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Helping my wife pet sit

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Some of you know my wife has her own pet sitting business. This year has been an incredible start for her, she has had many, many bookings. To a point where she’s now struggling to keep up. This is both a good thing and a bad thing because she has a full-time job, she’s trying to juggle her job and business together. She now has to turn business down and she feels bad for doing so. Another issue with pet sitting, you can’t charge too much at least not yet. Because if she did, she would then get fewer clients, it’s all about building a base, and then growing from there.

In the meantime, she has me to use if the need ever arises. That need will be next week. I have booked some mornings off work in order to help her with her business. I’m always more than happy to help and I only wish she asked me more often, but feel it can be best to leave her doing what she does best.

What businesses have you currently got on the go? Anything you struggle with or wish someone could help you with? Comment down below.

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Roarfit (Newton Abbot Crossfit) Review

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How I started at Roarfit (Newton Abbot Crossfit)

I’ve been going to Roarfit for over 3 years, and I believe a blog review is long overdue. I started going before it was called Roarfit, it started as Newton Abbot Crossfit. When I first started, I was nervous because I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t even know what Crossfit was until I started. It all began because I took my cat to the vets and I saw a bunch of girls and guys flipping tyres. I turned to my wife and said “I want to give this a go”, and so I did.

Matt, the owner and first coach of Roarfit (Newton Abbot Crossfit) was very welcoming; he offered an introductory class which tested our strength and endurance. It was mainly running with some easy weight lifting added in. I believe it started with an 800m run, some kettlebell swings and another 800m run. My mind was like “this is easy. I can do this”. Running full pelt at the start, I overtook everyone, and then halfway around, I was knackered. It ended up being a jog back. I was too knackered to lift properly and just about survived the last 800m run. The session ended with Matt asking if I would return, and my answer was a simple “of course”.

Roarfit is a home from home.

Since then, I have been a returning customer ever since. There have been many people coming and going, but the atmosphere within the gym (or box) has remained the same. Everyone is always so welcoming and warming, and we never let anyone suffer alone. Roarfit is a home from home, and all the people there are amazing friends and always so supportive. If every gym were like this, then the world would be a much better, safer place.

Give Roarfit a visit.

If you live in Newton Abbot, or you’re near the area, then I would recommend you give them a visit. They will be more than welcoming, and they’ll answer any questions you may have.

Want to see my Crossfit transformation? Click here.

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Play Pick My Postcode (free)

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Affiliate links:

Please be aware that the links in this article are affiliate links. If you click on them, I will gain some sort of commission. All money gained will help future blog posts.

For the past 2 months, I’ve been playing Pick My PostCode. It’s much like the Postcode Lottery, except it’s completely free. They get their money through paid advertisements. So far, I’ve won nothing as my postcode has yet to appear, but if you sign up, you might be lucky. My friend has won a tenner here and there. However, he still checks each day as you could win over £1,000.

If this is something you’re interested in, then you can sign up here. It is an affiliate link, but the money just becomes part of a potential bonus. If you choose to sign up, then I wish you good luck and I hope you have better luck than I do.

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CrossFit – Winning Spirit of the gym at my box

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Newton Abbot Crossfit is like a family to me, it’s not just another gym. It’s a place that feels like a home from home.

– Michael Brooks

Coming into my Crossfit box this morning for a workout and thinking nothing of it. That’s until my coach, Matt announced that someone had one the “Spirit of the gym” award who didn’t turn up for last night’s social. He announced my name, and I was actually shocked! Honestly, I couldn’t believe that all my Crossfit friends would vote for me. It’s truly an honour to win, and it made me incredibly happy to win.

I work very hard, going into Crossfit daily either 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning. I don’t expect anything, just greeting my buddies and getting results from the workouts. To gain a little something, a little bit of recognition is amazing, and I want to thank everyone at the box who voted for me. I am honestly grateful and honoured. Newton Abbot Crossfit/Roarfit is like a family to me, it’s not just another gym. It’s a place that feels like a home from home.

Thank you, I will be wearing my new t-shirt with pride. If only I could wear it every day of the week.

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Saying goodbye to January and Hello to February 2019

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Today is our final day in January for 2019, and I have to say, it’s been an okay start to the year. I’ve made more connections on the internet. Removed Facebook from my phone, posted to my blog every day, and even turned vegan. I felt positive about money, only for that to crash and have anxiety over money. It was okay though, because this eventually went away, and now I’m positive again.

What’s in store for February?

We already have snow tonight, which might continue on for tomorrow. That to me is a good start to the month because I love snow. I just want enough to build a snowman. ?

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I’m going to see POD and Alien Ant Farm with my wife and sister-in-law next month. This will be our first live concert for the year, and I’m really excited. I’ll try to film lots and take lots of pictures for all of you, while still trying to enjoy the moment.

This month, I’ve blogged every single day, and I want to keep this momentum going because I feel it’s working. It’s working for me, my friends and family and my growing audience. Hopefully, I can grow my reader base and followers, plus comments and likes. However, at current, I am literally sitting down every evening and writing for the day. I have to come up with my content on the spot, and I don’t think this is sustainable long-term. I will need to sit down and write some posts for the future so I can have off days.

What are your plans for next month? Have you got anything you’re really excited about? Let me know in the comments below.

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Moving away from Facebook services

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To start, this isn’t a “we must all move away from Facebook, now!”. This is me feeling like I want to move away from Facebook and their services. Facebook plans to merge all their messaging services to allow all their users to connect through either Messenger, Instagram or WhatApp. Some of my friends think this is good news as you’ll only need one app. However, I’m starting to feel a little uneasy in this situation.

