Friday 8 March 2013

Couch to 5k

I have decided to try and get fitter and a bit leaner!   I did the first outing before I downloaded the podcast from the NHS website called couch to 5K and thought this is not too bad.  Downloaded the podcast and turns out it is 90secs between 1 minute runs in the first week - not 5 minutes as I had thought when I speed read the website.... after the second run I thought just possibly the program has a misnomer - more like ouch to 5K!    I have kept it up for a week and should theoretically now be ready to start on the next week program which will be 90 seconds of running with 2 mins of walking in between... so we'll see how that goes.   I have been trying to walk every day also, and always on the rest days between the run/walks and had a couple of good long walks this week.    I do feel better for it - just doubting my stickability!

Have been reading with a book club, and read The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom for that - I struggled with it at first, the style more than the substance, but enjoyed it in the end.   Am also reading the Book of Mormon, and have decided to study using the Preach My Gospel manual.  

Seem to be developing into the LDS social services for the elderly in the ward - getting Kathy Wright moved to Northampton to be closer to her family, trying to help Pam Nash research and buy\hire a mobility scooter, walking with Alice Yanni and Joan Denny - which is also helping me - though Alice is pretty slow, but Joan will get a pace going if we are out without Alice. 

I am also anxious to get the house painted and decorated, but Tim is so busy with work he is not enthused at all.   It is important for me as it is my place of work as well as our home, and clients don't want to walk into a grubby looking environment.   This morning I will go and get paint charts and make a start on planning what to do with the hall, stairs and landing.  

Busy - and happy!

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Granchildren came to stay with flu....

A couple of weeks ago our good friend Bill Boome passed away and we spent all day Monday going to his  funeral in Kent.   We also had 5 members of his family, staying with us from the Friday before to Wednesday which was lovely - we don't see enough of the Boomes! 

On Tuesday I picked up Hayley and Ethan from Northampton where Cait met me - that's two hours away and halfway between us and Yorkshire were they live.   The came to stay on their own for the first time, and unfortunately Hayley came down with flu the first night.   That reminded me pretty promptly what it was like when the girls were little and sick!   We weren't able to do much because Hayley felt so poorly, but did manage 10 mins in the park one day, 15 mins feeding the ducks the next, and Tim baked brownies with Ethan while I took Hayley to the doctor - and they had fun doing that.   I had a couple of sweet moments too.   Tucking Hayley up one evening, she asked if I could sleep in Ethan's bed to be near her, and when I said yes she asked 'And if I need help can I call you?'  Melted my heart.   Ethan was such a good boy too, I was spending a lot of time sponging Hayley down to get her temperature down the first day, Calpol wasn't doing it, and one time Hayley asked for something, and I said 'You need to say please to Ethan, Hayley' Ethan's reponse?  'It doesn't matter Grandma' said with such love and kindness for his sick cousin.   On the first evening Hayley was ill, she asked to go home, and I said I didn't think she was well enough to travel four hours since I would be driving and unable to help her.  On Thursday evening when she realised she was going home the next day and was having an hour or so on not feeling too bad she said to me 'Grandma I don't think I am well enough to go home tomorrow'   Touched my heart to know she wanted to stay.

I took these two little cousins back to Northampton to go home with Amy on Friday, then spent all day Saturday cleaning. 

Les and Janet Hale came up from Bristol come up for dinner on Saturday evening, and we had a lovely quiet evening together.   I had a cracking headache on Sunday and slot for two and a half hours in the afternoon!

Yesterday one of my friends asked me to help try and trace her birth father, so spent a couple of hours on the computer with her trying to see what we could find.   I have also started attending an Eat for Health ten week program, the class is on Monday so went there in the morning, 45 minutes of nutrition information followed by 45 mins really brisk walking, in the middle of which was a 12 step stairway she made us go up and down ten times.   I was glowing bright red by the end of the session!

Today I had to attend a speed awareness course.  They recently changed the peed limit on the road we take to church from 40mph to 30 and I got caught doing 36 because I forgot.   Cost me £95 so not happy....

We are fine otherwise, trundling along.   Sorry to hear from my sister Susan that her husband, Merv's business is not doing well and they have debtors not paying up - that happened to us, when someone went bust owing us £10k in the late 80s,  we nearly folded too.  Had to remortgage the house, and I went back to work, and Jess was only three - I hated leaving the children, and think that it was actually Cait who felt it the most, though I think all the girls suffered because of it.  Mom's place is with the kids in my mind but needs must when the devil drives and we did eventually come right and get out of trouble.

Facetimed with Becky and Adam in New Zealand on Sunday and had a lovely chat with Kathy Nielson in Texas today - Thanks to Viber - hooray for technology.

Tim and I are talking seriously now about serving a mission together, and looking into how best to prepare for that.  Tim is working too hard and getting very tired too, and I need to get some more massage clients - so I can take the pressure off him a bit.   That's all for now .

Saturday 16 February 2013

Procrastination

Thought I should add something to this blog..... then realised it was last updated in October - so no not tonight I'm not going to!