An Ending
Yesterday was our final session with the school choir club. As always, we finished the year off with the usual choir club party complete with a lovely selection of cakes, sweets, crisps and all the things that kids love! After a bit of a sing-a-long the children who wished to, volunteered to sing solo's on stage in front of us all. The choir party is always popular and they really look forward to it after the hard work they've put in throughout the year to prepare for the Summer concert. Both Jo and I were given some lovely thank you gifts which is very kind and we really appreciate. This year we seem to have amassed a plentiful supply of chocolate so looks like I'm going to have to run even more over the next few weeks.
Unfortunately, on the flip side of all the fun and food, we have to say goodbye to our year 6's, some of which have been with us since year 3. Obviously, we'll be really sad to see them go but they're ready to move on as were our own daughter's last year. We wish them the best of luck at High School and hope they continue singing and all thing 'music'.
A Beginning
It's hard to believe that it's been two and half months already since we performed our ladies choir concert 'Film Fantasia'. After a committee meeting last week we began rehearsals again last night for a new concert. I have to say that I found the work on last years songs particularly hard, not only writing and re-writing harmonies but also painstakingly teaching the songs note by note to the ladies. I think this had a lot to do with the pressure from our business at the time along with home, life etc.... So this time we decided that in addition to some new selections we would re-use some of our old material as over the years we've sang some wonderful songs and it's such a shame not to resurrect them.
We finally went with a theme of musicals and asked the choir for suggestions regarding their favourite song choices. Some were VERY popular so we've made sure that these have been included along with some less used numbers and some new ones to keep things fresh.
First rehearsal went very well indeed last night (despite me being on 'piano duty') with two songs learnt in full in 3 parts. We have a couple of new members two which is always nice and only helps to enrich the overall sound. Here's hoping that next week's rehearsal goes even better, it's always so much easier to teach the parts when I can wave my arms around rather than hammer the piano keys :).
Showing posts with label Hobbies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hobbies. Show all posts
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Monday, 2 July 2012
Magic of Oz - A few creations
For those of you who don't follow my craft blog, I thought I'd just post a few pictures of my recent addiction. I'm absolutely loving the 'Magic of Oz' papercraft collection from Graphic 45 and have made several cards recently for family and friends using their stamps, die cuts and papers. I'm sure there'll be many more to follow :)
You can find more details on how I made the cards over at my sister site 'Twinkle Twit Crafts'.
You can find more details on how I made the cards over at my sister site 'Twinkle Twit Crafts'.
Thursday, 21 June 2012
June already?
Yes, it's June already and the longest day today too! Hard to believe really looking out the window. Today we have a mix of rain, cloud and yet more rain. Beginning to wonder if we will actually have a Summer this year.
The last few months have been full on with work, in fact, for our little business year 5 has been our busiest to date (not that we're complaining!).
The lovely ladies choir that I belong to finally put on their concert back in April after 9 months of busy rehearsal. We raised around £1600 in total half of which went to Short Cross Methodist Church and the other half toward research into Lupus. Since then we've taken the concert out to a couple of other venues and we'll be performing again on Saturday night but this time in aid of Birmingham St Mary's Hospice who do invaluable work offering help and support to people with terminal illness. This should then be our last performance of 'Film Fantasia' and then we'll have a short break before starting up again later in the Summer.
The school choir will be performing their Summer concert next Tuesday after rehearsing since January. During the last few weeks we've taken a small group from the choir to sing at the Salvation Army's Birmingham Citadel and also at the 'Time Out' group's Jubilee Party. We were made to feel very welcome on both occasions and children sang their hearts out. They're more than ready now to perform their final concert and I think we're all a little sick of the songs if I'm completely honest!
My running has recently come to a bit of a standstill unfortunately due to some health worries. Everything now looks to be clear so I'm hoping to get out for a run at the weekend. This will be my first in 2 months so as you can imagine I think I'll struggle to get to the end of the street rather than manage the 7 miles level I'd finally reached. It's a bit disappointing really as I felt I was doing so well, but I'm determined to get back to it and build it up gradually again as I did before.
The family are all well. The school year seems to have whizzed by so fast, can't believe 'A' is nearly at the end of her first year of high school. It doesn't seem 5 minutes since we were stressing about how she'd settle in. 'S' has had a good first year of study for his GCSE's and has done some marvellous things in Music in particular.
'P' celebrated his birthday at the start of the month so thought it was about time he booked in his birthday present from LAST year.....White Water Rafting. See my next post for all the fun and photos! He's still running and his performance has come on no end since he's been regularly running with the club. He has another race tomorrow in Blakedown and during March managed to win 1st place in the competition on RunBritain for most improved running handicap..
Arnold celebrated his 2nd birthday on Tuesday. Hard to believe he's been part of our family now for 2 years. I can still remember when he first came home with us, I had to wear my knee length boots around the house in the peak of Summer to fend off his feisty puppy needle teeth! Well worth the pain though, we wouldn't be without him :).
The last few months have been full on with work, in fact, for our little business year 5 has been our busiest to date (not that we're complaining!).
The lovely ladies choir that I belong to finally put on their concert back in April after 9 months of busy rehearsal. We raised around £1600 in total half of which went to Short Cross Methodist Church and the other half toward research into Lupus. Since then we've taken the concert out to a couple of other venues and we'll be performing again on Saturday night but this time in aid of Birmingham St Mary's Hospice who do invaluable work offering help and support to people with terminal illness. This should then be our last performance of 'Film Fantasia' and then we'll have a short break before starting up again later in the Summer.
