The one where I spend the day on an aeroplane

So hi there Birdies, wow what a week I've had. Can't say it's been the best week ever as it's been pretty stressful but yay it's the weekend as I write this so I survived. I'm currently 36, 000 ft up in the air 137KM from Goose Bay - where ever that is and 3668KM from Manchester where today started at 5.45am. So this post is is going be mainly about the whole travelling experience as my week was rubbish and no one needs bringing down on a Sunday - positive vibes only  Birdies. So like I said Manchester. We actually arrived in Manchester Friday evening to stay over in the Premier inn near the airport. I have to say with Premier inn you know what you are going to get and as always the room was nice, clean and comfortable. Included in the deal we took was the parking for 15 days which was one of the reasons for us staying over. 

It made sense to drive down the night before and get into holiday mode early. Our flight was 10.30am but needing to get to the airport at 7.30am meant an early start either way.

This way it was just a little more bareable. We had a nice meal in the restaurant at the hotel and retired to bed early in anticipation of a long ass day Saturday. 

 A 5.45am alarm is never welcome, even when you are on route to the sunshine state it still smarts a bit so not quite with life we fulfilled the usual obligations of teeth cleaning , wash etc - you get the idea.. got dressed and left to deposit the car at the car crèche.

I love flying , I mean like LOVE IT but even I was not 100% looking forward to the 9 hours contained in a tin can. I thought long and hard about what to wear and then defaulted to what has become my travel uniform.  Black bandeau jersey jumpsuit, chunky sandals, ever present radley cross body bag and a shirt for the inevitable airplane aircon assault.

This time I mixed it up a bit with the addition of a cool Panama hat I eye spied in Assessorize in duty free within about 15 seconds.

I know ...impressive, it's a skill. 

Parking and check in was quick and smooth so shout out to the Virgin team at Manchester for a speedy service. And now for my revelation - Fast Track security. 

This was the impulse buy of all impulse buys on the interweb a few weeks ago. Usually I'm like, nah waste of time/money/both.... Oh no my friends ....genius is what this was, pure genius.  Literally no queue at all, the feeling of smugness I felt walking up that lane past the lengthy queues on the other side was immense. It wasn't even shadowed by the joy I felt upon finally getting my mitts on a Rose gold pandora bracelet and charm about an hour later. And that my birdies is saying something, because I've been dreaming about that for weeks if not months.

Anyway I digress as usual. Fast track .....sheer heaven, we walked right to the desk and being the efficient , some might say OCD person I am I was prepared. Liquids in a bag check, electricals all handy check, shoes unbuckled - well no check but in fairness I had no chance due to the complete lack of queue action. It's fair to say once you've gone fast track there is NO going back. I'm converted. The advantage of the speedy security meant more shopping time but first liquid was required. The Mr and I went into Cafe Nero first stop and downed a latte and some water. A few beers the night before may have slightly dehydrated us both along with hotel aircon.  

 Usually breakfast is an airport staple but last nights dinner was sitting heavy as it was pretty late when we ate so we skipped that and went for a stroll. I.e we went on a duty free scouting mission. As I said I've bagged myself a great new Panama hat which I love and will be a main feature of my 2 weeks in Cape Coral Florida. Pandora sort of dragged me over and sucked me in like a Vortex and the only way to buy my freedom was to leave with a new rose gold clasp bracelet and a cute double heart charm. It really was close call that I'd leave at all ! 

The Mr wanted a baseball cap so we went to JD next to get that sorted and as you all know no airport visit is complete without a shopping spree in WH Smiths. So 2 books , gum, M&M's and various other confectionary later (none of which half, way into the flight has been consumed ) we left there.  Boarding was fairly quick and pain free , mainly because we sat and waited for the hoards of people who seem to think waiting in line is a recreational sport to get on first. We scored big time because although in a bank of 4 seats in the centre of the plane the other 2 seats are empty. 

 I have to say Virgin do look after you on board , water on entry, a drink trolley soon after take off and then lunch after a few hours. I've have a Tiger beer and red wine by 1pm .....They also, just as I'm sat typing, came round with cute little Fab ice lollys which released the inner child in both of us as you can see from the picture. At this rate I'm going to have gained half my holiday weight before I get off the plane.

