Work / Life Balance

This year has been a journey of discovery as I've made improvements in my life to achieve balance. I started by making a DECISION to CHANGE and then took ACTION.

I contacted life coach, Nadine Honeybone, to clarify steps to achieving my goals. Style consultant, Suzanne Jaya came to overhaul my wardrobe and to do a colour analysis. I consulted Nutritionist and Naturopath, Emma Jones, for advice on my diet, as I was fed up of feeling so tired all the time.

I started to include all the things that I love in my life, swimming, tennis, yoga, meditation, singing, as well as noticing birdsongs, clouds, the effects of sunlight and fragrances of flowers. The list is endless once you start to really engage with the world around you, instead of getting locked in to being too busy.

The result of all this is that I now feel FANTASTIC, ENERGIZED and HAPPY!

As a bonus, I've lost over a stone in weight. I've gone public about having alopecia (hair loss) which resulted in a double page spread article in the Western Mail in July, and a radio interview with Jamie and Louise on BBC Radio Wales in September and an invitation to speak at an inaugural meeting for anyone with hair loss, at Southmead Hospital in Bristol earlier this month.

Everything is flowing because I shifted my focus towards my own well being instead of my business. Now unexpected opportunities are appearing frequently to move my business forward which is very exciting. I've let go my fear of techno things and the embraced changes. I'm feeling GOOD!

This quote has been inspirational for me:

"Whatever you can do,

Or dream you can do

Begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

Begin it NOW. "

(Geothe)

Nomine Community Choir Christmas Concerts

I sang in two wonderful Christmas concerts with Nomine Community Choir. One on 8th December at St Anne's Church in Oldland Common and another on 15th December at St. Mary's Church in Bitton. A great selection of Christmas music, with an uplifting finale of Handel's Allelluia Chorus from The Messiah, delighted the appreciative audience. We raised over £600 for the charity Children's Hospice South West. How good is that?

Tonight, weather permitting, we're singing with staff at Coca Cola's Christmas Carol evening.

If you are interested in joining the choir, click on the link on the right hand side of the page for more information. Singing is good for you!

Light and Land Discovery Day

5th December 2010

Wokefield Park, near Reading, was the venue for this inspirational day given by the Light and Land team of top fine art photographers, Charlie Waite, Joe Cornish, Desi Fontaine, Phil Malpas and Clive Minnitt. It was a great opportunity to share ideas and learn from other landscape photographers. Despite the very cold, foggy weather, lots of people travelled to attend.

I took along my new bespoke leather, fine art portfolio for critique by Desi Fontaine. The high quality of my work and the portfolio created a great deal of excitement from all who viewed it.

Reminder - Saltford Craft Fair -4th December

Saltford Craft Fair, 10am - 2pm on Saturday 4th December at Saltford Hall, BS31 3BY, half way between Bath and Bristol.

Come to my stand to buy Christmas cards, greetings cards, gift tokens, canvases, mounted prints or framed prints.

Only Connect Christmas Networking Event - Bristol

Last night I attended the Only Connect, Christmas, black tie, networking event at The Living Room, Millenium Square, Bristol.

The festive ambience of the contemporary venue enveloped us as we walked in on the red carpet, wearing our posh frocks, out of the bitter cold. Local media were filming and photographers snapping us during the evening. It was a great opportunity to talk with other business people and to contribute to the Jesse May Trust. Nick Knowles was one of the celebrity guests invited by the organizer, Jamie Breese.

Charity -Avon Wildlife Trust

My 2010 Christmas card shows a winter image of the frozen pond at Willsbridge Mill.

Part of the proceeds from the sale of each card will be donated to support the work of the Avon Wildlife Trust.

Saltford Christmas Craft Fair

Saturday 4th December

10am -2pm

Saltford Hall

Wedmore Road

Saltford

Bristol BS31 3BY

Here's an opportunity for you to get into the festive spirit and buy Christmas and greetings cards, gift tokens, mounted images or canvases from Anna's stand at the Saltford Christmas Craft Fair at Saltford Hall, half way between Bristol and Bath. Payment accepted by cash or cheque.

The Sleep Event - London- 24/25 November

Exciting news!

I've been invited by to showcase a piece of my work on the Ridge Publications stand, G55, at the SLEEP EVENT EXHIBITION on 24/25th November. You can see a beautiful, tranquil image in a chunky handmade frame, the perfect finishing touch for your room.

I will be on the Ridge Publications stand, G55, on Thursday 25th November with a portfolio of new work for you to see between 11am and and 3pm.

Decorex 2010

26th September

I travelled to London to visit Decorex 2010 for the wonderful stands showing beautiful things for interiors. It was great opportunity to meet interior designers and potential new outlets for my landscape photography.

I joined NOMINE Community Choir

2nd September 2010

Standing patiently in a long Post Office queue a few weeks ago I noticed a poster about NOMINE Community Choir. It's sole purpose is to raise funds for the charity Children's Hospice South West so I joined.

Forget the X Factor. If you enjoy singing a wide variety of music come along to join us or come and listen to one of the concerts which are free to attend. There's a retiring collection for Children's Hospice South West. See the websites in the LINKS on the right hand side of the page.

