What's on YOUR Tree

2014

 One of the best parts of the run up to Christmas is decorating the tree. It's a bit of a chore heaving the boxes from the junk room downstairs, but once 'the staff' have dumped them in the sitting room I rather enjoy unpacking the delights of years gone by, placing them carefully into their places on the sadly artificial tree. I love the smell of a real tree, but not the needles and the mess they leave behind.
Fortunately we have a beautiful bay window - perfect for a nice big tree!

Three Christmasses ago we bought and moved into my husband's parents house. His Father now lives with us and so we have inherited a second set of tree and decorations. Each year I was always 'volunteered' to decorate their tree so am very familiar with the special decorations and traditions they had. We also have our own special decorations, with memories that I love to recall as I look for a suitable spot on the tree.

 This slimline Santa was made by our eldest son Jordan many years ago - he is now 21. Along with a pipe cleaner reindeer and snowman. The two of us spent a lovely hour or so at the table chatting and making them - some were given to relatives, the three best ones kept for our tree.

 This Partridge and chick in a nest was given to me by my Mum when Michael and I had our first Christmas together in 1987. I lost my Mum in 1995, so this reminds me of her every time I nestle it amongst the branches, well away from the dogs.

In December 1999 I decided to do something to commemorate the new millennium. I bought some clear glass baubles and wrote a personal message to the family and friends I gave them to. I now have two on the tree, the one I made for my Mother and Father in Law and the one I made for us.  Friends of ours mention the one I made for them every year when we meet up for a Christmas meal.

Over the years we have had many trips to Florida and collected a lot of decorations while there. We like to buy them with name and date if possible and get one each time we visit. This one was bought in St. Augustine in 2008.  We also have a lot of glass Disney ornaments, bought for the children when they were young. Unfortunately several of them were smashed when the tree toppled over a few years ago.

These four dudes are always the first on the tree. The Three Kings and Father Christmas have been on the tree for decades. Mother in Law liked them all together. Father Christmas has lost his silk ribbon so now has to sit on a branch.

This is the old lady of the tree.  She has been on top of the tree since MIL and FIL were married in 1958 - 56 years ago.  She is a little grubby, and her wings wobble but as you can see she still has a smile on her face.  I would like to think she looks over us all and keeps us safe all year round.

I would love to know what your special decorations are, do you have traditional themes or go for modern ones each year?  Before you take them all down, get some photos and let everyone see

 'What's on Your Tree'.

The Things That Irritate Me

A while ago I saw a challenge where you had to make a list of 25 things that others may not know about you. As you all know I'm an expert at rambling on about things and of course my list was almost double the amount of 'things'.

So, also being a girl who loves a list...as long as they are neat and tidy - I decided to do another one but this time with Things That Irritate Me. So be warned, you now know when you have to behave and tread carefully when close by.

1. Toilet roll dispensers in public toilets that have the roll so tight that you can't find the end of the roll despite spinning it round and round, or the ones that shred tiny useless pieces that end up all over the floor.

2. Messy desks. In particular those whose desk is next to mine or even worse, opposite mine. I once asked for a desk partition to stop a colleague's mess encroaching on my territory.

3. Folk who stop in doorways and supermarket aisles to chat to people. They often have their whole family with them too.

3. Off kilter squares and rectangles. A skew-wiff picture, brochure or just a book on a shelf with bother me considerably until it's straightened and squared off.

4. Clutter. Those places where people tend to leave things when they can't be bothered to put them where they are supposed to go. Keys, gloves, letters, elastic bands...in drawers, on shelves, or coats left hanging on the bottom of the stairs.

5. Talking of elastic bands....the ones postmen casually drop on pavements as they do their rounds. If I were a post office boss I would be wanting to know why they do this. Must cost the company a small fortune - although useful to collect incase you ever need them yourself.

6. Badly folded dry laundry. Don't people realise that if you fold them up carefully then they are easier to iron. I guess they aren't usually the ones to do the ironing. Folds down the back of shirts/T/Shirts etc.

7. Girls swearing unnecessarily. I can cope with men swearing, but girls doing it for effect - like Madonna when on stage is just annoying.

8. X Factor. Everything about it irritates me. It's so monotonous now. Same old thing over and over every year. Please get over it and find something new to do. Like find new bands!

9. People who make a big thing of not being able to do something or having a phobia for just about everything. Attention seeking or just too lazy to actually do something and hoping some 'sucker' will come and 'rescue' them.

10. Young girls wearing too much make-up. I want to get a facecloth, scrub it off and show them how much prettier they are without it.

11. Staff not acknowledging me when I need service in a shop/restaurant. A simple ”won't be a moment" will stop me from walking out or asking to speak to a manager.

12. Children who are allowed to run around in shops or restaurants. It's dangerous and very annoying when trying to eat a meal or do some shopping.

13. Writing with blue biro's. Long story involving an English Teacher, 'A' grade written work and the elite status of being allowed to write in black ink not royal blue.