The school choir will be performing their Summer concert next Tuesday after rehearsing since January. During the last few weeks we've taken a small group from the choir to sing at the Salvation Army's Birmingham Citadel and also at the 'Time Out' group's Jubilee Party. We were made to feel very welcome on both occasions and children sang their hearts out. They're more than ready now to perform their final concert and I think we're all a little sick of the songs if I'm completely honest!
My running has recently come to a bit of a standstill unfortunately due to some health worries. Everything now looks to be clear so I'm hoping to get out for a run at the weekend. This will be my first in 2 months so as you can imagine I think I'll struggle to get to the end of the street rather than manage the 7 miles level I'd finally reached. It's a bit disappointing really as I felt I was doing so well, but I'm determined to get back to it and build it up gradually again as I did before.
The family are all well. The school year seems to have whizzed by so fast, can't believe 'A' is nearly at the end of her first year of high school. It doesn't seem 5 minutes since we were stressing about how she'd settle in. 'S' has had a good first year of study for his GCSE's and has done some marvellous things in Music in particular.
'P' celebrated his birthday at the start of the month so thought it was about time he booked in his birthday present from LAST year.....White Water Rafting. See my next post for all the fun and photos! He's still running and his performance has come on no end since he's been regularly running with the club. He has another race tomorrow in Blakedown and during March managed to win 1st place in the competition on RunBritain for most improved running handicap..
Arnold celebrated his 2nd birthday on Tuesday. Hard to believe he's been part of our family now for 2 years. I can still remember when he first came home with us, I had to wear my knee length boots around the house in the peak of Summer to fend off his feisty puppy needle teeth! Well worth the pain though, we wouldn't be without him :).
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Finally......Four Miles!
Have done great work with my training plan this month. All my hard work has been logged on Runkeeper and this month I've managed to accumulate 26 activities over 31 days. These includes walking, skating, hiking and most importantly, running.
I've continued with my short runs twice a week accompanied by my friend Jane and my long weekend run is now up to just over 4 miles which I'm quite chuffed about. Tomorrow night also see's the start of the new beginners class at our local Cobra Running Club. This will only be a couple miles but I thought it would be a great starting point for me to be able to work my way up to the clubs more advanced Tuesday and Thursday classes.
So far, I've managed to keep injuries at bay *touches wood* and just hoping with the gradual increase of 5 minutes per long run, I'll be able to keep things this way.
Here's my totals for the month:
January 2012
Runs to date: 10
Walks to date: 14
Hikes to date: 1
Skates to date: 1
Miles during Jan: 58.3 miles
Workout time during Jan: 16 hrs 15 mins
Calories burnt to date: 4907
I've continued with my short runs twice a week accompanied by my friend Jane and my long weekend run is now up to just over 4 miles which I'm quite chuffed about. Tomorrow night also see's the start of the new beginners class at our local Cobra Running Club. This will only be a couple miles but I thought it would be a great starting point for me to be able to work my way up to the clubs more advanced Tuesday and Thursday classes.
So far, I've managed to keep injuries at bay *touches wood* and just hoping with the gradual increase of 5 minutes per long run, I'll be able to keep things this way.
Here's my totals for the month:
January 2012
Runs to date: 10
Walks to date: 14
Hikes to date: 1
Skates to date: 1
Miles during Jan: 58.3 miles
Workout time during Jan: 16 hrs 15 mins
Calories burnt to date: 4907
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Friends Forever
A new card with a 'Friendship' theme today. The lovely stamp is from Sliekje Digi Stamps
and the papers are from Pink Petticoats 'Wild Blossoms' collection. The die-cut is one of Nellie Snellen's Multi-frames and a Martha Stewart punch has been used for the edges of the pink card. The little gingham butterfly was from a selection at Hobbycraft. I have also used a pink star Gelly Roll pen to make the illusion of stitching along each paper panel.
I've tried to keep my promarker colours in line with the 'Wild Blossom' colours (although I am now awaiting new shades as getting a little bored with using the same colours time and time again lol).
[caption id="attachment_1095" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Friends Forever"]
[/caption]
and the papers are from Pink Petticoats 'Wild Blossoms' collection. The die-cut is one of Nellie Snellen's Multi-frames and a Martha Stewart punch has been used for the edges of the pink card. The little gingham butterfly was from a selection at Hobbycraft. I have also used a pink star Gelly Roll pen to make the illusion of stitching along each paper panel.I've tried to keep my promarker colours in line with the 'Wild Blossom' colours (although I am now awaiting new shades as getting a little bored with using the same colours time and time again lol).
[caption id="attachment_1095" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Friends Forever"]
[/caption]I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Passions for Promarkers - #116 'Patchwork'
2 Sisters Challenge Blog - #55 Friends
My Time to Craft - #156 Just Between Friends
For Fun Challenges - Kids at play
Cardmakin Mama's Blogspot - Digital
Cupcake Craft Challenges - #158 Patchwork Quilt
Monday, 5 September 2011
A Holiday Surprise!
Had a lovely surprise while we were away in Cornwall. I happened to check my phone whilst sitting freezing my what nots off on the beach and there was a lovely little tweet that would brighten my whole day! It was from Cardmaking & Papercraft who I follow on Twitter, telling me I'd been chosen randomly from their followers and won a prize. Well fancy that, me winning a prize, the girl who never wins a thing! As you can imagine I was pretty sharp getting my postal address over to them and when I returned there was a lovely little parcel waiting for me.
The lovely gift was a fantastic CD rom called 'All Around & Everywhere' from Polkadoodles and a set of Flower Fairies rubber stamps from Crafters Companion. Needless to say, I was rather chuffed :).
