Christmas decorations are going up!

Dear Friends and Family,

What a good week it has been! And now back to where I left you last!

On the 20th of October it was departure day. You know sometimes you can daydream and the daydream seems so real, well I had one of those moments on that day. Your mind just runs away with you. It wasn't a bad daydream just something I'm not quite ready for yet!

On the 21st I finally wrote the 2nd blog post on my website called "Bravery." I created a website for my new writing blog because I'm writing other things on there. This is the link - http://nicolathewriter.weebly.com/. I also love how some days can completely turn around and this was one of them - I've had a few suprises like that, it's so nice when you think your day is going one way, it take another direction.

Bible verses I post on my facebook:

Thomas said to him, "Lord we do not know where we are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also, henceforth you know him and have seen him." ~John 14: 5-7

Every Sunday we have a fire alarm test and on the 23rd they left the fire alarms on on for about 30 minutes - it was like music to my ears, so peaceful lol! And later in the afternoon more peace followed, I filmed a video of the sea when my friend and I went walking. Such beautiful beach weather!



On the 24th (on Monday) it was departure day again and as I was pulling a trolley to unpack the linen, the basket on top of the trolley fell over and all the linen fell out and there was an empty wine bottle there too and it broke. When I bent down to pick up the linen and broken glass I cut my finger quite deeply on a piece of broken glass and for a small finger there was a lot of blood. Anyway never mind the gory details but I still have the cut on my finger now and it's still painful at times but I'm always hurting myself so I'm used to it :). It's typically me! (Walking disaster).

Anthem lights are an awesome band if you haven't heard them before, this is one of their songs I found the other day;



On the 24th the weather went from wild to wilder! I could hear the sea from my room and it was raining, it sounded like we were in the middle of a storm!

Sometimes people post pictures and looking at them takes you back. I've had a lot of things that took me back to the time when I lived in Zimbabwe and my church I went to there! Such good memories! I had such a great life in Zim and thank God I've built a life for myself here too.

This is my favourite skit EVER because it's such a beautiful message! I would love make one with friends one day! I always go back and watch all sorts of versions of it! It's soooo good!



I got very excited on Tuesday because I heard someone talking in the kitchen and they said it was going to rain for the next few days but on Tuesday in the morning we had SUN! It did rain later though, when I was doing my washing of course haha! I only worked in the morning on Tuesday and then was off work until Thursday. I had a great time catching up with friends on Skype and my friend and I had the night off together so we had a nice chilled evening.

On Wednesday, I got to sleep in!!! It had been a while since I had a morning to sleep in, I only have 1 day to sleep in a week usually. Although I'm not really a person who enjoys my sleep that much, I hardly sleep but after a certain amount of time it catches up with you and you need to get some zzzz....

I saw a squirrel at the University of Exeter when I was there!




Posting this picture reminded me of an even better picture I took while I was walking up to the high street when I had just arrived it Exeter!



It made me smile as I was walking up to the high street because it was randomly there! Someone said it looks like it's wearing Stilletos hahahaha and it does!

I usually have a song of the day which is a song I really like that stays in my mind throughout the day! I really love music!

This was my song of the day yesterday:



Well someone told me this video reminded them of me :P....



I like this quote a friend gave to me, "A friend is one who strengthens you with prayers, blesses you with love and encourages you with hope."

Today was departure day again. We finished work an hour later than usual. After lunch I went for a walk with a friend in the park and took this picture. You can see the beauty of the English Autumn.



And now to explain my blog title. Today they are putting up Christmas decorations all over the hotel! It looks really nice :) I have photos from last year too and I'll take some again this year! And tomorrow night we start our "Tinsel and Turkey" which is every Tuesday and Saturday night we have a Christmas dinner for the guests and we have to wear Christmas hats because not all our guests stay with us for Christmas and so every Tuesday and Saturday from now until Christmas we will be having "Christmas" for the guests. I may take a picture of me in my Christmas hat... maybe.

I've very excited for December as well as being the Christmas season and my favourite time of year there - a trip may be in the works too!

Oh yes and my book Learning by Karen Kingsbury finally arrived yesterday and I have the night off tonight so maybe I'll have a bit of a read later!

I shall love and leave you until I write again lol,
Nix

It's not time to make a change...

Dear friends and family,

It's that time of the week again for another blog post! A blog is also my way of keeping a record of what I've been doing because when I get old and as we know our memories can fade a bit, I can look back and see what I did. I've kept diaries too and it's interesting to read them and have all those memories.

It's amazing it's coming to the end of the year already! I've been looking back a lot on this year and just recalling all sorts of memories but I suppose recalling the year and summing it up to what type of year it was is a post for my end of the year blog. For now I am enjoying what is left of this year and what can still happen ;)!