14. Smoking while walking along the street. I make a big thing of wafting my arms around when walking past someone blowing smoke in my face. It may be out in the open but still makes me want to throw up.

15. Headphone leads. You know exactly what I'm going to say here. Someone must have invented a non tangle lead. They seem to do it by themselves regardless of how neatly you wrap them,

16. Tight people who don't leave tips even after a really great meal. service staff are on minimum wage an really appreciate their tips. Also makes them motivates them to better at their work.

17. Teacher training days v unauthorised holidays....probably best to say very little about that.

18. "take a chill pill", "Calm down", "whatever", "talk to the hand" ....oh you'll be talking to MY hand alright!

19. People on phones in public places talking loudly. Why would they want everyone else to hear their conversation? Why would I want to listen to it?

20. Those ribbon things that seem to be sewed onto every item of women's clothing these days to keep them from falling off their hanger. Must keep millions in employment. I just cut them off.

21. Stupid shoes. All the fashion at the moment but no one can actually walk properly in them.

22. Morons who throw litter on the ground. I can't get my head around the fact that they don't see how disgusting it is. We need to bring back the 'Keep Britain Tidy' gang...or The Wombles!

23. People who sit/stand just that little bit too close. I have a six inch personal space zone and feel very uncomfortable when anyone other than very close family are in it.

24. Look at me, show off people. The type who has to be the centre of attention, act stupid and be louder than anyone else. They seem to be more common these days....I blame X Factor.

25. Tourists in York. The groups of foreigners, or old people who take up all the footpath and walk at snail pace. I would love to used one of those loudhailers to make them move out of my way when I'm in a hurry to get from the station to where I'm working.

There you are, that took a bit longer to compile than the other one. So now you have discovered my grump triggers you can make a point of not doing it in my company.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

One Weary Warrior

It's been almost a week since I completed the Newcastle Stampede but the day is still very vivid in my head, and a constant reminder of what a fat, stiff 51 year old can achieve when she puts her mind to it. 

So following on from my last post HERE I left the house and went out into a very sunny, and very windy Northumberland to meet the rest of the team at Gosforth Racecourse.  The walk form the carpark to the main building was almost a warm up as the wind was pretty strong. I remember being thankful that we would be sheltered behind a lot of trees for most of the event.

We all met in the main area, grabbed our free red British Heart Foundation T-Shirts, gaffer taped our trainers to our feet and pinned our race numbers to our black Assert Fitness 'Warrior' T shirts, kindly provided by Dean our trainer.  A dab of war paint, a couple of toilet visits and we were ready to go.

The Assert Warriors ready to Stampede

 Dean got us mentally and physically prepared by putting us through our usual warm up drill and a prep talk telling us all to just enjoy ourselves....somewhat difficult when we were watching the runners crossing the finishing line to our left, exhausted and covered in thick mud.

We then had to do a second warm up from the very radgey, shouty army man, (never met a forces PTI who wasn't.) who had us running around in a circle like a herd of sheep being chased by an excitable collie.

and then we were off....

It started with running.  A lot of running.  A lot more running that I expected and it was out in the sun and the wind until we eventually went into the wooded area.  I found myself settling into a stride, having conquered my breathing and running alongside Astrid, who does a lot of running, but who was happy to help me along with a bit of chat.  The rest of the warriors were mostly in front of us, but a few were behind with a lot of others, so I felt pretty good at that point.

The first couple of obstacles were easy, tyres and hay bales giving me a few seconds break to catch my breath from running.  Then more running. By this time my legs had disassociated themselves from my brain and were just running by themselves.

Then the trench.  A very long trench filled with waist high smelly water - booby trapped with tree roots and boulders to make sure you get wetter than you'd like to be.  There was a couple of 'crawly under wire and plastic sheet' obstacles that we had been thoroughly prepared for during our Sunday Stampede sessions, so knees and elbows were rough and ready for the bear and belly crawling.

More hay bales, tyres and a couple of water stops and we started to hit the biggies.  I did a rather spectacular 'trip over and plunge' into what was the thickest, muddiest obstacle of the whole course, leaving me literally covered from head to toe in mud.  Thats what you get from laughing at someone else's misfortune, ie the bloke in front who did the same. I should have watched where I was putting my feet instead and I'd have missed the boulder that got us both.

A short run alongside the main road - very disappointed that drivers didn't toot in support...or maybe they thought we were just idiots?

An amazing water slide down the hill, not as much water as I'd liked, meaning I didn't get right to the bottom, but that was due to having a few 'people pile ups' earlier so I heard. I was glad to get wet again as the coating of mud I was sporting had started to dry and I was picking off slabs of clay as I ran.

My favourite part was Sheep Dip Alley. Several troughs filled to sometimes chest height with water, very slippery banks to slither in and out of and pipes to climb or swim through. Some runners chose to by-pass this part, but there was a fair bit of waiting your turn, so we all started to get pretty chilly in the cool wind, despite it being gloriously sunny.