The lovely gift was a fantastic CD rom called 'All Around & Everywhere' from Polkadoodles and a set of Flower Fairies rubber stamps from Crafters Companion. Needless to say, I was rather chuffed :).
Sunday, 4 September 2011
A birthday bear
Our lovely niece was 15 on Friday, my, where does the time go?!
Using another freebie stamp from Cardmaking & Papercraft I created this yellow and pink card. I'm quite please with how the promarker shading turned out as this was one of my first attempts. I finished the bear's flowers off with a little silver glitter glue.
(For the first time ever!) I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Using another freebie stamp from Cardmaking & Papercraft I created this yellow and pink card. I'm quite please with how the promarker shading turned out as this was one of my first attempts. I finished the bear's flowers off with a little silver glitter glue.
(For the first time ever!) I am entering this card in the following challenges:
- Passion For Promarkers #115 – Anything Goes
- I love Promarkers #81 - Anything goes
- Stamps R Us - Anything goes
Saturday, 3 September 2011
A new bargain basket stamp
Whilst on hols in Cornwall I discovered a fabulous and friendly little craft shop called 'Moments' in Belle Vue, Bude. 'A' and I spent quite a while looking round and in particular at the bargain basket just inside the door where we found Forever Friends Easter papers and stamps, lots of ribbon, flowers, brads and a lovely little stamp reduced from £5.99 to just £1.50......bargain! :)
[caption id="attachment_1064" align="aligncenter" width="256" caption="Stamp coloured with Promarkers"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1065" align="aligncenter" width="254" caption="Stamp coloured with Promarkers"]
[/caption]
Due to my current addiction to Promarkers I decided to give the stamp a try and have made a couple of cards along the same theme but just using different colours. The papers are from a lovely freebie selection I had from a recent Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine called 'Vintage Rose'. I've used paper flowers purchased from Ebay and a Nellie Snellen die. The image is a 'Whispers' stamp from docrafts.
[caption id="attachment_1062" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Blue & Pink"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1063" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Pink & Green"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1064" align="aligncenter" width="256" caption="Stamp coloured with Promarkers"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1065" align="aligncenter" width="254" caption="Stamp coloured with Promarkers"]
[/caption]Due to my current addiction to Promarkers I decided to give the stamp a try and have made a couple of cards along the same theme but just using different colours. The papers are from a lovely freebie selection I had from a recent Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine called 'Vintage Rose'. I've used paper flowers purchased from Ebay and a Nellie Snellen die. The image is a 'Whispers' stamp from docrafts.
[caption id="attachment_1062" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Blue & Pink"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1063" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Pink & Green"]
[/caption]
Friday, 2 September 2011
A belated card creation
Just a quick one tonight. Made a lovely card (well, yes I'm biased) for hubby's birthday back in June but thought I'd forgotten to take a pic.............that was until today when I realised it was on my mobile phone all along!
I decided to go with a black & white theme and used an old photo I'd sneakily acquired from mom-in-law. The photo itself was actually in colour but after copying it I converted it to grayscale to keep with the theme of the card.
Apologies for the quality of the photo!
[caption id="attachment_1045" align="aligncenter" width="377" caption="'P's 40th Birthday Card"]
[/caption]
I decided to go with a black & white theme and used an old photo I'd sneakily acquired from mom-in-law. The photo itself was actually in colour but after copying it I converted it to grayscale to keep with the theme of the card.
Apologies for the quality of the photo!
[caption id="attachment_1045" align="aligncenter" width="377" caption="'P's 40th Birthday Card"]
[/caption]
Thursday, 1 September 2011
A Passion for Promarkers!
For a while now I've been looking at the rubber stamping techniques in my monthly Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine and am often in left awe by the fantastic finish others manage to acquire on their shading. I bought myself a pack of 'Skin Accent' Promarkers by Letraset a while back when Hobbycraft were having a sale. Up till now I'd always used watercolour pencils for any small bits of colour that were needed but I'd heard on the grapevine that Promarkers were the way to go. I decided to buy another pack of Promarkers and went for the 'Muted' Blending pack which I managed to pick up relatively cheaply on Ebay. Since then I've not looked back!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="342" caption="Free stamp with Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine"]
[/caption]Learning to blend and shade the colours takes practice but it is certainly much easier than I expected it would be. I've since bought the 'Skin Tones' and 'Cool Grey's' pack to extend my collection a little further and although I've also bought a couple of individual pens (Berry and Holly), I could do with a few more reds and greens to help make my upcoming Christmas stamps look a little more authentic.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="342" caption="Lovely Free Digi Stamp from Sliekje Digi Stamps"]
[/caption]I have to say that 'A' and I both find colouring with Promarkers thoroughly addictive (yes, we have no life :) ). 'A' actually said to me the other day that she could spend hours just sitting there colouring and me personally I feel about 5 again, getting such a thrill out of 'colouring in' lol.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="343" caption="Stamp from Daisy & Dandelion - Santa's Little Helpers"]
[/caption]Although I've made a couple of cards using the stamps I've shaded (new post coming soon), I'm currently just enjoying the moment with my new found Promarker friends! I still feel that my stamps could look a little better, but I guess with practice and more pens to add to my collection it won't take too long.
