Recently, I have been doing a course hosted by Holly Worton from Socially Holistic and it’s got me fired up and thinking more about my online presence.
One of the exercises was to look at websites that inspire me and help me connect with the author.
I already know that a strong and unique visual connection is important to me, but hadn’t appreciated some of the other layers beneath.
You see, I also connect with the everyday human aspects of each individual. I don’t even have to have the same interests. It is more about a human connection which helps to build trust.
I am proud of my re-launched website, as it depicts my artistic ability and how I can serve you best.
I view a website home as a powerful dressed shop window. It makes you stop and take notice and it invites you in to explore and experience.
But, what about the insides of the shop too?! The hidden bargain bins and the sales racks and the new season editions? It all adds to the experience of whether the shop is one you will return to or recommend to another.
So, this blog post is about the inside of my shop, 29 random extra things you may not know about me, to help you connect with who I am as a human being.
I already have a plethora of blog posts about my journey from NHS professional to coach when I had my first website Green Alder.
29 random things you may not know about me
1) This is me as a child. I was very shy and very easy to look after. I could entertain myself for hours.
2) This is me with my dad. He sadly passed away in 1997 after 26 years of severely debilitating Multiple Sclerosis. He was an angel to us and he was quite the comedian and always looked on the bright side of life.
3) Once, I came last in a beauty contest at Pontins In Western Super Mare. I was dragged up on stage clutching my usual teddy comforter. The whole experience is still etched in my brain!
4) I was very brainy in school and won a ‘brainy’ award, even with my 80’s Bon Jovi haircut! I kinda didn’t fit in with the usual ‘swotty’ types 😉
5) I used to be very interested in crafts and making things (since I was a young child). I was often disqualified from the school Eisteddford for entering teddy bears and polar bears that I could not have possibly made ;( But, I had. It was very frustrating.
6) I once saw a ghost and it kept switching off my printer when I was trying to print a picture of a spine for my physiotherapy course.
7) My first car was a VW Beetle!
8) In 2010 I had 12 CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) sessions after being diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder combined with being bullied by management in my NHS physiotherapy role.
9) I have not flown since 2003 (by choice), but did enjoy holidays around Europe in the main. One that jumps out is when I drove a moped around Skiathos island in Greece. Today, I love to spend holidays walking in the lush countryside, woodland and anywhere close to the sea. I now feel open to a longer trip away and am considering a few months in USA or Canada next year.
10) I swam with dolphins in the Caribbean. Wow, it took my breath away!
11) I had my hair braided to keep me cool. I spent hours and hours sitting patiently as the lady plaited my hair. Only to remove them shortly after as they gave me such a headache. I ended up looking a bit like a monkey!
12) I was married to a great man and was secure with a beautiful home and 8 acres of woodland. But, I was surface happy and ended the relationship in 2011 and walked away from security. We are now divorced on amicable terms.
13) I love animals!! I have had numerous lovely pets over the years and my last pet was a rescue dog called Harley, a Fox Red Labrador, who I miss with all my heart (divorce). We had such fun together and she used to dance with me when I messed around doing the house chores.
Not forgetting Jasper & Willow, my favourite cats, who I rescued 🙂
14) I love birds and am particularly drawn to owls, blackbirds and robins. When I was little, I joined the RSPB and even had records of birdsong to listen to.
15) In public, I dance like everybody’s watching me, but at home I bust some amazing moves on the living room floor…honest I do!! Though I did used to enjoy a good Zumba class!
16) I am extremely interested in nutritious & organic food and environmental concerns. I helped start up and was a Director of a Community Supported Agriculture Scheme called FlintShare. I loved the whole community feel whilst making a difference in my local area. I do miss it.
17) I love forest gardens and have even been on a course with the guru Martin Crawford and taught the essentials on how to create one. I have been trained by Patrick Whitefield in Permaculture Design. I have worked voluntarily for a permaculture community garden in Wales called Garth Hillside.
18) I wrote a guest blog post about being a weed in the right place 😉
19) I won most Transformed in a 30 day video challenge in 2013 with Marisa Murkatroyd. I was quite mischievous and had such fun doing it. I even wore a bra on my head at one point to allow myself to look silly and walk away from perfection.
20) I like to inject laughter and joy into my everyday life. I am very playful and mischievous! I now understand the word ‘gigglesnort’ as I do it a lot these days!
21) My partner and I are like ‘two peas in a pod’ and make a great team together.
22) I have a fascination and love for Masterchief and Game of Thrones. I am also a Twilight fan….yieks!!!!
23) I used to have a phobia having passengers in my car or parking in places that had awkward parking.
24) I love to cook and spend many hours planning out meals and cooking from raw ingredients.
25) I am childless by circumstances which has haunted me until recently. Deep down I know, given the opportunity, I would have made a fabulous mother. Instead, I am Aunty to Erin and Aidan.
26) I am also a Godmother to Sarah and we spend many hours together playing ‘hair!’.
27) I love all kinds of music, but it’s a mood thing for me. I don’t seem to be able to recall names of bands and most trivia knowledge. I don’t appear to have a brain that retains it ;( Don’t pick me for pub quizzes!!