Radio Interviews

25th August 2010 & 1st September

What a fantastic experience to be interviewed on BBC Radio Wales twice in one week and to see how things work behind the scenes! Talking 'on air' was a new and exciting challenge. The show hosts, Roy Noble as well as Jamie and Louise made it all look so easy.

Listening to myself on iPlayer later helped me to evaluate how I could improve for future talk shows.

Interior Scene Product Directory

Need canvases to complete your refurbishment? Or patterns for bespoke wallpaper?

Look on page 4 of the online Interior Scene product directory (see the LINKS on the right of the page) to see two of my recently published images.

I climbed Mount Snowdon!

22 August 2010

I feel very proud of myself for climbing Mount Snowdon.

It's been on my 'to do' list for a while to check out the location for future picture taking. We climbed up on the Pyg track and descended on the Miners track.

I hadn't anticipated queuing to clamber up the steeper sections due to the volume of tourists. Some people who travelled up on the train seemed surprised at how cold it was at the summit as they alighted in shorts and T-shirts! We had a brief glimpse of the 360 degrees view before the cloud cover enveloped us.

The Power of Networking

11th August 2010

While on the Vale Women's Business Network stand at the Vale of Glamorgan Show, I had a conversation with another business women, a freelance producer for BBC Radio Wales, which led to an invitation for me to be interviewed on the Roy Noble Show on 25th August about my landscape photography.

Jane Hutt, Welsh Assembly Member, and patron to Vale Women's Business Network, also came to talk with members at our stand.

Jane had seen the newspaper article, published in the Western Mail in July, about me inspiring others to cope with alopecia (hair loss). This article led to another invitation to be interviewed, this time, on the Jamie and Louise Show BBC Radio Wales on 1st September.

'Beside the Sea' Exhibition 28 June - 25 August 2010

Visit my exhibition, 'Beside the Sea', at St Donats Arts Centre near Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Monday 28th June -Thursday 25th August 2010. Open 10am - 4pm, Monday to Friday.

Relax and enjoy the freedom of being by the sea, walking barefoot in the sand. Listen to the sound of the waves on the shore. Notice the the shapes and colours of pebbles coming to life as the sun and water bathe them. Bask in the warmth of the summer evening sunlight as it changes the sea colours from silver to gold. Feel rejuvenated and inspired by the experience. Delight in the memories that the images evoke as you look at the seascapes in ‘Beside the Sea’.

Visit Anna's latest Exhibition, 'COAST'

Visit my sponsored exhibition of stunning new images, 'COAST' showing at:

The Oriel Glass Wall
The Senedd
National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff
CF99 1NA

The exhibition runs from Monday 15th March to Sunday 21st March inclusive.
The Heritage Coast of Glamorgan, west of Cardiff, has a coastline of spectacular cliffs, headlands and beaches which can be explored along the coastal paths. There is a Heritage Coast Centre at Southerndown. I feel that I've captured the rugged beauty and soul of the coast in the exhibition images. Let me know your thoughts when you see the exhibition.

SPONSORS of 'Coast' Exhibition

My thanks to the SPONSORS of my exhibition of new images, 'COAST' at the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay, South Wales, from Monday 15th March to Sunday 21st March 2010, inclusive.

JANE HUTT, Assembly Member for the Vale of Glamorgan

THE VALE WOMEN'S BUSINESS NETWORK
http://www.vwbn.org.uk/

THE NATURAL HEALTH AND FERTILITY CLINIC
http://www.nhfc.co.uk/

LATENT LIGHT.COM

God's reset button!

I returned home after Christmas and within hours went down with the worst dose of flu I've ever had. Thank you to family, friends and neighbours who helped out. It's taken me weeks to get back on track, but it's been a blessing in disguise. It forced me to stop and rest properly which gave me time to think. Sometimes, we're so busy, we don't realise that we're on a treadmill that's getting too fast.

I'm now in the process of making more changes to enhance my life and to achieve a healthy work/life balance. The bottomline is that without vibrant energy we're unable to enjoy life!

'Love is a precious gift,

Treat yourself daily.'

Anna Proctor

Winter

Looking at my Blog right now, I can see that you'd think that I've been idle since my last posting! Nothing could be further from the truth.

December passed in a blur as there was so much happening: networking, meetings, exhibition planning, completing clients work before Christmas, admin, book -keeping, catching up with friends, enjoying a spine tingling performance of River Dance at the Bristol Hippodrome, attending the Midsomer Norton Christmas Festival, completing the Bush Craft Course and receiving certificates to acknowledge our achievements.

Of course, there were also preparations for and travelling to Wales, to celebrate Christmas with family and friends in the winter wonderland of snow and all the challenges that brought. On the Severn Crossing chunks of ice came raining down from the gantries and I got caught in the traffic jams being diverted to the Old Severn Crossing! Patience is a virtue.

The plan had been to also use the trips to do location landscape photography out in the sticks, but the thick ice made attempts at walking anywhere off a main road a hazardous pastime for life and limbs! Sitting near a wood burning stove and sharing mulled wine seemed a more appealing option.