So I've watched 2 films both of which made me proper LOL and cry - think that's the altitude , totally going with that excuse. How to be single is something I've wanted to watch for a while and did not dissapoint. i'm totally convinced that Rebel Wilson and I are soul mates and need to be BFF's so Rebel ..call me bitch lets hang. I also watched Sisters which wasn't on my film radar in any way shape or form but boy was it funny and I totally recommend it as a feel good, laugh a minute watch. So that's it for now Birdies. I'll post midweek with a Florida update. I must dash the drinks trolley is on the way round again and I haven't had any alcohol for oh 2 hours now so.... Come on I'm on my holibobs it's compulsory. 

 Speak soon Birdies ...and remember, Make good choices ....buy that hat, it totally looks super cute and yes you do need that giant bag of M&M's that will double up as a sleeping bag when empty. BB X

The one where I catch up and we move on ......

    
Hi Birdies, 

Firstly let me say sorry for the lack of action on here. Life has been pretty busy , and yes I realise that's the point of the blog to blab on about my busy life but, seriously it's been busy. So this post will be a round up if you like of what I've been up to for the last few weeks.

So......thinking back , let's go .....I've been on Brownie camp which was lots of fun. I was asked to go with my mates Kirsten and Sag and their brownies. The brownie house was right by the safari park at Knowsley and even closer to the lion enclosure perimeter fence. So close in fact that on the Saturday evening and the Sunday morning we could hear the lions roaring. 
The safari park was a lot of fun and I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area any time soon. The ape drive through was an experience that I will never attempt in my own car. We were in a tour bus from the park. They actually came to the camp house and picked us all up which is a fantastic service. The car behind us in the ape section got wrecked, and I mean rubber pulled out the windscreen, window wipers pulled off , licence plate pulled off wrecked..... I would not have been happy. 
The theme of camp was superheroes and on Saturday evening I dressed up as Mrs Incredible which was fun but no one needs to see that so no pictures to share. 

In the week following that it was my mother in laws birthday so we all went out for a curry. 17 of us...to say it was chaos is an understatement but we had a great time and celebrated as a family. Last weekend the Mr and I were away in Roger. We didn't go far, only around 40 mins away from home but the site was a lovely quiet one right by the canal and a pub called The Lock. We went to the pub for food on Friday and had one of the best burgers I've had for a while , typically I forgot to take a picture of it as I was so hungry I dived right in and inhaled it oops! They also serve frozen cider which is essentially a cider slushy , so nice and definitely moreish. So much so we wobbled back to Roger and zonked out by about 10.30pm. Lightweights I know. 
On the Saturday morning we went out to Frankie and Bennys for breakfast. I think their breakfast menu is the best around and always hits the spot, if you download their app now you get £10 to spend on main courses. Everything is the same price so it's easy to navigate the menu and they do bottomless coffee which is big thumbs up from me. The location of F&B in Kidderminster is amazing, they have a seating area right by the canal and when the weather is as good as it was last weekend it's joy to sit there. 
The small matter of triple pancakes with bacon and eggs helped of course. Once again idiot rubbish blogger Birdie inhaled the breakfast and didn't take a picture . I have a new mental note and I've told the Mr to remind me to take the pictures before I dive in !!!!! 
After breakfast we headed off on Rhonda to Stourpourt on Severn and had a walk around the permanent fun fayre. I have to say, I know the kids love it and it's a great asset to the town for pulling people in to visit but it was a bit grim to say the least and I think the owners need to think about investing some serious money on a facelift. 
So a very brief walk around the fun fayre completed and we set off for a stroll up the river. There were lots of family's out enjoying the sunshine, picnics on the grassed areas, lots of kids using the park and outdoor paddling pool and it was lovely to see. I decided to challenge the Mr to a game of crazy golf which was fun and proceeded to whip him at his own game. I scored 3 holes in one and well and truly beat him. Ice cream consumed as a celebration ( no picture ) but trust me it was amazeballs ...we set off back to Roger. 
We were due to meet up with family later for a takeaway but due to confusion ....mainly mine apparently I was waiting for them to text us and they were waiting for us to turn up ! This resulted in us ending up back in slushy cider pub, getting a call about a mini festival 12 miles away, jumping back on Rhonda going to festival to meet up with other friends and having a nice catch up. 
Whilst there I decided to text about this takeaway and was informed they had been waiting for us since 6.30pm major oops! So back on Rhonda to meet family and grovel like the loser I am. 

So sorry Kelly, Lee , Holly and Emily we got there in the end and can't wait to catch up again and play on the Bizzie Bee snap chat. 