I saw something on facebook recently that showed your friends around the world. And mine are pretty spread out! I love that we have the technology these days to keep in touch :)! I think every friend you have bring something special to your life, I love my friends just for being themselves. I love the fact that everyone is different. I saw this quote today, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

On the 13th I decided to have a facebook free weekend! So I was actually off facebook from the 13-17th of October, only with the exception of going on because I needed something or needed to send a quick message.

I remember on one of the days last week I went running with a friend, then played tennnis and then went running again! Sometimes I don't know where my energy goes and sometimes I don't know where it comes from.

It was quite a busy weekend, we had a big departure on Sunday but I finished quickly and then I took the bus straight after work to go to a friends kitchen tea as she is getting married next week. It was nice, I enjoyed catching up with people, it had been a long time. I can't remember whether I've been to a kitchen tea before or not but she gets kitchen gifts and funny housekeeping advice. There was no tea lol but plenty of snacks and cool drinks.

On Saturday I went to Costa in Sidmouth with a couple of my friends. The Costa here is only a month or two old. For those of you that don't know Costa is similar to Starbucks. I actually really like Costa now and I go there more than Starbucks. There is no Starbucks in the town where I live but I used to go to the one in the city but now I find myself at Costa more often. They make great ice tea, streamers (hot milk with flavour) and all sorts! Costa rocks! And they have super comfortable couches in both places!

On Monday I can'r remember much of what I did although it was only 2 days ago lol but I do remember it was a good day!

On Tuesday I worked in the morning and then I had the evening off. I went walking up the other side of Sidmouth as the sun was going down and I took this picture.



It's such a breath taking area! Really I am amazed even though I have lived here for over a year now, it's still fresh and beautiful to me! Thank God that I have this opportunity to live in such a beautiful area!

This morning I was working for someone and then I had the evening off. The funniest thing that happened this week was when I was in my room after my shift today and the hotel fire alarm goes off and when I went out my room I found out that my friend had bumped in to one of the buttons accidentally and set off the fire alarm! Haha that's something I would do!

In fact it's been a humourous week all round! I love to laugh! I find so many things funny! You could say my sense of humour has a very wide range!

I was thinking today about how wonderful it is to have God in our lives. How He brings out the best in us. How He is always there for us. How He has an awesome plan for each of us.

I found this song today which I loved by Matthem West.



This quote from it is my quote of the week, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!" Yes we can! With God in our lives, God at the the centre, God in control we can do everything according to His plan!

I suppose you're wondering where the title of my post comes from. Well actually it comes from this song:



It's such a brilliant song! It came to me the other day and these lyrics particularly stood out to me, "It's not time to make a change, just relax take it easy." Sometimes you feel God is trying to tell you something.

My previous blog posts were mainly about the topic of change because there are things I need to do that could lead to change. Although I feel now as I wrote above, it's not time to make a change, at least not this monrh, this month I am going to relax. And then the next 3 months I've got to get organised. My changes are to do with writing and travelling but I wont say more, I don't like to give things away too soon.

Thanks for reading my blog posts, I love that I can keep in touch with you and let you know what I'm up to! I love to write and writing this blog is such an awesome feeling!

I leave you with this, God loves you! If we put God at the centre everything else will fall in to place! And maybe you want to be somewhere but maybe where you are at the moment is where you're meant to be for now, you're at the right point in God's plan. Don't rush, just relax take it easy and enjoy the moments you have now. Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Be who you are, enjoy each moment and love the people around you!

Love you guys,
Nicola

Step by step in a new direction

Dear friends and family!

It's been my day off today and I thought I'd end it by updating my blog!

I left you last on Saturday the 8th where we had departure day. It also occured to me that I'd injured myself in all 4 places, my right arm (burnt with a hair curler), my left hand (burnt with an iron), my left foot (sores from running) and my right ankle (sore from an old injury) haha and I did all that in about a week! But I am used to it, it is typically me afterall!

I usually have a "song of the day" on facebook which is a song I like that day. And this was my song for Saturday. I love music, I'm always listening to music! I'm a music finatic although I don't sing or play an instrument, I have an appreciation for good music.



On Sunday it was funny because I was standing in a whole dining room waitressing by myself and the other waiters were in the other dining room because the hotel was quiet. So I said the dining room is now called "Nicola's restuarant".

On Monday we were all working in two's at dinner so someone said to me we're like Noah ark - it was so funny! There were 2 Slovaks, 2 Polish and 2 Africans. I came up with a song for it, "The waiters went in two by two. Hurrah! Hurrah!" Actually in the story of Noah ark (which I'm sure most of you know) it's two of the same animal and one was a male and one a female. Haha but it was the hotel's version of Noah's ark :P!

On Tuesday this was my song of the day which I got off friends at the hotel and it came on the radio that morning. It's Spanish and I really want to visit Spain some day. I usually post English songs so this was something different. I should actually look up some Greek music, there are some awesome Greek songs :)!



