Ok sorry I've been rubbish... I just haven't felt like blogging really!
So January..... 2 words sum it up really Biking and Baking!
January was a struggle.. not gonna lie... I wasn't the happiest of people! I just couldn't really see what would be WOW about this year... on reflection now that seems like a horrendously ridiculous state of being because life is an amazing gift and should be lived to the fullest but I wasn't in that space... I just looked at my life and was like ummm is this it.... work, triathlons and time with friends and family... ok thats good but is that it... don't get me wrong I am REALLY happy that I am at home in the UK and surrounded by friends and family who I adore spending time with doing so many fun things with but I guess I was just looking at life thinking ok.... so what is going to be different at the end of this year vs now... It will be interesting to see I guess but you know me... I like a plan, I like having something to aim for and somehow a 70.3 wasn't cutting it... (that's a half ironman for those not in the know!)!
Soit was quite amusing to me when on January 4th having spent the first few days of the year pondering the year ahead and wondering what I could / would do I was offered a place in The London Marathon..... didn't really have a good excise to turn it down....
So that was Tuesday.... then on Thursday I went to see the physio because my hip had been really really sore since skiing.... he said - don't run..... ummmm not the right answer....
To cut a long story short.... the dark days of January really weren't made any easier by not being able to be able to run... at all!!!! Biking - whilst I love it just isn't running!
There were moments of happiness though... as always the kids made me smile! I went to see Susie, Hamish, Polly and Mima and when i knocked on the door I was met by Jemima saying 'I'm answering the door because Aunty Jo is my God Mummy!' How cute?!?! It was a lovely evening and day of playing Aunty JoJo!
Teh other good thing about January was a new found love of baking... there I was watching tv one night and I saw this program about baking cakes... so I got baking! My next door neighbour and other Windsor friends now keep asking me... what cake are you making this week Jo!! I have to say I am really enjoy not only the relaxation I get from the baking but also (of course!) the eating and the sharing with friends and family!
So that was January - a big low... a big reflective month.... glad its over and also glad I have great friends.... oh and a therapist - did you ever think I would say that Denise!!!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
The end of 2010 and the start of 2011
New Years Eve.... Burlesque style...... Good friend's Good times!
Bring on 2011 lets see what it has to offer!!
Christmas 2010
Woooohoooo we went skiing!!!!
The snow was predicted to arrive in the UK the week before we went skiing - and snow it did!!! We were worried about escaping England for France but luckily by getting on the road by 6am we were an hour ahead of the snow and we had a snow free journey over to Dover and down to France! We stayed Saturday night in an F1 near Chambery and were on the road at 6.30am Sunday morning to ensure we got to the resort for a full day's skiing!
Terry and I hooned around checking the resort out for the day well til lunch time and then we had a lovely lunch in a restaurant on the slopes that was to become a favourite and then we did a couple more runs before meeting Mum and Dad for a beer and then another beer.... and then we checked into our chalet and had a glass of champagne! Tough day!
The chalet was really lovely! The staff were great fun and the food was delicious too!!
So the week in a nutshell went like this....
Monday
Started out together Mum and Dad skiing and Terry and I snowboarding with Steven and Tim the ski hosts for the morning and then Terry, Tim and I went to play off piste! It was great fun being on the board again.... we had so much fun on and off piste and I was pleased with how quickly it came back having not been on it for years! Mum and Dad's confidence soared as they got the hang of the resort too - great to see! And Terry - with his HD camera's filming our every move... looked awesome on skis but his moment of glory for the day was chatting to someone in the hire shop and scoring a seriously phat pair of skis 147 waist.... insane!
Tuesday
Terry and I get back on the skis and basically do what we did the day before ie play in the powder!Terry cut through the crud and powder like there was nothing there... that's what these phat badboys do for you!!
Happy Shearsmith's!
No wonder he was so fast!!
