Making a good start

Things to do at the beginning of 2014...

Book skiing lessons - the prospect of a skiing holiday has become almost irresistible so my plan is to get some lessons at one of the "real snow" slopes before booking anything.

The only time I've ever skiied. Definitely need some practise before hitting some real slopes!

Make more plans with friends - with most living quite a distance away and many now having one or two young children, these things need to be planned well in advance to make sure that they happen.

Regular exercise - sticking to a routine is not my area of expertise! Sporadic exercise is not really doing it for me though - all it took was a busy Christmas and a week suffering with a cold and all my fitness has disappeared into thin air! Right now walking up a couple of flights of stairs is tiring :( Consistency is surely the key. That way I will have the stamina and strength needed for random fun activities (like skiing, paddle boarding or roller skating).

Catch up on my blogging - no explanation needed here. I've been much too lazy about posting. Must do better!

Sunshine and happy days

The lovely Elle at Eat Run Sail has nominated me for the Sunshine Award:

This award is circulated to those bloggers to let them know that their posts brighten your day.

The Rules:
1.  Include award logo in a post or on your blog
2.  Link to the person who nominated you
3.  Answer 10 questions about yourself.
4.  Nominate 10 bloggers to receive the award. Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs letting them know they’ve been nominated. 

So, here we go:

Best childhood memory?
Carrying my massive teddy bear (named Henry) to my parent's bedroom to show them that I was as tall as Henry. I must have been about three years old. I'm pretty sure that it was very early in the morning and I'm not convinced my parents were too chuffed about being woken up!

Nicest time of year?
I change my mind on this all the time, but right now I wish it was late spring/early summer. I feel like I missed summer this year. Am already starting to make plans for next summer.

Favorite flower?
I don't know much about flowers although it's lovely to receive a bunch every now and again. I totally loved my wedding bouquet - I spent ages gazing at it over the days following the big event.

Scary food you would never ever even taste?
Insects! I also tried to eat a snail once but couldn't pysch myself up enough (I am a wimp!). One day I'll try snails properly.

Zodiac sign? 
I'm not really interested in astrology.

What spice would describe you?
Erm... I'm not sure how to answer that one! I guess I'd go with cinammon because it smells lovely and is fabulous in baking, which I love to do.

Snooze button or jump out of bed?
Snooze! I am still loving my sleep app, which aims to wake me in my lightest sleep, but that doesn't mean I bounce out of bed with enthusiasm!

Morning drink?
Slice of lemon in hot water followed by a cup of tea.

Song that means something special to you?
I love music that I have heard live. One example would be the classic Chesney Hawks singing the one song he's famous for. We did fireworks for a wedding that he sang at and it all went swimmingly.


Secret crush?
I don't have one! How boring is that? I quite like Brad Pitt, but that's not exactly secret.


Well, I think with that series of questions I have firmly convinced you that I'm very dull! Oh well, onwards and upwards :)

Your turn: 
What is your favourite book? 
Where on the whole Earth are you happiest?

I was featured!

Can't believe that I forgot to blog about this - I was interviewed by Kristen at the Adult Ballerina Project.

You can find the interview here :)

Thank you Kristen, I am very proud to be part of your amazing website!

More panda-y goodness

I may have started a second blog, dedicated to all things panda...

You can find it here:

Enjoy!

Yummy scrummy

Looking through my holiday snaps I couldn't avoid a food post!

I love food and have a special place in my heart for seafood, so travelling from coast to coast of France and Spain was pretty much perfect for me...

Warning - picture heavy post!

A genius dish of fish and seafood served with a baked potato, from my favourite French restaurant in St Jean de Luz.

Beautiful goats cheese salad in Hendaye.

Questionnaire-y type post

Whilst I was off on my jaunts (which I will be blogging about over the next few days), two of my blogging friends (Elle at eat run sail and Mrs DiscoBows at Disco & Bows) nominated me for a Liebster Award. It's not my normal type of post, but here goes...

Liebster is a German word that means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

Rules for receiving this award:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Then answer the questions the tagger sent for them, plus create 11 questions for the people they’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Notify the people you have tagged.
5. No tag backs.