Their real plan is to have better-targeted ads, so they can make even more money and rule even more of the internet. We know of the scandals such as Cambridge Analytica, and today’s scandal “Facebook pays teens to install VPN that spies on them“. It makes me even more worried and makes me wonder how evil can Facebook truly be.

Moving to other platforms

I’ve moved from WhatsApp to Signal. Although I still have the app due to friends not moving away. Once I’ve persuaded them to move, then I’ll uninstall the app. I can easily uninstall Instagram and stick with apps like Twitter and Vero. However, Messenger and Facebook are slightly harder to move away from. This is because I’ve spent a large portion of my life on Facebook and I’ve got many friends and family there. There are also groups I like to interact with and messaging bots which help my finances.

I could start with uninstalling them on my phone and only using the browser version. This is beneficial because I have addons which block ads and tracking. This means it will be harder for Facebook to track my data and I’ll be in more control. I can announce on Facebook that I will hardly be using it in favour of my personal website. Personal websites are a much better place anyway as you have tons more control and people can get a much better insight of you.

What are your thoughts on the situation? Have you moved away already? Are you in the process of moving away, or would you rather stay? Let me know in the comments below.

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Creating events calendar and updating status page

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I have now created an events page. You will be able to keep up to date with all of my events, and talks. My plan is to do at least 3 fundraising events this year, and with social media hiding lots of content, I thought it would be easier to add it here. You can head on over to Events, as well as look at the sidebar. Some events will be TBC until more details are confirmed, and others will be there straight away.

If you would like to join me in any of these events, then you can comment on the event, DM me on Twitter or message me on Facebook. I will try to get back to you as soon as I am free, but please be patient.

If you have any events you would like to share, then please comment below. I can even add them if others can take part as well.

Finally, I have also updated my status page. Consider it a little bit of social networking, but more static and less hidden.

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January 2019 is coming to an end

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Affiliate links:

Please be aware that the links in this article are affiliate links. If you click on them, I will gain some sort of commission. All money gained will help future blog posts.

This is our final week of January, and we only have 3 days left until it’s officially over. I’ve already had a few surprises, some bad and some good, and I wanted to share with you both my good and bad for this month.

The Bad:

The Good:

  • Posted every day this month to my Blog
  • Transferred my blog from Digital Ocean to SiteGround
  • Transferred my wife’s website to SiteGround
  • Setup MailChimp for email newsletters
  • Became a vegan
  • My wife gained 3 new pet sitting clients
  • She also renewed her passport (our first trip abroad will be this year)
  • Totalled 2,166 website views with 856 visitors, 27 likes, and 18 comments

That’s everything for this month and despite receiving tragic news from my best mate Josh, this month went well all things considered.
Ron will be forever in my heart as he was someone who I loved and was like a father to me, I will never forget all the good memories and times we shared, R.I.P Ron. My cat seems to be getting better with the help of steroids, although he will need to be properly looked at soon, I feel he will get better.

Finally, my website stats has been a huge surprise for me, and it’s all thanks to you, the reader. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has viewed and reacted to my blog. Whether that’s through likes, comments, Facebook, Twitter or email, it all means so much to me and I am forever grateful. Towards the end of each month, I will be sharing my stats so you can see how it grows from now on, and I will strive to post daily with useful and personal content.

What have been your good and bad for this month? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll see you tomorrow.

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My new PC setup (Surface Pro 3)

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Affiliate links:

Please be aware that the links in this article are affiliate links. If you click on them, I will gain some sort of commission. All money gained will help future blog posts.

My desktop PC is playing funny buggers, so I’ve had to switch it out. I’m now using my Surface Pro 3 which I’ve had for a few years and used it on and off. My wife was very reluctant for the switch, because of the Pro 3 having such a small screen. After reassuring her that we can still use our two monitors, I went and purchased the correct cables. Two mini display-ports to HDMI that are purchased on Amazon by Rankie.

The cables arrived today and I quickly set it up and showed my wife. She is now happy with the setup and we probably won’t be looking to fix my desktop PC. My reason for this, is because it was originally built for gaming, but I always go back to my Xbox. Personal web development has kind of taken a backseat in favour of blogging. The Surface Pro 3 can handle web development, but I’m not interested at current due to work commitments.

What was wrong with my desktop PC you ask. I believe the USB sockets are losing power some how, my machine still works, but when I move my USB connections around, nothing happens. After a reset, the usb devices will work, then a few minutes later will stop. This seems like a motherboard issue to me, and I could replace it, but I don’t feel the need for it.

For now, I’m going to remove my hard drives, purchase a caddy so I can use them externally, and sell my desktop for spares. This way, I can gain a bit of money back and put it into my credit card debt. I feel my Pro 3 will serve me for years to come, and when the time comes, I can always upgrade.

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Smol Laundry tablet review

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Affiliate links:

Please be aware that the links in this article are affiliate links. If you click on them, I will gain some sort of commission. All money gained will help future blog posts.

My wife and I have been enjoying Smol tablets for 4 months. They’re a laundry and dishwasher tablet service which you can subscribe to, and they’re fairly inexpensive. You can get your first month for free (you just need to pay £1 for delivery), and if you’re unhappy, you can cancel straight away.

When logging into your account, you can update how many days a week you use your tablets. Smol will then work out when the next delivery should be, and you can do this as little or as often as you would like. The tablets are small, but the smell is strong and smells amazing. Their packaging is recyclable and safe for kids. It contains a sealable sticker and two plastic flaps that lock in place.

My wife and I don’t have a dishwasher, but we can imagine those tablets to be just as good. To conclude, I recommend you check out this awesome company, and give the free trial a go. You have nothing to lose, and quite possibly a lot to gain.