Living and Loving

OK - So a brief update in the world of moi!

Jon and I have broken up. It was amicable and I am more than OK with it all and I believe he is too. I would sincerely like to stay friends with the guy, but I am not sure how realistic that is. I am going to pick up the rest of my stuff this weekend from his and that will finally seal 'The End'. We had many ups and just as many downs and it certainly wasn't a bad 5 years - In our case it just wasn't meant to be and looking back on it, I think the break up was a long time coming.

It's been a month since the breakup and I am doing really well. I don't want to jinx anything as I have been so blissfully happy the last 3 weeks! So all I am going to say for now is 'watch this space'. I shall update you all very very soon ;-)

Due to the break-up and move etc, I have been inactive on the whole GnG front. Not that I haven't been doing bits n pieces, just that I haven't updated. All is to change very soon though and I am hoping to make a few tweaks to the site over the next few days. We are still looking for female bloggers, so if you are interested, please let me know

OK - Well that's it from me for now. Despite the fact I have an enormous amount on my mind atm, I just don't have the strength to update right now...

Laters Peeps

FB xx

It's an exciting time for me at the moment. After my Mashable mention, my followers on Twitter have shot up and interest in Girls n Gadgets has been very high! It would seem 2009 IS my year (I hope).

Anyway, this is just a quick not to ask anyone who would like a link back to email me. I have some banner space going on GnG and it doesn't necessarily have to be tech related as we will be covering many different tech and web stories.

Again, if you have a product you would like is to review, please drop me a mail and we can arrange it.

leila @ girlsngadgets.com

Many Thanks

FB xx

I'm sorry I have been rather rubbish at updating lately, although I have been away and I have also been doing a lot of training at work and so I haven't really had time to update everyone!

I successfully finished my week of vegetarianism and it really was an eye opener for sure! For now though I can't see myself becoming a veggie, although I have noticably cut down the amount of meat I eat and it's all sub-concious which is the surprising thing. I do feel a lot better for doing it too

On the work front, I started on the 5th Jan and until now have been training. The girl I am covering for maternity has now left and it's all down to me! Terri was so popular and good at her job, I have a really hard act to follow. So I guess there is a little bit of worry there. I know it's going to take time to build solid relationships and the work load is fine. But I can't help wanting to be fully up to speed!

As I may have mentioned before, my new job is very IT based. I work with the hardware server team at an investment bank. I have always been interested in techy stuff and for the past 3/4 years have wanted to do a degree/ qualification. After chatting with my manager and others, it turns out I can get training on site here and eventually have the possibility of becoming a fully qualified Unix/ Wintel Engineer - I am so happy and can't believe my luck at landing in this job!!!

Due to concentrating on work, my Girls n Gadgets has had to take a back seat but I am back on the case and very excited again. I just need to hit up my girl @Mia and get her back on the case too. It won't take much I doubt as the girl is awesome If you would like to be kept up to date on Girls n Gadgets, please follow @girlsngadgets

Finally, I'd just like to say that any UK Twitter readers, Twestival is on the 12th February - Please visit www.twestival.com for details.

Muchos Love to you all...

FB xx

Another good day - I haven't crabed meat once again! I don't fel like the same things everyday - I have had a variety of meals. Todays menu was:

Breakfast - Nothing

Lunch - Gujarati Red Dal with Riata - Made with red lentils, Indian spices and garnished with natural yoghurt and coriander. less than 5% fat / non-dairy (except garnish) / vegetarian / spicy (with white bread)

Dinner - Margarita Pizza

Snacks - x2 clemintines, banana and a plum.

Lunch today was lovely. The lentils were filling and very tasty. Dinner wasn't so fancy, but did the job. Taking pasta in for lunch tomorrow - the one I cooked last night! MMMMMmmmmm it was delish

On a non-food related note, my new job is going really well although I ahven't got my log in's yet. So the owrk has been very limited. The security is very tight, but that's a good thing as it's a bank. Hopefully everything should be sorted by tomorrow. The people I work with are great! I love it I have very high hopes for 2009

Also, I spoke to my business parter, Mia(for girls n gadgets) on skype tonight. I do love that girl!!! Totally what the site needs and full of ambition!!!

If anyone has any veggie recipes, please email me leila [at] leswan [dot] com. Thanks - The latest recipe is up courtesy of silvergrrl on Twitter.

Goodnight folks - more veggie news tomorrow!

