My Personal Trainer

My jogging is really coming along now and I'm proud of the fact that I've been going regularly a few times a week since starting about two months ago. I'm still running for about twenty five minutes, but my speed has picked up so I'm covering more distance. Impressed by my commitment my SO bought me this little gadget and a new pair of trainers. The little 'personal trainer' fits into a slot in the base of the shoe and connects wirelessly to an iPod Nano (I don't have my own so at the moment I have to use my son's - if I continue to show determination maybe I'll get an iPod!). As I run details of my progress are tracked including distance covered, average speed and calories burned. You can get updates as you are running and when you reach certain milestones you get congratulatory messages - I had Lance Armstrong inform me that I'd done my furthest run today! Once the workout is complete I connect the iPod to my laptop and the details are stored in my account at the Nike Plus website. The site also has leaderboards, I haven't quite made it into any of the Top Tens but I'm working on it...

Back on Terra Firma...

and thank goodness for that!

Our journey on the boat got off to a good start; we settled into our cabins, had a nice meal and spent the evening having drinks and enjoying each others company. My SO and I have been on this minicruise before and had such a good time that we decided to go again with our boys; we were also joined by my Mum, two of my sisters and my sister's boyfriend. I'm not sure of exactly when I realised something wasn't quite right, probably in the middle of the night when I slid down the bed and hit my head on the wall. I really did my best to get some sleep, hoping that all would be well in the morning. When we got up in the morning it quickly became clear that all wasn't and nor it would it be alright for sometime. Having tackled the shower which had become a health hazard, we made our way to one of the restaurants for breakfast. After struggling to remain upright and trying desperately to avoid the other passengers who were also being thrown about, we finally made it there. We were not there long enough to eat because by this time everybody had started to feel incredibly ill and so began the continuous dashes to the bathroom. The staff on the boat were dutifully handing out sick bags and we managed to purchase some anti-travel sickness pills from the shop, there really wasn't much else to do but head back to the cabins and try to get some rest.
Not long after this, the Captain came over the tannoy system to give an update of what was going on. To cut a long story (and announcement) short, we were in a storm; quite a bad one actually - 2 points on the scale away from being in a hurricane. The Captain had made the decision to change course slightly to try and ease the journey; it did get a whole lot worse before it got slightly better.

I managed to take this picture during one of the calmer moments.

Things got better

On Monday we arrived in Spain having had a more settled night; we were all looking forward to getting off the boat and seeing it a bit of the local area as well. The thing with this minicruise is that it's all about being on the boat and the actual time in Spain is not very long. Still we made good use of our time there, especially my Mum who decided to take the 'shop till you drop' attitude; the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and I too decided that this was a good idea! The weather started off a little drizzly but quickly perked up and we had a great time in Bilbao.

Things got worse

Of course spirits were high amongst all of the passengers when we got back on the boat; these were dampened quickly with the announcement that the weather was looking dodgy for our return journey. I decided to brave the gym as I felt I needed to try and make the most of a bad situation; I lasted about 40 minutes before the feeling of being on the world's most badly designed rollercoaster got the better of me. And so it was back to bed, more pills, lots of water and try to sleep through it. In the early evening we ventured out of our cabins up to a room that was filled with massage chairs - now these were an absolute bargain at £1 for 5 minutes - and we made great use of them.

Things got better again

On Tuesday it was like being on a different vessel in a different ocean; the sea was calm, the sun was out and you could hardly tell that the boat was moving. We headed down to the sauna, pool and jacuzzi which up until this point had been closed because of the severe weather. After lunch we went up onto the top deck and took in the views and the sun and played some games. Thankfully this change meant that everyone was able to enjoy themselves even if it was a couple of days late and after traumatic times.Would I go on this trip again? Probably. I've been on it before and know that it has the potential to be a fantastic little break that isn't overly expensive. Nature is one of those things that is beyond our control; I won't let worrying about it stop me from travelling.

My youngest son JB taking in the ocean views.

Bon Voyage

I am off on a little break with the family today; a minicruise to Spain. Pictures and posts to follow...

Friday Three Thirty

I came across this cool site recently; it's updated every Friday at, yes you've guessed it, 3:30pm(GMT). I found myself becoming very quickly addicted to the bubble wrap game and the story about the wind powered art is awesome.
You can sign up at the site to receive the weekly updates by e-mail.

Almost half a year!

I've reached the five month mark today and while I'm not going to post comparison pictures just yet, the change in my hair is definitely noticeable. I continuously find myself with my hands in my hair; if I'm not careful I'm going to wear these locks out!
Apart from my hair cutting nightmare, this month has been pretty stress free. I seem to have found a regime that suits me and my hair at it's current stage; I shampoo once a week and then put my hair into two french plaits while it dries. The waves I achieve with this last for up to a week; if I need to refresh the look I just plait again at night and take them out in the morning.

I'm looking forward to the coming months, particularly enjoying the summer and not having to worry about sweating out my hairstyle!