 And so now to this week.....I have to say fairly quiet, I've not been in the mood to do much in all fairness due to one reason or another . The gym has been pretty none existent despite best intentions, I've totally lost my mojo. 
Friday saw us decide to go into holiday mode a week early and we went out for food again. I TOOK PICTURES !!!!! 
We went off to Bella Italia which is fast becoming a favourite for us. Due to a rubbish week we decided to go whole hog and I managed to consume wine , garlic prawns a bbq pizza and a tiramisu followed by a cocktail of prosecco and limoncello.  Needless to say from Saturday I was back on the SW wagon. 
I haven't been weighed for weeks so I need to go on Wednesday and I cannot say I am in any way looking forward to it, but the time has come to take control again and taste my medicine. Given I'm off on holiday Saturday  I'm not sure what I can do with the result other than think about it and bare it in mind while I'm away. 

So that's all from me birdies , as I said I'm off for 2 weeks so I'll post from sunny Florida but I'm not sure when exactly. 
 I'll tag all the pictures to the end of the blog in no particular order , but hopefully they will be chronological. 

So until next time as always birdies....Make good choices and eat the cake ....always !   

BB 

X                    

The missing link .........

So Birdies last week was a no show from me I'm sorry.

I had a busy Friday and Saturday and basically just crashed to earth ....well the sofa....with a mahoosive bump on Sunday and lost all motivation for life. In the week is never a good time for me to try and write a post so I'm a week behind effectively. 

So I've made a gap in the time space continuum in the stylee of Back to the Future ...but this is actually back to the past ..ala last week so not quite right........but anyway I digress as usual ....here is what would have been last weeks blog and in the week I will post this weeks update and then we can all calm down and get to normal , whatever that is in Bizzie Birdies world . Actually we can't because I go on holiday in a few weeks and that will throw everything out again. But let's just forget that for now or the time space gap will close and we will all be forever stuck somewhere between last week and this week ! 

Soooooo.....this week (really the week before) Right I'm gonna stop this right now or we will all be confused ....it's a week late you get it I get my bad.....let's move on and call it The Week. A fairly uneventful week aside from Monday, the Mr won at bingo which was nice as he won a house so a whole £100 so thanks for that Gala. Other than that we had a quietish week , trips to the gym have dribbled down to like zero of late so we made a good effort to be there every day . I was away with work 2 nights but diligently took my kit and used the gym at 6.30am both mornings so I was feeling pretty smug I have to say. Thursday was my little sisters buffday and we had planned a night out in Birmingham on Friday to celebrate. To say it was a rush was an understatement and to say I was tired was an even bigger understatement.  After a mini rush to get my shit together we all , me the Mr my sister and her hubby and my daughters and 1 bf.....the other joined later via FaceTime .....went into town. 

I wore a navy blue jumpsuit from the Myleene Klass range at Very. It was an off the shoulder affair and I have to say I felt great in it and can't wait to wear it again somewhere. I'm not a big goer outer as in clubbing it has to be said. Aside from the fact I'm way too old. But I do love getting poshed up and going out. We were planning a meal but thought it would mean an early finish and as Angela wanted to go dancing we decided previously to just go right to the hard stuff. 

First stop was a cocktail bar called The Botanist that was packed out . We dropped on a table by luck and all  looked over the huge array of cocktails on offer. The chaps typically settled on beers and a shot , I had a Lemon & Vanilla Goblet which was really nice and refreshing , birthday girl had a Strawberry Cucumber Cooler, Chloe had a Mojito and Chantel had a Watermelon Martini. The cocktails are not cheap but nor are they outrageous but to drink there all night you'd need deep pockets. The atmosphere was friendly and they had live music on which was nice and I can see why it gets so packed out.

After a drink we headed over to a bar/club called Reflex. My sister, fellow Birdies is true 90's child so this was her choice of venue and boy did it suit her down to the soles of her studded shoe boots. She had cleverly called ahead mid week and got us into the guest list so we skipped the queue....when I say queue its in the loosest term, there was a homeless man in a doorway and 2 worse for wear gents who were being turned away.....but still we waltzed right past them like royalty ala Kardashian posse and went right in. Angela got a goodie bag and a bottle of cheap fizz and I was a little dubious to what type of place we were in. Worry not ........a bucket of Woo Woo later and some absolute classics from the DJ we were all,  aside from Chantel, Chloe and Sam smashed. So basically all the responsible parents, aunts and uncles were well oiled and the younger members of our party were looking on in bemusement. Not too bemused to take an embarrassing video or 3 mind. And the place was packed to the rafters by the time we left at around 1am. 