We knew we were wall past half way so that spurred us on to run up the hilly field, over the high hay bale stacks and round the last part of the course where we could hear the cheers from the finishing line.  Throughout the course a group of four of us had stuck together. Astrid, Lesley and Helen and I. As we summoned up every last drop of energy in our bodies we held hands and crossed the finish line to cheers and applause.  Not quite Olympian but I felt pretty damn awesome at that moment in time. Wrapped in a sheet of bacofoil, bar of fudge and medal in hand, we gathered together with the rest of the Warriors. We had trained hard, overcome our challenges and conquered Stampede.

The Assert Fitness Warriors - Stampede 2014

We completed the course in 1hr 55 minutes, under 2 hours which was much better than I expected, and we had spent quite a lot of time waiting at the last couple of obstacles.  

However, one of the biggest challenges of the day was the part where we were soaked to the skin, frozen to the marrow, caked in mud and stinking to high heaven and forced to get changed in the car park in winds that had to be around 60 mph. I'm afraid I may have flashed a bit of flesh, had anyone cared to notice but I was too busy wrestling with a towel while peeling off clothes that were glued to my skin to care. 

A long shower followed by a long warm bath got rid of most of the mud and grime, but not the smell, which lingered in my nose for a couple of days.  Clothes and trainers spent most of the weekend in a washing cycle while I suffered the effect of a post trauma migraine.  After feeling on top of the world for a couple of hours, I then retired to a dark, cool bedroom for the rest of the weekend  Not the ending to an amazing day I had expected.

Would I do it again?  Definitely. That day I reminded myself what I already knew, but often ignored.  I CAN do much more than I think or often want to do.  I struggled to run a couple of km previously. I ran close to 9km that day because of two things.

1.  I wanted to prove to myself that I could, and wasn't going to waste the opportunity by walking or stopping when I got tired or uncomfortable.

2.  Other people - being there, encouraging me and planting a voice in my head telling me that I can.

I'm now looking for the next challenge. Something that will spur me on during the cold winter training sessions at the beach.  Any suggestions?

NB I hope to add more photos from the day when they are available.

Warrior on the Loose Part 1

I'm finding it difficult to sit still this morning. Since waking up at around 5am, I tried to go back to sleep but the nervous energy flowing through my body forced me to get up and do something.

Today is the day I signed up for several weeks ago. Remember this post?

It's Stampede day and I'm a little nervous, a little anxious but more excited that I'm doing this. It's a long time since I challenged myself to something. In the past I have swam for Breast Cancer but nothing that needed me to train and prepare myself physically beforehand.

I totally believe that things happen for a reason and you need to take opportunities when they arise. For some reason when I was feeling fat and old and miserable three months ago I googled 'Boot Camp Northumberland' and Assert Fitness came up along with a few others.  I liked the look of the website, I read testimonials and what Dean Coulson had to say about his training methods and decided there and then that I was going to join.

I know that had that his website not been there I would have hummed and haa'd undecidedly and moved on to Pinterest or Twitter and might still be feeling fat, old and miserable now. I would not have lost weight, become more energetic, more positive and certainly wouldn't be waiting to don my mud run gear and go do something worthwhile for me and a charity.

Four things have kept me going.  

• The difference in how I feel generally from exercising three/four times a week.  I no longer feel still and inflexible. I move like I did years ago, I feel more energetic and can even walk up the 14 fights of stairs at the football match without my lungs screaming for oxygen at the top.

• I have lost less weight than I would like, but that's down to me not following the plan 90%. I don't doubt that if I had, I would be a stone lighter than I was by now. Dean's healthy eating advice and recipe suggestions however have made me more aware of the effect of food/water on my body. I eat more fruit and veg, less caffeine and avoid wheat/cows milk as much as possible because I know how they affect my body. Despite not following the plan as I should, I am much more toned and look better in my clothes.

•  Fitness Camp. I call  6-7am a 'no excuse' time of day. I can be up at 5:15, out for an hour, shower, get the kids ready and be off to work at my normal time.  Had it been an evening camp, I'm sure I would have found a bucket load of excuses to prevent me going.  Of course I wake up, see the wind and rain and think "urgh" but once I'm up and have my trainers on I'm in the zone and ready for it.  The rest of the gang are great, really supportive and we have fun. 

• Dean the machine. I have never met anyone who enthuses with passion for fitness and healthy living so much. Not in a pumping iron and 10 mile run way, but a subtle, get's into your head without you knowing kind of way.  He's lively, funny and encourages you to do your best - as long as it's at least 100%.  His camps work you hard but are never boring -every session is different and often ends leaving you wanting more. His support via email and Facebook throughout the week is fantastic. It's like having your conscience in your phone. "How are you doing with your goals guys?" pops up just as you're thinking of having a biscuit...so you have an apple instead.  He expects a lot from you, but only so he can help you achieve your goals. 