Wednesday
Terry decided to go out skiing with the boys and I decided it was time for a chilled day with Mum and Dad - both of us had a great day! Mum and Dad were skiing so well - so well that off piste was on the agenda even!!
Smiling Mum in the sunshine!
Thursday
The snow was getting a bit patchy so we asked if we could go up the mountain a bit to Val D'isere... Steven and Chris obliged so off we headed! Terry and I hooned around after Chris all day - who the heck put a black run at the end of the day with moguls on it I don't know but we were all in a lot of pain by the end of it and well deserved the Vin Chaud and beer!! Oh and the hot tub!!
Friday Christmas Eve
So I went to bed thinking I might just have a day off and chill... or at best do a telemarking lesson....when we'd left the pub afterall it was raining!! But Mum woke us up saying there was fresh snow and indeed there was...... so off we went!! Powder baby!!! We went up on the mountain with Mum and Dad and Pete and Jeremy and basically did one piste run before we went and found the powder fields, gullies and tree runs! We had fresh tracks all morning.... then we had a quick lunch and Terry and I kept going all afternoon - practically until it got dark! The chalet guys didn't come out - more fool them!!
Pretty!
How much snow!!??!!
Fun in the trees!
Saturday - Christmas Day
Santa came with a big dumping of snow... it hadn't stopped since yesterday morning!! woooohooooo!! We opened presents and then hit the slopes! Mum and Dad rocked the off piste with us until CHris and Tim showed up and then we went and flew through the trees and down the gullies and across the powder fields! We didn't even stop for lunch - just a coffee at 11ish - no friends on powder day - or lunch it seemed!
By the end of the day though the boys had to go get our dinner ready and we had agreed to meet up with the children from the chalet - it was great to see them ski they had improved so much over the week and definitely had the ski bug big style!
We eventually got home to a veritable feast - god job we didn't have lunch because dinner was 8 courses!!! It was lovely and a really fun, lively evening! Great Christmas Day - couldn't have planned it better!!
Sunday
We checked out of the chalet by 8.30 and by 9 we had met Yann our guide for the day!! Yep we had flashed the cash and were going for an adventure!!!! Yann took us up to the top of the resort and then we went off to the right through some powder fields - the snow was amazing!! After that run Yann decided we were going to the back of the resort.... it was amazing - no one had been there before us and we skied down some amazing areas, across rivers and through this incredible valley which was just a perfect winter wonderland! Stunning!
At the bottom I was quite frankly done.... this was the 8th day skiing and my legs were done in - add to this Terry had never had a guide before so I gave him the guide for the afternoon and off they went! And WOW did they have a great time!! Lets just say it involved a hike and then a couloir!
Spectacular bluebird day!
Mont Blanc.... never fails to impress....
The dot under the mountain is Terry hiking!
This is THE colouir!
Terry at the end of a best ever day!
Monday
A very quiet drive back through France to home.... we were shattered after a GREAT week's skiing! Probably the best week's skiing ever!!
Thanks Mum and Dad for a lovely lovely Christmas present!
The snow was predicted to arrive in the UK the week before we went skiing - and snow it did!!! We were worried about escaping England for France but luckily by getting on the road by 6am we were an hour ahead of the snow and we had a snow free journey over to Dover and down to France! We stayed Saturday night in an F1 near Chambery and were on the road at 6.30am Sunday morning to ensure we got to the resort for a full day's skiing!
Terry and I hooned around checking the resort out for the day well til lunch time and then we had a lovely lunch in a restaurant on the slopes that was to become a favourite and then we did a couple more runs before meeting Mum and Dad for a beer and then another beer.... and then we checked into our chalet and had a glass of champagne! Tough day!
The chalet was really lovely! The staff were great fun and the food was delicious too!!
So the week in a nutshell went like this....