I have to say we had a great time and I would go back to either place in a heartbeat. My feet killed me, my head hurt the next day and the Mr's wallet wanted to know why we never used the return metro ticket and got stung for a £40 taxi !!!! 

The next morning , or late that same day I was on a train to Liverpool from New Street at 8.37am. Was I regretting the late finish? YES, did I feel like crap? YES was I gonna miss seeing my Chicas Kirsten and Sag? Hell to the NO. This weekend was meant to be a full on 2 nighter in Liverpool but for 1 reason or another it fell apart so turned into a day trip instead. 

I met the girls at Liverpool One and they had bought along Ceri who I hadn't met before so after some introductions we went for some much needed carbs in the form of Eds Diner.  I opted for pancakes with bacon and a peanut butter shake. When the pancakes came out I was faced with 2 of the largest pancakes I've ever seen. In fact I couldn't manage both and farmed the other one out the others. Ed's Diner is an American themed restaurant and I love it in there. After breakfast cum lunch, feeling less hung over we spent some time shopping. 

There was a vintage event on at the docks so we headed over to see what was happening. Unfortunately the weather was typical July fare and it was wet but we did not let that spoil our day and we had a good walk around the stalls and stands. Inside the Tate there was an area where you could print your own fabric. This was an instant must do for all of us and so along we trooped to be faced with a room of kids printing onto cloth. Not easily discouraged we all jumped right in and I have to say had a great time and made these beautiful works of art. 

We then walked around the vintage clothing stalls and a green dress Immediately caught my eye. I tried it on over the top of my jeans and top and it fit perfectly and felt like it was made for me so I felt compelled to buy that and I'm so glad I did now I've tried it on at home properly with the right shoes, I just need somewhere suitable to wear it now. After looking round some more shops we were in need of food again and settled on the Hand Made Burger Co. I have to say I was a little disappointed in both the restaurant and the service and think that the branch in Grand Central Birmingham was much better. I had a BBQ burger and fries , Sag is a coeliac and has to be careful and she couldn't have fries in this particular place which was disappointing for her. She also required a special bun and on the first burger they bought out the bun was stale. The waiter or table cleaner as I prefer to call them just shrugged at us so I said can you get a fresh one please? There was maybe a hint of passive aggressive but seriously ....he shrugged ! The second was marginally better but by his own admission they don't get many people asking for gluten free so they were probably old....I mean really , no really ??????   I think we all left feeling a bit cheated for one reason or another.

HMBCo is a self service type place essentially as you have to note your table number and go up and order and pay. Hence the table cleaners and not waiting staff. It's a very expensive Burger King when you look at like that. So for me the food needs to be exceptional, and on this occasion I felt cheated in a way and wish we'd gone elsewhere. BUT , as I said I've been to the one in Grand Central and that one was worth the money so try it for yourself and see how you get on before taking my word for it. 

By 6pm my hangover tiredness had well and truly kicked in and I was getting miserable - sorry girls  So as my train back had been cancelled I headed to the station to see if I could get the slightly earlier train.  I loved my day in Liverpool and can't wait to go again and do some more exploring. Kirsten and Sag have promised me a trip on the ferry across the Mersey , I love a good cliche me. I arrived home Saturday night and literally passed out on the bed. I think I saw the Mr for around 3 seconds at 7.30am that morning and as he was out when I got home we didn't catch up until Sunday afternoon when I finally surfaced and he got back from golf. So that's my week Birdies. Sorry it's late,  blame my sister and the bucket of Woo Woo if you feel the need to point the finger somewhere. This weeks blog will go up by Wednesday night then i'm all paid up and I'm back square with y'll, right ?   

So have fun birdies and don't forget....

Make good choices......

BB

X 

The one where I ran a half marathon..... and ate enough food to fuel a full marathon .....

