Monday 31 May 2010

Countdown is progressing

In four weeks time I will be at my folks house in France for two weeks of laziness.  We are driving down this time so no need to worry about  bloomin Ryan Air's weight limits or the extra charges to take a suitcase on Easy Jet.  Just need to pack up the car and head on down.

This morning I was up early despite it being a bank holiday and logged on to Twitter only to see a new blog post by the ever stylish Mademoiselle Robot linking to a fabulous site for vintage inspired swim wear, For Luna 

So I popped off there to have a little look and ended up seriously stretching my flexible friend (using that terms ages me right?) and purchasing a few things.  I'll photograph and post when they arrive but I am very excited about having swimwear that a) fits, b) is stylish & c) meets my desire for a 1940s/50s look.  Huzzah.  Here's a taster for now:



Still at home as it's bank holiday, will head back down south this evening for work tomorrow (and the gym first thing indeed).

Today thought going to crack on with a few chores, tidy up the clothes and bags on the bed in the spare room, conquer the ironing mountain and finish potting up the baskets and pots in the garden.

Have some shopping to share with you later in the week (including two wildly different but both perfect for their intended use bags) and a lovely Shoe Tag from Fab In Your Forties to catch up with - so I should be back quite a bit.

TTFN xx

Monday 24 May 2010

A Few New Shoes

I am working at home today, and popped into town at lunchtime to pay a cheque into the bank and passed by The Shoe Room, in Pontefract and thought I would pop in.  A little browse turned into three pairs of shoes:

So pair number one, £49 - a little kitsch but perfect for me:



But then I saw these (you may see a theme) - originally £57 but she knocked them down to £42 as there was a jewel fallen off one of them:




And then I was just about to leave and then I saw these......they were the most expensive at £70 but are just perfect:








Not sure what happened to that last pic - but lovely aren't they.


I think they will see me through the summer, as they all work with work dresses, jeans and maxi dresses.  Then also make me taller and stand straight so look slimmer - perfect.

Sunshine, Blue Sky

'Sunshine, blue sky' he shouts at 5.30am.  But she doesn't mind.  It's Monday morning and the first time for a while that she has been at home on a Monday when it's a work day.  And the Sun is shining and the sky is blue.

The Boy is going out for an early morning run, but he leave the curtains slightly ajar as he knows she likes to see the sky as she starfishes in the bed.

20 minutes of snoozing, then she'll get up and face the day.  20 minutes of mental prep, planning that email, the packing, the cooking she needs to do.  There's a very slight breeze and it's too early for the sound of traffic so it's almost like being on holiday.  Like the lovely early mornings in Crete before the day starts, she can tell how warm the day will be, how she can breathe the air and smell the sea.

She can hear him coming back now, time to get up and make the coffee.  One more deep, new day, clean breath and she's be ready to face the day.  Ready to live her pretty blessed life.

Sunday 23 May 2010

Nice and Easy Cous Cous Salad


 When the weather gets nice and the BBQ comes out I always return to my failsafe, easy Cous Cous Salad.

It's easy peasy to make and gets better after some time in the fridge.  You will need:

300g Cous Cous
Punett of Cherry Toms
bunch of Spring Onion
A generous handful of corridander and the same again of mint
A lemon
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
Garlic (4 of the individual bit the name of which escapes me right now)
Salt & Pepper


Right - put the cous cous in to a bowl with three tablespoons of the olive oil and cover with the required amount of water and set aside to cook.

Chop the tomatoes, spring onions and herbs up and set aside (I halve the toms, slice the onions and finely chop the herbs).

Finely chop the garlic.

When the cous cous is ready add the juice from the lemon and another good glug of olive oil.  Fork through then add all the other bits, stir up, salt & pepper and there you go - easy peasy cous cous salad.

If you like pop it in the fridge now and it will just get better.  Om nom nom nom.  It keeps for 3-5 days in the fridge so is perfect for quick lunches during the week.  We like to have it with home made chicken kebabs (where the chicken is marinaded in oil, lime juice and honey with chilli flakes and garlic then skewered with mushrooms, onions and peppers)

Enjoy xx

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Happy Anniversary Baby

9 years married - where did it go.

I am not home today as I am in Geneva on business but I wanted to note the day and declare my silly love for the boy.

Roll on the weekend.

Monday 17 May 2010

The morning after the morning after the night before (2)




On Saturday night I took part in the Playtex Moonwalk in London.  17,000 people walking 26.2 miles (or 13.1 for the half mooners) through the night.  I ended up loising everyone I knew and walking alone which was tough but worked out fine. At mile 2 I popped on my iPod with my brothers
wedding mix and pretty much danced through the next 17 miles.





I love London at night, it's so beautiful all lit up and sparkly.  Walking past The House of Commons then down the embankment was a but slow due to the crowds of walkers but brilliant.  More importantly my lipstick was still in place at 2am:



The organisers and volunteers did an amazing job and even the weather was on side. Not too cold and the sun came up to a clear blue sky which made me glad I packed my sunglasses.

