I decided a while a go to start afresh so I am now blogging over at mehubbyandkids.co.uk if you want to pop over.
It would be much appreciated. Thank you.
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Popsy Virtual Run
In October I am planning to run my very first marathon! 😱 I’m not entirely certain what possessed me to sign up for a 26.2mile run but I did. So as I am going to run that far anyway, for fun (?), then I might as well try to raise some money for a worthy cause while I’m at it.
Popsy is a local charity that arranges outings and holidays for partially sighted and disabled children. They do have some amazing holidays but to accommodate all the different needs they hire a jumbulance .
It may not be cheap but it does allow children who are unable to access any other kind of public transport – buses, trains, planes – to experience a holiday. I’m hoping that by pushing myself out of my comfort zone for 26.2miles, I can raise some money to allow a child to go on holiday with Popsy to Disneyland.
To do this, I am hosting a virtual run. The cost of this run will be £10 and you will earn this medal…..
So how does the virtual run work?
- Sign up using the button below
- Complete 26minutes of activity any way you chose- walking, running, wheeling etc
- Send me proof – pictures of you doing the run, fitness watch read outs, Strava upload etc
- Wait for your medal to arrive in the post
It’s as easy as that!
If you are signing up for a child who may want to be presented with their medal at the completion of their run then please let me know and I will send the medal out before your run.
The medals will be sent out 2nd class to keep costs down as all the profits from this race will go to Popsy.
To enter you can email me at mehubbyandkidsblog[at]gmail[dot]com replacing the [at] and the [dot] with the relevant symbols.
Caerphilly Castle
Living in Wales definitely has its advantages. There are so many places to visit and things to see. Caerphilly Castle is just one of many castles we have and it’s the 2nd largest castle in Britain.
The kids and I popped in to see the dragons and spent a good part of the day wandering around the castle grounds and picnicking on the grass inside the castle walls.
The kids loved climbing the spiral staircases to the top of the castle and looking out the arrow holes (I’m sure they have technical names!)
Inside the castle there were many sculptures and objects to look at. The kids particularly liked this head sculpture.
The castle has elaborate water defences which make up a very picturesque moat.
Dragons
We are pretty lucky having a huge castle like this practically on our doorstep.
Recently we had visitors of the dragon kind who took up residence in the castle.
Dewi has been to the castle before (march 2016)
but this time he brought his girlfriend Dwynwen
and they later had babies.
We were lucky enough to visit the eggs in the nest but unfortunately missed seeing the actual dragon babies before they left for other castles. I am hoping they will make a return so that we can see them.
The kids and I had a fab time wandering around the castle which was extremely busy, possibly due to the presence of the dragons.
Have you seen them on their travels?
My jumper coat
As many of you are aware, last year I spent a year buying no new clothes. I did pretty well and have only bought footwear since (a pair of boots for me and shoes for the kids).
The weather here has been changeable recently and so I needed something that was lighter than a coat but thicker than a cardigan.
I have been following The Woolly Pedlar on twitter for a while now and I love her creations. Not just because they are a great way to use textile waste but they are really unusual and I just love them.
At the time that I messaged her she didn’t have anything in my size in the colours that I wanted but I was happy to wait.
Then I got a sneak peak
(Picture courtesy of The Woolly Pedlar)
Then another one a short time later
(Picture courtesy of The Woolly Pedlar)
I really loved getting updates throughout the making process and couldn’t contain my excitement when the final photo came through.
(Picture courtesy of The Woolly Pedlar)
It was finished! I fell in love with it instantly.
I’ve been wearing my jumper coat for a few weeks now and get compliments everywhere. It really is the most amazing piece of clothing I have ever bought. Even if Hubby finds it funny to comment “how can you say you’re cold? You’ve got 20 jumpers on!”
Chadderton Hall parkrun
I love parkrun. I don’t get to go very often as Hubby works a lot of weekends but I love it when I can actually make it.
Recently we had to go up to Manchester to visit family and while idly browsing the Internet in the hotel I realised there was a parkrun less than a mile away. I was so excited!
After clearing it with a Hubby I set off to Chadderton Hall parkrun the next morning. I ran down the road and soon found the park. I found some volunteers and followed them on their way back to the start.
As people started to arrive I realised that this wasn’t going to be as busy as what I’m used to. There must have been 56 runners at most. I’m used to between 200-700 depending on which parkrun I go to.
The new runners’ briefing advised that this is not a fast course and you can add at least 2 mins to your usual 5k time due to the tight turns. It was a 4 lap course and at one point it runs round a rose garden.
It was a beautiful setting though.
