and so the agony begins...

Most people will now know that I've signed up the Race for Life in Cheltenham in July. I figure the more people I tell, the more obliged I am to go through with it (and obviously the more chance I get of getting sponsorship) . It's probably not a big deal to many people but the prospect of running any amount of distance is seriously daunting to me (apart from running to the chocloate machine but I guess that doesn't really count). let's face it... my boobs were not designed to stand that level of gravitational pull. So I've gone out and done a bit of training - whichn mainly involved walking lots with a litle bit of running but I have time to progress (and work on my injury excuses!). I ache like mad but thats not suprising since I've not done any real exercise since leaving school!

The race is the day after the team event Sagga runs at the Malvern Challenge so there's a chance I may be able to get up that bloody hill without passing out this year too....
I've convinced Emma and Saxone to join up too, but they are fitter by far than me. Emma's mum has just had the all clear from cancer, and a close friend of mine is mid-way through battling breast cancer and doing a damn fine job of it too. I'm off to spain with her in ten days time and shall be putting aside my running training to enjoy the delights of olives and spanish red wine (and sunshine and reading books). I have given up red wine for lent which has been quite hard at times, but have decided that Easter will have to come early this year as there's no way I'm going on holiday to Spain without being able to sample the local vino.

But I'm sure red wine is good for training, at least the prospect of a glass at the end of the race may be the best way to keep me going!

so... ... sponsor me if you can via the link or just wish me luck....

weekends

it's been a lovely relaxed sofa-filled weekend. went to the pub for an hour on friday evening with sarah and paul but luckily we all were equally knackered so crashed and burned by 10pm! met up with some old friends for lunch on Saturday then lay on sofa and watched Ice Age on tv. I do love that film, now just need to "acquire" a child to give myself an excuse to go see Ice Age 2 at the new fancy cinema in cheltenham. Couldn't quite muster the energy to get off the sofa to go out on sat evening, but managed to do so this morning and went on a short walk round Woodchester Hall - really nice, if slightly spooky, place. Got totally drenched on way back - it's funny how you can't complain about getting wet when you're old, cause you're the one that made the decision to go out - not like when you're a child and you're dragged along! still, gave me an excuse to lie on sofa again this afternoon and get my tea cooked for me this evening.

i've walked round all week with the biggest dark cloud over my head, for no real reason. guess it's just hormones or something but it's not good. Hopefully the fact that it's friday will cheer me up :-)

blonde moment

You going to like this one…..

Good weekend last weekend – spent a lot of it cleaning the house as it’s race week this week and I had 3 blokes coming this Tuesday evening to stay in my house whilst I moved into mum and dad’s (along with Sarah who’s also renting her house out).

Monday night I went out with Paul and some of his canoe club people to spend the evening Slot Car racing. Basically it’s a huge scaletrix track with cars set up in a big garage… with all the technology set up like Go Karting so you can all race each other with the timings on computer. I was the only girl and out of about 10 I came 4th, so was in the final. Not bad eh!

So there I was, basking in the light of girlie credibility… until I realised I’d locked myself out of my house…… again. These were my various thought processes….

I’m always doing this, so I have escape routes….keys at both my best friends and my parents. I’ll be fine.

So I’ll get the keys from Sarah’s house.
But she gave them back to me the other day as I need them to give to the guys who are renting my place. They’re inside my house.

So I’ll get the keys from my mum and dad
But they are on holiday

I can get into mum and dad’s house with my spare key for theirs and get their spare key for mine….
But my keys to mum and dad’s are in my car, and my car keys are in the house.

It’s ok – mum gave me another spare set for their house to give to Sarah for living there this week – so I go round to hers. Whew! (By this time it’s about 11pm)

Go round to mum and dad’s, get in, but I can’t find my bloody spare key. Send text to dad’s mobile asking him where it is.

Give up, go back to Paul’s and feel very pissed off (and grateful that I’m working from home tomorrow which will give me a bit of time to sort it all out and organise my house before the guys arrive in the evening).

Suddenly realise that my spare key is likely to be in mum’s car, which is parked at Sally and Jon’s in Redditch. Send Jon a text and sleep well in the knowledge that tomorrow I can drive up to their house in the morning.

Except I haven’t got the keys to my car. They are in the house.

But that’s ok – I can get into mum and dad’s and get the keys to my MX5 which is in mum and dad’s garage (good job I have a spare car…)

Sleep….

Wake up. Realise that I was wearing disposable contact lenses last night which I threw away. My glasses/lenses are in my house. My house is locked. I can’t see jack shit without them. I can’t drive.

So Paul, bless him, drives me to Redditch and back in a nice little 2 hour round trip to get my spare key. (Before having to drive a further 45 minutes to work.) All’s well that ends well. Except…

Drive into my cul-de-sac to find the 8.30 arrival time my Race week guys had told me was 8.30am not 8.30pm and they were sat outside my house waiting wondering where I was.

I sent them off to Morrisons for breakfast and never have I cleared a house/packed/made beds so quickly in my life.

Boy what a dumb blonde I am sometimes.

Thank god mum and dad didn’t leave the car at the airport otherwise I would have spent the day wandering round NCP car parks bleeping randomly in the hope of finding their Megane! 

Viva espagne!

I'm off to sunny spain!!! yeehah. In exactly 1 momth I will be off to Andalucia for a long weekend over easter with my mate. She owns a flat out there and she is in need of a sunny break, being half way through her treaement of chemo, and, being the kindhearted soul that I am, I have conned her into letting me come too!! bring on the suntan!

another busy week at work but all interesting stuff. was supposed to have my appraisal on Tuesday but we were too busy so I was spared for the time being...

Race week next week and race fever is spreading round the town. pubs have "all day breakfast" signs outside, marquees are going up all over the place to cram the drinkers in, and there's a general feel of excitement in the air. I do love it! I'm going to have to do some cleaning s I have three young gentlemen staying in my house adn I'm decamping back to the parents. Luckily they have swanned off to South Africa. I suggested I rent our their house instead which would bring in bags of cash but they were less enthusiastic. shame. still, anyone up for a party??!! plenty of space...!

an interesting approach to the smoking issue....

pancakes

they were yummy.

have already broken the "no chocolate" for lent rule. The "no wine" has now been increased (temporarily) to no alcohol full stop as I am now on antibiotics, but will be the hardest one to keep..

I love the fact that I started off with a blanket "I'm giving up alcohol for lent" to "I'm giving up red wine for lent" to me now considering "I'm giving up drinking red wine during the week" to "I can only drink red wine when there's a Y in the day".....

It's all about refining it down to a manegeable target (ah... remember those SMART objectives folks, they have to be achievable)

On a sad note I was really sorry to read about the death of Linda Smith - a fantastic comedian who I loved listening to on various radio 4 programmes. She'll be sorely missed.