[slideshow]
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Welcome to Iris Folding
In one of my recent magazines there was a great article on the papercraft technique called 'Iris Folding'. Although rather time consuming the actual technique itself was fairly simple and I think the overall effect was really effective. My first attempt was for my friend Jo's birthday. We've spent many a morning chatting over a nice cuppa or three so I had a look round for an idea that would incorporate this. I found a super example on The Little Paper Studio which included a teapot design. I tried to create something similar and came up with my own little phrase – 'Always time for tea with friends' for the teapot tag. The only problem I came across was when trying to stick my finished design to the card face due to the thickness of the folded paper I had real difficulty with this. I think next time I would make my design a little smaller to allow more free space around the edge for sticking down.
I had another attempt at iris folding for my brother's birthday last week. This time I went for a slightly more appropriate theme for my brother of a hot air balloon. I managed to find a template online for the hot air balloon shape and used some left over papers for the iris folding. If you fancy having a go at iris folding have a look at Handcrafted Crafted Greetings for further instructions. They also have iris folding templates available here.
A couple of other events to make for saw me creating a 'Brownie' themed card for our Niece who was 7 back at the start of June and yesterday 'A' sang at the wedding of her Youth On Stage choreographer. I looked around for a little wedding card inspiration as I've not made one until now but I was quite pleased with the result. The idea came from Card Making Corner.
I had another attempt at iris folding for my brother's birthday last week. This time I went for a slightly more appropriate theme for my brother of a hot air balloon. I managed to find a template online for the hot air balloon shape and used some left over papers for the iris folding. If you fancy having a go at iris folding have a look at Handcrafted Crafted Greetings for further instructions. They also have iris folding templates available here.
A couple of other events to make for saw me creating a 'Brownie' themed card for our Niece who was 7 back at the start of June and yesterday 'A' sang at the wedding of her Youth On Stage choreographer. I looked around for a little wedding card inspiration as I've not made one until now but I was quite pleased with the result. The idea came from Card Making Corner.
Monday, 11 July 2011
Hats off!
Updated my Florida scrapbook about a month ago and completely forgot that I'd not posted the new pics. I did a couple of new pages, one based on Disney's Animal Kingdom - Kilimanjaro Safari's and another based around our addiction for trying on hats at the various parks.
[caption id="attachment_951" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Wild Things"]
[/caption]
I managed to get some super animal print cardstock from Ebay and used my newly bought Craft Robo to cut out the elephant and giraffe templates and also the 'Wild Thing' lettering (although I have sold this now as it did get to be a bit of a faff continually setting the pc up with it). I wrote a short section of script from the tour onto the elephant.
[caption id="attachment_952" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Hats Off!"]
[/caption]
I had a rather random selection of backing papers already, from various packs I've bought on Ebay so decided to use some of these to make the page colourful and fun. I managed to download a superb 'Willy Wonka' font which I used for the title and once again used the Craft Robo for this. This was then attached using sticky pads to give a 3D effect. I'd seen an article in Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine on crinkled paper flowers so had a go at this as an embellishment, using a flower shaped brad from WHSmith to finish off. A Martha Stewart Deep Edge 'Flower Bed' punch was used for the edges of the spotted paper which I purchased from Secretcrafter recently. A fantastic buy as I've used it loads!
Here's a close up of the 'Hats Off!' piccies:
[caption id="attachment_951" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Wild Things"]
[/caption]I managed to get some super animal print cardstock from Ebay and used my newly bought Craft Robo to cut out the elephant and giraffe templates and also the 'Wild Thing' lettering (although I have sold this now as it did get to be a bit of a faff continually setting the pc up with it). I wrote a short section of script from the tour onto the elephant.
[caption id="attachment_952" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Hats Off!"]
[/caption]I had a rather random selection of backing papers already, from various packs I've bought on Ebay so decided to use some of these to make the page colourful and fun. I managed to download a superb 'Willy Wonka' font which I used for the title and once again used the Craft Robo for this. This was then attached using sticky pads to give a 3D effect. I'd seen an article in Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine on crinkled paper flowers so had a go at this as an embellishment, using a flower shaped brad from WHSmith to finish off. A Martha Stewart Deep Edge 'Flower Bed' punch was used for the edges of the spotted paper which I purchased from Secretcrafter recently. A fantastic buy as I've used it loads!
Here's a close up of the 'Hats Off!' piccies:
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Mission to get fit 2011 - Update 2
Yes, i know it's been a while since my last fitness update but believe me a fair bit has happened!
I returned from our Florida holiday once again having lost all motivation for running. As I've said before I only have to miss a couple of weeks and it's then so hard to get back into it. Anyhow, I went out for the occasional plod around the local streets but decided I needed a goal to help get me motivated - it was time to look for another race. Scouring events on the Runners World website I eventually decided to enter the Acorns Triple Run, in particular the 5k run. At first even the prospect of this wasn't enough to get my bum into gear but as the event drew closer I knew I had to get myself moving and slowly began to increase the number of runs and distance per week.
I completed the Acorn's Spring Run on 29th May in around 33 - 34 mins (sorry not accurate as I couldn't stop gps in time!) which I was quite pleased with. At the same event 'P' also completed the Acorn's Half Marathon. Whilst standing there watching runners (of all shapes and sizes) finish that Half Marathon I decided it was time to kick the training up a notch - if they could do it, so could I!
I've now entered the Evesham Vale 10k on 10th July and also the Lichfield 10k on 11th September 2011. I've begun a training program to help me achieve the distance, as although I have completed a 10k before, this was 2 years ago and I currently can't run for more than 40 mins without keeling over at the side of the road! I'm also getting my breathing looked into as I'm having some real issues on that point, hopefully once this is sorted it should make things a bit easier at least.
