Costa Women Blogs

When I moved to Andalucia in early 2006 I was surprised to learn that I was in Earthquake territory. I hadn´t expect that when moving from Barcelona to Granada Read more here: http://mollysp.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/earthquakes-odd-street-names/   Rgds Molly

For any concerned parent choosing the right school is one of the biggest decisions of your kid’s lives.  Were your school days the happiest of your lives..?  Mine certainly weren’t!  But it’s what we all aspire to for our own children isn’t it, that as well as being well-educated academically, they will build fantastic memories, and grow up self-assured and confident resilient happy people…   So in the UK we looked at league tables and OFSTED reports and talked to other parents, but in Spain it’s so much harder.  Even finding out info about schools is difficult, when you combine both a language and geographical barriers.  Part of the reason our girls went into the International school on arrival was simply that we could research it, and visit it, and have a taster day so it would be familiar when we moved, and so on.  And before the internet and forums how did people even manage to talk to parents at other schools, when planning a move from another country?  I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been then (even researching the whole move in the first place).   Now we have moved to Spanish school, we face the challenges of maintaining the girls’ English  – I make a lot of my living writing, and the thought of them growing up unable to communicate well in their mother tongue is definitely not an option, never mind if they want to go to university in the UK ultimately.  Whilst giving them the gift of bilingualism is very important to us, ensuring they can read and write good English is vital too…  and it has never been more difficult for kids in the UK or Spain to get started building a career, so it’s vital we don’t short-change them on any competitive skills.   So much to think about… by making the conscious decision to uproot our kids to a new life overseas we create new responsibilities for ourselves to find things out and make further choices that will impact on their opportunities life-long.  No pressure, then!   As many of you know I am writing a book about how to be successful in Spain, the stories and experiences of people who have carved out a life here, and one of the important chapters is going to be about our children’s lives in Spain.  I would love to talk to some of you wonderful Costa Mums about your experiences, good and bad, of parenting here – from medical care to education, lifestyle, language… if anybody would like to comment or contribute please please see http://costaconnected.com/success-spain/ or https://www.facebook.com/SuccessinSpain, email info@costaconnected.com or tweet @casslar, or you can even comment here!!  

Hi girls!   If you´re missing the U.K, here are some ideas to recreate a completely British day in Granada city centre. Hope you like the tips.   Read full article here: http://bit.ly/xCPZKi   Have a great day Molly

Some of us define success in purely financial terms, but thriving expats in Spain have had to think about that definition more creatively and flexibly in recent years. When I lived and worked in London, so much seemed to depend on income and professional status – it didn’t just dictate where you lived and the work you did, but how you spent your time and even who your friends were.  People simply didn’t meet people, who couldnt afford to live in their postcode or send their kids to the right school.  Last year in Spain I found myself at a party chatting to a Royal Navy commander and a cleaner, we were all trying to work the same rubbish bottle opener and laughing, and it struck me that I might never have met either of them in Surrey as we would never even have been at the same barbeque.  I realised how much things had changed when my visiting brother in law asked my husband, ‘yes, this life in the sun is all very well, but how do you feel about having sacraficed your professional status?’  It’s so rude to laugh at a guest…  However different our backgrounds and histories, all of us expats in Spain have something powerful in common, because we are living exactly where we chose to be.  That forges the most incredible connection immediately.  Everyone’s got a story – how long have you been here, why here exactly, why did you choose to live how and where you do?  Those stories are what we swap at the kid’s birthday parties and coffee mornings – every one is fascinating, and teaches us something new.   And we help each other out – success in Spain means getting things done… does anyone know anyone who who renewed their passport recently, or taxed their car, or sorted out their medical card?  If someone asks we pay it forward, share our learning and experiences, because the next time we’re stuck we can reach out to our expat friends in our local community and further afield online and get the help we need.  Success in Spain means coming out with the right bit of paper, after waiting in a queue since 6am, and finally having every bit of documentation on you that you needed to achieve what you went it for 3 weeks ago!   It can mean we develop very intense friendships and interdependencies much more rapidly, than when we are in a totally familiar and known environment, with our dependable networks of neighbours and extended family.  In a crisis the expat community rallies round – helping with kids when someone gets sick, pooling the airport runs, and encouraging and supporting each other’s enterprises…  Success in Spain means so many different things to different people.   I’d love to know what it means to YOU http://costaconnected.com/success-spain/