Hi Birdies

I hope you've had a great week.
This week has been a busy one as always, with football fever and then the inevitable depression hitting the Birdie house on Monday it wasn't the best start.
Before that I went on a last ditch run with my sis in law Nicki to get some miles under our belt before the dreaded half on Saturday. We did 6 miles in what turned out to be very humid, warm conditions. the pace was good and I felt ok which was the main thing for me as I needed a good run mentally so it was mission accomplished.  
So back to the football, I didn't watch it myself as I find the whole thing way to stressful so I took myself off to my usual Monday event - bingo.
We started going to bingo in January after our return from holiday. My mom was staying with us due to 2 hip operations in 4 weeks and both her and the Mr's mom are widows now so we decided to find something to do to get everyone out the house a night each week.  I have to say from the first visit, where we had no idea what we were doing we now love it and go every Monday.
So Lin my lovely mother in law (my mom who incidentally has a blog right here is back home now) and I took ourselves off to bingo and let the boys scream and cry at the TV.
We didn't win but we had a good night anyway, until I got home was was told all about what is wrong with English football....

This week as been not so great on the food front I have to confess. Monday was completely on SW plan and I came back from my run to SW freindly hunters chicken cooked for me by the Mr.
Tuesday was a meal out at Prezzo with some customers from work, there may or may not have been a glass of wine too but I couldn't possibly say!
We had some sharing flatbread to start and I opted for pasta in the end after a tough 10 minutes pouring over the menu. The Pappardelle Gorgonzola and it was really nice. 
Now i'm sure you are all aware of the pudding pocket, that little space you have left in your tummy no matter how full your "main" tummy is, reserved especially for something sweet. With this in mind I opted for the Amaretto Trifle which was on the specials board. What I didn't do which I must start remembering is to take pictures of my food for the blog. Always learning !
On Wednesday as we both got home after 7pm we found ourselves at Chiquito's... this was a bit of a disappointment to be fair. The prices seem to have all increased by a few pounds and the portion size was not as generous as it used to be - well on the Chicken Fajitas anyway. The Mr had chicken and pulled pork which didn't really live up to the menu description although the service was good and fairly quick. We really wanted to go to TGI Fridays as i've never been and i'm keen to see what the fuss is, but there was a one hour wait for food so.... maybe next time :)

These 2 nights aside i've been fairly good since then helped by the Mr being on cooking duties this week in the main due to my work schedue...well good until the weekend that was....

Friday afternoon found me in Peterborough by Stamford and I found an amazing place called Burghley House. I'd heard of it but never been, so passing right by I had to take the chance to park up and have a peek at the House. I was not disappointed at all and spent a lovely if short time there. Its definitely worth a visit with a picnic and blanket.
   
So Saturday dawned along with the realisation it was race day ahhhhhhhhh.
The usual nerves kicked in along with major doubts that i'd even be able to finish due to the short notice and lack of miles in my legs.
The weather was fine, not too warm and some cloud which threatened rain on a few occasions - which would have been very welcome - so the stage was set.
The start was  a little unconventional in that we went through a door one at a time in various waves of around 100-150 people, someone put our number into a laptop and then said..GO ! It took me about 10 seconds to realise that was it ! 
and I was off. My sis in law Nicki and I had agreed to run together the whole way as she was carrying an injury and I was not really fit. Nicki is quicker than me usually so we were pretty evenly paced together and trotted on into the morning along the Birmingham canal. the whole race was run along the canal from Wolverhampton to Birmingham centre and so was a nice enough flattish (they lied) route. At 4 miles there was the Coseley tunnel which was pitch black and 329 meters long. There was a strict instruction not to overtake in the tunnel which I am pleased to say was observed even if we did hold a few people up, and in our tradition Nik and I had a rendition of oggi oggi oggi half way down..hehehe.
I have to say the organisation was great, the volunteers at 3,6,9 and 12 miles with electrolite drinks and water off barges were a welcome sight and much appreciated.

We were steady up to 8 miles and commented on how well we both felt , then 10 miles came and we still felt fairly well. I can honestly say its the best i've felt at 10 miles in a half. Miles 11 and 12 started to make themselves known in my knee and calves and I can only say pure faith, adrenaline and each other got us through mile 13 and the last bit. We went over the line hand in hand and actually had a really good experience. The route ended up being long at 13.25 miles so I stopped my GPS watch at 13.1 to get a true time for the half and was over the moon to have finished in 2.22.26 which is a whopping 3 mins 50 seconds off my PB. It was not flat.....they did lie. The elevation was low at 131ft compared to my previous half marathons, Brum 473ft and North London at a whooping 536ft. The elevation came from the locks and bridges and this was the cause of my knee issue, the rise up was short but very sharp with an almost immediate steep decline which was difficult on the both knees and calves but I survived. So much so that today (Sunday) I was out again taking part in a Colour Blast run for Compton hospice. A group of us ran, hobbled, limped round and we had a fantastic morning. I have to give a big shout out to my sister Angela who ran a 10K over 12 months ago and hasn't run since and decided to take part. she committed to running the whole 5K and she was fantastic. I am so proud of her and her determination. Go Angela !! 
 