I'm hoping that by blogging my training plan for each week along with my actual runs it will help keep me motivated. Sometimes it's just so difficult to juggle life and fit in that 4 mile run at the end of the day. You hereby have permission to kick me up the bum if I'm not meeting my weekly quota! :)
So here goes Week 1 of the new training plan has already be completed...........well kind of! Yes, I know, not a very good start but week 2 is so far going much better :). I will update week 2 as the activities are completed so check back for my progress.
Week 1
Mon - Rest - Rest
Tues - 20 min run, moderate - 20 min run, mod
Weds - Rest - Rest
Thurs - 25 mins, moderate - None
Fri - 20 mins, easy - None
Sat - Rest - Rest
Sun - 35 mins long run - 35 mins 4.8k
(Training plan with actual activity in blue (or red if not completed))
Week 2
Mon - 25 min run, mod - 25 min mod, 2.38 miles
Tues - Rest - Rest
Weds - 30 min mod - 29.36 min mod, 2.74 miles
Thurs - 25 min easy - None
Fri - Rest - Rest
Sat - 40 min long run - None
Sun - Rest - Rest
I returned from our Florida holiday once again having lost all motivation for running. As I've said before I only have to miss a couple of weeks and it's then so hard to get back into it. Anyhow, I went out for the occasional plod around the local streets but decided I needed a goal to help get me motivated - it was time to look for another race. Scouring events on the Runners World website I eventually decided to enter the Acorns Triple Run, in particular the 5k run. At first even the prospect of this wasn't enough to get my bum into gear but as the event drew closer I knew I had to get myself moving and slowly began to increase the number of runs and distance per week.
I completed the Acorn's Spring Run on 29th May in around 33 - 34 mins (sorry not accurate as I couldn't stop gps in time!) which I was quite pleased with. At the same event 'P' also completed the Acorn's Half Marathon. Whilst standing there watching runners (of all shapes and sizes) finish that Half Marathon I decided it was time to kick the training up a notch - if they could do it, so could I!
I've now entered the Evesham Vale 10k on 10th July and also the Lichfield 10k on 11th September 2011. I've begun a training program to help me achieve the distance, as although I have completed a 10k before, this was 2 years ago and I currently can't run for more than 40 mins without keeling over at the side of the road! I'm also getting my breathing looked into as I'm having some real issues on that point, hopefully once this is sorted it should make things a bit easier at least.
I'm hoping that by blogging my training plan for each week along with my actual runs it will help keep me motivated. Sometimes it's just so difficult to juggle life and fit in that 4 mile run at the end of the day. You hereby have permission to kick me up the bum if I'm not meeting my weekly quota! :)
So here goes Week 1 of the new training plan has already be completed...........well kind of! Yes, I know, not a very good start but week 2 is so far going much better :). I will update week 2 as the activities are completed so check back for my progress.
Week 1
Mon - Rest - Rest
Tues - 20 min run, moderate - 20 min run, mod
Weds - Rest - Rest
Thurs - 25 mins, moderate - None
Fri - 20 mins, easy - None
Sat - Rest - Rest
Sun - 35 mins long run - 35 mins 4.8k
(Training plan with actual activity in blue (or red if not completed))
Week 2
Mon - 25 min run, mod - 25 min mod, 2.38 miles
Tues - Rest - Rest
Weds - 30 min mod - 29.36 min mod, 2.74 miles
Thurs - 25 min easy - None
Fri - Rest - Rest
Sat - 40 min long run - None
Sun - Rest - Rest
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Gorjuss crafty creations
There were some lovely free backing papers with my last couple of card making magazines so had a go at a few new designs this afternoon. Had a go at some new techniques using crushed paper circles to create flowers and inking paper edges to create a shabby chic effect.My friend Emma bought me a lovely card for my birthday back in March from the Santoro's Gorjuss range. I was really chuffed when I found some super decoupage packs in Hobbycraft in the same range and had a go at creating a couple of cards today. Now looking forward to making more of these.
[slideshow]Wednesday, 9 February 2011
A busy week!
Well, the clock is ticking and the weekend's drawing nearer. I keep thinking that everything is now done and prepared for the holiday but then another little item crops up on my 'to do' list!
Cases are at least packed (kind of) but hand luggage is still to do. I always have a real panic when we go to Cornwall for the week, always thinking there's something I've forgot to pack or do, so as you can imagine a 3 week holiday is a bit of a nightmare for me in the 'panic stakes'!
My quiet week has turn out to be 'not' so quiet. My work list seems to be getting longer as the week gets shorter. With risk assessments still to write, emails to send, bookings to deal with and accounts to manage, holiday packing is now becoming less of a priority as we try to tie up all the loose ends with the business before going away. Who on earth takes a 3 week holiday when they run their own business?............hmmmm we do! Oh well, once we're there I insist that there will be no talk of health and safety (and yes 'P', that involves your overly critical assessment of any Disney attractions and whether they have a safe system of work in place! ;) ).
'S' is off to Baggeridge Country Park tomorrow with school on the Leadership Program. He's really pleased to have been chosen to take part but as he's a little scared of heights he's also rather worried about the prospective zip wires and abseiling he may have to partake in! I've already told him that he can use it as a practice run for the stomach churning things Disney and Universal has in store for us!
'A's had a good week with better results in her mental maths tests. She's had a couple of maths tests to complete at home before we go away but we don't mind seeing as she's missing a bit of time from school. She's also off to see a Michael Morpurgo play on Friday at the local theatre.