Monday
Started out together Mum and Dad skiing and Terry and I snowboarding with Steven and Tim the ski hosts for the morning and then Terry, Tim and I went to play off piste! It was great fun being on the board again.... we had so much fun on and off piste and I was pleased with how quickly it came back having not been on it for years! Mum and Dad's confidence soared as they got the hang of the resort too - great to see! And Terry - with his HD camera's filming our every move... looked awesome on skis but his moment of glory for the day was chatting to someone in the hire shop and scoring a seriously phat pair of skis 147 waist.... insane!
Tuesday
Terry and I get back on the skis and basically do what we did the day before ie play in the powder!Terry cut through the crud and powder like there was nothing there... that's what these phat badboys do for you!!
Wednesday
Terry decided to go out skiing with the boys and I decided it was time for a chilled day with Mum and Dad - both of us had a great day! Mum and Dad were skiing so well - so well that off piste was on the agenda even!!
Smiling Mum in the sunshine!
Thursday
The snow was getting a bit patchy so we asked if we could go up the mountain a bit to Val D'isere... Steven and Chris obliged so off we headed! Terry and I hooned around after Chris all day - who the heck put a black run at the end of the day with moguls on it I don't know but we were all in a lot of pain by the end of it and well deserved the Vin Chaud and beer!! Oh and the hot tub!!
Friday Christmas Eve
So I went to bed thinking I might just have a day off and chill... or at best do a telemarking lesson....when we'd left the pub afterall it was raining!! But Mum woke us up saying there was fresh snow and indeed there was...... so off we went!! Powder baby!!! We went up on the mountain with Mum and Dad and Pete and Jeremy and basically did one piste run before we went and found the powder fields, gullies and tree runs! We had fresh tracks all morning.... then we had a quick lunch and Terry and I kept going all afternoon - practically until it got dark! The chalet guys didn't come out - more fool them!!
Fun in the trees!
Saturday - Christmas Day
Santa came with a big dumping of snow... it hadn't stopped since yesterday morning!! woooohooooo!! We opened presents and then hit the slopes! Mum and Dad rocked the off piste with us until CHris and Tim showed up and then we went and flew through the trees and down the gullies and across the powder fields! We didn't even stop for lunch - just a coffee at 11ish - no friends on powder day - or lunch it seemed!
By the end of the day though the boys had to go get our dinner ready and we had agreed to meet up with the children from the chalet - it was great to see them ski they had improved so much over the week and definitely had the ski bug big style!
We eventually got home to a veritable feast - god job we didn't have lunch because dinner was 8 courses!!! It was lovely and a really fun, lively evening! Great Christmas Day - couldn't have planned it better!!
Sunday
We checked out of the chalet by 8.30 and by 9 we had met Yann our guide for the day!! Yep we had flashed the cash and were going for an adventure!!!! Yann took us up to the top of the resort and then we went off to the right through some powder fields - the snow was amazing!! After that run Yann decided we were going to the back of the resort.... it was amazing - no one had been there before us and we skied down some amazing areas, across rivers and through this incredible valley which was just a perfect winter wonderland! Stunning!
At the bottom I was quite frankly done.... this was the 8th day skiing and my legs were done in - add to this Terry had never had a guide before so I gave him the guide for the afternoon and off they went! And WOW did they have a great time!! Lets just say it involved a hike and then a couloir!
Mont Blanc.... never fails to impress....
The dot under the mountain is Terry hiking!
This is THE colouir!
Terry at the end of a best ever day!
Monday
A very quiet drive back through France to home.... we were shattered after a GREAT week's skiing! Probably the best week's skiing ever!!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
December
Well November was a FUN fun FUN month! Actually I forgot too lovely things from November.....
Sunday 28th - my actual Birthday two very very lovely things happened - firstly I got a hand with clearing up my house from my great friends who had stayed over but also from Mum and Dad who arrived for dinner... how lovely of them to visit and help - no seriously it was added the cherry on top of the icing on the cake to see them!
But then the really really really special moment was that Sophie became an Ironman/ironwoman/ironmummy.... in a FANTASTIC time of 13hours and 32 minutes Sophie at 2.30am ish my time completed this incredible moment. I was awake texting her husband and when I got the news I cried... what an amazing achievement by someone with such guts and determination and amazing organization skills too because she had to train around being a full time worker and a mum and a wife! Well done Sophie - you are an inspiration!