It's now 7:21am. I leave the house in an hour. I have a few butterflies now I've started to think about it again. I'm going to get dressed and then have some porridge just before I go.  I'm picking up a couple of others en route and should get to Gosforth Park about 9:00, park up and get in line for registration. Dean's warm up at 10:00 and about 10:15 the big warm up before starting the run at 10:30. I'm sure there will be several 'toilet' stops between now and then too.

So wish me luck and wait for 'Warriors part 2....the muddy bit' later today.

"Winter's Coming"

Cast your mind back a few months to the cheerful spring-like days when the thought of summer brought a smile to even the most miserable faces. The time when we got solar panels fitted....remember that?

Anyway, that was five months ago. Five fairly sunny months give or take a few gloomy days here and there. Five months where OH looked at his 'energy generator' app and enjoyed the smugness of knowing that most of our electricity use was for free. Not that it stopped him reminding me that It was time to put another load of washing in, or to turn off the oven.

However, as we know fine well, good things never last - especially when it comes to sunshine and the North East of England. August and September have been a bit slack on the sunny front. OH and his 'app for that' are going through a rocky patch. More red than green on his chart means no lecktrickery for things like washing or heaven forbid drying clothes.

Tonight I was cold. The house was full of damp washing and I was slipping into hibernation mode. I even offered to cook tea so I could warm up in the kitchen. I could tell OH was considering putting on the heating...but it never happened. I resorted to having a bath. Even the dog keeps trying to get under her blanket.

It's only September. The temperature hasn't even dropped below double figures but the thought of having to spend the next six months wrapped in blankets, in the bath or cooking just to stay warm isn't exciting me in the slightest.

So if you're thinking of getting solared up. Just remember the following:

- Don't get him an 'app for that'. What he doesn't know won't hurt him. But if he has to have one...

- Stock up on slankets and fleeces
- Get used to wearing fousty smelling, damp clothes
- Find yourself lots of friends with warm houses to invite yourself to.

It's going to be a long cold winter........

Stepping up for the Stampede

That's how long it is until the day I haul myself around Newcastle Racecourse with over 1000 other people who have nothing better to do. Look at all those smiling faces...hmmm bet that wasn't taken at the end.

Training has stepped up a gear and involves an extra fit camp on a Sunday morning which concentrates on crawling and running and getting strong enough to climb up 12 hay bales. This morning Dean' the machine' as Vicky calls him had 11 of us on the grassy bit by Blyth Beach Huts. Huffing and puffing our way through 60 minutes of all the above and more.

What makes all this easier is that the rest of the people at fit camp are really nice and friendly. None are super-fit, most are like me, a bit out of shape, struggling with some of it but determined to do this. I know I'm really enjoying this kind of challenge. Beats a gym or aerobics class any day. 

Dean  is just a normal (super positive fitness machine) friendly guy who really does want us all to make the most of our health - of course it's his business to do that, but you feel that he gets a real buzz from us achieving our goals. I also love the 'say it as it is' motivational e-mails he sends out through the week to keep us on our toes.  

On Stampede day I know we will all be there to help each other through it. So bring on the mud, the water tunnels, the slippery slopes and the hay bales.  We are all warriors - or will be in 34 days time! 

This will be me then.

If you would like to make a donation to the British Heart Foundation and sponsor me that would be lovely. Here is my just giving page.

Well Shod

Yesterday was winter shoe shopping day.  

Those who know me, will agree that I am no Imelda Marcos - I only require the bottom of a small wardrobe to house my handful of shoes and boots, mostly black and to be honest mostly boots.

I like boots. I like Crocs. I don't like high heels, strappy sandals, nor flip flops.

Once a year, maybe twice depending on the state of the previous year's flat sandals I heave myself off to Clark's to buy my winter footwear. I have long since given up on trawling through other shoe shops because they just don't fit right. Clarks and Hush Puppy are the only brands that I can wear and not give me cause for complaint.

Believe me, if I'm wearing uncomfortable shoes you know about it. I can't comprehend women who cripple themselves daily with blisters and bunions just to wear shoes that look good.  Besides, high heeled shoes these days make most women look ridiculous except for when they are standing still.

Maybe I need to learn 'How to Be a Girl' and watch more videos like this?

My 'shoe' thing stems from being a tom boy as a child and then going into the Navy, where my job meant wearing safety boots or flat lace ups every day.  Not being a 'girly' girl meant I rarely wore dresses, so had no need for heels and such like. I still don't wear dresses, except when I need to and am at the age now where I like to be comfortable when I'm out so opt for jeans and long skirts...so I can wear boots!

Yesterday I did quite well, coming home in a reasonable fettle after a couple of hours in the Metro Centre with three pairs of footwear.  

Brogues with heels...yes 'heels' but I'm going to use the video above and learn how to walk properly in them. These are all the rage at the moment, so I'll be  quite 'with it' when wearing them.

