Moments that Mattered

I haven't posted for a while, but came across a competition hosted by Mummy's little Monkey called "Moments that Mattered"

So here are mine from 2013....

1) Snow and skiing - our brilliant ski holiday in Austria - and playing in the snow at home!

2) Getting a dog!

Our beautiful Golden Retriever, Lola!

3) Joe starting secondary school - a big step, but he handled it brilliantly!

We had a good year in 2013 - here's to 2014!

Get Fit for 2013....

Money Supermarket have a new competition - "Get Fit Feel Epic competition from Moneysupermarket.com" and here's the link....
http://www.moneysupermarket.com/life-insurance/get-fit-feel-epic/

I found it on this blog....

http://2starsandaswirl.co.uk/2012/12/19/get-fit-feel-epic-and-win-a-fitbit-zip-and-fitbit-wi-fi-scales/

and this post is about my fitness goals for 2013!

So I'm not very fit, I'm overweight, and I have arthritis - not a good starting point!

But we all have to start somewhere, so even from a low starting point I reckon I can make some progress this year.

1) Lose weight - easier said than done, right? For me it's all about portion control, increasing the exercise, and keeping the alcohol consumption down. So this year I'm going to have a go at all 3! You never know, the weight may just shift a little....

2) Keep fit - sometimes tricky if the arthritis is playing up, but even gentle exercise is good for you, so I'll keep on walking the kids to school, and maybe add in some swimming - finding the time is always an issue as a working Mum, but enough excuses, I'm just going to do it!

So those are my fitness goals - not huge or impressive, but realistic, I feel!

Immersed in a different culture....

something....
Well this blog post is for a competition by http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/

The brief is pretty wide - write a post about a trip I've taken where I got to know another culture.
For me this was probably many years ago, when I did a "round the world" trip as a student. We went to many places, but the one that stands out is our trip to Indonesia.

At the time we were 3 girls in our early 20s travelling on a tight budget. We visited lots of fantastic places, but as we had very little money, we stayed in local hostels, and ate in local restaurants, and avoided most of the tourist areas. In those days there was much less tourism in Indonesia any way, and Bali was far less comercialised.
Our trip to ubud was incredible, staying in bamboo huts, with balck tea and fresh fruit for breakfast, amidst rain forests and the amazing ntural stone swimming pools.

We also took a trip up a volcanic mountain at sunrise - something I'll never forget - we did have donkeys to help us on the steeper parts, but starting in the early hours in the darkness, and climbing through down to watch the sun rise at the summit was quite somthing...

Our trip took us through rural areas, and in one village we passed a school. The children spotted us through the window, and having probably never seen blonde, blue eyed people before in real life (my fellow travellers, not me!), came running outside, chasing us, and calling "Mister, Mister...!!"

The food was pretty special too, and I've never tasted peanut and noodle dishes with quite as much flavour since. We did get ill on a couple ofoccasions though, probably just not used to the different types of food available. The fruit there was juicy, tasty, and HUGE - I remember the papaya and lychees being available at the roadside for next to no money.

All in all it was a fantasticexperience, and one I'd like to repeat someday, though I suspect things have changed a lot in the last 25 years....

the floods....

So last week it rained, and rained, and rained......
It was pretty wild outside for a couple of days, and then came the floods.
In York we're always at risk of flooding, and the river Ouse flows past our village. So it was with increasing unease that we watched the river rise, and eventually burst it's banks. Luckily we're not close enough to the river for our house to be at risk, but the road around the village was blocked by flood water, and several homes were looking precarious, with sand bags at the ready....

Further in towards York there was more flooding - Skeldergate was under water, and what is usually a meadow for cows  to graze (and a cycle path for us to get to work) looked more like a huge lake. We even spotted a hovercraft on the Knavesmire racecourse!

Here's a few photos of the flood - it's a serious concern for those with riverside homes, though luckily the flood waters didn't breach the flood defences (maximum river height was 5.06 m above Summer averages, and the flood defences can contain up to 5.5 metres)

The flooding in the village

Definitely no way through this road!

A view of the Minster across the floods

Cycling to work not an option today....

Looking towards the village across the floods

Further into York, and the flood defences hold - just!

