When I Grow Up
est. 2004
A Creative kind of Life. A blog by Helen Hobden
I still haven’t worked out what to do when I grow up! I’m mainly a writer, an artist, and a fairytale dressmaker with various crafty hobbies! Here (and on YouTube) I share bits of my life, thoughts, and what I’m learning along the way. Let’s find magic and inspiration; join me for this creative living adventure!

 

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Dealing with the post
Adulting: A series of things I should’ve learned by now – Dealing with the post
April 9, 2017
This is my second blog post in my series about adulting. Just because I’m nearly forty; doesn’t mean I’m any good at it! This time I’m talking about the stuff that comes through the letter box. I dread it with a passion. Unless I’ve bought something from ebay, I am so happy when the post van drives on past! It’s not so bad if the post-person brings it round to the back porch, because that means there’s a parcel, which is quite exciting. However, apart from postcards from my parents, there really is nothing good about the letters that fall on the damp stone floor in our hallway. I’ll do everything in my power to pretend they’re not there….
I knew I should never have given her that fifty pounds
March 19, 2017
It was one of those freezing cold miserable January days. Everyone is depressed because the fun of Christmas is over and cold and flu bugs are going around everywhere and it was no wonder I’d caught it too. There was no-one at work to cover for me, so I trudged in, coat and scarf wrapped around me, and hoped I wasn’t on the perfume till near the door. My manager took pity on me and gave me the best spot at the back and near the heater. Amy must have forgotten I work at Boots on Mondays. Or perhaps she didn’t know – my shifts do change around a bit. Anyway, I spotted her browsing over the other side and I admit, my attention wasn’t wholly on my customers. She was at the makeup aisles for three-quarters of an hour! Has she not got anything better to do? She swatched lipsticks and tested eye-shadows and I couldn’t believe it when I saw her take a basket of expensive make-up to the tills on the other side. I knew I should never have given her that fifty pounds. It isn’t like I’m rich; it isn’t like I wouldn’t like to spend fifty quid on make-up for myself. How dare she?…..
How to write a novel – the practicalities of notes
February 17, 2017
In January, a lot people who feel they have a novel in them make it their resolution to get it written; so I thought now would be a good time to write this blog post at it might be helpful. I am currently writing my fourth book (only one published (so far!)) and I think I’ve finally worked out the best way to go about organising my work. This is what suits me the most, so will probably not be helpful to anyone who’s all modern and does everything on the computer, or even on your phone. I’m a long-hand kind-of gal and so notebooks have always featured rather heavily in my writing planning. However this time is slightly different….
Monthly Memoir – January ’17
February 1, 2017
We’ve done it! We’ve successfully reached the end of January! I hope it hasn’t been too bad for you all, and you have managed to stay warm enough through that cold snap! We’ve been piling on the logs in the Rayburn, but have been topping up the heat in the evenings with electric heaters and layering on the jumpers and blankets! I actually like the beginning of January; I allow myself a little time to get over Christmas and make plans for the year ahead. Planning is fun. It’s when the actual work begins things start feeling a bit crap. Don’t get me wrong – I love my work – well, I love 50% of my work. Unfortunately the other 50% is admin, advertising and accounts, which I don’t love. So it’s more important than ever that I look back on my highlights, favourites and things I’m grateful for this month……
10 ideas to help you get through the day
January 29, 2017
I’m writing this on the dreariest January day ever with rain pouring down and freezing cold hands; it’s barely surprising that we are likely to feel depressed at this time of year. Some are lucky enough to only feel low in spirits every now and then, while others suffer with melancholia so bad they lose hope of never feeling that way again. The best way to deal with those times is usually distraction. By all means, take a little time to yourself if you need it, but then I think the best thing to do is find something else to keep your mind occupied. Here are some ideas…..
5 Positive ways to make your resolutions and goals actually work this time!
January 18, 2017
This point of January is the most depressing time of year for me. Christmas is already a distant memory and it seems winter cold and rain endlessly stretches ahead of us. It’s easy to see why so many give up on our enthusiasm for changes and goals that we vowed we’d do at the new year. In the past I’ve failed miserably at the things I set out to achieve, but I think I’ve since worked out why they went wrong and what I need to do to fix it and make them happen….
YouTube new requirements
Should I stop vlogging?
January 14, 2017
You might already know that I had a go at Vlogmas last year (It feels weird saying ‘last year’!) on my You Tube channel. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, ‘Vlogmas’ is a You Tube challenge to put up a vlog (video log) (Just in case my parents are reading this!) every day of December up until Christmas. I reached as far as day nineteen and sadly I had to give up. Even though I use an external hard-drive for the videos to free memory space; my old laptop just couldn’t keep up. Whenever I tried to edit my videos the mouse would freeze or go really slowly and the whole thing became impossible. Well Chris has been telling me for a while I needed to upgrade, and I have been coveting the pink macbook and I have finally bought one. Hooray! I can get back to video editing! Anyway, the question is, now that Vlogmas is over and I’ve nearly caught up on editing the videos; should I carry on?
Happy New Year! Reflecting and looking ahead
January 3, 2017
Welcome 2017! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas or whichever seasonal celebrations you may have been having. Every other year I host Christmasses for my side of the family and another one for Chris’s side of the family (we wouldn’t all fit in at the same time) and this year it was extra lovely because everyone was able to come. I really wish the Christmas holidays could last another week – I can only just sit down and relax a bit. The run-up to Christmas was mainly spent cleaning, tidying and moving things to the garage to make space for people to stay. I’m writing this knowing that most people are back to work and school etc today and not knowing how on earth I would manage it if I had a normal job! I slept until 11:17 this morning! The only other time I can ever remember being as knackered as this was when we moved!
uk blogger over 40
I’m sorry!
December 11, 2016
I’ve been very busy on this blog recently; particularly with posting every day for Blogtober, so it feels strange not to have been here much for the last week or so. I expected Vlogmas to be time-consuming, but not quite this much! I am getting quicker at editing the videos, but it’s still taking me all morning every day, and sometimes part of the afternoon too, so I am not getting time to blog as well. I’ve got several blogs almost finished, but not quite, and I’m just not managing to get them done. So, I’m really sorry about this, but please take a look at my You Tube channel to see what I’ve been up to, and for the next couple of weeks, find me there instead. I’ll definitely be continuing Monday’s Weekly Wardrobe post, but I’m sorry if there’s not much in-between for the time being. Thank you for sticking with me. 🙂
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