Also a big massive, no, huge, no, enormous mega holla shout out to Livewell Health who were offering 10 minute massages at the end of the half. It's something i've never done before but took up this time as my calves were almost crippling me after cooling down. It was THE best £10 ever spent. He made me cry, swear and scream but boy did he work his magic on my legs and I could actually walk after 10 mins on the bench when I was barely crawling onto it.
Also thanks to Guiness (and Nicki) for the traditional pint after the half oh and also check out Nosh + Quaff in Brum by Centenary Square. We popped by for a cocktail on the way home and the



Expresso Martini was as yummy as it was lethal and I'll defo be going back , hopefully dressed more appropriately next time. The building itself is worth a bespoke blog post so stay tuned.....
So Saturday was alcohol fuelled - well that's a lot for me and Sunday may have included a trip to Burger King on the way home purely down to the fact I was STARVING. My first BK in around 10 years and it filled a hole but I won't be running or crawling back soon, although going through the drivethrough covered in colour run powder paint was amusing so hey I win. 

So that's all for this week, its been a busy one again. Mainly squished into 2 days but i've been a Bizzie Birdie all week and I'm excited to see what the next week holds me. Life is good at the moment and next weekend is shaping up to be another bizzie one, with my sisters buffday do in Brum on Friday and a trip to Liverpool on Saturday already planned. 

I'm off to watch Pitch Perfect to round off an amazing weekend, so be good birdies and remember....
Make good choices.....

BB

X

              
      

 

Stratford Shenanigans.....

Hi Birdies,

sorry for the late post this week again ......
So last week was full of running, and running, and a bit more running in prep for my very short notice half marathon on Saturday.
This past weekend we went to Stratford upon Avon in Roger.
We stayed on a small site we have used before called Dodwell Park. Its around 2 miles outside the town so the perfect location.

We arrived early evening Friday set up and jumped on Rhonda... oh sorry ! How remiss if me, i've not introduced Rhonda properly although she has featured in a previous post Yorkshire Belles and is our little 50cc scooter.

Stratford is a really nice place to visit, there always something going on in the spring and summer and of course it was full of visitors from all over the world.
We had a wander around Stratford and inevitably ended up in a pub and had a few early evening drinks. We then moved across to the bar and restaurant at the top of the RSC on the river. They have an outside terrace which is a great place to sit as you can see for miles.  
We ate in Bella Italia which was nice but not the best visit we've ever had to a Bella I have to say. The restaurant wasn't overly busy in my opinion although wasn't quiet, but the space itself was awkward and not very large and we did wait a long time to be served at every step. Even paying seemed to be a big issue to get sorted. But to be balanced we did get a great voucher from voucher cloud that gives you a second main for £1 which is incredible value so check that out guys.

On Saturday we got up relatively early for us when away and went on a trip to Wellesbourne market which is about 5 miles outside Stratford. Its on the airfield there and used to be a really big market and quite a day out so it was a little disappointing to find it had dwindled down to around 3 rows of traders. We didn't buy anything despite our best efforts. There was a guy selling Naked pallets and so I took a picture to send to my girls to ask if they wanted one - by the time they replied and we went back round the stall had totally gone - I mean like completely upped and disappeared ! moral of the story don't take a picture and scare the life out of the store holder - I'm not saying thee were dodgy but.....   
After the market we headed back into town - sheltering under a tree on the way back to let the worst of the rain pass over - only downside to a scooter!
We had tickets to see Midsummers Night Dream at the RSC matinee performance so we grabbed a coffee and had a walk around some of the shops and the market area.
We have been on the look out for some more vinyl to add to our collection and were told about an antiques shop that had an upper floor full of the stuff.
We were not disappointed at all and could easily have spent all afternoon in there. As it was we found some real gems and will definitely be returning to have another scout through the stock.