'P' and I had a rather different experience last week when we went for a treatment of 'Hopi Ear Candling'. After 'P's cold and my ear problems whilst flying we thought it might be worth a try as we'd read some great things about it online. The whole experience was quite pleasant and not at all uncomfortable. It involves the insertion of a hollow tube or 'candle' just inside the ear and then the top is lit. As this burns down to a certain point it creates a kind of vacuum which removes blockages from the ear. Yes, I know it's a bit gross but after the treatment you can even open up the candle to see what has been removed - the results were amazing! I'm popping back again tomorrow with 'A' to have a second treatment and she's also having hers done to help with flight pain.
Music preparation has also been a little busy this week but this has been very productive as we now have some idea of an order for the school concert. Still a bit of recording to do for the backing CD but at least Jo has some new stuff to be going on with while I'm not there on piano duty :) After yesterday's rehearsal I don't envy her! Our 56 well behaved choir newbies have now settled in and are starting to push the boundaries a little! I'm sure she will have them eating out of her hand by the time I return though.
No worries on the ladies choir front. It feels like we've been learning the songs for soooooo long now with all the concert postponements that we know them inside out! The only one we were still struggling with was Queen song 'Somebody to Love'. There is constant 3 part harmony in this throughout the whole song along with Yvonne and I doing solo lines and the whole thing has been a bit of a challenge. Over the last couple of weeks though, this one has really come together and all that's left to do is a bit of polishing to tidy up the timing and expression. I've told them I'm expecting great things when I return in 3 weeks :)
Cases are at least packed (kind of) but hand luggage is still to do. I always have a real panic when we go to Cornwall for the week, always thinking there's something I've forgot to pack or do, so as you can imagine a 3 week holiday is a bit of a nightmare for me in the 'panic stakes'!
My quiet week has turn out to be 'not' so quiet. My work list seems to be getting longer as the week gets shorter. With risk assessments still to write, emails to send, bookings to deal with and accounts to manage, holiday packing is now becoming less of a priority as we try to tie up all the loose ends with the business before going away. Who on earth takes a 3 week holiday when they run their own business?............hmmmm we do! Oh well, once we're there I insist that there will be no talk of health and safety (and yes 'P', that involves your overly critical assessment of any Disney attractions and whether they have a safe system of work in place! ;) ).
'S' is off to Baggeridge Country Park tomorrow with school on the Leadership Program. He's really pleased to have been chosen to take part but as he's a little scared of heights he's also rather worried about the prospective zip wires and abseiling he may have to partake in! I've already told him that he can use it as a practice run for the stomach churning things Disney and Universal has in store for us!
'A's had a good week with better results in her mental maths tests. She's had a couple of maths tests to complete at home before we go away but we don't mind seeing as she's missing a bit of time from school. She's also off to see a Michael Morpurgo play on Friday at the local theatre.
Ear Candling!
'P' and I had a rather different experience last week when we went for a treatment of 'Hopi Ear Candling'. After 'P's cold and my ear problems whilst flying we thought it might be worth a try as we'd read some great things about it online. The whole experience was quite pleasant and not at all uncomfortable. It involves the insertion of a hollow tube or 'candle' just inside the ear and then the top is lit. As this burns down to a certain point it creates a kind of vacuum which removes blockages from the ear. Yes, I know it's a bit gross but after the treatment you can even open up the candle to see what has been removed - the results were amazing! I'm popping back again tomorrow with 'A' to have a second treatment and she's also having hers done to help with flight pain.
School Choir
Music preparation has also been a little busy this week but this has been very productive as we now have some idea of an order for the school concert. Still a bit of recording to do for the backing CD but at least Jo has some new stuff to be going on with while I'm not there on piano duty :) After yesterday's rehearsal I don't envy her! Our 56 well behaved choir newbies have now settled in and are starting to push the boundaries a little! I'm sure she will have them eating out of her hand by the time I return though.
Ladies Choir
No worries on the ladies choir front. It feels like we've been learning the songs for soooooo long now with all the concert postponements that we know them inside out! The only one we were still struggling with was Queen song 'Somebody to Love'. There is constant 3 part harmony in this throughout the whole song along with Yvonne and I doing solo lines and the whole thing has been a bit of a challenge. Over the last couple of weeks though, this one has really come together and all that's left to do is a bit of polishing to tidy up the timing and expression. I've told them I'm expecting great things when I return in 3 weeks :)
Monday, 31 January 2011
The 2011 mission to get fit - Update 1
Thought you might like to know how my 2011 'mission to get fit' was going, so here is a brief post to update.
I went into 2011 knowing we were going away to Florida in Feb and potentially away again for a second time in the Summer for P's 40th birthday. The prospect of walking, walking and more walking around the Orlando theme parks and having to wear a bikini had me a little worried. I'm certainly not overweight by any means but my fitness levels are, well.......*blows raspberry* and I really do have far too much flab hanging round the old tummy and hips.
Since January the 1st I have been keeping a food diary with the aid of Nutracheck (which I find extremely helpful) and limiting my food intake to 1500 calories and 52 fat grams per day (as Nutracheck suggest for my size and weight). In addition to this I am now visiting the gym 2 - 3 times per week along with running, walking or kinect on the other days. Obviously, I occasionally have bad days where my calorie and fat intake goes over what I'm allowed (yesterday being one of these days...whoops! ) but as long as I don't let it happen too often and keep up the exercise then everything is fine and dandy.
I am 5ft 3 and when I started out with my 2011 healthy life plan on Jan 1st I was 9 stone 5. In the first couple of weeks I lost 6lbs taking me down to 8st 13 but this was probably mostly due to water retention and just basically getting rid of the initial crap out of my body. I was a little disappointed to have not lost any weight over the last couple of weeks but upon measuring myself I have now lost 1.5in from my hips and bust and 1in from my waist so my body is now adapting muscle wise to all the exercise I'm doing. Losing weight isn't so much a priority for me but more so toning up, although I know I need to lose just a few more lbs for any muscle to start showing definition.