28) I am not at all competitive except for when I was briefly a GirlGuide (before being thrown out for telling naughty jokes) and once when I played ‘pass the pig’.
29) I love to experience independent cafes wherever I go. I am a coffee lover and home-cooked quirky food lover! Yummy!
Yes, all a bit random and I could go on, but I feel like stopping at 29 😉 29 is the age I would like to be right now with the benefit of hindsight 😉
So, I am a relatively new service and I still have a 25% discount offer on my new Website service here.
If you like what you see and you are interested in hiring me then do connect with me. I am always happy to hear from people.
If not, then do share with your social media preference 😉
Thank you.
I loved each one of these random comments about you, Lisa! I was even trying to pick my favoutire, but it turned out to be impossible 🙂
Oh thank you Kati 😉 It is so hard to pick a bunch of stuff from a whole lifetime, so I just did the first 29 things that popped in my head after riffing 🙂
I am so pleased you found it hard to pick a favourite! I know the pictures are HUGE, but could not resist.
I think my 80’s hairstyle is quite awesome, don’t you think?!!!
*favourite*! Sorry about that, has been a long day! 🙂
This is a joy to read, Lisa, and really communicates a flavour of the beautiful, talented, funny, gorgeously original lady that you are. Just like your website designs and illustrations.
Thanks for sharing.
PS: I’m a giggle-snorter too 🙂
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Thanks Linda! It was quite a journey collating it all, as much of my past history is archived in Wales.
It was Jac McNeil who first introduced me to the word Giggle-snort and I actually Giggle-snorted when I first read the word! 😉
Hi Lisa! I loved reading your top 29! I wish there were more! They made me smile, laugh and say “aarrrrhhh!” out loud in all the right places! Its so lovely to see snapshots of you through your life so far and personally I think the Bon Jovi hairstyle ought to be revived as I think you rocked it!
Keep up all your wonderful work- I love it!
Marcia 😉
Ha Ha Marcia!!! Isn’t it the most fabulously awesome hairstyle I have ever sported!!!! Next time we meet I will bring my comb and a tonne of hairspray!!! I am glad you liked it ;))) Keep well my friend x
I think this is my favorite thing I’ve read in a long long time. What a joy to get to know you better! You have your Daddy’s face and your 80’s hair is to die for. <3
Thank you Heidi 😉 My dad had a cheeky face, so your comment pleases me ;)))
What a great way to let people get a sense of the ‘you’ behind your wonderful work in the world. Lovely pictures of you and the things that are important to you! I too have a ‘Bon Jovi’ type photo of me (a too tight perm … ah those were the days eh ?!)
Thanks for sharing, and inspiring me (and I’m sure many others who read this) 🙂 xx
Thanks for the kind comments Ann! I feel relieved that I was not the only one sporting such a fabulous 80’s look 😉
I love the pictures Lisa! Such wonderful collages. I would love to hear more about starting a CSA – awesome. It reminded me of volunteering for a food box program years ago … I miss that too.
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Ah yes, the CSA…I started some organic gardening courses and the lady who took the classes had just applied for the job to start a CSA from scratch in Flintshire. We got on so well that I joined to help her, along with a handful of others.
We had a big community meeting , with Nick Weir from Sroud CSA ( I designed the posters;) ) and gathered a possie of 8 for a Core Group.
We then met 2 weekly for the next 2 years and gradually found plots of land and people and started growing. We had a few locations and it was great fun. I don’t see them anymore, but it is still expanding…I somehow also had the role of events coordinator ( by default). I remember organising a Summer Solstice outdoor party without a budget!!! Thanks for asking ;))))))
Beautiful photos. And a great throwback.
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Thanks Shaun… Always good to see a human behind a business ;))
Love this, Lisa. Thanks for being so brave and sharing all these beautiful insights… and I hope you do come to Canada soon… 🙂
Hi Lisa
I am another B4C-er and came over to see your blog. Wow it is lovely and I have been making my way through so many parts of your life. I popped out to look at the beautiful selkie shawls and then came back again to this post.
What a good idea and I love them all. So many resonated with me – birds, ginger cats, photos of such closeness with a dog, swimming with dolphins, going out for coffee – I could go on and on.
I love this course because it introduces me to so many interesting and amazing women (men too but there are so many more women on here and I haven’t yet been to visit a man’s blog. that will come) It feels like a community of like-minded people has suddenly arrived on my little laptop.
I love how you have opened up to show who you are here. It is so true that this is the way to connect with others – just being you and if it feels right then I suppose it means we belong to the same tribe.
So sorry about the beauty pageant – I totally understand the power of those early wounds. I was 5 and insisted my mother sent my photo in to the Miss Pears annual competition. It was the first time I realised that other people might not see me as beautiful when I felt that she didn’t want to do it.
More to say but I will stop now and just say again how I loved the time I spent here
All the best Kate
Oooo thank you Kate … It’s a journey 😉
Oh I just got to read all of your entry. So lovely that you stopped by… It will be great to connect with you further in our lovely tribe community 😉
Thanks for sharing
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