And then it was time for the theatre. We have been to RSC quite a few times to see a number of plays and so had an idea of what to expect. The theatre is in a traditional setting with the seats curving around the stage on 3 levels.
We were sat on level 2 or the circle in lovey speak. The seats were like high stools and although look unconventional are actually pretty comfortable with plenty of leg room.
To say we laughed is an understatement. The play is well known obviously but to see it performed and the characters bought to larger than life was just amazing. Puck played by Lucy Ellison was so funny and expressive and really made the play for me. Lysander played by Jack Holden was also very good and I highly recommend a visit if you can catch this before it finishes on 16th July. 

After the performance we shared a bottle of wine in the pub and caught the football on the TV - that's all I'm saying about football ...grrrrrr 
The night was polished off with fish and chips - what a perfect way to end our day. 

Sunday is pack up day so after dismantling camp and enjoying a sausage sarnie we popped into Stratford for a walk along the river and came across a craft / artisan market.
One of the stands was an owl sanctuary and you could stroke the owls for a donation which was a brilliant thing to do and I of course jumped at the chance, thanks to the Mr for the picture.

So that was pretty much my week.I stayed on food plan for most of the week - fish and chips aside - oh and wine, and ice cream....ok I stayed on plan Monday -Friday lunchtime...  and I also managed to get to my SW group this week to get weighed, which was fun ! Actually it was ok I'm still under target weight so all is good. Hopefully all the running will counteract the bad food consumed at the weekend.

So next weeks blog will be on time, promise.
My goals for this week are get food back on plan - I'm failing at this already in spectacular fashion <hangs head in shame>
Finish the half marathon on Saturday and live to tell the tale to you lovely birdies and generally just win at life.

So have a great rest of week and don't forget.....make good choices 

BB

X

 

Pureology review

Hi Birdies,

How is your week going ? Here as promised is a quick review on my new hair products.

Sooooo as I told you a week or 2 ago I went to see a hair colour specialist about my dry, haylike hair.

So after the consultation in which it was determined my hair was over processed and under nourished this shampoo and conditioner was recommended to me. In no way was it pushed upon me at all but i decided if I was going to commit to this process then I may as well take the advice given so I purchased the shampoo, conditioner and mask.

The brand is Pureology and the products have no sulphates in them and are friendly to vegans too so if that's your thing then this is the brand for you.

They offer something called the Pureology Promise which is a money back guarantee if you aren't happy after 4 weeks of exclusively using their products they will refund your money. I can honestly say i'm happy after a week of using it.

My hair feels so much better already after only a few shampoos and 2 mask treatments.

I was advised that i'd been conditioning my hair wrong for the last 43 years ...who knew ! 

apparently you are supposed to wash your hair then towel dry it BEFORE applying conditioner. I have never heard this and so i'm not sure how much of my improved condition is down to this new technique and how much is the conditioner but either way i'm a happy girl.

The range I am using is Hydrate and is specifically for dry coloured hair. I used a 10p sized blob of shampoo and it lathers up just right and is plenty for my mid length hair. Its a purple colour and has a light minty fragrance to it that isn't unpleasant but has taken a bit of getting used to.

I then towel dry and add another 10p sized blob of conditioner from the middle to the ends rubbing any residue on my hands onto the roots as advised. The conditioner is really nice and thick but smooths on really well.

I was dubious that this would be enough for my hair but it does seem to be working so i'm sticking with it.

Once a week i was told to apply the mask that they call Hydra wrap. The instructions say to apply and leave for 10 minutes but my hair guru said to apply to damp hair from half way to roots and leave in overnight and I have to say I think this has had the most impact on my hair. Aside from having to attempt to sleep in a plastic shower cap - conveniently removed from a hotel after an overnight with work - this is not a difficult task and well worth the effort.

Its no longer as dry as it was and is definitely on the mend. its not as "taggy" as it has been. It gets less tangled and knotty and generally looks much better.

So in conclusion so far so good, i'm really happy with how this hair revolution is going and cant wait to see how much improvement I can get in the next few weeks.

I'll update in my blog how I get on and how my first appointment goes with Sophie (the hair guru) in August.

So in conclusion..... this set of products was not cheap at around £65 for the 3 bottles but a little goes a long way and so far its totally value for money. You don't need lots of it so I think it will last me a while. It's 100% working its magic on my hair so it gets a 10/10 for me.

That's all from my first product review I hope you enjoyed it....see you Sunday and keep making those good choices birdie :) 

BB

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Sew...Sew...Sew.....