  I think I may spend most of the winter in these beauties. I'd have bought a black pair too but might have to sneak them in at a later date.

and so that I can train effectively for my Stampede in 5 weeks time...a pair of trainers. My old ones are 'old' and will be the ones I do the Stampede in and will be thrown in the bin afterwards, as I've been told they are fit for nothing having been taped to your feet and traipsed through water, mud and goodness knows what else.

Not a wedge or stiletto anywhere...maybe one day I might be forced to buy some, maybe when one of the boys gets married or something...maybe I will be so old by then I can get away with my slippers?

There and Back Again.

Another before dawn start today. No wonder I wake up at 5 am every day of the week regardless. Monday, Wednesday and Friday is 6am fit camp and today I'm on a 0625 train to Birmingham.

Recently my company split my sector up into two regions. North and south. Strangely it seems they think Birmingham is the central point of the north as that's where we have team meetings and other events and hence my seven hour train journey there and back again. I have however suggested that maybe them in the south may like to experience the delights of the proper north and meet in Leeds next month. No point in suggesting Newcastle, that's like going abroad to the southerners.

Anyway without my regular 'Awaydays'... Remember that advert? I wouldn't have the opportunity to people watch. Trains are a great place to do that as people don't realise you're watching them. Like the girl opposite me who is doing her best to read the girl sat next to hers' texts.
Or the man behind who had the whole carriage listening to his phone conversation with someone who had thought they had found his lost cat. Turns out it wasn't his but the story of what had happened had us all choked. Unless you had earphones in.

On the return leg a woman behind me insisted no one sit beside her at the table because she was working and needed the space. I'm surprised so many people took notice, I'd have found it hard to resist sitting there just to annoy her. She proceeded to make several calls to chastise her 'minions' and then spent a good 15 minutes talking to a travel agent booking a holiday for her silver wedding anniversary in far off places like Sri Lanka and the Maldives, stating loudly that she was only interested in five star hotels that are adult only.

Just left Leeds, so another hour and a half to go. Weary people have replaced miserable ones. I wonder what time of day the happy people travel by train.  Of course I'm forgetting the 'happy' drunks in their race day finery who fill the train from York sometimes. Hopefully
not today. They are a bit too happy in their hats and heels to be honest.

I'm now sitting here in that numb state you get on long haul flights. Can't be bothered to play games on my tablet or read my tweets. Even my long standing epic 'New York' novel doesn't hold my interest. I also need the toilet but am convinced that one day while in there the automatic door will open and all the standing up folk in the passageway will catch me unawares. Will just hang on a bit longer.

Might have a nap - hopefully I won't wake up in Edinburgh Waverley Station.

Pencil Shavings and Roughbooks

Yesterday I sent my 11 year old out to the shops to get himself some things for school. I have had to resist the urge to buy him things myself but there's a big difference between what an 11 year old boy thinks is cool and that of his 50 odd year old mother.  

So I just browsed around WH Smiths and Wilkinson's recalling the days when I was beside myself with excitement because my mother was taking me out to buy new school stationery.

My Satchel was something like this.  We all had them in the early years of secondary school, weighed the same as a small car and probably the cause of my bad shoulder now!  Later on as we moved up the school, and became 'cooler' we had more fashionable bags, and remember once having a black Tweety Pie bag - but they don't seem to exist on google images.  The smell of a school satchel is a combination of old leather and school classroom. You know that smell that only exists in a school...the smell that instantly transforms you into   a 14 year old again?

Inside would be as many books as I needed to have with me as I moved around school, my rough book, pencil case, wooden ruler, geometry set, trigonometry tables, blotting paper, maybe a few odd sweets amongst the pencil shavings I'd put in there because the bin was too far away, and undoubtedly lots of crumpled up bits of paper used to communicate with friends secretly..old fashioned texting!  Of course there would be the obligatory graffiti on it, initials, love hearts, bands names etc etc. I do wish I had kept it. 

The creme de la creme of stationery was your pencil case.  None of the usual ones you could get in Woolies or WH Smiths for me.  I went to proper art shops and got fancy pants ones...or sometimes my aunty who was a graphic designer would buy me one from London. I'm still very particular about where I keep my pens and things and like those with lots of sections, so my ink cartridges don't rub shoulders with my retractable pencil or heaven forbid my fountain pen.

The fact that I had an artistic aunty meant that from a very early age I was given good quality tools to draw and paint with which turned out expensive as my parents had to cough up for Steadtler and Reeves rather than cheap ones from Woolies. 

I did go on to do GCSE Art with the intention to go on to Art College, so my collection of quality equipment, pastels, acrylics and other arty things grew considerably until I ended up taking in a big red art box every time I had an Art lesson.

We called then Rough Books. Also know as Jotters. Ours were an insipid blue colour and thicker than the usual books we got for individual subjects.  First job of the term was to cover your rough book in something.  It started with wall paper, then went on to sticky back plastic - Fablon!  It was the only book we were allowed to cover, so we went to great lengths to do it properly and then proceeded to write and doodle all over it until it had to be re-covered again.