I am planning to let go with the old food diary while we're away (yes, I will be sampling the american cheesecake!) but hopefully the constant walking will help me maintain my current size and weight. Will keep you posted!
I went into 2011 knowing we were going away to Florida in Feb and potentially away again for a second time in the Summer for P's 40th birthday. The prospect of walking, walking and more walking around the Orlando theme parks and having to wear a bikini had me a little worried. I'm certainly not overweight by any means but my fitness levels are, well.......*blows raspberry* and I really do have far too much flab hanging round the old tummy and hips.
Since January the 1st I have been keeping a food diary with the aid of Nutracheck (which I find extremely helpful) and limiting my food intake to 1500 calories and 52 fat grams per day (as Nutracheck suggest for my size and weight). In addition to this I am now visiting the gym 2 - 3 times per week along with running, walking or kinect on the other days. Obviously, I occasionally have bad days where my calorie and fat intake goes over what I'm allowed (yesterday being one of these days...whoops! ) but as long as I don't let it happen too often and keep up the exercise then everything is fine and dandy.
I am 5ft 3 and when I started out with my 2011 healthy life plan on Jan 1st I was 9 stone 5. In the first couple of weeks I lost 6lbs taking me down to 8st 13 but this was probably mostly due to water retention and just basically getting rid of the initial crap out of my body. I was a little disappointed to have not lost any weight over the last couple of weeks but upon measuring myself I have now lost 1.5in from my hips and bust and 1in from my waist so my body is now adapting muscle wise to all the exercise I'm doing. Losing weight isn't so much a priority for me but more so toning up, although I know I need to lose just a few more lbs for any muscle to start showing definition.
I am planning to let go with the old food diary while we're away (yes, I will be sampling the american cheesecake!) but hopefully the constant walking will help me maintain my current size and weight. Will keep you posted!
Sunday, 30 January 2011
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2011
Just finished a lovely leisurely hour sitting in the kitchen with a nice cuppa, completing the RSPB's annual 'Big Garden Birdwatch'. 'A' and I did this for the first time last year but were a little disappointed - as you might know, the second we sat down to complete our hours 'twitching' hardly any birds visited our usually busy garden! This year, however, was a different story and it was quite nice to be able to actually record something on the RSPB survey.The RSPB 'Big Garden Birdwatch' takes place once a year normally towards the end of January. By visiting the RSPB website it's possible to print off a bird ID sheet to mark down your sitings. The basis of the birdwatch is to spend one hour noting down the maximum number at any one time, of a particular kind of bird seen in your garden and then submit your results on the RSPB website. By completing the birdwatch we are able to give the RSPB an overall view of bird numbers in the UK, and specifically from different regions. They are then able to see which birds are in decline or species that have increased in numbers.
Here's a look at our results for this year:
Blackbird - 2 Blue Tit - 1 Goldfinch - 5 Greenfinch - 1 Robin - 2 Starling - 2 Woodpigeon - 1 Wren - 1
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Tuesday's Treasures - Choir memories
Thought it was about time for another of Tuesday's Treasures!
My treasure this week is a group photograph that was taken last Summer of our 'then' school choir with Jo and I. Although we have now been running the choir at our children's primary school since January 2008 this was the first time I'd been around and available to have my photo taken with the children (we're normally away on holiday that week...........yes I know, shouldn't take them during term time blah blah blah!).
If you count up you can see there are 40 children on the photo which includes our own daughters. Choir started up again last week and we welcomed a new batch of year 3 children along with new members from the other key stage 2 classes. We now have the grand total of 55 - our biggest choir to date..........a much wider photo required this year I think!
PHOTO REMOVED due to request of an 'anonymous' party
Sunday, 16 January 2011
My apologetic return to blogging.........
What is it about taking a break from the blog? A week off over Christmas, turned into a chilled fortnight, which before I knew it turned into a neglectful month! The trouble was, the prospect of getting back into blogging became like that 'thank you' phone call you should have made a month ago that you know you still need to make but now somehow seems somewhat embarrassing as it's taken so long! (Does that makes sense?)
So, before I unleash my first post of 2011 upon you all, please accept the above ramble as my sincere apology and rest assured I am now back to full posting health!
Where to start? Well, Christmas was quiet but lovely (as always!) with Christmas Eve spent with family, Christmas Day at home and New Year at Steph and Dave's.
[caption id="attachment_494" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Hydrotherapy Pool - Lion Quays"]
[/caption]
P and I also had a lovely night away at Lion Quays in Chirk, Oswestry just after Christmas. This was our first visit to Lion Quays and we were very impressed. Our room booking included use of the main pool and gym but for an extra £15 each we were also able to use the Lion Quays Spa. I have to say this is the nicest spa I've ever visited and our afternoon there was complete heaven. The spa included a hydrotherapy pool, steam room, sauna, warm room, experience showers, snow cave (yes, I was brave enough to give this a try) and sun meadow. There were also many treatment rooms, a bistro and relaxation room with complimentary herbal drinks etc.
[caption id="attachment_497" align="alignright" width="137" caption="Lion Quays"]
[/caption]
We ate in the main restaurant on the evening and once again we were impressed with the service and quality of the food. Lion Quays is definitely one for the hot list and we will definitely be visiting again, hopefully in the not too distant future. Rest assured the seed has also been planted with 'the girls' ;).