FB xx

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So I began my week of vegetarianism today. It's an exciting time for me as I think this will open my eyes to a lot of different foods and recipes. Here's todays menu:-

Breakfast - Nothing - I don't ever eat breakfast and if I do, it's normally only junk food!

Lunch - Carrot, houmous & sprouts in wholemeal bread sandwich

Dinner - Vegetable stir fry.


One thing about vegetarianism I have noticed is that a lot of people seem to think that if you are a vegetarian, then you eat vegetables and not much else. Comments such as, 'hope you don't pass out' and 'won't you always be hungry?' spring to mind! This is not the case at all. There is a wide range of meals that you can eat that don't have to contain meat. One thing people forget is that there is the meat substitute - Quorn. This pretty much means that anything a meat eater can make, so can you!

There are also meals such as, pizza, pasta, baked potatoes, noodles etc that can be whiped up in no time at all. Your sunday roast can be substituted with a nut loaf. So you never really lose out by being a veggie!

As a result of my research and others feedback, I am going to create a blog which will focus on veggie diets and will be updated with daily veggie recipies for everyone to try. I will keep you all updated on this

In other news, I started my new job today. I think I am going to love it. the people there are lovely, the work is as expected and there is a discount on Mac products I really think I have found my perfect job once and for all - YAY!!!

Anyway - I am rather drained - Time to got to bed me thinks.

Goodnight Operaland

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Firstly I would like to wish all of my friends a very Happy New Year and may 2009 bring you much happiness, luck and prosperity! I sure as hell am hoping for some this year! 2008 was a pretty mixed year for me, but I think I can honestly say I am VERY glad it's over! 2009 will be a great year if I have anything to do with it

So, New Years Resolutions/ Goals...

1. Become a vegetarian for a week - Yup that's right! I am going to try out vegetarianism for a week. It's a promise I made to my friend Ed and I actually think it's going to be an interesting and eye opening week! I love my meat, so to be doing this is will be tough. But it's only a week and I am sure I can manage it - I might even like it and continue with it - who knows? I will be keeping a daily blog on this - starting from the 5th Jan

2. Cut down on drinking - 2008 has seen me get EXTREMELY drunk and I have had a fair few hangovers from hell! So this year I am going to do my best to drink in moderation and look after my body.

3. Look after my boyfriend more - This year I am going to make a conscious effort to pull my weight around the house. His flat-mate is moving out and it will really give me a chance to show him what I am really like! I can cook and I can clean etc etc, but I think I have been too stubborn and selfish to show him what I am really like. So, 2009 will see me become a domestic goddess

4. To launch my site www.girlsngadgets.com and make it a global success!

5. To network and meet like minded people rather than putting all my effort into people that don't deserve it! I am sick of being walked all over and from now on, I will choose my friends carefully!

So there we have 5 of my resolutions/ goals - I am sure there will be more to add as time passes, that's only natural. Lets hope I can make this year a successful one and turn my average life into something very exciting. The potential is there and I intend on making it a reality.

Once again, a very Happy New Year to you all!

FB xx

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OK, so I am thinking I should probably post something worth reading. I am not too sure what I was thinking when writing the last post!

Anyway... I have been rather busy over the past couple of weeks and it's not been down to the holiday season. I went to Twinterval as you may have seen me tweet about. It was a great fun and a met a lot of new people. Seeing how many people with startups, popular blogs etc really inspired me to start up my little venture I had begun back in February. I had bought a domain and hosting and was going to start up a tech review blog. So the following day after Twinterval I sat down and thought about it at length, as I wasn't conviced by my original project... I wanted my site to be different. But how? Now, I have spoken to a lot of social media people lately and I have taken a lot of heed of what they have said to me. I want a project that's going to be worth the bother and so I sat down to plan my site. After looking at a blank piece of paper for about an hour, it hit me... A tech/ web/ gadget review site aimed at women! But with a bit of humor and a couple of extras thrown in. My project was born!

The first name I thought of was Girls n Gadgets, so I went to see if it was available to register. To my surprise, it was and I was over the moon. I registered it straight away and went straight on Twitter to see if anybody could help me with the design. I was surprised at how many people offered, however I chose a guy, Jon Butterfield, who adheres to web standards (very important to me) and whose past designs on his site were eyecatching and impressive. I felt that he was someone I could trust totally to just do as he pleased, which at this stage was very important to me! My logo was done by my very good friend Edward Sanchez and I am LOVING it Twitter really has put me in touch with some wonderful people.