December was gonna have to go some to beat it....
It started with a quiet week following the party..... much needed and I had a lovely time chilling and generally feeling very very loved! Although yes you know me well so you know I had a low and wondered if maybe possibly there will be someone special in my life sharing my sofa and fabulous life with me when I turn 37! Where hey are going to appear from who knows but it would be very nice if they did!
The first weekend in December saw me going back to Twickenham! The Barbarians were playing South Africa so Ailsa, Franco and I went and I took my SA friend Pete!
It was a really fun day and The Barbarians won! Shame there was only 1 GB player in the team!! It was a sober match and I was home by 8pm on my sofa watching The X Factor!! Sunday was a lovely day and I was uber efficient! I put my Christmas tree up (its gorgeous!) I did all my Christmas shopping and wrapped it and I made 2 cakes! Brilliant day, really fun and lovely to have the house super Christmassy!!
The following week it was busy at work but luckily we got Friday afternoon off to get ready for the work party!! Typically the work 'do' and the 'Evo' do fell on the same night so I decided to 'do' both! The work party was fun - RIC is known for it's Christmas party and the efforts that people go to for the fancy dress theme! The theme was 'something from the year you were born!' given that my outfit had to travel from one party to another I wore a black and white dress that very vaguely looked like a barcode - barcodes were invented in 1974!! Its fair to say that vs the girl who paper mached herself into a 10pence piece my outfit was tame!! Next year I have to do better!! So that party done it was off to the Evo party! It was a party with an award ceremony.... Kev seemed very happy to see me arrive and the reason was that I won an award and they didn't want to start without me! Very sweet of them! I won 'Best Newcomer' and there were some very sweet comments made! I just about made it through the award without crying!! The evening was really fun until there was a point when the 5 Gin and Tonics kicked in....... tidal wave came my way and i went home and just had a moment!!
Moment over and it was off to a lunchtime drinks event on Saturday - this time not drinking Gin and Tonics but Champagne instead - much better for my sanity!! It was a very fun lunch and super silly! But by 7pm we were done and it was back for sofa time and X factor! Oh and lots and lots of water to rehydrate for tomorrow's run!
Sunday morning came and we went off to The Christmas Pudding Race.... there was a team of us and it all seemed very fun until we started running! OMG it was a brutal run...... so hilly... to the point where we walked up most of the hills!! It was a long long 12km run... luckily we had lunch afterwards which was a nice treat! Mind you given that we all felt like we had run a marathon the next day maybe sitting down for lunch wasn't such a great idea!!
Back home and we had family Christmas dinner together well French style.... we had a cheese fest instead of a turkey fest! Yum yum!! Lovely family time and only 5 days til we head to France!!!!! Bring on the snow.... in France not the UK!!
Sunday 28th - my actual Birthday two very very lovely things happened - firstly I got a hand with clearing up my house from my great friends who had stayed over but also from Mum and Dad who arrived for dinner... how lovely of them to visit and help - no seriously it was added the cherry on top of the icing on the cake to see them!
But then the really really really special moment was that Sophie became an Ironman/ironwoman/ironmummy.... in a FANTASTIC time of 13hours and 32 minutes Sophie at 2.30am ish my time completed this incredible moment. I was awake texting her husband and when I got the news I cried... what an amazing achievement by someone with such guts and determination and amazing organization skills too because she had to train around being a full time worker and a mum and a wife! Well done Sophie - you are an inspiration!
December was gonna have to go some to beat it....
It started with a quiet week following the party..... much needed and I had a lovely time chilling and generally feeling very very loved! Although yes you know me well so you know I had a low and wondered if maybe possibly there will be someone special in my life sharing my sofa and fabulous life with me when I turn 37! Where hey are going to appear from who knows but it would be very nice if they did!