Tuesday night, last night actually wow, I wasn't so far behind with my news update. Last I went for a walk up the cliff. It was so peaceful sitting on a bench at the top of the cliff and watching as the sun went down. It also got cold very quickly haha. Bought pizza and had a nice chilled evening.

Today I woke up at 11:30am haha - it was the first time I had slept in like that in ages! I think being busy the past few weeks and not sleeping much caught up with me. I went walking on the high street and in the afternoon I went running with a friend through the beautiful park here. I am running quite a lot now and getting back in to my running which feels great :)! Afterwards I ate a chololate pancake with a friend, ok I know food updates are not the most exciting news but it's funny, I run and then I eat something which defeats the purpose of running haha! However actually I am running to get fit more than anything else. My job is also physical so it keeps me in shape.

The rest of the day I have been lazy, actually it's really nice being lazy. I don't have many lazy days and on my day off today I wanted to relax. I watched movies and facebooked and had a good rest. Sometimes as active as your life is, you need to take a time out.

Tomorrow I am back to work and working a bit more this coming week and working on my off day.

I also wanted to say that if you want to skype with me, let me know and we'll chat :)! I haven't been the best with skyping recently so it'll be nice to catch up with people :)!

My post title comes from spending my time in Sidmouth now. I have lived here for over a year and I haven't even seen a lot of it and I'm really loving this area I live in. I am amazed every day by it's beauty. My first few months of the year involved a lot of travelling and running around everywhere. These next few months are about slowing down and saving up. Like I said before, I have to get down to business lol! I have a lot to do and I have to make time to do it all.

If you want to catch up with me or send me your news or skype, I'm always available. Lol my friends tease me and say I am always contactable anywhere!

So anytime you need me, I'll be there, I'm a techonology geek!

Love you all and I hope things are going really well for you!

And I found this song tonight which is my song for the day.



Wherever we are in our lives, remember we're God's children. God loves us and wants what is best for us. And He has got an awesome plan for us! Who are we? We are God's, we are loved by Him and we are special. In a whole world of people there is no one like you. You are not replaceable.

I watched Stardust tonight and I loved this funny quote, "Where are the babylon candles?" "You used the last 200 years ago, don't you recall?"
But it also made me think; "You have a light to shine so let's all go out there in this world be a light, God wants us to shine."

God bless you,
Nicola Hill

Leaving!

Hi friends and family!

Continuing with the story of my life lol...

On the 30th of September I was working as a housekeeper and I did departure day. It was busy but went well. And in the evening I went out with my best friends in the hotel and we went for drinks at a pub and then to our local club. It was so much fun and lots of fun with photos haha! I had the evening off too and earlier I had got a kebab takeaway with chilli sauce and the chilli was so hot it felt like my mouth was on fire lol!

On Sat the 1st of October I only worked the breakfast and the evening shift and inbetween I went running and played tennis with a friend. It was the 1st time I had played tennis properly since 2008 I think. It was good to get back in to it! I only had four hours sleep and I did all that exercise and went for a walk on the sea front later with friends, I'm not sure where all my energy came from.

On Sun 2nd of October, I had the whole day off work, I went to church in the morning and in the afternoon I went back to Sidmouth and I hung out with my friends. I also saw a huge crane in the road in Exeter it was just right in the middle of the road as you walk up to the high street so I took a pic of it.

I have different songs for different times in my life and this was my theme song for the time coming.



On Sunday I was off work the whole day and then on Monday morning I only worked the breakfast until 10:30 am and then I was off until Wednesday because it was my half day :)! I went for a run after my breakfast shift, running feels great!

On Tuesday it was the last night us "trio" were together because one of my best friends in the hotel was leaving the next day. We had chinese food and watched movies in the evening because the three of us were off. Then on Wed she left to go back home :(. And on Thurs another of my friends left the hotel too :(. And on Sun another one of my friends is leaving the Uk :(. Really what have I done to make everyone leave? lol! It's sad when friends leave but I grateful for all my friends in my life and so happy there are great ways to keep in touch :D! I miss my friends who are not here with me and I am happy I have friends here too!

The Call was the song for the "leaving" theme now and this song I guess is one for it too. I can usually relate songs to times in my life because I love music :)!



On Wed I played tennis with a friend in the hotel. So good to be playing again! We're going to be professional soon ;) hey well one can dream!

Yesterday I went for a bit of a walk on the sea front with a friend and took some pictures but it was a very quick walk because the wind was so icy and we nearly froze haha! Since yesterday suddenly the temperatures have dropped! Hello English cold weather!

Today I was working in the morning and tomorrow is a busy day as it's departure day. I went for a run this afternoon with a friend and I feel so much better after a run. Exercise is so good for you and I am going to try keep up my running and tennis :)!

I am back as a housekeeper full time since Wed because I was doing waitressing for a while in the past month.

With that I shall love and leave you,
Until I write again haha,
Nicola