The story doesn't end there tho. For a while, I have been following a girl called Mia. She is a great blogger and I thought that I would love to have her blog for my site. Although I really didn't think this would be possible or happen! We spoke on messenger and she was totally up for it. yet again, I was over the moon. She's been really given me even more of a reason to make this work. It's great to have someone like Mia on your side. She's got bags of enthusiasm and Wit!

Twitter has really proved to be invaluable to me. I have met some amazing people on there and I continue to do so.

One of which is Ryan. Ryan has been really supportive of my site and has also provided me a good amount of LOLage from the links he posts. Best one being Vincent Dooly. He's become a great friend and certianly cheers me up when I'm down! Thanks dude!

Another great friend of mine is Edward Sanchez. His passion for vegetarianism is admirable. He is a real campaigner to stop cruelty to animals and the killing of animals. Although I do not agree with some of his views (as I am a meat eater myself), he is understanding and with his new site www.veganise.me, he outlines some facts and opinions to support his vegetarian views. I am actually going to become veggie for 7 days starting from the 1st to see what it is like (Yes Ed, I'm going to do it for SURE!!!).

As well as Ed, there is Rob. Rob is the one who helped me with my CV site and also the black and white pic on this blog (with the pink ribbon). I am terrible with all that stuff and so far he's always been there to help and has done a great job. He's also been a great friend and cheered me up when I have been down.

Finally (last but not least) for this post, I want to say how great Dustin has been. Like Rob, he's always helped me with any technical issues I have had, with both computer and iphone He loves the IT Crowd which is AWESOME and was a shock as he's American. Our Sitcoms ARE the best in the world! He he. Anyway - Dustin, you rock - EVERYONE on Opera and beyond knows it!

So there we have it. I know I have probably missed a million people out, but I would be writing into the new year if I mentioned everyone! Thank you to everyone who has shown support and has helped me along the way - Paul Walsh, Paul Fabretti and Raj Anand to name a few more. Thank you

FB xx

Ammendment: I MUST include my VERY good friend indeed - Marc Flores! This guy has gone far and beyond his friendship duty - Totally pimped out my mac and iPhone! Has a great gf. Loves gadgets and anything shiny! Marc - You truly are the best!!!

Well it's Monday morning and I am up early for my second interview at UBS. I am SUPER nervous as I want this job SOOOOOOOO much. I think I am against one other person and I think knowing that is making me even MORE nervous. I don't want to come second At the moment I have just made a cup of tea and then I am going to iron my Pink Lewin shirt. Presentation is everything.

I have just taken a peek outside the window and the weather looks fine. It shouldn't rain at least. I really do not understand why I am so nervous!?!?!? It's only a maternity cover, but I feel like there is a lot more to gain from the job. I maybe even able to learn basic technical bits and bobs. Who knows. This job is just sooooo perfect for me. I really wish I could calm down.

I just really don't know where to start though. I don't know what kind of questions they will have in store for me and I am really worried about the roleplaying if there is any as I totally messed up the last one. Although, they must have known it was a silly exercise as they were laughing all the way through it like me and I did get called back for a second interview afterall!

Right - Enough Blabbing, I must focus and get ready.

FB xx

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Well, I have finally managed to motivate myself. It's taken a little longer than usual, but I am pleased to say the motivation has finally come! Yesterday I applied for loads of different jobs as well as emailing all of my agencies and registering on job sites. Today I have re-written my CV which I am rather happy with. I have also bought a domain name to create an online CV too... A friend of mine is helping me design it. I am super excited. In fact, we have the design, it's now a case of putting online

In other news, I have a temp role starting tomorrow for a week. Despite the money not being great, it's something, so I am a little happier that I will have some money coming in next Friday and the following Friday. I really hope all of my hard work pays off. I just need to keep on top of my agencies - annoy them so much they will just want to place me to get me off their backs lol.

You may remember a while back I had just bought an iPhone. I am still loving it and have recently downloaded a new twitter client called Twitterfon which I think is great! There are a few bugs that need ironing out, but most apps on the iPhone are in the same boat. If they can just sort out the small issues, they could be streets ahead of any other free Twitter app. A lot of people are talking about Tweetie, I have to admit, it sounds pretty awesome - Lets hope it doesn't dissappoint as I do love Twittering!!! If you are on Twitter, add me Swannny

Thank you to all of my friends out there for their kind messages on my 'come back' post. I have missed a lot of you, but I can assure you, I am back...

Goodnight Operaland

FB xx

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