Things about me:
1) I love the sea.
2) I love flying.
3) I'm very good at starting projects and not very good at finishing them. Hopefully, as I age I'm starting to buck this trend.
4) Gardening is a particular example of the above - I love gardening and always start with lots of good intentions and end up not giving the plants enough care and attention.
5) I'm much too worried about what other people think of me and I hate thinking that someone might be laughing at me.
6) If I could do everything I want to, I would need to be a superhero! My ideal weekly activities would be: 2-3 ballet lessons, karate lesson, homegroup, swimming, 1-2 runs, Spanish and/or French lessons, meeting with friends and one quiet night in.
7) I roller skated a LOT as a child (think artistic skating, like ice dancing). I was never great at it but got to the point of landing the odd double jump, which is pretty cool. I am, consequently, quite at home on eight wheels.
8) I have big feet (due to being tall). The other day, a shop assistant in a Spanish department store almost laughed when I asked for a shoe in my size (and it wasn't because of my awful Spanish pronunciation!).
9) I do both ends of the spectrum - tomboy-one-of-the-lads rigging (e.g. for fireworks) and lady-what-lunches (dressing up and enjoying dining out).
10) The fact that I've worked on about 30 fireworks shows does not dull my excitement when I see a show. Sometimes I even jump up and down when watching.
11) Pandas :)

Wonderful food

Do you take pictures of your food?

I don't know if it's the improvement in technology (my mobile phone is automatically a pretty decent camera), or a change in my way of thinking now that I'm blogging and attached to other social networks, but I seem to be doing it all the time...

post-cycling beef wellington this weekend

Sunday Blogging

I think more people should blog on a Sunday :)

During the week work keeps me pretty busy and I struggle to read all the updates that appear on my blog-reader, often just skim-reading to get through them all. Then, by Sunday, the stresses of the week have usually melted away and I have the time to sit back and relax. I flick to the blog-reader but it's almost empty :(

When I started my blog I noticed a real dip in readers over the weekend, but that trend is changing - let's make the most of it! Especially as, for a lot of us, we do our most interesting and exciting things at the weekend!

Please post more on Sundays!

That Sunday feeling...

PS - after the general preparation disaster that I recounted the other day, I'm heading out for a pretty long run today. Wish me luck!

A hundred posts and counting

In 14 months I've written 100 posts. That's a lot. Or at least it seems a lot to someone who previously hadn't considered writing any type of blog or even a personal diary.

And to celebrate, here are a few of my favourite blog posts:

Erm... marathon talk - my honest (if slightly depressing) account of running the Amsterdam Marathon. One of the first challenges that I have ever set myself and, if nothing else, I proved to myself that I do have some grit and determination.

Big bangs and bright lights - how I got into working on firework displays. A bit of an insight into part of my life.

Fishing in the Atlantic Ocean - an adventure different to anything I've done before. Not the most strenuous activity (barring in mind that I got to sunbathe on the boat), but pretty cool.

Damp feet and ice cream - sailing with great friends. Just lovely.

Got a kit box of my very own - it strikes me as a little silly to have written a whole post about buying a tool box for firework shows. But I have, and I'm rather attached to it (the box and the post!).



For me, a good blog post is one that's honest, light-hearted and includes a couple of photos.

Which post is your favourite? And what do you think makes a good blog post?

What a whirlwind

I've had this blog over a year! Where did the time go?


Loads of people have popped by over the last twelve months. Thank you :)

Stay tuned for more...

Must-try list

I've spent a bit of time updating the info pages for this blog (which hopefully you can find by links above).

I've also add a loves and must-tries list - a bit like a bucket list of things I want to try. Please comment and add suggestions for new activites (or places I should visit). I plan to keep busy! :)

A bit of a change

You may have noticed that I've been a bit quiet of late. It's been a really busy summer and, for the time being, wedding plans are on the "back burner".

In the meantime, I've been playing with blogging about my general day-to-day life. Not the work stuff, but everything else I get up to: cooking, gardening, exciting trips, new sports, that kind of thing. I've decided to import it here to keep everything in one place. I hope you continue to enjoy reading it!

RainStorm. xx

PS - Please bear with me whilst I update this blog with some of the posts I've written over the last month. "Normal" service will resume soon!