The river:
The bridge:
Even the park itself:
I finished 45th. The highest finish I’ve ever had lol!! It was hard though and it did add time to my usual 5k time. It’s not one that I would rush to do again as I’m not a fan of lapped courses, but it was a friendly course with friendly marshalls.
Definitely worth trying if you are in the area.
Sofa-so good
There’s actually been a bit of DIY going on here at alifetimeofdiy. I know! Shocker right? The front room which we use as our main room was one of the first ones decorated when we moved in 7 years ago and to be fair it was starting to look shabby.
The floor was replaced a little while ago and is still in good condition so we kept that as it was but the rest of the room needed painting and decorating.
We also decided it was time to change our beloved settees. We’d had the one since we bought our first house together 14years ago and the other we bought second hand 6 years ago so they have both had good lives. We donated the one back to charity but the other one wasn’t in good enough condition for them so that was disposed of by the council after a few unsuccessful listings on freecycle.
We bought our new settee in the sale (is there ever not a settee sale going on?) and we love it. It looked massive when it arrived though. It came in two parts and the first half was supposed to be the shorter end. That looked big enough!
Then they brought in the second half!
Wow! It seemed to take up most of the space.
Although it may be because the rest of the room looked like this:
Thankfully it didn’t look like this for long. The room needed to be emptied so that we could finish redecorating.
We’ve lived with the new settee for about 6 weeks now and we love it. The kids enjoy lounging on it and it’s really comfortable. We are really pleased with it even if it means our savings took a big hit.
Stay tuned for the big “reveal” post. Please try not to get too excited lol!
Easter Half Term
The kids have had two weeks off school to celebrate Easter and we’ve done a fair bit. The weather has been pretty kind and it’s coincided with both my birthday and a friend’s wedding.
We’ve been out and about, we’ve celebrated Easter, my birthday, and a wedding. We’ve baked (those ice creams are really cake!) and I’ve done a bit of sewing.
We even went to the seaside for a couple of nights.
How was your Easter holidays?
Indoor Surfing
Have I told you I’m terrified of water? I can’t stand being out of my depth or anything that splashes my face. I’m not sure if it comes from my mum who is also terrified of water or whether it is because I have constantly had it drilled into me by ENT consultants, not to get my ears wet. Possibly a bit of both.
Little Lady went on a surfing course back last year and absolutely loved it. I have watched other people do it loads of time too but I have never been able to pluck up the courage to actually go for it.
Then I finally did!
Without the water it looks like a big bouncy trampoline. It’s a bit more intimidating with the water flowing though.
Little Lady is pretty much an expert now in my eyes and she couldn’t wait to go back to have another go with me. To be honest, I surprised myself and actually enjoyed it! It was fab. Very tiring and stressful for me, but fab.
I was a bit nervous at first especially when you essentially throw yourself off the top but I did it and with each turn I became more confident. I was exhausted by the end and had bruised thighs from the pressure of the water. But Hubby managed to get this really great photo of Little Lady and myself high-five-ing.
Have you ever been indoor surfing or maybe this kind of surfing outdoors? Like on a cruise ship?
Mara-mania
Well I may have done something very silly. I *may* have signed up for a marathon! What was I thinking? To be honest I’m not entirely sure.
I’ve always said I would never sign up for a marathon due to the time commitment to train. I have entered the VLM ballot a few times but the chances of getting in are slim so I never worry about that too much.
Back last year when I did the Severn Bridge half the organisers announced that they were planning a full marathon for this year that took place over both bridges. Well that was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. To run over both Severn Bridges? It’s a dream come true (yes I know, I lead a very boring life!) However, due to the fact that the new bridge goes back into public ownership this year and the confusion surrounding that, it has not come into fruition.
Surprisingly I was really disappointed. I was actually shocked at how disappointed I was that I wasn’t going to run a marathon this year. I thought I would be pleased, dodging a bullet so to speak. But no, I was actually disappointed. So I started looking at other marathons. I finally settled on the Race for Life marathon in Lee Valley London, mainly because of the 8hour cut off. I feel that the 6hour cut off of most marathons would be putting too much pressure on myself.
Payday came and I signed up. I’m currently swinging from “woohoo!” To “what have I done?” I have 6 months to train. Six months to double my longest distance of 13.1miles. And do it comfortably. I am running with a friend so I have every confidence that we will chat our way around the course so it won’t be a flat out run.
I am currently on the look out for a good, flexible training plan that will fit around my (ahem, my kiddies’) busy life. If you’ve got any suggestions then please let me know. I need all the help I can get.
alifetimeofdiy 