I took off my headphones just after the V&A and had a chat with two lovely other walkers for a few miles which was probably my undoing. I ended up walking at someone else paces rather than dancing to the pace of the music as I had been doing. As a result I hit a wall just after
mile 20 that I didn't recover from.

So I slowed my pace significantly and, as we were on the way back and in an area of London I know well (Millbank) I knew I could keep going. By this time my hip, knees and back hurt and I cursed not doing more training or losing more weight but I popped my earphones back in switched to my gym iPod and carried on carrying on.

Slowly but surely I clicked off miles 22, 23 & 24 and as I passed sun drenched Buckungham Palace I knew I was going to make it. Miles 25 & 26 were painful and slow. Having spent the first 19 miles eating up pavement I was now being passed by everyone.  As I walked up the final 0.2 mile stretch to the finish line. I started to cry. Relief, pain, pride I don't know but the emotion got to me.

I am here now Monday morning after a full nights sleep and whilst I am sore, I am in one piece, no blisters, no bruises just very very sore and quite proud of myself.  So far if everyone who's pledged pay up I have raised nearly £800 which is fab.

It's not too late to sponsor me if you'd like to; just click the link at the top left of this page or put www.walkthwalkfundraising.org/pontecarloblue

Thanks for all your support, ask me in a few days if I'm doing it again next year.

Wednesday 12 May 2010

It's not got that '97 feel.

I know that today is an historic day and that the political landscape
in the UK has changed perhaps for ever but it doesn't feel like '97.

In '97 it felt like a new dawn, a new optimism, the scale of the
victory felt like the country had woken up from a fitful long sleep.

Blair (& his babes) had us all hopeful of the way things could be. But
then. But then.

So, in real terms we trust MPs less than we did in '97; we were wooed
by Nick but having been burnt by Tony went back to the old two parties.

Will the coalition last? Will the compromises made mean the worst
bits of both manifestos or the best.

It's a new dawn, a new day, but the hope & optimism is missing.

We'll see. We'll see.

Tuesday 11 May 2010

Lists, lists, lists

I'm a list maker. At work, at home it's all about the lists. Currently
I have the following lists weighing me down:

Work list 1 - things that are in the intray and people are waiting for

Work list 2 - projects and good to do activities

Home list 1- things to do around the house (it has now been over 8
months that those frames have been waiting to be out up)

Home list 2 - chores for the next few weeks

Me list - my measurements

Me list 2 - my aims and targets

Me list 3 - where I want to be (very similar to list 2 but more detail)

Scout hut list - things to do at the scout hut


I also have lists if expenses, sewing projects, knitting projects,
people to phone/write to, blog to write.

Seriously, how much more could I get done if I stopped writing the
lists. A useful tool or another way to procrastinate?

Sunday 9 May 2010

Sunday on my mind

Now that I'm living away during the week Sunday has take on a
different kind of feel. Instead of being about relaxing, restoring and
enjoying our down time, it is about planning, chores and getting ready
to leave.

I am really enjoying my work and like my little home away from home
but it does mean that I have to get super organised each week. What
meals does the boy need for the week; what is the weather going to be
like so what additional clothes will I need; is the washing and
ironing done; have I sorted all my post/banking.

So Sunday becomes about leaving and rather than becoming more relaxed
through the day I build up to the three hour drive south. There's
talk that I may be able to start working at home Monday and Friday so
I would get my Sundays back. That would be nice.

Saturday 8 May 2010

You don't bring me flowers.....

I've been married 9 years this month.  It's been a marathon not a sprint with highs and low but I still Love The Boy a silly amount and know that being with him makes me feel right.

However, The Boy has never bought me flowers, not once.  Not when we were courting, not when I have been successful at something or even when I have been so low and down that I need more than chocolate and a hug.

But, for our 5th wedding anniversary he asked me what I wanted and I wanted something that would last, something that was beautiful and that every time I looked at it I was reminded of the love I have.  At around the same time I was talking about my desire for a Cherry Tree.  I have never lived anywhere long enough to have a tree, we move 9 time s before I was 19 and since then I have lived in 8 more houses at least.  Clever boy bought me exactly what I wanted.  It's about four years old now and last year we had a good to handfuls of cherries and the blossom looks good this year.

So yes, he doesn't bring me the temporary, wilting, beutiful in the moment but a beauty that fades flowers.  Instead my love brings me annual joy, growing strength and a gift that bears fruit - not a bad trade on I think you'll agree.










Friday 7 May 2010

Sleeping is Cheating




As you know (I have after all been banging on about it for months) I am walking a marathon in my bra through the night in less than two weeks and need to stay up all night.  It will be the first all nighter I will have done for a while.

I mean there was the infamous Sequingate but since then I have been rather well behaved.  As a result to prepare myself for the Moonwalk I decided to stay up and watch the election. To be honest I didn't do too badly, managed to stay up until about 3.30am then awake again at 6am.  So far my eyes are still open, my body is still working.  I am starving and have no clue what to eat but otherwise not too bad.

As a result I feel much less worried about the through the night element of the moonwalk.....the 26.2 miles is another story.

If you'd like to sponsor me in my foolishness excellent adventure please do go here http://www.walkthewalkfundraising.org/pontecarloblue thanks everso. xx

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