Happy Sunday birdies ....

So...or I should say Sew...as this week that's all I have been doing.

Child 2 decided to drop on me she required 2 fancy dress costumes and one for her boyfriend this week.

The deadline was Friday as shes at uni in Lancs and her boyfriend was going to take them up.

So every night this week was dedicated to constructing a Victorian gypsy outfit, a tail and mittens for Puss in boots. Then there was a small matter of a tunic that was supposed to look like armour with a gold griffin on the front and back.

It was such a rush / stressful task given work is bedlam at the moment that no pictures were taken but shes promised me lots of pictures for next weeks blog*.

*I'm warning you now next post may well be a day late as we are away in Roger. 

So....what else can I ramble about ..... this weeks goals were , staying on food plan - this was kept to by and large with no major problems - if you don't count the fact I'm currently eating these..
 in my defence there were only a few left in the bag.

Challenge 2 was getting back to the gym....ummmm shall we just skip this one...! I failed spectacularly at this and never entered the vicinity of the gym let alone the gym. I should let you all know I sort of run. This is a loose term and I hesitate to call myself a runner as sometimes it doesn't really resemble running at all , but I give it a go. I have partaken in a few half marathons and 10K's and have a nice little medal collection now.

I've not really been out very much since my last half in October last year. I did start getting my miles up a bit in March in prep for Hackney half in May but my surf accident put paid to that little trip.

I'm booked to run the inaugural Disneyland Paris 5K and half in September and was procrastinating about getting out and starting again....then 2 things happened in quick succession. Firstly my sister (who doesn't really run aside from a 10K last year) decided to run another 10K in prep for her 5K at Disneyland Paris ( I know.... go figure a 10K to run a 5K! ), Any hoo I decided to join her as its a few weeks before Disney and a good training run. The second thing, my sister in law who does run and trained with me last year to run her first half (then swore at the finish never again ) famous last words, text me and asked if I wanted to run the Blackcountry half with her along the canals of the Blackcountry. Ummmmm said I depends when it is really as I have races in the diary....2.5 weeks she said !!! WHAT !!!!!!  picks phone up off floor.

So this morning saw me testing the waters and the theory that your muscles have a memory, and would take me on a nice 9 mile route I have. When I say nice I of course mean a hilly, vile bitch of a route but its pretty to look at and try and distract your brain. And boy did my legs remember, every blooming step ! I managed 8 miles constant and then instead of pushing on and risking injury I walked/ran the last mile, counting lampposts like you used to when you were a kid, walk a lamppost run a lamppost....no ? Just me then !

So the upshot is I've registered for the run and have effectively 1 week to get some miles under my belt as I always have the week prior to a race off any running at all and i'm away at the weekend. 

So next week I plan to do some short runs but plenty of speed work to get my legs working and hopefully carry me 13.1 miles on the the 2nd July.

For me running is 90% mental. I have a chimp in my brain telling me I cant do it, this feels wrong that feels off, turn back now , short cut here. Any other runners out there have the same problem ? I have a book called Chimp Management that has really helped me with these negative thoughts and given me a strategy for putting my chimp back in her cage.and I highly recommend it for all aspects of life. Running this race with someone whose pace will be about the same as mine so enabling us to hopefully stay together will be crucial to me getting to the end i think. Usually Nicki is faster than me but as shes carrying a slight injury we have decided the distance and bling at the end is more important than the time...just need my chimp to remember that on the day.

The last challenge this week was to keep smiling and I think I did well on this. 5 work days of 6am starts on the M6 and long days seeing me out the house for 12 hours most days were a challenge. But I kept smiling and felt so much better for the positivity.

So - sorry for the lack of pictures this week. Next week will be packed I promise.

I'll  post midweek a review on some new hair care products I've been using. I don't usually review products as a separate post but don't want this one dragging on, for anyone that's still with me here....hehehe 

Goals for this week :

Run, Run, Run

Smile 

Stop eating M&M's 

ohhh also I've started drinking cup of green coffee 's detox green coffee. If you follow me on instagram and if not why not ? Then you'll have seen me post about this and the lovely people at Cup of Green Coffee regramed my picture - so thanks guys. I'll update how this goes in a week or so to give it chance to do its thing (hopefully).

So that's me over and out for now. Have a fab week, I'll see you midweek for a mini review on my shampoo and hair stuff and remember birdies ......

Make good choices....

BB

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