I'm Natalie Lou and you're listening to the baggage reclaim sessions.

Hello hello.

Today, so that's January 31st, 2020 if you happen to be listening in the future,

it's a really special day for me. No, it's not Brexit. I moved to London 19 years ago today.

I moved over from back home in Dublin, Ireland

and I came over to go to uni for a couple of years

and here I am all these years later. But I also became

self-employed on January 31st, 2008. I decided to take the leap. I was on maternity leave with my eldest

daughter at the time and I decided to focus on writing baggage reclaim. Bear in mind I did

this at a time when it was not the done thing to you know ride a blog full time to to create things you know off your own

steam without somebody else sort of making it happy you you know, a gatekeeper search.

And so, yeah, who wouldn't own when I decided to take the leap back then that this is what I would be doing here today.

I never even heard of podcasts back then but yeah here I am 12 years later and

do you know what yay me because I know that I do not give myself enough credit for things I do, achievements and

accomplishments, you know, it's all part of me being a recovering perfectionist and people

please there and over think who actually as I

mentioned it and so yeah celebrating I'm not doing something today but actually a few days ago

I did take myself off to the beach because I have found as I have got older

over this last few years in particular I really miss being by the sea as I said

I grew up in Dublin I grew up in a place called Shank Hill in South Dublin. I lived less than a five minute walk from the beach.

And there was something about me being by the sea the sea air the wind whipping my hair and face because believe me

the beaches here and in Ireland you know actually with the exception of British

...