The first weekend in December saw me going back to Twickenham! The Barbarians were playing South Africa so Ailsa, Franco and I went and I took my SA friend Pete!
It was a really fun day and The Barbarians won! Shame there was only 1 GB player in the team!! It was a sober match and I was home by 8pm on my sofa watching The X Factor!! Sunday was a lovely day and I was uber efficient! I put my Christmas tree up (its gorgeous!) I did all my Christmas shopping and wrapped it and I made 2 cakes! Brilliant day, really fun and lovely to have the house super Christmassy!!
The following week it was busy at work but luckily we got Friday afternoon off to get ready for the work party!! Typically the work 'do' and the 'Evo' do fell on the same night so I decided to 'do' both! The work party was fun - RIC is known for it's Christmas party and the efforts that people go to for the fancy dress theme! The theme was 'something from the year you were born!' given that my outfit had to travel from one party to another I wore a black and white dress that very vaguely looked like a barcode - barcodes were invented in 1974!! Its fair to say that vs the girl who paper mached herself into a 10pence piece my outfit was tame!! Next year I have to do better!! So that party done it was off to the Evo party! It was a party with an award ceremony.... Kev seemed very happy to see me arrive and the reason was that I won an award and they didn't want to start without me! Very sweet of them! I won 'Best Newcomer' and there were some very sweet comments made! I just about made it through the award without crying!! The evening was really fun until there was a point when the 5 Gin and Tonics kicked in....... tidal wave came my way and i went home and just had a moment!!
Moment over and it was off to a lunchtime drinks event on Saturday - this time not drinking Gin and Tonics but Champagne instead - much better for my sanity!! It was a very fun lunch and super silly! But by 7pm we were done and it was back for sofa time and X factor! Oh and lots and lots of water to rehydrate for tomorrow's run!
Sunday morning came and we went off to The Christmas Pudding Race.... there was a team of us and it all seemed very fun until we started running! OMG it was a brutal run...... so hilly... to the point where we walked up most of the hills!! It was a long long 12km run... luckily we had lunch afterwards which was a nice treat! Mind you given that we all felt like we had run a marathon the next day maybe sitting down for lunch wasn't such a great idea!!
Back home and we had family Christmas dinner together well French style.... we had a cheese fest instead of a turkey fest! Yum yum!! Lovely family time and only 5 days til we head to France!!!!! Bring on the snow.... in France not the UK!!
THE PARTY!!!
I have wanted to have a 1920's style party for years.... and what better excuse than my Birthday....
I could not have had a better time - everyone made such a huge huge effort with their outfits and we had a ridiculous amount of fun! The champagne and martinis flowed all night long, the gramophone rocked out everything from 1920's Charleston to Take That (well ok the ipod behind the gramophone rocked it out but the gramophone looked really good!!). Everyone chatted and laughed and some even played cricket!
Biggest of thank you's to everyone who came and my Birthday a best ever! I had a lovely lovely lovely time!
Jen, Charlie, Vikki, Hazel and I
Nicky, Christina and Jo
Brilliant brilliant brilliant time....
Special thanks have to go to Hazel, Charlie, Jen and Ailsa for all the help in making it such a great party and Terry and Dan for their DJ'ing and champagne pouring skills! Love you all tons!
I could not have had a better time - everyone made such a huge huge effort with their outfits and we had a ridiculous amount of fun! The champagne and martinis flowed all night long, the gramophone rocked out everything from 1920's Charleston to Take That (well ok the ipod behind the gramophone rocked it out but the gramophone looked really good!!). Everyone chatted and laughed and some even played cricket!
Biggest of thank you's to everyone who came and my Birthday a best ever! I had a lovely lovely lovely time!
Jen, Charlie, Vikki, Hazel and I
Special thanks have to go to Hazel, Charlie, Jen and Ailsa for all the help in making it such a great party and Terry and Dan for their DJ'ing and champagne pouring skills! Love you all tons!
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