The new year routine has now kicked back into action with our first choir rehearsal for both the school and ladies choir last Tuesday. Both went really well, especially the school choir where we now have quite a few new members. We've introduced some new choir rules where the children compete against us as leaders to win chocolate at the end of the term. Week one saw excellent behaviour from the children and concluded in a point to the them but I remain confident that the choir leaders, ie, us, will reign triumphant and the chocolate will be ours :). The ladies choir went well on the whole but 'Somebody to Love' was a little rusty after the Christmas break. A little work on this over the next couple of weeks should have it polished and ready for April's concert.
Work is steady but mainly spending our time tying up loose ends before our trip to................wait for it..................Florida! Yes, Florida! This requires a separate post of its own, but our much awaited holiday to Florida is now only 4 weeks away and I'm so excited I could vomit! Florida preparations to follow shortly.
Couple of good bits of news for 'A'. The dancing exam she took before Christmas saw her achieving a distinction with 82 marks overall and Friday also saw her receiving the achievement certificate at school. Her teacher comments were that she's "an all round ray of sunshine".......awww, if only she could see her when she's screaming at her brother or unable to get out of bed each morning. Seriously though, I am very proud of her and pleased that she's settled back in at school after a rough term before Christmas.
After being introduced to the group through one of our course delegates, she's now also joined the group Youth On Stage who put on shows twice a year in the Birmingham area. We went to see their pantomime before Christmas and they truly were superb, especially considering they range in age from only 9 to 21. She's loving every minute of the twice weekly rehearsals although she is struggling with the late nights. None the less, the prospect of performing 'High School Musical' at the Old Rep in May is motivation enough to keep her going.
Not much going on for 'S' at the moment although he is coming close to the crucial options choices at school. He's decided he would like to be a sports teacher as his main love has always been sport. He's now in the process of speaking to various teachers to assess what subjects he needs and which teachers will accept him for their subject.
So there you have it, first post of the year. Ok, so it wasn't so painful (for me anyway) and now I've broken the blogging 'seal' I should be ok to spout off a bit more frequently.
Now for piccies..........bye for now!
[slideshow]
So, before I unleash my first post of 2011 upon you all, please accept the above ramble as my sincere apology and rest assured I am now back to full posting health!
Where to start? Well, Christmas was quiet but lovely (as always!) with Christmas Eve spent with family, Christmas Day at home and New Year at Steph and Dave's.
[caption id="attachment_494" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Hydrotherapy Pool - Lion Quays"]
[/caption]P and I also had a lovely night away at Lion Quays in Chirk, Oswestry just after Christmas. This was our first visit to Lion Quays and we were very impressed. Our room booking included use of the main pool and gym but for an extra £15 each we were also able to use the Lion Quays Spa. I have to say this is the nicest spa I've ever visited and our afternoon there was complete heaven. The spa included a hydrotherapy pool, steam room, sauna, warm room, experience showers, snow cave (yes, I was brave enough to give this a try) and sun meadow. There were also many treatment rooms, a bistro and relaxation room with complimentary herbal drinks etc.
[caption id="attachment_497" align="alignright" width="137" caption="Lion Quays"]
[/caption]We ate in the main restaurant on the evening and once again we were impressed with the service and quality of the food. Lion Quays is definitely one for the hot list and we will definitely be visiting again, hopefully in the not too distant future. Rest assured the seed has also been planted with 'the girls' ;).
The new year routine has now kicked back into action with our first choir rehearsal for both the school and ladies choir last Tuesday. Both went really well, especially the school choir where we now have quite a few new members. We've introduced some new choir rules where the children compete against us as leaders to win chocolate at the end of the term. Week one saw excellent behaviour from the children and concluded in a point to the them but I remain confident that the choir leaders, ie, us, will reign triumphant and the chocolate will be ours :). The ladies choir went well on the whole but 'Somebody to Love' was a little rusty after the Christmas break. A little work on this over the next couple of weeks should have it polished and ready for April's concert.
Work is steady but mainly spending our time tying up loose ends before our trip to................wait for it..................Florida! Yes, Florida! This requires a separate post of its own, but our much awaited holiday to Florida is now only 4 weeks away and I'm so excited I could vomit! Florida preparations to follow shortly.
An 'A' update
Couple of good bits of news for 'A'. The dancing exam she took before Christmas saw her achieving a distinction with 82 marks overall and Friday also saw her receiving the achievement certificate at school. Her teacher comments were that she's "an all round ray of sunshine".......awww, if only she could see her when she's screaming at her brother or unable to get out of bed each morning. Seriously though, I am very proud of her and pleased that she's settled back in at school after a rough term before Christmas.
After being introduced to the group through one of our course delegates, she's now also joined the group Youth On Stage who put on shows twice a year in the Birmingham area. We went to see their pantomime before Christmas and they truly were superb, especially considering they range in age from only 9 to 21. She's loving every minute of the twice weekly rehearsals although she is struggling with the late nights. None the less, the prospect of performing 'High School Musical' at the Old Rep in May is motivation enough to keep her going.
An 'S' update
Not much going on for 'S' at the moment although he is coming close to the crucial options choices at school. He's decided he would like to be a sports teacher as his main love has always been sport. He's now in the process of speaking to various teachers to assess what subjects he needs and which teachers will accept him for their subject.
So there you have it, first post of the year. Ok, so it wasn't so painful (for me anyway) and now I've broken the blogging 'seal' I should be ok to spout off a bit more frequently.
Now for piccies..........bye for now!
[slideshow]
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