Hi everyone, my name is June Wolfe and I live in an old Farmhouse in the campo just outside the village of Villanueva Del Trabuco, about 40 minutes inland from Malaga (very cold at the moment!)  I moved to Spain with my husband Clive and 3 children in 1999, with the hope of a better quality of life.  We have certainly achieved that but with our fair share of ups and downs along the way.  Our children are all grown up and have left home now, but I still have my 15 horses ( a lot of them rescued) 4 dogs, 7 cats, chickens, goats and a sheep, plus Clive of course, so not much chance of getting lonely.  We run a holiday business, letting out our cottages, renovated from our old barns, with or without horse riding and offer a heated pool and mountain biking.  You can have a look at what we do on our website http://www.cortijoloslobos.com/  .  A few years ago I started writing articles for a local magazine, as a way of raising funds for the rescued animals. It seemed to be quite popular and my readers, as well as lots of our guests, were constantly encouraging me to write a book about our life here. Well, the good news is that I have done it, and I am very excited to announce that it is now available on kindle from Amazon as an e-book. http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-time-siesta-ebook/dp/B006B38JDK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329225919&sr=8-1 If you do not have a kindle, you can down load a free app for lots of android type phones and laptops or computers, here is the link http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_ipad_mkt_lnd?docId=1000425503 Anyway, for any of you that decide to buy it, I hope you enjoy it and I would also be very grateful for reviews on Amazon,

Exercise in today´s fast-paced world seems more like a luxury than a necessity. How many times have you heard somebody say that they just don´t have time to exercise? However, exercise is vitally important for health, productivity and for stress relief. So it would really be beneficial if we looked at how we could incorporate exercise into our lives with, the time we currently have! Firstly, to enjoy exercise, it is going to have fit comfortably into your life, it´s going to have to work, it must not make you stressed or overwhelmed. The good news is that research is starting to show that if you exercise for 10 minutes three times a day, it is just as effect as 30 minutes all together! This is great news as this makes it easier for some of us to fit exercise into our day in smaller quantities. Doesn’t that already make exercise seem a lot less daunting? So drop those diets and those weight loss plans and let´s look at some creative techniques you can apply to feel energized and improve your productivity. We need to change our way of thinking about exercise and to start using our imagination and be more creative – the point is, do we really need to be in a gym lifting weights or machines to tighten our tummies? It’s the movement that counts, not the machinery! Here are simple exercises you can incorporate into your days at home, while working, wherever you are! Stairs are great – If you have stairs in your house, for 5-10 minutes every morning before you shower, walk up and down them or even in a building or at work. Put your own muscles against themselves – Wall push-ups are great for those upper arm muscles! While watching TV – Take advantage and do some leg lifts or abdominal crunches, you can even do stretching on the floor in front of the TV. At lunch – Take a short 10minute walk before or after your lunch. Or take a ten minute walk anytime in the day when you can, even if it is up and down your corridor at work. At your desk – Do shoulder rotations, neck stretches or arm circles, these stretches are great for releasing built up stress! At your desk – Keeping your back straight, arms at the side, lift your foot until your leg is straight and hold it for a few minutes, change to do with the other. Walk – Don’t use lifts or escalators if you don’t have to, walk – never pass up a flight of stairs. At home – Jumping jacks are great for a  2-3 minute warm up before walking up the stairs for example. Work your legs – forward lunges can be done anywhere!  These are all exercises that will have a huge effect if you make the effort to do it, it can´t be easier than that! So exercise your imagination – If anything has a weight, it can be lifted! And remember, when cleaning, mopping or vacuuming, put as much energy into it as you can and you will burn more calories and your house will look cleaner too! Forget the constraints that have been holding you back from being more active. Look forward and make the positive changes that will bring positive results into your life. The latest research leaves us with no doubt that fitness can be achieved in many different forms, for shorter periods and with less intensity than we have always thought.  If you are going to take this approach, for top results you should try to balance the three:Cardiovascular or aerobic (to burn calories, control blood & cholesterol levels and stress)Strength building (to maintain your firm and shape)Flexibility (to stretch)  If we want to feel more energized and productive we need to incorporate some type of exercise into our days.  When you are out and about or at home, challenge yourself to find ways to exercise, once you start to see results, you will be amazed!  Remember that regular physical activity can improve your strength, boost your endurance and productivity. There is a direct link between physical fitness and work participation. The better you feel, the better you perform and the more money you make! You will have more energy to do the things you want to or feel like doing the things you should! Time is not an excuse anymore! Want 7 Simple Strategies to Triple Your Productivity? – Free Access to E-Course –  www.topresultscoaching.com