Dear darling ultrabook, please forgive me...

Dear Ultrabook,

I am writing this note to tell you how much I need you, appreciate you and how I will never neglect you and take you for granted again. This I promise for ever more.

ReeRee x

Yesterday my amazing ultrabook laptop just stopped working. It wouldn't switch on. Now, I don't have a tv, so all of my electronic entertainment comes from my laptop, and I use it to work on daily - at home and out and about. I rely on it for so many things!

Luckily the local computer shop saved it today for the bargain price of £85 (to be honest I would have paid almost anything!), and the fault was caused by my repeated dropping of it. You see I often fall asleep with it on and it falls from the bed. Naughty ReeRee.

Anyhoo.....its fixed and I'll never get lazy with it again. It's a beautiful piece of kit, and I need to not get lax with how its treated! Perhaps a life lesson for many things!

I found the folder of all the laptop camera, and its funny how its documented a part of my life - usually my face, often with coffee! Gosh, what an odd world we live in, that so many of us take so many self portraits all of the time, for not much reason!

Rockalily Style - Chinese silk top and gold cardigan

Today's outfit post includes my Freddies of Pinewood jeans and a blue silk Chinese top (with a gold cardigan with a bit of warmth).

My hair is pretty crazy, with a black chiffon scarf in an attempt to make it look less crazy.

Instagram is always more flattering! ;-)

My new impulsive tattoo - my shin

Today started as normal, heading to the launderette with the salon towels as normal. Then I saw a tweet for a tattoo cancellation. Uhoh. I was able to sneak away for a couple of hours, and the tattoo shop was one I used to use, and pretty local.

I hadn't heard of the artist, so did a quick pic of facebook stalking. Then I booked myself in!

In the two hours before my appointment I emailed over a few ideas, so that they could be drawn up, and when I arrived I tweaked the drawing a tad, and was then ready to go!

In all of the rush, I hadn't eaten, which is a definite no-go, so I got a quick packet of crisps and chocolate bar (and excuse hey..?)

Just a cling filmed picture for now, and only outlines for now. Colour will come later. Really happy with the line work though, its clearly a challenge to tattoo all of those straight lines on a leg that isn't.

I'm definitely an impulsive tattoo getter, but I guess I trust that I know my own tastes well enough by now!

The artist was Bonaria at Original Skin.

Some of my favourite Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender Photos and Memories

My third trip to Viva Las Vegas is nearly here, and I've been getting excited about the colourful sights that await me! I thought I'd share some of my favourite Vegas pictures/memories from my prior visits.

Viva Las Vegas 13 - 2010

For the first half of the week I was traveling solo, and just finding my confidence, but buying this Bettie Page dress (which I still wear tons now, its lasted so well) made me feel ace. I felt like I could take on the world, and marched out to a comedy show with a bounce in my step. I had been feeling fat and frumpy, but this dress was just super flattering.

A few days later I had the pleasure of sharing my room with Luna Rosa, an awesome burly lady from London. We hit the cocktails (Fat Tuesdays always feature in my Vegas trips) at 11am, and went shopping! This photo made us giggle lots, so it always reminds me of a good time.

Fat Tuesdays was a daily visit ;-)

Ironically, I have never been very drunk in Vegas, just tipsy (all day), but my fav pics all seem to feature drinks! I look so young here! My eyebrows need saving, and my victory rolls are pretty lame, but I felt fab. I was wearing my Vivien of Holloway sarong dress for the pool party.

My first trip to Viva Las Vegas, wasn't my first trip to Vegas, but it was definitely a mile stone in my 'transition' to a more alternative permanent look. Here I am on my first Vegas trip......I'm hardly recognisable! It was four years before my Viva trip.

And, where my love for Fat Tuesdays started......

Back to Vegas.......

You have to get a taxi cab to the sign, and wait your turn for a pic with no one else in it. It was extremely windy that day, so we struggled with our dresses, but we were determined to get a snap!

Viva Las Vegas 15 - 2012

Two years on, I was able to afford a trip to Viva once more. And where better to start than with Fat Tuesdays! I introduced the girls to my favourite thing, and they all fell into the fat Tuesdays trap. Can I get some sponsorship over here? ;-)

The Neon Boneyard was amazing, and I now recommend it to everyone going to Vegas. You have to book tickets before going, so best to do it from home, as it's only open on limited days.

This picture wasn't a happy memory at the time, but now makes me laugh out loud. We flew indirect, and I have never wanted to hurt somebody more than at this moment. Flight two, after being awake a long time.....with no food or entertainment for a four and a half hour second flight. I was fuming with misery. It was at this point I vowed to do all I could to never fly indirect to Vegas again. I'm flying direct this year.....thank flip.

My favourite day, as it was in 2010, was the Viva Car Show. It's a vivid, hot, and pretty darn sexy day if I'm honest! Everyone dresses up, and how can you not feel awesome in the sunshine surrounded by the most amazing cars I've ever seen?

Getting tattooed is always a pleasure, and I have made it a tradition to get a Viva tattoo! In 2010, I actually got two! At Viva 2012, I got an impulsive hand tattoo. Who knows what will happen this year!

That first moment I step onto the Vegas strip, in the sunshine, my heart always soars. It's bright, brash, loud and neverending. The perfect holiday!

Bring it on VLV16.

How do I stay motivated and driven?

I get asked about motivation on a semi-regular basis, and after being asked again on twitter this week, I decided to do a little blog post about how I stay motivated.

I definitely wasn't always a driven person, and it took quite a few people to ask how I stayed so motivated before I finally accepted that yes, I am a driven person now. At school I did well, but fortunately didn't really have to try that hard. As a teacher myself, I didn't think I worked particularly hard, but was often surprised at how little other teachers did in comparison to me ;-)

Now, as a business person (I guess that is what I am now!), I have realised how consumed I am with my amibition. I don't switch off, and am pretty focused on being productive at most opportunities.

So what changed, and how do I remain motivated to get stuff done?

1. I filled my thoughts with success. I devoured business books and podcasts. I talk about business with my friends and family. I watch business tv shows. In an odd way, business has become my hobby as well as my living. I enjoy it, in its many forms.

2. I created concrete goals for myself. You can't really expect to get somewhere that you won't recognise when you arrive. I spent a lot of time figuring out exactly what would be make me happy, and what would continue to make me tick. Having such a clear vision makes the motivation easier to find - I know where I want to go, and just have to work on getting there, little by little, every day.

3. Being productive helps makes you more productive. My Mother always says that if you want something doing, you should ask a busy person, and it has definitely rung true. I guess it's about momentum. It's harder to break a lazy period of time, and to get motivated over again. But if you're constantly just rolling with it, more stuff just seems to get done, which leads to more stuff you want to get done.

4. Focus on the action. It can be easy to be really busy but not achieve much, which is pretty demotivating. However, if you take time to reflect on where to focus your energy, you can ensure your efforts are rewarded, which motivates you to continue your efforts. All that matters is action, so try not to waste your time on the small stuff.

5. Find something you enjoy, the ideal way to stay motivated is to have a happy balance between reaping rewards and loving what you do. 

How do you stay motivated? Do you find it hard?