When I started Grammar School aged 11, a very good family friend bought me a Parker Fountain pen to start school with. I still have that pen, but have since moved on to better ones. I really enjoy writing in ink, it's something we don't do much of anymore, which is a shame.  

So, on Tuesday morning, my youngest son will hop on his bike and start a new stage of his life. I doubt he will remember things like his new pencil case or the pens or his lovely new Jotter that he will scribble in rather than fill in neatly as I did. He will be smitten by the banks of computers and other technology available today.

Times have changed.

Call Me Stupid

It's done. 

Done before I had time to persuade myself its a really stupid idea for someone of my age. Done before my family can laugh and roll their eyes to the heavens as they always do when I do things like this. 

Don't expect me to smile like that though

I'm registered for the 2014 Newcastle Stampede in aid of The British Heart Foundation. Otherwise known as 'mud run' or 'the kind of thing only stupid people do'. I have seven weeks to get into some kind of shape to at least complete the 10k course.  

This course...

 Yes that course, or something similar - that was last year so no doubt they will have thought of even more scary stuff to include since then.  See, you thought I was joking about the stupid thing didn't you? 

Of course there has to be some motivation and a reason to do something like that. I have two reasons for putting myself through it. 

1.  I need to get fit and less fat. I can't do it on my own and need something to challenge me, and give me a reason to push on when the motivation wanes. 

2.  Over the last couple of years, four people I know have had to undergo major heart surgery. All but one the same age or younger than me. They have had to make decisions and arrangements...in case they didn't come out the other side. Fortunately they all did.  I'm doing this because without funds raised by people doing 'stupid things' they might not be here today. 

So when I'm tired and really can't be a*sed to go for a run or go to fitness camp, I will remind myself of these four people and get out there, because I can.... 

I'm not going to ram this down your throats, loads of others are doing things for great causes. Of course a donation would be fantastic, but I also need your support and kind/harsh words to keep me going. Pester me about my training, make me feel guilty for not going out in the rain. 

On October 8th I will be 52 years old. On October 19th I will probably have to push myself more than I've ever done before in my life. Its going to be tough, but as the song goes... 

..."When the going gets  tough, the tough get going"...........grrrrr 

Doing What I Have to Do..

The start of a new day here on the Northumberland coast.

  

This was the sight that greeted me when I arrived at 5:45am on the first morning of my Fitness Camp with trainer Dean Coulson and the rest of the group. I was really up for it and as I am an early riser, was the perfect time of day for me to exercise...no excuses.

Not sure what was going to happen.  I'd mentally prepared myself for a run around the sand dunes - my worst nightmare. I find running really hard work, always have but know how it feels to be able to run reasonably comfortably having been forced to get to that stage in preparation for my Navy Leadership Course back in the late 80's. Back then I could run a few miles and not need paramedics on standby at the end of it with a cylinder of oxygen to revive me and it also meant a pay rise, so there was a pretty tasty carrot dangling in front of me as I lumbered along the pavements, counting lamp posts to keep me from dying of boredom. Running is boring, wherever it is.

So I was pleasantly surprised when we gathered around the wooden seating area right on the beachfront, and proceeded to warm up doing a bit of stretching and jumping. It was a little chilly but very invigorating to see the sun slowly rise up from the sea and start to warm up the cold damp flagstones we were using as our gym.

I really don't dislike most exercise once I get into the swing of it.  I'd rather not have to struggle through sit ups and ab things...my abs were removed while having two caesareans many years ago so I do my best to reach double figures.  Leg and arm exercises are a doddle in comparison, probably all the strength work I did during my Karate year is responsible, or maybe its just the sheer size of them.

Anyway, I was getting into the zone, breathless, thirsty and admittedly feeling just a little nauseous once or twice and really felt I was pushing myself for the first time in ages. Then it was all over and we did the cool down... the fastest 45 mins I've ever known.   Don't tell Dean, but I was a little disappointed to be finished, I had at least another 15 minutes in me but since people had to get home and ready for work I just had to settle for the 45 mins and 10 min motivational talk afterwards.

Initially I felt great, then not so great and by lunchtime my body had gone into shock and was doing it's best to tell me that it didn't like what I'd made it do that morning...like a whining child being forced to go round the shops. By night time I was exhausted. I had a hot bath to ease my now aching muscles but I couldn't get to bed quick enough, all the time dreading the usual pain of walking downstairs.

Surprisingly, I woke up feeling bright and chirpy, not aching as much as I'd expected and felt good.  I was even looking forward to the next session the following day. Weird eh? All I had to do was start eating the healthy way Dean asks us to, to ensure we give ourselves the best chance of getting fit, and slim and ultimately healthier.  That's the hard part for me.  Oh to have a live in chef so that I just decide what I want, they make it, plated it up and I eat it. I'd look like a million dollars if that was the case. 

