Pinterest, work and me

Have you heard of Pinterest?

Lots of people that I know, do know about it.
(yes, i do have real flesh and blood friends!)
But lots of people that I meet, don't.

That makes it sound as if I accost random people and, after a short introduction , hit them with questions about their interweb usage!

Perhaps I'd better explain the context.....

By profession I'm a Dispensing Optician, and so obviously come into contact with lots of different people every day.
One of the things that the practice that I work for specialises in, is something called Colorimetry , which can reduce the effects of visual stress. These are the kinds of effects that can make it difficult for people with Dyslexia to read, or which can be linked to Migraine.

The short of it -and I could go on at length about this because it's really interesting- is that for some people, the use of a specialist tint can really reduce the symptoms dramatically, and so they have those tints made up as spectacles, either with or without a power to correct their vision.

That seems straight forward, I can hear you saying as you nod sagely...
...and you would be right!
The problem comes when you add to the mix:

• The majority of users are children ( adults do use them, but have often worked out coping strategies as they have grown up ) 
• The impact appearing 'different' can have on said children
• The  sad lack on understanding from teachers, who often think the spectacles are a fashion accessory.

In order to combat those points, we have started to take photography of those people who collect a pair of Colorimetry glasses (with their permission , obviously!) and putting it on the work Pinterest page.

There are also photo's of the spectacles themselves... like this gorgeous purple lensed set.

Plus a link to a video explaining all about how it works, that was made by the lovely people at RiceOpMedia for us.

The aim is to have an accessible, visually attractive page where people can comment if they want to and show it to their friends, family or uninformed teachers.
So when i take the photo, I send a copy to the patient, or their parents, and give them a link to where it will be posted.
Which brings me on to Pinterest.

As I'm explaining that the photo will be shown on Pinterest, linked to our Facebook page, and our Twitterfeed  (all curated by me at the moment - how do I find the time?) and I normally ask them if they have heard of Pinterest?
Mostly the answer has been no!
Which has surprised me.
I know Pinterest is fairly new, but everywhere I go on my travels through the Interweb, I find little 'pin it' signs by the images, or added to the list on 'follow-me's'.
Plus its rather addictive...I just went to set up a link and I've been pootling through the pins for half an hour....erm, actually, it was nearer an hour : /

Which is the reason for my question.

Feel free to comment - not only about Pinterest - I'd be very interested to know how many of you know that the colorimetry lenses are available, and how they can help.

Now I'm off to put the kettle on, so I can have a relaxing mug of coffee while I pootle through the Pins!
:D


Oooh! I've just updated to add that I'm rather excited that my own Pinterest 'Home' board has reached 332 followers!
*does a happy dance*
:D

Organisation- the first tiny step towards world domination!

I'm feeling rather satisfied with myself today.

I've taken my first small step in the direction I pointed myself towards in my New Years Hopes.

Not the old style resolution one of reducing my waistline, which as expected, is already in difficulties.

Mix together 1 teenager with a penchant for baking, an excess of time and a handful of goodies, and you have a recipe for waistline expansion that's quick and easy. In this case it's consisted of a banana loaf that was just the right mix of lightness and fudgy banana ( they were going brown and squidgy and we couldn't waste them, could we?!?), a golden syrup loaf (just because the banana loaf had been so good), plus a variety of buns, muffins and puff pastry savoury tarts.
The resolution hasn't had a hope of staying on track with the magnet of baked goodness pulling me towards it.
I'm not giving up on that score though. I just won't buy any more flour!
:D

But back to the NYH that is the subject of this post.

I'm a bit of a hoarder. Not TV series level, but when added to my middling organisational skills, you have the reason why I found 7 pairs of secateurs when I reorganised the shed this summer. AND KEPT THEM ALL!
Well.... I was obviously going to lose them again, so it was pointless getting rid of them. On a positive note though, now, when I can't find a set, I look again and DON'T just buy some more!

I also have wonderfully inspired ideas about repurposing/refreshing things that other people might look at and just see a load of tat and the reason I can spend hours poking about on Pinterest.

Add those together and you get the reason for both my NYS's for 2013.
Get rid of the stuff that's been hanging around AND find the stuff that I want more easily.
Simple!

(Damn you car insurance advert! I can't say that word without adding an 's' and n Eastern European accent!)

So today, I took my first step on the road to ORGANISATION!
Oooooh, I hear you say. Wow and golly!
Well, maybe not, but I'm pleased with myself, and am giving myself a virtual pat on the back.