It's hard to tell where the river starts and finishes.....

A busy week.....

Last week was a busy week for everyone! Sam had his 8th birthday, so he had a "lazer quest" party, and we went out for a meal as a family - he had a great weekend, what with presents, food, games!

Then Joe was off for a residential trip with the whole of his school year, in South Yorkshire. The centre was run by Kingswood, and activities included abseiling, fencing, the "leap of faith" (!!!???!!!) and obstacle courses. the emphasis was on team work and co-operation with others, and it certainly sounds like that was what happened. We were kept up to date by tweets from the teachers, including photos (more were posted on the school website) - and the kids did a daily blog, so we could see what theyd been up to! Joe's blog pretty much just listed the food he'd eaten (lots of it...) but it was lovely that we could keep in touch.




Anyway, he returned home yesterday - hoarse from shouting, dirty and exhausted, but telling us he'd had the best time ever - so I guess the residential trip is going to be the highlight of his school year!

Next week we're going to be busy again, as the hunt for a Secondary school starts, with open evenings to attend, and then eventually the application form to fill in!

Brilliant Galtres Festival!

This weekend we went to Galtres Festival - a small-to-medium family-friendly festival in Crayke, North Yorkshire.

 

And what a wonderful weekend we had! The weather was.....errr...mixed (pretty rainy with a glimpse of sunshine on Sunday) but that couldn't put us off, as we got stuck into mud, cider, food and music! The festival's roots are as a beer festival, and there were over 100 beers and 35 ciders to choose from, so we were well catered for, and the local food on offer was far superior to other festivals I've attended.

We went with my brother and his family, camped in the convenient family field and joined thousands of others to listen to music, eat and drink well, and generally chill out.



The festival is very good for families, with lots of things for children of all ages, from Bollywood dancing to drum workshops, movie making to talent shows, and a really safe and friendly feel to the whole affair - we were happy to let our 10 and 11 yr olds roam freely, knowing they'd be able to find us easily if necessary. Our plan was to secure a sofa (yes, a sofa...) for the family in the brilliant Arts Barge tent - a large marquee just like a living room, complete with sofas, standard lamps and a really homely feel. The fact that it had tea and cakes at one end, and bacon butties / curries at the other end of the tent was a real bonus - and to top it off, fantastic music from midday to midnight and beyond. We loved it, somewhere to relax, and a base for the festival. 

That's not to say we didn't venture out and enjoy the other offerings though - the Firkin tent was home to great acoustic acts, whereas the 2 main stages hosted folk to punk, through rock and pop.

There was even a "G factor" talent contest for young people from 9 - 19 on the Satiurday, with the winner playing the Duke stage on Sunday. My older son was performing in this - both as a solo act and as part of a band, and loved it, even though he didn't win. What a chance, to perform at a festival aged 10!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWG-ZxVmFGU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdcX41OuO9o

My favourite act of the weekend was Martin Stephenson of the Daintees (apart from my son, of course!)  - he did a brilliant acoustic set and had us all in fits of laughter with his ad libbing and random observations! Billy Bragg and Adam Ant were also true professionals, entertaining and drawing the crowds. Other highlights were the Arts Barge collaboration on main stage and in the Arts Barge Tent, and Sophie Mac doing an open mike session.

We'll definitely be back next year, in fact I'm booking my "early bird ticket" as we speak....

 

http://www.galtresfestival.org.uk/shop/products.cfm?ProductTypeID=220&Open=0

Weight loss - I wish!

So I checked my BMI - sadly I'm firmly in the "overweight" category - not great.....

Losing weight would be a really good idea for me, especially as I have arthritis, so maybe I should give it a go? I came across this website - Jenny Craig UK - which offers to deliver healthy meals and give advice to those trying to slim.

What's more they have a competition to win a months subscription (and money towards a bike!) at the moment - just ask a nutrition question for them to answer!

So here's my question:

How to I combine weight loss or maintenance of a healthy weight with cooking family meals when the boys have very different nutritional requirements to me?

Here's the link to the competition:

http://www.jennycraig.co.uk/tips-blog/blog-home.aspx

Here's hoping I win a chance to lose some weight!