Unfortunately my family don't appreciate a fruit bowl or plate of salad. They want pizza and pasta and takeaways and ready meals or bacon butties and roast dinners so my meals have to be prepared just for me. We had relatives staying in the area for a couple of weeks so were with them for a few meals, it's hard not to over indulge and eat socially - especially when you enjoy nothing more than a meal out and chance to have a good chat with friends and family.

It made me realise though that yes I want to be healthier, fitter and slimmer but I also want to be happy and enjoy my food.  If that means I compromise on the healthy diet, but continue to exercise and do more fitness then that's the way I will do it.  I have cut right down on coffee, only have a small amount of skimmed milk, use coconut milk on cereal and in smoothies. I eat lots more fruit and vegetables and have cut right down on bread and pasta. I now take several vitamin supplements and do my best to drink an awful lot of water.  So if I do go out to eat and fancy a dessert then I'm going to have one and enjoy it.

It's now week four. I've lost weight, inches and feel much more energised.  I've signed up for another month and am planning to do the Newcastle Stampede in October.  By Christmas I will be the slimmer, fitter healthier person I want to be.

That Time of Year Again

The weather seems to have turned already despite it not even being September.  The warmish wind we had for a while has changed to a cool, damp one, resulting in me wearing socks and a hoodie. Of course we will all live in hope of a few more days to top up tans and get 'the legs out'.

I don't mind the cooler days. I start to think of Halloween and bonfire night, birthdays and then Christmas.  Yes, yes I know but autumn and winter have a lot more 'going on'.  What happens after Easter?  Nothing for months - especially when you have no summer holiday to look forward to....or to talk about when you come back.  

In fact it's pretty hard work when you have to find things to occupy bored children for days on end.  Then they go out to play, completely lose track of time and then you spend most of your evening trying to track them down.  When you do, comes the old chestnut "Can I have just five more minutes??  Pleeeeeeeese??  Followed by a tantrum of epic proportion because 'everyone else is staying out' and 'You're the worst parent ever'.  

My seat - far left of balcony above boxes

However, I digress.  The title of this post refers mainly to the fact that tomorrow I will be warming my cold grey plastic seat up in level 7 of The Milburn Stand in St. James' Park. It's like first day back at school when you're not sure who will be in the seats around you.  So far we have been lucky to have people who we actually know..spookily, three years ago we found ourselves between a good friend of hubby's and his son and Alexander's classmate and family.  How coincidental is that?  We have had some moron's behind us, but there are so many of them in there it's only to be expected. 

I don't look forward to the 14 flights of stairs I have to climb to get to my seat. It takes a good 3-4 weeks of regular home games to get to the top without needing medical attention, but still requires a few minutes of heavy breathing before I'm capable of asking for a coffee at the refreshment stand.

So today I will dust off my match day clothes, check my match bag has tissues, wipes, lip balm, hair bobbles, gloves, and headache tablets and head off with hubby and youngest for pre match pizza full of hope and excitement for a new season. Will this be the one that sees us booking trains to London?  It's been a long time since we had drinks in The Blackbird pub just outside Wembley...

 "Expect nothing and anything else will be a bonus" 

That should be our club motto.

Summertime Blues

This is where we usually are at this time of year.  This is where I'd like to be right now...

Instead I am making the most of my two weeks holiday, one at the start of the school holidays and one at the end, keeping an eye on an unruly 11 year old who despite having all the gadgets and gear that kids have these days, is constantly bored.  I remember feeling the same during the never ending six weeks holiday, except back then we really did have an excuse to be bored especially when it was raining.

Having spent most of our savings on the house and garden, using up holidays to be in for deliveries and workmen, we can't afford to fly off to The Sunshine State this year - or next probably.  So I'm enjoying the occasional 20 degree sunshine and chilly sea breeze of Northumberland in my glorious garden and  new summerhouse.  Frankly, it's just not doing it for me.

We could have gone somewhere else, but never got around to looking.  We convinced ourselves that it would be nice to just potter around at home, save the money and enjoy the time off....haha! So we listen to everyone else's holiday stories, pretend we are having a wonderful time being at home with the squabbling kids and daily chores, trying to get a pale tan while weeding the garden and feeding every other child in the neighbourhood as they traipse in and out behind ours leaving a trail of debris.

This is the first year I can remember that we have not had any kind of break away.  We often went for a week in a cottage at Easter or late summer.  Nice and relaxing, no 3G or internet. Walks and drives around the countryside for a cream tea.  We could do that before we bought a big old house and became poor.

Funny how people think that because you live in a big house you are rich and posh.  If only they knew the sacrifice we made this year.  Forced to Google images of Florida instead of being there.  It's tough.

If you go down to the woods today...

Sunny days like today deserve to be spent outdoors with your dogs, not in front of a laptop doing online courses in Safeguarding, Equality & Diversity and other tedious but necessary induction type topics.