Hair Affairs

If like I, you have been wondering where SisterlockedLondon has been and what she has been up to - wonder no more! As I have recently discovered, she has been busy developing and publishing her e-magazine 'Hair Affairs'. The mag features great articles on Sisterlocks, natural haircare and wellbeing, documents hair journeys and gives an insight into whats going on in SisterlockedLondon's world and of course the UK; a forthcoming addition to the e-mag will be hair related questions answered by Agony Uncle - Chi, a stylist with 20+ years experience.
I know you will join me in supporting this very exciting venture.
Add yourself to the e-mag mailing list by visiting the Hair Affairs blog; while you are there you can even request back issues!


Tuere is Hair Affairs May Cover Girl.
Independent Recording Artist Tuere can be found on itunes, cdbaby and myspace - www.tuereonline.com
The photographer is Marie Thomas and her website is www.mariethomas.com.

Aaargh!

I woke up in a cold sweat this morning; I'd had a dream - you know, one of those ones you really believe is real. I'd cut my relaxed ends off my hair, I'm not sure if it was me or my hairdresser that had done it. Actually, it was probably me, because ALL of my hair unravelled and I was left with a real mess. When I woke up, I slowly moved my hands towards my hair and was extremely relieved to feel that all was OK.

I have been thinking about getting my hair cut, although I haven't really discussed it with my hairdresser. It's just that the longer my roots get, the more I see the difference between the two textures of my hair and in turn the more I'm not sure I like what I see. I think It's because I have to work doubly hard with the styling and if I don't get that right, it is the relaxed ends that look a state. Perhaps this dream was a warning that I should leave everything alone for a while...

We'll always have Mel.

Which movie was this quote from?

Get your own quotes:

I saw this blogthing on Goodnapps and Chosen Vessel's blogs - bet you can't guess which film this quote is from...

Bop, bop, bop, shoo-wooop

Another school trip, another visit to the theatre.













'Little Shop of Horrors'
Fantastic!

A wash out

So today's Bank Holiday weather didn't let us down; in true British style, it rained and rained and rained. I had been thinking about going to the seaside, Brighton in fact, but that got put on hold when I saw the forecasts yesterday. We then thought about going to the cinema to see Spiderman 3 - sold out! Yes the only two showings we could make it to were sold out, so that will also be on hold for another day.



Eventually I decided to battle through the rain and go out, I popped into my Dad's and saw my niece who I haven't seen in too long. She decided to play me about today by crying each time I held her, but then smiling at me each time she was with someone else; I told her I'd put her on the naughty step a la SuperNanny if she didn't start being nice to me! She came round to my way of thinking and took this picture.



I also managed to get my eyebrows done!

"Your hair is like a cushion, I could fall asleep on it"

No, this was not a chat up line; Parks said it the other day at work when she touched my hair. I took it as a compliment, but now I wonder if she was trying to say my hair needed retightening. This morning while I was preparing to wash my hair, my SO was asking if I was pleased with the decision I'd made to get Sisterlocks - to which I replied YES. As he played around with my hair he said "looks like it needs doing again". Later on at my Mum's, my sister walked into the room and immediately said "your hair needs to be done", my cousin who was also there informed her that I "only had it done a couple of weeks ago". And then they proceeded to debate my hair whilst I sat there, feeling both paranoid and shocked at how much attention everyone was paying to my hair.
The thing is I was actually happy with my wash and go hair today;
I'm not scheduled for retightening for another four weeks, what will they have to say by then!



What everyone failed to tell me, was that my eyebrows need threading!

Where are you Mel?

Nobody actually asked me that, but I know that's what you're all wondering! I haven't kept up with my usual frequency of blogging this week (it's funny how bad I feel about it now).

Pinch, Punch First of the Month

And what a hectic start to the month it was, of course I am talking about work and not my hair (which has been fine!). Tuesday was our Dance Showcase, a roaring success, it was totally sold out. Students (and staff) had worked hard to produce the school's first evening of dance. Over the last couple of weeks, we really had used every waking (non lesson time) moment to rehearse and prepare. It was worth all of the hard work; expectations are now high for next year...

Uh-Oh, I don't feel well

I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling quite unwell, you know, sore throat, aching joints and a headache. I decided I'd go in to work, I had lots to do and so told myself that I didn't feel that bad. My day was brightened by my Year 13's who had performed in the showcase; they bought Parks and I chocolates and cards. When I read what they had written in my card I became rather emotional and shed a few tears and then so did they! I continued feeling ill throughout the day and didn't stay late after work; needless to say I was in bed by 5pm.

Music to my ears

Another day, another event at school. This time it was to highlight the exam compositions of the music students; professional musicians are hired to form an orchestra to play the music that has been written by the students as part of their examination courses. Although I was still under the weather I thoroughly enjoyed this concert, the pieces the students had written were outstanding. Quite rightly they received a standing ovation at the end of the night.

Finally
Friday arrived, although I still wasn't feeling any better I went in. JayKay is about to go on maternity leave, we needed to moderate coursework and do a department handover. I armed myself with tissues, painkillers and the chocolates my students had bought to help make me feel better!
As soon as I got home I went to bed and I didn't get up until 3 o'clock this afternoon. Wow, almost 24 hours of rest; I must have needed it because whilst I don't feel 100%, I do feel a whole lot better.