A few years ago I bought a pin board for the aforementioned baking daughter, then a second ( with boxes and hooks and stuff ) that she liked better, and which made it up onto the wall of her room. The plain pin board languished, sad and lonely, in a cupboard. A year or so later it was joined by a slightly worse for wear ( loose joints and a missing spine ) combination white /cork board that I'd thought 'might come in useful'.
Today they were very nearly joined by a third.
I saw this really neat cork board in Wilkinsons - just what I'd been looking for to go above my desk - and was just picking it up to put in my basket when the ever practical daughter reminded me that I already had one. In fact that I had two, and that it would be silly not to use one of the ones I already had rather than buy a new one. Even if it was only £2.00.
I couldn't argue with that could I?

So off we trekked home, having somehow also acquired a number of baking and educational essentials on the way.....

The short of it though is that she was right.
When I looked at the cork board it just needed a small repair to the corner, a hanger attached to the back and a little metal bar of hooks embellished with mushrooms added ( the hooks had been lying around looking for a suitable home since I bought it, um, possibly 6 years ago ....) and TahDah!
It's up on the wall, with my work rotas, Shifty the screen cleaning cat, and the printout for a felt bunny that was about to get lost.

*takes a bow*

*does a happy dance*

Go me!

New Years Resolution (traditional style) 2013 or 'I saw this and thought of me!'

Now I know it wasn't all that long ago (2 rows of chunky crochet, half an hour of Pinterest browsing, and a side of roast salmon, to be exact) that I was busy posting about changing my unrealistic NYR's into NYH's ( come on, you can make the leap....or just read the post before this one if you can't).

However, I saw THIS and it all went up the chimney as I drooled.

The dress is from Pinupgirlclothing.com ( check the link and it should take you there), the photographer is Laura Byrnes and the model is Doris Mayday who has the enviable proportions of 36D, 28 waist and 40 hips, plus a towering ( to me at any rate) 5'8"!

Now, even in my tallest heels I won't make the 5'8", and its a long time since any of the other measurements came any where near hers, but Oh!, she is what I longed to be when i was 14 going on 24, wearing my midi pencil skirts and seamed tights ( it was the 70's - the only stockings I saw were in the support section of the lingerie department at Allders of Bromley, and swaying along in my favourite black suede peep-toe platform courts .

So, as my one and only Traditional resolution:

I solemnly resolve to reduce my waistline in 2013.

For this Dress.

  

                       

Hopes for the New Year

I've been thinking about New Years Resolutions in between the washing up and taking the duck out of the freezer ready for tomorrow's dinner.
Dinner?
Lunch?
Who knows?
I always AIM for lunch, but somehow between the peeling and chopping, the forgotten pre heating, the getting distracted by the setting of the table and,well, life - it ends up more like dinner.
Which is fine if you are someone who goes with the flow ( me - mainly).
And you can stop sniggering right now if you've seen me stressing when I cook.
What I mean is that, unless I'm bound by time pressures beyond my control - trains, planes, theatre productions or uni submission dates, then there is no such thing as late.
Things will arrive when they are done.
The stress comes from making sure that they finish AT THE SAME TIME!

But I digress.

I can count on one finger the successful New Years Resolutions that I have made. Even then, you have to sort of squint, tilt your head and wait till your eyes tear up from the effort of not blinking before the term 'successful' is what said resolution looks like.
OMG, I hear you gasp!
A successful resolution!
How? When? Why? What?
(I was so close to adding 'who' but you will be pleased to see that I have refrained - you don't need to press me with open questions !)
I will tell you, dear reader. (See)
My one and only semi-successful resolution was to eat something green with every meal.
At times I've had to resort to counting parsley or green gummi bears ( you try finding lots of green stuff to eat at breakfast ) but I think that I'm successful at least 75% of the time

*stands up and drinks in the rapturous applause*

What do you mean you're not impressed!?!?!
I can tell you now, pre resolution I was the queen of the yellow dinner! Not by planning - they just seemed to turn out that way. A predilection for chicken and sweetcorn didn't help :D

So, and I'm now getting back to the point of this post, what ( if anything ) will I be resolute about next year?

You see, I think that's the problem. We set ourselves up for almost certain failure by saying we will do things that we obviously have no intention of doing. Things beyond the realities of our day to day existence. Like losing 5 stone, or growing taller, running a mile a day or learning to fly.
For some people these are possibilities, but for most of us, no.

So this year I'm thinking about my New Year HOPES.

I hope I can FINISH some of my projects.

Unfinished work :(

I hope I can IMPROVE my organisational skills

Re-organised bookshelves:D

I hope I can ......

Nope, nothing else is coming to me right now, so I'm going to leave it at those two.
Wish me luck!

Happy 2013 everyone.
:D