giveaway? How will I set it up? When do I do it? Now or later on?

Trying to juggle a lot of things. Let’s see how that works. At the moment, things are going well.

Oh! By the way, how do you plan your blog posts? Any ideas? Any suggestions? Leave a comment in the section below.

I am leaving with a song that adds sound to my troubled thoughts cause i luv me some drama as well.

Talk soon lovelies

❤   ❤