So assuming I'm allowed a lunch break I called the hounds, donned my coat and hat...(it was chilly in the shade) and sunglasses.  I wear them a) because its a bit sunny, b) it stops my eyes from watering and c) I can see where I'm going. That's not a quiz by the way...all three apply!

Today I decided to do the woods walk as I call it. The beach walk was too far for a lunch break and the short and speedy wet weather power walk around the streets didn't wasn't an option since it wasn't wet.

Off we went up our street, Keesha to my left , Kizzy on my right. Always following the rule that Kizzy is beside the wall in case a bus or lorry passes and reduces her to a shivering wreck. Turn left at the top, over the dodgey junction and across the Broadway field...also known as  Keesha's toilet. Deposits collected, tied up and disposed off as required we headed to the woods.

I never knew these woods existed until we moved into the town. Totally hidden between houses, but really quite peaceful and pleasant. Open paths, a little muddy at times and pine carpeted tracks all criss-crossing each other means you can have a long walk if you choose your route well.

Occasionally you notice some odd bits of clothing, wood and dog chewed plastic bottles....I think its the latest canine craze this season...or maybe its all the spaniels  labs and retrievers improvising?

Today I saw this...

Someone went to a lot of trouble and effort to get that sofa there. My mind is still churning this over. Fly tippers? There's plenty of other places they could have left it. Fly tip thieves - making a den? A 'Friends' spin off series?

Unfortunately the grim truth is that its probably the local drug cartel's new hideaway.  The 'bizzies' must have found their old one.  Maybe tomorrow there will be a plasma TV and XBox too?

Watch this space.....#SofaWatch

Two Week Whirlwind

It started a week last Thursday with an interview for a Regional Trainer with a big provider based in the South West. The interview went well and after a 24 hour wait, I was offered the post.  Excellent.  "When can you start?" "Next Monday?" so next Monday it was.

Friday was a flurry of frantic emails and plans to get me from up here to down there before everyone went away for their weekends. Flight and hotel were booked and I was told to be at head office for induction at 11am.

My weekend consisted of a combination of washing, ironing and packing, watching football matches at various levels and making lists of 'things to do' for those left in my wake.  Finally packed and prepared, I headed off to the airport, parked my car and found Starbucks.

I've flown on planes loads of times, mostly long haul though so wasn't at all familiar with the travel routine of easyJet and their 'pay as you go' system. I had one hold bag and one cabin bag allocated.  Having been told I would be returning with a laptop bag and equipment I took just a handbag, but witnessed a couple of passengers having to rearrange their packing to fit their bag into the orange 'only if it fits' metal box beside the gate. I made a mental note to make sure I didn't make the same spectacle of myself on the way back.

The fight was as long as a bus trip into Newcastle and uneventful apart from the two hosties having an in depth chat about the benefits of gel nails and not hearing the 'knock, knock' on the cabin door from the ground crew at Bristol who wanted them to open the door.  Once on the ground, I had collected my suitcase and found a taxi in the space of 15 minutes. In the pouring rain and darkness I headed towards my home for the next five days....Brizzle! 

Unlike previous employers who expected their staff to stay with relatives or dreadful places like Travelodge while away, this organisation pushed the boat out. The hotel was The Future Inn and was right opposite a fantastic shopping centre called Cabot Circus. Another mental note....hide the credit card!  It was modern, spacious and very comfortable. Enough space to juggle a herd of cows never mind swing a cat!  This week wasn't going to be so bad after all.

Day 1-5 involved a lot of this..

.....and this

....and carrying out mental vetting of the other 22 people on the course to sort them into groups.  Those to avoid like the plague, those who 'seem' ok and the normal folk same as me and who you make a point of talking to. By the end of day 1 the 'Normal Folk Gang' had seven members. One paramedic, one midwife, three care managers and two of us from retail.

It was a heavy week of learning about the company, the systems, the procedures, getting IT kit, phone, laptop, scanner, printer and all the usual setting up problems that come with such equipment.  Missing leads, too many leads, no service, incorrect passwords etc etc. Not to mention the careful measuring of my large laptop case to ensure it went in the easyJet box!

The spare time was spent here.. 

Cabot Circus

...or eating with 'the gang' in the hotel restaurant followed by lounging on the huge bed eating biscuits, making phone calls and watching TV.  By the end of the day we were all pretty tired and being on the more 'mature' side we had no inkling to go pubbing and clubbing until the early hours.

Friday finally arrived. All but two of us had left the night before as we had extra training for a retail system.  It was a lovely sunny day and we wanted to be off home as soon as possible. Unfortunately that meant waiting for a 6.30pm flight but was nice not to have to rush to the airport.

A couple of hours later I was in the car on the way home, looking forward to my own comforts and hugs from my husband and children who presumably had missed me.  Alas, it seemed they had missed my ability to wash and iron clothes and more than anything as there was a huge pile of washing and ironing waiting for my return.  Next time I will be writing instructions for the washing machine.....